The Hurry Up: The Office

Oh boy...I was going to do a big break down of what I think has happened to The Office by contrasting season 2's "The Injury" where Dwight gets a concussion with this season's "Tallahassee" where he gets appendicitis, but instead I'll just mention it generally here. It's not the loss of Steve Carrell, even though that seems like the easy conclusion along the lines of "I thought losing Peyton Manning would hurt the Colts, but MAN how good must he be if they're this bad?" It's not even REALLY the fact that the antics have gotten wayyyyy wackier over eight (again, EIGHT!) seasons, because that's a symptom rather than a cause. So what's the cause?

It's the cameras.

I actually went back and watched "The Injury" before realizing "Tallahassee" wasn't available online anymore, and it's incredible how glaringly obvious the issue is when you watch it and compare it to any episode from this season. People think the documentary format was the goundbreaking bit about The Office(UK) but it was what they DID with the format. The documentary format in the original Office and the first few seasons of the American Office made the audience a character, and that was the genius of it. David Brent and Michael Scott often reached their most cringeworthy while trying to impress US, not the other characters. They noticed where the cameras were pointing, who was getting the audience's attention, and they'd start trying anything to get next to that person or get the camera to turn to them instead. A character's reaction to the camera tells you something about them, and what you know about them informs how they're reacting in front of the camera.

Perfect example is "Michael's Birthday," where Michael's big day is overshadowed by Kevin possibly having skin cancer. Michael isn't a bad guy, and he doesn't treat his employees badly because he's a jerk. He treats them badly because he's so obsessed with the camera's (and thus the audience's) attention that he only sees his employees as tools to gain that attention ("cool" Jim, "hot" Pam, "hot" Ryan, and "urban" Stanley all being people Michael thinks the camera will gravitate towards, and thus people he gravitates towards), factors that threaten that attention ("old" Phyllis and Creed, "ugly" Meredith, and "weird" Dwight all being camera-poison, and Toby stifling his energy and creativity), or worst being RIVALS for that attention. Michael shows genuine concern for people in his moments of reality, and were the film crew to have never come to the office I'm sure he'd be totally focused on Kevin and his troubles. Michael's birthday was supposed to be a day he'd be guaranteed the camera's attention, because it's a day everyone has to pay attention to you and you alone. He wears a new suit, and although they never have him say it, it's obviously because he knows he's going to be on camera! His birthday party is at an ice rink, because his greatest talent is skating, and he wants to show it off for the camera. Kevin ruins that by taking away focus when he could get sick any day of the year, but "picks" the the one day of the year that's Michael's birthday. Without the importance of the camera, Michael just looks like a complete asshole, and in recent seasons people have looked like assholes because they still do these childish, attention whore things, but they never seem to care if it's getting them on camera.

Case in point: how does Andy feel about being on camera? That's why Andy is less interesting than Michael, he's a man with no subtext related to the general conceit of the entire show. He's the subject of a documentary, and there has been no explanation or even hint of how he feels about that.

The flip-side is the dramatic moments, which were fascinating because the characters didn't want them on camera. In "The Dundies" when they're leaving Chili's and Pam is drunk she says to Jim "hey, can i ask you a question?" then notices the camera and says "um, I just wanted to say thanks." We, the audience, REALLY wanted to know what that question was, but our being there directly affected what she was going to say and we probably blocked a major step forward in their relationship. The guilt of the audience went a long way to prevent Jim & Pam seeming contrived, because we weren't innocent in the forces keeping them apart. We don't hear Jim confide in anyone about his feelings until he talks to Michael in "Booze Cruise" about how he "used" to have a crush on her. Any other show could have him waxing poetic to a best friend character, safely tucked away from any actual observation, but the genius of The Office was that if we were seeing it then the characters knew everyone was seeing it, and adjusted their behavior accordingly.

What about now? NO ONE NOTICES THE CAMERA. The show isn't faltering because Michael is no longer a character, it's because WE are no longer a character. Two new characters jump to mind immediately as perfect examples of this: Cathy the temp and Val's boyfriend Brandon. Brandon is an easy one so I'll get him over with. He delivers some food, confronts Darryl believing he's sleeping with Val, and NEVER ONCE looks at the camera or seems to care that he's on camera. Really? What non-sociopath ignores the fact that a documentary film crew is watching him do that?

Cathy's problem begins right before they head to Tallahassee when she seems to assume taking three steps away from everyone else will give her total privacy to declare over the phone her intentions to sleep with Jim. Doesn't check where the cameras are, doesn't lower her voice, just blurts it out straight up. Far worse is "After Hours," the same episode as Brandon's insanity, when she puts her plan in motion and goes to Jim's room to "hang out" and desperately and overtly attempts to seduce him...with a full documentary crew in the room that Jim consistently looks towards in shock. Why doesn't Cathy try to get them/us to leave? Wouldn't that vastly improve her chances of Jim doing something unseemly? She was trying to get him to come under the covers with her, but the camera crew is still in there, so what was the endgame? That one thing would lead to another in a moment of weakness for Jim...in front of a full camera crew who would politely leave while shielding their eyes? It's completely idiotic and it's insulting to be told that our presence no longer matters; that this is just a normal sitcom now but with the benefit of having characters talk to the camera.

