Current Events > The Office is quite infuriating to watch.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Imagine if Leslie Knope was as annoying as Michael Scott, Parks and Recreation wouldn't be watchable. Can't understand people's fandom of The Office
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a ron vs mike boss off would be rad...

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Michael just always seemed actually mentally (word you can't say)

Which made the gags at his expense a bit less funny

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It's weird to imagine that Michael was an excellent salesman when his antics as a manager are so annoying, so it's hard to believe that he'd be remotely charming or skilled as a sales rep.
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saspa posted...

It's weird to imagine that Michael was an excellent salesman when his antics as a manager are so annoying, so it's hard to believe that he'd be remotely charming or skilled as a sales rep.

I always thought of it as Michael being charming as a salesman due to being laid back and making jokes, but when he became manager and it didn't work as well, he got stressed and now his jokes aren't as good.

Maybe lol

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saspa posted...

It's weird to imagine that Michael was an excellent salesman when his antics as a manager are so annoying, so it's hard to believe that he'd be remotely charming or skilled as a sales rep.

Plot armor. Dude was the same as Trump except he was a narcissist with no success or friends

saspa posted...

It's weird to imagine that Michael was an excellent salesman when his antics as a manager are so annoying, so it's hard to believe that he'd be remotely charming or skilled as a sales rep.

I think that largely came down to his obsession-level knowledge with other people. They always tried to highlight when he would go on a sales call that he knew the guy and his kids and all of his hobbies and was able to immediately engage with them on small talk that shows that he knew and cared about that person.

His obsession with being liked just worked well in that environment, but you can see where even that backfires when he goes around trying to win clients with gift baskets.

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saspa posted...

It's weird to imagine that Michael was an excellent salesman when his antics as a manager are so annoying, so it's hard to believe that he'd be remotely charming or skilled as a sales rep.

You see him switch it on in the episode where him and Jan meet the guy at Chili's.

In another episode he has a whole binder full of cards with notes on the people he sells to, their family, likes and dislikes etc.

For whatever reason, he can switch on social awareness in these scenarios.

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Olivia2 posted...

I always thought of it as Michael being charming as a salesman due to being laid back and making jokes, but when he became manager and it didn't work as well, he got stressed and now his jokes aren't as good.

Maybe lol

Yeah I always assumed the whole point with Michael as a manager is that he just tries way too hard

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The first season of Parks and Rec, Leslie was about as irritating as Michael Scott. But thankfully they just turn her into an over active nice person. Parks and Rec has a much more even set of comedy throughout, especially when you get to the end of season 2 to around mid season 6. Just all around great stuff.

The Office feels like it takes a little to get going too, then gets good, and gets some real weird storylines they aren't sure of where they are going with. Then the last two seasons happen and the show is still just meandering around.

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One thing to keep in mind too is that customers would only be exposed to Michael on sales calls. I can definitely see him being the kind of dude that's great in small doses but grating if you see him every day.

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Andy and Nellie were actually unlikable characters.

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I never watched P&R but the point of Michael is to be a cringe lord that no one really likes or takes seriously.

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I cant watch Parks and Rec anymore since Ive gotten older and more politically active. Everyone on that show is a complete idiot and they deal with the dumbest people in the country so its grating to me

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Michael being annoyed by Andy is pretty perfect. Talk about getting a taste of his own medicine, someone should point out that that's exactly what he's like to everyone else, all the time.

Then again he'd probably be too obtuse to even appreciate the irony or have enough self-awareness to realize he's like that.

Then again then again I have a sneaking suspicion the reason he pretends to hate Dwight is because he secretly hates himself so he hates anyone like Dwight who would actually like him.
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Watches parks and rec

doesnt get the office

>.>

its like not knowing what humor is

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I'm unsure why we were supposed to root for and love Jim and Pam. They were objectively terrible people.

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saspa posted...

Imagine if Leslie Knope was as annoying as Michael Scott, Parks and Recreation wouldn't be watchable. Can't understand people's fandom of The Office

She was, in the first season. First season of Parks and Rec is nearly unwatchable. It's only when they got the groove right mid to late season 2 that she became bearable, and even then she is supported with a great cast to make her that way.

I'd argue Jim and Pam are the shittiest characters in the series. I can't fucking stand them.

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Yes, I was never able to get into The Office the way that I got into Parks and Rec. The characters in Parks and Rec are just so much more likeable which makes you want to root for them. Most people in The Office are unlikeable characters, and not in a fun way like in Always Sunny or Schitt's Creek.

