The official "THE OFFICE - SEASON 3 DISCUSSION THREAD"

[ghost_x]

Well that's precisely why you did like it

 

[Mattchew]

I hated the first few episodes of The Office US, especially the carbon copied pilot, it took a while but eventually the show found it's own style and has really triumphed

yeah... the beginning stunk because it was trying to be a copy of GENIUS and you just cant do that... the show as it is now is nothing like the original, but its really funny... just in a completely different way, imo.

 

[triplefive]

I remember when everyone was dissing this show in Season 1, especially anyone from GB.

some people from the UK *still* hate the american office

 

[darwinwins]

some people from the UK *still* hate the american office

ah they're just bitter that they got a measly 18 episodes. we just finished the 3rd season. suckers.

 

[GoldGoblin]

Essentially it is the third season. The first season was just 6 episodes in March-April of 2005, not the usual 20+ episodes TV seasons have.

^
How did the first season only get six episodes,I thought once a pilot is picked up they get a full blown season?

 

[chesslover]

It took it's first season episode structure from The Office (UK) where both Season 1 and 2 were six episodes. Ricky Gervais doesn't like to do more than that per series as he didn't want to overkill the show, he did the same with Extras. Fawlty Towers was the same, and from a creative standpoint is the most sensible structure.

6 episodes/season? ohhhhhhhhhhhkayyyyyyyyyy

 

[triplefive]

^
How did the first season only get six episodes,I thought once a pilot is picked up they get a full blown season?

i'm pretty sure it was a mid-season replacement

the show only gained popularity after carell did 40yov

edit: it was actually a late season replacement... debuted in april, ended in may

 

[Mattchew]

ah they're just bitter that they got a measly 18 episodes. we just finished the 3rd season. suckers.

i dont even think it was 18 eps, but regardless, they were some of the best things ever on tv, so I'd take 18 (or however many) eps of true genius over 3 seasons of stuff thats just really funny.

you cant blame people for getting annoyed... it would be like if they did a version of lost in the uk... we Americans would roll our eyes MUCH MORE im sure.

 

[darwinwins]

whoops. 14 episodes. i don't know where that 8 came from.

no, if they did a version of lost, americans would be all over it cos it would probably be just as frustrating. i don't understand you people that watch that damn show.

the office is just as good as the UK version. there's less cringe inducing mooments but neither version is really entirely believable but close. michael and dwight are more cartoony but they display competence at their jobs -- they're just socially inept which is where the cringes and laughs come from. as for the tim & dawn vs. jim & pam, the latter's relationship is so much better flushed out.

 

[Mattchew]

the office is just as good as the UK version. there's less cringe inducing mooments but neither version is really entirely believable but close. michael and dwight are more cartoony but they display competence at their jobs -- they're just socially inept which is where the cringes and laughs come from. as for the tim & dawn vs. jim & pam, the latter's relationship is so much better flushed out.

wow. i disagree.

the reason the US version for me is good but not great has most everything to do with Dwight. He's a sitcom character. He's not a person. Garreth was a person... A person I loved to hate, but a person none the less.

I still like Dwight on the show, but when he's given too much screen time its a recipe for disaster (i.e. the 'quest' he took ryan on... lame!) As for Micheal, its a bit of the same to a lesser extent. Nobody's jumping off a building to prove a point.

As for Jim and Pam, I cared about them as much Dawn and Tim till about the end of the 2nd season. Now, I don't really care... And I think a lot of people would agree. I guessing it turns into a Ross/Rachel thing which makes me sick both because its annoying and because i just referenced 'friends'.

My point... the great thing about Dawn and Tim is that it was a really gripping relationship that DIDN'T have to be dragged out over 100+ episodes... Which is exactly the the scenario we're looking at the Jim and Pam...

PS: 'flushed out' does not mean the same thing as 'fleshed out'

 

[darwinwins]

tim and dawn didn't have a relationship. you had a few moments that the course of two english seasons provided which wasn't much. you knew tim liked dawn and she had some semblance of feelings for him, but there were no great character arcs for dawn or tim till the ass end of the show.

if you watch season 3 and focus on pam, the entire season is her character arc. jim's still jim but had karen to attach his affections to. i just watched the entirety of seasons 2 and 3 since yesterday afternoon (i was working kinda), and dwight is cartoony but people like him exist, though he's taken to the extreme end of things. but from the start of the 2nd season till the end of the 3rd season, the main characters do go through some hefty changes as people. the longer time span gives them the space to do these things.

as for the rachel-ross issue, i don't think it will be much of an issue here. the secondary characters have come into their own wherein friends focused almost exclusively on that relationship as the selling point. while the office started with the intent of focusing jim/pam as a selling point, the other romances have taken a lot of time on screen between characters because the writers are so well prepared. the episodes have a linear structure when you watch them sequentially as characters evolve and past episodes get referenced over and over again.

next season, the writers will probably have the jim and pam thing carry along and let the relationship breathe and develop more naturally than having them jump in the sack immediately (like the ****ey friends did).

