I had a rather extensive rant composed in my wee brain about the evils of internships and how no one seems to value education, despite the fact that you need an education...but then...I decided to not spew my evil venom here, despite it being employment related. I don't know - I'm just in a really negative place right now and I'm trying to not bring it to everyone I come in contact with, I guess. Maybe I will revisit the topic on a happier day. Today, instead, we are going to talk about TV.
Tonight is the big wedding episode of The Office. I'm kinda hoping that once they are married off with a kid, Jim and Pam become either less annoying or less prominent within the spectrum of the show. True, I think they are meant to represent the everyman/woman type @ Dunder Mifflin [they are, right?] and therefore if you get rid of them, you're left with just zany caricatures of people...but I might be okay with that.
Now, as we all know, I'm a fan of TV and therefore I'm very familiar with the whole "will they or won't they" phenomenon that is applied in all sorts of TV genres. It's tired and hacky, but it still works. I'm not necessarily someone who thinks that once "they will" the show turns to poop. I liked Cheers once Sam got together with Diane...and eventually Rebecca and I even thought Frasier had its moments once Daphne and Niles hooked up [Seth and I were so duped by the episode they got together - it was a jewel in our crown of spring/summer TV that year]. And, even though I'm not a huge fan of the show, when Chandler and Monica got together and got married, I was okay with that [although I'm hardly a romantic I've seen their engagement a million times and I cry every single time - it's positively shameful]. In all of these cases, the characters were all improved as a result of the coupling...not that they became better people, but it brought out interesting things. With Jim and Pam, though - I think the writing or maybe the acting has been not up to snuff.
In The Office UK Dawn and Tim didn't get together in the regular episodes, but rather in the closing moments of a Christmas special [Christmas specials are one of the best things about spending the holidays in England/Belgium]. We didn't get to see if they did like dating each other, let alone if they got married and had kids. While it's not fair to compare the UK and US versions, I will say that the UK benefits from being much, much shorter. You didn't have time to grow overly tired of characters. You didn't see Dawn fail out of art school and come back to the paper company because Tim was all that mattered anyway [and really - if you're in a good relationship, I think your partner should encourage you to become more than what you are, but that's just me - Joseph hates it when I settle and vice versa]. You didn't see Tim becoming David Brent and aspiring to this without really knowing [there was a bit of that, but not in the same way as in the US version].
Sadly, I do agree with sad internet forum posters who say that Jim and Pam have become smug. This makes me sad on a number of levels, including the level that is mortified that I put this much thought into my feelings towards fictional TV characters. The defining quality of both characters [aside from the mutual crush and now twu wuv] was that they both wanted more than what Dunder Mifflin offered. Pam had her art thing and Jim had...I'm not sure what [I've missed the early episodes]...his second life character lived in Philadelphia and had a guitar slung over his back...so something with that? They thought that the office politics and personalities were ridiculous. Everyone else in the office seemed either content to be @ the office or downright ambitious about their paper career. I liked watching them [and Dawn and Tim, too...and Office Space] because they reflected the way I felt about my job [this was back when I had one]. But now that they have each other - they are very different people. They still seem to cast their noses down upon their co-workers [I keep calling them jerks and shouting @ my TV as I watch]...but really...what makes them so special and different? It's just plain depressing, too. I need confirmation from TV that I should be wanting more than a standard administrative job that has no real meaning...
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Jim's original ambition was to not work at Dunder Mifflin - nothing more complicated - I think he said something about if he got promoted, it would mean that that was his career, and if that were his career, he'd hav to throw himself in front of a bus.
ReplyDeleteI like Jim and Pam, but I like them most when they are playing pranks on Dwight and mocking/helping Michael - I don't really care about their relationship outside of the office. I will agree that it's too bad that they aren't pursuing their ambitions elsewhere. (Of course, they are stuck there because otherwise they'd be off the show.) I would think that there should be a way for Pam to pursue her art without having to give up her job at the office - that's kind of a given with some kinds of art.
I think I have kinda headed into the territory of not liking Jim and Pam. I find them to be dull and sappy. Have they ever had a fight? Do they ever think the other person is wrong? It's stupid to write them as flawless to one another, especially in a documentary-style show.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny - I think that quote from Jim is a direct copy of Tim's from The Office UK. I felt that way about my last corporate job [and I did get a promotion and I continued working there for another 2.5 years]. It would be interesting to have the documentary crew call Jim on that remark [like they did for Tim]...I feel like the documentary crew is only there to justify the style of the show - they don't seem to ask very interesting questions in the talking head segments.
I'm pretty amazed that they have never had a fight - Jim bought a house without consulting her - isn't that something you'd want to bring up?
ReplyDeleteSometimes they annoy me as well - like last night, when Jim (who is co-manager) demanded that people change what perfume they wear, what they eat, etc. because Pam is pregnant. That's ... not really his business, and it's abusing his authority. (I'd have no problem with Pam walking away while Dwight was eating his hard-boiled egg, or taking a step back while talking to someone who wears too much perfume, but it's not their responsibility to change their lives because Pam is pregnant.)
I've seen the UK version, but it's been a few years. If Jim's quote is the same as Tim's, it must have been in the pilot - the pilot episode was almost identical.
I totally agree that it would be interesting to have the documentary crew ask better questions.
I think they could make better use of the whole "documentary crew" thing. I feel like a lot of sitcoms now have a similar style to The Office [like 30 Rock], so they should do something with the concept.
ReplyDeleteThat cold open last night was so bad. I'm not a fan of body-related humour and I thought that Jim and Pam were both being epic jerks.
It's funny because Joseph and I get on very well, much like Jim and Pam - we don't really fight and we are very similar people...but even we have tense moments and things we don't agree with - choices one of us makes or a certain ideology. Conflict makes for good storytelling!