Correct me if I'm wrong, but The Office is a sitcom, right? Everyone should expect 30 (well, 22ish) minutes of laughs each week. Sometimes, the drama seeps in to advance the plot, as it did with last season's Michael Scott Paper Company or this season's Dunder Mifflin's bankruptcy. And the sentimentality comes and goes, as was the case with the Halpert wedding. But the show's solid foundation has always been in comedy, be it slapstick or awkward or physical. So it's too bad that last night's episode was way more dramatic than usual; I don't think I'm alone when I say that "Scott's Tots" was beyond depressing. The episode's dive into a pool of despair was far beyond what The Office can handle.
With the exception of Dwight's (Rainn Wilson) spot-on impressions of his co-workers and Ryan's (B.J. Novak) hipster sweater, whatever funny jokes were left in the script faltered under the weight of the unfunny scenes they were part of. The cake with Jim's (John Krasinski) face on it? The suitcase full of batteries? Those were just weak distractions from even weaker storylines. Why would the entire office assume Jim awarded himself Employee of the Month? It's totally out of character. And why would a middle-income businessman assume he could pay for an entire grade school class' college education in ten years? Michael (Steve Carell) is delusional, but he's also worked a management position at a corporation for over a decade. He should be smart enough to know that his income isn't exactly going anywhere. Another out-of-character moment. (And, for the record, who holds a guy like Michael Scott to that kind of promise? Shouldn't that school have done a background check or something?)
In the context of the situation, the "Scott's Tots" plot was utterly heartbreaking. Who laughs when 20 kids lose college funding? And who laughs at a guy who, for whatever reason, genuinely thought he'd make enough to support them in ten years? Michael didn't make this promise intending to screw over these kids. So why should we laugh at his misfortune? Real misfortune isn't ever amusing, either—so what the hell is it doing in a sitcom?
I'm all for the inclusion of drama to advance the plot. But The Office went way too far in "Scott's Tots." What do you think? How much drama should we allow into our trusty sitcoms? Is there a threshold?
Comments (51)
You're way off. The episode was hilarious because that exactly like something that Michael would do.
I thought the episode was hilarious. But then again, when you ask the question: "Who laughs when 20 kids lose college funding?" "Uh, me."
Um, the office is NOT a sitcom. Last week's episode was hilarious. TV.com needs to shut up.
SilentSerph, if you didn't even bother to watch the whole episode, how can you call it the worst one ever?
you're totally wrong. as someone said, it's just a TV show dude, geez.
Seems to be the guys like this episode and the girl can't deal with the "sad" aspect to the story. Its a show guys don't take it too seriously.
you're wrong and completely exaggerating , first of all the office is not a sitcom , sitcoms have fake laughter and live studio audiences , with lame jokes where you can hear what people think or see what would they be like fat. The office has always been based in super awkward moments, that's what makes it different
Definitely not a favorite, but Dwight was just amazing in this epsiode
I agree. Worst episode ever. When those kids started rapping for him and he started crying, I turned it off because I didn't want to see the predictable trainwreck.The best episodes of Office to me are the ones where the characters are goofing around within the realm of realistic incompetence and laziness. The worst ones are the ones that take the characters' faults to ridiculous extremes, like the 'Scotts tots' one.
My favorite episodes of the Office are rarely the funny ones but the drama ones. My 2 favorite episodes are probably the episodes with the dinner party at Michael and Jan's and the episode where Michael is torn between supporting Jan in her lawsuit or the company he works for.
I have to agree, the sadness of what happened with "Scott's Tots" was heavier then the, dare I say?, comic relief of the actual humor.
I thought it was a good episode. The best tv shows combine humor and drama, because that's what life is. Life is never all funny or all sad, it's a constant mixture of emotions and that's the type of show that I connect with best. Scrubs does that very well too.
I thought this was a bad episode, but I dont think Michael was out of character. The episode was not that funny but thats just because the episode wasnt so great. I like drama in sitcoms it makes you feel more for the characters.
Yeah you're wrong.
I think you're totally wrong about Michael being out of character in this episode. He's a guy who has wanted kids his whole life. By the time he made that promise, it was becoming more likely that it would never happen for him. As for the money situation, Michael always assumed, until Season 3/4, that he would have a high position at Corporate one day.