 

[darwinwins]

also want to add -- kelly and ryan are an awesome coupling and worth several laughs every time they have a scene together.

 

[Green Lantern]

As a person who was rooting for Jim & Pam, I'm ecstatic, my roommate who thought their time had come and passed is pissed.

 

[Dark Carnage]

My point... the great thing about Dawn and Tim is that it was a really gripping relationship that DIDN'T have to be dragged out over 100+ episodes... Which is exactly the the scenario we're looking at the Jim and Pam...

Agreed. I don't really care about Jim and Pam getting together. Ok, maybe I do, but it's nowhere near as much as Tim and Dawn.

After this many episodes of the US, I'm only mildly hoping Jim and Pam get it together. But after 12 episodes of the UK, along with the Christmas Specials, I was pretty much screaming at the TV. I've never cared as much about two people getting together as I have about Tim and Dawn, and the fact that they made me care so much is just 12 episodes amazes me.

 

[ghost_x]

6 episodes/season? ohhhhhhhhhhhkayyyyyyyyyy

Yes?

 

[ghost_x]

some people from the UK *still* hate the american office

As a massive fan of The Office/Gervais since the first episode, I can safely say that I love both the American and UK versions as separate entities, both have their huge positives and negatives but stand as their own show.

 

[darwinwins]

As a massive fan of The Office/Gervais since the first episode, I can safely say that I love both the American and UK versions as separate entities, both have their huge positives and negatives but stand as their own show.

stop making sense, jerkface!

 

[ghost_x]

 

[Shifty]

^
How did the first season only get six episodes,I thought once a pilot is picked up they get a full blown season?

It was a midseason replacement in late spring which I seem to recall didn't test that well. Shows only get full blown seasons until the ratings come in and determine if the show deserves it. The networks will usually order 12 scripts/episodes to be shot with the pilot already done. Some producers/creators who have the history of putting on great shows can have a deal with the network that if its cancelled or episodes don't air than the network must pay a penalty fee to the creators. This was the deal with Studio 60. NBC will air the entire season but of course the remainder in the summer.

If you read the link about the second season, NBC only ordered so many shows. The ratings were decent and increased the order and eventually they ordered the remaining episodes of the season. It happens with any new show, in the fall watch for headlines about networks ordering a full season.

 

[BatMatt]

iTunes helped save the Office, as it often was the most downloaded show even though the television ratings weren't fantastic

 

[Halcohol]

i'm pretty sure it was a mid-season replacement

the show only gained popularity after carell did 40yov

edit: it was actually a late season replacement... debuted in april, ended in may

So at least they aired all 6 episodes in a row. That's cool, it wasn't like they made people wait a month between each new instalment

 

[Mattchew]

next season, the writers will probably have the jim and pam thing carry along and let the relationship breathe and develop more naturally than having them jump in the sack immediately (like the ****ey friends did).

if i thought you were right, I'd have a different opinion, obviously... This thing, imo, is gonna draggggggggggggg.

btw, again I defend Dawn and Tim... You're right. They didnt have a 'relationship' on screen. THAT'S THE GENIUS OF THAT STORY LINE. Relationship on screen are boring (see: Jim and Pan, season 4).

 

[Donnie Darko]

But after 12 episodes of the UK, along with the Christmas Specials, I was pretty much screaming at the TV. I've never cared as much about two people getting together as I have about Tim and Dawn, and the fact that they made me care so much is just 12 episodes amazes me.

Although I am still excited about Jim and Pam, I 100% agree with this. The season 3 finale, as much as I loved it, didn't give me the same level of excitement as the Christmas Special.

 

[Mattchew]

^ditto...

ive been kinda crapping on Jim & Pam, but I like them. I think its a nice storyline, but I really dont care in the end and I was SO effected by the Dawn and Tim thing...

even though they weren't in a fully 'flushed out' relationship.

 

[darwinwins]

Although I am still excited about Jim and Pam, I 100% agree with this. The season 3 finale, as much as I loved it, didn't give me the same level of excitement as the Christmas Special.

that's cos you knew that after the christmas specials, it was it. fin. the end. the jim & pam thing is pretty much a done outcome but now you'll just see their relationship form instead of the two jumping in the sack immediately.

personally, i loved the ending, but now i look forward to ryan and kelly. i think he's going to miss her in very bizarre ways and he'll find excuses to return to scranton for whatever reason he can think up of but she will scorn him and make his life miserable.