20 votes

The Office (Australia) | Official trailer

40 comments

  1. [3]
    Fiachra
    Link
    Maybe it's just because I have no particular fondness or nostalgia for this franchise, but what little we see here looks on par with the US office in terms of quality. Not that it looks good, it's...

    Maybe it's just because I have no particular fondness or nostalgia for this franchise, but what little we see here looks on par with the US office in terms of quality. Not that it looks good, it's just that I think short snippets of the US office would look as bad. The real sin in my book is that this adaptation has missed its window by about 10 years if not more. Who wants another office now?

    14 votes
    1. [2]
      winther
      Link Parent
      If they can update it to present day office culture, which despite all things has changed somewhat in the last 20 years, then they could be onto something.

      Who wants another office now?

      If they can update it to present day office culture, which despite all things has changed somewhat in the last 20 years, then they could be onto something.

      12 votes
      1. Artren
        Link Parent
        As Fiachra says, snippets of The Office US, without the knowledge of everything that happened before, would probably look as lame as this did. The Office US got me within 3 episodes, so I'll give...

        As Fiachra says, snippets of The Office US, without the knowledge of everything that happened before, would probably look as lame as this did.

        The Office US got me within 3 episodes, so I'll give this one the same time frame. Could be ok, as I do enjoy some Aussie humour.

        5 votes
  2. [4]
    updawg
    Link
    Oh boy. It's...the same show. As if we haven't all already gotten enough of it (or too much).

    Oh boy. It's...the same show. As if we haven't all already gotten enough of it (or too much).

    13 votes
    1. [3]
      V17
      Link Parent
      It's not the same show, it's (partially?) G E N D E R S W A P P E D. Genderswapping is the sign of creativity and good things to come!

      It's not the same show, it's (partially?) G E N D E R S W A P P E D.

      Genderswapping is the sign of creativity and good things to come!

      11 votes
      1. [2]
        dr_frahnkunsteen
        Link Parent
        I mean, dudes certainly don’t have a monopoly on being terrible bosses.

        I mean, dudes certainly don’t have a monopoly on being terrible bosses.

        3 votes
        1. Sodliddesu
          Link Parent
          The US office already did that bit with Millie, I think her name was.

          The US office already did that bit with Millie, I think her name was.

          1 vote
  3. [17]
    tomf
    Link
    jesus... this looks terrible. They never should have franchised the shit out of this series.

    jesus... this looks terrible. They never should have franchised the shit out of this series.

    8 votes
    1. [16]
      mat
      Link Parent
      The American version was really good. I much prefer it to the original. Partly because I cannot stand Ricky Gervais.

      The American version was really good. I much prefer it to the original. Partly because I cannot stand Ricky Gervais.

      10 votes
      1. [3]
        cloud_loud
        Link Parent
        Also the American office ended up taking it's own identity after a while instead of being a direct adaptation the way the first season was. Even in things like the lighting becoming brighter as...

        Also the American office ended up taking it's own identity after a while instead of being a direct adaptation the way the first season was. Even in things like the lighting becoming brighter as opposed to the more realistic lighting of the U.K office.

        I still prefer the original Office, I like Gervais and Merchant's work generally. And I think it works better on an emotional level than the U.S office (I don't really care for the Pam/Jim relationship and the Tim/Dawn dynamic is much more interesting). It also ends on a rather somber note, which gives it much more of a punch than anything in the U.S office which overstayed it's welcome.

        12 votes
        1. [2]
          CptBluebear
          Link Parent
          The highs were so much higher in the US version though. I'm generally a UK television enjoyer, concise and focused series with an episode limit often work in their favour, but the US version of...

          The highs were so much higher in the US version though.

          I'm generally a UK television enjoyer, concise and focused series with an episode limit often work in their favour, but the US version of The Office had me howling at times that the UK version wasn't ever able to match.

          The cold open fire drill is such 0-100 chaos that just has me doubled over, and let's not start about the Michael and Jan dinner party and their plasma TV.

          I understand both opinions, the UK version is strong and has a lot of personality, while the US version takes the concept and cranks it to 11.

          We'll see where the Aus version lands on the scale. It's supremely difficult to recapture lightning in a bottle and I assume they will not even get close to landing the plane, though I'm halfway hoping it will stick the landing anyway and prove everyone wrong.

          9 votes
          1. Soggy
            Link Parent
            The dinner party is perhaps the finest piece of painfully-awkward-hilarity I've ever seen.

            The dinner party is perhaps the finest piece of painfully-awkward-hilarity I've ever seen.

            2 votes
      2. [12]
        tomf
        Link Parent
        I like some of the US one, but I hated that they got Jim and Pam together. Also, they're terrible people... so they deserve each other, I guess. I'll never watch US one again. I end up hating it...

        I like some of the US one, but I hated that they got Jim and Pam together. Also, they're terrible people... so they deserve each other, I guess.

