Imagine trying to enjoy "Seinfeld" without Jerry Seinfeld, "Frasier" without Kelsey Grammer's Frasier Krane, or even "I Love Lucy" without Lucille Ball.This is what Los Angeles Times writer Jon Caramanica argues would breathe life into NBC's "The Office."
Caramanica not only suggests that Michael Scott should be fired from the sitcom, but that NBC should also hand Steve Carell, the actor who portrays the character, his walking papers maybe because it was a slow day in entertainment news.
One can only remember how such a creative shift worked wonders for "Spin City," "Stargate SG-1" and "Sliders" when these series' title characters were recast or replaced.
Driving this argument is the assertion that Michael Scott has become boring just because the sitcom's writers did something that increasingly fewer TV writers do nowadays, that is, they provided their tweaked creation with a sense of character development.
Maybe Caramanica is one of the fans of the British version of "The Office," which was unable to have its viewers love David Brent (Ricky Gervais), the character that inspired Michael Scott, because of its limited 14-episode run.
Carell's take on the character has evolved beyond the inappropriate managerial actions of his predecessor, and it only stands to reason that British viewers would have tired of David Brent if he somehow was able to appear on the BBC for 76 more episodes without learning that there is rhyme to his seemingly absurd reason.
Though it could be argued that some comedy depends on offending social norms, Michael Scott is not exactly the one-dimensional title character of "When The Whistle Blows." Naive arrogance demonstrated by Michael Scott and David Brent comes from some place deeper than a need to get TV viewers to have a laugh, after all.
Just because Michael Scott no longer overtly subverts his own bad behavior does not necessarily mean that he can no longer be wacky. It simply means that the manager of the Scranton, Pa. branch of Dunder Mifflin has cemented his role as the sitcom's protagonist, not its villain.
Do not forget that a lot of offensive things still come out of Michael Scott's mouth that serve to offset how sad the character can be at times. Not to mention his inability to accept the oftentimes loyal Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) as anything more than sycophantic coworker, that racism still exists, that fat people are not gross, or keep a girlfriend.
Remember that Michael Scott has a penchant for inappropriateness when it comes to dating. He used to pine for his then boss Jan Levinson-Gould (Melora Hardin) the same way he now pines for Holly Flax (Amy Ryan), who was the human resources representative for the Scranton office when they dated.Yes, Michael Scott's shoulder's are more squared and his hair is fuller, but Steve Carell should not be fired because he now has more of an income with which to take better care of himself.
Less questionable about what Caramanica suggested is that Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Dwight be fired from their jobs for a few episodes because it would allow viewers to miss them and other supporting characters such as Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), Creed Bratton, or Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) to evolve.
But at the same time Jim Halpert is no longer simply a hapless bystander because he has necessarily become more integrated into the office's unprofessional dynamic. He and his coworkers have all naturally become more of a family after what will soon be five complete seasons.
Because without Jim Halpert's involvement in what are primarily Michael Scott's exploits, he would come off as someone who enjoys seeing or helping his sympathetic boss get what he deserves. That would not be the quintessential Jim Halpert, who more than makes up for his collusion with his boss by teasing Dwight Schrute as an older brother would do.
And Dwight Schrute is simply Dwight Schrute, a character whose strange sense of reality is only strengthened by confidently believing such things as the possibility of bear attacks in Pennsylvania or that superheroes walk the Earth.What seems off is how "The Office" no longer utilizes the proven TV dynamic of following an on-again, off-again relationship between Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) the way "Cheers" did with Sam and Diane. Still, one cannot fault writers for trying something new.
Perhaps it is too early to judge the creative direction of a TV sitcom that might simply be suffering from being at a traditionally lackluster midpoint, especially if this is done just to have something about which to write. That is just unprofessional.
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