Goodbye to The Office (or the British Non-Invasion)

With this week’s announcement that the upcoming season 9 of The Office would be its last, I’ve found myself surprisingly nostalgic.

The Office, in its heyday of Seasons 2 through 5, was pretty much the pinnacle of “appointment television” for me and a good number of my friends. We loved these people, mostly because just about all of us can look around our workplaces and find versions of each and every cast member. The lackluster and limp first season—a pale echo of the British original series—showed little to no sign of the beloved and uniquely American comedy we’d end up getting.

Although it sounds like NBC is going to try and spin off a Dwight Schrute-centric The Farm, about the two halves of Dwight’s family (city folk and country folk) coming home to run a bed-and-breakfast, I really hope this season is the last hurrah for these characters, and we get some appropriate closure and goodbyes.

The show has always been the story of Pam and Jim. We gossiped about their kiss at the end of Season 2, learned to love to hate Karen for being the wedge between them, and then cheered with the end of Season 3’s “it’s a date,” on through romance, engagement, pregnancy, and marriage.

I’d love to see the two of them move into a place of honesty and comfort, with Pam’s artistic dreams at least acknowledged and Jim’s talents as a manager addressed. And there has to be resolution to Angela and Dwight, and Ryan and Kelly, and maybe we find out who the Scranton Strangler is, and maybe Michael and Holly come back one last time…

Well, mostly, I just have one big question: Who is paying for this documentary, and what is going to be done with all this footage?! If Season 9 hits on that point, I’m a happy camper.

The Office also marks the exception to the rule of the last 15 years or so: if it’s an American adaptation of a scripted British television show, it’s going to suck. It’s pretty easy for us to work down a quick list and see that this is definitely so:

• Coupling, which was brilliant in its grown-up fun riffs on the themes of Friends, with added sexual hanky-panky, became a curiously chaste and unwatchable mess that was blissfully and quickly canceled. It’s a shame, too, because my friends and I still cackle endlessly at the mention of “Lesbian Spank Inferno.” Watch the British series—you’ll get it, don’t worry. 
  
  
• Prime Suspect, the television show that revealed Helen Mirren as a versatile and tough lioness of an actress, fell apart and failed to find an audience when ported over here last season, despite starring the talented and often-miscast Maria Bello.
  
  
• Being Human, a spooky and fun romp about a werewolf, vampire and ghost as grudging roommates, went from an atmospheric and addictive fantasy show that evoked the best of Buffy to a barely-watchable by-the-numbers mess on SyFy. It’ll be back next year, but I’m among the mass of fans who won’t be watching.

There are examples of more successful attempts (Dear John, All in the Family, Cosby, and, if you want to go current, HBO’s hit Veep—all of which began life in prior incarnations as successful UK programs).

Yet the American Office did something that’s sort of incredible: it surpassed its source material. The minute it said goodbye to a need to ape the work of Ricky Gervais and chart its own course instead, The Office lapped its predecessor.

I like the British version; on a re-watch, however, it’s awfully depressing to take in, mostly because David Brent is a boorish monster compared to Michael Scott’s doofish, heart-on-his-sleeve screw-up. Steve Carrell’s work on this show was deservedly star-making.

So, I’m going to happily tune in in a few weeks, and watch as this beloved show hopefully rises to its former heights as it approaches its conclusion. The fall TV season is just around the corner; I’m looking forward to watching it with you.

This week’s Flix-Worthy Pick: I’m going to recommend you work your way through some of the greatest hits of The Office, cementing the show’s ridiculous humor and startling humanity. Start with season two’s “The Fire,” move on to season three’s “The Return” and “The Job,” then season four’s “Survivor Man,” and then the gut-busting and affecting “Garage Sale” from season seven.

See you next week, friends!

Jonathan Elliott is a writer, arts futurist, pop omnivore, journalist, marketer, and troublemaker. He’s worked in arts marketing and management for the past twelve years, for organizations including Grounds for Sculpture, Princeton Summer Theater at Princeton University, Washington National Opera, The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Sycamore Rouge, McCarter Theatre Center, and ArtPride NJ.

Jonathan writes pop culture and TV pieces for Cinema Blend and Pop Break. His play, Forward Motion, is published via Playscripts, Inc., and he is the co-creator of the made-for-web series NeverLanding.