Classes on Thursday evenings mean that I haven't been home to watch NBC's Brit-com ripoff The Office (is it even airing on a Canadian station?), but as this roundup of reviews would suggest, it's not as gawd-awful as everyone expected it to be. The folks at FC Now also weigh in with their own discussion.
A little while back, I procured (courtesy of a Chapters Indigo gift card that I got for Christmas) the complete box set of the original BBC version and have worked my way through Seasons 1 and 2 (but not the Special).
I like it (I think), but it hasn't induced any laugh-out-loud moments like other similarly-themed movies such as Office Space, or even the Beavis and Butthead compilation "Work Sucks" (which I have on VHS). In fact, some of it is downright painful.
So why do I watch it? My partner-in-crime "N" has this explanation:
"The situations are all truthful and realistic, yet, as a spectator, you can not be 'hurt' by all those situations, you are safe as an observer."
Makes sense, I guess. Your mileage may vary.
(I've tried to add to/elaborate on the above "paragraph" about a dozen times and still can't do it. Evidently something in my brain does not want to go there.)