Office musings
I may not be at my actual office, as it's Sunday and all, but that won't stop me from sharing some thoughts on what I consider to be one of the finest sitcoms ever to be shown on American television.
I got into the series thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, who had told me it was an excellent show. I had bought her the season 1 dvd set and we watched those episodes together. The very first one was modeled after the British Office series opener, and as such I found it far more unsettling than what was to come. You see, the British series is much more mean-spirited than its American counterpart, the way I view it, and while it can make me laugh as well, it doesn't make me feel good to be watching it. British boss David Brent is pretty much a despicable human being, while American boss Michael Scott is deeply misguided, living in a fantasy world all his own, but nonetheless a pretty decent man who realises when he has made a mistake and tries to make up for it, no matter how clumsily.
Which is why the American show is so great: despite the incredibly awkward situations Michael creates--and some of them, like Diversity Day, are painful to watch, in an "I-can't-look-away" kind of way--there is something pleasantly kind-hearted about the show as a whole. Most of the characters are quirky at the least, downright bizarre at their worst (such as Creed, he really is a weirdo), sometimes hilariously annoying, and always entertaining. Even better, despite how easy it'd be to degenerate into cartoony portrayals, they all feel incredibly real, their actions as well as their interactions.
The best evidence of that can be found in the various office relationships that have been budding in the past 28 episodes. Pam and Jim were front and center, of course, the Ross-and-Rachel of this show (only much, much better). While they are the heart of it all, it's the ancillary relationships that really ground the series as a whole: the strange attraction between Michael and his own boss-on-the-rebound Jan; the near-obsessive feelings Kelly has for office temp Ryan (who not only has to deal with her but with Michael man-crushing on him as well); and best of all, the secret romance between Dwight and Angela, the office's two most uptight employees whose affection for one another is shown in deliciously subtle ways (Pam having figured it out and helping them keep their secret is the cherry on top).
Pam and Jim form much of the main thrust of the show, since we obviously root for him to get the girl, even if she is already committed to someone else for too long a time now. It's rather mind-boggling how Pam ever ended up with her current fiancé, considering he doesn't seem to care about her feelings, dreams and wishes in the slightest, while Jim would bend over backwards to make her happy. I'll admit that the tension would be higher if Roy wasn't such a jerk towards her, because it'd be even worse if Jim was in love with someone who's already got a good catch, but this does make it much easier to be on his side, hoping he'll eventually win her heart. Of course, if he does, that might take a lot of wind out of the dramatic sails, so I don't know if we're actually going there in the third season (I'm assuming there'll be a third season anyway!)
Another fun aspect, apart from the various romantic threads, is the long-standing enmity between Jim and Dwight. In last week's penultimate episode, the unending string of office pranks that Jim pulls on Dwight is punctuated somewhat disquietingly by his insight that it's really all his life amounts to so far: prank after prank to get him through boring day after boring day (the other half spent mooning for Pam). No wonder he's thinking about a transfer to see if he can make it elsewhere. Even if Jim thinks the pranks aren't as funny anymore as they once seemed (and it doesn't stop him from fooling Dwight into thinking he's a telekinetic, with some help from Pam, in the next ep), I still do, since the writers really go out of their way to come up with creative ways to pester someone at work. And in all fairness, Dwight sort of has it coming to him, with his attitude, although I'm sure Jim's way of dealing with him isn't improving matters any.
Over in the British version, Tim (Jim's "other self") is really even more pathetic, which dampens the mood. Jim remains this great, nice guy who'll try to keep things cheerful even if everybody else makes it really hard to do that, he's just stuck in a bit of a going-nowhere job and a non-existent relationship. Tim's experiences are similar, yet brought to life in a more unsettling way, robbing the humour of its vivacity. I easily prefer Jim, whose good-natured behavior makes him very easy to relate to (quite the plus, being the co-star of the show, along with Michael).
Michael, then, forms the main impetus behind many of the series' storylines. He's bigoted (albeit in a naive way), self-absorbed as well as self-aggrandizing, astonishingly boorish, and petulant when he doesn't get his way. In short, one of the worst people to put in a position of command (yet people like him get to be the boss the world over, go figure). He may well be a very little, small-minded man, but he does have a heart of gold, as shown when he has to deal with various co-workers' children on Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work Day or when he is about to get Jan in trouble through his self-deluded ideas of being in a relationship with her and then admirably covers for her. It's all very funny, endearing, yet also serves as high drama. What more can one want from a comedy?
Apart from the main four characters (Michael, Jim, Pam and Dwight as the eternal foil to them all), the Office is littered with a variety of side characters, both in the actual office and in the warehouse, all of whom add immeasurably to the feel of the show, ranging from the totally subdued Toby (from Human Resources) to the extremely irritating (in a cute way) Kelly. Tensions can run high, and the co-workers are in no shape or form the kind of family Michael imagines/wishes them to be, but they are a dysfunctional family of sorts, and one we can, again, relate to. as outlandish as the plots sometimes get, it's still all very down-to-earth, which only strengthens the comedy (and the recurring pathos).
