D
DistrictCyclone
Guest
30 Rock was a lot like AD in being self-referential. I love how a lot of the jokes are only funny in-context (i.e., only if you've seen previous episodes). That's a lot like real life. Something that AD did that I've not seen any other show do, though, was insert little "teasers" about future episodes into them. The whole Rita being mentally disabled story did this a lot; it's amazing that they kept that going for 6-7 episodes before revealing it, and only then did everyone go "a ha" and recognize the clues.
I think AD did a lot of character development, though. Having a narrator helped, a lot, and so did the flashback scenes; they were a really quick and easy way to explain a character's past.
I think the reason I became disinterested in The Office was because it became more about the characters and less about working in an office. Somewhere along the way, it went from being a comedy about the workplace (with a difficult boss, stupid sensitivity trainings, entrenched and entitled coworkers, etc.) to a comedy/drama that just happens to take place in a workplace. The stories became less about funny office politics and more about Jim and Pam, or Dwight and Angela, or Michael and whoever he was dating. That's totally fine as long as you like the characters (case in point, I still like Parks and Rec because I enjoy the characters a lot, even though it only has a marginal connection to anything related to the Parks Department anymore), but I never really got into them. I hate Jim and Pam. Michael's antics wore off. Dwight is just ridiculous. Most everyone else is just kindof "blah".
If you fell in love with the characters, I can totally understand why you'd still like the show.
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