Extension Work Year 11 - Comedy TV Show (Part 2)

Chosen Show: The Office (US)

A remake of the hit 2001 BBC TV series The Office (2001), this is a mockumentary that documents the exploits of a paper supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Made up of head chief Michael Scott, a harmlessly deluded and ignorantly insensitive boss who cares about the welfare of his employees while trying to put his own spin on company policy. With an office including the likes of various peers who have their own hangups, The Office (2005) takes a look at the lives of its co-workers: bored but talented salesman Jim, his mildly sociopathic, butt kissing enemy Dwight, mildly righteous receptionist Pam, and indifferent temp Ryan.

Cast/Characters

Michael Gary Scott (born March 15, 1964) is a fictional character in NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell and based on David Brent from the original UK version of the program. Michael is the central character of the series, serving as Regional Manager of the Scranton branch of paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc. from season one through seven. However, he leaves Dunder Mifflin temporarily to form the Michael Scott Paper Company during the late end of the fifth season and shares a co-managerial position with Jim Halpert during a sixth season arc from "The Meeting" to "The Manager and the Salesman". In the end of the seventh season, he proposes to HR representative Holly Flax and moves to Colorado to take care of her aging parents, leaving the manager position to Deangelo Vickers in "Goodbye, Michael" and ultimately to Andy Bernard in season eight.

Dwight Kurt Schrute III (born January 20, 1968) is a character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Rainn Wilson and based on Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. His character is one of the highest-ranking salesmen at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, although the series expands on his character as bed-and-breakfast proprietor at Schrute Farms, a beet plantation, and as the owner of the business park enclosing Dunder Mifflin. He is notorious for his lack of social skills and common sense, his love for martial arts and the justice system, and his rivalry with fellow salesman Jim Halpert. He has at times risen to the position of Branch Manager of the Scranton branch, but often serves as a second or third in command as Assistant (to the) Regional Manager. In the final season, Dwight is finally offered the position of Manager.

James Duncan "Jim" Halpert (born October 1, 1978) is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom, The Office, portrayed by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office. The character is named after a childhood friend of executive producer Greg Daniels.[3] He is introduced as a sales representative at the Scranton branch of paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, before transferring to the Stamford branch in the third season. Upon the merger of Scranton and Stamford branches, he becomes Assistant Regional Manager, and later co-manager alongside Michael Scott during the sixth season episode arc from "The Promotion" to "The Manager and the Salesman". After Dunder Mifflin is bought by Sabre Corporation, Jim is very briefly the sole regional manager of the branch, before returning to the Sales department until his termination in the series finale. His character serves as the mild-mannered straight man role to Michael, although it is also defined by a rivalrous pranking on fellow salesman Dwight Schrute and a romantic interest in receptionist Pam Beesly, whom he begins dating in the fourth season, marries in the sixth, and has children with in the sixth and eighth.

Pamela Morgan "Pam" Halpert (née Beesley; born March 25, 1979) is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom The Office, played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Dawn Tinsley. Her character is initially the receptionist at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, before becoming a saleswoman and eventually office administrator until her termination in the series finale. Her character is shy, growing assertive but amiable, and artistically inclined, and shares romantic interest with Jim Halpert, whom she begins dating in the fourth season and marries and starts a family with as the series continues.

Ryan Bailey Howard (born May 5, 1979) is a fictional character on the U.S. television series The Office. He is portrayed by the show's writer, director, and executive producer B. J. Novak, and is based upon Ricky Howard from the original British version of The Office (as well as Neil Godwin, during the fourth season),[1] although his role is significantly expanded to that of a main character.

Janet "Jan" Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series The Office. Her counterpart in the UK version is Jennifer Taylor-Clarke. She is portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, directly supervising central character and Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch, Michael Scott. Her character is notable for the dysfunctional relationship she enters with Michael following the second season episode, "The Client", up until the fourth season episode "Dinner Party". Michael and Jan's personas contrast to much humor in the series, particularly in their professional attitudes and social interactions, although Jan's erratic and sexually-domineering mental state of mind leads to her firing.

