by AMY LASSITER Staff Writer
Fans of NBC’s award-winning comedy show “The Office” said farewell to Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. after an emotional series finale on May 16.
“The Office” first aired in the United States on March 24, 2005. Producer Greg Daniels adapted the teleplay for “Pilot” from the original script of the British version written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
After the first episode aired, many critics claimed it to be a copy of the original, and several reviews stated that Michael Scott was a highly unlikable and unfunny character. The show was in danger of being cancelled after the fifth episode, but something amazing happened.
When episode six aired, “The Office” suddenly became No. 1 on the iTunes download charts. This sudden spike in interest made NBC realize that this show was something special. Since fans saved the show in 2005, “The Office” had an amazing nine seasons over a period of nine years.
Fans of the series or “Dunderheads”, as they call themselves, are so devoted to the show that “The Office” has been nominated over 100 times for a variety of awards such as the Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, and Image Awards. Out of all the times the comedy was nominated, the show won 19 different times.
“All the characters in the office are so different and even though they do ridiculous things, they are relatable. I’m going to miss this show a lot and it’s amazing that it went on for so many seasons without getting bad like most shows do,” said freshman Joely Phenes.
“The Office” is not a show that will soon be forgotten. People from all over the country come to visit Scranton, PA so often that several newspapers in the area have released travel guides to locations mentioned in the show that fans might want to visit.
Over the years, the show has had hundreds of conventions, panels, concerts, and fan gatherings.
On May 4, the cast and crew attended their last convention at the PNC Field in Scranton for “The Office” Wrap Party. Thousands of fans came to say thank you and goodbye to the show. The stadiums at PNC were sold out, and thousands of other fans stood along the streets on the field just to get a glimpse of the panelists.
“This show was such a big part of my life, and the fact that it’s over is just unbelievable. The highlight of my Thursday was ‘The Office’, and next week I’ll probably wait for a new episode until I realize that it’s over,” said freshman Theresa Zieser.
The series finale was set to begin at 8 p.m. E.T. and end at 10:15 p.m. E.T. A retrospective of the entire series aired an hour before the actually finale, which ran for about two hours and 15 minutes.
Fans anticipated the introduction of a few new faces, and the return of some old ones as well. Writers promised closure and “only good surprises” for the finale, and Dunderheads were not disappointed.
After many tears of laughter and sorrow, we said our final goodbyes to our favorite employees. It is difficult to see “The Office” go, but the doors of Dunder Mifflin will never really be closed to fans of the show.
*Spoiler Alert* What's your favorite moment from the finale?
Dwight/Angela Wedding
Documentary Panel
Return of Michael
Final Interveiws
Other
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