Everything's come full circle! I'm sure this won't seem forced or contrived at all:

Is "smart alecky" really how you'd describe David Brent? More like a pathetically needy egotist without any sense of social appropriateness.

Here's the interesting part: in the original "Office," David Brent was filmed briefly by a crew, and the show aired, and he attained minor celebrity status from it. Will anyone in the American "Office" have seen that show? If so, don't they realize that they're in the American version of a British show, which means Michael Scott must be their David Brent? If that's the case, wouldn't they reference the British version occasionally, noting the parallels between certain characters? Or do they live in a world where there's no Ricky Gervais? It's mind-messing stuff, I tell you. Too bad it's only a "brief" appearance; I'd like to see him play David Brent for the rest of the season, but it's a little late in his career for that.

Did you know David Brent shot some training films for Microsoft? He did. (Warning: occasional curse word.)