>>One of the reasons I don't watch many TV sitcoms (none at the moment) is the ironclad convention of line, beat, counterline, canned laughter.
>
>I think The Office is very refreshing because it doesn't use that. It relies on the actual content to be funny.

Have you seen the original? The American version is not a bad derivation from what I have heard but the British original is classic. Rent it from Netflix and see if you don't agree.