The Office: Season Two
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Movie Reviews of The Office: Season Two
Movie Review: M*A*S*H In An Office
Summary: 5 Stars
There are a LOT of great written reviews for this show so there really isn't too much that I can add - While the first season was in a way unneccessary, it was still important to introduce the new cast, setting, and feel of the show. Season two is where The Office learns to stand on it's own two feet - and becomes perhaps the last great American sit-com.
I don't know how many other people caught this but it wasn't long though before I found myself getting deja vu an awful lot and finally I realized that I was watching M*A*S*H again - Col. Henry Blake (Michael Scott) leads his men: Frank Burns (Dwight) who tries to keep his affair with fellow-fascist Hot Lips Houlihan (Angela) a secret, though everyone else at the 4077th (Dunder Mifflin Warehouse) knows and/or doesn't care - except for Hawkeye (Jim) who constantly plays pranks on Burns (Dwight) to combat boredom and/or get him to go insane. In THIS version however, Hawkeye's (Jim's) best friend Trapper John (Pam) is a woman, so the love they feel for each other isn't quite as platonic as what started out. A minor addition would be Ryan being the most Radar-like, but this is a pretty moot addition.
The similarities certainly make the show work - but only on a bare-bones level because it's the dialogue and the STORIES that make the show work so well and make it a modern-day classic. I'm really surprised that I like The Office so much because I hate almost every TV show made in America these days - they're either mean-spirited, unimaginative, or just plain dumb. ("Dexter" is the only other perfect show we've got as far as I'm concerned. If it wasn't for subbed-anime (thanks yet again to DVD!) or boxed sets of older TV shows, I'd have thrown my television set out the window like at the beginning of SCTV) So I was very happy to find myself falling in love with The Office after only a couple episodes into season two. The characters are VERY likeable - and even though they did steal directly from M*A*S*H in the episode where Angela tries to get "her man" Dwight to take over command of the office- just like Margaret Houlihan did for Frank Burns - that episode still worked and felt new. (This story may have been in season three - I watched them in a blur I was enjoying them so much - but if you've ever seen the first few seasons of M*A*S*H, you'll definitely see the connections between shows in this ep more than any other!)
What makes the seasons worth buying is the fact that they can be rewatched many many times and still be fun. This is in part because of the pseudo-documentary way in which they're shot, sometimes it feels REAL and not scripted thanks in part to the superb acting, direction, and scripts. But the biggest reason they're worth buying is, of course, the deleted scenes. If all the deleted scenes were added to the episodes themselves, they'd range in length from 35 to 50 minutes long. I can't get over how good they are either, and it's a shame TV sitcoms went from 25 1/2 minutes long to 20 minutes long. That's why DVD's are so important and it's also why The Office sets are revolutionary. THIS is how it's supposed to be done.
Movie Review: Brilliantly Funny And Unforgettably Sad
Summary: 5 Stars
Like a lot of people, when I heard NBC was going to make an American version of the classic British comedy "The Office", I just hoped it would go away quickly without a lot of fuss (especially after the smoking ruin that was the idiotic attempt with "Coupling", another great British show.) Imagine my surprise when this "The Office" turned out to be great, with some tweaks that make it quintessentially American. The British version, while hilarious, is also unremittingly bleak and cruel, with only the slimmest margin of hope. It would probably be impossible to tune in week after week to an exact replica (there are only around 12 episodes of the original after all, so those office workers got put out of their misery pretty quickly.) The producer of the new series, Greg Daniels, worked on the funny King of the Hill - The Complete First Season and brought that series' compassion, guarded optimism, and skewed humanity with him, and it's a perfect fit here. I'm still a little amazed that a show with such an unusual fake-documentary format, complex characters, and smart writing has turned into a hit. But I was also shocked when "Seinfeld" found its audience, so I should just be grateful.
