Office receptionist Pam bursts into tears when her boss tells her she is being fired. He then enthusiastically yelps "Gotcha!" The sadistic joke gets to the core of the humor in "The Office."
After unsuccessfully launching remakes of the British comedy "Coupling" and "Men Behaving Badly," NBC was quickly derided after announcing its plans to remake "The Office," the Emmy-winning BBC comedy. However, unlike the previous American remakes - both close to terrible - Thursday's pilot of "The Office" shows potential as a successful American comedy.
At first glance, the show seems like a continuation of the movie "Office Space," a cult hit that mocked the boredom of office life. However, whereas that movie focused only on lower-management, "The Office" directs its attention to all levels of management. The series is shot much like "The Real World," with faux confessionals taking the place of the narrator role. The confessionals are the funniest and most revealing points of the show, illustrating the quirks of the characters. Since the setting for the show is in an office, people are often afraid to speak freely. These confessionals provide viewers with the opportunity to hear what each character is really thinking about office life and their boss.
Steve Carrell, of "The Daily Show" and "Anchorman" fame, plays Michael Scott, the boss of the eponymous office. Within the show, he describes himself as "a friend first, a boss second ... and an entertainer third." While one moment we see the inept chief floundering, the viewers are then treated to a confessional moment with him, during which he congratulates himself on being a great boss.
Therein lies the problem in "The Office"; the viewers are never sure what parts of the show to take seriously. In certain instances, such as the confessional, the viewers are presumably being given the characters' opinions. But with such a strange conceptual series design, it is difficult to see how the writers plan to add depth to the characters.
The relationship between Pam (Jenna Fischer) and John (John Krasinski) is cute at best. While viewers see the pair awkwardly making puppy eyes at each other, we also know that Pam has a fianc?©. It will be interesting to see where the show goes; right now it is hard to imagine developing a true connection with any of the characters.
While "The Office" is a biting satire of workplaces everywhere, after a half hour of watching the concept grew a little stale. While many people would write off a show that did not grab their attention within one episode, I'm willing to give "The Office" another chance, if only to see Carrell contort himself into different comedic faces week after week.
Overall, "The Office" does show promise. Whether it will ascend to the title of great NBC comedies such as "Friends" and "Seinfeld" remains to be seen. And although certain aesthetic parts of the show may have to be sacrificed to strengthen viewer-character relationships, it'd be well worth it, if only to see Carrell continue to abuse his office co-workers every week.