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i get the humor behind it but cringe-inducing humor is something i've always had a hard time watching anyway. same with parks and rec and a lot of always sunny

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Both shows are great, and both got better after they made Michael/Leslie less cringey and more relatable.

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I wouldn't say I'm into the recent trend of calling Jim and Pam terrible people but... I wouldn't say I'm staunchly against it either.

I mean Pam was engaged and still flirting with Jim all the time so that's kinda not good at all....

Then you consider the fact that they made Karen likable (and worse, played by the wonderful Rashida Jones) which makes Jim seem like a bit of a jerk for stringing her along... it all adds up.

They're certainly no Ben and Leslie.

The Office really is like a worse Parks. It's like Schur worked out all the kinks from The Office to create a show with likable characters who you root for and definitely did away with the british, cringey style humor.
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Zanzenburger posted...

Yes, I was never able to get into The Office the way that I got into Parks and Rec. The characters in Parks and Rec are just so much more likeable which makes you want to root for them. Most people in The Office are unlikeable characters, and not in a fun way like in Always Sunny or Schitt's Creek.

Yes most if not all characters in The Office are shit lord's and more people need to acknowledge this. Even Pam and Jim are trash people.

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I've thought about this for hours and Michael's whole appeal within his fictional world is his consistency and earnestness. The company is overrun with both slackers and straight up thieves and he's survived many tumultuous situations because he shows up every day engaged.

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I think when it comes to Michael is that he runs DM like everyone is similar to himself. He is trying to be the boss HE wanted to have as a grunt. He just doesn't get the fact that very few people are like him.

He also desperately wants people to like him and if he didn't care about that and was just willing to be the strong business person, he would have been more effective for sure.

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saspa posted...

recent trend

Recent? People have been saying that since the show was on TV. It's just that the Jim and Pam defense squad had shut up about them lately.

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CruelBuffalo posted...

Plot armor. Dude was the same as Trump except he was a narcissist with no success or friends

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n0MCMLRRRsQ

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s0nicfan posted...

I think that largely came down to his obsession-level knowledge with other people. They always tried to highlight when he would go on a sales call that he knew the guy and his kids and all of his hobbies and was able to immediately engage with them on small talk that shows that he knew and cared about that person.

His obsession with being liked just worked well in that environment, but you can see where even that backfires when he goes around trying to win clients with gift baskets.

They've definitely shown that in episodes, I thin he's able to bond on a surface level, just enough to make a sale, but if you spend 8 hours with him all day every day the illusion kind of shatters.

So yeah I guess it makes sense.
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Vyrulisse posted...

I'm unsure why we were supposed to root for and love Jim and Pam. They were objectively terrible people.

That's the one thing I could never get over when watching The Office.


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SRR Capdown posted...

You see him switch it on in the episode where him and Jan meet the guy at Chili's.

In another episode he has a whole binder full of cards with notes on the people he sells to, their family, likes and dislikes etc.

For whatever reason, he can switch on social awareness in these scenarios.

That Chilis episode was the first time we saw any level of competency from him, it was rather nice and surprising that first time we saw it. The audience and Jan both had that same expression
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The first episode of the office I saw was a Christmas episode when there were playing white elephant. He was just such a jerk in this episode I could never see him as good person. He isn't mentally ill, he is a asshole here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ulSNSRKyU


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pegusus123456 posted...

One thing to keep in mind too is that customers would only be exposed to Michael on sales calls. I can definitely see him being the kind of dude that's great in small doses but grating if you see him every day.

Yeah that's what I was thinking. On a sales call with Andy he was bonding with a client based on hobbies (whether true or not) and in that moment it seemed like he actually got it together.

He may have been a mixture of Dwight and Jim in his youth, a combination of persistent and just a teensy bit likable/charming
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Thats why a lot of people didnt like season 1 of Parks

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saspa posted...

I wouldn't say I'm into the recent trend of calling Jim and Pam terrible people but...

They were. Michael started an evening job to support Jan's lifestyle and Jim/Pam purposely invited him to a night out fully knowing he could not accept it even though he would have loved it.

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Zanzenburger posted...

Yes, I was never able to get into The Office the way that I got into Parks and Rec. The characters in Parks and Rec are just so much more likeable which makes you want to root for them. Most people in The Office are unlikeable characters, and not in a fun way like in Always Sunny or Schitt's Creek.

The Office is basically like season 1 parks and rec, featuring exclusively Tom and... say, Jean-Ralphio, without any of the likable/endearing qualities that Tom later gains as the series goes on, and it went on for 9 seasons.

