Friday, April 24, 2009

The Pranksters will Wear Fedoras!

The title is possibly my favourite moment from last night's 30 Rock because it was so random and surreal - and fun of course! But my TV week has been more about my two favourite office-set shows: Better Off Ted and the Office.

Better Off Ted is definitely my quote of the week:
Ted: You know, I'd like to believe after everything I've done for this company over the years, they'd show me a little more loyalty than this.
Veronica: Yes, I know it's hard to accept that giant companies don't care about people. I know how hard it was for me when I first realized it... when I was 8.


Although I feel there should also be an honourary quote of the week for this:
Lem: Did you disable the camera?
Dr. Bhamba: Did you disable your stupid-question filter?
Lem: I thought I did


Those are just a couple of the reasons why I'm in denial that Better Off Ted may be cancelled. Please ABC don't cancel this brilliant show, give it time to find its audience!!

I've caught up on the Office and have to say that I disagree with what a lot of people have been saying about this season. I've been hearing from a number of people that they're not enjoying this season of the Office. That it's become too cringe-worthy. Less humour, more realism.

Well, I marathoned the episodes from February to this week's and I'm happy with this season and here's why:

- I like when we're shown why Michael became a manager in the first place. He's a really good salesman - we're reminded that he got all of the Scanton branch's clients as well as how successfully he's been able to steal Dunder Mifflin's clients (of course the Michael Scott Paper Company isn't making a profit - but that's the side of Michael that doesn't make for a good manager). Plus, we see Michael be the ultimate salesman: getting Dunder Mifflin to hire back him, Pam and Ryan - an impressive feat.

- I like that David Wallace taking Michael's company loyalty for granted totally backfired and caused him to realize that the company needs Michael (despite how ridiculously inept he can be at times). As someone who works in an office, I find Michael's character pretty realistic, sometimes the people who are good at certain jobs are total idiots a lot of the time (come on people, stop hitting "reply all" for sensitive emails).

- We get to see Pam take another brave step and try something new. Not just leaving Dunder Mifflin, which is huge, but also trying out a new position as a salesperson. I cheered when she made the first sale for the Michael Scott Paper Company. It's just really great to see Pam continuing to challenge herself - it's awesome personal growth. I'm excited to see her in this new position at Dunder Mifflin.

- It was really fun to see Jim not being the boss' favourite. It was just a nice change of pace. And I must say I love how Jim managed to use his pranking Dwight skills for good so that things would go well for Pam and Michael.

So, the Office continues to work for me and I think here's the main reason why: you need to watch it as a drama that happens to have really funny moments and situations. Meaning that you're invested in the characters and their growth and challenges, and also entertained by the humourous and satirical situations that frame it.

Mutual break-up of the week: Lawrence Taylor being eliminated from DWS. I've never seen someone that happy to leave the show, and I think we were all happy to see him go.

No comments: