Yep. I always wondered why they changed The Office so much for the American version. I thought the US version was rubbish. I can see now, watching these guys that the Americans, on the whole, do not get the subtlety of the British version. They missed so many good lines and observations and they are sympathising way too much with Brent and Gareth. They haven’t mentioned the change in Tim, as following his promotion he has got much more corporate and serious. It’s fascinating trying to interpret you interpreting this.
The amazing and still fairy unique thing about The Office is that the characters know they're on camera. Brent isn't just concerned with how his employees see him, but how he's going to appear to television, which makes him even more desperate to curate a cool persona and over correct any kind of mistake.
Yes, he wants authority & respect from his staff as their manager, but also to be liked by them for being entertaining & on a level with them socially.
Brent didn’t fall on a grenade for them - that was just the false heroic excuse he made up because he actually failed the medical with high blood pressure.
The difference in how American and British audiences react to "The Office" shows the contrast in comedy styles. Brits laugh _at_ David Brent, enjoying the cringe and awkwardness of his character. We appreciate subtle, dry humor and Brent's lack of self-awareness. Americans, however, prefer to laugh _with_ characters, finding humor in more obvious gags and sympathetic, goofy personas. This cultural difference makes it harder for American viewers (evident from seeing you two watch this series) to enjoy Brent's cringey need for approval without feeling frustrated. Embrace the awkwardness and laugh at his flaws-it's the essence of British humour! 😆
Yep, they need it so literal, like a slap in the face. Enter slapstick comedy. Brent (Gervais) even embraces it, understands. Like with the stupid monkey, visual humour. Later in Extras, he even takes the piss with the crumby show he makes with wigs and props. Funnily enough, the show within the show is good enough to make the grade (now I digress, because I'm talking for a British audience), it's better than Mrs Brown's Boys. Talk about cringe, I just got a chill down my spine out of pure disgust for thinking of, and writing that title.
Also reflected in the difference between the UK and US versions of the show I think. Michael Scott had to become a character for Americans to root for and support. Americans want to root for the hero of a story and their success whether it’s comedy or drama, whereas a very popular part of UK comedy is seeing people try desperately hard to be richer/posher/more well-liked/funnier/better and failing miserably. We root against them for the most part. The underlying message of US media is usually “Reach for the stars. Strive. Hope.” and the underlying message of UK media is “Don’t get ideas above your station. Life sucks. You’re not special.” 😂😂😂
David Brent didn't fall on a grenade and make a big self-sacrifice. That was what he told everyone in the office but, in the last episode of S1 there was one man who said he'd heard different and that David had been turned down for the post for a reason I can't recall right now, which David denied but looked very shifty about.
I'm just going to repeat it, what the hell. He didn't fall on a grenade, in fact, he did the opposite and ditched them at the drop of a hat. This reinforces the fact that this man has no integrity whatsoever. His main drive being money and ego to sooth his inferiority complex. Like the shallow pea heart of an excuse for a man, not only did he tey to cover up the fact that he failed the medical and couldn't take the promotion, he claimed that he didn't take it over moral grounds, to support and save the office.
i guess if you're watching these in quick succession you have not had a chance to see the comments setting you straight about brent "falling on a grenade" for the office.
I've seen a couple of black reaction guys,who weren't at all offended by the joke..I'd say Spencer has grew up around the "woke" environment as many today.
Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy.
You should do Extras after this. While Office is great i think Ricky and Steve knocked it out of the park with Extras right after Office. Especially in the 2nd season of Office the cringe gets to be almost too much most times while in Extras there are more laughs and also Steve in a big role. Check it out.
This may be an instance where British humour isn't picked up by American viewers (still do love your channel, boys!) The staff member who is questioning David Brent about the redundancy sacrifice story that Brent used on his staff, was doing what we would all do when management bs their way round things and make the situation seem unnecessarily agonising. And Brent, doubling down on the deception, makes himself appear to the documentary audience as a self-interested and conniving boss, whose smiles hide the truth from others. The staff member is the device used to reveal just how the over-elevated Brent is out of touch with the people whom he boasts on camera he loves like a family (don't take most of what Brent says as literally true, or selfless!). And it's also a funny scene!
