“The Office” – American Comedy at Its Finest
Considering how popular “The Office” is I am a bit ashamed
to say I was a bit late to it, having only recently watched through all 9
seasons 5 years after it ended. But I’m glad I finally watched this
fantastically intriguing show. When Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created
the original British sitcom, which ran for just 14 episodes, they never
predicted that the American Adaptation would become so unbelievably successful.
It’s hard to talk about this show as a whole, as it evolves so much throughout
its 188 episodes but I’m going to try and breakdown what makes this show so
iconic and why it left such an impact on me.
The opening season is basically a carbon copy of the UK
version, it doesn’t quite find itself until season 2. The show is shot the
same, the comedy attempts to be British comedy and doesn’t really work. But the
incredible cast, as well as glimpses of the fantastic writing team, hold it
together. Steve Carrel as the manager Michael Scott is his greatest achievement
throughout his career, his character starts as an awful person and someone who
is very hard to like. However, as the show matures the writers find the balance
– creating a loveable idiot who is consistently a bad person but is still
striving to be better. It’s equal parts cringe comedy and character
development, a real strength of the show moving onwards.
It’s impossible to talk about The Office without mentioning
Jim and Pam. Their relationship revolutionised how to write couples in TV. John
Krasinski and Jenna Fischer manage to show such a convincing level of
friendship and commitment throughout all 9 seasons. It is essentially the
backbone of the show, without it the show wouldn’t be anywhere near as
successful. The way their relationship effects and interacts with other
characters is very well constructed, without hitting too many of the
relationship tropes such as cheating, etc. It manages to consistently change, without
getting ridiculous and contrived, due to interactions with other characters,
and the creators knowing when to let them take a back seat.
Caricatures are a danger when writing comedy TV, characters
can easily devolve into one-off jokes and one-dimensional characters (E.g. “The
Simpsons”). But “The Office” teeters on the tightrope of caricatures
constantly, the best example of this is Rainn Wilson as Dwight Shrute. Dwight
is a ridiculous character, he’s absurd, so horrible and insanely weird. Yet the
show finds ways to ground him and avoids pushing the bar to insanity. He has
fantastic relationships that evolve and have a meaning effect on his character,
they often play to ground him. Even the most ridiculous characters like Kelly
(Mindy Kaling), Ryan (B.J Novak) and Creed (Creed Bratton) still change and
develop to stay fresh. It’s the show’s ambitious confidence to approach change
as a positive thing that really keeps it afloat. Now this doesn’t always work,
some storylines and changes really don’t work, but it’s better than getting
stuck in an insane loop of repetitiveness.
The supporting cast, who start as extras but become full-fledged
characters are brilliant. It becomes an ensemble show by season 2, spreading
out recognition and storylines to all the cast. Even my favourite character,
Erin, who is introduced later on in the show as a background character, gets so
much focus in the later seasons even having one of the most poignant moments in
the finale. Characters such as Angela, Stanley, Oscar and Kevin are very
distinct characters, they all have interesting dynamics and some of the
funniest moments in the show. Kevin is the only more minor whose character gets
a bit repetitive and tired, but none of them have one defining feature that the
writers focus on. Good character writing is not turning people into “The Guy”,
that should be obvious, and “The Office” is the best example of finding that
perfect middle between caricature and established personality.
Ed Helms is probably the most controversial character as
Andy, who becomes irritating and in the later seasons he drags the show down,
he’s the anomaly in the show as the only character to fall into evident
caricature yet have so much focus. Which is especially frustrating due to his
introduction being very strong, then his character development being the most
exhausting parts of the later seasons – however, I feel he is redeemed in the
fantastic finale.
The mockumentary is a style of comedy that is inherently
difficult. The idea of maintaining enough naturalism and believability, as well
as how much you want to commit to the style is very difficult for the creators.
They really use the style to their advantage, whether it be that certain scenes
are shot from a distant as they’re private moments, or the use of ‘Talking
heads’ for some hilarious jokes with fantastic editing, the show uses
mockumentary so well. Especially in season 9, which I won’t spoil here. The
style works best with the uncomfortable humour, you have this awareness from
the characters that they are being filmed, the show then uses ‘Talking heads’
to show reactions that are purely hilarious. Never feeling too dependent on
references and punchlines, but instead crazy situations and the idea of a crescendo
of events that get increasingly funny.
I am a massive fan of comedy TV, I have a great passion for
how a show can balance making their audience laugh while making them care about
the characters at the same time. “The Office” is such an achievement to behold.
Yes, it has flaws here and there, but that’s expected for such a long series.
But once you’ve watched through all 9 seasons, and you listen to Andy’s last
line, you watch these characters, see how far they’ve come and you feel that
journey alongside them. It’s a hilarious, emotional and twisting ride, but it
will forever be an iconic show.
Thanks for Reading!