Aimee and I spent some quality time with TiVo this weekend, clearing off a bunch of things I’d asked her to record while she recovered from her stomach bug. I started off with Hatari!, the movie that would never end (but finally did, 2:45 later). We watched three episodes of the second season of “The Office,” now that I’ve finished watching the first season dvds, all of which cemented the idea that the American version will either never make it to the screen or will be a failure/completely different kind of show. There’s an intangible immediacy and attitude about the show that I think is impossible for an American show aiming for a network tv audience to capture. I inadvertently watched the final episode of the show, which got a bit sad and dramatic, but the other episodes were full of enough painful silences and enough Gareth to make it all worthwhile.

We also watched an old “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the first episode I’d seen all the way through, which was interesting for its hand-held, low-budget look and the absence of a laugh track, both of which made it funnier (and more like “The Office,” come to think of it). Aimee had recorded a classic episode of “MacGyver,” as well, so we watched Murdoc try to take out Mac one more time, this time in an abandoned mineshaft. Didn’t work.