http://www.kgw.com/entertainment/140666793.html
NBC (ended 2013)
http://www.kgw.com/entertainment/140666793.html
NBC needs to just put the show out of its misery and let them plan to wrap up in May. James Spader isn't a huge loss (especially considering how little he's been on), but Mindy Kaling is possibly bailing should her FOX pilot get picked up for fall. Toss in Rainn Wilson possibly having a spin-off and it's really time to have a planned exit.
Unfortunately, NBC is so starved for viewers, and the show is still one of their more-watched, that they're likely going to bleed it dry and beyond.
I think its a little knee jerk for people to be saying that the show needs to be put out of its misery; season 8 has been great so far. The truth is that shouldn't even be considered until at least this time next year(that is providedthat all the major players are coming back for next season: Jim, Pam, and Andy are expected to be back but are still are in talks so far). I do think there is a real chance a year from now of Jim, Pam, and Andyleaving. Jim, Pam, and Andyare central to the show; Robert and Kelly are not big losses. They don't really appear in the show enough for their loss to effect it that badly. Kaling's departure will be felt more when it comes to writing but even there I think this could be a good thing; it would be good to bring in another writer to shake things up. If and when, and that's a big if, Rainn Wilson leaves for Dwight spinoff, the talk has mostly been that it will be in the second half of season 9 so that's not immediate. I don't think the future of the show will be in flux until the end of season nine when Dwight has maybe left and Jim at least will probably go.
Concerning Spader's departure: I'm disappointed that he's leaving but it won't really hurt the show considering he didn't appear in every show so he's not that essential to the show. Reaction to his character has been polarizing; I really feel as though the writers have really dropped the ball with his character. His first appearance was terrific but until the episode the Mrs. California the writers did a bad job of selling the character. Since Mrs. California I think his character has really been on the rise but I just feel like they had their chance to create a breakout character like Michael Scott and they dropped the ball. James Spader is a world class actor and is perfect for a dry humored show like this. I absolutely think he could have contended for an Emmy. They just didn't try hard enough on selling his character to the audience. What could have been?
| mrjimmyjames wrote: |
| I think its a little knee jerk for people to be saying that the show needs to be put out of its misery; season 8 has been great so far. The truth is that shouldn't even be considered until at least this time next year... |
| mrjimmyjames wrote: |
| Concerning Spader's departure: I'm disappointed that he's leaving but it won't really hurt the show considering he didn't appear in every show so he's not that essential to the show. Reaction to his character has been polarizing; I really feel as though the writers have really dropped the ball with his character. His first appearance was terrific but until the episode the Mrs. California the writers did a bad job of selling the character. Since Mrs. California I think his character has really been on the rise but I just feel like they had their chance to create a breakout character like Michael Scott and they dropped the ball. James Spader is a world class actor and is perfect for a dry humored show like this. I absolutely think he could have contended for an Emmy. They just didn't try hard enough on selling his character to the audience. What could have been? |
| neo979 wrote: |
| Funny, I was about to say exactly the same thing as Mr. Jimmy James - I would miss Mindy Kaling more as a writer than as an actress. I have said things like this before and been wrong, but personally I think the Schrute Farms spinoff is such a bad idea that it has the potential to not only fail but also sink the original show, regardless of how they try to distribute Rainn. I do hope I'm wrong though. Maybe Catherine Tate could stick around to replace Mindy Kaling, and then Ray Romano could return to replace James Spader. I don't have particularly strong feelings about Ray myself, but his guest appearance seemed to generate a pretty big response, and it seemed like his character would've liked to get another chance. I don't know if Ray is interested, but in my opinion that could work. |
I feel the same way as you about the Dwight spinoff; I do hope it will be successful but I don't know that Schrute Farms is a fascinating enough concept to carry the show. Maybe it would be best if they continued to stick him in an environment where he is a fish out of water like moving him to New York City or somehow having him becomea college professor or something.
I don't think Ray will be coming back but I admit his character was great. And I really did not expect that.
| jekyll wrote: | ||
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Sorry Jekyll, I just can't agree with you on that. I frequently see most of the past seasons again through reruns and ever since Steve left, it's been very solid; there has not been too big of a drop off. There have been plenty of great episodes this season. You say it hasn't been very good as if everyone agrees with you on that and its set in stone. That's just not the case. Most of the response to this season has been polarizing. For every person who likes it there's someone who hates it. Even before Steve left there were plenty of people saying it had been terrible since season 5. It reminds me of response to SNL; no matter who is on that show or how well it has been doing there is always someone declaring it to be terrible, in need of cancellation,and saying that it doesn't compare to whenever their favorite cast member was on. Change can be a good thing; give it a chance. I just think a lot of people do simply see that Steve is not in the credits at the beginning of the show and immediately dismiss it.
| neo979 wrote: |
| The way I see it, they'd better hope for one of the following scenarios: 1) Hang on to both Mindy Kaling and Catherine Tate, and that would be enough without James Spader or any further additions 2) Ray Romano (and hopefully keep at least one of Mindy Kaling and Catherine Tate). |
Keeping Catherine Tate should be easy. She now has what every big British TV star wants: a chance to get recognition in America. Her profile will be raised a lot compared to Doctor Who and Catherine Tate Show reruns on BBC America.
| neo979 wrote: |
| The way I see it, they'd better hope for one of the following scenarios: 1) Hang on to both Mindy Kaling and Catherine Tate, and that would be enough without James Spader or any further additions 2) Ray Romano (and hopefully keep at least one of Mindy Kaling and Catherine Tate) 3) Somehow manage to get ANOTHER big-name movie star to sign on with the show If they can't pull off any of those, they will essentially be stuck with 4) Add some D-List actor that has no history with the show. |
I don't see why they should keep trying to bring in a big name comedian/actor to be manager or an exec at corporate. What would be best would be to bring in more supporting players to be sales reps/secretaries like they've had success at over the course of show's run. Adding Andy and Erin were great moves; why not attempt to replicate that success? There's plenty of funny people out there that don't have anything right now. Who's to say that SNL or The Daily Show wouldn't have someone else to get. I'd like to see David Cross on the show; his show on IFC just ended. Rhys Darby? Dave Foley?