The excellence of Steve Carell shouldn't be overlooked in our rush to embrace Jim/Pam. In Michael Scott he has created one of television's most remarkable jerks, right up there with Archie Bunker. Ricky Gervais' original boss, David Brent, is his equal in neediness and obnoxiousness, but the crucial difference is that Michael has a conscience and a dim awareness that there are other people in the world. So we see those excruciating scenes when he says something unforgivable, but he knows it (this is really true in the episode "The Fight" on this DVD set, where both Michael and Jim realize they have taken things too far.) We know guys like this; maybe we are guys like this.
This show has the most amazing cast: in Dwight Schrute, Rainn Wilson has created a pop culture icon (and a far more nuanced character than his British counterpart, the hideous Gareth.) John Krasinski is charismatic as Jim, but he also lets us see Jim's callowness and immaturity. And what else can one say about Jenna Fischer, the queen of the nerds, as Pam? She is both glowing and dejected as the mousy receptionist who doesn't realize how wonderful she is. As someone wrote, when she's around Jim "she shines like a Christmas tree." Which makes the season finale, "Casino Night", and the first few episodes of Season 3, all the more crushing. Watching the self-destructiveness of others is always heartbreaking.
Someone once said that life is made up of humiliation and loss, so those are the materials we have to use in order to make something of it. That's a rather desolate assessment, but not entirely untrue, I think. It's a good description of the modus operandi of Season 2 of "The Office" as well. You will laugh hard and get your heart broken at the same time.
Movie Review: Hilarious, emotional, absurd, sweet -- and great on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
For new potential fans of "The Office," the DVD set of the break-out second season is a must-see. Start recording the third season now (premieres Sept. 21) and save those episodes, but don't watch them until you've watched the complete second season.
For devotees like myself, the DVD set is a just reward for loyal viewing. The show came into its own this year. I had watched fitfully until the stretch of episodes starting with "The Injury," "The Secret," and "The Carpet" hooked me for good. I am now going back to watch the whole season again and the shows hold up very well upon repeated viewing.
Strengths of the season: Steve Carell gets the award for Most Improved Characterization. It took about a dozen episodes (starting with 6 in the first season) for the show to settle on a tone for Carell's incompetent boss. For a while I wasn't sure what to make of him, which kept me from getting attached to the show. But this season he evolved from a mean jerk to a clueless, lonely man who really just wants everybody to be his friend. While the Michael Scott character still has plenty of totally inappropriate behavior and tons of cringe-worthy moments, his core of pathos and vulnerability humanizes him. I am even rooting for him to find love with Carol or Jan. As we saw this season, the fumbling results will surely be funny.
Now that Carell provides a solid anchor for the cast, the rest of the supporting actors can truly come into their own. From Rainn Wilson's complete dedication to the serious idiocy of office suck-up Dwight Schrute, to the smaller roles of wild-card Creed and eternally suffering temp Ryan, the ensemble has truly gelled.
And of course the slow-motion unfolding of Jim & Pam's romance provided the heart of the show throughout the season. Just about anyone over the age of 30 has been either Jim, Pam, or Roy at sometime in their life, and the bittersweet agony of the whole journey provided the summer's biggest cliffhanger. In my online poll to find the "Top Mom Crushes," both John Krasinski and Steve Carell have been nominated.
Finally, the DVD extras are truly great. The deleted scenes for each episode range from about 4 to 11 minutes and they are really funny. The discipline of 22 minutes works in the show's favor keep the stories tight, but the extra scenes are a worthy bonus for true fans.
This is a fantastic show, and a great DVD set. Even if you didn't watch the British version of the show (which I could never quite get into) give the American version of "The Office" a chance. What separates "The Office" from any other current "sitcom" is that much of the humor comes from what is left unsaid, rather than having a barrage of lame one-liners hitting viewers over the head. "The Office" is absurd, laugh-out-loud comedy with a heart--and if you are part of a couple, it's appointment TV that you can both love.
Movie Review: Might seem like exaggerated praise,,,
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to be honest: many shows people consider "the funniest show on TV" I just don't find funny at all. Friends after awhile just got stale and I never got the appeal of Everybody Loves Raymond. The Office came around since I was looking to get into a new show and you hear so much about it, you just kind of figure you'd check into it. Even starting the show on the 2nd season still made it accessible and there's plenty to like about the show. From the writing to the comedy to the moments of drama, it's great to see a show that rarely has an outright bomb.
