Painfully Funny

Medialife takes on The Office:

“The Office,” NBC’s new workplace satire debuting tonight at 9:30 before moving to Tuesdays, is almost as funny as the original British hit. At times it’s outright hysterical. It has a strong cast, a focused concept, and a staff of blissfully un-politically correct writers.

Whether people will actually watch “The Office” is another matter entirely. The show includes the long pauses and cringe-inducing awkwardness that we see in real life and on the British show but are not used to seeing on American comedies.

It lacks a laugh track, and there are as many dramatic moments as there are funny ones. Much of the humor is so subtle that you’ll miss it if you’re not paying close attention.

That’s in stark contrast to NBC's last British import , “Coupling.” That show’s humor was broad and clumsy, and Americans did not catch on.

“The Office” is certainly no “Coupling.” Its tone matches two smart, sophisticated comedies currently on the air, “Scrubs” and “Arrested Development.” Note that both happen to average way fewer viewers than “Coupling” did.

“The Office” uses a mock-documentary format that allows the audience to see the daily interactions at a Scranton, Pa., paper supply company as well as “Real World”-type confessionals.

Regional manager Michael Scott (“The Daily Show’s” Steve Carell) leads this crew. If you’ve ever worked in an office, you’ve met someone like Scott. He’s the guy who thinks he’s the life of the party. In reality, his workers cannot stand him. As he cluelessly tells a new temp in the first episode, “I’m a friend first, a boss second, and probably an entertainer third.”

The two most promising characters, receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer) and sales rep Jim (John Krasinski), are locked in a flirtation that can’t go any further unless Pam dumps her doofy fiancé. The two have realistic chemistry, and Fischer especially shines as the butt of many of Scott’s unwittingly cruel jokes.

Carell has the unenviable task of filling the role so memorably originated by Rick Gervais in the British version. He relays Scott’s desperate need to be liked while ignoring the clues that no one shares his fun-guy self-image. But Gervais seemed more at ease in the role; Carell vibrates as though he just drank 15 Red Bulls.

The pilot is nearly word-for-word the same as the British version. It’s in the second episode, which NBC’s team wrote, that the show finds a better voice. After Scott does an inappropriate rendition of a Chris Rock routine, corporate calls in a diversity trainer.

Scott boots the trainer in favor of his own diversity day activities. He begins by asking a Mexican employee, “Is there a term other than Mexican you’d prefer that isn’t as offensive?”

For the vast viewing audience that prefers their comedy spoon-fed to them, like “According to Jim,” that joke may not resonate. But for those who read Dilbert daily, it will be a riot.

Quality of show (on a scale of 10): 8
Lazy viewers won’t like this show. There’s a lot left to the audience to figure out, a welcome change from most sitcoms. Only “Arrested” and “Scrubs” have writing that's similarly edgy. During Scott’s diversity day seminar, an Indian woman says she has to leave to meet with a client. Scott surveys the room, seeing a black man and the Mexican, and replies very earnestly, “If you leave, we’ll only have two left.” The Scott character can grow grating after 20 minutes. It’s hard to watch him embarrass himself over and over without realizing it and make everyone around him uncomfortable.

Positioning (on a scale of 10): 4
The show moves to its regular Tuesday 9:30 p.m. slot next week, where it airs out of “Scrubs.” It’s the perfect companion show, but Tuesdays have been very tough for NBC since “American Idol” returned to Fox at 8 p.m. Fox’s “House” has ruled the timeslot since January. Even if “The Office” scores decent numbers in tonight’s debut, which it should, it could follow the path of another recent NBC flop that performed well in one Thursday appearance and landed with a thud in the same Tuesday timeslot, “Committed.”

Cachet, or the “Arrested Development” factor (on a scale of 10): 7
Gervais and fellow British “Office” executive producer Stephen Merchant also produce this version. They won a Golden Globe for the original, the first British show to ever take the TV comedy prize. Greg Daniels, a veteran comedy writer with several Emmys, is another executive producer. Carell isn’t a well-known name, but he did steal scenes in the recent films “Bruce Almighty” and “Anchorman.” Reviews have been mixed. Those who like it love it, but many fans of the original remain loyal to it and offended by the mere idea of a remake.

Overall (on a scale of 30): 19
Great show, not-so-great prospects. Smart, different comedies don’t have the same appeal to American audiences as smart, different dramas like “Lost.” Enjoy “The Office” while it lasts.