In regards to The Office (US):

I haven't seen the pilot yet but downloaded the Diversity Day episode on recommendations and really enjoyed it. I thought it managed to catch the same low-key edginess of the British series with the social commentary/parody being a bit more, so-to-speak, American.

"Abraham Lincoln once said that if you're a racist, I will attack you with the North," says Steve Carell at one point during the apex of the episode (an attempt of Carell's Michael Scott to better an earlier-in-the-day diversity training session). When Scott began handing out secret notecards for some racial roleplaying, I laugh/cringed in the same way I did during David Brent's antics from the original.

I dunno. As much as it's just a remix of a British show, it's still sharper and more innovative than any other sitcom on the networks (Arrested Development excepted). While it's less subtle and realist than the UK version, the US series operates with some subtlety and doesn't try to package the script. If fans of the original can get over the fact that it's not the original, they'll probably appreciate at least this second episode.

Hopefully, the series grows and can be successful. Yeah, though, there are two different trends that could develop... the networks more willing to take risks with nonstandard programming or a cartoonish percentage of UK>US remixes. It's unfortunate that the latter is more likely, but at least some good will come of it.