The Office (7): Please No Jan Babies!

I have been under whelmed by Season Four of The Office. The hour-long episodes are tiresome; the plots are exposed as thin when prolonged past half an hour. While I am one of the five Karen fans out there, I am glad the Jim/Pam storyline has moved forward. But I feel like they are no longer characters; as if now that they are in a relationship neither of them have any personality or aspirations. All of Pam’s desires for a more fulfilling career really stemmed from her unhappy engagement to Roy? Jim will be perfectly content to work at a desk next to Dwight as long as he goes home to Pam? In real life when people begin a new relationship they have a tendency to insulate themselves, not wanting to share their happiness with friends, keeping all of themselves for each other. Real life is one thing, but when this is the prospective of fictional characters towards an audience then the show suffers.

Furthermore, I wish the episodes would be more confined to the office. Last night’s episode demonstrated how necessary the supporting characters are to the overall effectiveness of the show. This episode basically concentrated on the principle characters (Michael, Dwight, Jim, and Pam), with only a few subordinate characters (Jan, Angela, and Andy). The whole episode seemed to be a showcase of Jan’s lunacy, but no amount of Jan can replace the brilliance of Creed’s disturbing stories, Kevin’s giggle, or Stanley’s utter disinterest.

Despite the problems I see with this season of The Office, I am still really excited to tune into the new episodes. There is still nothing quite like The Office on TV. And there is no character as self-deluded as Michael. How could he have told Jan that he and Pam dated? How could Jan have believed that? It is like Jan has been brainwashed because she knows from personal experience that Michael exaggerates everything. Could it be that she is using her candle business to hide another habit? It was kind of sweet that she tried to fix the Dundie she broke, but considering that the cops tried to take Michael into protective custody, the end looks to be near for Jan and Michael. I can only hope that arrives before any bundle of joy. But after three operations Michael’s, um, potential may be too severely diminished for any little Michaels.

And one last question: was Jim really going to leave Pam at that dinner party by herself?

The TV Girl