Normally, I am not a big guess who is going to guest star on a television show kind of guy. For the most part I am just kind of blase about it, and I am actually pretty blase about this one too. The only reason I am bringing it up is that one of the biggest Office fans I know said they were officially done watching the show now because of the casting announcement that Jessica Alba and Jack Black would be appearing on The Office episode scheduled to air after the Super Bowl.
Most of the time I would agree that this is just a grab for some cheap ratings and publicity. In this one case though I don't think it is. Any show that airs after the Super Bowl is going to be the number one show for that week. It is going to have double or triple its regular audience even if you just have Ryan Seacrest looking into a mirror and telling people how he gets his hair so shiny. You don't have to do anything. People will watch.
Normally I am not a big fan of these kinds of things because the writers have to figure out a way to get the guest stars in without being really obvious about it or destroying the plot threads they have going for the season. Again though, I think an episode after the Super Bowl is just a one off thing anyway. It doesn't have to advance any plot lines and can just be about having fun and trying something new. Because I like The Office, I'm actually ok with them trying to pull in as many new viewers as they can and being able to announce during the game 300 different times that Jessica Alba and Jack Black are going to be on the show. This will probably get more people to stick around. The fact that Jack Black is going to dress up as a woman and play Jessica Alba's lesbian lover is just icing on the cake. OK, so I made up that last part, but if you are going to go for it, you should really go for it.
This one really took me by surprise. I think it's pretty extreme to forgo a loved series because of a guest star, but it seems as if The Office has been going downhill for a while.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, I think they created too many storylines and they don't know how to effectively keep them interesting and afloat within such a time-limited format. Also, didn't they get new writers for the 5th season? That doesn't appear to have helped.
I thought last week's episode was one of the funniest ever...
ReplyDeleteAnd the plot with Alba and Jack Black is that they are in some fake movie that they are watching, so they won't be incorporated with the cast per se.
Knee-jerk hyperbolic outrage is just so much darned fun, I hate to criticize anyone who partakes in it. :)
ReplyDelete. The only reason I am bringing it up is that one of the biggest Office fans I know said they were officially done watching the show now because of the casting announcement that Jessica Alba and Jack Black would be appearing on The Office episode scheduled to air after the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeletescheduled to air after the super bowl? you mean the week of the super bowl? because the super bowl is on sunday and runs until the news comes on.
stupid reason to stop watching a show.
Molly, doesn't the game usually end at 9 or 9:30? The time period right after the Superbowl is usually considered to be the best timeslot of the entire year to feature a show.
ReplyDeletemooshki, wouldn't that depend on the timezone in which a person lives?
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ReplyDelete(Deleted that last comment, because apparently my brain has big trouble wrapping itself around the idea of different timezones.)
ReplyDeleteYou're right, of course Molly. Let me try again. I think it's timed so that for a good chunk of the country, the game ends before the traditional end of prime time.
i'm just trying to remember, but it seems to me that in chicago, we go straight into the news. or there's a 15 minutes b.s. thing and then we go into the news.
ReplyDeleteit may seem like a good time to schedule a show, but honestly, many of us are on our way back home right after the game from a super bowl party, so i question the wisdom there.
Where I live (Seattle/Tacoma) the game usually ends around 7ish, I think... and lately the Survivor finale has aired afterward, but that was shown last weekend.
ReplyDeletethey don't air the show for the actual superbowl fans leaving the arena..i think they are trying to pick up the remaining BILLIONS of people settled into their homes already.
ReplyDeletei'm PST here and we get all the good shows right after.
can't wait!
I still love The Office. It still doesn't beat the original UK version, but Steve Carell and crew make their parts so believable, it's hard not to be entertained.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, given that both Black and Alba will just be the stars in some bootlegged movie they are trying to watch and not Jim's little brother or sister or something, I don't get the rampant ZOMG BAD thing. Instead, the bootlegged movie will actually seem like, you know, a movie that people would try to watch since it stars actual actors. It seems like the Office writers have found a good way to get hype and still maintain the characters - unlike how Friends did it with their super bowl episode.
ReplyDeleteI dont like Alba, and I merely tolerate Jack Black, but I look forward to seeing how the writers bring these two actors in and make it work. The Office hasn't let me down yet!
ReplyDeleteI dont know why people say its going downhill. I think its just as funny as ever, and even more exciting now with Jim and Pam together. What I don't like, though, is how mean Pam seems now. She always seems a little pissy now. I was hoping it was on purpose, that she's pregnant or somethign. I also hope that make Angela pregnant, and that Andy finds out about her and Dwight that way! Last week's ep was explosive! Go Phyllis!
Actually, I think Jessica Alba should dress up like a man and play Jack Black's male gay lover.
ReplyDeleteno she should wear green makeup and go as the Grouch who Stole Xmas.
ReplyDeleteIt's official...it's jumping the shark.
ReplyDeletewww.jumptheshark.com
The "special guest star".
Heheheheh...
ReplyDeleteI wasn't onboard with this until I read the part about Jack Black dressing up as Alba's lesbian lover..I was like ..awesome!...this sounds funny... Usually I found Alba as dry as canned Tuna with Water, and Jack Black usually can land one out of every four or five attempts at humour...Nice grab Ent..I think it would be great!