It was such a poignant Michael Scott moment, and what I think will become a classic episode. You got to see some layers of depth in his ineptitude. The closing moment with his receptionist was such a brilliant human exchange. What makes The Office such a great show is that it makes us laugh, and cry, and cringe while it reflects back to us the best and the worst, the craziest and the silliest, the most sensitive and insensitive parts of our humanity. While this last episode made you cringe from the beginning as you anticipated the fall-out, there was a small glimpse of redemption in the final scene. It didn't make everything "perfect", but it made you feel a little better for both the kids he disappointed and this person who you love to laugh at for his cluelessness. If anything, it made Michael Scott more like us. Don't worry, there will be more laughs to come, but it doesn't hurt to feel the pathos once in awhile.moreless
Quote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but The Office is a sitcom, right?You are wrong. If you knew the original series (The Office from the UK) you'd know it's not meant to make you laugh all the time (but I guess that's british humour). It's about all the sillyness, bitterness, tragedy, fun moments and dullness of everyday life, inside and outside the office.Compared to the original BBC, the US versions is already rather on the too-happy-side (e.g. there's no character like Jim who is actually likeable).PS: The German version of The Office UK called "Stromberg" is also rather dark.
while the jim accusations were completely insane, what Michael did isn't that out of character. While he has been managing scranton branch for a while now, hes hardly the smartest guy. Also michael likes being popular and making empty promises, he did it just last week promising everyone at that conference that the board will find a solution to the bankruptcy problem
First off, it's a TV show, the kids aren't really losing a college fund, it's ok. The whole point of the episode was how ridiculous Michael can be. This episode was hilarious. I can't believe people think this is sad. And the Jim storyline is to show that everyone in the office looks at Jim differently because he is the boss now. Everyone just needs to take a chill pill. IT'S TV!!! Suspend disbelief. And if you think this is the worst season ever, then you haven't seen The Office enough aparently, especially the last two seasons. This feels more like the Office of old.
I think the above writer should look back at the origins of The Office which of course was the UK version. The entire UK show's core was formed upon the notion of 'embarrassing situations' which this episode held very true to. Although, personally, I prefer the US version as I find it slightly less cynical than it's UK counterpart you can hardly slate a show for holding true to it's origins...
No. Under no circumstances was this the worst episode ever. In fact, I'd consider it one of the stronger episodes of the season. The show hasn't been the same since Season 4, but half of Season 5 was just shameful. This season picked up a little more, but I don't think we'll ever have THE The Office back. This episode may have - DID - seem forced in the sense that the plot was a little unbelievable. But haven't we had that before? Meredith's character in Moroccan Christmas, Michael trusting his GPS to a near-fatal extent, part of the Michael Scott Paper Company, even Dwight's Speech - part of the show thrives on that suspension of belief, and we tend to ignore it. It was far from a perfect episode, but it wasn't hellsent.moreless
I completely agree. Definately the worst episode yet! In fact, this whole season has been rather dissappointing.
If you think this was a bad episode bad you are not a true Office fan. This episode was very funny!
The single worst episode of "The Office" ever. The Michael story was incredibly depressing , silly and pointless. The Dwight/Jim angle asked that you forget everything you every saw on the show - Jim would have seen through the lame ploy from the beginning. Just a sad excuse for an episode and finally I thought the direction was off kilter - especially all the lame close ups of Jim looking confused.
What made Michael's promise worse was that it appeared he had kept in touch with all of the children and had been a part of their lives for the entire ten years (commenting about their accomplishments and remarking about their families). So, it wasn't just one little promise, it was a series of promises over the years and him leading them on. I do believe the Michael Scott character would have made the initial promise, that is in his character, but this episode made him almost sinister in what he did to the kids.
Yeah, I turned this one off halfway through. I don't buy that the kids, their parents, and their teachers would still assume that promise was legit, I don't buy that the entire office believed that Jim would be so openly selfish, and I don't like that Dwight is now trying to get Jim fired. They screw with each other a lot, but that's taking things a lot farther than usual. The drama felt excessive and forced.
While I fully believe that Michael would make the promise to send all those kids to college, I fully doubt that everyone would take him at his word for 10 years. Wouldn't the school ask him how a regional manager of a low level paper company intends to come up with several hundred thousand dollars? Wouldn't the parents and kids done a check before they applied to college, or sometime during their senior year? A better storyline would probably have been Michael actually visiting a third grade class, promising them tuition and then in the same episode being force to reneg on that promise, when people start asking questions about how he intends to get the money. That way it might actually have been enjoyable.
