Posted by:Nicholas Barr
05/11/2009

Nearing the completion of Office, Season 5, I think that it has come to most people's attention that the Office formula, although solid, has become stagnant. The show refuses to make any permanent changes that will affect forthcoming seasons. Before getting into any examples of how this is true in Season 5, I am going to look back at a past season that has shown this behavior. In the Office, Season 3, they tried to split the Office into two sects, or Dunder Mifflin Paper Company branches. Jim went to a different branch in order to get away from Pam. This gave the show a chance to introduce some new characters like Andy Bernard and Karen Filippelli. Soon, the show merged the two branches together leading back to the same Office formula, just with a few new characters. It was a pretty smooth transition and I, personally, thought it was a good idea to bring the show back to it's original office. At least we got to see noticeably different set pieces for about half a season.

Getting back to Season 5, we are surprised by a huge change out of left field. Michael Scott quits his job and starts the Michael Scott Paper Company. I can just say that I was the most excited I have been for a long time. Also, a huge change in character development occurs when Pam decides to follow Michael as he pursues his own business. Along the way we are also reintroduced to the new iteration of Ryan who also joins the new paper company venture. The show had a whole new dynamic as we watched Michael's business slowly take off. Every episode felt very new with the same brand of comedy. This lasted for only a handful of episodes before abruptly ending with the three accepting their jobs back.

I was extremely upset by this decision. The show could have taken a huge turn towards a whole new office. Michael could have slowly poached all his previous employees to make for the same characters as they tried to develop the business further. Instead, they returned Michael as a regional manager, Ryan as a temp and Pam as the new sales person. In Season 3 it wasn't yet time for a drastic change so returning to the same office setting wasn't a bad idea. However, in this new season, they desperately need to do something different to demonstrate that they're not afraid of change and ready to move the show forward. They couldn't even keep it different for more than a few episodes before returning to the standard formula.

It is just my opinion, but, I do think this show should reinvent some of it's ideas in order to stay fresh. A lot of other sitcoms refuse to change but this could be the Office's chance to break the mold. What I'm trying to say is that I would pay over 100,000 Schrute Bucks to see a permanent change in the show.