With superb writing and acting, not to mention a perfect editing hook (the show is an actual documentary, so they can do a lot of uproarious cut-scenes and "spy" on people, intensifying the personal touches), the Office is a can't-miss show that I look forward to each and every time we are delighted with a new installment. I don't quite know what the future plans are for the series, but I hope it is fated to run for a while still, as I don't think they're running out of steam yet. Chalk this one up as yet another show I started watching thanks to the best girlfriend in the world and which I now wouldn't miss for anything other than for her, of course (she really knows what I like, it appears :))
I got into the series thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, who had told me it was an excellent show. I had bought her the season 1 dvd set and we watched those episodes together. The very first one was modeled after the British Office series opener, and as such I found it far more unsettling than what was to come. You see, the British series is much more mean-spirited than its American counterpart, the way I view it, and while it can make me laugh as well, it doesn't make me feel good to be watching it. British boss David Brent is pretty much a despicable human being, while American boss Michael Scott is deeply misguided, living in a fantasy world all his own, but nonetheless a pretty decent man who realises when he has made a mistake and tries to make up for it, no matter how clumsily.
Which is why the American show is so great: despite the incredibly awkward situations Michael creates--and some of them, like Diversity Day, are painful to watch, in an "I-can't-look-away" kind of way--there is something pleasantly kind-hearted about the show as a whole. Most of the characters are quirky at the least, downright bizarre at their worst (such as Creed, he really is a weirdo), sometimes hilariously annoying, and always entertaining. Even better, despite how easy it'd be to degenerate into cartoony portrayals, they all feel incredibly real, their actions as well as their interactions.
The best evidence of that can be found in the various office relationships that have been budding in the past 28 episodes. Pam and Jim were front and center, of course, the Ross-and-Rachel of this show (only much, much better). While they are the heart of it all, it's the ancillary relationships that really ground the series as a whole: the strange attraction between Michael and his own boss-on-the-rebound Jan; the near-obsessive feelings Kelly has for office temp Ryan (who not only has to deal with her but with Michael man-crushing on him as well); and best of all, the secret romance between Dwight and Angela, the office's two most uptight employees whose affection for one another is shown in deliciously subtle ways (Pam having figured it out and helping them keep their secret is the cherry on top).
Pam and Jim form much of the main thrust of the show, since we obviously root for him to get the girl, even if she is already committed to someone else for too long a time now. It's rather mind-boggling how Pam ever ended up with her current fiancé, considering he doesn't seem to care about her feelings, dreams and wishes in the slightest, while Jim would bend over backwards to make her happy. I'll admit that the tension would be higher if Roy wasn't such a jerk towards her, because it'd be even worse if Jim was in love with someone who's already got a good catch, but this does make it much easier to be on his side, hoping he'll eventually win her heart. Of course, if he does, that might take a lot of wind out of the dramatic sails, so I don't know if we're actually going there in the third season (I'm assuming there'll be a third season anyway!)
Another fun aspect, apart from the various romantic threads, is the long-standing enmity between Jim and Dwight. In last week's penultimate episode, the unending string of office pranks that Jim pulls on Dwight is punctuated somewhat disquietingly by his insight that it's really all his life amounts to so far: prank after prank to get him through boring day after boring day (the other half spent mooning for Pam). No wonder he's thinking about a transfer to see if he can make it elsewhere. Even if Jim thinks the pranks aren't as funny anymore as they once seemed (and it doesn't stop him from fooling Dwight into thinking he's a telekinetic, with some help from Pam, in the next ep), I still do, since the writers really go out of their way to come up with creative ways to pester someone at work. And in all fairness, Dwight sort of has it coming to him, with his attitude, although I'm sure Jim's way of dealing with him isn't improving matters any.
Over in the British version, Tim (Jim's "other self") is really even more pathetic, which dampens the mood. Jim remains this great, nice guy who'll try to keep things cheerful even if everybody else makes it really hard to do that, he's just stuck in a bit of a going-nowhere job and a non-existent relationship. Tim's experiences are similar, yet brought to life in a more unsettling way, robbing the humour of its vivacity. I easily prefer Jim, whose good-natured behavior makes him very easy to relate to (quite the plus, being the co-star of the show, along with Michael).
Michael, then, forms the main impetus behind many of the series' storylines. He's bigoted (albeit in a naive way), self-absorbed as well as self-aggrandizing, astonishingly boorish, and petulant when he doesn't get his way. In short, one of the worst people to put in a position of command (yet people like him get to be the boss the world over, go figure). He may well be a very little, small-minded man, but he does have a heart of gold, as shown when he has to deal with various co-workers' children on Bring-Your-Kid-To-Work Day or when he is about to get Jan in trouble through his self-deluded ideas of being in a relationship with her and then admirably covers for her. It's all very funny, endearing, yet also serves as high drama. What more can one want from a comedy?
Apart from the main four characters (Michael, Jim, Pam and Dwight as the eternal foil to them all), the Office is littered with a variety of side characters, both in the actual office and in the warehouse, all of whom add immeasurably to the feel of the show, ranging from the totally subdued Toby (from Human Resources) to the extremely irritating (in a cute way) Kelly. Tensions can run high, and the co-workers are in no shape or form the kind of family Michael imagines/wishes them to be, but they are a dysfunctional family of sorts, and one we can, again, relate to. as outlandish as the plots sometimes get, it's still all very down-to-earth, which only strengthens the comedy (and the recurring pathos).
With superb writing and acting, not to mention a perfect editing hook (the show is an actual documentary, so they can do a lot of uproarious cut-scenes and "spy" on people, intensifying the personal touches), the Office is a can't-miss show that I look forward to each and every time we are delighted with a new installment. I don't quite know what the future plans are for the series, but I hope it is fated to run for a while still, as I don't think they're running out of steam yet. Chalk this one up as yet another show I started watching thanks to the best girlfriend in the world and which I now wouldn't miss for anything other than for her, of course (she really knows what I like, it appears :))
posted by Peter at 7:28 PM
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