The UK office is a genius of a show. So well written. Its a psychological observation of everyday people and our awkward way of navigating our scenario. . We've been in the situations all these characters have been.
You literally have to watch it over and over to catch everything. When Brent is saying to Jennifer who he assumed made the complaint and he makes a hand gesture for black face. It’s these little things
Just when you think the cringe has reached a maximum they raise it to a new level. When I watched this back in the day i was literally hiding behind the sofa with some of Brent^s antics. Enjoying you guys' reaction to a real classic in UK comedy.
Slough is a notoriously awful place: noise, pollution, architecture, overcrowding etc. It's the subject of John Betjeman's 1937 poem & it's much worse now.
@@caramba10 Did that pollution badly affect the whole town? Slough has Europe's largest industrial estate. It's also very noisy due to its proximity to Heathrow. It has a severe housing shortage, with many (often illegal) immigrants living in sheds & garages.
It’s also interesting how Jennifer didn’t understand the joke. It wasn’t about black men having oversized genitalia or even about the stereotype, but about the idea that the royal family was. It only aware of it, but believed it.
She mentioned the oversized genitalia because Brent said it was a compliment. She responded incredulously by asking if he thinks that's all they should consider as an achievement. It's a highly, highly inappropriate joke to say in front of people you don't know, let alone work colleagues and I think she was just amazed he didn't know that. She got the joke.
@@garethm3242 The characters' reaction to the joke is funnier than the joke itself. We don't know who the writers agree with, but I doubt it's Jen because she isn't presented in a positive way.
@@zufgh True enough but I think her point was in response to Brent saying it was a compliment. As in, there are other things to compliment someone on than a stereotype. Brent is very obviously racist, but it's coming from ignorance rather than hate or supremacy. Still, reading through the other comments about how he threw them under the bus to advance his own career does offer some insight on him I hadn't thought about. I used to just feel sorry for his desperate need for approval but actually he is a pretty unpleasant man that you can't trust and definitely not a good boss.
Am I the only "Middle Manager" or "Team Leader" that sees a reflection of themselves in Brent? I'm hoping that the brilliant cringiness of this show is because it hits home. I'm not 100% Brent .... but I've been guilty of Brentisms in my working days in an Office like this.
First seasons aren't always the worst. The best 2 episodes of Bottom are in series 1 ('Gas'; and 'Accident'). Also I'm Alan Partridge series 1 is 100x better than series 2 (depressed Alan was way more funny). Also, Fargo season 1 with Billy Bob Thornton (and Tim from The Office) is way better than later seasons.
Absolutely love your reactions, guys. So refreshing to see Americans jumping into this masterpiece of fly-on-the wall presented tragic comedy. At it's finest. !! This would barely ever get aired on mainstream US network television. As a concept, never. (the original script intact I mean). The watered down NBC version, of course did (and Steve Carrell is very talented, (but he's not the author)) - Gervais and Merchant clearly knew that when they were chaperoning the US version - and did their best. There's a realness component in English comedy that most Americans just don't get. Im glad you guys, Spencer and Daniel, appreciate the huge soul and drama-testing silences the writers and director afford during this hilarious one-of-a-kind edited playback. And Gervais is so on point. The guy's a genius. It is a presentation of comedy like nothing else. It's absolutely brilliant. I was about to say nothing as comedically daring would ever get aired by the top brass in US TV, but I suppose there is time yet to prove that wrong 😊 But it would only be inspired by this amazing effort and UK TV show I suppose. (Hey, but you guys let the great Bob Dylan fly over to perform his concerts in the 60's in UK and teach John Lennon how to write introspective pop songs, so there's always that 😊) I should probably disclose my context. Im a Kiwi. From New Zealand. We've always had a cultural affinity with the United Kingdom, England. Our direct anscendant homeland years and generations ago. (The Australians do as well). They sailed here and found this paradise down under. But the way we view comedy entertainment has remained as intact and as real as ever. Like we are close family laughing at the same things. We all love Black Adder and Rowan Atkinson as if we were Brits, just like the show creators themselves. (Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson in that case) Even tho we're thousands of miles away at the bottom of the globe... What happened to allow such a slight but palpable veneer of fear and non-comedic dread descend on the playback from the reactors when the movie screen drama: UK The Office - from Gervais & Merchant, utters an inappropriate term on the ears of the young reactors... ...really just from the authors, in the service of glorious social satire comedy? Political correctness has more or less routed US comedy on network TV (except for Dave Chappelle of course, good on him) I don't want to ramble too much on this phone here. Hey guys, love your reactions, will tune in again...
