Brand New - Science Fiction (August 17, 2017) [ARCHIVED] Album • Page 797

The show was just not as good anymore. The humor was dumbed down to appeal to the masses during their peak popularity.

 

The lake episode is where I have pinpointed the shift. It starts right there, and then the snowball. I've thought about this a lot. I loved that show. And I've never seen something with that many talented people shit the bed in such speculation fashion. I've traced writers and directors to find why and how and blame NBC and the popularity of the show for a lot of it.

 

I find just as much humor and interest in the later seasons as the earlier, so I strongly disagree with you... not sure how many other ways I can say the same thing

 

This coming from himym fans. Haha. That show was not good

 

Lake episode? I don't recall that at all. Guess I'm lucky.

 

When the GPS tells Michael to drive into the lake and he does it ...

 

I'm pretty solidly on the Office was only good s1-3 bandwagon but I don't think the rest is a bad show. It's just not great. 1-3 are brilliant, and exactly as Jason said it's largely that they knew where the line was between realism and ridiculous. 4-9 (minus the absolute piece of shit season 8) hold up almost better on later viewings as they can no longer let me down, so I appreciate them for what they are. Funny TV junk food. Season 1-3 are collectively an A+, 4-9 hover around B-. I can live with that now (I was pissed at the time).

And Mad Men is the best show of all time, largely in part due to Moss. Great to see her win tonight.

 

There was humor throughout all of it. But the better written humor was earlier on. Broad humor is still humor, but I can't pretend to say it's the same throughout the show. I don't care much for the broader stuff. That is not what made the Office great. The show changed.

 

Actually 100% wrong.

 

Correct. That show is another that competes with The Office for turning a funny premise into garbage. Worst series finale of all time.

 

The show WAS good. But the ending of that show ruined everything. I can't watch it anymore.

 

A good example is the fire drill cold open. On one hand it's funny as fuck, on the other hand it spits in the face of the show it was prior to season 4.

 

The fire drill is pretty polarizing, personally I think it's dumb as shit but that's one of my least favorite moments in the show

 

Ohhhh, that. I used to watch it weekly from the pilot in 2005 until s4, when the start of season 4 with the fun run lost me, then I stopped caring. I just watched it on Hulu whilst doing homework back then. No longer was it a "be at the tv at 9pm Thursday" event.

 

It's even more absurd when you compare it to The Fire from season 2. Where you see them act in a way that makes sense for the show. Then s5, it happens and everyone is a fucking idiot and they throw cats though ceilings. What in the actual fuck?

 

Exactly. Haha. I've had this talk with friends every time we watch the show or talk about it.

(And then you get garbage like the "prank" to convince Dwight that he's a murderer that's just stupid compared to the subtle and subversive comedy used for the best episodes. All those Nellie and Spader episodes just make me angry.)

 

I tried to watch himym and couldn't get through like 5 episodes and I'm easy when it comes to comedy TV shows. Really I'll watch anything.

 

I loathed all the Spader stuff. So bad.

 

I'm basically just quoting myself because I think I already posted these thoughts in this thread, but The Office took lovable characters and turned them into caricatures. By season six, maybe even season five, they were merely shells of their former selves. The season three finale was perfect and could have been a great series finale. I honestly stopped watching early on in season six and never finished the rest of the show, though I did catch the series finale which was fine.

 

Arguing about the office on my phone while watching Return of the Jedi is the most Jason moment of all time.

 

Haha my wife and I are re-watching breaking bad.

 

In a Brand New thread

 

Is it the obviousness of how much it contradicts your criticisms of how the Office is unwatchable?

Edit: I know this sounds like the post an asshole would make, but I assure you I'm not being one. I actually couldn't make my point without it coming off as arrogant lol.

 

Right. And like, that's probably in the top 3 most egregious examples, but the later seasons go there constantly. They dumbed down the characters, they dumbed down the situations, and it just lowered the whole bar. I'd argue it starts feeling off as early as the fun run, basically the beginning of the end for Dwight as actual good character rather than Dwight the lol-how-crazy-is-this?! machine.

 

At least the series finale had some decent moments.