It works in Always Sunny due to the universe of the show, but the cringe "humor" of The Office doesn't work as well. It's more like individual scenes that are humorous here and there, rather than the whole being entertaining.
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saspa posted...

The Office really is like a worse Parks. It's like Schur worked out all the kinks from The Office to create a show with likable characters who you root for and definitely did away with the british, cringey style humor.

The people in Parks are not much nicer. They are all mean to that one guy, for seemingly no reason. I know it comedy, but there are so few shows were people are nice to their co-workers and or friends .

You brought up Sunny. Now they are horrible people, but the world treats them as such . So that kind of works better .

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cjsdowg posted...

The people in Parks are not much nicer. They are all mean to that one guy, for seemingly no reason. I know it comedy, but there are so few shows were people are nice to their co-workers and or friends .

Oddly your brought up Sunny. Now they are horrible people, but the world treats them as such . So that kind of works better .

They're mean to Jerry because he always fucks up even though he's a nice guy.

It balances out because he has a smokin hot wife and a loving family at home waiting for him.

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I used to think Michael was unrealistic especially when it came to his idiocy but the pandemic really disillusioned me with the general populace. Quite a big majority are like Michael in some way or another. When he "accidentally" sent the email of topless Jan I wondered if maybe that's how Snapchat must have been created
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Also I never understood people being upset at Michael being gone in later seasons, was he really who people were watching the show for? Was he not the worst part, with scenes where he's not in it acting cringey being better viewing?

Say what you will about Jim and Pam but Jim was much better to watch than Michael.

The guest season of bosses was certainly more entertaining, and bringing a weird, post Boston Legal David Spade into the mix was a treat; his entire presence felt off-kilter.
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saspa posted...

Also I never understood people being upset at Michael being gone in later seasons, was he really who people were watching the show for? Was he not the worst part, with scenes where he's not in it acting cringey being better viewing?

Say what you will about Jim and Pam but Jim was much better to watch than Michael.

The guest season of bosses was certainly more entertaining, and bringing a weird, post Boston Legal David Spade into the mix was a treat; his entire presence felt off-kilter.

Lots of people love cringe humor. There were times Michael really turned me off from the show where those moments are beloved by others.

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saspa posted...

Also I never understood people being upset at Michael being gone in later seasons, was he really who people were watching the show for? Was he not the worst part,

Him being the awkward cringe lord was what made me loved it.

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I kinda agree

Office was soooooo boring

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saspa posted...

Also I never understood people being upset at Michael being gone in later seasons, was he really who people were watching the show for? Was he not the worst part, with scenes where he's not in it acting cringey being better viewing?

Isn't the cringe humour a big part of The Office?

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I thought the fan theory was that Michael thinks the company is going to get shut down every single day starting from episode 1.

he knows they are all about to get fired, so he tries to make it fun.

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Robot2600 posted...

I thought the fan theory was that Michael thinks the company is going to get shut down every single day starting from episode 1.

he knows they are all about to get fired, so he tries to make it fun.

I've never heard of that theory before. Michael has little to no self-awareness about how cringe and how awful he can be as a human being while also wanting thinking his employees are his friends and wants them to think he's cool.

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Funkydog posted...

Isn't the cringe humour a big part of The Office?

Yeah but some people like TC don't get it.
I didn't know P&R fandom was a thing before CE taught me it was. Problem with that show is the problem most sitcoms have where they just try too hard and throw out 15 jokes a minute. The Office isn't even very subtle but it makes P&R look like the Three Stooges (which I guess some people prefer) in comparison. For me, subtle humor is more valuable for a multi-season show because while a clown honking its nose and shitting itself is really funny the first time, it stops being so funny when it just continues in that fashion for hours. The effortlessness and understatedness of The Office's humor (relative to P&R I mean) is what makes it such a comfy and appealing show. It also helps that Steve Carrell can actually be funny, unlike Amy Poeler or whatever her name is

I gave P&R a fair shake, watched until like season 3 IIRC. Don't remember a fucking thing about it, lol. Actually that's not true, I remember the chipper health nut caricature becoming a depressed nihilistic caricature and I remember the right-wing caricature ordering all the bacon and eggs

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Leslie Knope is incredibly annoying and she ends up almost never being in the wrong.

It's great with Michael since the show and characters constantly shit on him

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Michael was fucking hilarious. A classic Michael scene:

https://youtu.be/2SyWdbuEDNw

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