Before the show aired, Ricky Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers. The first season of "The Office" was met with a mixed response from critics with some of them comparing it to the short-lived NBC series "Coupling", which was also based on a British version. The "New York Daily News" called it "so diluted there's little left but muddy water," and "USA Today" called it a "passable imitation of a miles-better BBC original." A "Guardian Unlimited" review panned its lack of originality, stating that Steve Carell "just seems to be trying too hard... Maybe in later episodes when it deviates from Gervais and Merchant's script, he'll come into his own. But right now he's a pale imitation." Tom Shales of "The Washington Post" said it was "not the mishmash that Americanized version of "Coupling" turned out to be, but again the quality of the original show causes the remake to look dim, like when the copying machine is just about to give out."