If you haven’t watched the office already, maybe this post might lead you to a binge fest which could easily take up a fortnight, and that’s if you don’t have a job. Totally worth it, though. I do have a job, but I couldn’t stop myself from staying up and watching one season after another, once I had watched the first episode. And I don’t think even Game of Thrones, with its gripping story-line (considering you don’t really end up binge watching The Office for its story) demands this kind of attention span and can make you want to sit back and watch more of the show; maybe even frequent reruns, once you are done.
“The premise is that a documentary film crew has invaded a branch office of a paper supply company to study routine office life. In the British version, the Wernham Hogg outpost was in a dreary London suburb with the deliciously Dickensian name Slough. The Dunder Mufflin office is in Scranton, Pa., which is perhaps equally funny.” – The NewYork Times
Steve Carell is such a badass in such an adorable way, my insides were laughing every single minute he was on screen. What I really love about the show is the way they have shot it. The camera angles and the close ups of every character when they react to the simplest things are so nuanced, so well-thought of, it really makes you feel like you are the man who is holding the camera. Watching them, listening to them, passively engaging in the ridiculousness.
It’s addictive and the acting takes it a notch higher. I wonder how they got the casting so perfect, especially, Jim and Pam making us feel like we are a fly on the wall in that relationship. Makes you realise how subtle and nuanced acting can actually create an enormous impact.
The first season was just the start with a good introduction and a peek into every character. I think I personally find Dwight the best of them all. When it comes to a character-sketch, it felt like Michael and Dwight got worked on the most, and rightly so. Imagine a show without laugh tracks, background music (aka noise). Seems impossible right?
“These office workers are not the kind of lovable oddballs that populate traditional sitcoms. They are almost uniformly unattractive, wan and dull - the kinds of people who go unnoticed or avoided in airport lounges and block parties. Michael's one toady is the assistant to the regional manner, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson, "Six Feet Under"), who is tetchy, pompous and dim-witted in a very different way from the BBC series's Gareth (Mackenzie Crook) but just as amusing.” –The NewYork Times
The merger of the two branches was interesting and like every other ‘office’ fan, I was hooked till Scott made an exit. That was when I felt the show go downhill. You cannot take out the character because of whom the show became what it did and expect it to run smoothly. Replace Angela and maybe the show would not miss a beat, but replacing Scott is a massive move and not one that would be appreciated by the fans. Including me. It was painful to watch the last seasons. I missed the ‘that’s what she said’ jokes, the deadpan politically incorrect humour that Scott pulled off brilliantly. I missed the frenzy, Scott's eccentric personality and seeing the exchanges between him and Dwight. That was GOLD.
But I guess one can always go back and watch the previous seasons for amusement. Enter once again into the cramped up Dunder Mufflin space. Crush on Jim as he occassionaly glances into the camera, watch Kevin and his miniscule eyes, Kelly before she became Mindy from the ‘The Mindy Project’ and Toby with his dying enthusiasm. Never seen a more seditious, unconventional comedy series and this is one you cannot miss out on!
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