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Ricky Gervais knows from experience that a gold statue can make a career in Hollywood. Gervais found fame in his native Britain with the hit comedy series "The Office." The British version of "The Office" won awards in 2004 for best television series, musical or comedy; and best actor in a comedy for Gervais. After becoming the first British actor to win a comedy prize at the American Golden Globes, Gervais signed a deal to transplant the popular sitcom he created to American soil.

NBC manages to capture the wry humor that permeates Gervais' creation. The series is a look at mundane office life as employees try to deal with their boring jobs and their annoying boss.

Gervais' American counterpart maintains the verbal gaffes, sexual innuendo and bad jokes. Steve Carrell, a correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," dons crisp white shirts and tight ties to portray Michael Scott, a branch office manager at Dunder Mifflin paper company, located in Scranton. He has a unique approach to managing his employees, one that is frustrating and often offensive.

"The atmosphere that I've created here is that I am a friend first, a boss second," says Michael. "Probably an entertainer third."

Michael claims to be "a student of comedy," which means that he is always the first to tell a horrible joke and the first to laugh at anything. He's the guy who tries to be ultra cool, but fails miserably. He likes to think that everyone loves him, but doesn't realize people only tolerate him because he signs the paychecks. He claims everyone thinks he is a great boss, but he had to buy his own coffee mug that says "World's Best Boss."

The office maintains some dignity through the efforts of Pam Beesly (Jenna Fisher), a quiet and friendly receptionist. She bears the brunt of Michael's relentless comedy routines and nonsensical orders. The only bright spot in her day is talking with Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), a company salesman who is intelligent with a good sense of humor. He should have left the office a long time ago, but where else could he use useless facts like the exact tonnage of fax paper.

"I'm boring myself just talking about this," says Jim.

Jim keeps busy by annoying Dwight Shrute (Rainn Wilson), who likes to remind everyone that he is the assistant to the regional manager. Dwight takes his job seriously, perhaps a little too seriously. He also moonlights as a volunteer sheriff's deputy on weekends.

Michael faces a stressful challenge when the corporate office announces the office may have to downsize. His first thought is to protect his fragile employees.

"Am I going to tell them?" he asks. "Of course not. As a doctor, you would not tell a patient he has cancer."

"The Office" is filmed as if a television crew is recording daily life for a documentary. It is an interesting technique, allowing the characters to directly address the camera and helping to expose Michael's incompetence and penchant for embarrassing himself. The sitcom reveals the monotony of everyday office life and those awkward silences that seem to last forever.

If "The Office" stays true to its characters and its British heritage, it may become one of the better sitcoms for NBC.

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