Unlike some posters, I never saw the U.S. version. And that was by design. Just as I had refused to watch the U.S. version of "The Office" until I was familiar with Ricky Gervais's original, so, too was it my intention to watch the original QAF first.
All right--it's also true that I never had the Showtime channel. But still.
This is hardly what I would call "tame." Stuart Alan Jones is a ravenous monster, but he does grow on you. Vince is the heart of the show, the regular, relatable bloke. And Nathan, well, he's callow, but raring to go. As far as laying the groundwork and introducing the cast, this debut was wonderful. It is well-paced, witty, smart. But I found it daring, rather shocking and triumphant.
I'd read about QAF about a decade ago, and it's good to finally see what all the hype was bout.