The Office

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The title card for the UK version (upper image), and US version (lower image).

The Office is the title of several television situation comedy shows.

The original version of The Office was aired in the United Kingdom, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It starred Gervais as the boss and main character. Initially broadcast on BBC Two on 9 July 2001, the show ran for two seasons plus a two-part Christmas special.

[edit] International versions

A French adaptation of the series, titled Le Bureau, began in May 2004 on Canal+^[1]. The German series Stromberg used The Office as a basis, but did not secure official rights. Following legal action, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were listed in the credits as having "inspired" the series. Gervais stated that he "can't go into details but, yes, there was an agreement reached and we are very happy with it".^[2] In November 2004, a Brazilian show on the Globo channel, Os Aspones, was also heavily modeled on the series' format.

In the US, NBC created a US version, which premiered on March 24, 2005. Other than the pilot episode, the scripts for the US version are original, and not adaptations from the UK version, although some scenes, general story ideas, and characters are based on the original. The US version stars Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson. Now in its fifth season, The Office has won numerous awards, including 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, 2006 Peabody Award, 2006 AFI Honor, Producers Guild Award, Writers Guild Award, SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, Ace Eddie Award for editing and a Television Critic's Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.

The supporting cast includes: Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Melora Hardin and David Denman. Ironically, some of these actors tried out for other parts on the show than what they ended up with. Kinsey originally auditioned for the role of Pam. The producers thought she was "too feisty" for the character, but they called her back for the part of Angela Martin. Flannery first auditioned for the part of Jan Levinson-Gould, but ended up with the role of Meredith Palmer, an alcoholic sex-crazed woman. Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley, but was eventually cast as Kevin. Ken Kwapis liked the way Phyllis Smith, a casting associate, read with other actors auditioning so much that he cast her as Phyllis. At the beginning of the third season, Ed Helms and Rashida Jones joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford.

There are a few relationships in The Office. The funny guy “Jim” is in love with the receptionist “Pam.” There's an ongoing 3 season struggle within Jim about his feelings for Pam. He never seems to get the right moment to tell her how he feels. Then they are together at the beginning of season 4. One of the more complicated relationships is between “Angela” and “Dwight.” They are together throughout seasons 2 and 3, but break up after Dwight kills Angela’s cat. A new character starting in Season 3, “Andy” courts Angela and eventually proposes to her and she says yes. Then in season 4, we see that Angela is sleeping with Dwight again and the only person who knows is Phyllis, a saleswoman. She tells nobody and blackmails Angela. But, eventually Andy finds out and challenges Dwight to a duel. Neither wins and both break it off with Angela. Finally “Michael,” the boss of the office, has a number of girlfriends throughout the series. His first girlfriend is Carol, who sold Michael his condo. It quickly moves to Jan, his boss, in Season 3. Then, during season 5, he becomes involved with the HR rep Holly. When Corporate finds out about their relationship, Holly is sent back to her branch in Nashua.

The fifth adaptation, the French-Canadian/Quebec's La Job, had its TV debut on January 11 2007. The lead character in this version is called David Gervais, a cross of Ricky Gervais, and his character, David Brent. It is produced by Anne-Marie Losique.

In July 2006, it was reported in the Hollywood Reporter that BBC Films was considering a feature-length version of The Office for cinematic release ^[3].

In 2007, the Office format was licensed to MumboJumbo [1]a computer game company. In October 2007, they released a game based on the characters from the US version of the TV series.

In January 2008, Variety reported^[4] that the BBC had licensed a remake of The Office for Chilean television with a premiere in May.

In July 2008, ABC News reported ^[5] a version of the British television show will be created in Russia.

[edit] Cast and character counterparts

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[edit] Key awards won

Selected major awards won only

• UK version: 2004 Golden Globes for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (Ricky Gervais); 2001, 2002 and 2003 British Academy Television Awards for Situation Comedy and Best Comedy Performance (Ricky Gervais)^[6][7][8]
• US version: 2006 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (Steve Carell); 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series; 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Greg Daniels)
• German version: 2006 Grimme Award for Fiction/Entertainment - Series/Miniseries
• US version: 2007 Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television (for episode "Casino Night")
• GMAT Awards: 2008 for favorite basement television

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Office

• Offthetelly.co.uk comparison of the UK and US versions
• A comparison of the US, UK, French, and German shows on Slate