The Office - The Complete First Series

Rating:
Summary: It Almost Lives Up To The Hype
Review: Some good laughs come out of the first season. However, by the end of Season 1 [and especially season 2] the show begins to run out of ideas and instead of "The Office" it becomes the "Ricky Gervais Comedy Show".

Also, like the other DVDs of "The Office" this is ridiculously overpriced for the amount of material on the DVD.

Overall, I would give it 3.5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Painfully Hilarious
Review: The funniest parts of this show are so uncomfortable that you don't know whether you should laugh or cry. But in the end your darker sense of humor will get the better of you, and you'll find yourself laughing at things you've never dared find humorous before.

That being said, Ricky Gervais is a comic genius. Not only does he play Boss David Brent to his painfully pleasurable perfection, but his improv skills are untouchable; timing impeccable. Gervais admits in the supplementary interviews on disc 2 that his sole purpose in this show is to improvise so much (and so well) that he'll cause the other actors to break out into laugher mid-take. The cast and crew hate him for it, but can't get enough of it nonetheless.

Over the first season of The Office, we meet the employees of Wernham Hogg, the paper company where "life is stationery." Manager David Brent is a boss so dumb, yet so happily innocent and friendly, he has no concept that he disgusts and traumatizes everyone he meets. Meanwhile, self-proclaimed Team Leader Gareth is a caricature of every nightmare co-worker you've every worked with, all rolled into one unbearable character. Tim is the textbook every-man, so fed up with his co-workers he wants nothing more than to leave this horrible chapter of life behind and start over. However, he is kept there by Dawn the soft-spoken receptionist, the girl he loves that unfortunately belongs to another man.

The mockumentary style of the show is much like that of Reno 911. It's set up like a reality show, but rather you get a parody of reality. However, with The Office, the humor is at times so dark and so unexpected, you can barely watch. It certainly has a cringe-factor like nothing I've ever experienced in television. The show is definitely NOT for everybody, so if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, stay away.

On disc 1, you get all 6 half-hour episodes. Disc 2 has a few deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes documentary. The documentary is very much worth watching, not only for the outtakes, but also for Gervais's discussion of improv on the set. There isn't much here for extras, but it seems very adequate for a mere 3-hour series.

Depending on your sense of humor, one of two things will happen after seeing this show. You could, of course, hate this show entirely due to the increasingly uncomfortable humor. But if that's not the case, it will raise the bar for comedy far beyond what you know. I think this is an amazing show in its uniqueness and fortitude. It truly goes where no comedy has gone before. If Season 2 is even half as good, it too will be another winner.


Rating:
Summary: both series are AWESOME!!! BUT....
Review: Both series of this program are phenomonal!! I just have one problem. In Britian, the Office Christmas Specials are on DVD. It was said on Amazon.co.uk that it was the swansong for the show. I would love it if the Christmas specials were released in America. It would be a cool stocking stuffer this Christmas!!