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Post by Lance Uppercut on May 15, 2022 0:49:10 GMT -5
This thread is kind of all over the place but
I started to listening to the office ladies podcast. It’s a lot of fun listening to their stories and it’s making want to rewatch the series. I love that these people all seem to stay in contact with each other, can look back fondly at their time on the show, and remember so much,
Man, these peacock episodes are great, they pretty much put in a bunch of deleted content and doubled the length of the series. Each episode of the series it like 40 minutes so it’s like getting new episodes.
Holy shit I hate Michael so much. I remember disliking him even when it first aired, but it’s even worse now whenever I read a YouTube comment where people actually are like “he’s the best boss” “I’d love to work for someone like him” or “they could never make this show now, people are too soft and woke”. It’s like these people don’t get the point of the character as an asshole with no friends that everyone thinks is annoying the whole racist misogyny selfish wouldn’t be that bad if he actually got his ass kicked every now and then. Even Al bundy, who l loved a lot, kind of got what he had coming to him, and the people he was insulting usually deserved it or clapped back hard. Michael gets almost no comeuppance except for that one episode with Stanley which was great
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SmashTV
Dennis Stamp
Big Money, Big Prizes, I Love It!
The Excellence of Allocation
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Post by SmashTV on May 15, 2022 1:52:29 GMT -5
I also went on a binge of The Office this year and liked it. I’m from England so didn’t know if I’d like it compared to the Ricky Gervais original, but it’s very much its own show. I’ve also listened to the Office Ladies podcast as a result.
To me, Michael has many, many flaws but does at times come off as sympathetic. Not having much of a life outside of work, no real friends other than possibly Todd Packer etc. Then he goes and destroys it all with something selfish, crass or misplaced. He’s certainly not the bed boss, though - despite what his cup says. I know he’s slightly exaggerated, but you could never work for someone like that in reality.
Up until a certain moment it’s a wonderful show, and I’m glad I gave it a go and discovered the Office Ladies podcast from it.
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Post by Big BosskMan on May 15, 2022 13:17:01 GMT -5
I think Andy is the dirt-worst character on the program. Obnoxious, scheming try hard that he is. And even he got a bit of redemption at the end after being a worse boss than Michael, if that is possible.
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Post by King Boo on May 15, 2022 13:28:46 GMT -5
I love Michael and consider him one of my favorite characters in the show.
The important thing is that he grows and is given layers through the seasons. He can be completely oblivious and tone deaf, but then he has moments of genuine goodness. The one that always leaps to mind for me is Pam's art show. He was so supportive of her, and it was totally sincere. Overall, he means well, but is just so... Michael sometimes.
His heart is good, and I think that's what matters most.
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by Fade on May 15, 2022 17:12:09 GMT -5
Full disclosure, I barely started watching The Office in the last few years but I like (and hate?) Michael in all the ways you’re supposed to I guess. That episode where he wins the office work Olympics or whatever it was…that scene, acting was so well done that it sealed my commitment to the show.
I pretty much liked and enjoyed the whole show. Particularly the Jim/Pam romance. Thought it was exceptionally well done.
Might check out this deleted stuff since I’ve been using Peacock anyway.
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Post by Gravedigger's Biscuits on May 15, 2022 18:08:56 GMT -5
I love Michael and consider him one of my favorite characters in the show. The important thing is that he grows and is given layers through the seasons. He can be completely oblivious and tone deaf, but then he has moments of genuine goodness. The one that always leaps to mind for me is Pam's art show. He was so supportive of her, and it was totally sincere. Overall, he means well, but is just so... Michael sometimes. His heart is good, and I think that's what matters most. Michael had a few nice moments but I feel his bad ones heavily outweight them.
Just off the top of my head - the way he treated Pam's mom, the way he treated the woman on the blind date and the way he treated the kid at the job fair. Three instances of him just treating another person absolutely horribly, for purely selfish reasons.
I still find the character funny but he was much more of a dick than he wasn't IMO.
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Post by King Boo on May 15, 2022 18:12:02 GMT -5
I love Michael and consider him one of my favorite characters in the show. The important thing is that he grows and is given layers through the seasons. He can be completely oblivious and tone deaf, but then he has moments of genuine goodness. The one that always leaps to mind for me is Pam's art show. He was so supportive of her, and it was totally sincere. Overall, he means well, but is just so... Michael sometimes. His heart is good, and I think that's what matters most. Michael had a few nice moments but I feel his bad ones heavily outweight them.
Just off the top of my head - the way he treated Pam's mom, the way he treated the woman on the blind date and the way he treated the kid at the job fair. Three instances of him just treating another person absolutely horribly, for purely selfish reasons.
I still find the character funny but he was much more of a dick than he wasn't IMO.
It's always interesting to me how two different people can see things. I'm not trying to say you're wrong, and I acknowledge his bad moments as well as his good ones, but it's like a random little glimpse into people's psyches or something. Just where we put emphasis, importance, etc. Always interesting for me to hear. |
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Post by Gravedigger's Biscuits on May 15, 2022 19:46:26 GMT -5
Michael had a few nice moments but I feel his bad ones heavily outweight them.
Just off the top of my head - the way he treated Pam's mom, the way he treated the woman on the blind date and the way he treated the kid at the job fair. Three instances of him just treating another person absolutely horribly, for purely selfish reasons.
I still find the character funny but he was much more of a dick than he wasn't IMO.
It's always interesting to me how two different people can see things. I'm not trying to say you're wrong, and I acknowledge his bad moments as well as his good ones, but it's like a random little glimpse into people's psyches or something. Just where we put emphasis, importance, etc. Always interesting for me to hear. Hmm, maybe. I don't know if it's really fair to anyone to say you've had a glimpse into their psyche based on how they view a sitcom character, that's maybe too deep for the subject matter, but I know what you mean. Do we choose to see the good or bad in people etc.
