(S03E18) I've decided that The Office isn't a sitcom. It's something more than a sitcom. I'm not sure what. I might be crazy (in fact, the gnome that lives in my belly thinks I should be seeing a therapist), but I think The Office is creating a new genre right before our eyes. Is this hyperbole? Well, probably; this is the internet. If you don't use nine hundred exclamation marks, you don't get heard. But as I watch The Office every week, I find myself responding to it much differently than I have any other show that I've ever watched. It's not necessarily the greatest show in history (that's The Simpsons), it's just the differentest show in history (and yes, grammar nazis, I know that's not a word).
Hear me out on this...
Has there ever been a moment in a popular sitcom as disturbing as Roy destroying the mirror? It was completely real and completely scary. Of course, it was softened a bit when Roy's brother joined in over his frustration regarding the jet skis, but they held it just long enough that you got a sick, uncomfortable feeling for Pam (and not in the usual, good sick, uncomfortable way you usually feel while watching The Office).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm sure that some of you might be opposed to having such a striking moment in what should be a 30 minutes of ha-ha sitcom, but I think, more and more, this is what I tune in for when I watch The Office.
This is a funny show (I'm all alone in a Holiday Inn in Elizabethtown, PA and I'm still laughing out loud. Seriously, it's a problem), but the elements of drama and the over-arching storyline is what makes us care more about the characters. I loved Norm from Cheers, but I never rooted for him the way I do for Pam and Jim and Michael and Jan and even Dwight.
Here's an example: during the first two acts when Karen was claiming every guy at the party as a former lover, I went from laughing to being uncomfortable. As someone who married out of his league to a girl whose former boyfriends all have abs and expense accounts, I was particularly empathetic to Jim's situation. The look on his face when Karen was picking lint off the lapel of yet another former boyfriend was, at the same time, laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreaking.
But did anyone else breathe a sigh of relief when she let on that it was a joke? I mean, this isn't even the girl that we're supposed to want Jim to be with and we're still happy when she remains the person we thought she was!
Soap Opera was all over tonight's show. Jan and Michael having a coming out party was a built in disaster (predictably uncomfortable and funny -- Michael choking on his drink and bringing sun-baked potato salad were my stand-outs), but I couldn't help but be happy that Jan didn't go through with the break-up. It was nice to see some actual affection for Michael seep into their conversation. Dwight rising out of the backseat was hilarious and touching. "Guys, don't break-up..."
Even Toby trying to win Pam a prize and having Pam completely misread what he was trying to do worked because of the serialized nature of the show. Compare him to Gunther from Friends whose crush on Rachel was the stuff of silly sitcomery (a word I just coined; feel free to use it with your friends!) We still laugh at Toby, but we feel for him, too.
I guess what I'm saying is that all this emoting has made The Office more than a sitcom for me. I'm not even sure what to call it. It's not a dramedy (because it's only a half-hour long and not self-consciously quirky), and it's more than a sitcom. Any ideas? Or am I completely stupid in saying that it deserves its own category?
Best moments:
- Dwight. Okay, his being on the roof was a little much, but everything else was pitch perfect. "Crisis averted."
- Kevin's response to whether he's set a date. ("It's complicated!")
- "It's a whole new Pammy. Don't call me Pammy."
- As mentioned, Jim's face when he thought Karen was the office slut.
Obligatory creepiness:
Wow was Jan hot tonight or what? Just... wow. This show might be packed with the most "Non-Hollywood" hot girls in the history of network television (Angela, Pam, Jan, Kelly).
What I didn't like:
The opening. I realize it's a throwaway piece, but can we please have a moratorium on botched magic tricks in sitcoms? I mean, it's 2007. How many permutations of the lost key can we see? I think this particular well ran dry in 1966.
(And I'm serious with that question up there... has there ever been a moment on a popular sitcom more disturbing than Roy destroying the mirror? Search your minds and see if you can come up with one!)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-22-2007 @ 10:13PM
James said...
How about the Gordon Jump stint on Diff'rent Strokes?
It took me two seconds to "search my mind" for that one.
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2-22-2007 @ 10:14PM
Bill said...
A few weeks ago the "subtle subtitles" on tvsquad featured a shirtless Jim Belushi on According to Jim. That's pretty disturbing.
I thought it was a really funny episode, but I'm not sure about the Roy flip out. Murderous rage and sitcommery (to borrow one of your made up words) do not fit together very well.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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2-22-2007 @ 10:16PM
Jake said...
I think sitcoms are relics and their decline corresponds with the improvement of writing and acting on television. Most traditional sitcoms from what I remember never really focused on an ongoing story, and the characters changed often to fit the joke of the episode. With the start of the Cosby Show, continuing on through Friends, Frasier, and now Scrubs, The Office, and How I met your Mother, attention to plot and character development become central. This why I think they are different. They are not one trick ponies and actually tell a story through comedy. Unlike say, Two and Half men, which has the same basic plot every episode (Charlie Sheen womanizes someone, tries to fix his brother, or put up with his mother), the Office is telling a story. So I agree that it is isn't a sitcom. It's better.
