The Office premiered a few weeks ago, and it’s been a pretty good run so far this season. But there’s a ‘special event’ coming up this week *mdash; Jim and Pam’s wedding — and I’ve got a certain feeling of dread thinking about it. Let’s face it: TV networks love to let us down. So I’m asking you, NBC, from the bottom of my fanboy heart, not to ruin what should otherwise be an enjoyable and eventful episode of your fine show. I realize that the show is already in the bag, but I want to complain anyway, so I will. Got that?
Please, no drama. The Office is a comedy, after all. Drama can be good every once in a while, but you don’t need to inject it into every damn episode. This week’s show is a big one, and it would be nice if, just for once, everything could go off without a hitch. Can you imagine that? A fun episode through and through, with no cold feet or misunderstandings about such-and-such or reappearances of sketchy former boyfriends to install a feeling of doubt or any of those other tired, old wedding clichés… it would be refreshing.
The trend over the last decade or so has been to inject drama into sitcoms, and it’s worked pretty well in general. But… there’s always to danger of too much of a good thing. Just because it can make a certain series interesting and engaging (Scrubs comes immediately to mind, ditto Pushing Daisies) doesn’t mean that every episode ever needs it. Sometimes, I just want to laugh. There once was a time when adding a bit of emotion into an otherwise funny show was a rare thing and something to be admired. But then it became a fad, and everyone started doing it. I blame Friends, and Ross and Rachel. But as it has become the norm instead of the exception, it’s become a bit old. And now we’ve come half a circle, NBC, and you can do the new and different thing by not injecting some sort of crisis or epiphany or disaster into this week’s episode.
I’ve been pulling for Jim and Pam for a long time, NBC. After all, Jim is a guy I can relate to, and Pam is smokin’ hot. I just want them to be happy. The best moments on the show are the ones where we see them as a pair, happy and glad of each others’ company and relating like human beings. Yes, their drama worked early on and even drew me into the show, but now is the time for smiles and celebration. I want to see Michael be an idiot, and Dwight show some of that weird, off-putting ‘expert’ charm, and Andy fail with the ladies. I want to see all those things. But I also want to see Jim and Pam smiling and happy at the end of the episode, without some formulaic romantic comedy grade BS to foul up the hour. Is that too much to ask?
The biggest surprise of all, NBC, would be if you were to surprise me with no surprises. Just let things happen the way they should. I want a sense of finality when I turn the show off, not some lingering cloud of doom over the characters’ (and my own) heads.
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