"There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn't that the point?" - Pam Beesley

Back in 2004, it was announced that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's award-winning BBC series The Office was to be remade in the US. Understandably, reaction among UK audiences was not great.

More often than not, American versions of UK shows have been complete and utter pants (Red Dwarf, Men Behaving Badly and Coupling are just some examples). However, some have also proved to be arguably even bigger than the originals (Sanford & Son and All in the Family, for example).

But how the hell were they going to pull off producing an American equivalent of a very British show, with very British humour, a show that embraced the mundanity of working in an office that sells paper? A show that was pretty much perfect as it was, and ended on a brilliant note, and was one of the most critically-acclaimed British shows for years.

Well, believe it or not - NBC managed to pull it off after all. With Gervais and Merchant helping out at the beginning, and with Simpsons and Saturday Night Live writer Greg Daniels at the helm, they managed to create one of the best US comedies of all time, that can proudly sit alongside the original series as a genuinely brilliant piece of TV.

After nine seasons and 200 episodes, The Office came to an end on Thursday (May 16). Digital Spy takes a look back at the series, and why UK audiences should give it a go.

Warning: Contains spoilers from the overall series and finale episode

Truth be told, The Office didn't get off to a great start. It arrived as a midseason replacement in March 2005, with a short run of six episodes. If you watch these first episodes having seen the whole 200, it is almost difficult to watch, as they are so different to what The Office became from season two onwards.

They are mostly rehashes of the original British episodes, that attempt to keep the subtle nature, but it didn't translate too well from Gervais, Martin Freeman and co. The characters are nothing like what they are to become, but these episodes were needed to set up the show, introduce the characters and the setting of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

It is actually quite amazing that it even got recomissioned, and a relief that NBC kept faith in the project, as it easily could have ended right then and there, and we would hold it in the same category as the Inbetweeners and Cold Feet remakes.

Once season two began, it slowly became clear that this version, while keeping several elements from the original, was a much different beast than the sitcom set in Wernham Hogg. The main difference was that it introduced us to the whole office, and not just focusing on the main four or five characters.

With many writers and producers working on the show, they were able to come up with many storylines and possibilities, and of course, many more episodes.

Steve Carell took on the mantle left by Ricky Gervais, playing boss Michael Scott, based on David Brent. However, as is the same with pretty much all of the characters, Michael became a brilliant character in his own right.

Carell was arguably the only relatively well-known castmember, which helped keep the original's feeling of its unknown castmembers portraying believable characters, rather than people we've already seen in many other roles.

Like Brent, Michael is someone who desperately tries to win appreciation from his colleagues, and to be best friends with as many people as possible. However, his desire to be the centre of attention often alienates people rather than embracing them, and he is capable of rather selfish and mean behaviour, despite being a decent person at heart.

He often unintentionally causes offence with his humour, especially the use of his favourite 'That's what she said' line, and feels his musical and screenwriting talents should not be ignored. Despite all this, he is actually a brilliant salesman, which landed him the top job at a young age.

However, this did not mean he was all that great a manager. As Carell's star shone too bright, Michael left in season seven on a high note, as he walked off into the sunset with fiancée Holly (Amy Ryan), in one of many emotional episodes.

Dwight Schrute - played excellently by Rainn Wilson - was based on Gareth (Mackenzie Crook), but became the show's breakout character, and a truly awesome one. The best salesman in the office, Dwight is also one of the strangest, and at times most self-centred.

At the beginning, he is desperate to be taken seriously by Michael and to eventually become manager of the branch, which he does in the penultimate episode of the series.

His rivalry-yet-strange-friendship with Jim (John Krasinski) and odd romance with Angela (Angela Kinsey) were great plot points throughout the entire run, as was his weird upbringing and family back at his beet farm, a subject which almost became a spinoff series. Dwight is also obsessed with weaponry, martial arts, espionage and justice, despite not necessarily being all that professionally skilled with any of them.

Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) arguably provide the heart and soul of the series, and bring back the 'will they-won't they' romance that was so brilliantly acted out by Tim and Dawn (Lucy Davis) in the original.

At the start, the pair were pretty much the same as their counterparts, with Pam a shy but lovely receptionist whose best friend in the office is Jim, a laid back, easy-going guy who only gets by because of Pam's presence.

Pam was engaged to Roy, a beefy guy from the warehouse who didn't show Pam the attention she deserves, and who clearly isn't right for her. Like the original series, one of the main reasons viewers kept tuning in for the first three seasons was to see Jim and Pam's relationship grow with each episode.

It culminated in a truly amazing piece of television when Jim admitted his feelings and kissed her. It felt so real and true to anyone who's ever been involved in that kind of relationship where you have longed for something to happen for so long.

They eventually did get together, and had one of the best TV weddings ever in season six. Despite losing the earlier seasons' passion, their relationship didn't get dull, and they remained a wonderful double act with excellent on-screen chemistry.

Ryan (writer BJ Novak) is an easy-going temp who briefly became a leading employee of the entire company, before epically crashing and burning and becoming a bit of a loose cannon, and having a weird on-off relationship with Kelly (writer Mindy Kaling), the office's gossip queen and classic 'mean girl'.

