Return of The Office

I wanted this to be a positive post. For earnest I swear. However, I got home today planning on writing today's blog and found not the new Iron and Wine CD I ordered in the mail-box BUT my roommate's damn Scary Go Round book. Also!, I wasn't overly impressed by The Office last Thursday.

I watched The Office's (hour long!) premier after the (hour long!!) premier of My Name is Earl. And this was actually the problem for me. MNiE is trying something new this season that actually has me looking forward to the next episode. They've thrown Earl in jail and thus the show's formula has been tossed about too. I hand it to the show, they've shown a fresh willingness to renew their format. This might be something The Office could learn from?

Now I'm not ignorant. The Office has had some shake-ups, like relocating Jim in the start of season 3. This was a good move, one I thought they could have milked a little longer. I enjoyed the alt. branch a lot and the scene that occurred between Jim and Pam over the phone was quite touching. But the two offices merged and Jim came back with Karen which was essentially a reversal of our old love triangle. This isn't really the dynamic that troubles me though. Pam and Jim have always been The Office's strong suit and more and more the rest of the cast is becoming increasingly fleshed out and hilarious. Just take a look at Creed and Darryl. Oddly the problem I'm having with The Office is its root: Michael Scott.

Indeed. Michael's antics started to wear on me a little last season, his character seeming to become sort of a caricature of itself, and this season's opener didn't show any signs of relieving the problem. I know it may be an odd move to cite the main character and premise of the show as its main problem but that's what I'm finding consistently makes me reserve all out praise for the show. For instance: this new episode's nude scene. Honestly, this joke was lame. Pam walks in on Michael changing after he told her to come in. I didn't even smirk at this joke. Blurred out man parts aren't really funny on their own, especially not in a show that is pretty good about avoiding tired humour.

After all this though, the episode was pretty decent. There were plenty of good (humorous and sweet) moments between Jim and Pam, and the rest of the cast had some pretty good moments too (taking off for a beer during the run), but Michael was unforgivably annoying. Yes, he drove the story forward, but he used to do that while still making me laugh. Michael used to be a doofus that was trying hard to be cool but now he's this zany clown that the writers seem to be trying to have out-do himself each episode. I think they should take a hint from MNiE's writers (did I just write that!?) and try to mix things up a little more by focusing on other secondary characters or by having Michael be the straight man for once.

Remember though: this was just the first episode of season 4; there is still so much to like about The Office; I didn't get my CD.