I re-watched the first season of “The Office” first semester, because I’d forgotten about most of the episodes from when it began in 2005. The show changes as the seasons progress, but the opening season is the most natural and fluid. I, along with many others, returned over and over again to a show set in Scranton Pennsylvania, about a company that sells paper—boring by definition. The characters themselves bemoan their occupation, most notably Jim, played by John Krasinski, who said in an interview, “And, well, if this were my career? I'd have to throw myself in front of a train.” The set of the show does not do much to enhance the viewer’s experience either; it’s flat, gray, and still, with simple furniture and an occasional plant. It doesn’t even have cubicles. The lighting is dull and consistent throughout every episode, and the only noise comes from on-screen office sounds. The set of directors precisely demonstrates the monotony of this particular American workplace.
Yet it becomes a perfect stage for spontaneous actors, dynamic camera movement, fast wit, and horrifying comments from Michael Scott. Every day is charged with love, embarrassment, anger, excitement, and hilarity. It is specifically the dull setting that makes 9 to 5 so riveting; the viewers are trained by each shot to focus on minute details that develop any sort of story line, like a glance between Jim and Pam. And when things really get out of hand in a conference room meeting, it’s just as dramatic and thrilling as a big screen action movie. It teaches us the lesson that daily excitement manifests itself anywhere and everywhere; normality can be something worth watching.
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