Rating: 
Summary: Hmmm...must be a lot of masochists out there
Review: I think Rick Gervais does an outstanding job as David. You absolutely cannot get this guy out of your head once you've seen his herky-jerky moves for the troops, especially after you catch their expressions or even better his expression after he catches theirs. But I dunno, after a while it gets pretty dentists-drill-incessant, & pretty mean-spirited too. It's like trying to get the guy David is based on out of your head, plus all the other losers in his office. You wind up feeling like Alex in Clockwork Orange when they pin his eyelids up to turn him off to violent behavior.What I mean is, after a while that smile we all think is on our faces starts to crack, like old plaster, & it's called a rictus, folks & what we think is mirth is just the other side of terminal depression. OK, I'll give it 3 1/2.
Rating: 
Summary: Skewers all that's pathetically funny about office life
Review: David Brent is a creation of genuis - not every boss you've ever had is like David but almost every office has a David Brent type of authority figure. Vain and insecure. Dominating and yet cravenly wanting the love, affection, and above all, the laughs of his employees. There are those that think Brent and the other regular characters on the show are unsympathetic, shallow, mundane, and petty but I don't see it that way. Brent just wants to be loved and part of the gang - he's just to creepy/seedy/inappropriate to make that kind of connection with his employees. Gareth is a weasly ass face (or is that ass face weasel) with a background with the territorial army. He's another one that combines a mix of vulnerability with strangeness. Tim and Dawn hide away thier desperate longing and love for each other in a way that is subtle in action but heavy in effect. It's really a great and funny show - one the very few top quality 30 minute comedy shows on TV in the last 10 years or more. Sometimes the accents can be a little hard to keep up with and there are references to english pop culture that will fly over the head of all but the most devout anglophiles. Nevertheless, the show is greatness and you ought to watch it rather than wast any more time watching the current lame crop of american tv sitcoms.
Rating: 
Summary: An uneasy view of the backside of corporate management
Review: The Office is fascinating viewing. The clever humor is so subtle and so British that it maintains a constant unease throughout the entire season. The writer and director clearly know that the pain of a joke gone bad is the long silent unease that follows. Any other show would cut away, this one wallows in it. Ricky Gervais, the corpulent star of the show clearly wrote it for himself. He is the center of every scene. His character is so understandably despicable and so perfectly representative of smarmy business managers that you can't keep yourself from watching him and every episode even though you know that there will never be a happy ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Excruciatingly Banal
Review: Having never worked in an office as an insignificant underling, but having owned several hundred of them, I find this series to be without a doubt the least entertaining thing I have ever laid my morally superior eyes upon in quite a number of years. Why in the world should anyone care for these mere worker bees? None of them are the least bit interesting. They whine and squeak through the day with nary a sense of concern for the valiant corporation gracious enough to employ them. The characters, not unlike my actual minions, are beneath my contempt. I hated every vacuous, empty-headed and insipid moment of this series. Perhaps the only character worthy of mention is that of Gareth. He is the right hand man every superpower in business (not unlike myself) needs in order to accomplish his goals. Two stars for Gareth and the smug pomposity that is sure to confound any resident of the Northern American States. They, as a viewing public, need their hands held and senses of humour coddled, not unlike their foreign policies.
Rating:
Summary: Hysterically funny!! I give it 100 stars!!
Review: I first saw "The Office" while channel surfing.I didn't know what it was,exactly,as it had a documentary feel.But when David the sleazy boss opened his mouth,I knew that I was watching the greatest thing since Mystery Science Theater 3000.The acting is superb,especially by the actor who portrays David,the mealy-mouthed sleazoid,lying,humorless(although he thinks he is a comic genius),twit boss of the office.This man is I think,the best actor I have ever watched,film and television included.He really is.And he does it so effortlessly.He also co-writes the show and has no qualms about making his character out to be an embarrassment to humankind.It's wonderful.All of the actors are "spot on," as the British say,and the acting and lines are so good,you may find yourself cringing in embarrassment..really..it's painful to watch,but in a pleasing masochistic way,if you get my drift.
