The Office: Season 1 (US/NBC Version) DVD Review:

Steve Carell is sure to win over audiences as the inexperienced nice guy in 40 Year-Old Virgin, but as Michael Scott in The Office he shows another side. The Office is based on a successful British comedy series of the same name, and the casting for the American version is dead on, although this may not prevent some die hard fans of the original from complaining. Although there is some truth to the fact that the British version could easily have been shown instead of filming an entirely new show, I can’t help but be won over slightly if only by the comedic energy of Carell.

Filmed with a mockumentary style which is never really explained but works nonetheless, The Office is about the day-to-day interactions in the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company. Many days at Dunder Mifflin it seems that there is less work being done than is expected, especially considering the rumors of downsizing in the future. Michael Scott sees himself as a great boss who is able to make his employees laugh. He constantly tries to entertain unsuccessfully. Often his voices and jokes are followed by an extremely uncomfortable as well as hilarious silence. If there is anything that The Office has perfected it is the use of silence as humor. At times the characters seem to be comfortable and talking to each other but the moment Scott walks in the room he has the ability to silence everyone with one ridiculous comment.

Surprisingly I even found that some of the characters had relationships which interested me. The receptionist is engaged to one of the shipping employees although one of the salesmen is obviously in love with her. Although Michael Scott provides a majority of the humor on the show I found myself more interested in this love triangle than anything else.

Sadly there were only six episodes in the first season and they are only about twenty minutes each. It is always disappointing when an entire season of a show is only about the length of a feature film, but I suppose if nothing else it will cause more people to watch the show on television or rent the first two seasons of the British version.

The bonus features include deleted scenes and three commentary tracks with cast and crew. Two of the commentaries are on the pilot and the last is on “Diversity Day”, an episode in which there is a sensitivity seminar on diversity after Michael repeats a Chris Rock stand-up act in the office.



Ryan Izay