Monthly Archives: May 2013
“The physics is theoretical, but the fun is real”
The best television shows consistently demonstrate one commonality: the audience knows the cast is having fun and that they are actually friends off-camera. This post will examine one of these sitcoms.
As crazy as this reads, my Dad and I were actually at the taping of “The Big Bang Theory” pilot! Full disclosure: it was an amazing atmosphere, sitcom episode and, being candid, it felt like a hit from the very first scene that was shot in the waiting room where Sheldon & Leonard were waiting to make manly depos-…you get the picture. They ultimately bailed out, but this first impression of the characters was funny nonetheless.
In this first episode, the final scene comprised of the four guys and Penny driving out to dinner. Howard Wolowitz, the self-described Ladies Man, who can wish a woman “good shower” in a multitude of languages, was flirting with Penny by enticing the group to got to a karaoke bar. Wolowitz then proceeds to seductively, and humorously, serenade Penny. Penny is caught between a smile and a gentle laugh, genuinely amused by her co-star as Sheldon closes out the show with a quip about Leonard being a, “veritable Mack Daddy” in the car, directly referring to his long-shot chances of dating the beautiful girl next door. Penny then bursts into laughs from the back seat as the scene goes to black.
Comradery is special to see in any episode, let alone the pilot. Aside from the fact the first episode was great by regular standards, this quintet appeared to be onto something beyond just a pilot. This very funny show with its great characters enters Season 7 (already!?) this fall with Leonard returning to Pasadena and his girlfriend Penny from his career-changing voyage at sea with Stephen Hawking’s research team and with Raj finally able to speak to women without being intoxicated, which actually turned Amy into a bit of a drinker…this being a sips worth of red wine.
One guarantee is that if the cast is having fun, it’s very likely the audience is too.
The laughs in the upcoming seventh season are only four months away.
On Paper, A Great Show
March 24, 2005- May 16, 2013.
It’s safe to say the documentary crew should have no shortage of b-roll.
Nine seasons and four Emmy’s is a tremendous achievement for a sitcom. Personally, I had the same experience with “The Office” as I did with “Seinfeld” at first glance. I didn’t quite get it. I wasn’t sure when I was supposed to laugh? However, what I and what most everyone was unaware of at the time was the back story and slow evolution of these comedic characters within the context of being shot in a typical American office setting. It didn’t take long before I was laughing hysterically at both.
The show was not like Jan’s Porsche, but more like Andy’s Prius: it did not peel out fast with lots of bells and whistles, but instead gained and maintained a steady momentum and trust without making much noise.
As with other successful sitcoms, each character had his and her own unique quirks that represented at least one or several people we, the fans, know in our daily lives. The only exception might be Dwight K. Shrute. He is one in a billion. Meeting somebody even remotely close to him is without a doubt on my bucket list. The directions for a Pennsylvania Beet Farm are being printed as we speak…
The fantastic characters ranged from the overly full of himself hipster Ryan to the crossword puzzle doing Stanley to the uptight, cat loving Angela to the secretive and rebuttal-obsessed Oscar to the drunk and publicly improper Meredith to the gossip queen and popular culture expert Kelly to the giant teddy bear Kevin to the caring and reserved Phyliss to the musically talented warehouse worker Darryl to the monotone HR superstar Toby (who was a juror on the Scranton Strangler trial btw) to the A capella singing, Cornell attended Andy to the energetic but gullible Erin to the most famous Beet farmer and expert on Battlestar Galactica and bear attacks Dwight to the sweet, artistic and, yes, assertive Pam to the ambitious and prank happy Jim to the wildly inappropriate and over-doing it boss Michael to the incomparable Creed (how many chairs does he have now…?)
Since the departure of Steve Carell, the show had faltered and was disappointingly directionless for some time, to be blunt. Hopes were high for James Spader to step in as the new boss, but the chemistry between him and “The Office” rarely had any spark. The only exception was the party at Robert California’s mansion…that was a funny episode!
However, the addition of Andy and Erin were two excellent steps in the right direction. Their individual comedic talents and goofiness revived some level of what was missing from the departure of Michael Scott. It also generated a fresh love story the fans could cheer for from home. The casting decision of bringing in Clark Duke, who portrayed, who else, Clark, became a vintage-Office character. It is sad to not be able to see him develop and grow more within “The Office.”
What does “The Office” mean after nine seasons?
It’s impossible to recap all the funniest scenes, bloopers, Christmas-themed pranks and heart warming moments in this post. That’s what the special two-hour series finale is for tonight at 8:00 p.m. on NBC, which will also be its 200th show! Instead, what I will do is list a few of the very special memories I have from this television show:
-I was on a plane going somewhere internationally several years ago and reruns of “The Office” were on and I could not stop laughing! The people around me were wondering what was so funny and why this one guy was laughing and making noise on the plane? The show has always given me a reason to laugh.
