I feel that I am demographically, generationally duty-bound to enjoy the American version of the sitcom The Office. And yet, I don't. In fact, I'm amazed there aren't more people like me -- who think the original British Office is brilliant in its cringe-inducing, acidic way, and think the American version is just more corporate entertainment trash. As Special Guest Star Will Ferrell once said in another role, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
I think this goes deeper than a simple prejudice against American network programming, whose highest cultural achievement in recent memory as beenThree Two and a Half Men. It has to do with the pale comparison the American version is to its source material. And yes, I know that Ricky Gervais produces the American version, but frankly, there's just too much money here for him not to.
To be fair, I actually do think the show is funny, even though I haven't seen too much of it. Like other shows of this ilk, 30 Rock in particular, there are too many funny people and funny perspectives involved not to get the set-pieces and one-liners right. Doesn't mean that it matters, though.
My first big problem with the American version is its rampant crimes against narrative order. The Office U.K. had a beginning, a middle and an end, as do most television productions in the rest of the world. But the American model, honed by our unique brand of consumer capitalism, is to take anything successful and run it until people stop watching and it stops making money. Along the way, in the painful decline of the show, all sorts of reliable cheap story tricks are pulled out of the bag -- a wedding! a baby! special guest stars! a major character's departure! Each of these can be spread over multiple episodes, and each will be familiar to any regular Office viewer.
But there's another, far more important concern I have. The original Office was harsh. The laughs came with cringes, and you were never allowed to forget that this was a show about the bleakness and despair of labor in the modern economy. It didn't flinch, and it hurt, and perhaps it made you think a little bit more about your life, and the options you might have to make it a little better for yourself and others. It was challenging.
The American Office, however, levels everything down to a simplified narrative that everyone is alright once you get to know them beyond their personality quirks. Boredom, even of the terminal, soul-crushing sort, is just something to lightly complain about. The ultimate lesson is that you don't have to change your crappy situation, just your crappy attitude and realize how good you got it, presumably because even after a miserable day, you still have your merry television friends to entertain you. This is narcotizing.
And it begins its eighth season this fall.
I think this goes deeper than a simple prejudice against American network programming, whose highest cultural achievement in recent memory as been
To be fair, I actually do think the show is funny, even though I haven't seen too much of it. Like other shows of this ilk, 30 Rock in particular, there are too many funny people and funny perspectives involved not to get the set-pieces and one-liners right. Doesn't mean that it matters, though.
My first big problem with the American version is its rampant crimes against narrative order. The Office U.K. had a beginning, a middle and an end, as do most television productions in the rest of the world. But the American model, honed by our unique brand of consumer capitalism, is to take anything successful and run it until people stop watching and it stops making money. Along the way, in the painful decline of the show, all sorts of reliable cheap story tricks are pulled out of the bag -- a wedding! a baby! special guest stars! a major character's departure! Each of these can be spread over multiple episodes, and each will be familiar to any regular Office viewer.
But there's another, far more important concern I have. The original Office was harsh. The laughs came with cringes, and you were never allowed to forget that this was a show about the bleakness and despair of labor in the modern economy. It didn't flinch, and it hurt, and perhaps it made you think a little bit more about your life, and the options you might have to make it a little better for yourself and others. It was challenging.
The American Office, however, levels everything down to a simplified narrative that everyone is alright once you get to know them beyond their personality quirks. Boredom, even of the terminal, soul-crushing sort, is just something to lightly complain about. The ultimate lesson is that you don't have to change your crappy situation, just your crappy attitude and realize how good you got it, presumably because even after a miserable day, you still have your merry television friends to entertain you. This is narcotizing.
And it begins its eighth season this fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment