The Office - how a show saved my life

When I was told to start watching The Office, my life wasn't in a great place. I'd left all my greatest friends and memories from a place I had learned to call home, returning to what was supposed to be my "real home". Before I left, the laugh track craze was dying down and realism had cemented itself. Also, I had to find a way to adjust and improvise to this new place given my limited people skills. Comedy? A probable solution. But effective? We'd see.

History lesson - The Office, in it's conception was meant to be a mockumentary following the day-to-day lives of office workers which in our case are employees of local paper company, Dunder Mifflin, Scranton branch. Inspired by it's British counterpart conceived by Ricky Gervais (the world's greatest comedian) and Stephen Merchant, the show initially strived to be a direct remake, as evident by it's directly inspired characters for example, Dwight Schrute being our Gareth Keenan, or Michael Scott being our David Brent

So, I reached this new home, and weeks just passed by. Life was boring and extremely dull. I couldn't say why. Soon, the fate I once resented is one I had to accept. Thus, I realised now was a good time as any. And that's why the next time I got myself a spare few minutes, I typed up watchtheofficeonline.net (because that is literally the name of the site I was told about). I clicked on the first episode of the first season, and

and I saw that

If you've seen the show, you can hear that picture and you know it (you're probably humming right now). As I kept watching, I morphed into someone who could only be described as a laugh track put on loop, with momentary breaks to prevent rib fracture and chest pains. Each moment was as unforgettable as the one before it, from the theme to the finish. After the end of those first 22 minutes, I knew that this might just be how I was meant to survive.

We are immediately introduced to Michael Scott, the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton. He is a person who has grown to be my role model and advise-giver for anything in life. Steve Carrell was cast as Michael Scott, at his initial peak of Hollywood stardom. Starting off as a correspondent on The Daily Show, with 2 comedies in theatres back in 2005, his face was one that was bankable. But his skill in creating this icon for generations to come, was not a result of his fame. Unprecedented comedic talent is all it can be narrowed down to, and that was probably what the casting directors saw in him, but not fully why he was picked. Fate united Michael Scott and Steve Carrell.

Just another day

Michael Scott's antics and legendary endeavours warrant an entire blog for themselves. The Office's fame as a comedic giant in modern times is mostly due to his presence. Critics might suggest that he wouldn't survive in the face of how we perceive comedy today, and however unfortunate that might be, they are probably right. Initially he was portrayed as an obnoxious, ignorant comedian with no regard for authority, he soon developed into a beloved, ignorant comedian with no regard for authority. Though you hate his guts and how many situations he gets himself into, he manages to be honest and even in his awkward, blunt and uninformed, the audience feels empathy for this man just searching for a life of friends, family, and value.

PB and J

Underlying the adventures of the employees of Dunder Mifflin, is the special and ordinary romance of two colleagues, receptionist Pam Beasley and salesman Jim Halpert, played by Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski respectively. Jim Halpert, the typical wiseguy, caring, witty and self aware represents a lot of the audience, potential to be inspired. Pam Beasley, is not only the female equivalent of the same idea, but a dorky, empathetic version at it. The intention was to tell the story of real relations that bloom in real environments with the medium of comedy, and that it did.

The show is built by a cast of characters, namely office dwellers who define the dynamics of Dunder Mifflin in the Northeastern paper market. No other character carries the show as hard as possibly the greatest assistant (to the) regional manager, Dwight Schrute played by Rainn Wilson. Dwight Schrute was a revelation and quite honestly, the most blatant humour machine of the show. From his love for Michael, to his rigid ethics, his Amish upbringing and his invaluable intellect, Dwight makes The Office what it is.

Dwight Schrute - GOAT

A few other personal favourites obviously include Kevin Malone, the "slow" accountant, another absolute antique, portrayed by Brian Baumgartner and Andy Bernard, the Cornell dude who is the absolute suck-up with disgusting sales performances, played by Ed Helms (He does acapella. And he went to Cornell. Did I mention that?). The reason The Office works as a show is because these characters aren't figments of a writers' imagination. These are archetypes that one finds everywhere, which is what makes watching them so much funnier.

The Jim, The Bad, and The Ugly

Quickly into the show it was obvious that these characters were meant to embody qualities that were universal in the lives of real, ordinary people that worked these offices, but they also needed to be different than prior versions. So the showrunner, Michael Schur who realised this, used this opportunity to mould comedic perfection, with realism.

Comedy in The Office is based off one concept - inadvertent humour. Whether it may be mild racism or sexism, unplanned pranks, the most awkward encounters and interactions between ordinary people, the unforgettable vocabulary, or sheer desperation, it's just funny and nobody can deny it, no matter how 'offensive' it is. It is my humble opinion, that when society is openly able to joke about taboo topics that people are insecure about, without jumping to judgements and conclusions, we will have truly progressed as a civilisation. While some may think this is an insensitive perspective, that's my 2 cents.

Over the course of 9 seasons, audiences watch the real ups and downs of the relationships of these characters. The moral of The Office, as a show is to make audiences realise that often times we as a people search for meaning and purpose in the lives of our own and others, and often times we believe that we will find these crazy answers in stories of the extraordinary. But, as excellently put by Pam in the last line of the show, “There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kind of the point?”

The Office