The “darkies instead of coloured” was the punchline because “coloured” had already been established as a pejorative term in UK back then. Gareth was trying to show how cultured he was but just showed he’s ignorant. It’s a bit weird to me how they use “people of colour” in America now. Feels regressive.
Coloured people used to be acceptable in the US but no longer. When this was made, “coloureds” was out of favour in the UK, but I am not sure if “coloured people” had also become unacceptable by the .
I really hated the Swindon lot after this episode (except for Oliver, he's cool). Especially those two women who ratted on him for what? A joke that wasn't even racist. And why wouldn't they complain to him instead of his higher ups? "Because I dIdn't like the jokes you were telling" How is that an answer? I'm glad that girl in the Wheelchair got her comeuppance in the next episode.
Guys these are filmed on Patreon years/months/weeks in advance of them appearing on UA-cam, not sure why you're expecting them to respond to comments made on a video uploaded last week.
David didn't turn the promotion down, he failed the medical, so they couldn't give him the job.
That's why the line, "What's worse? Cheating medical science or cheating your friends?". is so good.
I can't understand how they didn't get that.
@@PJBonoVoxThe character literally says it. It's the focus of the main scene at the end of the previous episode. How could someone miss that?
David Brent fell on a grenade for the team.
This is the exact reason they made the spoon fed American Office
Yep. I always wondered why they changed The Office so much for the American version. I thought the US version was rubbish. I can see now, watching these guys that the Americans, on the whole, do not get the subtlety of the British version. They missed so many good lines and observations and they are sympathising way too much with Brent and Gareth. They haven’t mentioned the change in Tim, as following his promotion he has got much more corporate and serious. It’s fascinating trying to interpret you interpreting this.
The amazing and still fairy unique thing about The Office is that the characters know they're on camera. Brent isn't just concerned with how his employees see him, but how he's going to appear to television, which makes him even more desperate to curate a cool persona and over correct any kind of mistake.
Yes, he wants authority & respect from his staff as their manager, but also to be liked by them for being entertaining & on a level with them socially.
Brent didn’t fall on a grenade for them - that was just the false heroic excuse he made up because he actually failed the medical with high blood pressure.
Agreed, Brent is nowhere near as nice as these two think he is lol
@@KevPage-Witkicker It's baffling that they give him credit for being a good guy, when it's clear that he's nothing of the sort!
@@KevPage-Witkicker He is an alright bloke. He's just an idiot.
Americans are so unaware of nuance it's hilarious
@@beesfoot LOL... its great when they do get it though
The difference in how American and British audiences react to "The Office" shows the contrast in comedy styles. Brits laugh _at_ David Brent, enjoying the cringe and awkwardness of his character. We appreciate subtle, dry humor and Brent's lack of self-awareness. Americans, however, prefer to laugh _with_ characters, finding humor in more obvious gags and sympathetic, goofy personas. This cultural difference makes it harder for American viewers (evident from seeing you two watch this series) to enjoy Brent's cringey need for approval without feeling frustrated. Embrace the awkwardness and laugh at his flaws-it's the essence of British humour! 😆
Ironically they can't embrace the suck
Yep, they need it so literal, like a slap in the face. Enter slapstick comedy.
Brent (Gervais) even embraces it, understands. Like with the stupid monkey, visual humour. Later in Extras, he even takes the piss with the crumby show he makes with wigs and props. Funnily enough, the show within the show is good enough to make the grade (now I digress, because I'm talking for a British audience), it's better than Mrs Brown's Boys. Talk about cringe, I just got a chill down my spine out of pure disgust for thinking of, and writing that title.