Personally I feel I do try to see the good in people. I don't think Michael Scott is an evil character or anything like that, he's just...got a lot of negative traits. And I feel we saw those a lot more in the show than we did his good side.
I just remembered that he once got mad at Kevin when everyone thought he might have cancer because it happened to coincide with Michael's birthday. That's really bad lol.
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Post by Limity (BLM) on May 15, 2022 20:21:14 GMT -5
I love Michael and consider him one of my favorite characters in the show. The important thing is that he grows and is given layers through the seasons. He can be completely oblivious and tone deaf, but then he has moments of genuine goodness. The one that always leaps to mind for me is Pam's art show. He was so supportive of her, and it was totally sincere. Overall, he means well, but is just so... Michael sometimes. His heart is good, and I think that's what matters most. He also very briefly showed a moment of business savvy, when he started his own paper company and stared down his old boss in negotiations to sell it. |
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Post by King Boo on May 15, 2022 21:17:25 GMT -5
It's always interesting to me how two different people can see things. I'm not trying to say you're wrong, and I acknowledge his bad moments as well as his good ones, but it's like a random little glimpse into people's psyches or something. Just where we put emphasis, importance, etc. Always interesting for me to hear. Hmm, maybe. I don't know if it's really fair to anyone to say you've had a glimpse into their psyche based on how they view a sitcom character, that's maybe too deep for the subject matter, but I know what you mean. Do we choose to see the good or bad in people etc.
Personally I feel I do try to see the good in people. I don't think Michael Scott is an evil character or anything like that, he's just...got a lot of negative traits. And I feel we saw those a lot more in the show than we did his good side.
I just remembered that he once got mad at Kevin when everyone thought he might have cancer because it happened to coincide with Michael's birthday. That's really bad lol.
Oh yeah, I'm not trying to armchair psychoanalyze or anything. Just a curious little difference we all have from one another. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'd want to work under Michael, but I overall love the character. When he's bad, it's comically bad; when he's good, it's heartwarming. For me, anyways. I do see why others wouldn't agree, or totally agree, anyhow. |
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SmashTV
Dennis Stamp
Big Money, Big Prizes, I Love It!
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Post by SmashTV on May 16, 2022 12:48:10 GMT -5
There’s a Halloween episode in the first or second series where Michael has a bad day at work. He’s shown looking sad at home but when trick or treaters come to his door he’s all smiles and kid friendly,
making sure they all get the same amount of sweets and complimenting their costumes.
I think it’s was important for all of his flaws and bad traits he is human, he does have feelings and can be a warm, decent person. Showing this relatively early helped give him layers, I think.
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Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on May 16, 2022 13:35:27 GMT -5
Michael is a fun unsympathetic comedy protagonist IMO. He’s an idiot and often a dick but he’s a “loveable dick”. I think he balances out the comparatively more grounded Jim/Pam and Dwight’s complete madness.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on May 17, 2022 1:45:59 GMT -5
Michael is a fun unsympathetic comedy protagonist IMO. He’s an idiot and often a dick but he’s a “loveable dick”. I think he balances out the comparatively more grounded Jim/Pam and Dwight’s complete madness. And even then, I don't feel like his being a dick is intentional 100% of the time. It definitely helps make him more lovable and sympathetic while still not absolving him of any of his bad behavior. |
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2022 3:16:01 GMT -5
As I get older I sympathise more with Michael. He's an over promoted klutz whose desperate to be liked. Jim kn the overhand is an actual c***.
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Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by Push R Truth on May 17, 2022 11:53:09 GMT -5
I feel like Michael was essentially "broken man" by this overly large combo of negatives:
Social awareness rating of near zero.
Always tried to play it cool for the camera and that nearly always made the situation worse.
Was way over his head as a manager, most of the time he knew it but because of the documentary we didn't want to be outed as a fraud, causing his overcompensation or trying to hide his weaknesses to pile up.
He wasn't book smart, but pretended to be.
He wasn't street smart, but pretended to be.
Was professionally AND "casually" pretty damn sexist and racist.
Appeared to have zero relationships that were non-work related, unless it dealt with casual sex.
That said, even with all the shit piled into one dude: he had the capacity to be really caring and cool. Not that often but it happened. About 85% of the show he was a grade A douchebag, but that also made his "cool" moments hit harder. Actually does a decent job of showing how a person can be mostly "bad" but still capable of good. It's not all black and white. Overall he's a hard guy to pin down... and that's what she said.
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by Fade on May 17, 2022 15:34:27 GMT -5
As I get older I sympathise more with Michael. He's an over promoted klutz whose desperate to be liked. Jim kn the overhand is an actual c***. Y u gotta clown on my main man Jim tho |
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2022 15:40:37 GMT -5
As I get older I sympathise more with Michael. He's an over promoted klutz whose desperate to be liked. Jim kn the overhand is an actual c***. Y u gotta clown on my main man Jim tho Dude, he's awful! Dwight is weird and annoying, but the campaign of outright bullying was massively out of proportion. He psychologically broke Andy. He completely led on and messed around poor Karen. And he consistently looked down on the rest of his co-workers despite being exactly the same. The rest of the main cast embraced who they were but Jim sat in judgement. Jim is the true villain of the office. It is known. |
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Fade
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by Fade on May 17, 2022 15:44:06 GMT -5
Y u gotta clown on my main man Jim tho Dude, he's awful! Dwight is weird and annoying, but the campaign of outright bullying was massively out of proportion. He psychologically broke Andy. He completely led on and messed around poor Karen. And he consistently looked down on the rest of his co-workers despite being exactly the same. The rest of the main cast embraced who they were but Jim sat in judgement. Jim is the true villain of the office. It is known.  |
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