The show centers on the workers/drones who work at Dunder-Mifflin, a paper sales company. The manager is Michael Scott, a rude and inconsiderate boss who has so much ignorance that he's unaware of the fact nobody seems to find him funny or a competent boss. His assistant is Dwight Schrute, an incredible oddball who is a suck-up, nerd and genuine weirdo all in one. Then we have cutie receptionist Pam, relatable everyman Jim, cold Angela and many others as they deal with the boredom and weirdness that can happen in the office.
Of course, what makes the show work so well, besides the comedy, is the realism. Shot documentary-style, the show tends to accurately portray the different types of characters you're bound to run into (although I am glad to say I never met a real-life Dwight). I even have my own version of Pam, the girl you're just obviously meant to be with but circumstances prevents you from stepping in. Another big plus is the cast never seems to have a useless character and they end up contributing something to the place, even if they're boring and humorless (Toby) shrill and annoying (Kelly), the office just would seem to bland had they not been around.
It's hard to gauge how the show would work if you already watched the episodes but rarely do you get complete misfires. While there's some highlights including practically any prank Jim pulls on Dwight or the Christmas Party episode or the heartbreak Michael gets during "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day", each episode feels a part of a whole rather than having it be hit-and-miss throughout the season. Of course, the big arc is the Jim and Pam romance, or rather the lack thereof since you rarely see a more perfect couple on TV and yet they're not together since she's engaged to the insensitive Roy (who oddly has a real-life counterpart to my very own Pam as well). There's some biggies in the season including a doozy I'm not spoiling.
With commentaries, bloopers, and many other extras, not only is it a hilarious and even a touching season but it's got plenty of extras to check out afterwards. I'd very much recommend this show if you're not watching it already. Oh and just because people say the British version is better is not reason enough to completely ignore this.
Movie Review: Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...
Summary: 5 Stars
it did--and in a big way.
I loved the first season for its biting, realistic humor but I'm even happier to say that the show seems to have really hit its stride in its second season. There were so many great, laugh-out-loud funny episodes that I could discuss the show for hours and hours. Every episode in this season was topical in a way that will be familiar to anyone who works in or has ever worked in an office--everything from e-mail monitoring to sensitive treatment of people with disabilities to the crazy and silly games people play when their boss is out of the office is covered with dead on accuracy. And, of course, the Jim and Pam potential romance is definitely not to be missed, especially considering the juicy way in which everything is left off in the end.
One of the things that constantly amazes me about this show is the diversity of Steve Carell. He is such a highly offensive jerk that at times I want to reach through the screen and strangle him. Yet at other times he is so pathetic that I can't help but feel sorry for him. Case in point would be "The Dundies" in which Pam comes to his rescue after he is ruthlessly mocked by Chili's diners and "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" in which we see a truly pathetic clip of Michael's brief stint as a childhood actor. Carell somehow manages to be simultaneously outrageously crass and downright cruel and yet, on occasion, so pathetic he is also lovable--as Jan Levinson finds out.
And how about Jim? He is such a great character, the kind of guy it's easy to imagine both women and men liking equally. He's so funny and his jests come across as the sort of realistic, off-the-cuff one liners your office clown might spew off. He is also sensitive and pitiable as he continues to pine over Pam who is strangely blind to his great advantages over her oafish jerk of a fiancé. Pam is also an engaging character as a woman who is trapped in a relationship about which she is really not quite certain and who is afraid to take any sort of big, life-changing steps because, well, they're big and life-changing.
Last but certainly not least is the truly quirky and strange Dwight. His office romance adds a whole ick and hilarity factor to the second season. "The Injury" was easily one of the funniest episodes because it is so out of character for him to treat Pam with such kindness and consideration. I've never had the misfortune to work with someone exactly like Dwight but I've definitely worked with people who've had elements of his personality.
This is a truly stellar show. Slapstick at times, it's also chock full of biting social commentary and has some truly searing insight into the world of corporate America.