There is a Lost, Office connection. In the first season episode where we follow Charlie and his efforts to go straight by working for his girlfriend's dad at a copier company, she makes a reference to her father going to Slough to look at a paper company.
I haven't seen but bits and pieces of the American series. I've watched all of the British series. It almost always made me squirm rather than laugh. The Christmas special, however, made every second worth it.

How could I be expected to understand sarcasm? You expect me to actually read things?

The mini-series Into the West has a pretty cool portrayal of how this was done.

It is also worth noting that while the American Indians COULD use every part of the buffalo doesn't mean they always did. Dozens of buffalo carcasses were found at kill sites with only their tongues removed.

Scott Westerfeld's book Peeps is about vampires (though the characters avoid the "v" word). It explains vampirism as a form of parasitism and every other chapter is about real parasites, some of which are included in the preceding blog entry.
It also discusses toxoplasmosis (a parasite found in cat feces) and discusses evidence that it has influence the minds of humans.
Keep that litter box clean.