        I'll never watch US one again. I end up hating it more and more each time. Most of the characters are awful people.

        1 vote
        1. [11]
          mat
          Link Parent
          I've never felt any kind of desire to re-watch the Office. It's good but it's not so good I'd go back to it. Very few things are. That is true, but on the other hand It's Always Sunny in...

          I've never felt any kind of desire to re-watch the Office. It's good but it's not so good I'd go back to it. Very few things are.

          Most of the characters are awful people.

          That is true, but on the other hand It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is entirely populated by awful people and that is by some distance the greatest sitcom America has ever produced.

          3 votes
          1. [5]
            tomf
            Link Parent
            Sunny’s awful is by design, though. The Office is just… mean people being mean to each other. Parks and Rec had a better execution for the style of sitcom.

            Sunny’s awful is by design, though. The Office is just… mean people being mean to each other.

            Parks and Rec had a better execution for the style of sitcom.

            3 votes
            1. [2]
              hobbes64
              Link Parent
              I find it difficult to watch a lot of shows that I liked when I was younger. The basic problem for me is that most of the characters act very immature. For example, Cheers is supposed to be people...

              I find it difficult to watch a lot of shows that I liked when I was younger. The basic problem for me is that most of the characters act very immature. For example, Cheers is supposed to be people in their 30s or later. But in their relationships they act like high schoolers. It's kind of exhausting.

              4 votes
              1. tomf
                Link Parent
                all of these shows are crazy like that... as if people aren't sleeping together right away without a bunch of circling around.

                all of these shows are crazy like that... as if people aren't sleeping together right away without a bunch of circling around.

                1 vote
            2. [3]
              Comment deleted by author
              Link Parent
              1. [2]
                Grumble4681
                Link Parent
                I thought Jerry encouraged him to do it? Like he understood the group dynamics and basically gave the OK to Ben to do that. I could be misremembering. I mean the rest of your statement stands, Tom...

                at the end of the episode Ben betrays him just to fit in with everyone else mocking Jerry just for existing.

                I thought Jerry encouraged him to do it? Like he understood the group dynamics and basically gave the OK to Ben to do that. I could be misremembering. I mean the rest of your statement stands, Tom is generally a horrible person and the level of mistreatment they heap onto Jerry is rarely even close to funny even if he's sort of a faux willing participant.

                Like there was one episode where Jerry got picked out of the hat or something for some job someone had to do, only to reveal that everyone wrote Jerry's name instead of their own and put that into the hat, except Leslie who did put her own name in, but then put 20 Jerry papers in as well. Like if that were the extent of their jokes on him, that's not inherently that mean-spirited, and they're intentionally writing his character to make him ignorant to not question the odds of getting picked repeatedly where the joke would normally end at that point (I think he does ask the question but doesn't seriously try to address it or anything).

                2 votes
                1. TheJorro
                  (edited )
                  Link Parent
                  Ahhh I deleted my comment because I felt I didn't want to really commit to the argument but now I feel like I've left you hanging. (tl;dr of what it was: P&R's characters are much meaner to each...

                  Ahhh I deleted my comment because I felt I didn't want to really commit to the argument but now I feel like I've left you hanging.

                  (tl;dr of what it was: P&R's characters are much meaner to each other regularly so I don't understand how the Office goes too far if P&R doesn't)

                  Jerry does nod the go-ahead but it doesn't really make it better for me because of the cruelty of everyone else in the scene is genuine and played straight. It really feels like the victim resigning to abuse because there's no hope or way out and saving someone else from being abused as well.

                  I can generally look past all the other Jerry treatment within the context of the episode but there's something about that one episode that is beyond the pale for me. Jerry's go-ahead read to me like that act in Wind River where Jon Berenthal's character makes a choice to try to help his girlfriend. Very different stakes, but same choice. I'll re-state this from my deleted comment: I've never seen a pro-bullying episode until that one.

          2. [2]
            JXM
            Link Parent
            It’s Always Sunny works because the characters are all awful people, but their schemes constantly backfire and bite them in the ass in some way. So they get what’s coming to them. With The Office,...

            It’s Always Sunny works because the characters are all awful people, but their schemes constantly backfire and bite them in the ass in some way. So they get what’s coming to them. With The Office, that doesn’t happen.

            1 vote
            1. TheJorro
              Link Parent
              People get their comeuppance on the Office all the time. Especially Michael and Dwight, it's like the single most common template for an Office episode. I can't think of many episodes where...

              People get their comeuppance on the Office all the time. Especially Michael and Dwight, it's like the single most common template for an Office episode. I can't think of many episodes where Michael acts as a heel to someone else on a personal level and doesn't get some kind of comeuppance for it.

          3. [3]
            updawg
            Link Parent
            Always Sunny is great, but it's not 39 Rock, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or a handful of other shows.

