The Office
BBC
This is the funniest show on television, bar none. The bad news for Yanks is that it's only available on colonial cable outpost BBC America, and that's just the first season of this British comedy phenomenon. Still, if you've got access, run, do not walk, and plant yourself in front of this "funny 'cause it's all too painfully true" mockumentary about cubicle-bound paper salesmen. Gervais is co-creator and star and it's his dead-on "smarmy boss," David Brent, that steals the show, often with nothing more than an awkward pause. With two seasons down and a culminating two-hour special on the horizion, the show has achieved cult status in the U.K., causing American networks to ponder how to bastardize the magic stateside. Purists need not worry, though. Unless Hollywood imports Gervais to reprise David Brent, a U.S. Office will likely end up in the circular file.
