a funny thing happened during the marathon.
actually ... funny happened.
i am now a fan of the American Office.
i've always watched out for Steve Carell, circa Anchorman and last year's solo flight, The 40 Year Old Virgin. with the upcoming Evan Almighty (sequel to Bruce Almighty), Carell's fast becoming the new Ferrell (as in Will). it definitely was a stroke of genius, casting him as the Boss from Hell, Michael Scott. Carell makes the original David Brent character totally his own. and how. i mean, i just wanna kill the guy whenever he comes up with another idiotic idea or a retarded scheme just to save his ass.
close behind my hit list would be Rainn Wilson, a very normal family man in real life, i'm told, but is a totally self-absorbed deluded jackass when playing assistant-to-the-regional-manager Dwight Schrute, a totally self-absorbed deluded jackass.
straight up, those two actors already did their jobs, and did it well, stroking that murderous rage in me. if i could stop laughing first.
if i had a complaint with the original Office, it would be Gervais' (or BBC's) decision to only release 6 episodes a season. is that how its done in the UK? 6?!? that's not gonna fly here, where everything is done supersized and the lucky TV series get recycled in syndication. nope, my marathon consisted of 28 episodes bookending two weekends. the first season was a tentative one, only with 6 (mostly a rehash of the original Office threads), but good audience buzz allowed NBC to risk making a full 22-episode slate, a risk that paid off handsomely at the Emmy derby.
and for good measure. the writers, having the main core of characters already set up for them, expanded the stage and mined a lot of stories that connected well with American audiences. i don't think they watered down the material, as purists might think. for me, if it works, it works.
and boy it does. i couldn't find a weak episode, or at least one that didn't stir something out of me - mostly mirth. a sampler would be Jim's (John Krasinski) constant search for jokes to play on Dwight (like putting all his desk stuff inside the vendo machine), Michael mistaking the turban-wearing IT guy for a terrorist, the Halloween episode with Dwight dressed as a Sith having a testy exchange with Michael's twin head, the tightwad Angela (Angela Kinsey) looking down on all women expressing themselves but secretly knocking boots with Dwight, Michael singelhandedly destroying their warehouse ... and the look on the office temp Ryan's (episode writer BJ Novak) face as he was being berated by Stanley (Leslie Baker), after he thought Ryan was trying to pick up his teenage daughter - it was actually the other way around ... priceless.
there's a slight twinge of regret that i didn't follow the series right out of the gate, but the beauty of today's technology is you can catch up if you spare the time. yeah, your pals will just roll your eyes and think you're so yesterday, but who cares? march to your own drum, which also makes the characters in The Office so rich and normal and crazy.
the soul of good comedy (as opposed to Jackass-level comedy) is still heart. and in The Office, the writers go pulling your heartstrings with the will-they-or-won't-they routine with Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (same situation as the original series' Tim and Dawn characters). Pam has been engaged to warehouse guy Roy for 3 years and would be going for a 4th if he hadn't finally popped the question. the problem is, she's also enamored of Jim, who's just her perfect best friend and logically, her perfect soul mate. the worst thing is, he feels the same way. they're perfect together. but life never is.
it was definitely gracious of the American team to have Gervais himself on hand during the Emmys and thanked him profusely. i thank him too, for allowing this one to be remade for US audiences. next stop, Extras.
of course, just like everyone else, i am on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen to the star-crossed lovers, who endured a whole season of flirting and yearning and unspoken words and hidden feelings and ended with this cliffhanger:
season 3 begins on Sept. 21 ... only less than a month to go!!!
yes, i know i used the title of one of the best comedy movies ever for this post. but hey, its fitting, you Lumbergh.
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