How can I get my mind off my 401(k), the war, and all those $@&*%$ reality shows? Try The Office.
A show about a water cooler? The cubicles may look familiar, but even your office can’t be this bad. Comedian Ricky Gervais plays David Brent, a pot-bellied regional manager at a paper-supply company in suburban London who lords over his staff with an appallingly inappropriate sense of humor. Think 9 to 5 meets Best in Show.
When’s it on? Thursdays at 10:20 p.m. on BBC America; or beg tapes from media execs or British expats who’ve taken to reciting the pub-quiz episode with a fervor previously reserved only for Monty Python. Raves one creative director: “It makes reality TV look fake.”