The Office running thread

If they make Gabe or anyone else in the office the "Scranton Stranger," I have watched my last episode of "The Office."

 

Right after that, as he handed over the mic, I think he said something like "It's good to get this thing off my chest," and, with no sound, you can see his lips mouth a final "that's what she said."

 

I thought the first two episodes with Will Ferrell were funny. This last one, not so much. The whole thing fell flat to me. Even Michael's goodbyes to his employees, which could have been pretty funny, just didn't have any zing. And this potential subplot with the Strangler is just another reason why this show has declined steadily over the past couple of years. Too many absurd situations that have nothing to do with the office. At some point, show runs out of ways to entertain. The whole thing probably should have ended with Michael walking away.

 

Interesting. Thinking back, there are quite a few hints that they're going that direction. The Gabe character always seemed an odd addition, wasn't quite sure what his purpose was. But never gave the SS thing a moments' thought until you pointed it out here. Good call if it proves it true.

And "Dunderpedia"? Had no idea there was such a thing.

 

You guys are actually pulling for this plot twist?

What is this? "LOST"?

 

It's more speculation than spoiler, but be warned just in case:


Greg Daniels has mentioned there was a small clue into a future storyline in the last episode. EW.com throwing out a few theories about an unexpected twist, including Phylis, who gave up a child in high school, being the biological mother of Erin, who grew up in foster homes without knowing her birth parents.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/04/29/the-office-tiny-mystery-goodbye-michael/

Holy hell I hope this isn't the case.

 

I see why it so offends you on the "ridiculously over the top" grounds but, really, hasn't that ship already sailed? The show long since crossed a line it can't fully return from on the "reality based" credibility scale when the cast started randomly breaking out in group show tunes, group dances, "we made a movie" episodes, etc.

And, if they must be over that line, I'd rather they do it going for cynical humor than sentimental schlock. Sort of like when Seinfeld went bonkers over the top by killing Susan with poison envelopes, the thought of Gabe turning out to be the strangler struck me as amusing (and kinda clever, considering the prior hints others have pointed out here), whereas the show tune stuff just brings a cringe. Not sure why, perhaps says something about my own character defects, but that's how it is.

 

I'm trying to wrap my head around the comparison to Susan and the envelopes. Not sure if I'm on board with that or not, but it's an interesting way to think about it.

 

The Scranton Strangler would cheapen the whole thing, but I won't stop watching. I'm all-in till the end, I just hope they don't drag it out. As much time as they have had to plan this exit, I still think it's going to be as bad as "News Radio" that last season after Phil Hartman died.

If you're picking a strangler, though, wouldn't Andy seem just off-kilter enough, with demonstrated anger issues and a whole lot of confusion about his sexuality?

 

I agree with you on the Newsradio comparison, although I don't think the plummet will be that drastic. I could see The Office being a bit better if they shift focus on to other characters, since the ensemble has a lot of interesting people. But it'll probably lose popularity regardless, since Carrell was a draw.

 

But Carrell was the show's prime draw only because the writers wrote it that way, NOT because he was the funniest or most interesting character. I got better laugh mileage out of characters like Creed, Dwight and Kevin.

Which distinguishes it from the NewsRadio example, NOBODY was as funny as Hartman on that show, nor even close. When he went, the laughs did too. Won't necessarily be the case with the Office, in fact I could see the show becoming funnier now that they can focus more on what's funniest, no longer having to expend all these episodes tying up soap opera-ish Michael Scott plotlines.

 

Those guys are funnier per minute because they only show up for a funny line once in awhile. Overuse would make them horribly unfunny. Michael Scott could shoulder the load for repeated episodes and still maintain a level of entertainment that no other character on the show can handle.