In 2005, NBC aired a comedy about a group of eccentric office works. At their center was an over-confident, unprofessional but hilarious boss. For six years, we Office fans have had the pleasure of seeing Michael Scott’s professional career at Dunder Mifflin and Saber. Now, as six seasons of The Office on DVD lay strewn about my floor and six of Michael’s Scott’s faces stare back at me, I am forced to come to terms with the fact that April 28 will bring about the end of Michael’s paper and printer career and the beginning of my mourning period.
I know many people who think that The Office cannot continue without Steve Carell’s participation. It’s tempting to take that point of view. After all, Carell’s character has provided us with the countless laughs, cringes and awkward silences that I am not sure any other character can.
Michael’s ability to create a devastatingly awkward moment has shocked me for six and half seasons. Topping my list are: his brilliant idea to initiate Yankee swap at the company Christmas party, disappointed at his potholder gift from Phyllis after he “got carried away with the Christmas Spirit” and bought Ryan an iPod; his completely unsympathetic (but totally unsurprising) reaction to Kevin’s possible skin cancer that just happened to fall on Michael’s birthday; his insistence to support Oscar’s coming out by kissing him in front of the entire office; and his numerous inappropriate comments to the women of the office (Like his comment to Karen: “Wow! You’re very exotic looking…”). Let’s not forget his role in Phyllis’s wedding, his short-lived relationship with Pam’s mom, and his emotional breakdown at the Nashua branch seminar.
However, I suppose we should all be happy about the reason Michael has decided to leave: he is finally going to be with Holly, his perfect match. After all, Michael has gone through with relationships; how can we not be happy for him? Just look at his past girlfriends. There’s Jan, of course, who forced him to testify against the company, made him get a vasectomy (and then reverse it and then reverse it back again), and went to a sperm bank while they were still dating. Let’s not forget Carol, though, who broke up with him after he proposed to her at Kelly’s Diwali party and the bar manager who turned out to be married. Michael has gone through a lot of heartbreak to get to the woman he is with now. Jim Halpert once commented about Michael’s pursuit of Holly: “I gotta say Michael is killing it with Holly. And I think I know why. It’s because Holly is kind of a major dork.” Yes, indeed. And from Michael and Holly’s “Let’s Get Ethical” seminar to their “SlumDunder Mifflinaire” skit, we have all known that they were meant to be together. I suppose, then, I can grudgingly admit that I’m happy Michael gets the girl, even if it means leaving behind his co-workers and his devoted viewers.
To use Michael’s phrase: I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious of change, especially the change that will occur due to his absence. So many cons and basically no pros fill my list of his departure. Who will give us the inappropriate sexual and racial remarks? Who will call the unnecessary but humorous conference room meetings? Who will fill the ironic role of the office boss acting like a little kid? Who will hate Toby? Who will stare back at me from the center of the cover of my season eight DVD of The Office? Who will be the boss?
Whoever is taking Steve Carell’s place doesn’t have big shoes to fill but a sumo-wrestler-sized fatsuit to fill. I wish that person the best of luck, because he or she is taking on a pretty difficult task.
By the time you read this, the last episode of The Office with Steve Carell as the star will have aired. Along with my fellow fans, I thank him and bid him farewell.