<P> Many products featured are not part of product placement agreements, but rather inserted by writers as products the characters would use to create realism under the guise of a documentary . Chili's restaurants were used for filming in "The Dundies" and "The Client", as the writers believed they were realistic choices for a company party and business lunch . Though not an explicit product placement, the producers of the show had to allow Chili's to have final approval of the script before filming, causing a scene of "The Dundies" to be hastily rewritten when the chain objected to the original version . Apple Inc. received over four minutes of publicity for the iPod when it was used as a much - desired gift in "Christmas Party", though the company did not pay for the placement . The travel website TripAdvisor.com was featured during Season 4 when after a visit to Dwight's "agritourism" bed and breakfast, Schrute Farms, Jim and Pam post an online review about their stay . The show reportedly approached the travel review website about using their name on the show and TripAdvisor set up a review page for the fictional B&B which itself received hundreds of reviews . The appearance of Second Life in the episode "Local Ad" was rated eighth in the top ten most effective product placements of 2007 . </P> <P> Before the show aired, Ricky Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers . The first season of The Office was met with a mixed response from critics with some of them comparing it to the short - lived NBC series Coupling which was also based on a British version . The New York Daily News called it "so diluted there's little left but muddy water," and USA Today called it a "passable imitation of a miles - better BBC original ." A Guardian Unlimited review panned its lack of originality, stating, "(Steve Carell) just seems to be trying too hard...Maybe in later episodes when it deviates from Gervais and Merchant's script, he'll come into his own . But right now he's a pale imitation ." Tom Shales of the Washington Post said it was "not the mishmash that (Americanized version of Coupling) turned out to be, but again the quality of the original show causes the remake to look dim, like when the copying machine is just about to give out ." </P> <P> The second season was better received . James Poniewozik of Time remarked, "Producer Greg Daniels created not a copy but an interpretation that sends up distinctly American work conventions...with a tone that's more satiric and less mordant...The new boss is different from the old boss, and that's fine by me ." He named it the second best TV show of 2006 after Battlestar Galactica . Entertainment Weekly writer Mark Harris echoed these sentiments a week later, stating, "Thanks to the fearless Steve Carell, an ever - stronger supporting cast, and scripts that spew American corporate absurdist vernacular with perfect pitch, this undervalued remake does the near impossible--it honors Ricky Gervais' original and works on its own terms ." The A.V. Club reviewer Nathan Rabin expressed its views on the show's progression: "After a rocky start, The Office improved immeasurably, instantly becoming one of TV's funniest, sharpest shows . The casting of Steve Carell in the Gervais role proved to be a masterstroke . The American Office is that rarest of anomalies: a remake of a classic show that both does right by its source and carves out its own strong identity ." </P> <P> The series has been included on several top TV series lists . The show placed #61 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list . Time's James Poniewozik named it the second best TV series of 2006, and the sixth best returning series of 2007, out of ten TV series . He also included it on his "The 100 Best TV Shows of All - TIME" list . The show was also named the best show of 2006 by BuddyTV . while Paste named it the sixth best sitcom of 2010 . In 2013, the Writers Guild of America placed it at #66 on their list of 101 Best Written TV Series . </P>

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