-Watching Jim woo Pam in the space between his desk and her receptionist compound, despite the fact she was dating and eventually engaged to troublemaker Roy for some time, was heart warming and gut wrenching at the same time. In the end, it gave me and millions of others reassurance that if something is truly meant to be, with a little persistence, it can happen.
-Laughing at how Michael Scott would constantly try to make his employees laugh and loosen up was refreshing. It didn’t always work, but it was hysterical to see what shenanigans he concocted with his Assistant to the Regional Manager, Dwight. He was a big reason why watching a documentary about working in a paper company was so entertaining. He was also the master of being an idiot and making things incredibly awkward while being the most efficient Regional Manager David Wallace had ever known, even if Wallace never knew exactly why this was…
-For Christmas, I was given a Dwight K. Shrute ornament and a box of paper from Dunder Mifflin! On the outside of the paper box, it reads, “Get Your Scrant On!” Yes and yes!
This show was an entertaining view into the mundane, crazy, frustrating, random, funny, heart-breaking, heart-warming moments of working in a typical American office.
Tonight, it all ends. The last episode was a throwback to what made this show such an outstanding success. The final episode will likely tie up every loose end and ultimately be a tribute to the past nine seasons. It’s been a great run and it will be a treat to continue watching the reruns over and over and over again.
Yesterday, the post was dedicated to “The Office” wedding dance for Jim and Pam. Today, here are a few short videos that encapsulate so much of what made this series such a massive success, of how it grew to become so huge. That’s what she said!
Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I’m on the phone and the guy just answered.
“Schrute Farms, Guten Tag! How can I help you?”
The Office: Forever in our Hearts
Wedding season is upon us. It’s truly a glorious celebration of love and unity, accented with those very special “clickable” moments (more on this later). A wedding is the opportunity for a couple to declare their love to the world. It has struck me as perfectly fitting that the scheduling for the finale of sitcoms happens during this time of the year, especially since one of the great shows of the past nine years is turning off its lights and locking its doors for the last time.
The shenanigans of Dunder Mifflin will no longer be broadcast into the homes of millions of entertained fans. However, this post is not the final goodbye, as the series finale is tomorrow evening at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. Instead, this is a seasonal remembrance of one of the best scenes from the “The Office.”
Jim & Pam’s Wedding provided several “clickable” moments, meaning those times when the love of your life does something that deserves to be cherished and never forgotten. An example would be when the groom cuts off half his tie so his bride doesn’t feel awkward walking down the aisle with a partly torn veil.
Click.
Or how about when their co-workers, who constantly bring the couple stress, surprise them with a spectacular dance routine to show how genuinely happy they are that their office romance has blossomed into a marriage and a new life together.
Click!
Time to Get Some Hats
Freedom. New Horizons. Curiosity. Adventure. Adrenaline. Limitless.
These words are meant to conjure a state of mind of time and inspiration. They should encourage us to embrace the wildly fearless and randomly proficient spirit of the one and only Kevin…Kevin Rawley that is.
“Little Fockers” was on television this past Saturday. Diving head first into the majestically blue waters of the ambiguously defined character of Kevin, the actor and professional wandering spirit Owen Wilson must first have a light shone on him. His films’ characters exemplify the motivation to look for exciting happenings, regardless of any preconceived notions or restrictions. Take virtually any scene involving him from the movies “Zoolander”, “You, Me and Dupree”, “Midnight in Paris” or the “Meet the Parents” trilogy (so far…)
In a variety of ways, he possesses an “it” factor for living life to its fullest. After reflecting on his many bizarre, yet hilarious scenes from “Meet the Parents” and “Little Fockers”, it sparked an internal curiosity of attempting to experience life as Kevin for a period of time. Perhaps the genesis of this experiment could be done during a Friday. Maybe a Friday and a Saturday. Sans the money from investing in Wireless IPO”s right before they skyrocketed, lower key endeavors are certainly attainable. Just like his characters’ many hats, we too must add our own threads of creativity and motivations towards new opportunities.
Could we carve, build and fashion a breath-taking altar from one giant piece of wood in about 70 hours? Probably not on our first day. But let’s start small, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to teach ourselves to play a little Beethoven on the piano in the morning, prepare a deliciously authentic feast of the Fiji Islands in the evening and sail a beautiful coastline with the star of the Russian Ballet the next week.
Whatever speaks to us.
Keep Everything Vastly Imaginative Now!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 