Time in possession: 2 years.Description: 3 DVDs, encompassing the entirety of the British series "The Office". The entire collection has been watched and lent out several times but that has added and not taken away from it's supreme awesomeness.
Cost: $26 for the first season, another $26 for the second, and then $20 for the holiday special, for a grand total of $72. Crazy, really. Nowadays you can get the whole deal for around $35. Oh, capitalism.
Story: When I went to Scotland in 2004 I had the pleasure of flying with British Airways. Why was that a pleasure you ask? Well, for starters, it's an airline that still gives you shit. You got something to eat, free earphones and even a little overnight bag with the basic toiletries. Northwest steals the toiletries that you pack, just to illustrate the amazing chasm in terms of service here. Also, instead of having a shitty one-monitor-every-3 seats in-flight movie, every seat in the plane has its own monitor. Even better, they all have individual controls that allow you to switch between a wide selection of rotating "channels", providing more available entertainment then you have flight as well as allowing you to play a selection of emulated Game Boy Games. Which is kind of lame, really, since, you know, you're playing a Gameboy game in 2004, but the thought is still there.
Anyway, on said flight, I noticed that there was a listing for "The Office Christmas Special", the finale of the hit British show that I had been hearing about. I decided on a whim to check it out, see if I liked the style. After a few minutes of getting used to the faux-documentary style jumping in mid-episode, I was blown away. The Office, even without understanding half of the back story that went into the episode, is amazing. The dry British wit, the hilariously uncomfortable moments and the touching love story: All fantastically pulled off. I was hooked... and I had just watched the last episode!
When I returned home, I discovered that I had a bit more cash left over from the trip then I had been planning on. You know what that means... Spending spree! And the first thing I picked up was the recently released The Office DVD. I watched the whole first season (only six episodes! Tragedy!) in one go. At my next available opportunity, I got the second season. And then the Christmas special came out, which I got and re watched. I've forced so many of my friends to watch this show, it's kind of mental. But totally, totally, worth it.
I've been watching the U.S. version of The Office- It's actually quite good, and it's now a can't miss show for me. I've also heard that there is a French Canadian version called "Le Job", which I wouldn't mind checking out. But the original version is without a doubt in my mind the best start to finish series to ever grace TV. So good, so funny, and so rewarding in its finale that while you still wanted more time with all your TV land friends - Jim, Dawn, Keith, and even that smarmy David Brent- There was a satisfying ending that left you feeling like they would get along just fine.
Did I mention the whole set is dirt cheap now? Buy it already!
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