Reviews

Starts promising but they just drag everything out so much. I think it is so well made and acted that it distracts people from how uneventful and slow it is. It's like a really good 2 season show dragged out across several and the quality and believability goes out the window because of it.

It is a bit interesting, but only really the novelty of seeing people grow up from kids to elderly. The actual content itself is disappointing though. They only get to spend a few minutes on each person, so you don't really get to know them as people. They ask the same few questions in each movie, and they aren't interesting enough questions and not enough depth.

It is also very one dimensional. The series tries to make a point of how bad the British class system is, with the upper class kids forced into their top end jobs but with no appreciation of the simpler things in life. And the working class kids the exact opposite.

Also none of them have interesting lives, or interesting outlooks. Only one of them is interesting which isn't enough, and you also don't get to see enough about any of them. It would have been better to have fewer people and a more in depth look into their lives. One of the more interesting people refused to continue with the show so was only in the first couple of movies.

Overall semi interesting but not good enough. Not deep enough to be useful to a sociologist, not interesting enough to be entertainment. Also it is overall pretty dark and miserable which is a shame because the first episode was so happy, but it quickly takes a dark turn and stays that way until the end.

I'm British so I grew up watching the UK show and still do.

I saw this US version on the internet so I thought I would see it just out of interest. I enjoyed it. It's pretty much a carbon copy to me, so they can't really go wrong. It has decent music, it has the arty camera angles and stuff, it has the interesting cars and some fun things they do with them (like racing a chopper or whatever), it has the studio audience, the races around their own track, and the Stig. It's all there, and it's just as fun as the UK show in my opinion.

I admit that the hosts are a bit lacking, and could definitely use a bit more enthusiasm, but they are not far off. They seem to lack some chemistry between too, but this is season one. Surely that's the kind of thing that might develop as time goes on? Maybe once they hang out a bit more, they will learn to like each other more, maybe develop some nicknames or whatever. I hope so, because in my humble opinion, I think they did a really good job with the conversion. To me it was just like watching the UK version but with a slight US twist. They didn't do anything wrong and they didn't change anything for the worse, so I think it's destined to do well. If they can just enthuse the hosts a bit more (or replace them if worst comes to worst), then they have it nailed.

p.s. I hope it does succeed because it might be able to have a bit more US stuff on it than our British show. I know Europe is amazing for making cars but the US has some brilliant brands too and they also have those big 'no-screwing-around' trucks which you don't see much of here. So a US show that mixes both would be great.

I wrote a scathing review of this last week after Sugar made a terrible mistake. I'm editing it as this week he redeemed himself somewhat by acknowledging his mistake. It was pretty good to watch actually.

I still have reservations about how 'realistic' this show is. I wonder if the job is genuine at the end of the process, or just some thrown together task for the sake of the show. I doubt if the candidates chosen at the start of the process are the best in Britain or more likely just some good ones mixed with some morons who make good TV. I also wonder if the selection process throughout the show is affected more on popularity than actual business ability.

Nevertheless, it's good to watch, and a lot less dumbed down than all the other reality TV shows out there. I am still happy to watch it year after year, although I am disappointed at the mistake the big boss made this year cost a very talented applicant her chance at the final.

Are these reviews randomly rotated? Because I came to this page today to see a comment from a Brit talking about how terrible this show is compared to his precious British version. Well while their opinion is just as valid as mine, it bugged me to see such a one sided opinion, so here is my opinion to hopefully give the other side of the story.

I love this show. It is loosely based on the UK Office, but I just don't see the point in comparing the two. Who do you prefer more, your mother or your father? Your brother or your sister? Daytime or night time? Sleeping or sex? Being punched in the arm, or punched in the leg? At some point, you have to just grow out of this comparing nonsense. It's completely pointless and worthless.

The two shows are so different, and I like to think that I love both equally. The UK Office is an absolute classic. I will always love it and rate it as a very special show. Like a perfectly formed but tiny package. It starts, it sets up the classic "story", it entertains you a LOT along the way, and then it hits you with the absolute classic finale. Perfect. It was very funny, but it was also a very dark humour in my opinion. I could imagine any one of those people committing suicide, and just generally it was dark. For example, Ricky Gervais sitting in the little roadside café... in the context of that particular episode.. wow. That is depressing stuff.