Royson "Roy" Allan Anderson is a fictional character from the US television series The Office, portrayed by David Denman. His counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Lee. Roy Anderson is a warehouse dock worker at the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. He has been engaged to the office receptionist Pam Beesly for three years when the series begins, in a relationship where he is shown to be skeptical of, if not completely insensitive to, her ambitions. He often shares in the warehouse's typical blue-collar humor.

Stanley James Hudson is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Leslie David Baker. Stanley has no direct counterpart in the UK series, although his closest counterpart is Oliver. Stanley Hudson is a sales representative for the fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. Stanley is a serious, hardworking, but a thoroughly grumpy and disgruntled employee so lacking in interest in his surroundings that in one cold open he fails to notice a series of pranks being played on and around him. Stanley dislikes and disrespects his boss Michael Scott. Stanley only thinly attempts to hide his disgust and disrespect for Scott, who affectionately describes Stanley's remarks as clever and sassy. Stanley, who is black, is constantly subjected to Michael's inadvertently offensive remarks based on racial stereotypes. At times, Stanley plays along with Michael's comments for his own benefit. In "Performance Review", Stanley tells Michael that he learned about women "on the ghetto" in order to secure a raise. Stanley has generally good relations with his other colleagues, especially Phyllis Lapin-Vance whom he often has lunch with. Stanley is a very laid back person, though when angry he has often been described as frightening. On one occasion, coworker Ryan Howard received a harsh scolding from Stanley after he wrongly suspected Ryan of "sniffing around" his daughter. He confronts Ryan Howard again in a deleted scene "Cocktails" when his daughter Melissa sees Ryan again at Poor Richards Pub. On another occasion, Stanley uses a lug wrench to smash Michael's car when Michael exposes Stanley's affair to the office.

Kevin Jaye Malone is a character in the United States television series The Office. He is played by Brian Baumgartner. Kevin's counterpart in the UK series is Keith Bishop. Kevin is one of the few minor characters in The Office to be directly based on a character from the British original version. He is based on Keith Bishop, who shares Kevin's lack of communication skills (Keith became particularly popular after an episode where boss David Brent conducts a staff appraisal, to which Keith stoically fails to respond to questions). Kevin shares Keith's musical interest (as a musician, not a disc jockey as with Keith), although, in contrast to Keith, Kevin demonstrates a childish sense of humor. Additionally, both characters are overweight.

Meredith Elizabeth Palmer (born May 12, 1959) is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series, The Office. She is portrayed by Kate Flannery, and is an original character, meaning that she has no equivalent in the British version of the show. Meredith Palmer is the socially inappropriate and sexually promiscuous Supplier Relations Representative at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch (however, in the first season, her job was said to be an Accountant,). Her computer always displays the solitaire game found in the MS package. Little is known about her early and personal life, but, over the course of the series, some tidbits of information have been revealed. She has been married twice, with one of her ex-husbands leaving her for a woman who works as a garbage collector (who is addressed as "Mom" by Meredith's children). She has two children, a son named Jake, whom she has custody of, and a daughter named Wendy (described as "The good one") who is in the custody of one of Meredith's ex-husbands. In a deleted scene from "Garden Party", Meredith reveals that she is a former boxer.

Angela Noelle Schrute (née Martin; formerly Lipton) is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by American actress Angela Kinsey. She is an original character, and has no equivalent in the original British show, The Office. Angela Martin is the head of the accounting department at the Scranton branch of the fictitious paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, extension 128. Cold, condescending, judgmental and uptight, Angela frowns upon all frivolous activity in the office, and openly expressed her disapproval of office receptionist Pam Beesly’s flirtation with coworker Jim Halpert. She also frowns upon any sort of superfluousness or inappropriateness in general. Like Dwight, Angela has little sense of humour and almost never smiles or expresses happiness, except when she is talking about her cats or is expressing derisive contempt for her co-workers. However, she has on several occasions participated in the office's more frivolous activities.

