I always have a lot to say but today is special! Last night, we said goodbye to a character that I've come to love over all of these years.
I remember when The Office came on for the first time. My favorite show, Friends, had gone off the air that spring, and The Office started that fall. I listened to Kidd Kraddick, who was saying this show was a must see. I watched it and couldn't stop laughing the whole time. I told my dad, I told my sister. And from that, 3 Office fanatics were born.
When Ricky Gervais played the character on the British version, you see that Michael Scott was the perfect American actor to play the role of manager of Dundler Mifflin. The first couple of seasons, he made people feel SO uncomfortable. You were like, "Did he REALLY just do that?" He was so inappropriate, so rude at times, and just completely unfunny to the people in the office. But the way Carell played him, he was still so likable. You still were rooting for him to find love, get a clue, and be successful. What was amazing is that at times, he was so competant and so clearly good at what he did, that you just couldn't believe that he didn't realize how awful he could be the rest of the time. For example, in the second season when he was meeting with Jan and the customer at Chili's, you heard his jokes and thought, "really?" But then he pulled it together and made the sale. Another great example is when Jim tried to be manager for a day, and he realized how good Michael really was at making people in The Office happy and how he tried to go out of his way to appease his employees.
Michael Scott's exit in this show has been very well done. It is always hard when a major character leaves because the show is never quite the same. I do not know how much longer The Office will be on, but the fact that it didn't just end when Carell decided to exit was a great move on the show's part. The show last night really was as perfect as NBC advertised it would be. Leading up to his departure, we saw many loose ends get tied: his movie was finished, he got engaged to the PERFECT woman for him, we revisited the Dundees one last time, and last night, he said goodbye to everyone in his own sweet way.
The show was emotional and heartfelt. The tears Michael was shedding were genuine, as you felt that Carell himself was just as sad as Michael was to be leaving. The show itself was so satisfying. Dwight got the respect and relationship he's always wanted from Michael. Michael got the recognition from Jim he's always sought. He was even as nice as he could be to Tobey. And we aren't sure exactly what he said from Pam, and I am glad we didn't. We didn't need to. The fact that Pam has always had Michael's back, shielding him from embarassment over the years and keeping him from trouble from corporate shows us how much she really loved him on the inside. She couldn't let him leave without an embrace and a tearful send off. My especially favorite part was Michael giving Oscar a gift and laughing about it later, saying, "He's got the lowest opinion of me than anybody!" It just goes to show how self-aware Michael has probably been over the years, without us even knowing about it.
Michael, we will miss you. I am glad Carell decided to leave the character when he did. I didn't want to see Michael keep aging, more and more sad and pitiful. Nor did I want to see the show try to continue capturing the awkwardness show after show, not seeing him get better as a person. It was a fond fairwell to a character that got everything he ever wanted in the end.
I remember when The Office came on for the first time. My favorite show, Friends, had gone off the air that spring, and The Office started that fall. I listened to Kidd Kraddick, who was saying this show was a must see. I watched it and couldn't stop laughing the whole time. I told my dad, I told my sister. And from that, 3 Office fanatics were born.
When Ricky Gervais played the character on the British version, you see that Michael Scott was the perfect American actor to play the role of manager of Dundler Mifflin. The first couple of seasons, he made people feel SO uncomfortable. You were like, "Did he REALLY just do that?" He was so inappropriate, so rude at times, and just completely unfunny to the people in the office. But the way Carell played him, he was still so likable. You still were rooting for him to find love, get a clue, and be successful. What was amazing is that at times, he was so competant and so clearly good at what he did, that you just couldn't believe that he didn't realize how awful he could be the rest of the time. For example, in the second season when he was meeting with Jan and the customer at Chili's, you heard his jokes and thought, "really?" But then he pulled it together and made the sale. Another great example is when Jim tried to be manager for a day, and he realized how good Michael really was at making people in The Office happy and how he tried to go out of his way to appease his employees.
Michael Scott's exit in this show has been very well done. It is always hard when a major character leaves because the show is never quite the same. I do not know how much longer The Office will be on, but the fact that it didn't just end when Carell decided to exit was a great move on the show's part. The show last night really was as perfect as NBC advertised it would be. Leading up to his departure, we saw many loose ends get tied: his movie was finished, he got engaged to the PERFECT woman for him, we revisited the Dundees one last time, and last night, he said goodbye to everyone in his own sweet way.
The show was emotional and heartfelt. The tears Michael was shedding were genuine, as you felt that Carell himself was just as sad as Michael was to be leaving. The show itself was so satisfying. Dwight got the respect and relationship he's always wanted from Michael. Michael got the recognition from Jim he's always sought. He was even as nice as he could be to Tobey. And we aren't sure exactly what he said from Pam, and I am glad we didn't. We didn't need to. The fact that Pam has always had Michael's back, shielding him from embarassment over the years and keeping him from trouble from corporate shows us how much she really loved him on the inside. She couldn't let him leave without an embrace and a tearful send off. My especially favorite part was Michael giving Oscar a gift and laughing about it later, saying, "He's got the lowest opinion of me than anybody!" It just goes to show how self-aware Michael has probably been over the years, without us even knowing about it.
Michael, we will miss you. I am glad Carell decided to leave the character when he did. I didn't want to see Michael keep aging, more and more sad and pitiful. Nor did I want to see the show try to continue capturing the awkwardness show after show, not seeing him get better as a person. It was a fond fairwell to a character that got everything he ever wanted in the end.
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