I really do love "The Office." After six seasons, the show is still very funny and is still chock full of cringe-worthy moments of embarassment. The problem is, the show hit its creative high last season (agruably) and everything seems to be slowly slowly winding down.
In terms of character arcs, no one but Jim and Pam have been developed. And Jim and Pam are pretty much locked in unless something were to happen to the baby -- a move that would be extremely bad. This is a good thing, of course, but since their very sitcom wedding, the couple hasn't had much to do other than be in love and get ready for baby. They've given up on their bigger, more exciting dreams and integrated themselves into the company they both were so apathetic about in the beginning. There's no place to go with them unless something very drastic were to happen.
As for the rest of the gang . . . the drama level has dropped. All of the previous relationships (Dwight/Angela, Andy/Angela, Michael/Jan, Michael/Carol, Michael/Holly, Kelly/Ryan, Kelly/Daryl) have pretty much concluded and without it, there's this sort of "well, now what?" feel to the show's side characters. I'm not completely excited about an Andy/Erin hook-up.
Don't get me wrong here. The show is still very funny and I think the current subplot involving Dunder-Mifflin facing bankruptcy is what the show needs to continue through the end of this season. But honestly? Let's wrap it up.
My concern is that it'll lose it's luster, much like "Scrubs." Was "Scrubs" still good in its later seasons? Yes, but it lacked the charm and energy of its earlier seasons. I'd rather not see that happen to "The Office" -- I'd rather see it go out like "Seinfeld," and simply bow out before the characters became cliched versions of themselves.
So, let's do that. Let's conclude it.
Let's take through the end of the season. Push out one more season, where we start to bring the characters and the company itself to its end. Give Jim and Pam their baby. Find someone for Michael (Leslie Knope, I swear I ship this) and give Dwight a promotion. And then turn off the lights and lock the door.
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What inspired this? I had a dream I worked at Dunder-Mifflin, which emphasised how much I relate to Jim and Pam. Remember the arc when Pam moved to NYC to go to art school? Some of those scenes were like they transcripts of when Mrs. W lived in North Carolina -- in particular the one where she flunked out.
In addition to that, it also shows how the two of them have had to adapt and do what they must, even if it means not leaving the company. I feel ya.
Friday, November 20, 2009
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1 comment:
Yea, I stopped watching it last spring sometime, sometime before they got married (whenever that was).
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