Stromberg

I saw the UK Office first, and it was excellent. Then I saw the US Office, and it was fantastic. Then I eventually saw Stromberg, and Stromberg is as good as the other two. Herbst is so good as Stromberg, that he had me constantly cramping with the laughter/2nd hand embarrassment. The difference between his character, and Brent/Scott is that he's far more of a dick, and Herbst is phenomenal at portraying this. This series doesn't have English subtitles, purely because it's German through and through. To translate it wouldn't make sense half the time, at least in my opinion. Either way, this is one of my very favourite shows of all time, one that rewards many binge sessions. Don't forget to check out the movie, too!

This is a wonderful remake of the British original, which I unfortunately never had a chance to watch -- it certainly is great, too, I love British television, but as little as I normally like German TV, this show is GREAT!! The US version is pretty good, too, by the way -- in case anyone gets a chance to watch it. The protagonist (the Herbst guy) is definitely one of the funniest and most talented comedians Germany has ever had (and contrarily to what people, especially the Brits, will say, there have been quite a few!!) So, people, if you get a chance to watch this ( I suspect it is no longer on German television....haven't been able to watch German TV lately so I don't really know! But there's bound to be re-runs, at least I certainly hope so as this was basically the only thing I was trying to watch on a regular basis. Sorry for going on and on,but the rules for this forum are that comments have to consist of at least 10 lines (don't know why!!)

Stromberg is definitely one of the best and funniest shows on German TV.

I have seen both, the British original and the US remake of The Office. Personally i prefer the US version of these two. Don't get me wrong i usually love British humor (Peep Show, Shameless, IT crowd for example are some of my favored shows) but i think the American series has a better 'flow' and the funnier boss character (Michael Scott is as hilarious as Bernd Stromberg).

The humor in the German Stromberg is also probably closer to the American version of the Office. The character of Bernd Stromberg is like a Michael Scott with a German attitude. Both actors are awesome.

A big plus of Stromberg is that it is not really a remake. It is a series for its own only roughly based on the original concept. It perfectly describes the typical German work environment, spiced up with a lot of satire off course.

I don't know if it's just the special German humor that makes a lot of people think this series is dumb or just a remake of the UK-version. I didn't see the UK version, but I saw the American version which is known as way worse than the UK version. The contents are similar but the humor of Stromber is so much better in my opinion. You have to be a fan of that special "Stromberg humor". If you understand that kind of humor you WILL agree that Christoph Maria Herbst is the best actor for that character. He just makes you laugh with every action he does. I don't think that the 3rd season is gonna be as good as the first two and that Stromberg will loose its humor but you never know... Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch this 3rd season since I'm currently a foreign exchange student in America but I'm definitely gonna buy the DVD. One more thing to Superunknown: It is true that it doesn't look spontaneous and realistic but that is part of this humor. You just have love that humor or that series is the worst thing you've ever seen.

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.