
Has there ever been a sitcom with such disparate highs and lows as NBC's The Office? Seinfeld was full of wonderful highs, with one enormous LOW (the final episode), but that was their only low point.
The original Office, the Ricky Gervais genius-mode BBC mockumentary, didn't last long enough to register any lows - 2 seasons and a Christmas special.
But the NBC version has been around long enough to jump the shark not once but twice. A few years ago The Office featured a two-part "Jim and Pam Get Married" section that ended with one of the most cringe-worthy and stomach-turning sequences I've ever seen on TV (and I once watched Saw in a launder mat, so ... you know).
Jim and Pam's coworkers make their way down the aisle in a choreographed dance - and the intent was not humor, it was the show's attempt at being schmaltzy and genuine and to me, that is incredibly offensive.
****Notice the guy in the bottom right corner: trust me bra, I was just as embarrassed watching it at home. (SIDE NOTE: Can you imagine how miserable your life would be if everyone involved in every portion of your life was also a co-worker? Let's get married and the whole office will come down to the wedding and then cause a scene in the middle of the ceremony! YAY!! No - f*ck you dude! I love my co-workers but if they're involved in my wedding I'll be a sad little boy).
There's no doubt The Office NBC is funny.
But the producers just couldn't stop tinkering with it - like when they started adding rubber padded "grips" to pencils. Remember those? Pencils were fine - they didn't need any additions or innovations. Just leave them alone.
If the dance scene wasn't bad enough the sitcom followed up with a "clips show" last season. The premise was that a bank was thinking about purchasing Dunder-Mifflin - an employee from the bank came in and axed everyone questions about the efficiency and work-flow of the place. This allowed writers and producers to pump the show full of old clips as "answers" to the bank's questions. Basically, everyone got a week off.
RESULT: Embarrassing and lazy - YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT HOLLYWOOD! Wait... nevermind.
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