A hit television show reaches a certain, crucial point in its lifetime that separates the Seinfelds"" from the ""O.C.s"" - the point which a television program popular with both ratings and critics proves if it has real staying power. A show like ""Seinfeld"" proved so flawless in its execution that it was able to stick around as long as the cast and production crew could stand. Same went for ""Friends,"" resulting in the cast's million-dollar-per-episode last season. ""The O.C."" however, showed amazing promise in its first season but fizzled just as quickly, with a mixed, but overall disappointing last three seasons.
I had a theory that ""The Office"" was destined to be the latter. Sure, ""The Office"" has been imbedded in our culture - enough that ""That's what she said"" and ""Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica"" get chanted with the same enthusiasm that Seinfeld's ""Not that there's anything wrong with that!"" used to a decade earlier, but it seemed to me ""The Office"" was on its last legs. Last season, the season cut in half by the writers' strike, ""The Office"" was beginning to show signs of age and desperation. After mutilating my favorite character, Jan Levinson, by turning her from a smart, savvy business woman who contrasted with Michael hilariously into a desperate, crazy woman, the writers seemed to back themselves into a corner, unsure of what to do with her or Michael. The same went for Jim and Pam. Now that they're together, what's keeping us watching? I found most of the episodes last year to be desperate and disconnected, each trying to find a new twist and then starting over the next week.
To my surprise, not everyone agreed with me. People still seemed to think it was funny, referring to something Dwight said, adding to a long list of moderately funny ""Office quotables."" Nothing makes me want to scream more than hearing people over quote a moment that was half-funny on the show. This lead me to believe that ""The Office"" was running on autopilot, relying on standard, predictable one-liners from Michael and Dwight, and skimping on plotlines, season arcs and characters.
Knowing the season premiere of ""The Office"" would air this past Thursday, and that people might still welcome the dying show, I was prepared to write my article about how the once flawless ""Office"" was now on death's door, and people need to wake up to the fact.
Of course, I was proven totally wrong. ""The Office"" premiere ruled! It seemed like the show found some good plotlines to focus on again. They made a good move last season in finding a new HR person to replace Toby. She's a lady named Holly, and she actually likes Michael. Jim and Pam's relationship will be put under stress with her graphic design internship in New York, and Ryan is back in Scranton, working Pam's old job.
So the news is good. ""The Office"" may yet prevail. But people, I promise ""Bears. Beets. Battlestar Gallactica"" is not funny. Please stop quoting it. It was sort of funny once, when Jim said it while imitating Dwight. Holly thinking Kevin is mentally retarded is funny. Dwight dumping Phyllis in the middle of nowhere to force her to walk back or lose weight is funny. If as an audience we want more from ""The Office"" than the over-repeated one-liners, then maybe the people at NBC will give it to us. And this past Thursday, they did.
To share kudos for ""The Office"" season premiere, e-mail Ali at rothschild@wisc.edu.
