The Office running thread

I went on about this in a TV thread a couple months back, but you said it: Some of the best episodes were in the final three seasons. I mean, episodes that made the show more culturally palpable over time. The problem with The Office (besides Michael Scott's departure) was that they took the Jim-Pam thing as far as possible and then the show's sense of "will they, won't they?" vanished and viewers became bored with it. Or, at least I did.

 

I still chuckle at the show, and enjoy some of it. I will watch it through to the end.

 

Another issue is the poor performance of all other NBC programming, but in particular the Thursday night comedies. For a stretch of three or four years, the Office was (and maybe still is) NBC's Thursday night tentpole. As much as the series is begging to be put out to pasture, NBC isn't going to let its one ratings constant, on a huge TV night, ride off into the sunset when it has nothing else to take its place. In terms of which shows I prefer, The Office might be a distant third on Thursdays because Community and Parks and Rec are fantastic, but their ratings still aren't at a place where either could prop up Thursday night (although at this point, even with 2 million more viewers than Community and P&R, it's a stretch to say The Office is "propping up" anything.) Without anything pushing The Office off the air, as long as enough people are still watching it, it isn't costing too much money and people are still coming to work on it, my guess is they'll keep it going for as long as they can.

I remember around the time Scrubs was coming to an end, it had a great series finale, then got picked up again as basically a spin off without the main character. Bill Lawrence, the showrunner, essentially said he didn't care about the perfect ending. He said the show employed a lot of people and if he could keep it going to ensure those people still had jobs for another year, that was more worth it to him than a great series finale. The business end will almost always win out over the creative side of a show.

I still like The Office enough to watch every Thursday night, and try to enjoy it for what it is. I still get a good laugh from time to time and am not nearly as critical as others on the thread, but watching reruns of season 2 is a stark reminder of how great the show was, and how it's no longer in that class (at least for me).

 

I've spent the last few nights catching up on this season, and I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised. They've really reined themselves in a bit and I think the show is actually stronger, in some ways, than it was at the end of the Michael Scott era. No guns going off in the office. No absurdity played for laughs - which is fine in "Arrested Development," but not in the world created here.

Seems like Ryan is largely self-aware again, just a bit of a douche, just like the early seasons. Dwight is Dwight again. Robert California is a really interesting boss - very serious and straight-man, but also can be a dick to his employees at times (like taking over the jam session).

Very touching scene when Pam was worried about Jim's blood pressure. Nice relationship development within the marriage. Struck a chord with me about growing up and priorities after children.

 

This is how Stanley be LIVIN'!

http://www.avclub.com/articles/stanley-from-the-office-has-a-music-video-and-its,65826/

 

It makes me sad that this is so on point. Andy Greenwald with a pretty somber diagnosis of the creative problems plaguing The Office.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/39214/the-office-can-it-be-fixed

 

It's a well-crafted presentation of Greenwald's view. He works hard to sell his points.

I don't happen to agree with a lot of them.

I still find the storylines entertaining, and think there are still places they can go. I think he's particularly off-base with Spader, whose oddness added another layer to the office tapestry.

 

That's the thing: I don't know whether Spader is mailing it in or if that is how he is portraying his character. It seemed like he didn't even want to be on set the first many episodes, but now seems more comfortable? The show is not the same as it used to be. This line in the Grantland piece sums it up for me:

"Seven years ago, Jim’s defiant smirk was a small spark of hope in the face of inevitable conformity. Now the sight of him still chained to the same overcrowded desk is downright depressing."

 

That wasn't too bloated, was it?

Translation: It's the eighth season. They're out of ideas, but the show continues because it still makes money.

No surprise.

 

I've been down on the show this season as well, though the trivia episode last night was possibly the best of the year, though that's not saying a lot.

 

I actually feel like the Spader character has helped a little bit. Plus, they've definitely toned down Dwight and Ryan. I do miss the golden age Michael Scott. But I also miss being 23 years old. Wish in one hand, ...

 

The series finale to me was when Jim and Pam started dating. What was that? Three or four years ago? I've probably missed some good stuff, but I just lost interest once they became an item.