The American version of "The Office" - what's your view?

There is no doubt in my mind that the BBC comedy, The Office is one of the great television comedies ever made. From conversations I have had with many people, opinions on the show appear to fall into either a love, or hate basket. Interestingly, the reasons for loving it or hating it appear to be the same .. David Brent, the main character who embodies all that is sad and pathetic in an office manager, is excrutiating to watch. Love or hate its comedy, no one can doubt the show is very insightful, cleverly written and beautifully produced.

So the question is: why then do the Americans feel a need to remake this classic ? In my opinion, this reflects much of what is saddest about main stream American culture. How is it that a show that has already received so much accolade, needs to be remade in an American context, in order to have it accepted by an American audience? Sure, the BBC version has a lot of British references, and uses some slang that may require a moments thought, and yes, sometimes Finchy's accent can be a little hard to understand, but really, doesn't it just seem a little bit pathetic (and that is not to say I am at all surprised, as I am well aware this is not the first time).

.. but is the American version any good ?

Thankfully, reviews of the American version sound promising, and apparently the show does not follow the same events as the original (despite last night's version looking very much like a cheap imitation). It is also good to know that the American production team includes Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who co-wrote the original BBC version. Hopefully the yanks haven't stuffed this up, and in particular, have not sacfrificed the all important ingredient of subtlety that so often is missing in American comedy. Or is it that the subtlety in American comedy is usually just too subtle for non-American to notice :)