Loved the expression on the desi chick's face!

Oh, this is nothing. The Dutch and some American guys I work with come straight out and inform me how much they find Indian women attractive with their eyes, smiles and "exotic complexions."

[Go away, I art spoken for, you leg humpers.]

It's the "exotic complexion" bit that really gets me more than anything else, because that speaks to complete cluelessness as opposed to generally boorish.

Maitri - What abt your Dutch and American gal friends? Do they say the same abt Indian Men????

apul, I'm very disappointed that you didn't include the clip of the Indian woman getting payback, by slapping Carell soundly. ;)

so what do y'all think about this new american pilot? not quite the humor of the original british version, but not that bad either. Check out this review on Slate.com

yikes! hilarious.
brimful, seriously, is that what happens?
I almost never watch TV but maybe I'll have to find this.

I love when someone says how exotic you look. I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing.

Hailing from a nation that can trounce many others in the population department, I hate being called "exotic" because I'm not. There are more of me than you! Yes, even here, if you care to look. It's also in the way they say "exotic" as if they're into the freaky. You'd have to be there ...

What abt your Dutch and American gal friends? Do they say the same abt Indian Men????

That would be a resounding No.

Show's missing some of the deadpan-irony, but, it's not bad. Kind of hard, as it's caught between the original Office and Office Space...

The guy in the clip, by the way, once gave me a verbal b*tch-slap for talking to his wife. No kidding.

i don't remember any browns in the original series. kind of weird that browns show up in the american derivative of an british show....

Wait, sd, Rainn Wilson gave you a verbal b*tchslap? Do tell!

Also, Saheli, yep, our sister child gets a good sound thappard in there- all the funnier because she's portrayed as such a quiet, meek type.

Hey, for those who care.. Check out the original British version of The Office to get a feel of the real David Brent. Having seen both, I have to repeat the cliche - the american version doesn't hold a candle to the British one.

razib,
there was a brown guy in the original series - remember when David Brent is showing the new 'temp' around the office... introducing him to everyone.. and then he comes to this guy:
David Brent: "This is Sanjay he does the best Ali G impression"
Sanjay: "No, I dont"
David Brent: "Oh its the other one"
Sanjay: "Other what? ...paki"
David Brent: "ah thats just racist..."

Ahh, ah-hah, huh. Well, Brimful, it's kind of a secret and that's why I only mentioned it on a blogsite...

Years ago, I met Rainn's wife and she and I became friends. At the time, Rainn was in New York and because of the distance, there was "speculation" regarding our "friendship." Thus, when Rainn came to visit, he gave me a b*tchslap for "talking" to his wife.

What was the b*tchslap? The first occurred over dinner at the worst Indian restaurant in my world after I used the word "role" instead of "part" in reference to a bit he had on "All My Children." The second occurred in a farmhouse, late at night in front of many people, where he tried to obtusely embarrass me by literally impersonating actor Andrew McCarthy on the verge of tears. (?)

The third never occurred, as I b*tchslapped him back and that's why he has that funny expression in the clip.

(Just for the record, all I ever did is talk to his wife and he knows that... I am going to get b*tchslapped for repeating this story because someone out there knows this guy...)

kind of weird that browns show up in the american derivative of an british show....

What abt your Dutch and American gal friends? Do they say the same abt Indian Men????

That would be a resounding No.

DAMNNNN!! Don't us brown boys deserve no love?

So the women are EXOTIC and the men are what? Hideous? Is that the verdict?

Maybe this is a good time to do a Jacko and go all Caucasian. But the Indian accent would still be around? Damn and I thought I had this all figured out!

Anil,

Thank you for reminding me of that scene, truly hilarious. :) Then I started thinking about "Freelove on the Free Love Freeway" and almost fell out of my chair.

Did you ever find out on which holiday Holiday was born?

And that's as far as I'm getting involved in the sd-RW showdown.

The original The Office is much better and that's because Ricky Gervais defined David Brent with no room for mimicry. Besides, as someone already remarked, can we Americans hope to do better than Office Space? Steve Carrell isn't too beyond-Daily-Show convincing in his role.

Best line from the original:

Gareth Keenan: Condoms come in all different flavours nowadays. There's strawberry and curry and that. Do you like curry?

Yeah the new one has a tough act to follow, but it's got promise. It might be on my Tivo wishlist once it stops having to bite jokes from the original.

they might not say we're exotic but plenty of non indian women find indian men attractive, don't worry

Is it just me or does anyone else think this show has a hard-sell because of "Curb Your Enthusiasm?"

(Born on the Fourth of July)(?)

sd, thanks for the Rainn Wilson anecdote... I think you have the makings of a sitcom right there!

