Right off the bat, I’d like to make it clear that I like Jim and Pam together. I was with all the rest of you warm-hearted fans as their relationship rode the rollercoaster of “will they or won’t they,” and I cheered both their secret relationship, their hidden engagement, and finally their plans to imminently wed (the ones that got canceled at the impromptu disco).
No, what I’m wondering is, once Jim and Pam get to the major intersections of life (marriage, children), do they still have a place on The Office? Think about it for a second; this is a show about office humor. Yes, the characters have become such strong individuals that they’ve been able to successfully roam into alternate territories, like beet farms, new houses, etc. But, ultimately, the show revolves around a bunch of people who work together in an office environment. Stanley’s not going to show up at Dwight’s beet farm with his crossword puzzle and a cup of coffee.
So, what happens next?
Well, let’s back up for a moment. Jim and Pam have been dating for the past two seasons. At the beginning of this season, they got engaged. So, why question the logic now? Because the show ended on the presumption that Pam is with child. For a minute there, I was really happy for the couple, and flashes of an early-morning pregnancy test flooded my mind, a moment of euphoria that is unlike any other.
But then I started to wonder: how’s this going to work? Jason sees a pregnancy as a natural progression for a show which has become largely a love story. But I’m not so sure I can agree. For me, as upfront as Pam and Jim’s relationship has been on the show, it’s always been the atypical stereotypical office-romance, a counterpoint to the Angela-Dwight-Andy love triangle. Which is to say that, it’s as much an in office storyline as anything else. While a pregnancy can live within the walls of the office, a baby cannot.
For instance, if Pam were to go on maternity leave, my guess is it would be no different than when she went to New York, as far as the ability to include her in an episode is concerned. But, then she was missing Jim and trying to fit in with her peers. This time? She’d be juggling a screaming baby and walking around like a zombie. Don’t get me wrong; it was great fun. But it definitely wasn’t funny.
With Pam in New York, Jim spent his time missing her, and pranking Dwight. Now? He’d be falling asleep at his desk, and keeping one eye peeled on the clock for when he could race home and spend a little time with his child. Just another frustrated parent who wished they could see their kids for longer stretches of the day.
I mean, sure, we’d get some hilarious episodes: the baby shower, the hospital visit (where Michael spends hours staring at the wrong baby without realizing it), the funny breastfeeding special, with comments from Dwight about how animals feed their children more efficiently, Meredith flashing her blurred breasts in warning of what’ll happen to Pam once the kid’s done with them, webcam pics shot by Creed, Angela being so revolted by Pam’s breastfeeding that she gets horny and seeks solace in Dwight’s arms, Kelly asking if she can help, Michael asking if he can try.
But, while there are moments that can be mined for humor, the reality is that a baby will forever alter both Jim and Pam’s ability to remain integral parts of the show. Then again, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer have been spending a lot of time in movies of late; could this be a way to ease them out the door? I hope not, because, together or apart, they’re great. And they’re integral to what makes The Office shine so bright.
So, I don’t know. I’m more stumped for an answer here than anything else. Will a baby for Jim and Pam be good for the show? Will it be neither here nor there? Is this an inevitability that simply couldn’t be avoided once the writers got them together, or is there a good reason for leading them down this path? What do you think?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on May 19, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
I think J and P are good for The Office. While the British version stopped it before it went too far, probably fearing the Moonlighting scenario, the producers here kept it real. Also, because Pam’s now pregnant that helps the show skip over the big TV wedding that I feared. Also, the pregnancy will keep up the idea of realistic office politics i.e. how will Pam handle her clients, would she face downsizing (despite in-place laws), and would D-M have a decent maternity support program. Also, Jim could take paternity leave. There are so many difficulties in the real world concerning office pregnancy policies that the Office could definitely follow it. My concern is if the show veers of course again to focus on the cuteness of the coming baby. The MSP Company brought back a breath of realism to the show and started focusing on office politics again. I think the strength of The Office, the original and the American, is its covert satire of office work with slight snapshots into the character’s lives (as what happens in reality), which is why the J & P relationship works as the writers maintained that balance. I’d hate for the show to transition over to a 100% focus on relationships again with the office as just a 9-5 playground -
*POST AUTHOR*
While it may be true that there’ll be a lot to explore with a pregnancy, what happens once there’s a baby? I just can’t imagine how it would work.
Yes they are. I always said they’d break them up because every show does that but I love Jenna Fisher so much in her role as a down-to-earth woman who simply enjoys battling what life throws at her (including the joys) it’s been such a joy to simply see her move forward not backwards. I mean she has enough moments in which she’s troubled and has to keep it together. I don’t need more Drama in HER life. It’s enough. This doesn’t have to be the UK Office. Just keep it going. I mean there’s enough potential humor in babies. Trust me. Or ask Louis CK ;-)
*POST AUTHOR*
There is, but on an office-set television show?
Oh just imagine all the other workers react to a baby. Or pregnant Pam for that matter. Toby? Michael? Dwight? I mean ALL of them. I’m starting to chuckle just thinking about it. This is going to be insane :-)
By the way is it just me or didn’t we already have a pregnant woman on the “The Office” set? What ever happened to THAT?
*POST AUTHOR*
But I think you’re missing the fact that actually having the baby around will significantly alter both Pam and Jim. Like I said, there are humorous moments to mine, but, in the end, having a baby is life altering. Neither character will be able to simply continue as is.
Sure but do you really think life on “The Office” hasn’t changed already?
Especially Pam has gone through it the most if you ask me – so more change for her would be natural, won’t it? Also I think Michael has evolved quite a bit as well, from the David Brent type of boss he was in Season 1 to what he is now.
I think this can only be good for the show. Imagine – Jim and Pam could be the first “natural” couple on a TV show that isn’t broken up by the authors because audiences tend to like pining more than relationships. I understand your reservations about it but this is the first time I really do feel good about a TV relationship. They got around the cheesy wedding up until now and instead showed us Jim buying the house he greww up in and how Pam loved it. That seemed so absolutely natural and I loved it. They showed Jim’s insecurity about Pam’s friend in New York and how Jim turned around because he didn’t want to be “that guy”. And it all feels right.
Trust me, John Krasinski and Jenna Fisher can pull this off.
*POST AUTHOR*
I agree with you in that I like how The Office has organically grown their relationship; I just worry that they’ve now come to a place that’s no longer mocumentary feasible.
Again, it’s not so much a question of whether or not The Office has evolved, its about what material will actually be useful to an office-set sitcom. I can see a finite amount of funny stories about the baby (middle of the night misadventures at the old Halpert house, for instance), but the addition of a baby makes it hard for certain things to remain viable for the conceit.
A baby leaves the writers with two options; change the makeup of the show insofar as Jim and Pam’s roles, or essentially ignore the existence of a baby, in which case, why’d they go down that road in the first place?