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| Show Reviews |
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The Office
Scott Wasser
03/01/2006
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Produced by: Reveille in association with NBC
Network: NBC
Scheduled: Thursday, 9:30 p.m.
Reviewed on: WBAL, Baltimore
Channel: 11.1
 Anyone who’s visited the bleak, dingy, and coal dust-coated city of Scranton
will understand why the American version of the BBC sitcom, The Office, chose it
as the location for the fictional Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company. The town is
almost as pitiful and laughable as the employees of Dunder-Mifflin, who are all
losers in one way or another.
The Office’s premise is that a documentary is
being shot at Dunder– Mifflin, providing us with an intimate, cinéma vérité look
at the employees’ daily activities. The 1080i broadcast is remarkably sharp for
a show in which the camera frequently shifts focus. The videographers and
directors also take full advantage of the 16:9 HD format; it’s not unusual to
see one of the characters in the background at the extreme right or left of the
screen trying to “hear” what a coworker is saying to the fictional documentary
crew.
Unfortunately, neither they nor the viewers get to hear it in digital
surround sound. The Office appears to be recorded in stereo, and with little
channel separation at that. The dialogue is crisp and clear, but digital audio
commercials shown during the show make The Office sound flat by comparison.
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