The Office - Thoughts on the Final Season

Roy returned on this week's The Office.

Hello readers! Welcome to TV Season 2012 and the return of the Johnny D-lights blog! Posts will remain sporadic, but the love is there, I promise.

As I often say on here, part of what keeps me a hobbyist vs. a true born-to-write TV blogger is the fact that, even when I love something, it doesn't warrant a ton of thought or dissection from me. I spent the summer watching shows that gave me all sorts of thoughts: The Vampire Diaries, which is a far better show than its surface elements, premise and pretty pretty cast give it any right to be; Supernatural, which is fun pulp and a great example of solid actor chemistry; Breaking Bad, which I refer to as "actor porn" because everyone on there is just so, so good; True Blood, which...eh, I'll finish those eventually.

We're nearing the end of "premiere week" now, though the NBC shows have been on for two weeks now. And of all things, the show that inspires me to write this week is the one that, years ago, jump-started my love for modern TV in the first place: The Office.

A couple of weeks ago, NBC announced that this will officially be the final season of The Office, so it could properly conclude after what will have been nine seasons. As a bonus, original showrunner and American series creator Greg Daniels was coming back to steer the ship into port.

Both of these things made me, as a longtime fan, quite happy. Like many others, I have fond memories of watching early seasons via marathon DVD sessions, going to work and incessantly quoting entire episodes, and literally squee-ing every time Jim and Pam inched ever-closer to getting together. We all have our favorites: the Foreman grill injury, the booze cruise, Pam's run across the hot coals, Office Olympics. The goodwill this show has earned from me is immense; it was once my all-time favorite show.

Also like many others, I've grown a little bored and disappointed with it in recent seasons. Jim and Pam went through kind of a smug jerk phase. Michael's antics (and everyone else's for that matter) got too broad, and then Michael got a bit better, and then he left. James Spader's arc went nowhere. Andy and Erin are cute but don't have our same emotional investment.

With the new era arriving last week, I noticed two things: first, most of the problems with the show (the broadness, Donna Noble Nellie's lack of purpose) won't disappear overnight. Second, the problems don't matter when the heart returns.

See, what made those early Office years so unique was that it was practically a half-hour drama with a LOT of comedy in it. There was sort of an existential angst to it, a sadness that permeated everything and gave the comedy deeper meaning.

And last week, I could feel that rushing back all at once in that first interview scene with Jim and Pam, newly aware of their complacency as a couple (and their status as the whole reason the documentary crew is still there), and their simple and boring lot in life now that they're married, happy parents of two. Jim is newly faced with an opportunity to give his life more meaning (a bold new business venture), while Pam is perfectly happy with her boring life.

This week's episode reinforced this, as they attended old-fiance Roy's wedding and realized how much he's changed and they haven't. As Jim and Pam try to find ways to surprise each other, Jim sits on his new business opportunity (already accepted without telling Pam), worrying about how to tell her.

What struck me watching this week was how I felt like I was checking in with old couple-friends who I haven't seen in a few years, and seeing how their life has shaken out. That doesn't speak very well about the last several seasons, but speaks very highly of the direction of this one.

Even with its flaws, the emotional investment is back on The Office, just in time for me to say goodbye. Just in time to make me cry by the finale, and probably squee one more time along the way.

Thanks, and looking forward to this last year, Office.