Not to detract from the kickass analysis of my query letter going on in the previous post, but does anyone watch The Office (UK version)? Help me, please
Last night I watched the series 2 (otherwise known as season 2 for us Yanks) finale of The Office. Somebody please please please explain to me why Tim turned down the job and actually suggested making Gareth his boss? What am I missing here? Was this all so he’d continue to be free to possibly date Dawn? Because, as her boss, he wouldn’t be able to? Or is he just a lunatic?
I’ve been trying to write this morning, but my brain keeps coming back to this conundrum.
Help me, please.
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:12 am
Because he has a moment of uber-clarity where he realizes that in a very messed-up way, he has some genuine fondness for this dufus he’s been sharing a desk with for so long, even if said dufus, completely in line with his character, is totally cluless and given the chance wouldn’t return the favor. Also, I think he mentioned something like if he were to accept the job, he couldn’t be above it anymore… like he can safely watch the circus from where he’s sitting, but taking the job would make him one of the clowns. Finally I think I agree with him that Gareth would be better suited for the job because that job is his life whereas Jim would just be passing time, albeit at a better salary.
I actually loved that ending. Have you seen the Christmas special yet? You HAVE to. The series isn’t complete without it.
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:26 am
I think the Xmas special is next up in the Netflix queue.
Okay, thanks for clarifying, but what about that look he gives the camera after Gareth has been offered the job — that look of pure despair like “what kind of monster have I created?”
The way I saw it, the temporary promotion would have been Tim’s ticket out of there. More money (i.e., he could save for college, his own place, a little money to take some time off and get his head together), and then, once the new replacement came in, he could hardly be expected to “go back down” so he’d probably have an even greater incentive to move on.
I think he was SO self-defeating. Same as dumping his hottie fun girlfriend for yet another chance with that bitch Dawn.
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:39 am
Ha ha! I think he did what most of us wouldn’t do. As you said, in the real world, we’d suck it up, take the promotion, settle for the girl/guy who’s in love with us (though for some odd reason, there’s someone else we just can’t get over and we have hope in our heart of hearts that they might just love us back…) and jump ship at the first opportunity. No one expects executives to actually stick around and grow with a company for better or for worse (why else do they get bonuses even when their companies are tanking?).Cynicism comes with the territory. Tim chose the moral high ground, or if you liken it to many chick lit endings, the path that seems incomprehensible to some but that stays true to the character’s core.
As an office drone who’d love to stick it to those greater-but-totally-cluless-powers, I had to cheer him on. Being a part of the management of those types of bureaucratic companies really does cost you a little bit of your soul, and there’s always the risk you’ll stay for ‘just the next bonus…’ and end up there for life.
… on a much lighter topic, I just posted pictures of Little Cayman, a real life ‘deserted island’ on my blog. One mile by 10 miles, 150 inhabitants… I’m sure there’s a pacific island out there that’s more deserted but still… this was nutty. Now there’s incentive to stay on with that corporate job, if it’ll allow you to hop over to a place like this for the weekend!!!
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:32 am
Tim is a classic underachiever — lots of talk and dreams but no follow-through. What happened to going to school to study psychology? He got a raise. The end.
And when he does take a chance, what happens? The girl says No and moves to America with her slimy fiance.
With Gareth “in charge,” Tim can sit back, keep making the jokes, keep casting a seasoned eye over the office and being ironic without realizing he’s just as enmeshed as everyone else. Sure, he’ll make the occasional gesture, but he doesn’t commit.
Gareth will never have Tim’s nuts in a vise and they both know it.
The Xmas special is classic. Enjoy.
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 11:14 am
Tim is a classic underachiever — lots of talk and dreams but no follow-through. What happened to going to school to study psychology? He got a raise. The end.
And when he does take a chance, what happens? The girl says No and moves to America with her slimy fiance.
With Gareth “in charge,” Tim can sit back, keep making the jokes, keep casting a seasoned eye over the office and being ironic without realizing he’s just as enmeshed as everyone else. Sure, he’ll make the occasional gesture, but he doesn’t commit.
Exactly. Those nuances really made Tim’s character, IMO. He talks about doing things but lacks the drive to actually do them. And the moment when he finally does take a chance, when he talks to Dawn–the look on his face afterwards, so resigned, so ‘I knew this would happen’–it broke my heart.
And, to echo everyone else, if you haven’t seen the Christmas special, you really should.
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 11:57 am
Hmmm, something weird going on on my blog. It says there are zero comments when you look at the main site, three comments when you look at the comments thread, and then 5 when you actually bother to post.
Anyway, I’m so excited to hear that Nadine has a blog! Woo hoo! They are gorgeous pictures.
Sandra, hi! I think i see what you guys are saying, but maybe it’s that I don’t understand how the UK employment system works. For instance, in France, you basically can’t fire anyone, for anything. Is it like that in the UK? Because in America, i know from experience that Gareth could find plenty of ways to make Tim miserable if he wanted to. I had the boss from HELL who seemed to take sadistic pleasure in making everyone in her department squirm. She once called my coworker into her “office” (a slightly larger cubicle than the rest of us had) to berate her for telling a customer that she (the boss) was the coworker’s “supervisor.” She was all “I’m not your supervisor. I’m your manager. I don’t supervise you. I’m above that. I manage you.” All this while she was listening in on the worker’s phone call with the customer. If that’s not supervising, I must have flunked etymology. She also used to walk past our desks to the fax machine, collect all our faxes from thei indivudal fax boxes, walk back past our desks to her “office” then call us, individually on the phone to “come into her office” and then, when we would trot over, she would make us wait for a minute or two, then hand us the fax and tell us to get back to work. One day she told us we coudln’t take bathroom breaks without her permission, then set her phone to voicemail all day.
I imagine that these are the kind of things that Gareth would do. Working there was hell, but we endured it because we needed to pay the rent and if we ever complained, she would fire our asses so quick.
the day she did fire me, the joy on her face was… demonically orgasmic.
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 1:02 pm
OMG… have you written about the boss yet?? My only concern is that fictional characters need to feel believable and that boss of yours falls square into the “I can’t f**king believe this” category.
How long did you last at this place?? Can you tell us what you did to get fired or is that classified?
… I think I need to revisit the British Office and watch out for those nuances. That show is so classic it’s about time I saw it again (though the American Office is quickly gaining on it as my favorite version)
[Reply]
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:15 pm
Gareth won’t make Tim miserable because he’s just not capable of it. He might temporarily annoy or exasperate Tim, but he lacks the intellect and wit to be Tim’s “equal.”
Tim knows this. What’s funny is that Gareth knows it, too, but doesn’t want to think about it. You can see it in Gareth’s eyes sometimes when he realizes he’s been had, but then up comes the bluster and swagger and the “I’m right about this” attitude that’s so in-your-face it’s clear he’s running scared. He usually leaves the field of battle at this point.
I’ve never watched the US version. I heard mixed reviews, so it’s way down on the list.
Your boss sounds hilarious, Diana. How did you keep from laughing?
[Reply]
August 23rd, 2006 at 2:27 am
I second what everyone else has said – the Xmas special is a classic!
Tim enjoys knowing that he could’ve had the job if he wanted! Though he may live to regret not taking it!
The Office is one of my faves. And we’ve just got Extras over here now. So funny. Last night was the one with Samuel L Jackson – laugh outloud stuff!
[Reply]