4 ms·

Didn't basically every character on The Office become the manager at some point? It felt like it. Jim left the company for a while to start a sports agency or s

by Touche 11y ago

Didn't basically every character on The Office become the manager at some point? It felt like it. Jim left the company for a while to start a sports agency or something? The Office definitely fell into the modern trap of every character needing to be upwardly mobile.

untog 11y ago
I think it fell into the TV show trap of being successful and having your actors be in demand, and taking time off from the show or leaving it altogether. They likely should have ended it when Steve Carrell left.
- jonnathanson 11y ago
  This. The Office went through all of its kooky manager plotlines because Steve Carell's career trajectory outpaced the show's initial popularity. The second he got too big for the show, everyone knew it, and much ink was spilled in the writers' room trying to anticipate and/or compensate for his eventual departure. Jim was given some upward mobility because he's the protagonist, and the audience was rooting for him (and Pam) in a personal way. Nine seasons of Jim's being stuck in a dead-end paper sales job, with no hope of escape, would have been extremely depressing. I realize that's how the UK version chose to play things, but it would have been too bleak by half for the US market.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    The UK version also only has 14 episodes in total (vs 201 in the US). Not that much time to create the feeling of being stuck.
    - jonnathanson 11y ago
      True, but the UK show goes to great lengths to make a point of its protagonists' hopelessness. The Christmas special capping Season 2 pretty explicitly implies: "Just in case you were wondering, nobody wins."
takno 11y ago
To be fair even Creed was made manager for a while, but I don't think he ever showed any signs of being upwardly mobile.
- elsurudo 11y ago
  Creed transcends class, though. And basically any other societal norms and pressures.

4 ms·

Didn't basically every character on The Office become the manager at some point? It felt like it. Jim left the company for a while to start a sports agency or s

by Touche 11y ago

untog 11y ago
I think it fell into the TV show trap of being successful and having your actors be in demand, and taking time off from the show or leaving it altogether. They likely should have ended it when Steve Carrell left.
- jonnathanson 11y ago
  This. The Office went through all of its kooky manager plotlines because Steve Carell's career trajectory outpaced the show's initial popularity. The second he got too big for the show, everyone knew it, and much ink was spilled in the writers' room trying to anticipate and/or compensate for his eventual departure. Jim was given some upward mobility because he's the protagonist, and the audience was rooting for him (and Pam) in a personal way. Nine seasons of Jim's being stuck in a dead-end paper sales job, with no hope of escape, would have been extremely depressing. I realize that's how the UK version chose to play things, but it would have been too bleak by half for the US market.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    The UK version also only has 14 episodes in total (vs 201 in the US). Not that much time to create the feeling of being stuck.
    - jonnathanson 11y ago
      True, but the UK show goes to great lengths to make a point of its protagonists' hopelessness. The Christmas special capping Season 2 pretty explicitly implies: "Just in case you were wondering, nobody wins."
takno 11y ago
To be fair even Creed was made manager for a while, but I don't think he ever showed any signs of being upwardly mobile.
- elsurudo 11y ago
  Creed transcends class, though. And basically any other societal norms and pressures.