Am I the only one who thought that the commercial crefted by the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton team, for all its homemade amateurishness, was better than the on the pros made? (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Watch the "Local Ad" episode of The Office, streaming in full below.) I thought it did a better job of telling the Dunder-Mifflin story, a better job revealing that, behind the outrageous behavior, confessional asides, devilish pranks, and cringeworthy social faux pas, was a group of ordinary men and women just trying to earn a living. That sense of heart, along with the wince-while-you-laugh tone, is what landed NBC’s Britcom remake at No. 61 on our list of the Top 100 TV Series of the last 25 years in the current EW 1000 issue.
This is the ninth installment in EW.com’s selection of 10 great episodes of programs on our top 100 list. We’re streaming an episode from a different show every day, or you can watch the entire slate in one sitting at Hulu. The first half of the list is here; Part 2 is here.
“crefted”? i think you mean ‘crafted’.
It should have landed way higher than 61, it should have traded places with the British Office. Yes, the Brit version was amazing, but the American has had to keep up the quality for an extra three years. And does. The American Office, I think, might be the greatest sitcom of all time…
This is one of my favorite episdoes. The pride they all felt when watching THEIR commercial was touching. And yes, it was waaaay better than the one the pros did.
I didn’t envy the poor soul who had to select the episode – its such a fun show. I wonder if my sister and I are the only ones who refer to Chili’s as “Second Drink”…
I agree with Owen; give credit to the Brit version for creating the concept, but I think the US version is way superior. Mostly because it seems like a more fully realized show (granted, it has to be to hold up to multiple full seasons vs. 12 UK episodes). The biggest point of contrast is the boss; while Michael is unsufferable, he also has an endearing side that doesn’t make him a complete buffoon – you can laugh at him while empathizing with him – something missing from the UK version.
And to Gary, the whole point of the episode is to show that the lovable losers could produce a superior commercial to the sterile Corp hacks.