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I also never really got into the James Spader role. Some may not agree, but I don't think his character was ever a match for Steve Carrell.
Instead of trying to "replace" Carrell, they should try and build upon the characters they already have.
The biggest problem is Spader's character isn't believable. The Office was at its best when the characters were parodies, yet also very believable office workers. Think how funny the episodes with David Wallace were, for example.
I wonder if any of the current writers have ever spent time working in an office like that or are just making guesses as to what it must be like based on reading a few Dilbert cartoons?
Also, what was the point of making the big set for a plot about Andy having an affair with Spader's wife? Then the next show they changed gears and reported that the wife had left Spader and we don't hear about her again. Not that I wanted to see that stupid affair plot continued, but once they started it they needed to finish the story or else edit the set up for it out in the first place. That's sloppy writing.
The biggest problem is Spader's character isn't believable. The Office was at its best when the characters were parodies, yet also very believable office workers. Think how funny the episodes with David Wallace were, for example.
I wonder if any of the current writers have ever spent time working in an office like that or are just making guesses as to what it must be like based on reading a few Dilbert cartoons?
You make a great point. It is actually the "parody" concept that made the Office popular. The David Wallace episodes were great. It was like bringing sanity & insanity together in one room. Remember the episode when Michael, Jim & Pam were interviewing at corporate? That was hilarious!
I truly think they are getting the rid of the Spader character because it was just not working.
The biggest problem is Spader's character isn't believable. The Office was at its best when the characters were parodies, yet also very believable office workers. Think how funny the episodes with David Wallace were, for example.
I wonder if any of the current writers have ever spent time working in an office like that or are just making guesses as to what it must be like based on reading a few Dilbert cartoons?
I'm not sure how to explain it, but James Spader should have spent more time observing real CEOs to see how they act, what their body language is like, and especially how they interact with employees. Maybe it's his body language, but he comes across as a Hollywood Actor playing a role, not as a realistic CEO.
In addition, the writing hasn't helped. This guy was applying for Steve Carrell's relatively low paying job job, yet he has an outrageous mansion as well as a deluxe condo in Florida? Yah, right. He invites his employees over for a party in his mansion and then jumps into his pool naked. In front of his employees, male and female. Yah that's believable. In Hollywood, maybe.
His office is in Tallahassee, yet he always seems to be hanging around the Scranton office for no particular reason. It's not easy or quick to fly to either Tallahassee or Scranton, but he shows up all the time for no better reason than to play Machiavellan mind games with (let's be realistic) bottom rung employees. Yah right again.
He travels all the way to Scranton to visit the office and spends a whole afternoon having a philosophic discussion with Kevin about vending machine snack food. Yah right triple time. Particularly hard to believe since he's supposed to be a new CEO trying to keep a failing company afloat during a recession. A role that had a lot of possibility, sadly--I would have loved to see them really tackle it a little more in depth instead of this make believe version of what a CEO does. You can be outrageous and still have details that give a feeling of authenticity.
To be fair, once or twice he has had a reasonably realistic "boss" type conversation when he's tried to tell Andy to shape up. But.... those are few and far between and it would have been more believable to have those conversations by phone. Other than that, he doesn't perform the functions of a CEO, and he doesn't seem to be connected with how the office is run, he just shows up to play mind games from time to time.
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What character on The Office is most like you?
