TMC
11-30-2015, 02:43 AM
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Why-US-Office-Changed-Michael-Scott-Fundamental-Way-102297.html
You know the old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?”, well the flip side of that is making sure that if something is broken you accept it, and fix the damn thing. That’s exactly what the production team at the US version of The Office had to do with their biggest character. Michael Scott began his journey on The Office as a rather unlikable character. After all, how did this incompetent buffoon manage to not only be put in a position of power, but somehow manage to keep it despite his shortcomings as a supervisor? Something had to be done, before the show's main character helped destroy it.
Speaking with The Believer (http://www.believermag.com/issues/201511/?read=interview_schur), The Office writer Michael Schur opened up about this process of reworking Steve Carell’s (http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Steve-Carell-Adorable-Reaction-His-Oscar-Nomination-Make-You-Love-Him-Even-More-69587.html) Michael Scott:
The biggest moment was when we got picked up for season two by the skin of our teeth, and Greg [Daniels] sat everybody down and said, “Listen, the British show is one of the greatest pieces of comedy and art that’s ever been made. But because it was twelve episodes long, they were able to present an incredibly bleak worldview and have their main character be downbeat and sad. We’re trying to make this last for much longer than twelve episodes, so we need to make adjustments if we want it to survive.” We were all grumbling, like, “You don’t get it, man! You’re going to ruin this amazing thing.” He let us whine and then he was like, “We’re going to make the endings of our shows optimistic. We’re going to make Michael Scott a more sympathetic character.”
You know the old saying, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?”, well the flip side of that is making sure that if something is broken you accept it, and fix the damn thing. That’s exactly what the production team at the US version of The Office had to do with their biggest character. Michael Scott began his journey on The Office as a rather unlikable character. After all, how did this incompetent buffoon manage to not only be put in a position of power, but somehow manage to keep it despite his shortcomings as a supervisor? Something had to be done, before the show's main character helped destroy it.
Speaking with The Believer (http://www.believermag.com/issues/201511/?read=interview_schur), The Office writer Michael Schur opened up about this process of reworking Steve Carell’s (http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Steve-Carell-Adorable-Reaction-His-Oscar-Nomination-Make-You-Love-Him-Even-More-69587.html) Michael Scott:
The biggest moment was when we got picked up for season two by the skin of our teeth, and Greg [Daniels] sat everybody down and said, “Listen, the British show is one of the greatest pieces of comedy and art that’s ever been made. But because it was twelve episodes long, they were able to present an incredibly bleak worldview and have their main character be downbeat and sad. We’re trying to make this last for much longer than twelve episodes, so we need to make adjustments if we want it to survive.” We were all grumbling, like, “You don’t get it, man! You’re going to ruin this amazing thing.” He let us whine and then he was like, “We’re going to make the endings of our shows optimistic. We’re going to make Michael Scott a more sympathetic character.”