Last night on THE OFFICE, over one hundred invited family and friends attended the wedding of Phyllis and Bob Vance (Vance Refrigeration). In addition to those in attendance, another nine million or so watched the ceremony on television. Yet the question I have today is: Would more viewers have tuned into the wedding of the season had they known that Michael Scott wouldn’t be in attendance?
While I’m not about to deny the comedic brilliance of actor Steve Carell, I think it’s time the THE OFFICE writers considered toning down Michael’s almost absurd antics [before they turn off viewers forever]. Last night’s wedding was yet another example in a long list (see: ‘The Boat Cruise, ‘Phyllis’ Wedding Shower’, ‘The Diwali Festival’ ‘Outing Oscar’ the list goes on….) where Michael’s behavior is so outlandish that I almost found myself flipping to SURVIVOR.
The unfortunate reality is that THE OFFICE is slowly transforming into two separate shows — ‘The Michael Scott Show’ and ‘The Office’. While ‘The Michael Scott Show’ not surprisingly revolves around Michael Scott, ‘The Office’ is a Michael Scott free zone — and the real reason why I fell in love with THE OFFICE in the first place.
Think back to last night’s wedding. What aspects of the party did you truly enjoy? Michael acting insane — umm, no. More likely you loved the look on Jim’s face when he watched Pam and Roy walk out of the reception together. Toby miraculously scoring a supermodel as a date. Dwight and Angela dancing outside in secret (how very SAVED BY THE BELL). Or my favourite moments of the night, Ryan swatting the bouquet out of Kelly’s reach and Creed putting his name on a gift he most definitely didn’t buy. It’s those little moments, the ones that force you to pause your PVR and rewind that make THE OFFICE what it is.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for Michael Scott’s resignation (after-all, without Michael, THE OFFICE just wouldn’t be same). But I do think it’s time, in the interest of the show’s long-term success, that Michael Scott start to tone it down a little bit. I for one will not stand for any interruptions when — years from now — Jim and Pam finally walk down the aisle. 