Our long separation from new television shows is finally over. The writers’ strike has ended, and our beloved series have returned. But now that they have, maybe a moment for reflection is needed. After all the time we have spent apart, did we really miss them that much?
My friends and I gathered three weeks ago for the first episode of “The Office” since the strike began. To say we had high expectations is to understate the yearning we thought we felt for its return. But after the episode ended on a fairly bizarre musical montage, I looked around the room and mostly what I saw was blank confusion. Was this the show we had been so devoted to? Was this really the show that I believed to be the best on television? Certainly the episode had its funny parts, as all episodes of “The Office” do. But it seemed somehow not up to par. It seemed underwhelming. It seemed as if the writers didn’t particularly care about their grand re-entrance into our TV-watching lives.
And maybe that is the problem. The writers clearly did not take their break to improve their skills, or to plan for their return. This can best be seen in poor, underwhelming “Saturday Night Live.” The show returned after months away only to put on a middling performance that would probably have disappeared from the public consciousness before the premiere was over if it wasn’t for a presidential primary debate shout-out. In the weeks since, the show has remained just as hit-or-miss as it always was, with a funny Weekend Update and maybe one or two other good skits surrounded by mediocre and overacted segments.
Other shows have been just as disappointing. “30 Rock” was usually reliably amusing if a bit annoying, but it was just annoying on its premiere episode. And although all of these shows are on NBC, which is apparently the only network I watch, I’m confident the trend has spread to other networks as well.
What’s worse, the reality television that took these scripted shows’ place was often more enjoyable. There were episodes of “Deal or No Deal” that were at least as interesting as anything that’s happened in the past season of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
But maybe, as the junior senator from New York would say, the tide is turning. The second episode of “The Office” was back to its usual excellence, and I’m praying for a good episode of “Ugly Betty” tonight. But just like the senator’s chances, there seems little hope.
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