The Office - Gossip

The gang in Scranton are back on the airwaves...

No, the staff at the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems didn't get their own show...but how cool is it that I work for a company that has an outpost in Scranton. Actually, I think my interest in the show (already piqued) would even be increased if Dunder Mifflin sold their Scranton branch to General Dynamics.

(Come on, you couldn't see the gritted teeth of Dwight Schrute as he determinedly drove a Stryker? Although that division wouldn't actually build vehicles - still, cool mental visual. In the words of Kevin Malone: "It would be AWESOME!")

But I digress (that happens around here...get used to it!)...

The season premiere of the Office, entitled "Gossip" aired this past Thursday and upon first viewing, I have to give it a thumbs in the middle. As an episode, it was okay, but as a Season Premiere, I expected something more.).

There's probably something to be said for the fact that, save the official announcement that Pam and Jim are expecting, the rest of the episode seemed as if the show was already in mid-season form. Michael was creating havoc and the rest of the Office was basically reacting to it.

In a way, Season 6 starts a lot like seasons 4 and 5 did, with Pam and Jim hoarding a secret that should have perhaps been played out throught the first third (or quarter) of the season, and instead gets exposed before the first episode ends.

In Season 4, we found out they were dating (the "we're trying to hide it" lasted until halfway though the first episode) and the rest of the Office knew an episode later. (Just as an aside, I really think they missed a golden comedic opportunity here. Kevin was gold in his frustrated attempts to discover the truth about Pam and Jim's relationship. I think they could have expanded that over the course of three or four episodes, or even just one full episode devoted to that storyline.)

In Season 5, Jim popped the question to Pam at the end of the first episode (after a missed opportunity in the Season 4 finale) and the rest of the cast knew by the second. Admittedly, I don't think there was as much opportunity to keep the "secret" storyline going with the engagement as there was with the dating.

Still, the fact that Michael's rumour-mongering (is that a word? Well, it is now!) led them to make the announcement this soon just seemed...I don't know, kinda flat. Maybe it's because the discovery of Pam's pregnancy was done so well in the Season 5 finale, it was hard to make the official announcement to Dunder Mifflin quite as dramatic and heart-warming.

The more I think on it, perhaps the reason the announcement went so flat is because it was just kinda blurted out amid Andy's questioning his sexuality and the news that Stanley was having an affair. (Oh, and Oscar denying he is the voice of the Taco Bell dog.)

And maybe it's the latter (Stanley, not Oscar) that really soured me a little bit on this episode. It just seemed so out of character for Stanley that at first, I assumed his admission of guilt was really just an attempt to work Michael.

When Michael first confronts Stanley about the affair, my first thought was Stanley was just so flabberghasted at the absurdity of the accusation, he figures he might as well play along and see how much of an idiot Michael can become. Like Stanley is just so tired of Michael's antics that he would get some perverse joy out of setting his boss up like that.

I figured the payoff would be for Michael to make some big announcement, Stanley to reveal it was all a sham and for Michael to feel bad about spreading and believing gossip. If Michael did call Stanley on the lie, Stanley would be say words to the effect of...

"Do I look like the kind of man who would cheat on his wife of 12 years? What kind of person do you think I am?"

However, the writers went another way. To me, it's just out of character for Stanley. (Although in a previous episode, they did reveal he was on his second wife.) And it's a storyline I hope they never speak of again. Put Stanley back in his beloved position of being the Eeyore of the Office, coming into work, doing his job, filling out a crossword during meetings and basically not wanting to get involved in the shenanigans of the Office.

(Okay, I know Eeyore did none of those things, but you get the comparison, right?...

Right?

Oh come on...right?)

So again, as a stand-alone episode, Gossip wasn't bad (save the previously ranted upon Stanley storyline) but save the Pam pregnancy angle, I didn't come across any minor storylines that would continue throughout the season...unless Andy continues to wonder if he's gay. Again, there's something to be said for subtlety in a Season Premiere, a kind of shout-out to the fact the Office doesn't need a major stunt to get people to tune in and get back in the habit of watching the show, but still...

What happened between Dwight and Angela?

Is Andy still crushing on Erin, the new receptionist?

Is the on-again, off-again romance between Kelly and Ryan still off?

Are Kevin, Meredith, Creed, Oscar, Toby and Phyllis up to anything? (I personally liked the Seaon 5 season opener where we noticed that these people still have lives over the summer months.)

While there's an entire season to be had, it might be nice to let people know this isn't just the Michael Scott show.

Still...it's the Office, so it's kinda like nitpicking. It's like watching Wrestlemania III and b!tching that the Orton/Muraco vs. Can-Am Connection opening tag match wasn't Wrestlemania-worthy and should have been stuck on a Saturday Night's Main Event.