I've tried watching some of the US version and it's not bad by any means. I don't get how people can say it's better than the original - for me, it doesn't come close. The American version has a lot more obvious humour - it's still filmed like a fly-on-the-wall documentary, but the characters seem to be acting as if they're in a sitcom. I think one of the great things about the UK version is how real it is, how subtle the humour can be. Er, and it's funnier.

The real difference is Ricky Gervais. I like Steve Carrel as a comic actor, but he doesn't seem to have the depth that Gervais has.

I agree with Dreddz about The IT Crowd - I watched a few episodes and then stopped. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace on the other hand...