The Office Questions

[Gee!]

Didnt wanna include this in the office threads but it might take away from episode talks in them.. So I made this thread..

But I just dont get this show at all.. Ive watched it numerous times and dont get it..

Why do they stare into the camera for no appearent reason making blank faces for 10's of seconds on end into the camera?

Why does everyone talk in a monotone voice?

What exactly is the office they work in do? Company?

I had some questions about "My Name Is Earl", but after watching it awhile, I eventually caught on and now enjoy it.. Not so for "The Office".. To this day I still stare at the tv screen looking at it when this show is on much like when the actors stare into the camera..

So what is up with this show? I dont get it...

 

[Mike Olbinski]

The show is supposed to be like it's a documentary, so they talk to the guys in little interviews sometimes.

They are a paper company called Dunder-Mifflin...they sell paper to clients.

I don't know about the monotone voices...doesn't seem like they are to me.

A lot of the humor of the show is reactions to things. So sometimes they pan to someone who just does a smirk, or a questioning face, etc. The blank stares are sometimes part of that.

If you watch the show from the beginning, you might understand it better? I dunno.

 

[D-Dogg]

I don't know about the monotone voices...doesn't seem like they are to me.

.

Stanley has a monotone voice...that's his character.

Dwight sometimes speaks in a monotone voice, which is when he is being aggressive.

The show is very much about reactions, and some of my favorite parts are things that happen in the background or a smirk or WTF face someone makes.

 

[D-Dogg]

It is kind of offputting I'd guess, for some people, to have a show where the characters are "camera aware" and are looking at you. Especially when a great deal of the show involves very awkward situations and feelings and it kind of tries to make you feel uncomfortable as well.

I will say the first season of the office I liked it, but didn't know how to take it. I don't know if the show just basically improved, or I got used to the format or both.

It's a show about the characters, and as a "documentary" it involves the audience much more than most sitcoms.

 

[Gee!]

Well that makes sense that its being shot in a docuentary.. Never knew that.. Explains alot of things.. But why is a paper company the topic of the documentary? Has that ever been explained? It doesnt look like a very big company..

 

[abomb]

Well that makes sense that its being shot in a docuentary.. Never knew that.. Explains alot of things.. But why is a paper company the topic of the documentary? Has that ever been explained? It doesnt look like a very big company..

Well that makes sense that its being shot in a docuentary.. Never knew that.. Explains alot of things.. But why is a paper company the topic of the documentary? Has that ever been explained? It doesnt look like a very big company..

It should also be pointed out that the show is an American adaptation of a highly-successful British show. A lot of the season one storylines are similar, but the American writers have since made it their own.

It should also be pointed out that many of the cast members are/were improv troupe members. A few of them also write for the show. BJ Novak (Ryan the Intern) has written a few episodes, as has Mindy Kaling (Kelly, the Indian girl). Many of the cast members have the same first name as their characters.

 

[thirty-two]

I definitely didnt fall head over heels the first few times I watched the Office. It took a few episodes. I decided to get season 1 cuz it was pretty cheap (like 15 bucks) and by the end of Season 1 I was hooked.

My mom was anti-office for a long time, until finally I forced her to watch Season 1 and she ended up loving it. Now it's one of her favorite shows. But she had originally turned her nose up at it.

It's definitely not for everyone, especially if you're just now tuning in, but if you get a chance, try out season 1 and then see if your opinion has changed. Blockbuster has it for rent, I believe.

I like the Office for the characters and their interaction with eachother. They are very real to me. Plus, I find the show incredibly witty.

 

[Gee!]

Well I first started watching it more because that guy from 40 Year Old Virgin was in it.. I think this show was on before that movie came out and I had watched a couple episodes then, but gave up cuz I couldnt understand it.. Then after that movie came out I decided to watched it again and still didnt get it.. Now that I know its in documantary form, Ill watch it to see if I can get it a lil more.. When I watched it before I just found it to be incredibly weird.. I sat thinking to myself, WTF!.. lol

 

[arthurracoon]

You definately have to watch it from season 1 on to understand it.

my sister thought it was stupid until she started from the begining, and now shes completly hooked