Also reflected in the difference between the UK and US versions of the show I think. Michael Scott had to become a character for Americans to root for and support. Americans want to root for the hero of a story and their success whether it’s comedy or drama, whereas a very popular part of UK comedy is seeing people try desperately hard to be richer/posher/more well-liked/funnier/better and failing miserably. We root against them for the most part.
The underlying message of US media is usually “Reach for the stars. Strive. Hope.” and the underlying message of UK media is “Don’t get ideas above your station. Life sucks. You’re not special.” 😂😂😂
David Brent didn't fall on a grenade and make a big self-sacrifice. That was what he told everyone in the office but, in the last episode of S1 there was one man who said he'd heard different and that David had been turned down for the post for a reason I can't recall right now, which David denied but looked very shifty about.
High blood pressure
Try ‘This Country’
Great show
@@chrischarlescook Thanks! That was it!
@@markdonovan8884 Thanks! That was it!
@@iainprendergast8311 That was the one with and written by Daisy Cooper and her brother Charlie? It was OK.
I'm just going to repeat it, what the hell. He didn't fall on a grenade, in fact, he did the opposite and ditched them at the drop of a hat. This reinforces the fact that this man has no integrity whatsoever. His main drive being money and ego to sooth his inferiority complex.
Like the shallow pea heart of an excuse for a man, not only did he tey to cover up the fact that he failed the medical and couldn't take the promotion, he claimed that he didn't take it over moral grounds, to support and save the office.
Spencet just never gets half the jokes lol. Daniel gets the humour, you can see Spencer's brain working overtime lol.
spencer always looks too scared to laugh in case the joke can be seen as offensive 😂
@@nope66755 yes lol. Too nice for his own good lol.
@@neiltolerton4822 I wouldn't confuse cowardly with good, necessarily
Spencer IS David Brent.
i guess if you're watching these in quick succession you have not had a chance to see the comments setting you straight about brent "falling on a grenade" for the office.
David Brent NEVER fell on a grenade and would NEVER fall on any grenade for anyone.
Remember it’s not just this season. The Xmas special ends it all off. You ‘have’ to watch it too.
yeah,,, its glorious,,,,
the Xmas specials are a must
Series*
I've seen a couple of black reaction guys,who weren't at all offended by the joke..I'd say Spencer has grew up around the "woke" environment as many today.
It's the 'cringe' that makes this comedy so good.
Guy on the left IS David Brent!!
Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy. Stop thinking David Brent is a good guy.
They're the only viewers whom I've known to think that. It's clear he's nothing of the sort.
Depends which way you look at it. He's just desperate for approval and to be loved. His desperation just has the opposite effect.
It's sad in a way.
You should do Extras after this. While Office is great i think Ricky and Steve knocked it out of the park with Extras right after Office. Especially in the 2nd season of Office the cringe gets to be almost too much most times while in Extras there are more laughs and also Steve in a big role. Check it out.
I must have watched Extras outtakes about 50 times by now.
I believe The Royale Family 4 years earlier set the UKTV groundwork for The Office.
This may be an instance where British humour isn't picked up by American viewers (still do love your channel, boys!) The staff member who is questioning David Brent about the redundancy sacrifice story that Brent used on his staff, was doing what we would all do when management bs their way round things and make the situation seem unnecessarily agonising. And Brent, doubling down on the deception, makes himself appear to the documentary audience as a self-interested and conniving boss, whose smiles hide the truth from others. The staff member is the device used to reveal just how the over-elevated Brent is out of touch with the people whom he boasts on camera he loves like a family (don't take most of what Brent says as literally true, or selfless!). And it's also a funny scene!
The UK office is a genius of a show. So well written. Its a psychological observation of everyday people and our awkward way of navigating our scenario. .
We've been in the situations all these characters have been.
You literally have to watch it over and over to catch everything. When Brent is saying to Jennifer who he assumed made the complaint and he makes a hand gesture for black face. It’s these little things
Cannot wait for you guys to watch David Brent: Life on the Road... it's really wholesome 👍
The reaction to the BMC/RF joke is hilarious!
