It’s hard to be objective about NBC’s The Office (Tuesdays, 9:30 p.m. EST) if you’ve seen its British predecessor. It’s especially hard to make a judgment about the series from the first episode, because even though later episodes will go their own direction, this is essentially the same episode as the BBC version.

So sure, some of it was funny because the jokes are still funny. Thankfully, the show’s producers decided not to include a laugh track, which it was rumored they were going to do. This would have made the show DOA. (Laugh tracks are, for the record, the dumbest invention ever. If something’s funny, I’ll laugh; if it’s not, I’m not going to be faux-peer-pressured into laughing, so give it up.)

If you’re not familiar with the show, it revolves around, duh, an office — in a paper plant. The pivotal figure is the boss who considers himself “a friend first, a boss second … an entertainer third.” Add in an overzealous assistant (to the) regional manager and a subtle romance between a secretary and a self-aware guy who’s bored to death with his job, and you get a lot of comic possibilities.

If you’ve never seen the British version, you should probably check the NBC show out. (But at some point in your life, you should rent or buy the British version on DVD, too.) And if you have seen the British show, well, the optimist in me says you should see where this one goes, too. But the only chance it has is if you try to judge it on its own merits. Because comparing it to the British version — with its hilariously painful moments and the brilliant performances from Ricky Gervais and company — can never be favorable for the American counterpart.

With this one, we may just have to wait and see …