Oscar Jual Paul Martinez is a fictional character from the US mockumentary-style television series The Office played by Cuban actor Oscar Nunez. Martinez was one of the few openly gay characters in broadcast television at the time that the series aired. Although Núñez, who is straight, did not know his character might be gay when he first signed on, he has no issues with the character's sexuality as long as the material is funny. For the 2006-2007 season Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reported he was the only LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) person of color character on a regular series. For the 2007-2008 season he was the "only remaining gay character on a half-hour comedy program" and the only LGBT lead or supporting character who is a person of color. For the 2009-2010 season Martinez was one of four people of color LGBT regular series characters; in 2010-2011 there were six and 2011-2012 there were five.

Phyllis Margaret Vance (née Lapin) is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series, The Office. She is portrayed by Phyllis Smith, and has no specific counterpart in the British version of the series, instead being an amalgamation of several different office workers. Phyllis Lapin is a sales representative at fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. She is a quiet but friendly type who loves "girl talk" and gossip. Though she has a sweet, motherly exterior, she can sometimes be very vindictive, often to Angela Martin and Pam Halpert. She is often insulted and embarrassed by branch manager Michael Scott, who frequently describes her as non-feminine and old, despite having been classmates with her in high school.

Toby Wyatt Flenderson, M.S.W. (born in 1971) is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series, The Office. He is portrayed by the show's writer, director, producer and showrunner Paul Lieberstein, and is an original character with no equivalent in the original British version of the series. Toby Flenderson is the human resources representative for the Scranton branch of paper distributor Dunder Mifflin/Sabre. Toby is soft-spoken and generally of good disposition, although he can be somewhat mournful about his life choices (he fell into the field of Human Resources after leaving his training at seminary in order to pursue the woman he'd later marry and painfully divorce). He likes his colleagues, although he is sometimes exasperated by the excessively chatty Kelly Kapoor. He also has a long-standing crush on Pam Halpert, which he almost reveals at the end of Season 4 when he resigns from his position to move to Costa Rica. Toby was intensely despised by branch manager Michael Scott, largely because Michael had no authority over him as Toby reported to corporate headquarters, and because Toby frequently tried to dissuade Michael from many of his ill-conceived and impulsive ideas. Michael sums up his feelings for Toby in the episode "Casino Night", asking, "Why are you the way that you are? Every time I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be". For Toby's going away party Michael gives him as a gift a rock with a note attached reading "Suck on This". Shortly after arriving in Costa Rica, Toby suffers a zip-line accident and midway through season 5, he returns to his old job at Dunder Mifflin, much to Michael's fury.

Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor (Feb 5, 1980) is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. She is played by Mindy Kaling, who is also a writer and producer for the show. Kelly Kapoor is a customer service representative at the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. Kelly is the attractive-looking office chatterbox, usually on topics that a teenager might discuss, such as boys, dating, and celebrity gossip. She has said that she wants to get married, and that she cannot wait to "get pregnant and have babies." Her closest counterpart in the British series is Donna, although they are not similar in terms of personality.

Creed Rowland Bratton, also known as "William Charles Schneider" (claims to have been born November 1, 1925) is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. Confusion may arise from the fact that the character is played by the musician of the same name, Creed Bratton. The fictional Creed is partially based on the experiences and former flower child lifestyle of the real one; however, the character is an embellished version of the real person. Unlike most characters of this version of The Office, he has no equivalent in the original BBC series despite sharing similar lines in the pilot episode with the character of Ryan Howard. Series writer B. J. Novak has said that the actual Creed Bratton is exactly like the character he plays, except that the real Creed is a good-hearted and likable person, while his fictional alter ego has a very dark side to him. His resourcefulness and duplicity are his defining traits along with his senile behavior and ignorance of the modern world.

