Office: Digital Shorts Collection / [DVD] [Import]
価格: ¥1,796
When is The Office not exactly The Office? This collection is one instance; although the nine shorts included here come from the same source, they didn't air as part of the regular television show and don't feature some of the regulars, including stars Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson. That doesn't mean they're not amusing. Most are, particularly the ones spotlighting Kevin (Brian Baumgartner), the chubby, childishly clueless accountant, whose antics include trying to secure a bank loan for an ice-cream cart despite having no business plan whatsoever ("Kevin's Loan"), or gambling with petty cash "borrowed" from Dunder Mifflin ("The Accountants"); "Blackmail," in which Creed (Creed Bratton) plans to extort money from his coworkers, and "Subtle Sexuality," in which Kelly (Mindy Kaling) and Meredith (Kate Flannery) shoot a hilarious music video in the office, are also appealing. But as several users have pointed out, these shorts have been available at no cost on NBC-TV's website, and most have been included as bonus material in previously issued boxed sets from seasons of The Office proper ("The Accountants" weighs in at nearly 20 minutes long, but the others are about half that length; all are divided into approximately two-minute segments). That also goes for much of the bonus material, which includes an hour-long Q&A with cast members, a lengthy "Inside the Writers' Room" segment with executive producer Greg Daniels and others, and Bratton's audio commentary for "Blackmail." But despite the déjà view, devotees will agree that the price is definitely right. --Sam Graham