“That’s what she said… or HE said”
Tonight I watched both My Name is Earl and The Office. I watched the Earl pilot a year ago and haven’t watched it since. Not surprisingly, America has grown to love it– much more than the blatantly superior The Office. This however, is not a competition [really, Rick?]. Two shows can exist without being compared to each other. Take WKRP in Cinncinatti and Frontline. No comparisons needed. Keep reading after the jump…
ANYWAY. Earl was about as funny/unfunny as I suspected it would be. The real problem with the show is you watch it paying more attention to Jason Lee slipping in and out of his souther accent than you do actually listening to the lines. I’m curious if any given script for Earl would actually be a funnier read than an Office script, but there I go making comparisons again. The Earl/Office combo is satisfying if for no other reason than both series detachment from the formula that made NBC all its money.
As for The Office, they wasted no time in telling us what happened with the Jim/Pam cliffhanger from last spring (which still doesn’t get Bill Carter off the hook for his unintentional (?) mega-spoiler). In fact, I think I’d be willing to say they told us what was up a little too quickly. Of course, dragging it out would have been exactly what will one day ruin this series (see: Ed, Friends).
Season two of the British version saw the mixing of the two Wernam-Hogg branches (every cloud, yeah?). Here, we actually get a relocated Jim, and get a completely separate but equal office. Most of the best moments from this episode actually played off the character quirks from the first two seasons, like when one of the girls in Jim’s office says to the camera, “He’s always looking at the camera like this..” and then does the classic Jim response we’ve grown to love (even if deep down we know that it serves no other purpose but to make all of our lady-friends pine after this fictional character instead of our own awesomenesses).
Though the biggest treat was to finally see Ed Helms in a role that was actually funny. Maybe its that stupid expression he’d always make while on The Daily Show, or his awful standup when I randomly saw him perform at the Marquee two years ago, but the closest Helms has ever come to actual funny was his short cameo in Arrested Development. Here, he’s given a real character to play, and he does it well as a man who is alternatingly Dwight’s opposite and doppleganger.
It should also be noted that Creed is slowly becoming my favorite part of the show.
Perhaps what speaks the most about the episode was the end where an awkward male/male kiss, a comedy ploy that’s been milked since the dawn of time, still came off as laugh-out-loud funny (”I’m going to burn this into your brains!”).
