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I saw this pilot a while back, and was extremely disappointed. As many have already said, it's bits and pieces of the UK version's first two episodes (or maybe just the first) spliced together with new actors. However, seeing it tonight, I think it has more potential than I gave it credit for. Coupled with the fact that I read and heard that the first few episodes will be like their UK counterpart, but will branch off into their own storylines and jokes as the show progresses.
I love Carell--and I agree that he seemed like he was forcing it in the pilot--and I think he can steer this into a pretty decent show. I also liked most of the supporting cast, particularly John Krasinski who plays Jim, the US version of Tim Canterbury. However, I wasn't very impressed with Gareth's counterpart, Dwight. Gareth was played perfectly as a character you loved to hate (or at least loved to be irritated with), whereas the role of Dwight is just flat out annoying. Mackenzie Crook had the role of Gareth down perfectly and it's almost unfair to ask anyone to recreate the effect he had with that character, but Rainn Wilson just didn't even come close. I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly that made me dislike the way he played the character, but in my own simple and uneloquent terms, he was just flat out annoying without a side of entertaining, while Gareth was the annoying guy in the office, but you couldn't help but laugh at him and be entertained by what an ass he was and how he was teased and heckled by Tim. On the other hand, Dwight's character just left me annoyed, feeling like I was just watching an irritatingly obnoxious child.
I'm sure I'll tune in next week to see how things progress, and I hope that they can start to do the UK version justice and not take a giant crap on it like Coupling managed to do a year or so ago.
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To be great is to be misunderstood. -Emerson
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