Jenny P (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} anijen21) wrote,@ 2008-04-22 18:01:00 |
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The Office
So in my boredom, I have recently downloaded and watched a lot of Season 2 of The Office. I'm a pretty rabid Office fan--maybe not like I am with LOST, but I mean, I've seen all the episodes, many more than once. I know Kevin's girlfriend's name was Stacy, before he broke up with her.
Anyway, rewatching Season 2 after seeing Season 3 and a lot of Season 4 is really interesting for a number of reasons. First, and probably most obvious, is Pam and Jim. Before rewatching Season 2, I had been convinced that they were actually doing a good job keeping Pam and Jim interesting. Upon rewatching Season 2, it may be true, but certainly not to the level that they were in Season 2. I feel like I'm being so redundant, I'm sorry. Anyway, the thing about Pam and Jim is that their drama comprises a very small minority of any episode. Michael talking to the camera usually takes up more time than Jam's furtive glances and Freudian banter. But still, those two or three minutes were the reason you watched. I mean, at least for me. Michael fills up time, and sometimes he gets me to laugh, but I mean, they're really who I care about. And I don't know, I feel like so much more was at stake when she was engaged to Roy. I just watched that episode where Jan offers her an internship for Graphic Design and she turns it down because Roy tells her to, and she breaks down on camera...heartbreaking. I hope they go back to that sometime soon now that Jim and Pam are together. THAT would be drama, if she got offered a job in NY or something.
Less obvious, but I think more interesting, is how the less important, or at least less visible characters have been developed. There are three that I think are really obvious, but pretty much anyone in the supporting cast has evolved somewhat, even Dwight to a degree. But Jan, Creed, and Kelly have all been developed a lot more since and within the second season, to varying degrees of success.
First of all, I think they've messed up Jan. I like that Jan was kind of the rational foil to Michael's irrationality, and I guess now that Ryan is in her job he kind of has that role, but I don't know, I liked Ryan when he was Michael's lackey. Anyway, Jan started out as kind of an alpha female, a recent divorcee, carrying an inexplicable crush on Michael. I think this was really good, it made sense, and it was interesting. Now she's just crazy possessive, manipulative, and mean. Less interesting. She was better before. If they have her and Michael get back together, they need to give her something to do. Another job or something.
Secondly, Creed. Creed is my favorite character now. I just love him. But in the second season, he was nothing but the resident "old guy." So I think what they've done with him is really good--a weird, possibly homeless, thieving, amoral (not necessarily immoral), fake-ID-making hippie is a really good character. He always makes me laugh, even in the last episode where the only thing he said was "If Pam gets Michael's old chair, I get hers. Only one to go," I laughed because you can only imagine what the hell he's going to do with it. He's just so out there that I don't even want to try.
Finally, Kelly. If you watch all of Season 2 back to back, you can kind of tell when she starts to emerge. It's around the episode where someone takes a shit on Michael's carpet, so Michael steals Jim's desk and Jim has to go back and sit with Kelly. I think Kelly is a fun character, and a good foil to the middle-aged numbness a lot of the rest of the characters exhibit (Phyllis, Stanley, Kevin, etc.) However, I think they've gone overboard a little bit with her. I think she's part of the problem that a lot of the characters have. I might be totally wrong about this, but part of what makes the Office such a pleasure to watch is that it's at least kind of believable. I mean, all of the characters are more over-the-top than real people, but they all kind of remind you of real-life people that you know. I work with an Angela, a Phyllis, a Pam. And I know some people like Kelly, but when they have her say something like "I don't understand what's wrong with Usher Jennifer Hudson Kapoor," I laugh, but I kind of roll my eyes. For season 2, they did a great job walking the invisible line between reality and cartoon, but the further they went on, the more I feel they dip into the cartoonish. Even Pam and Jim, who are supposed to be our *anchors,* kind of feel unreal lately. But maybe it's just me.
So...yeah, clearly I'm supposed to be doing something else right now. If you disagree with this, tell me, and let's *discuss*. I don't want to do my Video homework.
