skip to main | skip to sidebar

Thursday 22 September 2011

To Do List: The Office Season 8


(Minor season 8 spoilers)

It's hard to believe, but the Office has made it to an eighth season, and while it still ranks among the top comedies on TV- both ratings and critically wise- it is showing some natural signs of wear and tear. And with the exit of the most central character and star in Steve Carrell's Michael, will the show be able to find a new spark, or will it be the show's shark-jump?

Here are some things it will need to do in order to make this season a successful one: 

1. Give the supporting cast some substantial story lines. 

For what seems like years now, it has been hinted that the supporting cast will be given more of a chance to shine, but for many a week, The Office seemed to continually fall back on the old guard of Jim, Dwight and in particular, Michael. Many expressed their thoughts on the over-emphasis on these characters, and for a while, it only served to make these characters either more cartoonish, or more unlikeable in making them mere caricatures; how often do you remember groaning at Michael acting like a petulant kid (seemingly leaving behind seasons of character development), or watching in horror as Dwight became even more detached from reality- almost to the point of a mental breakdown. The over-focus on Jim as co-manager in the sixth season drove many away from the male component of "Jam" (see no.4) as he became increasingly exasperated with his role (I should note that I wasn't an opponent to this idea, as it showcased a different side to Jim, it just didn't seem to draw that many laughs... and hence it didn't sit well with many fans). Basically, why wring all the life out of the main cast when there is a treasure trove of great characters still waiting to be mined. One of my favourite moments of the past couple of seasons character-wise, is when Michael finds out that Stanley was having an affair (Season 6, Episode 1 - Gossip)- it was not only an unexpected revelation but also fleshed out Stanley's character. Since then, plot lines for the rest of the supporting characters have been few and far between- and when they arise, they are largely insignificant (where has the Angela- gay state senator relationship gone?). But hopefully, there are hints of a mother-daughter revelation between Phyllis and Erin that look promising, as well as hopefully some others...

2. Make Robert California a funny character. 

Yes, it's that simple. Because, as much as guest stars such as Kathy Bates (who played the formed CEO of Dunder Mifflin-Sabre) were good actors, there weren't exactly barrels of laughs to be had when they were in a scene. And you might say the same about Idris Elba's Charles Minor in his brilliant Season 5 arc, but he played it so uniquely straight that it allowed other characters to shine. Also, the newest addition to the cast Cody Horn (who plays Jordan Garfield) was rendered so ineffectual and devoid of personality that it was easy to forget her character even exists - let's hope they find something for her to do. So most importantly, James Spader needs to at least provide some spark in the form of humour- he certainly showed glimpses of it in the finale, so here's hoping it is ramped up to 11.

3. Shake up the Jim/Pam dynamic

I'm sorry, "Jam" fans, but ever since the couple got married, then had their first child, the once wildly popular dynamic between the pair was largely quelled to within an inch of its life. The writers are understandably in a tricky bind; obviously viewers want to see them happy together (any suggestion of a  separation would not only send fans into blind fits of rage, but it is also completely implausible, knowing the characters), but comedy is not often (in fact, hardly ever) built on situations where everything is hunky-dory. Conflict is necessary in any interesting plot-line, but any attempt at driving even a slight wedge between the pair (such as the Season 7 Danny Cordray plot-line in which a former boyfriend of Pam's shows up at The Office) has been aborted by the writers before things got too ugly (Timothy Olyphant's Cordray came and went within the one episode). So, what to do? Just give them interesting plots for them to share, and trust that the writing will be snappy enough to get it over the line? Or perhaps change the dynamic entirely (which I'd hoped would happen a long time ago, with Pam undertaking the Office Administrator role)? Let's just say that for mine, the second baby plot will be a make-or-break moment for the couple...

4. Install either a boss that will shake things up. 

While Michael was a great character, storylines (or at least the A plot) became too predictable: Michael comes in with crazy idea/costume/voice, a meeting is called, everyone says something crazy, Dwight pulls out a knife, Jim and/or Pam say something sane, end episode.  A new boss could make things very interesting indeed.

5. Get back to the "Office" plots

What better way to win back original fans of the show than to bring the show back to its roots. The UK original was a show about human nature in and around the everyday machinations of an office- and for that, it needed to be based around the hum-drum exercises of office life. And for much of the early US version, it revolved around this key concept- and while the show has obviously departed quite notably from the original, it would serve it well to get back to basics. 

That means less plots about the mafia (Season 6), movies with Jack Black and Jessica Alba (Season 5) and dull corporate reshuffling (Season 6) and more about gossip, meetings and costume contests. 

***

In saying all of this, I realise that it may sound like the ramblings of an Office-basher, however, for a show that has lasted seven seasons, to have only five points that I take issue with, is surely nothing major. If it could even address one of them throughout the season, I believe it could extend its life by at least one more season. And it is still fundamentally a great show, why not prove the critics and naysayers wrong by propelling itself once again into the brilliant show category?

0 comments:

Post a Comment