If you like superb ensemble acting,and some of the best laugh/cringe -inducing dialog ever written for tv,or any media,you must check this out.You will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Excruitiatingly good comedy
Review: "Will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?" The Office is one of the best comedies out of the UK (along with Coupling). It will please those of the Monty Python crowd that like to throw quotes out at every opportunity, as well as those that just like to laugh stupidly at the humour in everyday working life. David Brent will have you cringing and laughing in equal measure. Top notch and well worth a look. This dvd also comes with a very handy Brit-American glossary for those unfamiliar with British colloquialisms! :)
Rating:
Summary: Simply hilarious
Review: There is little doubt that THE OFFICE is the best comedy airing on television today. It is hilarious, smart, and innovative to say the least. The premise of the show is excellent: a faux documentary of employees of a paper merchant company near London. The camera follows the workers in their daily interactions with each other and with their dodgy office manager, David Brent. Anyone who has worked in an office environment can easily relate to the drudgery depicted in this show. The employees have to endure David Brent with his canned management lingo along with the antics of Gareth, 'the team leader' and David's pet. David is arguably the best depiction of an incompetent supervisor to date. While striving to bring humor into the workplace and be everyone's pal he ends up insulting many and comes off as a genuine jerk. The plots are simple yet brilliant. There is little action involved but the acting and writing behind this show always succeed in filling an entire episode with sidesplitting funny scenarios. My personal favorite episodes include the one with the doomed training session and also the one with the mocked up pornographic picture of David that was circulated around the office and Gareth's attempt of finding the perpetrator. (Just thinking about these episodes makes me laugh...) Many people claim that the cult classic OFFICE SPACE is the best show depicting the absurdity of cubicle work, but I believe that OFFICE SPACE does not even touch the talent and genius of THE OFFICE. Watching all six episodes of the first season will guarantee a good laugh. No fear, I have seen the first two episodes of the second season on BBC America and I can testify that the creativity of this show has not diminished one bit. As stated in a promotional commercial on BBC America, THE OFFICE is one of the saddest and yet the funniest shows on television.
Rating:
Summary: The Office
Review: Absolute class, David Brent is both funny to watch and an absolute w*nker aswell. The best comedies are British like Only Fools and Horses, The Royle Family and the Office is right up there with them. I just wish we could get The Royle Family here in America. Ricky Gervais.....absolute genious!
Rating:
Summary: Reality bites back!
Review: While the television pool is currently littered with reality shows, "The Office" offers a breath of fresh air. It is a mockumentary, a comedy specifically designed to LOOK like a bird's eye view of the everyday activities of a British paper merchant. The irony is that these actors have more depth and personality than any "character" from shows like The Real World and Big Brother. The cast is led by Ricky Gervais (who also co-writes) as regional manager David Brent, an ultimately sleazy boss who spends more time trying to be witty than he does managing his staff. His battles with political correctness are hilarious, as he is very aware that a camera is following him. His right hand man is Gareth (Mackenzie Crook), a former army lieutenant who believes he has more company power than his assistant regional manager (I mean, assistant TO the regional manager) position truly entitles. Gareth spends most of his day pestering Tim (Martin Freeman), an obviously bored sales associate who always has a witty comment to add to any conversation. Dawn (Lucy Davis), a receptionist engaged to marry a warehouse worker, is the object of Tim's affection and the victim of one of Mr. Brent's cruelest practical jokes in the pilot. Each cast member is some sort of caricature of a person you might see in your own workplace. The situations they come across could happen to anyone (lay-offs, sexual harassment, jokes via company e-mail, romances, et cetera). This show is kind of like "Spinal Tap": it fools you for a second to believe that this office could exist. And there's no whining, no drama for the camera's sake, no huge mansions for seven people to argue in. It's just these people, going about their days, doing their jobs. And it couldn't be more brilliant or side-splittingly funny. This DVD features every episode from the first series, which is great if you only get to sporadically catch episodes or moments on BBC America. There are also funny deleted scenes, with explanations from the writers as to why they were cut, and a 30-minute featurette. If you have not yet discover this delightful British import, I strongly recommend you check it out. If you loved the movie "Office Space" (or at least sort of identified with it), you will laugh at loud at "The Office." Enjoy it now before some American television writers enlist their own sub-par remake.
Rating:
Summary: The Office - for the discriminating satirically inclined
Review: I, too, am a follower of the channel BBC America and also a fan of EastEnders and Ground Force, so one can love these shows and love an original comedy, done in the style of "A Mighty Wind" as well as "Best in Show.", such as "The Office." I only give it four stars instead of five because it is not for everybody, but anyone who has ever spent time in an office setting and met some of the characters portrayed satirically via this show, will identify with much of the action. Or should I say, non-action! For nothing much happens in "The Office." Not unlike what goes on in most offices! And therein lies the joke.
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