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2-22-2007 @ 10:24PM
Phish said...
The Simpsons? Really?? hmm ok, maybe the middle few seasons were excellent, but that show is crap now!
Ricky Gervais really created something amazing, and the american version is totally different and just as amazing, but of course, nothing beats the original. Nothing on TV made me squirm or laugh harder than The Office (UK).
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2-22-2007 @ 10:40PM
Karen said...
I think what makes the Office stand out from it's half hour counterparts is its storytelling. Yes it can be schticky (my word --- feel free to use)... ala Micahel's magic trick -- but it's never cliched. That's what makes it interesting and clever.
Oh and I didn't like the Roy moment either. I have a terrible feeling he's going to beat up Jim...
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2-22-2007 @ 10:58PM
mgamark said...
in my opinion, mash had a number of more disturbing moments than roy shattering the mirror. one example would be the death of henry blake.
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2-22-2007 @ 11:06PM
David Woods said...
Jan wanted to have dirty sex with Michael in the bathroom at the party and Michael said he couldn't because there wasn't a place to cuddle. :-)
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2-22-2007 @ 11:56PM
Jenny J said...
I'm *totally* going to start using sitcomery!
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2-23-2007 @ 12:16AM
barrywallace said...
The one that immediately came to mine was Florida hurling the big glass punch bowl to the floor when she finally grasped the idea James Evans was dead on "Good Times."
Another heart-wrencher (for its time) was Fonzie crying over Richie after he'd been in a bad motorcycle wreck.
And yes, many, many M*A*S*H moments - Henry Blake being the most obvious, also when he and BJ were trying to protect the female North Korean POW from being taken away and the MP's pulled their guns on them. Hawkeye said, "You son of a b***h", which to me in the early 80's was pretty powerful.
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2-23-2007 @ 1:25AM
meeno01 said...
Dwight continues to make me laugh, even as he gets more outrageous. In the kids room, on the roof, testing the smoke alarm, testing the banisters, that guy comes straight from a comic book
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2-23-2007 @ 1:18AM
Kyle said...
Roy freaked me out with the stint at the pub. My eyes were wide for a full 5 seconds when that happened.
And yes, The Office is a genre all on its own. I think it should be called...
a reality comedy. The way it's filmed is just so lifelike.
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2-23-2007 @ 1:38AM
summer said...
Yeah, I thought the Roy moment at the end was one of the most realistic things I've seen on tv in a long time. Not over the top, but just right as far as relaying how someone like that is. Wow. I wasn't expecting that little twist of events, but now I'm anticipating the rest of the season like I never thought I would. Way to throw a wrench into the love triangle.
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2-23-2007 @ 1:29AM
djr said...
Mockumentary.
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2-23-2007 @ 11:26PM
David said...
I have to agree with the earlier poster that although this is a good show it is nowhere near as funny as the UK version. I would recommend it to anyone who likes this version and even to those who don't. David Brent was the master of uncomfortable hilarious moments, his impromtu dance scene still cracks me up when I watch it.
As for the shows originality on US television I'd say it has stuff in common with Reno 911.
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2-23-2007 @ 2:50AM
paintist said...
How they portrayed the reluctant romance between Jim and Pam in 1st/2nd seasons was also a detour from most portrayals of sitcom romance. It wasn't like Ross-Rachel crap or the down-right weird dates people had on Seinfeld.
This wasn't exactly "scary" but the first episode back on Newsradio after Phil Hartman (Bill McNeill) died was pretty tragic to watch.
And don't forget when Ratzenberger went ballistic and shot up Cheers....
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2-23-2007 @ 3:34AM
Michael Canfield said...
"- Kevin's response to whether he's set a date. ("It's complicated!")"
Yes, a good line. Also evidence (without needing to see the credits) that J.J. Abrams directed this episode, because it is exactly the same non-answer given to every question ever asked on Lost!
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2-23-2007 @ 8:49AM
Ryan said...
Great points. This show continues to get better every week. I can't wait to see what happens next week given Roy's discontent with Jim.
This week's deleted scene isn't bad either:
http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/
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2-23-2007 @ 9:08AM
Steve said...
What happened to Toby's wedding date? She is much hotter than Pam. Silly Toby
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2-23-2007 @ 9:20AM
Bill said...
Steve: Kevin seemed to think she was a hooker, so I guess you never know. But while she was hotter than Pam... I know I'd rather date Pam.
But I've been rooting for Toby for most of the season. He's the nicest guy on the show (yes, Jim is made out to be the nice guy, but you have to be a little bit of a dick to pull that many pranks, even on someone like Dwight), but other than the hot date to the wedding, nothing good ever happens to him.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com
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2-23-2007 @ 9:54AM
Chip said...
I got the impression that Roy's brother knew nothing about the jet skis, and was on the verge of saying so when they walked into the bar. I figured he was trashing the place more as a bonding with Roy kind of thing.
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