There are ‘The Office’ fans and there are ‘Friends’ fans and then there are ‘Seinfeld’ fans. It’s nigh impossible for a ‘Seinfeld’ fan to be a ‘Friends’ fan or vice versa. It’s also almost impossible for an ‘Office’ fan to be a ‘Friends’ fan and again… vice versa.
Image courtesy: NBC.com
Having said that and having binge watched all three series multiple times, I do not find myself returning to ‘Friends’, but I do find myself watching and rewatching ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘The Office’ over and over again. Sometimes, I’ll have it on, on my phone while I write, or cook or clean. Earphones plugged in, I don’t need to look at the screen to know that Kramer’s just slid into Jerry’s apartment, or that the popping sound I hear is Jim popping the bubble wrap on Michael Scott’s grilled foot. It’s all tattooed on my brain and if you didn’t get that reference I don’t think the rest of this piece will make much sense to you.
Now the genius of ‘The Office’ and ‘Seinfeld’ is undeniable and sometimes the way the writers tie up loose ends or close side stories or even just allude to something that’s been mentioned in passing is serendipitous. The brilliance of the writing is equally matched by the delivery by the actors who I will be fangirling over if I ever meet them. Yes, even Todd Packer.
On my umpteenth ‘The Office’ binge, I noticed a few callbacks that I can only categorise as artful. You may already know these, but if you don’t, you’ll be delighted!