Darryl Mathias Philbin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office, played by Craig Robinson. Darryl Philbin is the foreman of the warehouse of the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. His closest counterpart in the British series is Glynn (nicknamed Taffy), although they do not have the same personalities.

Andrew Baines "Andy" Bernard (born in 1973; Walter Bernard, Jr.) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series, The Office. Andy is portrayed by Ed Helms. He has no counterpart in the original British version of the series. He is introduced as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin in the third season premiere when Jim Halpert transfers, ultimately merging with the Scranton branch in the episode "The Merger" later in the season. He becomes Regional Manager at the Scranton branch courtesy of Robert California in the eighth season premiere following the departure of Michael Scott and Deangelo Vickers, although temporarily is fired and replaced by Nellie Bertram before his reinstatement by new CEO David Wallace. Although throughout the ninth season, Andy's relationship with Wallace deteriorates from Andy's lack of focus and professionalism, eventually culminating in Andy's voluntary resignation, to his reinstatement as a salesman to his eventual firing again, after Andy begs David Wallace to fire him in order to pursue a singing career. This all happens over the course of one day in "Livin' the Dream".

Kelly Erin Hannon (May 2, 1982) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series The Office. She is the office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previously held by Pam Halpert before she (briefly) left the company. Erin is portrayed by Ellie Kemper. She is an original character, although her closest equivalent in the British version of the series would be Mel the receptionist, who appears briefly in The Office Christmas specials, as Dawn Tinsley's replacement.

Gabriel Susan "Gabe" Lewis (born in 1982) is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series The Office portrayed by Zach Woods. He is an original character and has no counterpart in the British version of the series. He first appears in the sixth season, where he is the Coordinating Director of Emerging Regions for the Sabre Corporate headquarters in Florida. Towards the end of Season 6, he is assigned to overlook the recently acquired Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch (the most profitable of all the branches). At the end of the seventh season, CEO Jo Bennett decides to reassign him back to Florida, due to his personal issues within the office, over his breakup with receptionist Erin Hannon. However, in the eighth season, Gabe is back in the Scranton office without any on-screen explanation. A deleted scene in the Season 8 premiere had Gabe outlining that Corporate made a bafflingly illogical deal with the Scranton office, which would have Gabe be in Tallahassee three days a week and in Scranton for two, resulting in having to fly every night of the work week between the locations; in the episode "Trivia", Gabe repeats this information in a scene that was included in the NBC broadcast. As revealed in "Moving On", he was terminated from Sabre following the company's liquidation, but is hired back at the Scranton branch as the new Management Consultant by Regional Manager Andy Bernard in a gambit to make Erin uncomfortable after she broke up with him in order to be with customer service representative Pete Miller.

Hollis Partridge "Holly" Flax is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by Amy Ryan. She was an original character, and not based on a character from the British version of the show. Initially she served as a replacement HR Representative for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin when Toby left for Costa Rica, but later developed into a friend and key romantic interest for Michael Scott, mainly a result of their shared sense of humor and similar personality traits, though Holly does prove to be more rational and intelligent than Michael. The two eventually marry, move to Colorado, and start a family together.

Robert California, also known as Bob Kazamakis, is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series, The Office. In the eighth season, he was hired as Regional Manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, a position which was formerly held by Michael Scott for the majority of the series, but Robert managed to convince Jo Bennett to appoint him CEO in her place. In the eighth season finale, Robert departs from the company after David Wallace purchases Dunder Mifflin. California is portrayed by James Spader. He is an original character and has no counterpart on the original British version of the series.

Eleanour Donna "Nellie" Bertram is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series The Office. She first appears as a guest star in the seventh season, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch.

Nellie Bertram is portrayed by Catherine Tate, and is an original character, meaning that she has no counterpart in the original British version of the series. Initially a one-episode guest star, she was reportedly the top choice to replace Steve Carell, but was unable to join the series, due to her commitment to the West End production of the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. However, Tate later returned to the role as a series regular for the second half of season eight and continued in the role for the final season.

