SEATTLE- Presented with the widest selection of televised content in the history of the human race, local woman Erika Conway hastily scrolled through thousands of titles to watch NBC’s The Office for the eleventh time on Wednesday.
Conway, who can recite each of Jim Halpert’s pranks in chronological order, said new shows “aren’t as funny,” insisting that the 60,840 series that have debuted since 2005 contain no comparable chemistry. “The whole ‘will they, won’t they’ vibe from Jim and Pam? There’s no other series that’s captured something like that.”
Individual Office characters, Conway added, are simply more complex than those of recent shows. “Michael is someone you don’t want to route for, but you kind of like anyway. Name another comedy with a lead who’s kind of an antihero?” Conway asked, swiping past recommendations for Arrested Development, Community, Veep, and Seinfeld.
For many viewers, she added, it’s a matter of hours in a day. “I only have so much time I could commit to some hour-long HBO show,” argued Conway, who has invested nearly 48,000 minutes in the shenanigans at Dunder-Mifflin.
One former sorority sister, Sara Loewell, said Conway’s investment was economic. “To buy all nine seasons on DVD would cost a fortune. Instead, for $7.99 a month for four years, Erika’s being a savvy consumer.” At press time, Conway and Loewell were engaged in a heated argument over how The Office compares to Friends.
The (Near) New York Times 