The American Office

So I just noticed that NBC is going to air their “own version”:http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/ of the sublime British dark comedy “The Office”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/. Since I’m hard pressed to think of a way to either improve upon the original or translate it into Americanese, I’m rating this one a Rather Bad Idea.

Two rays of hope: Steve Carrell of _The Daily Show_ heads up the cast, and Ricky Gervais (the star creator of the original) has a writing credit for the pilot, which suggests a certain amount of collaboration and/or consultation.

Shallow imitation or brilliant reimagination? If anyone happens to catch it on Thursday night, let me know . . .