Are you kidding me!? Is the world gone mad? This was one of the better episode of the office this season. Sure what Michael did was horrible, but hell Michael does alot of things that are horrible. However, the ride that Michael gives us when he tries to fix it is sooo damn funny. That in the end who cares cause one its a tv show and two the episode was soo funny that you don't care at the end.
I agree with lemmelkorv. It's a horrible, horrible thing that Michael did. But it is exactly something that Michael Scott would do. It almost called back to the original UK Office, it was that awkward to watch. But that's what this show was originally about. A show tests us best if they challenge our views on a character-if we still feel bad for Michael even after he made an empty promise to a group of kids to pay for their college tuition...then the writers (and actors) have probably done their job.
Also, I think a show, whether it's a drama or a comedy, is more well-rounded if it has elements of both sides of the spectrum, not just ones of the genre it is classified as. Otherwise it's boring or tiring.
"why would a middle-income businessman assume he could pay for an entire grade school class' college education in ten years?" Have you seen any other episode of this show? This is exactly something Michael would do.
It may not have been the most hilarious episode of The Office, but it was still quite funny. I doubt that whoever wrote this article has seen more than a handful of Office episodes, otherwise he or she would have known that what The Office does best is push the limits of "what is funny" and "what is offensive." Lately I think The Office has been going more for physical, situational humor and it has lacked the more offensive, satirical plots. "Scott's Tots" definitely brought it back though with Michael's most awkward, idiotic action to date. Even if you don't think it's laugh out loud funny, it's still clever.If you want to watch a sitcom full of puns and laugh tracks, there are plenty of reruns of Friends or Will & Grace.moreless
The Office has had it's moments but I never really could get into it
I was uncomfortable with that "Scott's Tots" stuff.
i agree this was a bad episode, i hate when they make an episode where they expect us to laugh at a character we all like, to fail.I just felt sorry for Michael and the kids when he essentially ruined their lives. But where i do disagree is with the batteries. He tricked me because i thought he was going to pull out laptops but instead batteries. That was pretty funny. Anyone that has watched the office knows Michael was in character when he made that promise because that's what he does, he does w/e he can to make people happy now and forgets about consequences later. He also always throughout the seasons believes he will become rich. do your homework there.
Are you people serious? Was a great episode as usual and if things like this bother you this much I truly feel sorry for you.
"Who laughs when 20 kids lose college funding?"I laugh when 20 kids lose college funding.
Agreed on this. It was quite dull.
It wasn't funny at all. Made me wonder why I still watch the show.
I kept waiting for a funny way for Michael to get himself out of the mess he created but it just got more depressing. The only funny things in this episode were the impersonations Dwight did. The payoff at the end of the episode for Dwight's scheme wasn't even funny.
I agree. They've always used that uncomfortable type of comendy, but this went too far.
Take it easy Steph, I guess you are over-analyzing the show. I couldn't agree more with the change of genre, and honestly I would prefer slitting my wrists than watch Michael Scott go through his midlife crisis. I thought this episode was quite good after weighing out good and bads. The good old Jim-Dwight battle was good, Rainn's impressions, and Dwight's insanely diabolic plan were pretty hilarious. Steve Carrells storyline was bad, I couldn't agree more. And like I said, if you look at the package as a whole, it was definitely much better than most season 5 and 6 episodes.
I think someone is overreacting.
"Who laughs when 20 kids lose college funding?"Me! Laughed my ass off!!! It was just the most awkward "Michael" situation of all of the awkward "Michael" situations :D
so you click on the office article and see that it's #1 on tv.com's top 20 and still ask a troll question nikomatic?
the episode was simply not funny
Comedies are allowed to try and pull at your heart strings, it shows that they've done a good job of getting you invested in the characters. This episode was very funny, and I just cannot understand how the person who wrote this article gets work....She writes 'And why would a middle-income businessman assume he could pay for an entire grade school class' college education in ten years?'- Because everything we've learned about Michael thus far suggests that he is the sort of person who doesn't ever think about the consequences of his actions, just about what people think of him in that moment, and this is why he is funny. To call his misjudgement an 'out of character moment' suggests a deep misunderstanding of the character.'Real misfortune isn't ever amusing'????? What about this episode was 'real'? The whole series plays on the tragic lives of people stuck in a boring city and in a boring mundane job, which although IS reality for many people is still discernable from a fictional show intended to make you laugh and wince at the same time.I apologise for the rant, Stefanie, but I thought that your article was a sensationalist load of over-sensitive nonsense.moreless
thought the episode was simply not funny from the start to the end. Luckily the same day a really great episode of Parks.