After "Seinfeld" and "Friends" redefined the meaning of TV Comedy, it seemed that innovation in the field was done. Every show after that was to be a remake of the two of them, with some tweaks on characters and plot lines (see How I Met Your Mother). But in 2005 we were given a gift: "The Office." With its faux-documentary style "The Office" took the idea of a TV Comedy to the next level. The 92 episode run is arguably the greatest run to be seen since Friends went off the air. By using a realistic cast of characters, a range of styles of humor (from quiet, dry jokes to ridiculous displays) and a slowly developing but still very rich plot, "The Office" is what we had all been waiting for. These are the top seven and a half reasons why.
***SPOILER ALERT. If you have not yet seen every episode, please go do so now. Then return to read this article.
1. No laugh track.
Possibly the most important reason of all is the lack of a laugh track. So many comedies rely on a fake sound clip to tell the audience when something is funny. The Office is set up as a documentary, so a laugh track would ruin the illusion. This frees us from the forced humor of many other shows and lets us decide when something is actually funny as opposed to just trying to be.
2. It has to stay realistic.
For the same reason, "The Office" has to stay realistic. It can’t lose its credibility in the way many other shows can, or, again, the illusion is ruined. So where some shows get more and more ridiculous as time goes on and their novelty wears off .("How I Met Your Mother*," "Psych*," "Family Guy")
3. No matter how uncomfortable it makes you, you can’t stop watching.
Michael Scott has mastered the art of cringe-worthy moments. Somehow, despite how awful it is to see some of the situations he masterminds for himself, we are all still hopelessly devoted to him and the show. But we all remember the worst of moments: "Scott’s Tots." The episode where Michael can’t fulfill his 10-year long promise to pay for couple dozen students’ college tuition.
4. The quiet jokes.
My personal favorite moment comes in season 7, episode 9 “WUPHF.com.” Pam comes across Michael in the break room sorting trash. Pam tells him they don’t recycle and he asks “Then why have I been separating the trash into whites and colors?” After this already funny moment, the conversation continues, but not before Michael mutters under his breath “Eight years.” A laugh track would have ruined the flow of this, as the scene immediately continues with no pause on the fact that Michael has been sorting the trash for eight years. It’s quiet jokes like these in addition to the antics that puts The Office so far above any other TV comedy.
5. It survives the loss of its lead character.
The entire point of the show was to watch the employees on their daily journey with their crazy boss Michael. He was the whole show. But then in season 7 Michael leaves for Colorado with his fiancée Holly. It is a tribute to the ability of the writers of the show that they strengthened the other characters so much that the show does more than just limp along after it loses Michael Scott. It thrives. A whole new era of "The Office" is seamlessly ushered in (with the help of Will Ferrell) to help us mourn the loss of the complete picture that was the original show. The same can be said of no other comedy that I can think of.
6. The real moments.
"The Office" doesn’t just surpass other shows because of its fantastic humor: it has real moments too. Sure, "How I Met Your Mother" has made us cry plenty of times (I’m still not over the finale). But "The Office" is full to bursting of real moments. Dwight and Angela with their on-and-off affair. Jim and Pam. And don’t tell me that you don’t tear up just a little every time the employees include Michael as one of their own. Jim and Michael singing “Islands in the Stream” was a magical moment.
7. Characters you can connect with.
Tying into these moments are the characters. They are just ordinary people going about their lives. That’s the beauty of it! Everyone can find someone they relate to. Some of us relate to many of them. I consider myself a special mix of Oscar, Karen, Michael and Phyllis (and, yes, if I’m being honest then Angela is in there too). They are all so real! There is the grump, the drunk, the tight-a**, the hipster, the ditz, the goofball, the shy one and the jokester. Anything you see in yourself you can find in them and that is why we all keep watching the show. Even after Michael makes us feel so much sympathy-shame that we don’t think we can take any more.
7.5. Characters that grow, realistically.
Going off of this, you get to watch the characters change in very realistic ways. Pam is soft-spoken and incredibly shy when she is with Roy, but with Jim she comes out of her shell. Darryl hates his job and shows it, but once he gets his dream job in Philly he becomes a whole new version of himself. And when Michael leaves the office he demonstrates that all this time we had really underestimated him. He is still the same man, but he is so much better. There are no illogical character changes. They are just an office, growing as people do.
When it comes down to it, there is only one real reason that The Office is the champion of all TV comedies: "The Office" is real.
*Don’t worry "Psych" and HIMYM, I still love you. Ridiculousness and all. Not you "Family Guy."
