"The Office" (2001). A BBC Series.

I've finally gotten around to watching Rickey Gervais' The Office. For those that don't know the series, it is the original BBC production that inspired FOX's American version. It was made several years ago (2001), and I had a friend who tried to turn me on to it when it first came out. I remember liking it, but being too preoccupied with other things to give it the attention it deserved. It's a shame because it is an intelligent and very funny television show. On the other hand, my rediscovery of it has been enjoyable... and it hasn't aged poorly during the few years of its existence. It is filmed as a documentary, meant to realistically depict the folly of the modern corporate workspace.

Gervais co-wrote and co-directed the series with Stephen Merchant (who can be seen in a documentary on the bonus disk packaged with the first season)- but he ends up with the lion's share of the credit because he is also its centerpiece performer. He plays David Brent, a lecherous boob-of-a-boss in a branch of a company that sells office paper. He fancies himself a comedian, but he has no sense of tact, and is therefore almost painful to watch. To compensate for his obnoxious tendencies, he gives free reign to his employees... all of whom express their personal idiosyncracies in the workplace. Because it is British, it is very difficult for an American to catch all the quickly-delivered dialogue. The humor is dry and self-referential. The documentary format allows the viewer access to the inner thoughts of the principles through first person interview interludes. The disconnect between the way people choose to represent themselves, and the actual interaction between the actors, does the comedic heavy-lifting.

Sadly the first season only contains six episodes. But a little bit of a good thing is tantalizing- I was left with the feeling of wanting more. The characters are elaborated slowly, without a lot of artificial exposition, and it's a joy to get to know them. There aren't many conventionally attractive members of the cast... these are the type of people that we can relate to as people we might actually encounter in our workplaces. It's not difficult to understand why an audience in another country can appreciate the show. The foibles and awkward situations of the office seem to be universally translatable. It's no accident that its US version was both critically and commercially successful.

Maybe some of the fun involved in watching The Office comes from wondering how much of it is truly representative of real-life office environments. What kind of effect can ennui have in a workplace organized for the marketing and sale of a product so mundane as paper? People seem to be unstintingly attracted to drama, and if the business doesn't necessarily lend that component of human experience in and of itself, then surely it will be manufactured out of whatever is available. No one in The Office seems to be passionate about paper, but rather they seem to be marking time and drawing a check. How many of a nation's workers are dedicated to necessities that are so ordinary and unsexy? How does one devote his/her entire professional life to such an end without risking their sanity? How do those who don't actually make or sell the product justify their existence? These questions are elicited by The Office with the natural absurdity and surrealism of the corresponding answers.