Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #570 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-01-28
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Colour, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 460 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Thank goodness for second seasons. While the first season of The Office USA started dubiously with a pilot that was just a poor copy of the original Ricky Gervais version, it did manage to provide enough good material to stay on the air and hint that better was yet to come. And here it is. The second season of The Office USA finds its own footing and manages to do the near-impossible by not only breaking free of the gravity of that excellent BBC version to stand solidly on its own, but establishing it as one of the best comedies on TV. Season 2 starts out strong with "The Dundies," where Regional Manager, Michael Scott (Steve Carell, The 40 Year Old Virgin) hosts the company's annual office-awards event with his signature less-than-perfect grace. Things seem to only get worse for him this season as he bumbles a potential affair with his boss, Jan (Melora Harding), angers his employees by reading their emails ("Email Surveillance"), cooks his foot ("The Injury"), and accidentally destroys the warehouse with a forklift in "Boys and Girls," one of the season's highlight episodes. Always at his side is the clueless paranoid Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), the Assistant Regional Manager ("Assistant to the Regional Manager," Michael always reminds him in one of the show's running jokes).

One of the reasons for the show's improvement in the second season is increased focus on Dwight's character, who's becoming something of a pop-culture icon right down to having his own bobblehead. He in turn provides so much good material for Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinsky) to play off of, to their own amusement. But of course, Pam and Jim's simmering relationship is the real meat of the show, as their compatibility becomes more obvious, Jim's feelings for her continue to grow, and Pam struggles with the impending marriage to her less-than-caring boyfriend, Roy (David Denman). Things have to come to a head, and they do nicely in the final episode, "Casino Night." As strong as the leading characters are in The Office, it's the excellent peripheral characters that really make the show hilarious, especially dimwitted office-slug Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), long-suffering intern Ryan (B.J. Novak), office-ditz Kelly (Mindy Kaling), and ultra-conservative Angela (Angela Kinsey). --Daniel Vancini

Synopsis
Based on the popular British comedy of the same name, The Office takes place in and around the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Using the same mockumentary style as the original, the series succeeds in capturing the quiet desperation of the poor souls working in this socially stifling environment under the direction of their delusional boss, regional manager Michael Scott. Comic actor Steve Carell beautifully inhabits the role, playing a man so eager to be liked, he completely alienates people with one stupid antic after another. Blindly believing himself beloved by his employees for his laid-back nature, Michael fails to see that--with the exception of nerdy and bizarre Dwight (Rainn Wilson)--he is resented and despised by all. Carell perfectly walks the line between despicable and pathetic, enlisting his audience's sympathies just moments before doing or saying something horribly inappropriate. The second series features several romantic storylines getting into full swing.

Customer Reviews

Cringeworthy, hilarious, heartwarming, somtetimes a little too close to home.
As I'm sure was the case with many people, I was very reluctant to see an americanised version of possibly my favorite TV show "The Office".

I only decided to watch it because I was bored, and nothing else was on. I was sat there, ready to spit fire at the TV, get angry at the farce that i was about to witness, I was looking forward really, to disliking this show. Unfortunately I couldn't. It took a little while to get to grips with the fact that only some of the characters where based upon the original, and it took a little longer to realise that, pilot episode aside, it was completely different from our beloved afformentioned original.

I have been completely drawn into the "will they won't they" storyline involving Jim and Pam, and most of all, I am, to my surprise, equally appauled/amused/bemused by the ongoing shinanigans of the branch manager Michael Scott as I was by that of Mr Brent. And that will be the final reference I make to the original "The Office" because I believe that the show in question, is indeed, a show in its own right.

So, if i was to criticise this show (something I would love to do, but am struggling) it would be that maybe, due to the American intolerence to failure as a subject of successful comedy, Michael Scott is not quite the loser you would expect given some of the action that he takes. He still gets the girl, nails the big contract, gets another girl, something that i find hard to believe. But at the same time, you kind of want the guy to get a break every now and then. It is often apparent, as we get to know Michael more and more, that he is the way he is, because of his lifelong inability to fit in, and his lifetime of trying to, and he plays up to the camera as a kind of defence mechanism, a means of starting afresh as the new star of a documentary, and in doing so, convinces himself, that he is the guy he wants us to believe he is.

This show will draw you into its world, because it is, in effect, a world that you live in. You don't need to work in an office to relate to the characters and their hardships, you will find a Michael, a Jim, a Pam, and even a Dwight in most people you meet.

In conclusion, this show is brilliantly cast, superbly written, well acted, and you will not be able to help but admire the genius that is Steve Carell. Truly excellent stuff.

When it became great
The second season of The Office is a truly great piece of work, with a sustained level of the highest quality throughout. Improving on everything from the first season, the show settles into its own tone and supplies substantial character development of both primary and secondary characters. The satire and the darkness from the British original is all present but with a laugh hit-rate often matching Seinfeld, a great depth of characterization - both of principle and secondary characters, satisfying and varied stories, and heart and humanity to match the darkness, it is truly a joy to watch. The outlandish Dwight Schrute is already becoming an iconic sitcom character; and if The Office maintains the staggering consistency of its second (and third) season it will eventually prove a classic. With its charm, humanity, one-liners, mature handling of romance, and abiding wit, the show works on all levels and the second season is a fine place to start.

Better than the original - most definitely!!
I absolutely love the US version of The Office!! While Season One was a bit of a copy of the UK verson, in Season 2 this US version finds its stride. This is laugh out loud funny (check out the deleted scenes, which are just as funny.) You will not be able to watch just one episode! All I want to know is when is Season 3 coming out in Region 2????