Watching ‘The Office’
isn’t hard work at all

Robyn’s Hood
By Robyn McCloskey

My favorite show on television right now is The Office. The sitcom that revolves around an insane cast of characters, all of whom drink their coffee, put their feet up and take their lunch breaks at the fictional paper company called Dunder-Mifflin, whose motto is "Providing paper for a paperless world."
That should tell you something right there. The show actually is based on the BBC sitcom of the same name by English comic Ricky Gervais. And while I think that show is hilarious, I think the American version on NBC is even more so. Not to mention that the stars of our "office" are not quite as pasty-looking as the stars of the other "office," and the American cast all seemed to have had their teeth professionally whitened — not something that can be said of the British cast.
The amazingly talented Steve Carell plays the boss, Michael Scott, a clueless, egomaniacal, self-important nerd. He plays this role so convincingly that real-life companies should use him as a what-not-to-do training video for their managers. He is always awkward, always politically incorrect and always inept, yet he’s always sidesplittingly funny. His right-hand man is Dwight Schrute, played brilliantly by Rain Wilson. Dwight is the farm-bred, know-it-all Eagle Scout who, if he existed in actual life, would be avoided like the plague. But we would turn to him in an emergency, like if a bat got loose inside a building or a cat needed to be euthanized. Dwight’s not someone you would want to hang out with but he’s definitely someone you would want on your side.
Then there’s Jim and Pam, the office lovebirds keeping things on the down-low. They are so normal, so real, that you almost feel they should be on your Christmas-card list. I could go on about the other colorful characters, most of whom you would not want to work alongside. Suffice to say that when I watch this show I am even more thankful that I work from home, alone.
This show is so popular that it has spawned an entire mini-industry of merchandise. You can go online and purchase Dwight bobbleheads or I Love Jim T-shirts. There are Dunder-Mifflin umbrellas, baseball hats and warehouse staff shirts. Target even has jumped on the bandwagon, selling Office office supplies, paper and pens decorated with characters from the show.
And should you need a greeting card, there are more than one talking Hallmark card to choose from — for example, Michael Scott wishing you a happy birthday or Dwight Schrute imparting some sage advice.
The Office is set in what once was the anthracite coal-mining town of Scranton, Pa. The show pays homage to the town by having the characters refer to such real-life places as Lackawanna County, Lake Wallenpaupack, Montage Mountain and the Mall at Steamtown. The made-up Dunder-Mifflin office has put the very real Scranton on the map.
In fact, during Oct. 26-28, there will be a convention for all the diehard fans of the show. I am not making this up. It is the first The Office convention. The powers-that-be in Scranton apparently are no dummies and know to cash in on a good thing when they see it, much like the merchandisers at NBC, Target and Hallmark.
I won’t be attending The Office fete later this month, but I will be watching for it. I am curious to see who shows up. I wonder if it will be like those Star Trek conventions where people show up in costume, although I’d have to believe it’s easier to portray a galactic traveler than someone who sits in an office cubicle.
I do have the feeling this convention is going to be one of those things that snowball. Sort of like American Idol or Dancing With the Stars. And if you do go, pick me up a Dwight Schrute bobblehead doll and an I Love Jim T-shirt.
I look at it this way. When that sad day comes when an out-of-touch network exec cancels this brilliant show, I can sell the stuff on eBay. ••
Robyn McCloskey’s column appears each week in the Northeast Times. She can be reached at crmccloskey@verizon.net