As a fan of good television, I am a fan of The Office. Greg Daniels and Co. have done a fantastic job taking the British series and making a relevant, funny, and memorable comedy. Combined with 30 Rock, it means one hell of a Thursday night, which is in every viewer’s best interest. For me, the series is a television show worth watching, and one that I want to see succeed.
For those who may have read my posts about the start of the show’s fourth season, you likely saw that I had some problems. I felt that the one-hour episodes were almost all failures at sustaining comedy and character, and that even when the show returned with half hours it was missing something. It was still memorable, but there were some fundamental problems that I felt needed more attention – not in a total overhaul sense, but just some small-scale adjustments.
However, I am not convinced NBC views The Office as a television show anymore – they’ve scheduled another batch of one-hour episodes for the start of next season, a move made on money and ratings and little else. I know that the show is a rare demographic star for the network, but milking it like this didn’t do it any good from a creative sense. And, maybe it’s that I don’t have a bottom line to worry about, but isn’t that the most important thing?
It doesn’t appear to be for NBC, because now comes word that starting in February The Office will be paired with a spinoff, a series built from the existing stable of characters and a host of new ones. This is being sold as a good thing, a chance for the unsung heroes of the large ensemble cast to get their due. And, on the one hand, I agree with this enthusiastic if questionable response: I think there some characters in The Office deserve more time to shine, if you will. However, I can’t help but ask the question of why this spinoff is really necessary, and why NBC thinks now is the best time.
When to run a spinoff is a tricky gambit, one that has multiple options.
Cultural Learnings’ 10 Shows to (Hopefully) Watch in 2008 is a list which reflects not the best series to possibly air in the calendar year, but rather those which shall prove most interesting to watch both in terms of the show itself and the buzz surrounding it. Some shows have made this list due to curiosity, hype, or a genuine interest in their creative future. Some of these shows may not air a single new episode of television until the fall, but it’s never too early to look ahead. On with the list!
Last year, I designated an episode of Heroes (“Company Man”) as the #1 episode of television during February Sweeps, and perhaps during the entire year. Ultimately, I’d probably give that distinction to an episode from another series, but the fact remains that Heroes did some great things in the past year that should make them something to watch in 2008. Unfortunately, almost all of that goodwill has been squandered.
I feel obligated to place one of the season’s midseason debuts on the list, but don’t view this as a token selection – Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles is perhaps one of the most interesting drama series to hit the airwaves this year. This attempt at spinning off the Terminator franchise seems a terrible idea on paper, but its execution is solid: the pilot presents a level of action and drama that at the very least appears to offer a smarter and more cohesive alternative to NBC’s fading sci-fi series.
Cultural Learnings 