So in my boredom, I have recently downloaded and watched a lot of Season 2 of The Office. I'm a pretty rabid Office fan--maybe not like I am with LOST, but I mean, I've seen all the episodes, many more than once. I know Kevin's girlfriend's name was Stacy, before he broke up with her.
Anyway, rewatching Season 2 after seeing Season 3 and a lot of Season 4 is really interesting for a number of reasons. First, and probably most obvious, is Pam and Jim. Before rewatching Season 2, I had been convinced that they were actually doing a good job keeping Pam and Jim interesting. Upon rewatching Season 2, it may be true, but certainly not to the level that they were in Season 2. I feel like I'm being so redundant, I'm sorry. Anyway, the thing about Pam and Jim is that their drama comprises a very small minority of any episode. Michael talking to the camera usually takes up more time than Jam's furtive glances and Freudian banter. But still, those two or three minutes were the reason you watched. I mean, at least for me. Michael fills up time, and sometimes he gets me to laugh, but I mean, they're really who I care about. And I don't know, I feel like so much more was at stake when she was engaged to Roy. I just watched that episode where Jan offers her an internship for Graphic Design and she turns it down because Roy tells her to, and she breaks down on camera...heartbreaking. I hope they go back to that sometime soon now that Jim and Pam are together. THAT would be drama, if she got offered a job in NY or something.
Less obvious, but I think more interesting, is how the less important, or at least less visible characters have been developed. There are three that I think are really obvious, but pretty much anyone in the supporting cast has evolved somewhat, even Dwight to a degree. But Jan, Creed, and Kelly have all been developed a lot more since and within the second season, to varying degrees of success.
First of all, I think they've messed up Jan. I like that Jan was kind of the rational foil to Michael's irrationality, and I guess now that Ryan is in her job he kind of has that role, but I don't know, I liked Ryan when he was Michael's lackey. Anyway, Jan started out as kind of an alpha female, a recent divorcee, carrying an inexplicable crush on Michael. I think this was really good, it made sense, and it was interesting. Now she's just crazy possessive, manipulative, and mean. Less interesting. She was better before. If they have her and Michael get back together, they need to give her something to do. Another job or something.
Secondly, Creed. Creed is my favorite character now. I just love him. But in the second season, he was nothing but the resident "old guy." So I think what they've done with him is really good--a weird, possibly homeless, thieving, amoral (not necessarily immoral), fake-ID-making hippie is a really good character. He always makes me laugh, even in the last episode where the only thing he said was "If Pam gets Michael's old chair, I get hers. Only one to go," I laughed because you can only imagine what the hell he's going to do with it. He's just so out there that I don't even want to try.
Finally, Kelly. If you watch all of Season 2 back to back, you can kind of tell when she starts to emerge. It's around the episode where someone takes a shit on Michael's carpet, so Michael steals Jim's desk and Jim has to go back and sit with Kelly. I think Kelly is a fun character, and a good foil to the middle-aged numbness a lot of the rest of the characters exhibit (Phyllis, Stanley, Kevin, etc.) However, I think they've gone overboard a little bit with her. I think she's part of the problem that a lot of the characters have. I might be totally wrong about this, but part of what makes the Office such a pleasure to watch is that it's at least kind of believable. I mean, all of the characters are more over-the-top than real people, but they all kind of remind you of real-life people that you know. I work with an Angela, a Phyllis, a Pam. And I know some people like Kelly, but when they have her say something like "I don't understand what's wrong with Usher Jennifer Hudson Kapoor," I laugh, but I kind of roll my eyes. For season 2, they did a great job walking the invisible line between reality and cartoon, but the further they went on, the more I feel they dip into the cartoonish. Even Pam and Jim, who are supposed to be our *anchors,* kind of feel unreal lately. But maybe it's just me.
So...yeah, clearly I'm supposed to be doing something else right now. If you disagree with this, tell me, and let's *discuss*. I don't want to do my Video homework.
