I'm going to just come right out and say it, someone needs to put the Office out of it's misery. I still love the show, but this thing needs to be pulled off before they run out of good ideas. We all remember what happened to the Drew Carey Show. Well, most of us don't actually, and that's really the point. What was my favorite TV show has jumped the shark. For those unfamiliar with it, the phrase is a reference to an episode of Happy Days where Fonzie water skis over a shark tank. The show would never be the same again, with an invincible Fonz and a lot of changes to the show's cast and plot. It was all downhill from there. There are a number of indicators that a show has jumped the shark and, unfortunately, the Office has more than one.
1. Wedding - Remember what happened when Lois & Clark got married? And Jeannie finally hooking up with her master? When the sexual tension is destroyed for a special wedding episode, watch the number fall after. As a bonus, not only did Jim and Pam get together a lot sooner than I expected, I now find them both to be incredibly unlikable.
2. Birth - It's not often you see a wedding and a birth in the same season. Sure Bewitched suffered from NDD (New Darrin Depression), but having a baby really turned it into a crappy kids show. (And then having another baby was the final nail in THAT coffin) Even more frustrating will be watching the Halpert kid grow three years in three months and then stop aging so that she and Michael can have cute little moments together.
3. Stunt Casting - Nothing like admitting that people don't want to watch your characters, so here are some famous people that non-fans will want to see. Kathy Bates, Christian Slater, Jack Black, Jessica Alba, Cloris Leachman...
Aside from those official indicators, I've got some personal reasons too. I really disliked the whole Sabre buyout storyline. It seems like there was a lot more mileage in dealing with corporate, especially Wallace. Instead it felt like one good episode idea that ended up impacting the entire show. And while it might be difficult to still make relevant, I miss Jan hanging around. I was really interested in watching her slide into insanity and watching Michael struggle with someone he really cares about, but is...unstable. And while I'm complaining about cast changes, can we just get rid of Ryan? I know he's the producer and that's why they made up a character for him, but now it seems like we only see him to hear what NEW job he's doing. Sure the closet thing was good for a laugh and it explains why we never see him, but wouldn't an episode where Michael is forced to fire him be a much better story? Even better, when they need to fill time we could watch Michael track him down at his different jobs. A wasted opportunity, I think.
Don't get me wrong, I'm critical of the show because I love it and want to see it succeed. I'd rather it go out with a planned bang, than just not being renewed in a few years. After all, we've already blown WAY past what the original Office did.
P.S. Of course I'd rather be proven wrong about the whole thing and see new life breathed into the series and see another awesome 10 years. I'm just not expecting that to actually happen.
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Healthy debate is good. Irrational hatred is bad.