            Always Sunny is great, but it's not 39 Rock, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or a handful of other shows.

            1. [2]
              Dr_Amazing
              Link Parent
              I loved arrested development, but it's a really weird one to go back to now. So much of the humor is dependent on Bush era politics and a lot of current events that are long forgotten.

              I loved arrested development, but it's a really weird one to go back to now. So much of the humor is dependent on Bush era politics and a lot of current events that are long forgotten.

              1 vote
              1. updawg
                Link Parent
                I think it works really well without knowing that context, honestly, but I feel like it's relevant again with the Trumps. Obviously not the Mission Accomplished-type stuff, but the family...

                I think it works really well without knowing that context, honestly, but I feel like it's relevant again with the Trumps. Obviously not the Mission Accomplished-type stuff, but the family relationships, light treason, etc.

  4. [3]
    zptc
    Link
    I was unaware that this will be the 15th regional version of the show.

    I was unaware that this will be the 15th regional version of the show.

    7 votes
    1. V17
      Link Parent
      What the hell. Just found out that us Czechs did one too in 2014. Unsurprisingly cancelled after one season, but supposedly not exactly terrible, just entirely redundant.

      What the hell. Just found out that us Czechs did one too in 2014. Unsurprisingly cancelled after one season, but supposedly not exactly terrible, just entirely redundant.

  5. [4]
    Plik
    Link
    I like that they released a trailer, the YouTube comments are hilarious. They should probably never air the show itself though. Seems like everyone is just an alternate timeline Dwight.

    I like that they released a trailer, the YouTube comments are hilarious. They should probably never air the show itself though. Seems like everyone is just an alternate timeline Dwight.

    4 votes
    1. CannibalisticApple
      Link Parent
      I have never been a major fan of the office, but the potential chaos of an office full of alternate timeline Dwight's is intriguing. That is, of course, dependent on them doing it intentionally so...

      I have never been a major fan of the office, but the potential chaos of an office full of alternate timeline Dwight's is intriguing. That is, of course, dependent on them doing it intentionally so they can play off that chaos. Which sounds like isn't the case here.

      3 votes
    2. [2]
      updawg
      Link Parent
      Don't forget that they spend the whole trailer showing fat Jim and then at the end they show skinny Jim!

      Don't forget that they spend the whole trailer showing fat Jim and then at the end they show skinny Jim!

      1 vote
      1. Plik
        Link Parent
        Not gonna lie, I started reading the comments, paused it, and never finished it.

        Not gonna lie, I started reading the comments, paused it, and never finished it.

        1 vote
  6. Goodtoknow
    Link
    I kinda thought Utopia was already the Australian's Office but more unique

    I kinda thought Utopia was already the Australian's Office but more unique

    4 votes
  7. [3]
    zptc
    Link
    Curious to know what Aussies think about this. The reception for this trailer has been unenthusiastic at best from what I've seen.

    Curious to know what Aussies think about this. The reception for this trailer has been unenthusiastic at best from what I've seen.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      blivet
      Link Parent
      Yeah, I think this looks just awful, but as an American I’m wondering if I’m missing something.

      Yeah, I think this looks just awful, but as an American I’m wondering if I’m missing something.

      1 vote
      1. Plik
        Link Parent
        Based on the comments it seems to be getting a similar reaction as Raygun's olympic performance from the locals.

        Based on the comments it seems to be getting a similar reaction as Raygun's olympic performance from the locals.

        2 votes
  8. alp
    Link
    Hm, I'm intrigued. It seems like instead of doing their own thing for its own virtues (like how the American version succeeded alongside the original) it's really heavily going for the same...

    Hm, I'm intrigued. It seems like instead of doing their own thing for its own virtues (like how the American version succeeded alongside the original) it's really heavily going for the same approach as that US version. Which is interesting, given the opportunity an Australian culture could give to that format in terms of humour.

    I suppose that the US version also started in something of an identity crisis too, so perhaps this'll find its feet eventually also!

    1 vote
  9. CptBluebear
    Link
    I'll watch this. But only because it'll be uniquely bad. Or supremely milquetoast at best.

    I'll watch this.

    But only because it'll be uniquely bad. Or supremely milquetoast at best.

  10. [3]
    nothis
    Link
    Ouch, none of these jokes landed.

    Ouch, none of these jokes landed.

    1. [2]
      winther
      Link Parent
      To be fair, I don't think many 3 seconds clips from the two other series will land that much better without proper context. If I hadn't watched The Office before, I am not sure a trailer like this...

      To be fair, I don't think many 3 seconds clips from the two other series will land that much better without proper context. If I hadn't watched The Office before, I am not sure a trailer like this would have made me interested. In general, trailers for comedy series are close to impossible in my opinion. It really hinges on whether the first episode lands or not.

      3 votes
      1. nothis
        Link Parent
        That’s actually a fair point!

        That’s actually a fair point!

        1 vote