I love The Office. It will always be one of my favorite shows…and yes, I mean the American version. I admire Ricky Gervais and I think everyone who worked on the original series did fantastic work. However, the fact remains that the American version took on a life of its own very quickly. I discovered the show early on and passed on it. I later got the season two DVD set on Netflix (you know, back when people actually got physical DVDs sent to them in the mail) and I randomly started watching the episode Booze Cruise. The show quickly won me over and made me realize that you can’t appreciate good writing and episodic storytelling out of sequence. I started to get the distinct feeling that intricate stories were unfolding and that my investment in those stories would be very rewarding. I was a different TV viewer before I watched The Office, looking only for quick laughs and no real substance or emotion. My early teenage years were littered with bad movies and TV shows that provided the surface entertainment I craved. I think that watching Goodfellas for the first time and viewing every episode of season two of The Offfice within 48 hours (much to the annoyance of the person sharing a dorm room with me at the time) were both significant first steps toward my discovery of what I found entertaining and – more importantly – funny.
Steve Carell was consistently amazing over the course of his seven-season run as Michael Scott, and it slightly annoys me how little recognition he seems to be getting for such a great performance. He brought a certain heart to the character that Gervais’ dark incarnation could never quite convey. That’s not a criticism of the darker, more cynical David Brent character on whom Michael Scott is based, but rather an admission on my part that I prefer the mushy stuff. I like the sentimental moments and the tear-jerking pieces of dialogue exchanged by characters like Jim Halpert and Pam Beesley. I ate all of it up during that first magical marathon of season two because of fantastic performances from John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, and so many other members of the always evolving ensemble. I didn’t even grasp what an ensemble cast could mean in terms of how sitcoms function before I watched The Office. Everyone who’s even slightly media obsessed and captivated by great storytelling has a show that opened their eyes to all these things. The Office was mine.
It’s no secret that the show is facing some tough times. It isn’t as relevant as it used to be, and while that’s a natural consequence of being in its eighth season, I think people aren’t responding because it just isn’t working as well since Steve Carell left. I’ll still watch it, and I’ll still root for all the people who create it that I admire. I always think of The Office as being a true trendsetter (at least for American television). When it came along, there was literally nothing like it on any other network. It’s now a frame of reference for anything remotely resembling its structure, editing, writing, and tone. It’s also easy to beat up on it now precisely because of how much it dominated viewers’ minds while at its peak. I think a lot of people have been waiting for the chance to pounce on it, and all those opinions are coming out now because bashing The Office is the norm. I’m on board with much of the criticism and concern regarding the current season, but I don’t like the idea of Steve Carell’s performance being associated with any negative aspects of how the show is perceived. His last episode on the show – Goodbye, Michael – featured some of his best work as Michael Scott, and to say that he overstayed his welcome (which I’ve heard people saying about both Carell and the show) is ridiculous.
I had this idea of Steve Carell winning both the Golden Globe and the Emmy for the seventh season of The Office to emphasize his amazing work, but that’s not how things played out. I guess I just needed to rant about it a little bit. There are certainly much more important things I should be upset about, but as someone who wants to work in the entertainment industry, I guess I just like thinking that talent and hard work are consistently recognized among that particular community. I’m quickly learning that symbols like awards and trophies are not the real deal, though. I think Steve Carell would be happy knowing that he made millions of people laugh and feel for a thoroughly conceived character. Seeing people like him be overlooked by conventional channels of prestige actually makes me more passionate about the things I want to accomplish. You have to do things for yourself and commit without question.
This entire post is obviously going to be really annoying if you don’t like The Office, and that’s completely fine. Comedy is the most subjective thing in the world, and that’s why everyone (according to Craig Ferguson) is a comedic genius. I’m just happy I discovered my own sense of humor when I did. The Office was a part of that, and that’s probably why I attach so much significance to it even though it’s just a TV show. I think that being able to laugh at life is an essential survival skill, and any go-to source of laughter and warmth will always be invaluable to me.
Originally posted on my old blog, Nick vs. the Blog · More from my writing archive