The Office - Season Two

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak Directed by Roger Nygard Publisher Universal Studios External Links Official Universal Pictures Website

Anybody familiar with the UK version of The Office had various reactions to the news that there was going to be an American version. Some people went, "That's completely unnecessary." Other people went, "Eh."

The show came out, and by the end of the first season everybody just kind of went, "Eh." It wasn't a bad show, per se, but it didn't exactly bowl people over. Some thought the awkward and dry humor coupled with the slow pacing wasn't funny at all. Others thought there was a lot of potential for the show to become something great.

Then second season happened, and somehow, the show got better. The actors had slipped into their characters comfortably and the writing was getting sharper. Everything was falling into place. And now, The Office is being called one of the smartest, freshest comedies on television. And I agree.

The basic premise is that a documentary film crew is following the day-to-day office life of Dunder-Mifflin, a paper sales company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The office is run by Michael Scott, an inept, child-like man who has a penchant for saying the wrong thing... well... all of the time. Also in the office are Jim, a likable guy who is stuck in a job he hates, Pam the receptionist, who is engaged to a guy she may or may not like, and Dwight... who may very well be the anti-christ.

Rounding out the rest of the characters are Oscar, Kevin, and Angela (The accountants), Phyllis and Stanley (Other salespeople), Toby (Human Resources), Ryan (The intern), Meredith (No idea what she does... other than drink), and Creed (Who... uhh... he's just really creepy). Every actor is given something to do on the show, a chance to make their characters grow beyond just the paper-doll caricatures they could have easily become. A personal favorite of mine is Kevin. He's big, heavy-set, and a little dumb... but a slyer than he looks and always full of surprises.

I won't get into the individual plots of the shows. There are secret office romances, not-so-secret office romances, and (one of the funniest and saddest shows of the season) a "Take Your Daughter to Work Day."

The show ultimately rests on Steve Carell's shoulders, and he does a knock-out job of making Michael Scott a likable character - which is tough considering the things that come out of his mouth. The great thing about this season was you got one of your first glances at why Michael is even the boss. He may be an idiot who says inappropriate things (Innocently though), but when you get right down to it... He is a great boss.

The special features on this four-disc set are wonderful. There are commentaries on about a third of the episodes, and you get the feeling that everybody on the show is having a great time doing, which definitely comes through on the show itself. There are deleted scenes for just about every episode. Other bonus features include Fake PSA's (The more you know), webisodes entitled "The Office: The Accountants" which is beyond hilarious, a blooper reel, and a thing where Steve Carell interviews himself using some... kind of lame special effects. All of the features are funny and entertaining, and nothing seems to be unwarranted. Even the majority of the deleted scenes are just friggin' fun.

Season 3 has just started up recently (I think we're about three weeks into it), and so far it's been living up to the promise set by Season 2. This is one of those shows that I could see running for many many years, easily. And I look forward to watching every season.