I don't think this show is a hard sell because of Curb Your Enthusiasm- that would only help it, in my opinion. What's more problematic is that NBC already really messed up a UK sitcom (Coupling) by attempting to translate it to American audiences, and, frankly, NBC doesn't really know what they're doing with programming. Also, critical darlings like Curb are protected on HBO, where they don't have to worry about ratings. And then of course, there's the brilliance of the UK version, which really stacks the deck against it. But Gervais is a producer on the US version, so I hold out hope.

Actually statistically Indian men are actually slightly more likely to marry outside their race than Indian women.
See this for more info.

Brown people don't experience the kind of disparity between the sexes in interracial dating that east Asian and black people experience.

-----------

Next Desi girls aren't really viewed as being exotic unless they have several typically non-desi phenotypes (like dark skin + light eyes).

Exoticness in modern urban/suburban America is about racial ambiguousness, being able to 'pass for' another race.

Mixed people generally have the best chance at being perceived as 'exotic'.

--------
Conclusion, most desi guys/girls aren't considered to have 'exotic' looks. Brown guys and girls are getting roughly the same amount of loving in America.

And if you can't get a date, its not because you are brown. Its because you are you

'nuff said.

"Next Desi girls aren't really viewed as being exotic unless they have several typically non-desi phenotypes (like dark skin + light eyes)."

Last I checked, I saw some pretty dark desis in the South... Anyhow, the new definition of "exotic" is "ambiguity" and the old definition of the "exotic" has something to do with the "unknown"... You're saying that desis are not exotic unless they can "pass" yet this clip says something different in terms of popular understanding... This is not a challenge, just a question--your position on the exotic, can you back it up with an example?

Brimful... My thought was that Curb Your Enthusiasm had somewhat drained interest in flat-as-a-deadpan humor. Or, at least made a comparison between the two shows obvious, thereby allowing someone to say "this show's not only a knock-off of the real 'Office' but it's director also watches too much 'Curb'" and so on...

I agree, NBC doesn't know what to do with its lineup, the Friends-West Wing-vacuum apparently causes everything to suck... I should send them my Rainn Wilson sitcom although, truth is, I deserved a b*tchslap for not acknowledging the dynamics of the situation and I'd like to thank members of the Academy, The Office and Sepia Mutiny for making it possible to get that off of my chest seven years after the fact.

(I didn't know anyone was still listening to Bob Mould, cool)

Conversely, I love how Asians are omnipresent and totally unremarkable in Brit films: Millions, Love Actually, Ella Enchanted...

Manish, I totally adored Love, Actually, and saw it at least twice, but it actually seemed to me that there were no Asians in it at all, which I found pretty surprising. I grew up watching British mysteries on KTEH, which are chock full of Asians, so I would have expected at least one in such a populous movies as Love, Actually. Were there some, and I just didn't see them? I scanned the cast list on IMDB, which seems fairly exhaustive, and didn't catch any desi names.

I scanned the cast list on IMDB, which seems fairly exhaustive, and didn't catch any desi names.

I scanned the cast list on IMDB, which seems fairly exhaustive, and didn't catch any desi names.

I seem to remember a few desi extras prominently placed in the shots, but I could be wrong.

Ella Enchanted had Parminder Nagra. And I seem to recollect at least one scene in Love Actually that had desis. The final scene in the airport when the song starts playing and people are hugging their friends/family as they come out/leave - a couple of them (or maybe more) looked like desis.

The BBC version of The Office is itself just a re-working of the Canadian show The Newsroom, where one of the co-stars was Indo-Canadian Pamela Sinha.

And if you can't get a date, its not because you are brown. Its because you are you

Can't a brown guy make a "funny" every once in a while? Its bad enough that I am not EXOTIC. Maybe I have to crank up the Indian accent to diffuse the tension in here or somebody (mostly me) gonna get a hurt real bad!!

I seem to remember a few desi extras prominently placed in the shots, but I could be wrong.

"Say What!" and MV, you are not wrong. i've seen Love Actually nine times ("on demand" is the only sweeeet thing 'bout Comcast).

there's definitely brown people in the film; thankfully, it's just that they are treated naturally, NOT like some obviously-placed ethnic-tokens. AFAIK, extras aren't going to be on IMDB.

speaking of the airport scene, i thought it was awesomely realistic, b/c desis ARE always at the airport. maybe being a mutineer makes you more sensitive to noticing random little details like this. ;)

...thankfully, it's just that they are treated naturally, NOT like some obviously-placed ethnic-tokens...

Wonder if that is reflective of societal reality - UK desis being more integrated than US desis?

just to repeat what you've already heard several times, the orignal show is of course much funnier than the american version. i was unaware of the canadian show's existence (The Newsroom), but i've only seen The Office on dvd and with the first series there was a real documentary about how they made a short film at first and ended up extending it to creat the show.

And if you can't get a date, its not because you are brown. It's because you are you

Wonder if that is reflective of societal reality - UK desis being more integrated than US desis?

gareth attempting to sing along to free love on the free love highway. nobody else could pull that off.