A mockumentary about a group of typical office workers, whose workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, tedium, and romance.
Certainly by now, nearly everyone on the planet – or at least in the U.S. and Great Britain – has heard of “The Office” and probably even seen at least an episode or two. If not, let me fill you in. The series is set in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of Dunder Mifflin, a paper company targeting small businesses for its product. Steve Carell is the regional manager, Michael Scott, who regularly comes off as an agglomeration of all the bad and crazy bosses that ever existed. Carell is so convincingly inappropriate and goofy in the role of Michael that it’s hard to believe he isn’t like that in real life, similarly to the way many people regard Steve Martin – who also does goofy a lot. But then when Carell turns in serious performances in films such as “Foxcatcher” and “The Big Short,” it’s clear the guy can act.
The first episode of “The Office” pilot begins with an all-too-common situation in which the company faces a downsizing decision. Everybody wonders who will get axed or which branch the company will close. Over the course of the series, the narrative progresses logically as it develops the storyline and charts unexpected territory again and again. Across numerous episodes, virtually every possible workplace-scenario faux pas is addressed or examined.
The many pranks in which the staff and management engage would be ripe for untold numbers of lawsuits for eager attorneys, which include generous helpings of openly racist bigotry. Add in topics like preexisting medical health conditions – covered employee by employee in an embarrassing open forum – and the company would likely have gone belly up due to a plethora of legal judgments. Sort of funny, in a cringeworthy fashion likely to keep viewers squirming in their seats at every turn.
Lots of familiar faces pepper the cast that includes John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Rainn Wilson, and Brian Baumgartner, among many others. “The Office” often feels like “Seinfeld,” a show that creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld admit was pretty much about nothing. Although not quite about nothing, “The Office” has more fun with more trivial situations than it has a right to. As Johnny Carson used to say, “Weird, wild stuff.”
The series follows the intrepid office colleagues and friends over nine years, allowing the characters to evolve and mature along the way. By the end, there is perhaps a little less awkward humor and a little more emotional bonding among the cast members.
Steve Carell exits the series in Season 7 after his multi-year contract had expired, though he does make a cameo appearance in the finale of Season 9. It’s not clear why Carell left, though rumors have it that the producers and the star could not come to terms on compensation. Regardless, as was the case with “Two-And-A-Half Men” with Charlie Sheen leaving the show, it’s just not quite the same anymore without Carell.
This American version of “The Office” is based on the BBC series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Both employ a mockumentary format that uses a single (shaky) camera setup without a laugh track. Many of the episodes, as written, were too long for the half-hour time slot, resulting in numerous deleted scenes that have been added back to the collection. The series gained a loyal following over its nine-season run, eventually becoming a darling of both critics and audiences as the characters endeared themselves to fans through the years. Now available on Blu-ray™ Disc, the updated content provides over 100 hours of screen time, further augmented by a remarkable 25 hours of previously unreleased material.
Available on a Blu-ray™ box office set July 14th
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