Clark Green is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series The Office. Clark is portrayed by Clark Duke. He is an original character and has no counterpart in the British version of the series. Clark, along with Pete Miller, is one of two staff members hired as customer service representatives at the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin, replacing the outgoing Kelly Kapoor at the start of the show's ninth and final season. Little has been established about Clark's backstory, apart from his admitting he had "gigantic inner ears" which prove useful when keeping balance when slacklining. His and Pete's vague resemblance to salesmen Dwight Schrute and Jim Halpert led to several office staff members initially referring to them as "New Jim" and "Dwight Jr.", respectively, though Clark would prove to have little in common with Dwight.

Peter Zachary "Pete" Miller is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series The Office. Pete is portrayed by Jake Lacy. He is an original character and has no counterpart in the British version of the series, though his character is noted as having several parallels to Jim Halpert, who in turn is based on Tim Canterbury on the latter series. Pete, along with Clark Green, is one of two staff members hired as customer service representatives at the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin, replacing the outgoing Kelly Kapoor at the start of the show's ninth and final season.

What made you want to watch that comedy?

What made me want to watch The Office is the high ratings it had gotten from many different people that had either rated it online or I had spoken to myself. I also wanted to watch it because when I was on Netflix it came up in my suggestions and based on the description it looked like it was going to be a very interesting and funny show so me and my sister thought we would give it a try. We also liked the fact that it had Steve Carell in and he is a very talented and funny actor, so we knew that if he was going to be the lead role in the show, it would be a funny show overall.

Try to think beyond peer influence and consider any other factors that contributed to your choice.

A factor that contributed to my choice of watching this show was the fact that even though it had been out for many years before I first watched it, it had never really been a big deal in my life until I’d started to hear lots of recommendations saying to watch the show. The fact that is has been going on for 9 seasons obviously proves that the viewers of the show like the content enough for it to last that long. Another factor that contributed towards my choice is the fact that I’m always looking for new things to watch, listen to, try out etc and so I thought I’d give this show a chance as it was something I’d never seen before and probably would’ve never thought of watching before based on it’s content which looking back at my past record of tv shows, wouldn’t really appeal out to me.

Did you like or dislike the comedy? Why?

I personally liked the comedy, simply because of how simple the show was, but funny at the same time. This show just proves that you don’t need to go out of your way to think of something insanely big, to make a show funny. You just need a few actors, an office and some cameras. What makes it funny and likeable is most of the time the camera angles they use specifically just on one character, with them pulling the most basic face. Once again, just these angles are simple but really effective and never fail to make me laugh. Another think I like is the characters, and what is different about this show compared to every other show that I have watched is that I personally enjoy every character actually in this show. Everyone plays a very key role within the show, even if they are just sitting at a computer desk throughout the entire show, but they still add another layer of comedy to the show and always keep it interesting somehow. The only thing I’d say that I dislike about this show is the amount of time some characters actually get on the screen. A lot of characters that I enjoy watching the most, don’t really have big roles on the show, therefore don’t get a lot of air time, but I tend to find them funnier than some of the main characters.

What factors impacted or your enjoyment or lack of enjoyment?
Factors that impacted my enjoyment were definitely the actors who actually played the characters, for example Steve Carell who plays the lead role as the manager/boss Michael Scott. Steve Carell is an excellent actor and never fails to make me laugh, even if his character at the time comes across to be quite annoying compared to the rest of the cast. This factor really applies for every character in this show, as I always find them funny, even if they’re being annoying to someone else or even if they’re just in the background for effect. You can’t find a show as funny if you don’t particularly like the characters and the actors playing them. A factor that did lack my enjoyment however was once again some of the characters not having a lot of air time. A lot of my favourites for example Ryan, don’t really get a lot of time in front of the camera and that upset me slightly because he’s an excellent character and adds his own personality and humour towards the show whenever he’s featured in the episode.