ONE SEASON WONDERS: The Office

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at 1995's The Office!

THE OFFICE

March 11, 1995 - April 15, 1995
5 episodes
CBS

Starring: Valerie Harper, Andrea Abbate, Kevin Conroy, Lisa Darr, Kristin Dattilo-Hayward, Gary Dourdan, Dakin Matthews, Debra Jo Rupp

Created by: Susan Beavers and Barbara Corday

Plot: Rita Stone (Harper) is a long-time secretary at a package design company who manages three other secretaries (Rupp, Abbate & Dattilo-Hayward) while also dealing with incompetent CEO, Frank (Matthews). Other office members include the only female executive, Natalie (Darr), the firm's artist, Bobby (Doudan) and salesman Steve (Conroy).

Brief Pilot Review:

No, it's not THAT The Office. A decade before NBC's iconic workplace sitcom, there was a much less iconic sitcom of the same name on CBS. The series deliberately was going for an Upstairs, Downstairs approach with the attention focused on the secretaries serving their richer and more powerful bosses while really keeping the whole operation afloat. I think that is a good angle for a sitcom that is a little bit different from a typical office comedy with a very clear divide between the two groups. The pilot plays to those themes with a plot centered on the secretarial staff no longer being paid overtime and an on-going debate between the "upstairs" and the "downstairs" where the two factions retreated to their corners. It was a really nice way to introduce the characters and the dynamics between individual characters and the two groups.

Besides the interesting premise, this pilot also works thanks to its cast, particularly Valerie Harper and Debra Jo Rupp, two actresses who had much longer runs on other sitcoms. Harper just had pitch perfect timing in both her line deliveries and her reactions to other characters. As proven during the uneven run of Rhoda, she always made so-so writing work and while I like the premise, the writing was only so-so in this pilot. Debra Jo Rupp also brought her trademark manic qualities to the series with some very funny moments. The rest of the ensemble was solid too. All in all, this is one of the better pilots I have watched while doing my One Season Wonder posts. I have to wonder how it might have done in a better situation.

What Went Wrong:

The Office wasn't a high priority for CBS even though it marked the return of Valerie Harper to TV. Although Harper had dominance in the 70s as Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, she had a highly publicized exit from Valerie in the 80s and then a failed sitcom (City) in 1990. By 1995, she was a bigger name for Nick at Nite than CBS. Reviews were mixed for the show with Variety saying "the format's traditional, the observations generally thin." Entertainment Weekly was a little more harsh saying Harper "manages to maintain her dignity despite The Office's flimsy scripts." 

CBS was trying a comedy block on Saturday nights in between successful dramas Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Walker, Texas Ranger. First they tried The Five Mrs. Buchanans and Hearts Afire then they brought The Boys are Back over to the night and finally by March they tried The Office. In the 1990s, a show with a six episode order that premiered in March really had the deck stacked against it. Occasionally there would be a surprise but they were mostly afterthoughts by the network and The Office was no exception. It was cancelled after five episodes with one unaired. It would prove to be Harper's final role as a TV regular though she continued to do lots of guest roles and stage work before her death in 2019. And of course NBC had a much more successful called The Office a decade later.

Tomorrow: A look at Season 5 (Part 1) of Happy Days!

Next Wednesday: A One Season Wonder look at 1995's Get Smart!