The US Office is not like that at all. It's a much brighter, US comedy. And unlike the UK office which is only about dozen episodes, the US Office is now in it's fifth season, each one being packed with content. So amongst them all, there may be one or two episodes that are just OK rather than great, but there are so many of them, and generally the standard is so very high, that it makes this a really special show. Also, none of the characters are really the same as the UK version. The boss is a kind of semi-translation, and some of the other characters are similar to the British version, but they are different people, individuals, and the story of the entire show is different. So to me at least, the show is completely different...

As for the standard of the show itself, to stop this going on too long, I'll try to summarise this part as best I can. It is the best written comedy on TV, and it is my favourite show of any type. I watch Prison Break, Peep Show, Two and a half men, South Park, Scrubs, etc.. and they are all just something to keep an eye on while I'm cooking my dinner. But for me, The Office (US) is a league above them all, and it's something I really look forward to each week. The writing is top class, and all the actors are great, with an extremely special actor leading the way. Basically, I love this show, even although I'm a Brit, and I would hate to think of anyone being scared off watching it before they gave it a chance.

P.S. Personally, it took me a little while to get hooked. The first season (which is very short) was good, but not great, in my opinion. But the second season was fantastic, and I've been hooked ever since. I don't give a 9 to things unless it's something really special.

This is the official story. I don't think many people realise that that a lot of the stuff written about Kurt and Nirvana was either sensationalised, or just completely made up. This story though is one of the very few true stories. It is based on Michael Azerrad's book, "Come As You Are", which was official and was made with the help of the band, and their friend's and families.

This movie is made WITH the actual discussions of Kurt with Michael. So the entire movie is basically just Kurt talking, and the movie makers then just added pictures to what Kurt was talking about.

Sometimes it's a photograph or a painting, but a lot of the time it is actual footage of the people and places in this story, and it makes it so much easier to visualise what Kurt is talking about, when it presented so well for you like that.

If you have read the book, this is like a watered down version of that, but it is still worth a watch because you are hearing it from Kurt himself, and you are hearing the quotes in their original form. For the book, some of the quotes were taken apart and put in different stages in the story to make it fit together properly. So here it is in it's raw form which is interesting. And there are a few things that didn't make the book.

I really liked the visual aspect though. Some said it should have just been an audio CD, well I completely disagree, (as do other people). The pictures visualise everything for you, so you get the full emotional experience. Your mind doesn't have to wander around, trying to think about what Kurt is saying. The pictures are already here for you, so it gives you time to think about what Kurt is actually saying. It also shows you a lot of things that are in the story. The actual places Kurt lived and hung out etc. Hearing him talking and seeing the footage of this stuff just seemed to fit together perfectly, and it surprises me that some people didn't appreciate that.

Seeing Olympia, Aberdeen, and Montesano etc.. it helps show the story that is being told.

Basically this gets two thumbs up from me. It's a must watch for a Nirvana / Kurt fan, and probably an interesting watch for people who aren't even fans.

My only notes to you would be that it is pretty sad, and also it a VERY thinned out version of what you get from the book, so if you want more, you really should get the book too.

This show is complete rubbish, produced by dummies, hosted by dummies, and watched by dummies. Part of me appreciates the fact they are trying to raise awareness of important issue etc... but they just do it in such a lame way. They view EVERY single stupid issue, as a true/false, yes/no, right/wrong, kind of issue, and 99% of the time, its not! For that reason alone, they always miss the point, they always make themselves look like a bunch of idiots, and they always annoy me.

I don't particularly care because its daytime TV, and daytime TV is aimed at housewives with no brain. But the fact is, these housewives are like the backbone of the UK. If they are bright, they won't watch the show. And if they are a bit thick, then the show should educate them, but it fails at that.

So basically, it fails as entertainment, and it fails as education. So the only people who actually enjoy it, are dummies who think they are watching some cutting edge political news program, when really, they are just a bunch of nose pickers, watching a guy with a fake tan and a stupid face.