The American version of The Office is based on the British version of the same name. It is a short season comprised of six episodes at 22 minutes each. The first season is effectively a carbon copy of the British version since it is only in the later seasons where it diverges in plot and development. The premise is that the camera is part of a documentary crew who comes to the offices of Dunder Mifflin to observe effective management. The regional manager, and thus boss of the branch, is Michael Scott. Michael is immediately shown to be a laid back person yet is also extremely immature.
Dunder Mifflin is a paper company whose revenue comes from selling paper to its clients. The company must not be in good financial health because throughout the season, it constantly pushes forward various cost cutting measures. There is always the looming threat of downsizing, which understandably, causes a lot of stress for the employees. Michael is the main focus of the short with his inappropriate antics that is not befitting of his role. He is insensitive and loves to play practical pranks, make offensive jokes, and just generally be unprofessional. He encourages the same behavior from his employees and while it is funny, you can understand why it is annoying to others.
The whole season is structured around when Michael first gets news from head office that the branch may be facing a downsizing. Michael tries to prevent this news from spreading and keep the morale out but fails miserably. The core cast is comprised of a new temp worker, two salesmen, and the receptionist. The first episode immediately makes it clear to the viewer what types of people they are. The new temp worker is worried and not sure about the culture, one salesman is a prankster while the other is more serious, while the receptionist is constantly being bullied by Michael.
The more serious salesman, Dwight, can be somewhat annoying with his behavior of acting like he is a superior, while not really being one. Due to his “career focus”, Michael constantly shifts the negative work to Dwight who will gleefully cost cuts. Despite his unpopular behavior, he remains confused and hates it when others don’t listen to him. The humor mostly comes from Michael’s (often racist) jokes and behavior and its failed results. It would never fly in a real workplace and considering the sensitivity of the topics, it is surprising is managed to make it into a show filled with these. There are plenty of stupid things done in an office environment. While these things would never happen in reality (because of how stupid it is), it still feels plausible that it could happen.
Despite being the star, Michael is selfish, petty, unfair, and is the perfect example of a terrible boss. He is a coward that’s stuck in middle management. Whenever the head office wants him to deliver bad news, he finds a scapegoat. He makes things up as he goes along, wanting to impress while at the same time, not doing anything. He is the worst type of manager that there is.
The camera work is kind of weird at times. There is often “shaking” which can make it feel amateurish. While it doesn’t have a focused plot, the season just kind of abruptly ends. Overall, the first season of the American The Office is average. The jokes are extraordinarily funny, the characters are crazy lovable, it just manages to dawdle along, never quite becoming boring but not quite amazing either.
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