Why Won’t You Watch The Office?

I’ve been sittin at my computer for the last 20 minutes trying to think of what I could write to capture how I feel about NBC’s The Office. I happen to think it is the best comedy on TV right now. We all know that I watch a lot of TV, but The Office is the only show that makes me laugh out loud. I mean…really laugh. I came into work and tried to tell a co-worker how freakin funny last night’s episode was, but the problem is, The Office isn’t a show that’s easy to recap. There aren’t blatant jokes and punchlines. Try telling someone who doesn’t watch the show how freakin’ hysterical it was when Pam and Jim were doing the “Jets” dance behind Michael last night…the hilarity of Dwight realizing his desk had been moved into the bathroom…or the uncomfortable, but hysterical way Michael kept calling the Interns cellphone pretending to be Michael Jackson calling from Wonderland, er, Neverland. The Office just doesn’t translate well. But here I am with a huge grin on my face just thinking about it. I love this show. But why aren’t more people watching it?

The Office is a different kind of show. I think that TV audiences are used to laugh tracks and in your face comedy. For years we have been hit over the head with shows like Friends, Will & Grace & Everybody Loves Raymond. I’m not here trying to take anything away from those shows – some of the greatest comedies of our time, but they all followed a certain formula. They were sitcoms – situational comedies. For those of you who watch The Office – don’t you find it hard to characterize The Office as a sitcom? It just doesn’t seem to fit. I think this is the same problem that Arrested Development has been facing since its inception. These are shows that are hard to label and therefore hard to market. I think the networks don’t know what to do with these type of shows so they just hope and pray that an audience will find them. But why hasn’t a larger audience found The Office? It’s got a great lead-in with My Name is Earl. And we ALL know how much promotion and support NBC has given that show. Why are people tuning into Earl and leaving The Office?

I have to wonder if people just can’t relate to the situations presented in the show. My dad, a teacher for the past 35 years, never really “got” Office Space. The monotony of an office setting is something he just couldn’t relate to. Those of us who have to suffer in an office environment day after day after day know that sometimes the only way to get through the day is to make your own fun. To find the humor and absurdity in our jobs. This is what The Office is all about. It’s a window into the tragedy that is the office setting. Not everyone has a boss as ridiculous as Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, or someone as over the top as Dwight Schrute…but many of us work with someone like them. Haven’t you ever encountered a Dwight? Someone who deems himself so important to the workplace that nothing can be done without him? Someone who like to hold what little power he has over his co-workers? Isn’t this the same guy that everyone secretly laughs at? Yeah, I thought so. And Michael – the boss that is so concerned with being friends with his employees, that his responsibilities as the boss are often put aside. He wants to be the cool guy…the likeable boss. But he really just comes off as desperate and in turn garners no respect from him employees. I’ve had (have) bosses like that. And as a chick, you know I love to watch the office flirtation of Pam & Jim. It’s like a choreographed dance watching those two try to balance their office friendship with their obvious mutual crushes. Jim & Pam know they are surrounded by idiots and rely on eachother to make their pitiful jobs bearable.

So I’m rambling a bit here (but it’s my blog so I can), but my point is this – if you haven’t seen The Office just give it a shot. Just watch it for a few weeks and see if you don’t come to love it. If you’ve given it a fair shot and find that it’s not for you, let me know why.

If you’re already a fan, then you know what I’m talking about. Make sure you check out Dwight Schrute’s blog on TVGuide.com.