That’s uncomfortable.
Friday I was at work and asked the following of my co-workers during some down time: “Hey, did anyone watch The Office last night?” This, I assume, is a pretty standard workplace questions in most of American. It’s the equivalent of “Did you see that Christian devoured by lions?” from Roman times — just a hey-hi-howyadoin’ conversation stater. One of my co-workers, who we call Bonesaw, replied, “I gave up watching that show.” This, I found to be incredibly interesting. Since the middle of season two, I have yet to meet a person who has seen The Office and does not like it (even if they don’t watch it regularly). But the phrase “giving up” suggests that the show had annoyed the viewer for weeks on end before they couldn’t take it anymore (see: me and The Class, Scrubs, early Heroes). Bonesaw and I, while we aren’t BFF, are certainly friendly and all previous evidence would indicate that The Office is the type of show he would love watching.
I inquired further (after the jump…):
You gave up? Yeah, same with the British version. I got about halfway through the first season and it all just became too much. Oh, you mean because of the squirm factor? Yes.
For the better part of this millenium the pinnacle of contemporary comedy has been based on that which makes the viewer uncomfortable (with the notable exception of Arrested Development — another sign of the series’ timelessness). Starting with Curb Your Enthusiasm and the origianal The Office straight through to Borat and Extras (which starts its fantastic second, and finale, season tonight on HBO at 10pm), our unease has translated almost universally into critical praise. But what about those savvy television viewers who simply can’t stomach it?
What’s interesting is that these scripted programs are often considered high art, whereas reality competitions that bask in idiocy of the American populace (and what that populace will do on television for cash and prizes and former Public Enemy member’s affections) are often dismissed as visual sewage. I tend to find myself siding with the critics (natch). I’m all for putting written characters through whatever tortures their creators see fit to deliver, but when its actual human beings on the line I usually have to turn away. This will prove interesting as I try to live up to my pledge and make of watching this season of American Idol. Part of me wonders if I’ll even be able to get through the opening rounds and their parade of dillusion.
Still, I went to Borat on opening weekend and laughed about as hard as I did in all of 2006*. Perhaps the difference is Baron Cohen never seems to make the real people the punchline… unless they deserve it (of course “deserve” is a subjective judgement made by the viewer).
With as much praise as this particular comedic sub-genre has garnered, it has yet to achieve such heights among the masses. The Office (American) probably gets more viewers than all of its predecessors combined, and yet its ratings can’t seem to beat My Name is Earl, its more straigtforward (if wacky) lead-in.
Tags: The Office (UK)
January 17th, 2007 at 12:19 am
[...] I probably should have kept from posting about “Cringe TV” until after I sampled a bit of American Idol (the most popular show in these here United States!). Even though tonight was the first time I had ever watched an entire episode of the program, I’m familiar with the show’s format. Once you get to the meat of the competition its basically an epic, televised talent show. What’s curious is that the first few weeks are dedicated to the whittling down of thousands upon thousands of entrants (all who just wanna be famous) trying to get down to a more manageable number of people who will eventually be judged on… singing ability?… something. Either way, the early show isn’t the same as the later show. [...]