In the old days it used to be the Japanese who would take a good European product and make a not quite as good copy of it (I’m thinking motorbikes here).

Now it seems to be the Yanks who take ideas (or, to be more precise, films) and “Americanise” them, obviously so that they reflect the culture and sensibilities of their country. I’m thiking “Nikita” (remade as the awful “Assassin”), “The Vanishing” (remade as, er, “The Vanishing” with Keifer Sutherland) and who can forget the terrible, terrible idea of remaking “Red Dwarf” (as, um, Red Dwarf USA - but don’t even get me started on what a bad idea this was!)

So the news that they are remaking “The Office” for the USA is a bit, ah, disturbing. Although the choice for the role of David Brent apparently (coz I have no idea who he is) suggests that it might not be as bad as all that.

Which reminds me - did anyone ever see Office Space?