Accounting is led by Angela, a stuck-up, cat-obsessed, old-fashioned lady who eventually marries Dwight; Oscar (Oscar Nunez), a half-Mexican gay man who is one of the more rational presences in the office; and Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), a rotund and jolly individual, whose main love is food and isn't the brightest tool in the shed.

Sales is completed by Stanley (Leslie David Baker), an older, fiery gentleman who merely just wants to get through the day, and enjoys snacking and sleeping at his desk; and Phyllis (Phyllis Smith), a quiet, friendly and motherly figure of the office who often butts heads with Angela in their rivalry for the party planning committee chief role.

Creed (Creed Bratton) is a somewhat shifty character who seems to have no idea what's going on most of the time, yet has somehow managed to hold on to his job for over nine years.

Meredith (Kate Flannery) is an alcoholic and socially inappropriate livewire, and Toby (played by writer and showrunner Paul Lieberstein) is the lonely, timid, socially shy human resources rep that is utterly hated by Michael, despite being probably the nicest man in the office.

Darryl (Craig Robinson) is a warehouse employee whose good ideas and ambition led him to gain his own office upstairs, and provided some flair and glamour to the office, and some funny moments involving Michael trying to use made-up 'black phrases'.

Andy (Ed Helms) joined the show along with others later in the series, and started off as an angry sycophant and one of the show's most hated characters. However, he eventually grew a soft, caring and pleasant side and replaced Michael as boss for a season and a half, providing a great example of character development.

Erin (Ellie Kemper) also joined as receptionist, a very ditsy but well-meaning and excitable individual, becoming one of the most welcome new additions to the cast.

The Office's cast was so incredibly diverse, but most important of all, you really cared about the characters, which is always a hallmark of great ensemble-led television. Although Michael was the main character for most of the run, you needed every single character to make it work. When one episode was focusing on a main plot, there would often be sub-plots of silliness going on elsewhere.

The US Office would often use elements from the UK version and elevate them to a higher American-style degree. For instance, Tim's pranks on Gareth were heightened to epic proportions on a regular basis with Jim and Dwight. Notable examples include Jim covering all of Dwight's items, including his desk, in wrapping paper, hiring an Asian actor to pretend that Jim has actually been Asian the whole time, relocating Dwight's desk to the men's toilets, and tricking him into believing he was being recruited by the CIA.

Throughout the series, I always considered the documentary crew and talking head interviews as a kind of metaphorical way of hearing characters' thoughts and feelings about situations. However, in the final series, this was blown out of the water when the cameras pulled back to reveal the actual crewmembers themselves, and that the whole nine years was for a new documentary series about to air on PBS.

While it felt rather far-fetched that actual filmmakers were always around without getting in the way, and in situations where they wouldn't have fit (like a moving bus), it provided a reason for the show to come to an end, as the documentary was finally being aired.

It was also a truly shocking moment for Office fans when you saw the camera crew for the first time, like Dorothy meeting the man behind the curtain after all these years. Modern Family can now carry on my metaphor theory in the way they use the similar talking head interviews.

The finale itself was one big goodbye session, and that's usually what a fan wants from a show they've watched and loved for nine seasons. It was similar to the Christmas special of the UK Office, as it was set a year after the 'documentary' had aired, and the crew returned to catch up with how everyone was doing.

It was great to see pretty much every character having a rounded story and satisfying ending, and there was even a wonderful return of Michael. It also had plenty of tearjerking moments, but only happy ones.

There were many great final talking head interviews with each character, mostly about looking back at the time spent in that dull-looking building, realising how great things truly were, which is not a bad life lesson to make the most of here and now.

Andy said it best: "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you've actually left them."

There was almost a Cheers-style 'turning out the lights' ending, but the characters will continue to carry on their lives at the office and elewhere. However, with the documentary crew gone, so are we.

It is always sad when a longrunning TV show comes to an end, especially if you have been watching it from the very beginning, and not doing a marathon viewing via a boxset. Nine years have passed since you started watching, and you can nostalgically be reminded of what you were doing, where you were living and who you were watching with each of the seasons.

It is strange when you start watching that last episode's opening credits, knowing this is the last time you will be experiencing a new episode, and will say goodbye to these characters you have grown to love. You know you are watching a truly great show when it presents you with these kinds of emotions, as soppy as that sounds.

Now that it has come to an end, I urge anyone who hasn't watched a single episode, especially UK readers who have (understandably) dismissed it without giving it a proper go. The series is almost unknown in the UK, apart from those who may watch Comedy Central, as the early seasons only got terrestrial airings on ITV2 several years ago, and that's about it.

It's actually quite baffling as to why the BBC, Sky1 or Channel 4 haven't picked it up. I've always found it a near-impossible task to get people to watch it, usually because they love the UK version so much, but I promise if you stick with it, it will not be a waste of your time, as it deserves to be considered as a brilliant, separate entity to the original. Just get through that first season.

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