What's that? A wish list for the fourth season of The Office?Sure, we won't be getting any new episodes of The Office until this fall, but with all the returning series going back into production in the next few weeks and The Office getting a monumental 30-episode order for next season, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give the writer/producers of my favorite comedy my wish list for Season Four.
Jim and Pam. Like most Office fans, I was thrilled to see Jim and Pam finally, sort of, get together at the end of last season. Not with a momentous kiss but with a simple request for dinner that brilliantly underplayed the tension that has been building in the series for the last three years. (That said, I did love Rashida Jones' Karen and wish that they could have kept her around as a foil for Pam.)
This being a wish list rather than a love letter, I don't want to see Jim and Pam go down the Friends road, with the season being devoted to a back and forth tennis match of are-they-or-aren't-they together. These two are not Ross and Rachel (nor do I hope they will be) and I don't want the soapy emotional beats where they have a fight, break up, cheat while "on a break" and ultimately end up back together. I'm hoping that, having given the fans what they wanted, these two retreat into the background a little and just, you know, date. No more sturm und drang or sappy NBC promos promising a reunion or their first time together. Blech. No, I want these two to date and The Office to remain true to what it set out to be: a satirical look at office workers. So let's just let these two kids go out a few times and see if they click and how they negotiate dating and working together.
Location, Location, Location. Let's keep it low-key in Season Four. Sure, it's fun to see the Dunder-Mifflin gang outside of the office every now and then but let's make sure it's organic ("Booze Cruise" or "A Benihana Christmas") rather than forced ("Initiation"). After all, the show is called The Office, not The Office Takes a Field Trip Every Week.
Meredith. Please for the love of Ed Truck, find something for Meredith to do. Kate Flannery is far too talented an actor and comedian to be relegated to the background time and time again. While I love the fact that Meredith is a blatant alcoholic and sometimes nymphomaniac, I want to see her character deepened in the same way that Angela, Phyllis, Toby, Kelly, Oscar, Kevin, and Stanley have been. Please?
Simplicity in the storylines. One of the reasons I love this series is the way it reflects a lot of our daily lives. I might work in the television industry, but at the end of the day, I still work in an office and relate to what these characters are going through. I hope that we can see a return to some of these more simplistic storylines rather than the manic zaniness of some of the more high concept episodes (like, say, "Initiation" again). Can we say no more workplace strippers (real or otherwise) in any more Office episodes?
Michael. I want to see a slightly more toned down Michael next year. Michael works best when he's socially clueless and out of touch with culture, reality, and his employees but never so much that he become cartoonish. There were moments where Michael's behavior bordered too much on the unbelievable last season ("Phyllis' Wedding") and I hope that the writers will take a zero tolerance policy on this happening again. Don't ever sacrifice Steve Carell's comedic chops for an easy laugh. Sorry, but there's no negotiating this one.
Corporate power play. I'm hoping that Ryan's new position will invigorate his storyline and switch up the paradigm between him and Michael, who has made Ryan into an object of, er, affection over the last three seasons. I love the fact that the season ended with the former temp--and MBA holder--receiving that major promotion over Michael and taking over for Jan. Hopefully, Ryan will pop in and out of the Scranton offices from time to time and things will be very uncomfortable between him and former paramour Kelly Kapoor. That I can't wait to see.
Jan Levinson (No Gould). I'm super-thrilled that Melora Hardin will be back next season for some more shame spiraling following her sacking at the end of the third season. Now that she's hit rock bottom (lost her job and gained a new, er, profile and is back with Michael), there's nowhere to go but up and I hope that the writers plan Jan's climb back to the top with all of the humor and aplomb due to this out of control woman. But to start: can we see her move in with Michael? Cohabitating with your fired boss? Comedy gold.
And there you have it. My wish list for what I hope we'll see in The Office's fourth season. But I'm curious to find out what's on your wish lists for next season and what you hope the writers and producers change/continue/adapt. Any suggestions?
Comments
Are all the episodes going to be aired during the 2007-2008 season, or will a signifigant part of that order be held for the '08-'09 season in case there is a strike next spring?
Anybody know?
Ryan and Jan are definitely NOT going to be in it every week. That's been abundantly clear already and neither of them have appeared in every episode the past two seasons. I'd expect both of them to pop in and out as the story dictates.
I definitely agree with nearly everything on your list, especially a return to more realistic office-type humor and less over-the-top Michael (that wedding stuff was hard to watch). I'm still not sure what the best thing to do with Jan is though.
As much as I love the Office, last season became a little too soap opera-ish for my tastes. Finally bringing some direction to the Pam/Jim relationship should be a welcome change and hopefully put the focus back on the weird and wonderfully mundane that make the Office so special.
And now that Ryan is going to New York Jim gets his old desk back!