the office dvd 1-6

When "The Office" first appeared on NBC the show used many of the basic plots for the brief first season. In comparison to the British inspiration these shows were good but it's clear that the series hadn't found its own voice yet. That can't be said of the glorious, hilarious second season which actually surpasses its inspiration. Steve Carell can sell things with such sincerity and plays the role of Michael so perfectly straight that his deadpan approach fits the series like a glove.

An excellent transfer from Universal "The Office" looks marvelous in this transfer. The show is shot in HD video so there aren't any analog problems that crop up. Audio sounds terrific as well the box says it's 5.1 but it sounded like a 5.0 mix to me although the surround speakers are used well for ambient sound keep in mind this is a dialogue driven show like most sitcoms.

We have bloopers, parodies of the "The More You Know" commercial spots that NBC periodically runs on topics such as not eating black jellybeans, meteors, using the word smell in everyday conversation, taping sex (and forgetting to erase it). "Steve on Steve" faces himself in interview for both "The Office" and "The 40 Year Old Virgin". It's pretty clever. The "Olympic Promos" are pretty funny as well. We also get on 10 episodes featuring a variety of cast and crew. I only had time to listen to a couple of them and both were amusing at the very least. The two I had time to listen to for this review were "Drug Testing" and "Casino Night" two of my favorites from this season (they also happen to be the last two episodes of the season as well). Unfortunately Steve Carell doesn't appear on either one of these commentary tracks (as producer/writer Greg Daniels jokingly notes on "Casino Night" which Carell wrote, "he's too busy working on his movie career". In fact he doesn't appear on any of the tracks as he was in the midst of shooting a film.

Disc three features "The Faces of Scranton" the short film that Michael made for one episode. It's amusing. Back on disc four we have the webisodes are pretty amusing as well but they lack a play all feature so you have to go back to the special features menu to play them individually. It's odd that this was forgotten but a minor annoyance. There are also two hours of deleted scenes throughout the set. Interestingly a couple of cast members write as well as appear in the series which probably accounts for the fact that it found its own creative and comedic voice surpassing the original British series during its second season. The deleted scenes usually follow each episode and can be played individually.

A dry, hilarious sitcom about the misadventures in the workplace, "The Office" came into its own during its second season departing from the British inspiration. The show managed to find its own voice and tone with the appealing writing of Daniels, Carell and cast member B. J. Novak among others. The extras are terrific and, with the exception of some minor issues such as the deleted scenes not being presented in enhanced 16X9 mode (which means they're letterboxed for those who have widescreen TVs) and the lack of a "play all" feature for the webisodes this is a pretty terrific set. The first season only consisted of six episodes so fans of the show will be in heaven with this set. Every one of the episodes from the "The Dundies" to the faux award show to the episode on "Sexual Harassment" to "Casino Night" there are no misfires during season two. This is a gem of a set well worth picking up for fans of the show. I would suggest renting though for those folks who haven't watched the show to see if the dry humor of the series will appeal to you.




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