I have enjoyed any number of British comedies over the years (Monty Python, for example, is among the first to come to mind), but some material that was very successful there has just left me cold.

I could never stand "Ab/Fab," (although my wife really liked it), for example, and I was never able to warm up to Ricky Gervase, either in the original The Office or in any other context. Just a matter of personal taste, of which national-cultural implications are just a part.

Now, I have come to really enjoy the US The Office. I understand that, in both versions, the boss is meant to be humorously obnoxious, someone the audience will "love to hate," but I've learned to appreciate Steve Carell's idiodic character (after a while!) whereas I simply can't stand his British counterpart.

As for Kath and Kim, I've been watching it only because it appears on NBC in between two favorites ~ the Thursday evening comedy lineup is really the only time all week when we watch network TV rather than TCM old movies, PBS/Discovery/NatlGeo, and/or sports. The characters are stupid and one-dimensional, but I have to admit, somewhat shamefacedly, that they've begun to grow on me. They actually made me laugh out loud last night ~ go figure.

Of course, I never saw the Aussie original. Perhaps if I had, the US version would suffer so badly by comparison that I would be less able to take it on its own terms.