The Case of the Beet Bandit!
That’s exactly what I was thinking as I started to skim more and more quickly over the last half of this thread.
Perhaps you’re not aware of this, but Phyllis is married to Bob Vance, of Vance Refrigeration. Therefore, her job at D-M is obviously just something to keep her entertained. She’s a kept woman, now, and being Mrs. Bob Vance makes her Scranton royalty.
-Joe
I know, what a drag! People actually discussing the show in depth. Sucks, doesn’t it?
When you spend post after post trying to analyze the interoffice politics and heirarchies in The Office–trying to apply real-world business policies to a show that is often less realistic than The Simpsons–then I’d say you’ve passed well beyond “discussing the show in depth” and into “you’re overthinking it” territory.
But it was just a passing comment–no need for anyone to get their bloomers in a bunch. Carry on.
I knew she married someone named Bob Vance, but I had no idea what company he was associated with.
[quote=“Tangent, post:145, topic:494175”]
When you spend post after post trying to analyze the interoffice politics and heirarchies in The Office–trying to apply real-world business policies to a show that is often less realistic than The Simpsons–then I’d say you’ve passed well beyond “discussing the show in depth” and into “you’re overthinking it” territory.
I agree that trying to analyze The Office as if it were the real world or on real world standards is silly. Michael Scott is clearly a cartoon character. He’s also one of our protagonists, so things are generally going to come out his way. Expecting otherwise or asking for realism is defying the purpose of the show.
Some folks like to get into in-depth analysis and yes, overthink the shows they like. Should we feel bad about that? I don’t think so. That’s why I post here, actually, because people will get into these kinds of pointless discussions about TV shows.
ack double post
Except that the show, at least as originally envisioned, was supposed to be at least moderately realistic. It’s called “The Office,” after all, not “Michael’s Wacky Sales Brigade.” And for its first two seasons, I would argue strongly that the show’s appeal came as much from its believable depiction of office politics as much as anything else.
Yes, Michael’s buffoonery was somewhat exaggerated even from the start, but even he still came off as a believable human being. He was the loudmouthed, over-promoted, thinks-he’s-funnier-than-he-actually-is boss that most of us have had at some point or another. He was not an idiot, and he wasn’t a cartoon.
Latecomers to the show might not realize this, but long-time watchers will remember that “The Office” originally got its audience from its pitch-perfect *subversion *of sitcom cliches. It consistently took situations that a lesser sitcom would have milked for all the silly jokes it could muster, and ran them in completely the opposite direction, allowing the humor to emerge naturalistically from character interactions and unexpected side glances rather than beating you over the head with wisecracks and slapstick.
Since early season 3, the show has been slowly slipping towards the sitcom tropes and one-dimensional characterizations it so successfully avoided before then. This culminated in the shittier episodes from last season - Michael driving into the lake being perhaps the apotheosis of his Homer Simpsonization.
I actually really enjoyed this current arc, because it’s the first time in a while that the showrunners have tried to return to the verisimilitude of seasons 1 and 2, at least in terms of Michael’s character. I think his success in the negotiation against Wallace far more closely resembles the Michael of season 2 than the Michael of seasons 3 and 4.
I think the current discussion about Charles is very interesting, because he is a character built very much in the mold of the main cast, circa seasons 1-2. The bemusement and irritation he showed in response to Michael’s antics is exactly what Jim, Pam, Stanley, Meredith, Phyllis, and the others would have shown during those seasons. At that point, the show wasn’t about the craziest office in Dunder Mifflin - it was about a group of regular people stuck together in a regular office with a self-centered boss with no filter between his brain and his mouth.
I also think it’s interesting (and a little hilarious) that people are so quick to criticize Charles for not knowing how to manage his employees, when that has been Michael’s number one character flaw from day 1 of the show.
Why is this overthinking? I doubt there would be anyone claiming posters are “overthinking” things if those things were positive. You don’t have to let it ruin your experience. I tried to defend it the best I could, but there are things that don’t exactly add up perfectly. I choose not to let effect my attitude towards the arc a great deal, but I try my best not to lie to myself even if it doesn’t benefit my favorite show.
That’s why I hang here.
You’ve got a lot to learn about Scranton, honey.
Just wanted to say that I loved the episode, especially Michael kicking ass when we all expected him to panic and confess that he was broke. His line to David Wallace “I don’t need to wait out Dunder Mifflin; I just need to wait out you” had me beaming as proudly as Pam was and I was touched when Michael hilariously said “I don’t care if Ryan killed his parents, he’s like a son to me,” which I hope the little bastard thanks him for. Michael’s loyalty to his employees isn’t lost on all of them and I think that’s part of the reason why Pam walked out of DM to join Michael.
I also think Wallace feels genuine affection for Michael and I don’t feel that Michael quit because Wallace just placated him by agreeing to the party. Wallace’s pause before telling Michael the party was on seemed to indicate that Wallace realized Michael was hurt and he felt sincerely bad. I think the reason why Michael quit is that he had to drive all the way from Scranton to NYC to get Wallace to realize that he’d been treated badly.
Good deleted scene:
Grr, “We’re sorry, but the clip you selected isn’t available from your location. Please select another clip.”. I hate that!
Are you suggesting that this is NOT a documentary?!?
Just thought of the return of Toby and texting him ‘911’.