That's What He Said

Come, let's take a drive.

We'll start in northeastern Penn's woods, also known as Pennsylvania.

Lake Wallenpaupak. Lovely Lake Wallenpaupak. Approximately 13 miles long, it was created in 1926 by damming Wallenpaupak Creek for the purposes of generating hydroelectric power.

This is the lake where the Booze Cruise took place. You remember the Booze Cruise? That's where Roy and Pam finally set a date for their wedding after having been engaged for three years. That's where Michael constantly ran up against the captain of the boat they were on because he assumed his own captaincy in an attempt to draw parallels between The Office and a ship. He was eventually handcuffed to a deck rail because he yelled out the boat was sinking to illustrate a point. Unfortunately, other travelers not affiliated with Dunder Mifflin thought it a real warning and jumped overboard.

Oh yeah, and Dwight thought the fake steering wheel in the bow was real.

Let's drive on. Heading west on I-84 for about 30 miles, we eventually come into the city of Scranton.

Scranton was incorporated as a city in the 1800s. It was an anthracite coal mining community and, when combined with neighboring Wilkes-Barre, the sixth largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania. Coal mining no longer takes place in Scranton, so it has become a regular city but still reflecting its mining heritage.

Let's get on I-81 heading south and make our way to Route 307, Moosic Street heading east. Soon we will come to Lake Scranton. This is where Michael brought the office to play out a Survivor-type scenario so he could choose the next Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin as he believed he was getting a promotion to Jan's old job, Vice President of Sales. Several pointless competitions were staged including a hot dog eating contest, a sumo wrestling contest in fat suits, a fire-walking event - all designed by Michael to determine leadership capabilities. This was also where Pam had her moment of truth and spouted feelings for Jim in front of everyone, including his girlfriend, Karen.

Don't forget, Andy fell into the lake wearing his sumo suit and was ostensibly stuck floating there through the night because he couldn't extricate himself from it.

We'll turn around and head back into Scranton. First, we'll look for Chili's, the restaurant seen in a couple episodes, the first being The Dundies - Michael's attempt at an impromptu award dinner for his employees that was full of awkwardness. It was also the time that Pam got drunk and kissed Jim for the very first time. The second event at Chili's was a business lunch where Jan was going to try to pitch paper to Christian, a representative of Lackawanna County. In other words, a huge client. But where Jan is all about getting down to business, Michael takes over and builds a relationship with Christian, showing the skills he had which made him a top salesman for Dunder Mifflin before being promoted to Regional Manager. He gets the account, and this makes Jan pleased enough to sleep with him.

Unfortunately, we can't find the Chili's because there isn't one in Scranton. The closest is Wilkes-Barre. So let's move on.

There's Poor Richard's Pub, the favorite watering hole of The Office. It's located in South Side Bowl on Beecher Street. Then there is the Mall at Steamtown at 300 Lackawanna Avenue. This is where Michael took the ladies of the office supposedly to talk about women's issues, but he took over the conversation to discuss his relationship problems with Jan.

There's Cugino's, Cooper's Seafood, Alfredo's Pizza Cafe - all real locations mentioned at various times.

Then if we drive down Vine Street, we'll see the iconic Penn Paper and Supply building which is in every episode's opening credits.

But what we really want to see is located at 1725 Slough Avenue. It's the Scranton Business Park, home to Dunder Mifflin, Vance Refrigeration, Cress Tool and Dye, Disaster Kits Limited and a few other businesses.

However, if we look at a map, we will see that 1725 Slough Avenue doesn't exist. There is no Slough Avenue at all in Scranton. The address was a reference to the British version of The Office which is located in Slough, England.

A little online research tells us that both inside and outside scenes were filmed at Chandler Valley Center Studios in Van Nuys, California, a far distance from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Forgive me, if you will, this little excursion I took you on. It was mostly a way for me to recall the glory days of the television show, The Office.

I say glory days because the current season of the show has not lived up to the previous seven seasons. It would appear that Michael Scott (Steve Carell) was really a driving force in the show, and though we probably understood that while he was with the series, it has become all the more apparent now that he's gone.

The Office has become a rather pointless parody of itself in Season 8. There have been a few funny moments, a few touching moments, but, for the most part, it is scrambling for a new identity since its former identity ended with Goodbye, Michael.

Where I always sensed that I was vicariously living the show, now I feel more like a simple observer of it. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but to me it is a significant difference. I don't really care about the characters like I did before. I'm not sure why because the majority of the ensemble remained intact for this season. Perhaps, Steve Carell was the cog that made it all work together so well before.

Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) is a likable character. However, he was a terrible selection for Michael's replacement. His insecurities are obvious, and he freely admits them regularly. Michael was insecure as well, but he bluffed his way through his insecurities leading often to disastrously funny results. Andy is just painful to watch. Michael was both awkward and humorous. And therein lies a huge difference.

Some of the other cast members haven't received much face time this season as well. Creed, Toby, Meredith, Kelly, Oscar - all strong characters - have been relegated to the background for the most part.

In a previous blog entry, I stated that it's probably time to close down the franchise. It had a good run. But everything comes to a close sooner or later. How The Office digs itself out of its malaise is a mystery. Apparently the ratings are still good enough to warrant continuation, but I wonder if that's only because people are still tuning in more from curiosity that actual affection.

Maybe I'm wrong on that last point. Maybe The Office is still passable to most viewers.

But I still prefer to remember it as it once was. Its original dynamic is gone, and that is the dynamic I grew to appreciate.

It was my favorite show for a while.