Monday, October 06, 2008

The Office!

Until a month ago, I had never watched a full episode of “The Office.” I was aware of its following and success, of course, but every time I turned it on, I saw what seemed like a dull person recounting a dull encounter in a dull away. And, well, why watch something less interesting than my own life?


But this year’s season opener got a lot of press over the summer, and I finally decided to give the show its due by renting the first disc of the first season.


Within the first thirty minutes, I was hooked. Forget everything I said about dull. The show is at once classically understated, and over-the-top. The writing is superb, the characterization so real that you think you know the people, and the performances spot-on.

And that Jim Halpert...what a cutie!


Any other fans of “The Office” among us?

What I’m Reading: The Day I Killed James by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Tina

Tina Ferraro
The ABC’s of Kissing Boys - January 13, 2009
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www.tinaferraro.com

17 comments:

C.R. Evers said...

I LOVE The office!!! I've mostly cut out t.v. these days, but I must admit that when my husband is watching it, I tend to find ways to stall and linger around the t.v. when this is on! It's so funny!

Christy

The Golfing Librarian said...

I too enjoy an occastional episode of "The Office". I like it for all the same reason you do BUT, I get painfully uncomfortable when Michael becomes oblivious to his self centered "jerkiness". Therein lies alot of the humor of the show, but after awhile, I can't watch anymore.

TinaFerraro said...

Christy, I watch very little TV, too, which makes me feel real out of things at times, but I so often have other things I want/need to do. But The Office is worth my time! :)

Chuck, I couldn't agree with you more about Michael's jerkiness. In fact, there are times I'll put a pillow over my head, thinking, Oh, No, I don't think I can watch...

Anonymous said...

Hi Tina,
I've never watched the show, but based on your recommendation, I might give it a look. I find there are so few really funny shows on TV. What happened to the sitcom genre?

Janie

Dona Sarkar-Mishra said...

Hey Tina: I've only seen a few eppies of THE OFFICE, but WOW is it true to most real offices :)

stephhale said...

I haven't been a devoted follower of The Office and I really don't know why. Every time I happen to catch it, I laugh hysterically!

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe you called the OFFICE DULL!?!?!?! I am glad you changed your mind, because it is anything but. :-D heart the office!

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

When I saw bits and pieces of the office, I felt the same way about it until I started watching more of the full season!

Lots of laughs!

Glad we both changed our minds!

TinaFerraro said...

Janie, I agree that sitcoms have changed...and I really think The Office redefines sitcoms in that there's no laugh track or predictability as to where the laughs occur. In fact, when watching it with others, many times, we all laugh at different things. ;)

TinaFerraro said...

Dona, I see what you mean about The Office being true to life...I definitely recognize a version of Angela from one of my jobs!

Steph, yeah, I hear this season is as good as the others, although I'm not 100% caught up yet.

Anon & Kelly, yep, We Heart The Office!

TJ Brown said...

You know, I have another friend who got hooked on the office over the summer. She'd never watched it before either. So I guess I should just buckle down and do it.
Teri

TinaFerraro said...

Thanks, TJ. And you know, another thing to point out is that the episodes are short (20 some minutes), so you find yourself going, "Oh, just one more..." and then suddenly, the disc is over!

The Golfing Librarian said...

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I watch alot of the episodes of "The Office" on www.hulu.com, as well as many other NBC shows (It's owned by NBC) They also have a couple hundred movies on the site that can be watched for free. Just a little FYI in case you hadn't ever heard of it.

Authorness said...

It took a while, but the American version of 'The Office' did grow on me. Steve Carrell's great in it.

Have you seen the UK version? It's even more uncomfortably entertaining--you really want to look away but you can't.

Vanessa

TinaFerraro said...

Chuck, thanks for the heads up on that Hula site. I went and bookmarked it.

Vanessa, no, I haven't tried to British version yet, but it's on my list...

Natalie Hatch said...

Definately watch the UK version, only 12 episodes but they pack soo much in.
Oh and another UK series to watch is The IT Crowd... sooo funny and it resonates with the geek in me. I imagine our IT people are exactly like these ones.

Heather Davis said...

Tina, you are so right! The Office is an instant classic. I'd enjoyed the BBC version when it was on a while ago, but I love the US version too. Best episode yet? The Survivor-type "Downsizing" episode where Dwight and Jim make an alliance and Dwight ends up spying in a taped up box in the warehouse. Hilarious!