A Statement About The Office, and Why It Is Amazing

It occurs to me that in the time I have been writing this sad excuse for a blog, I have not mentioned The Office, one of my favorite but seldom-mentioned shows.

'Why is it seldom-mentioned?' you ask? Well, to begin with, it is not an under-watched show, which you all know I am much happier to talk about. The Office has a healthily obsessed audience with more than healthy ratings, and, quite frankly, the support of every critic in the country. It doesn't need me to tell you how good it is, or to tell you to watch it on DVD.

However, this does not diminish its awesome-ness. I had the misfortune to miss the first and second seasons on TV (the first due to an ignorant refusal to watch what was sure to be a 'bad remake,' and the second due to the fact that I was abroad). Thusly, I watch them a season behind on DVD. Thusly, I am only now wrapping up the stellar and hilarious Season 3.

The truest mark of its quality, in my mind, is the appreciation that most Brits have for it, a sure sign that the American adaptors are doing something right. The British Office ran for 2 very short seasons and ended with a Christmas Special, but the fact that the American writers are in the middle of their fourth, much longer, season (with still amazing reviews) shows that they have successfully taken the formula and made it their own.

How? Further development of secondary characters, more delving into the personal lives of the characters (without losing the office itself as the focal point) and, of course, Steve Carell. Steve Carell owes the beginning of his career to the Daily Show (http://www.thedailyshow.com/ search 'Even Stevphen. Yes, spelled like that), and his ascent into the upper echelons of comedy to The Office. As long as he remembers that and sticks around, I don't see how they can go wrong.


PS- There's also the improv-actors as secondary characters thing, and letting the actors run the show thing, but that's another story for another time.