The Office (#11)
This may not be a Dundee Award, but it's the best I can do.
Let’s get the shady stuff out of the way first - this rating is for BOTH the UK and US versions of this show. Is that acceptable? (Checks notes…realizes I made up the rules here….yep! All good!)
Because it would be weird to have two entries in my top-25 that are, in essence, the same show. And moreso, it would be very wrong to ignore the masterclass of the British original series, with Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook and Lucy Davis in the roles that - in order - transitioned to Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer. Of course, they’re not exactly the same characters, and the two shows are materially different not just in tone but in length (UK was 14 episodes, while US was 188…the Brits are happy to kill something in its prime, while we Americans tend to drag a show out until it is lifeless and cold.)
Indeed, it’s that length for the US version of the show that blocks this from getting into my top-10. Because…I didn’t watch the last two seasons after Carrell left. I’ve heard from people I trust that those seasons are very much worth watching, and I believe them - had I watched and not enjoyed them, this ranking would be lower. But the fact that I suddenly lost all interest is something I can’t ignore when it comes to placing it in my stupid list. (It also turns out he didn’t want to leave, but the network just screwed it up. This boggles the mind.)
Where Gervais played David Brent - and has since said that the show wouldn’t get made today because we’re too ‘woke’ - a comment I’ll leave on its own - is more ruthless and mean, but has the same spirit. Brent is convinced he’s a true talent, hilarious and that everyone in the office considers him a friend - while being comically unaware of how he actually comes across.
Stateside, Michael Scott is very much the same character, but perhaps because of the writing, the fact that we spend more time with him or just because it’s Steve Carell, Scott is much more of a sympathetic character. We see him actually being good at his job, we feel for him when his dreams are (consistently) crushed, and we root for him when he finally does find love. Along the way, we laugh AT him for his many, many disastrous attempts at management or to relate to his employees.
Along with Michael, we rekindle the Tim/Dawn romance from the UK with Jim (Krasinski) and Pam (Fischer) and they really did this right. Viewers were completely invested in the Jim and Pam story, and they did manage to not completely ruin the show once they got together and in fact, often leveraged them being a couple to a very funny effect. (The Jim and Pam wedding was probably the biggest cultural moment a sitcom has had since the Seinfeld finale.)
Perhaps my favorite character in the show (and I’m not alone) is Dwight Schrute (Wilson). He’s the Assistant to the General Manager (though he likes to refer to him as being the Assistant General Manager) and he’s both insane, a wee bit terrifying at times, and ultimately loveable for his quirkiness.
But what makes The Office so damn good is that the entire cast is brilliant. Whether it was smaller characters like Ryan (B.J. Novak), Kelly (Mindy Kaling), Toby (Paul Lieberstein), or guys who had somewhat larger roles at times like Andy (Ed Helms), Angela (Angela Kinsey), Darryl (Craig Robinson), Oscar (Oscar Nunez), Meredith (Kate Flannery), Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) or Stanley (Leslie David Baker) … whew! … everyone was so on point.
Just looking through those characters, there are so many episodes or storylines the show was generous enough to give to each actor. Whether it’s Michael Scott’s casual racism in assuming Stanley can play basketball because he’s black, Kelly and Ryan’s absolutely broken romance (coupled with Michael being unaware that he has a crush on Ryan), Dwight and Schrute Farms, Meredith’s drinking problems, Angela being comically tense and uptight, Kevin spilling chili, Darryl being smarter than half the “white collar” employees and intimidating Michael by his mere presence or Oscar gracefully handling being singled out for being gay … those are just some of the moments that immediately come to mind.
Now, if you haven’t seen the show, that list might look… troubling. What’s so funny about racism, alcoholism or sexuality? The show makes it funny, but it DOES often rely on making the viewer laugh by laughing AT many characters, or squirming from the discomfort and awkwardness that such a scene creates. Some people simply do NOT like this kind of humor (I’m married to one of these people) and I get that for sure. And plenty of shows have tried to copy this and just been unfunny and mean. But when it works, WOW does it work.
Michael’s utter hatred for Toby (the Human Resources rep, who through his job simply has to be a pain to Michael who unknowingly violates any number of rules) is low-key one of my favorites. I’ve probably used this line far too often.
So much has been written about The Office that it’s silly to try and match that all here, but it’s a truly brilliant TV show that at its peak is literally as funny as any show that has ever been made. There’s an entire Wiki site for it called Dunderpedia, which is an easy place to get lost if you’re, say, trying to write something about The Office. There are many podcasts about the show, including charmingly, one by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey who are seemingly best friends and just like talking about the show.
The Office is now part of the lexicon, where people refer to characters and moments casually as if they happened in real life. I really should go back and watch those last two seasons with Robert California, and perhaps I will. But for now, The Office is my 11th favorite show of all time.
