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Steve Carell to leave The Office?


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I love The Office...watched it from the beginning. I've heard people say for awhile that it has jumped the shark and while I dismissed that for as long as I could, I'm starting to turn as well.

 

It just doesn't pack the humor it once did. I find myself forcing out a few laughs now when 2-3 years ago I would be in tears cracking up (Mose running along side of the car, Michael "following" the GPS into the lake... :rolleyes::ph34r: ). This whole Sabre thing has basically gone nowhere and unless some fireworks are in store the next few weeks, it will have been a pretty bland season. I still watch it every week, but I don't really look forward to Thursday nights like I had been.

 

And it surely can't survive without Carell. If he is indeed serious about leaving, they should do it right and end the show in a prepared way. Nothing worse than a star leaving and then having to suffer through the last season before it is put out of its misery.

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WTF are these lies?

 

 

Carell originated the role of Michael Scott, the bumbling, overbearing office boss at a Scranton, Pa. paper mill.

 

The series was based on the hit British series of the same name.

 

Credit for creating a stand-alone, Americanized version of the comedy went in large part to Carell, who was able to create a new character rather than ape Ricky Gervais' leading role in the original.

 

In fact, the US version has lasted on TV much longer (six seasons) than the British original (just two seasons and a holiday special).

 

Way to fabricate things to give the story gravity...

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It hasn't been good since the first episode. :wallbash:

 

 

Pu-leeeze people. Next year will be the 7th year which is about as long as any good sitcom should run (Seinfeld is a special exception). NBC might try to go on without Carrell because they're languishing. Or they might give him a ridiculous contract to keep him.

 

Nothing lasts forever, but this show is absolutely ground-breaking (or at least the British version was). Best sitcoms on now (IMHO) are "Modern Family" and "Parks & Recreation". What kind of format do they use? Oh yeah, single camera documentary style.

 

I also thought "Secretaries Day" was friggin awesome. "Erin is a bit of a rube." The deleted scene with Ryan and Kelly trying to hookup a 3some had me roaring. :nana:

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It hasn't been good since the first episode. :wallbash:

 

 

Pu-leeeze people. Next year will be the 7th year which is about as long as any good sitcom should run (Seinfeld is a special exception). NBC might try to go on without Carrell because they're languishing. Or they might give him a ridiculous contract to keep him.

 

Nothing lasts forever, but this show is absolutely ground-breaking (or at least the British version was). Best sitcoms on now (IMHO) are "Modern Family" and "Parks & Recreation". What kind of format do they use? Oh yeah, single camera documentary style.

 

I also thought "Secretaries Day" was friggin awesome. "Erin is a bit of a rube." The deleted scene with Ryan and Kelly trying to hookup a 3some had me roaring. :nana:

 

I was pissed about one of the "facts" from the linked-to article most: Amercian going into 7th, British only lasted 2.

 

Well, that's false, because the UK office was WRITTEN as a mini series.

 

Why? Because they actually made reference to the fictitious BBC2 "documentary" being made. Now that same doc-style is used as a cheap device to allow characters to express things about themselves and others without using dialogue.

 

I think calling Gervais' device (not even one he created) "ground breaking" based on how it's used now in American Office, PnR and MF, is a discredit to how the device was originally used. Also, creating the link between styles doesn't acknowledge how the style has been exploited and bastardized since.

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They've made ONE very big mistake IMO...they've made the "caricature" characters more real.

 

They took Andy from an unstable, obnoxious "that guy" to a quirky, but likable loser.

 

They took Dwight from the clear-cut hilarious disaster/lackey and blurred his role. I always thought he was so good because Dwight was the one character that Michael had control over and could be a boss to as well as be his ally. Their interplay kept it from being just a show about a bunch of relatively normal people and their stupid boss.

 

These mockumentary shows tread a fine line between "funny because it's true" and "boring because it's true." In order to keep it funny, you need a few outrageous characters to keep things moving. Otherwise the show is just a string of mildly funny anecdotes...which is kind of what is happening now.

 

Yeah, I DVR it but it is struggling. The Pam and Jim think killed their funniness and now Andy is being killed by Erin.

 

Single, depressed people are funnier than people in relationships.

Spot on.

 

Getting Jim and Pam together basically ended the show as it had been. They removed that source of ongoing tension that usually keeps these shows alive. They gave it another shot with Dunder-Mifflin shutting down, but....eh.

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I love The Office...watched it from the beginning. I've heard people say for awhile that it has jumped the shark and while I dismissed that for as long as I could, I'm starting to turn as well.

 

It just doesn't pack the humor it once did. I find myself forcing out a few laughs now when 2-3 years ago I would be in tears cracking up (Mose running along side of the car, Michael "following" the GPS into the lake... :wallbash::nana: ). This whole Sabre thing has basically gone nowhere and unless some fireworks are in store the next few weeks, it will have been a pretty bland season. I still watch it every week, but I don't really look forward to Thursday nights like I had been.

 

And it surely can't survive without Carell. If he is indeed serious about leaving, they should do it right and end the show in a prepared way. Nothing worse than a star leaving and then having to suffer through the last season before it is put out of its misery.

 

I completely agree on all points. I absolutely loved The Office a few years ago, even bought seasons 1-3 and have probably seen all of episodes through season 5. I've DVRed every episode that's been on but it's definitely a struggle sitting down and watching these new episodes. I think it's good that he's deciding to leave, move on to something else instead of trying to force the show out for more seasons. Although, the episode where Jim and Pam had their baby was one of the funniest that I've seen in recent memory. It was a good show, but I'm fine if they decide to cut it off after this year.

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I have always preferred the British version, but, after some trepidation, succumbed to the US version. I think it has been really funny, for the most part. I always thought the weakest part of the show was the Pam/Jim stuff. Both likeable characters, but their story line was just not that funny, or interesting. I will admit, I only watch the show on DVD, so I have only seen the first 5 seasons...none of the new season. I think, if there is another problem with the show, is that Carrell has been a little "overexposed" over the last few years. He has been in a ton of movies, and, though I haven't seen them all, he always looks to be playing the Michael Scott character... his face is one that won't ever likely let him stray too far from that character. All good things have to come to an end...time to shut down "The Office".

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