The Office

So the American version of The Office debuted last night. It was pretty good, but won't ever be as good as the original British version (remakes rarely are). Steve Carell was a good choice for the lead because his comedy is deadpan humor, which fits right in to the mockumentary here. What the American version did do well was capturing the sound of the office - the buzz of the fluorescent lights, the phones, the fax machine, etc. That's a necessary ingredient if you are making a show on cubicle life. I think NBC's The Office will pan out, especially because they will be writing new scripts instead of just miming the British ones.