This series is better than the first in my humble opinion!
when the black fella moves in to join the joke is just genius,,,,
It's amazing how the black guy finds it funny but some other person took offence to it,you can't be offended by something you don't own .
There are many people who claim to be offended at anything race-related.
David Brent tries to be friends with his staff as well as be admired by them.
Just when you think the cringe has reached a maximum they raise it to a new level. When I watched this back in the day i was literally hiding behind the sofa with some of Brent^s antics. Enjoying you guys' reaction to a real classic in UK comedy.
With the Eric Hitchmo story, do we believe Brent's skit went down just as badly in Coventry?
David mentioned Harry Enfield. You have to look him up.
His Chomoldley Warner videos that are a pastiche of 1930's information films are hilarious.
Slough is a notoriously awful place: noise, pollution, architecture, overcrowding etc. It's the subject of John Betjeman's 1937 poem & it's much worse now.
Surely not worse than Corby? when it had the steelworks, the place stank of sulphur and all the houses with cream coloured rendering turned black.
@@caramba10 Did that pollution badly affect the whole town?
Slough has Europe's largest industrial estate. It's also very noisy due to its proximity to Heathrow. It has a severe housing shortage, with many (often illegal) immigrants living in sheds & garages.
My grandma in Scotland lived near a leather factory 👃
I've said it before, I'll say it again,spencer hasn't got a fucking clue.
I love that Embrace the Suck are learning to embrace the cringe.
You see, this is why, for me, the UK Office is superior to the US Office... Michael Scott was to likeable, he was no where near cringe enough.
Brilliant episode...
It’s also interesting how Jennifer didn’t understand the joke.
It wasn’t about black men having oversized genitalia or even about the stereotype, but about the idea that the royal family was. It only aware of it, but believed it.
She dislikes David, so she used it as an excuse to berate him.
She mentioned the oversized genitalia because Brent said it was a compliment. She responded incredulously by asking if he thinks that's all they should consider as an achievement. It's a highly, highly inappropriate joke to say in front of people you don't know, let alone work colleagues and I think she was just amazed he didn't know that. She got the joke.
@@goldentony111 Still, calling it their only achievement were her words, not anyone else's.
@@garethm3242 The characters' reaction to the joke is funnier than the joke itself. We don't know who the writers agree with, but I doubt it's Jen because she isn't presented in a positive way.
@@zufgh True enough but I think her point was in response to Brent saying it was a compliment. As in, there are other things to compliment someone on than a stereotype. Brent is very obviously racist, but it's coming from ignorance rather than hate or supremacy. Still, reading through the other comments about how he threw them under the bus to advance his own career does offer some insight on him I hadn't thought about. I used to just feel sorry for his desperate need for approval but actually he is a pretty unpleasant man that you can't trust and definitely not a good boss.
Am I the only "Middle Manager" or "Team Leader" that sees a reflection of themselves in Brent? I'm hoping that the brilliant cringiness of this show is because it hits home.
I'm not 100% Brent .... but I've been guilty of Brentisms in my working days in an Office like this.
😂
First seasons aren't always the worst. The best 2 episodes of Bottom are in series 1 ('Gas'; and 'Accident'). Also I'm Alan Partridge series 1 is 100x better than series 2 (depressed Alan was way more funny). Also, Fargo season 1 with Billy Bob Thornton (and Tim from The Office) is way better than later seasons.
With the euro football championship coming up you should do the best football ever. Vindloo by fat les. The perfect football song for England
Harry Enfield is another rabbit hole to go down !!
They aren't 50
@@newcastlelukelowther Just as well they haven't seen any two Ronnies then, wait a minute, they have !!!!!!!
Because of old people like you. You can literally suggest anything yet pick shows from 20 years ago. Old people ruined this channel@@ianelley
@@newcastlelukelowther mmm, yes, Enfield's shtick hasn't aged well...
I wonder where the American version got Jim and Pam from?
