Based on the extraordinary successful British original 'The Office', the first episodes of 'Stromberg' had a huge legacy to carry. Anyhow, the German adaption is a very good fit to the original. The main strength of the German version lies in its leading actor Christoph Maria Herbst, who plays the head of a department in an insurance, the counterpart of the role British comedian Ricky Gervais plays. Christoph Maria Herbst impersonates perfectly the German lazy, sexist and totally political incorrect office-worker, who is mostly hated but also commiserated by the viewers. I would even say he is a better fit to that role than Ricky Gervais, because he behaves, mimics and looks ( the bold head - perfect ! ) more like the typical office-worker, but maybe thats just my German-office-worker influenced view. The whole episodes are just like the original made up like a documentation, which means unsteady zooms and shots, less cuts and camera-angles and people who feel embarrassed to be filmed, which all together gives it the realistic appeal. I have seen only a few episodes of the British original, so I do not want to say 'Stromberg' is better, but if the original is better, 'Stromberg' is very close behind it. Everyone around Germany should look forward for the second season of 'Stromberg', coming in fall 2005, and I hope it will be more successful than the first, this show definitely deserves it.
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