"Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information."(Michael Scott, The Office, video)
The line between documentary and entertainment on TV have been blurred for few decades now. Neil Postman argues that the TV format in itself is better designed to entertain than to inform, so he wouldn't be surprised by the concept of "mockumentary", that stands behind the success of the TV series The Office. In this article, I would like to explore how this unique blend of reality and fiction (or, better yet, fiction portrayed through techniques hitherto reserved for documentary) functions and cooperates with other formats, typical for the Web 2.0 world. I am focused mainly on the US version, produced by NBC.
The Office - sometimes too real to watch
The original (UK) TV series was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, accomplished and acclaimed comedy duo. In July 2001, the first episode aired on BBC Two, presenting to the audience a new type of sitcom. Using the documentary methods (single camera, moving camera, commentary, talking heads) they covered daily operation of an utterly ordinaryoffice of an fictional paper-supply company Wernham Hogg. All though everything is carefully scripted, comedy uses the feel of reality as its main mode for eliciting humor. Unlike other sitcoms, many "boring" and "nothing's happening" scenes are implemented to intensify the feeling of tedious work in such a job.
This is how mockumentary looks:
British version was famous for its dark humor and absurd, almost "too painful to watch" embarrassing moments and misunderstandings. There have been worries that the US version, which started airing March 2005 on NBC, would not live up to its UK predecessor. Even though this is a matter of taste, I dare say that after first two seasons, it is one of the best TV series currently on air. Entertainment Weekly remarked that the US version, an
"undervalued remake does the near impossible—it honors Ricky Gervais' original and works on its own terms." It's viewership keeps growing, starting at 5.4 millions for Season 1 and growing up to 9.4 millions for current, fifth season.
The Office and the new media
My first encounter with The Office dates back to the now-famous Steve Job's introduction of the new iPhone (video), in which he used "his favourite series" to demonstrate the video capabilities of the device. I find this quite symptomatic - The Office is one of the most favorite series on air and iTunes store is significant means of distribution, at least it was before hulu.com and NBC's own on-line player. The point is, live TV is not the only means of distribution by far, which is partly what the Writers Guild's strike was about.
Like many other TV series, The Office, too, uses webpages to increase the notion of reality. Both Dunder Mufflin and Sabre Corporation, the fictional companies from the series, have their own, regularly managed webpages. These, along with other blogs and videos, create unusually strong transmedia narrativity dimension, which works well with the mockumentary format and results in really wholesome experience for enthusiastic and active viewer.
Here are some of the regularly updated websites:
(spoiler alert)
- Baby blog
- Sabre Corp.
- Dunder Mifflin
- Dwight Schrute's blog
- Creed's Thought
- another blog (spoiler alert, don't read unless you follow the series :-)
All these are closely connected with the series, but also reacting to actual, current events. Dwight's blog, for example, reviewed the movie Avatar or writes on volcano eruption. To enjoy the texts, it is usually necessary to know the character, so we can view these as a reward for true fans who follow the series. Suddenly, they can use their knowledge of the fictional universe to enjoy extra content they wouldn't understand otherwise. Needless to say, this ties the fan closer to the show and creates new type of fans - "creative fan", for example.
The Office and videos for the web
There is nothing new about fan remixes on YouTube. You can find mash-ups (taking original video and adding a new sound) or collections of new scenes. Fans have contributed dozens of such clips that feature key The Office characters, my favorites include collections Every That's What She Said Joke or Best Pranks on Dwight, but there are genre remixes, too.
More interestingly, the producers jumped on board with their tolerance towards the copyright infringements - apparently, they are willing to overlook if users post individual scenes, even though this is not official rule, more of an observation.
And the producers themselves have created dozens of videos (so called webisodes) that are released only on-line, often during summer break. Typically, the secondary cast participate in these. Also, The Office facebook fan page releases deleted scenes or teasers on-line, and in The Office, these are considered "part of the canon", meaning they don't present some alternative universe but, again, reward fans for their patience and diligence.
Fans are appreciating (and expecting) this
In the Wikipedia era, the large and dilligent fan-base translates into extensive Wikipedia coverage. Truly, The Office is really well covered on Wikipedia:
- main page
- list of episodes
- most of the episodes have detailed description in their individual articles
- list of characters
- most of the main characters have detailed individual pages, just like Michael Scott
After the episode is broadcasted, it takes usually about few hours until a decent episode summary (including chapters setting it in the context of previous episodes) is ready on-line, constructed by usually by 3 to 20 people. It has been part of the WikiProject The Office (US), which "coordinates the collaborative work on" the articles concerning The Office.
Core fans also follow fan (unofficial) blogs: Life In The Office and Office Tally providing interesting news as well as notifications about newly released extra materials.
New generation of product placement
The Office has obviously exploited the new media quite successfully, encouraging fans from all over the world (although mainly in the USA) to follow the fates of their favorite characters with literally encyclopedic thoroughness. This, no doubt, creates richer experience for the viewer (who is no more just a viewer, but often active fan, even evangelist and promoter). Are there some tangible benefits for the producers, too?
There certainly are. Apart from selling DVDs and other merchandise, The Office has brought new level of something I call "natural product placement." Where in normal sitcom you'd see fake brands, in The Office, you can encounter mostly real products from real companies. Some pay to get in The Office:
- Activicsion's Call of Duty video game was a great subplot in The Coup episode
- Staples, a great competitor of the fictionaly Dunder Mifflin company, is a real and large company, and even though it plays sort of a negative role, it pays for it's on-screen presence
- Cisco systems supplied networks and telephones, and pays for it, even though, as far as I remember, was never mentioned
And these are not always contractual product placements. Apple's iPad plays a role at least three times, and some laptops are Apple-made, too. Other company computer uses Windows. Cars (Subaru, Toyota, Chrysler) are called by their names if appropriate etc. Websites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, TripAdvisor or MapQuest are often mentioned, as they would be in real life. In other words, the producers claim that they don't hesitate to bring up a brand name, as long as they feel that brings the natural, real feeling of an office conversation. I have to admit, I quite like that attitude.
My favorite moments
I consider myself a fan of The Office. There were several moments, though, where I had to go beyond that, and admit to be an admirer of what the authors, writers, directors, actors and producers accomplished.
In Local Ad, the team is to make their own advertising, using videocamers and amateur video editing software. When I was watching the result, I completely forgot this has been edited by professionals (of course it has, I had to remind myself, this is a TV series, of course they have editing professionals!). Instead, I was watching a short clip, somewhat clumsily, but surprisingly well, done by my friends. I think this was the best proof to me that they achieved to maintain the reality feel.
In Niagara, where certain two characters (spoiler alert!) got married, their friends surprise them with the JK Wedding Entrance Dance cover. Again, it feels so wonderfully real and improvised you completely sink into the moment, forgetting how many choreographers were probably present. And you can feel the cast is enjoying it like a real wedding.
I think it was a real wedding, in a way. Utilizing the new media made it possible to appeal to fans on new levels and encourage them to participate in on-line games, fan covers, voting, name-suggesting etc. In The Office, documentary and entertainment got married.
BTW You can watch many of The Office episodes on-line using SurfTheChannel.
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