For years, the Brits have been a source of American TV programming ideas, as long ago as “All in the Family” and “Sanford and Son” and as recently as “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “Trading Spaces.”

Then came the much ballyhooed crossing of the sex romp “Coupling,” and something got lost in the translation. Racy double entendres just sound wittier in a British accent, I guess.

So NBC, the brief home of the Americanized “Coupling,” must have felt some trepidation about green-lighting a new version of the much acclaimed “The Office.”

Fortunately, “The Office,” which debuts at 9:30 p.m. Thursday before moving to its regular 9:30 Tuesday time slot March 29, survived the trip quite well.

That’s thanks to Steve Carell (“The Daily Show”), who inherited the role that won Ricky Gervais a Golden Globe for the BBC version. While his portrayal isn’t quite as layered as Gervais’, he still makes the character his own.

As Michael Scott, regional manager of a Pennsylvania paper supply company, Carell is at the center of a mock documentary about modern American office life. He’s the boss who thinks he’s everyone’s best pal and a real jokester. Instead his underlings see him as a pathetic buffoon and tolerate him because they need the job.

He’s surrounded by those relatively normal in comparison, except his second in command, the tightly wound Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson, “Six Feet Under.”)

“The Office” is an acquired taste, full of awkward, often painful, silences, as those appalled by Scott are often too nonplussed to speak. It’s a rhythm that takes awhile to get used to, but it’s well worth the effort.

Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.