Turnover at “The Office”
Michael: I want you think to think long and hard about this.
Dwight: That’s what she said.
Michael: Don’t you dare…
Episode thoughts, and necessary spoilers after the break…
One of my favorite things about The Office (and the biggest difference between its British original) is that we actually get to see the employees of Dunder Mifflin work. Sure, there a lot of goofing off, and a lot of Michael Scott inner-office-HR-shinanagins, but sales are being made. Better still, we see that Michael Scott is a rock solid salesman who can close a deal (”get them to sign on the line that is dotted!”).
Seeing the bulk of the cast in their natural working environment (and seeing how their personalities affect the way they sell paper) added untold layers to these all ready well formed characters. Jim and Dwight especially, whose selling technique was the most coordinated, and whose history together is antagonistic and yet needy. The characters can only be at their best when the other is present.
That’s enough for a great episode as far as I’m concerned, but the fact that those twenty minutes also focused on Andy’s power-play to unseat Dwight as the “assistant to” — ultimately leading to Dwight’s resignation from the company — is brilliantly measured storytelling. Likewise, Andy has emerged as the first legitimate “bad guy” for the series.
Now, do I expect Dwight to leave the show? Of course not. In fact, I expect him working at Dunder Mifflin again by 9pm next Thursday. Still, I love that The Office creators aren’t afraid to break away from the formula.
It seems like every time I watch an episode of the show I start debating about whether its the “best episode they’ve done,” but after this week I’m finally starting to realize that The Office has performed the arduous task of making a television comedy about the whole, not the parts.
A quick note about last night’s 30 Rock: This series generally makes me laugh several times out loud while watching any given episode. Last night was no different. That being said, the foreign version of the the Tracy Jordan Meat Machine infomercial couldn’t have been more of a lift from the Arrested Development Cornballer episode had they cast Jeffrey Tambor. Grease burns? C’mon!!
January 12th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
This is the funniest show on television….no joke….
January 14th, 2007 at 12:34 am
I think I have an addiction. Like, if I don’t watch enough of the office each week, rather via downloaded rerun or new ep or downloaded deleted scenes from nbc.com, I get a headache.
I’d say I need help for my Office addiction, but I consider it quite healthy.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
At first I was fine with the character of Andy, he was a trifle annoying, but he was remarkably like a person I went to school with. I think this week he was harder to stomach than Michael Scott, and I’m sure that’s the way it was meant to be, but he might’ve been even harder to handle than David Brent. I know there are all those people who love the British Version (I myself like the show [not love, and the American one is far more entertaining to me], but love the Christmas special), but watching David Brent every week was a chore for me, and sometimes I had a hard time hitting play for the next episode. The point is that you could see Michael Scott’s annoyance with Andy (ANDY!!), and if it’s enough to make Michael Scott annoyed, then it’s enough to make me want to see him get his comeuppance. wait…. i totally forgot where I was going with this. oh well.