October 18, 2006

The Office: Stay the Course

By John Miller

In the past couple years, The Office has joined South Park, The Simpsons, Chappelle’s Show, and Curb Your Enthusiasm on my list of can’t-miss comedies. Despite how much I enjoyed The Office’s second season, I was concerned the Pam-Jim romance might eventually dominate and sully the show in the same way the Ross-Rachel saga stymied Friends.

So far, The Office’s writers have played it to perfection. The Pam-Jim story is an important part of the show, but it never stifles the humor.

In its last few seasons, Friends became a glorified soap opera; Ross couldn’t have Rachel, then they got together, then they were “on a break,” then Ross married Emily, then Rachel wanted Ross back, then Joey fell for Rachel, then Ross knocked Rachel up, and on and on it went. Seriously, is this Friends or Days of Our Lives? I haven’t even mentioned Monica and Chandler or Phoebe and Crap Bag.

The Office actually has even more romantic storylines; Pam-Jim, Dwight-Angela, Michael-Jan, Ryan-Kelly, and even Oscar and his “roommate.” The difference is The Office throws in romantic intrigue more subtly and realistically. It also makes romance part of the story instead of it being the story. For most of the show’s first two seasons, a potential Pam-Jim romance was hinted at but never explicitly mentioned. Pam was in an excruciatingly long engagement, and Jim wasn’t pouring his deepest emotions out to anyone who’d listen.

Instead, Jim and Pam carried on like a couple high school kids. They played jokes on Dwight, they marveled at Michael’s ignorance, they gossiped, and they playfully made fun of each other. Each episode, their chemistry became increasingly obvious, though no characters acknowledged it at first.

Also, just about anyone can relate to Jim and Pam’s situation. In Friends, Rachel discovered Ross’ true feelings via a contrived, long-lost home video.

We all know Jim will inevitably return to Scranton, but what happens then? Will Pam finally give in, or will the pair resume their friendly and occasionally awkward interactions? Either way, the show must avoid the soap opera-like pitfalls Friends dove headlong into and stick to its bread and butter: Michael and Dwight acting delightfully bizarre, the other characters playing off them, and character development.

Michael, for instance, initially seems like the worst boss on Earth. He’s oblivious to everyone’s feelings but his own, he’s constantly making insensitive remarks, he’s a serial timewaster, and he’s a control freak with an out-of-control ego.

Yet, Michael isn’t a jerk, he’s just clueless. That distinction is crucial. Michael desperately wants everyone to like him, and at times, we sympathize with Michael’s obvious loneliness. In comedy, the jokes are much funnier if we like the person delivering the punch line.

It’s also important that Michael isn’t completely incompetent. It would be easy (and lazy) to always make Michael the ignorant boob. He is occasionally an effective boss because of his unrelenting persistence, his knack for dealing with pompous windbags like himself, and his ability to bring life to a monotonous office. When Jim tells Michael he transferred because of Pam and that Michael was a great boss, we actually believe Jim despite the number of times he laughed at Michael’s expense.

The New York Post recently said NBC has been somewhat disappointed with The Office’s ratings, but I firmly believe the show will prosper if it stays the course. As long as the characters remain the focal point and Pam and Jim don’t immediately get married and adopt Ugandan quintuplets, The Office has a chance to be one of the defining comedies of its era.