The Office

It's pretty hard to believe this show is in its seventh season already. I felt like it was just yesterday I was watching the initial six episode first season. You all know it's adapted from the UK series of the same name and you all know which one is better...or do you? I can't say how I came across the original series so I can't give credit where it's due, but big credit to Classic Video of Kingston for renting them to me (and numerous other shows and movies).

I brought the first two seasons home on DVD and was thoroughly entertained. It was sharp, witty and face-paced. It was awkward and just generally, insane. It's a shame that the show was so short lived, but perhaps good too, as the American version has shown us. The UK version never lost it's stride; it started strong and ended strong too, not to mention that the special wrapped up the whole thing in a convenient story. The Carell-led version could go on indefinitely. This is definitely a problem with shows these days; look at Lost. It started out strong, became popular and meandered about as the end became clouded. Did The Office do the same thing?

Just over the past few days I've been looking for a twenty two minute show filler; sometimes you go back to old shows after you've burned through five seasons of a "new" show (I finished watching both The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother). But The Office was never a show I could rewatch in order; I would go through the listing, pick out one that I remember and put it on. So I popped on a random episode from season two and remembered why we were all so enamored every week. The subtlety and direction they were taking the characters was different from the UK, and it was healthy.

I guess, you could say everything was fresh back then. Jim harassing Dwight was innovative and hysterical. In recent seasons it comes across as cruel and unusual. I felt like I was watching a terrible car wreck unfold during the Christmas themed snowball fight episode from this current season (seven). The playfulness between Jim and Pam is great, and contrasted beautifully between the "secret" relationship with Dwight and Angela. Michael is oblivious but caring, and the rest of the office crew are coming into their own. I would say the only thing that has been consistently fantastic across the show run of the show so far is Creed.

So now we're at a point in the show where Carell is going to leave after the season and the show will go on. Seven seasons is a good run and probably a good point to end, but when there is money involved things will get dragged out as long as possible. Because of this I don't feel that we'll be able to look at in ten years and think of this as a great show as it should be, but merely an ok one. Or perhaps, like me, we'll just re-watch the first three (maybe four?) seasons again and again.