Maybe, but I think it's more that fans of the US show won't necessarily like this one. Your friend possibly went into it thinking it would be similarly light-hearted and "fun" like the US one, and was shocked when it wasn't.

I actually think it's "oink," because Tim asks him to "keep the pig impersonations down to a minimum."

I see what you're saying, but if we're going on the idea that everyone likes Neil more than Brent, it kind of makes sense.

Well, yeah, that all comes down to the fact that Jim and Dwight are both weaker characters than Tim and Gareth. The rivalry is less believable with the weaker characters.

I prefer Sir David of Brent, as Finchy sometimes calls him.

"Training" is great, but I'd actually have to agree with you about the Series 2 finale. That's probably my favorite - it's just so heartbreaking.

I'll agree with that. In fact, that whole scene is one of my favorite scenes of anything ever. It's pretty much perfect.

"Sorry, what's this about?"

Boring, isn't it? Just staying in, watching Peak Practice with your life…

Yeah, she's really fantastic. She really nails the sort of quiet despair of the character, particularly in "Training" when she's fighting with Lee. I also love her performance in the "She said no" episode.

Maybe Todd's taking a week off somewhere in between?

Yeah, Finchy, definitely. Todd Packer's crude and annoying, but yeah, like Craig said, just think about "The Quiz" - there's your answer.

I totally agree with CC Baxter - Lisa's a part of it, sure, but they stopped caring about everyone. Marge pretty much doesn't have stories anymore, Homer's an uncaring jerk, Bart seems pretty close to psychopathic at this point, and well, of course, Lisa.

Yeah - I'm really happy about most of the stuff on this list (I love that Anna Torv is nominated, especially), but I do wish one of the Community girls were nominated - they're both easily better than someone like Jane Krakowski.

He's right
The original version was, in my mind, as close to perfect as a TV show can be, where the American version has gone on for at least two seasons too long.

Yeah, Season 9 was still pretty good, and I do love Joy of Sect. People cite that as the beginning of the downfall. But it's still a good season, and it doesn't have any really bad episodes, it's more just that the things introduced in season 9 (like jerkass Homer) are what led to the eventual downfall. But the season…

Of course this is in no way a complete list, but:

Ann is Leslie's best friend, so it makes sense that she'd be around sometimes, and Ben is now working for Chris in some unspecified way.

Exactly - the great thing is that it does have some awesome one-liners, but I think it's pretty obvious to everyone that the show has a huge amount of emotional depth, too - much more so than the US Office. And so I'm really glad that Todd is doing these - he's really the best reviewer when it comes to in-depth…

The UK Office is one of my favorite shows ever, so I'll definitely be looking forward to that. Good choice!