The Office Has Jumped the Shark

The rumors have been circulating for months about The Office gearing up for a final season, and now that Steve Carell has admitted in a radio interview with the BBC that the upcoming season will likely be his last, the end looks to be in sight. Sure, there's a lot of time between now and then for NBC executives to convince Carell to stay, especially since The Office is NBC's biggest success, but I think Carell senses that his ship is about to sail.

The Office was the most brilliant television show on American television. Sure, it began as a rip-off of the British version of the show of the same name, but it quickly took on a life of it's on, in part because of the excellent cast. Would The Office be the same without Steve Carell as Michael Scott? What if Dwight had been played by someone other than Rainn Wilson? It definitely wouldn't be the same.

The Office had synergy that transformed it into a wonderfully funny comedy unlike anything else on tv. The mockumentary style, riffing off popular "reality television" of the day certainly had a lot to do with it. We, the viewers, love to feel like we have the inside scoop, which we get during the confessionals of the cast to the camera. We see what the cast members don't see, and therefore have an omniscient take on situations. The Office makes us feel smart, so we love it.

[Here are some of the best episodes from Season 4: Best of Season 4 of The Office.]

The problem with The Office is that the momentum can only take it so far before it fizzles out and jumps the proverbial shark. The term "jump the shark" is an idiom used to describe the downturn of a previously successful television show. It originated in September 1977 after an episode of Happy Days when the Fonz wore swim trunks and his leather jacket and, literally, ski-jumped over a shark. The series continued for 7 years after that episode, which I suppose bodes well for fans of The Office, but it was the pinnacle moment from which it was all downhill from there.

Look at Friends. That show was so insanely popular in part because of the sexual tension that existed between the characters. Some people might argue that Friends jumped the shark back in season 3, when Rachel and Ross finally hooked up, but more realistically, the end moment came when Monica and Chandler got married. Season 6 was absolutely the best, then it started downhill. By season 9, Friends was so terrible that it was easy to forget how great it had been. It became just another crappy television show.

Which is the risk that The Office is currently running. Quit while you are ahead should be the motto of all excellent television series. Yes, the fans will miss you. But better to have the fans missing you than wishing you off the air. The truth is that The Office has most definitely jumped the shark. When exactly it happened can be argued ad infinity, but I'm inclined to agree with The New York Post: Pam and Jim's baby is the shark. Man, that episode was bad. Of course, you could certainly argue that the shark jumping happened when Pam & Jim got married. Or maybe it was that stupid clips episode? Whatever the case, it's happened. The end is nigh.

I wanted to keep loving The Office, but it's nearly impossible anymore. Hate me if you will, but I say it's about damn time The Office shut its doors.