Too Much of a Good Thing

Without a doubt, the funniest half hour on TV each week is The Office. Notice I said the funniest HALF hour. At the beginning of this season, NBC decided to supersize each of the first four episodes into one hour instead of the normal 30 minute episodes that we are accustomed to. At first, I was really excited. The more I could get of the Dunder Mifflin crew, the better. But now after seeing the first four episodes, I'm just as excited to see it go back to the 30 minute format, starting next week.

As it turned out, 60 minute episodes were a bad idea. It was a little outside the box to begin with, because there isn't a single comedy on TV that runs for an hour each week. Every now and again, you'll see "special" episodes that end up being an hour, like a season finale or something, but it's hardly the norm. Even Seinfeld, one of the all time greats, only have a few hour long episodes, much less 4 straight to start a season.

I've found each episode to be very funny in parts, but then have lots and lots of downtime, which is a big buzzkill for any comedy. Keep me laughing for 30 minutes and leave me wanting more next week. I think that's the ideal formula. It's like the episode of Seinfeld where George tried to always end on a high note. We need to get back to this idea with The Office. Next week cannot come soon enough.