‘The Office’: 10 Plot Points That Didn’t Age Well
It’s inevitable that with any episode of The Office, viewers are going to cringe and feel awkward. We may laugh at the uncomfortable position the characters find themselves in or raise a brow at a borderline joke. The writing and production of the series are excellent, but some bits have not aged well as society has progressed since the series first aired. As many fans would agree, certain elements of The Office would not be allowed to air on a primetime network these days.
While we love our wholesome regional manager and his team of employees, the cringe-worthy diversity antics and dated business practices take fans and new viewers back to the early 2000s before the internet was the internet. Traveling back down memory lane, we’re looking back at episode premises and characters that certainly remind us how old the series really is.
Dunder Mifflin Infinity
The concept of doing business online and with upgraded technology was a sore spot for Michael (Steve Carell) and certain members of the sales staff at Dunder Mifflin. As Ryan (B.J. Novak) leans into his new corporate role, his first initiative is to roll out a new company website called Dunder Mifflin Infinity. Michael is very resistant that technology is not the way to do business, but rather personal touch with gift baskets.
As society settles into the digital age, we now know and recognize that most businesses, big or small, can’t do (or struggle) to do business without some type of website or internet presence. Watching Phyllis (Phyllis Smith), Stanley (Leslie David Baker), and Michael struggle with Blackberry phones is an added bonus. Imagine how they’d do in the touchscreen world.
Downloading Music
In season two during “The Injury” episode, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) suffers from a concussion after crashing his car into a telephone pole on his way to pick up Michael. Audiences immediately noticed something was off with him when he was surprisingly pleasant to be around and seemed to form a friendship with Pam (Jenna Fischer).
Where this episode doesn’t age well is with the concept of downloading music. Dwight, during his personality shift, tells Pam about a website where she can download songs for three cents onto her off-brand music player. Remember the days of purchasing per song on iTunes or illegally downloading from various sites? We can only imagine the quality of the music from these sites.
Todd Packer
One of the truly unlikable characters in the series, Todd Packer (David Koechner) is probably a character many would not write for today. From his ill-intended, inappropriate jokes to sexist comments, Todd Packer does not age well with the show. For many audience members, we wanted to see his downfall at the hands of the strong female characters he put down, but alas he was fired by Robert California (James Spader) at the eleventh hour of the Sabre Store project.
His later attempts at redemption are even malicious as he spikes a set of cupcakes for the office members, causing all of them to get sick. Todd Packer, a person we’ve all known in some form at one point or another, is one character we don’t miss.
Diversity Day
Many of the antics from season one probably wouldn’t make it out of a writer’s room today for network television. Michael’s “Diversity Day” is certainly one that comes to mind. Like many of Michael’s schemes, we know he means well and generally has the best of intentions; however, his execution is where things go wrong.
The office employees recognize the inappropriate nature of Michael’s “seminar” and do call it out as Pam does when explaining to Dwight what his card’s ethnicity is. She acknowledges the stereotypes she is speaking of are not true, to which Dwight whines, “Aw, am I a woman?!” Diversity in business is strived for today and the series poking fun at it would not achieve the same comedic effect today as it was intended for in the early 2000s.
Select Halloween Costumes
While we value the variety of holiday episodes The Office aired, a few of the Halloween costumes definitely raised some eyebrows and dropped some jaws. The usual suspects were Michael, Todd Packer, or Creed (Creed Bratton). Michael jokes about his prior year costumes like Monica Lewinsky or as a certain Janet Jackson body part.
For one party Packer dresses as a pregnant nun, and another year Oscar (Oscar Nuñez) dresses as an “Oscar Liar Weiner” commenting on the sexting scandal from former congressman Anthony Weiner. To look back at the cringe-worthy costumes, the episodes to stream are season two, episode five; season five, episode six; season six, episode eight; season seven, episode six; season eight, episode five; and season nine, episode five.
Weight Loss
The series of weight loss episodes to kick off season five have not aged well. As we watch these episodes back, it’s apparent how outdated the “ideal body” images are. Kelly (Mindy Kaling) is the perfect example of the toxicity that the size 2 mentality can inflict on a person.
Throughout the earlier seasons of the series, Kelly is obsessed with online shopping and ordering a size 2 or dieting to fit into these new clothes. We see the extreme lengths she goes to when she details her juice cleanse and eventually passes out. As television series of all genres air now, the commentary on body image has shifted from the days of the mid-2000s.
Sabre Pyramid
Yet another example of dated technology, the Sabre Pyramid clearly ages the series. While the tablet is fictional, it is meant to mimic the iPad and the Sabre Store is modeled after Apple Stores. The slogan “Power of the Pyramid” is catchy, but the clunky design is certainly unappealing as the series tried to feature evolving technology.
The Sabre Pyramid launched in the age when smart devices were just hitting popularity. It is anything but sleek and sexy as modern technology advertises its products to be. Would ever buy one, probably not.
Secret Santa iPod
Don’t you miss the days of needing a separate portable device to listen to music with? During the series’ first Christmas episode, Michael blows the Secret Santa budget limit of $20 and buys Ryan a $400 iPod. Completely aging the show, newer generations don’t completely relate to the concept of purchasing a music player that was more expensive than a cell phone.
Today, smartphones have exceeded the capabilities of an iPod or MP3 player. Watching The Office back, millennials and older recognize how expensive Michael’s gift was and why it was too much for an office Secret Santa exchange. In the end, the iPod went home with Dwight.
Meredith & the Hammermill Rep
Meredith (Kate Flannery) took her title with supplier relations to a whole new meaning. During Holly’s (Amy Ryan) ethics seminar, Meredith admitted to sleeping with their Hammermill paper rep, Bruce, in order to get discounts (and steak coupons). The entire office instantly recognized the seriousness of her transgressions and expected her to be fired. However, corporate HR Kendall (John Hartmann) is more concerned about losing the discount than the ethics. He gets more agitated with Holly for wanting to do the right thing than with Meredith’s actions.
Dwight’s Hand De-Sanitizing Stations
In various episodes, Dwight expressed his distaste for modern medicine and his belief in a coddled society. In most of the episodes, audiences can easily laugh off his dramatic perspective; however, the last three years definitely cause us to raise a cringe-brow when at Phyllis’s wedding he says, “There’s too many people on this Earth. We need a new plague.”
Later in the series during a cold open as Pam attempts to educate about the best hygiene practices during cold and flu season, Dwight suggests hand de-sanitizing stations. We love Dwight’s commitment to simple living, but we never expected these particular examples to not age well.