I'm sure it's frustrating for the writers and actors, who probably feel like they're making solid jokes and being generally funny, but maybe when you're so involved in the production it's impossible to feel how distant the characters have become from the audience. The viewer has been pushed to the outskirts, told to watch while all these wacky characters go have fun over there. That was the separation The Office originally seemed designed to run counter to: we won't have a laugh track to tell you what's funny, we won't pretend you're not there, we'll reward you for paying attention even if it means some people miss the moment. Now it just has the lack of laugh track (probably because it's one of the shows that killed the laugh track, although its zombie roams CBS). I've already covered how the characters regularly forget we're there, but another big moment happened this past Thursday: they specifically showed the clip of Andy punching the wall back in season 3 at the start of the episode in case we'd be too dumb to recognize him punching the wall during his breakdown. Then, just in case you were actively trying not to get the joke, Kevin says, "man, he really hates that wall!" Does anyone else want to explain the reference further? Maybe have Jim draw a diagram while Pam explains in a talking head that Andy once punched a wall and got sent to anger management, and now he punched the same wall? Ohhhh! I get it! He punched the same wall! HAHAHAHAHA! Thank you for bashing me over the head with it, I feel rewarded for my dedication to this show!

My "Hurry Ups" are supposed to be short recaps of the season so far, and that's obviously not what this turned into. I hate to be shoveling dirt onto a show I love so much, especially when it's still full of such talented people, but the things that made it The Office aren't there anymore. I'm sorry The Office, you're not the same show I fell in love with. Let's not make this any harder than it already is...we'll always have season 2, the greatest season of any comedy show ever.

(Oh, don't worry, as with any break-up I'll obviously be stalking...err, watching...for the conceivable future.)

The Hurry Up: 30 Rock

I was about to say the same thing about 30 Rock that I said about Community, that the season's threads haven't really started to come together yet, but are there really threads? Avery is trapped in North Korea, but a captured North Korean spy might know how to get her out. Liz is still with Criss, and they've discussed having a discussion about maybe adopting a baby. Jenna's sexual walkabout is over and she's back with Paul. Kenneth is a janitor now. I really feel like this season could end without any of these things colliding with each other...but you never know.

It's become a little difficult to separate seasons of 30 Rock (can you honestly believe this is the sixth season? SIXTH!) since there aren't the types of storylines or events that can differentiate them, even though Liz's boyfriends should make it doable. This has also made any decline in the show equally difficult to notice until you catch an old repeat on Comedy Central. It's not a horrific shadow of its former self or anything, it's just a joke-a-moment pop culture megaforce that could never have sustained that momentum forever and should be lauded for remaining solid and true to its ideals. Pretty much the best case scenario for what Arrested Development would've turned into after six seasons if we're going to be honest with ourselves.

• Best Episode So Far: "Hey, Baby, What's Wrong" because I'm going to pretend I got this done before last Thursday's live episode (like I meant to)
• Worst Episode So Far: "The Tuxedo Begins" but I should stress it was hard to find an episode I legitimately disliked. They all had something I enjoyed in them (such as "normaling" in this one). Maybe it's just because I saw the Batman Begins references coming early on and expected more from them after Community's homages.
• MVP Candidate: Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy (again)
• Rookie of the Year Candidate: James Marsden as Criss
• Best Moment So Far: Have to go with Dennis telling Criss the ending to the "Lez movie" they were watching on Showtime and having it turn out to be The Kids Are Alright. Couldn't think of a real stand out, but that was such a genius joke (remember, pretending I haven't seen the live show and everything Jon Hamm did on it)

The Hurry Up: Community

Is this the final hurry up for Community? *gulp* If it is then I can just take solace in the fact that it lasted three times as long as Undeclared and has equaled Arrested Development (which has since risen from the dead). Plus, Dan Harmon's experience with Channel 101 "the unavoidable future of entertainment" offers some interesting ways for the show to continue on if NBC decides to kill it in order to get...what, exactly? To replace it.

Anyway, let's just pretend we're really heading for #SixSeasonsAndAMovie and talk about the season so far. It's an odd hurry-up because things are usually winding down right around now, but due to the hiatus everything is still in motion at Community. Troy is still under pressure to embrace his destiny as an air conditioner repairman. Abed is being forced to become a real person instead of just an outlandish TV character. Annie has recently admitted that her infatuation with Jeff has nothing to do with having found "the one," and may have helped Britta turn towards an actual healthy relationship with Troy.

Also, it can't be coincidence that the evil study group from the worst timeline has been introduced, with their felt goatees standing in place for the goatees they're growing to show their evilness, and Vice Dean Laybourne just HAPPENED to show up with a goatee and inexplicable ponytail halfway through the season. There's a real Lost feel to the things that happen with the air conditioner repair school, with Laybourne as the man-in-black and Jerry the Janitor as Jacob. Right down to the room where the temperature is used to define room temperature almost being the light at the center of the island. But...maybe I just still miss Lost.

• Best Episode So Far: Origins of Vampire Mythology (Could've easily gone with Remedial Chaos Theory, but this one was fantastic without any gimmicks and I spent the whole week afterward watching it)
• Worst Episode So Far: Competitive Ecology
• MVP Candidate: Jim Rash as Dean Pelton. Literally every single moment of the Dean has been funny this year, and he was excellent as the Dean's many phases of ego in Documentary Filmmaking: Redux.
• Rookie of the Year: Travis Schuldt as Subway. As much for concept as execution (plus it doesn't hurt that I'm glad he got something to do after Scrubs)
• Favorite Scene So Far: Three moments have made me laugh the hardest: Seacrest Hulk, Kiss From a Rose, and the worst timeline in Chaos Theory. Best emotional scene goes to the ending of Vampire Mythology.