I would be happy to see them join the show, although I can't say how fans in general would react. (Oh man, that Todd Margaret ending was perfect, but sad.)| JOKER677 wrote: |
| The guy wasn't funny anyway thank God. He didn't fit into any story line that they came up with and every scene with him just seemed dull. |
| Psy4potato wrote: |
| I agree with the comment on getting unknown actors on the show. It will bring something completely fresh. |
Yeah. If you remember, outside of Steve Carell, the entire cast was unknown in the beginnning. So was Ellie Kemper. Not to mention the guy who plays Gabe, who I think has really come around. They have a pretty good track record of finding the perfect unknown actors to add to the show.
The "Get The Girl" episode seemed to support the possibility of Catherine Tate sticking around as boss.
I'm also glad that Andy and Erin got back together.
Did I hear Robert say, "my boss Jo Bennett"? I thought Jo was out of the picture now and Robert replaced her?? It seems like they are trying to retcon Jo back into the company, now that they know Robert is leaving. I don't have any problem with Kathy Bates or the character of Jo if she does return, but I'm not thrilled with the inconsistency.
So far I kind of like the idea of the Nellie boss character, because she is pretty much just flat-out CRAZY!
| neo979 wrote: |
The "Get The Girl" episode seemed to support the possibility of Catherine Tate sticking around as boss. I'm also glad that Andy and Erin got back together. Did I hear Robert say, "my boss Jo Bennett"? I thought Jo was out of the picture now and Robert replaced her?? It seems like they are trying to retcon Jo back into the company, now that they know Robert is leaving. I don't have any problem with Kathy Bates or the character of Jo if she does return, but I'm not thrilled with the inconsistency. So far I kind of like the idea of the Nellie boss character, because she is pretty much just flat-out CRAZY! |
About Jo Bennett, she's still been in control of Sabre offscreen this entire time as a chairman or something like that; that's how Nellie got her job (she's Jo's best friend). She just isn't there everyday anymore as CEO.
I just don't know what to think about Nellie yet and from what I've seen on the internet so far a lot of other people are very split on her. I've yet to be convinced that she is anything more than slightly funny and as a result would much rather her be in a smaller role on the show like she's been during this Tallahassee arc. What I'm afraid of is that "Get the Girl" was the show bringing itself around full circle back tothe setupseason 8 was originally rumored to have with it essentially being like it was with Michael as the center of the show but with Nellie as manager in the same exact way.
I know it's not supposed to be over yet and Andy is going to fight for his job but in my gut I'm starting to feel like this was the plan for season 8 all along: temporarily promote from within and bring on Spader for a year as CEO, and then by the end of the season turn the show completely over to Catherine Tate for the foreseeable future once her committment to a play she was doing was over. This has me uncomfortable since I'm not convinced that Catherine Tate could carry the show like Michael did and frankly was very happy with the fact that the show had become more of an ensemble and did not focus on one character too much like it did when Michael was on it. I just think that by the time Michael left the show had outgrown this idea that the show always has to live and die by the manager character as the main focus of every episode. And I feel like if they go back to the show being just the way it was with Michael but with Nellie in his place as manager/center of the show it would be a step back for the show. I would prefer Nellie had a different role and Andy stayed manager.
Okay, that makes sense. So it's sort of like how Bill Gates resigned without really resigning. It would've made more sense if Kathy Bates hadn't disappeared from the show for a year (and counting), but I guess she's a busy lady.
You do have a point that it works well as an ensemble show, but on the other hand, I find the idea of "this was the plan all along" preferable to "the show is in chaos and doesn't really know where it's going."
I'm not suggesting that the show can't continue to have quality even if they don't have an overall plan, but I still think a plan is the best option.
| neo979 wrote: |
Okay, that makes sense. So it's sort of like how Bill Gates resigned without really resigning. It would've made more sense if Kathy Bates hadn't disappeared from the show for a year (and counting), but I guess she's a busy lady. You do have a point that it works well as an ensemble show, but on the other hand, I find the idea of "this was the plan all along" preferable to "the show is in chaos and doesn't really know where it's going." I'm not suggesting that the show can't continue to have quality even if they don't have an overall plan, but I still think a plan is the best option. |
Yeah, if Kathy Bates was still CEO it would be a real question as to where she is considering CEO is a such a day to day job but by replacing her at CEO its very realistic that she is never seen anymore and only talked about. She still owns the company but doesn't have to be as involved as she once was. She still has final say over Robert California if she wants; she's just let somebody else deal with the day to day running of the company. Plenty of companies work this way; just think about CBS. Who's most in control there? Who gets the final say? The CEO of CBS is Les Moonves but the person who ultimately has the most power at CBS is a guy named Sumner Redstone who controls both CBS and Viacom through a movie theater chain he owns called National Amusements and that company owns the most stock in both companies. NBC is of course now owned by Comcast. You'd be suprised by how far back it can go. I do hope that at least every now and then like maybe once a season Kathy Bates could appear because I always thought she fit on the show well.
I'm pretty sure that the producers' plan at the beginning of the season was to by the end of the season make Catherine Tate manager and center the show around her. They've known what they were doing the entire time. It seems pretty obvious now; I guarantee that's the case. She just had a theater commitment and couldn't join until now; the producers were willing to wait and put plan B (Spader and Andy as boss) in place to bide time until she became available.
