#67 The Office

The BBC is on the cutting edge of contemporary comedy. Occasionally BBC America finds time between episodes of So Graham Norton and Changing Rooms to actually air these amazing shows. The Office is a mockumentary (cringe) that follows the dreary workday lives of employees in a paper distribution office. Their boss, David Brent (played by Ricky Gervais), is a self-righteous jackass who likes people to think that he sees himself as smart, funny and indispensable. Brent's desperate actions betray that deep down he knows he's none of the above. At first glance, The Office seems to cover similar ground as Mike Judge's Office Space. In making Brent the show's protagonist, The Office takes a subtle, darker, and more cynical look at wasted lives than Office Space ever dared. Wait. Did I mention that the show is hilarious?