Elongating & adding to Tim & Dawn's storyline, with Roy being based on Lee.
Think Daniel is getting it more tbh! 😀
Absolutely love your reactions, guys.
So refreshing to see Americans jumping into this masterpiece of fly-on-the wall presented tragic comedy. At it's finest.
!!
This would barely ever get aired on mainstream US network television. As a concept, never. (the original script intact I mean).
The watered down NBC version, of course did (and Steve Carrell is very talented, (but he's not the author)) - Gervais and Merchant clearly knew that when they were chaperoning the US version - and did their best.
There's a realness component in English comedy that most Americans just don't get.
Im glad you guys, Spencer and Daniel, appreciate the huge soul and drama-testing silences the writers and director afford during this hilarious one-of-a-kind edited playback. And Gervais is so on point. The guy's a genius. It is a presentation of comedy like nothing else. It's absolutely brilliant. I was about to say nothing as comedically daring would ever get aired by the top brass in US TV, but I suppose there is time yet to prove that wrong 😊
But it would only be inspired by this amazing effort and UK TV show I suppose.
(Hey, but you guys let the great Bob Dylan fly over to perform his concerts in the 60's in UK and teach John Lennon how to write introspective pop songs, so there's always that 😊)
I should probably disclose my context. Im a Kiwi. From New Zealand. We've always had a cultural affinity with the United Kingdom, England. Our direct anscendant homeland years and generations ago. (The Australians do as well). They sailed here and found this paradise down under. But the way we view comedy entertainment has remained as intact and as real as ever. Like we are close family laughing at the same things.
We all love Black Adder and Rowan Atkinson as if we were Brits, just like the show creators themselves. (Ben Elton and Rowan Atkinson in that case)
Even tho we're thousands of miles away at the bottom of the globe...
What happened to allow such a slight but palpable veneer of fear and non-comedic dread descend on the playback from the reactors when the movie screen drama: UK The Office - from Gervais & Merchant, utters an inappropriate term on the ears of the young reactors...
...really just from the authors, in the service of glorious social satire comedy?
Political correctness has more or less routed US comedy on network TV (except for Dave Chappelle of course, good on him)
I don't want to ramble too much on this phone here.
Hey guys, love your reactions, will tune in again...
The “darkies instead of coloured” was the punchline because “coloured” had already been established as a pejorative term in UK back then. Gareth was trying to show how cultured he was but just showed he’s ignorant.
It’s a bit weird to me how they use “people of colour” in America now. Feels regressive.
Coloured people used to be acceptable in the US but no longer. When this was made, “coloureds” was out of favour in the UK, but I am not sure if “coloured people” had also become unacceptable by the .
Read your top comments lads, will explain a lot
Nevertheless appreciate the reaction
Jennifer is a beauty! ❤
I really hated the Swindon lot after this episode (except for Oliver, he's cool). Especially those two women who ratted on him for what? A joke that wasn't even racist. And why wouldn't they complain to him instead of his higher ups? "Because I dIdn't like the jokes you were telling" How is that an answer?
I'm glad that girl in the Wheelchair got her comeuppance in the next episode.
We don’t even know if she really needs that wheelchair. There should be a test or something
Man that joke about the black man's ###### Just imagine the cancellations and protests today
You know Chubby Brown still tours yeah? And the Macc Lads are still around? Eastbound & Down wasn't on that long ago...
Yeah, it's not like Dave Chapelle and Bill Burr are 2 of the biggest comedians in the world or anything. People who famously say whatever they want
@@ryanyates4124 Yup Louis CK is still selling out tours despite being outed as a tug-happy flasher
Sure, I meant more BBC and TV sitcoms not so much top comedians that don't need to answer to anyone and will sell out either way.
@@tommym5023 Ricky Gervais is calling a fat kid a chubby little c@nt on Afterlife, most popular sitcom on tv?
You think you have seen cringe? You ain’t seen nothing yet
Guys these are filmed on Patreon years/months/weeks in advance of them appearing on UA-cam, not sure why you're expecting them to respond to comments made on a video uploaded last week.
7 more episodes
The cringey fall of David Brent