The Office is a good example of a successful sitcom. Prior to watching an episode the viewer has certain expectations of the programme. This is formed by a gradual familiarity that is subconsciously formed between the acted stock characters and the viewer. Before watching the office we expect to see the same stock characters within the same environment. By forming this familiarity with the viewer the sitcom can exaggerate the comedy yet still make us laugh. Part of the reason we laugh is because we now the actors are acting yet we suspend disbelief. The office then takes comedy further by allowing that familiarity to be formed yet maintaining an accurate simulation of spontaneity. This therefore bonds us with the characters yet makes there actions unpredictable so we still find them funny. The way in which the bond is formed is through the continued use of the same setting, slough, and the same theme song. This enhances the feeling that we are actually in the office with David Brent and his colleges and every day we too drive through those scenes of slough. By choosing an area like slough that is industrially dominated and similar to most urban areas the programme makers again familiarise the programme with reality and the surroundings we encounter in life. The theme song as well as remaining the same is also familiar to a varied age range as it is and was a success throughout the last twenty years. The slight alterations within the song reflect the peculiar activities that take place within The Office. The repetition of this is contradictory to the ever changing sign at the start of Fawlty Towers. Although this is a difference both The Office and Fawlty Towers are the same in that they maintain a repeated intro, the changing of the sign introduces the silly and farce comedy created in Fawlty Towers.
As well as being a sitcom The Office is a spoof of another genre. They way in which it is filmed is similar to a “fly on the wall” documentary. This is because at several points in an episode the characters are aware of the camera, this becomes apparent by an occasional meeting of a characters eyes and the camera. The producers also incorporate the use of “Cutaways” that withdraw from the office scene and interrupt a staged interview of one of the characters. The similarity of this to a documentary gives the impression that in the same way a documentary explores and studies a topic, The Office studies the office area yet can find nothing of interest due to the boring area that the office is. This is enhanced by the motionless and the same airless atmosphere of the camera. This is achieved through the use of the hand held camera when filming, such as the sound of the air as the camera moves; this all adds to the fake realism that The Office strives to create. The filming also uses close-ups, zooms and pulls in the same way an amateur home video would. The sound used in each episode includes background noise such as clatters and the shuffling of shoes, noises that would normally be edited out. This adds to the creation of comedy by projecting the incongruence and separating The Office in its comedy from other sitcoms. The comedy is based around a central figure that is David Brent. David Brent manages to humiliate himself constantly yet in trying to redeem himself only digs himself into a deeper hole. He is very self conscious and unable to accept that there maybe someone better than him. When being told off for being immature he acts even more child like by ignoring and looking away. Having been told off he then lies to his employees about what happened in a plea to prove himself, even though no one disputed his legitimacy. When he meets new employees he tries to force himself as a boss upon them and it becomes apparent his fun is no one else’s. In doing so David Brent does not show himself as he is and begins to gain sympathy from the viewers for his social inadequacies. However, as the episode continues he begins to abuse the sympathy and become increasingly embarrassing on the viewers part and painful to watch because he is such an obvious social fascist yet refuses to accept it the point that it seems he is unaware of it.
Tim is a grounded character with the most relevant perception of the world. He seems the mature and relatively hard working employee with an increased sense of responsibility. His position within the office highlights the behaviour of David Brent as a boss; his attitude towards his work contradicts David Brent’s continuous distractions and avoiding of work. Tim can accept things as they are unlike David Brent. Gareth is the only other character on the same maturity level as David Brent. He has a false perception of himself and the world around him, making his behaviour undignified and out of place. This totally contradicts Basil Fawlty’s suppressed knowledge of a proper Englishman. Gareth’s behaviour is the only concellation to David Brent’s incongruence in society. Dawn is a confusing and complex character. She does not express herself often yet seems to be the only important female in the series. She remains neutral throughout each episode and when on camera seems confused and disoriented in her surroundings. She is the only character who openly shows sympathy, of a kind, towards David Brent. Her timid presence adds to the office atmosphere as she brings the only relationship between employees into the series. This relationship however, seems to mock a tragic love story of two men and a women torn between each other.
The Office is aimed at a large target audience. It incorporates characters with different maturity levels and senses of responsibility making it relevant to a wide age group. Younger viewers will relate to it due to the reality and comedy as well as the inaccurate perception of an office environment. Older viewers will relate to the similarity in work place and the controversial portrayal of the office area. The audience watching The Office may be influenced by the racial jokes and wrong doing of such a comedy program. Others may find the content insightful into the reality of an office environment and exploration of possibilities. A number of viewers may be offended by prejudice within the episodes. Elder generations may find it a very deceiving and naive attempt to portray a comical office. The series is relevant to all class boundaries as it shows normality, to an extent, among humour.
In conclusion, in order to create humour in a relevant and recognisable situation a sitcom must use a structured set that allows a viewer to familiarise themselves with the stock characters and form a relationship with the program. Through the use of incongruent characters that can seriously explore stereotypical topics comedy is formed. This is because we see more about the characters than they themselves now. By stretching the racial content to the limit we the viewers are preoccupied by the comedy that they form by saying such unexpected things that we do not concentrate on the serious side although in order to be acceptable each sitcom must yield a point of sanity and sensibility. The basic structure for humour pivots between the clash of hopes and characters. Most sitcoms adopt a circular structure where the main generator of comedy is the lack of progression having witnessed a gradual build up and a sudden deflation. The sitcoms capability to use such spontaneity depends upon other elements that provide it with the grounds to push the boundaries, by having a sensible and basic setting and theme tune the sitcom is already based within a realistic and perfectly possible area leaving no limit to the realism of the acting. The delicate generic classing of sitcoms allows it to either mock or in list the aid of other genres and still be within the in expendable boundaries of comedy.
Hasan Al- hasani
