There seems to be a big deal with letting go that some people don’t seem to get when it comes to their favorite shows, and Friends and The Office are prime examples of this as talks of a revival and reboot are in the process at this point. Joey Paur of GeekTyrant seems a bit excited to see such things happen, or is simply reporting on it and might think it’s interesting enough to think about. But all in all the shows had their runs, they reached a satisfying end for many people even if a lot of folks didn’t feel that they were ready to go. It’s simply time to let them be and realize one very simple fact: they couldn’t exist now as they did during their prime for several reasons. One chief reason among them is that the PC way that people preach and want to see their shows adhere to today, despite the fact that some don’t, is enough to kill off any idea of bringing the same shows back. Think back to what both Friends and The Office got away with during their runs and you’ll come to a conclusion, hopefully, that airing even half of the material that so many people thought was funny (because it was) would somehow offend a large number of people today and possibly force a cancellation to spare the tender feelings of those that can’t recognize fiction from reality.
In an era when people are arguing over saying ‘happy holidays’ versus ‘Merry Christmas’ and even saying hello to someone you don’t know can spark a debate both shows are uniquely set to tick a lot of people off if they return to form. Unfortunately, if they don’t return to form then the audiences that would be excited about having them back might feel that they were expecting something great only to have something less appealing foisted on them instead. One great analogy comes to mind from the movie Hoffa “They been feedin’ you dogs**t and tellin’ you it’s Cream of Wheat!”. The quote might not be perfect but the intention is there since bringing back The Office or Friends and having to dull down the rhetoric and gags would be akin to declawing a cat and expecting it to survive in a dog pound. That’s a weird analogy, I know, but it feels right. Trying to take anything away from either show would be disastrous no matter if there’s an audience that wants to watch it.
Then there’s the idea of getting the cast members back or finding a way to assemble a new cast that people will respond to. It does sound as though the Friends cast might be willing to come back, but getting the cast of The Office back would be a serious endeavor that might not go over quite as well considering that Steve Carrell might not desire to come back. A good number of those that made The Office what it was have moved on and have a career that’s worth pursuing over something that was great for its time but has kind of gone by the wayside at this point. Assembling a new cast for the show might be feasible but getting people to watch with the same fervor might take some time. It’s stuff like this that makes me shake my head and wonder why in the world people can’t move on from such shows and find something else to pursue when it comes to various projects that might be worth their time. I can’t say that I’m much better since I’d love to see the continuation of some shows that others would find insanely stupid or not worth pursuing any longer, but over time it’s enough to say that the shows were ended for a reason that might not have been acceptable at the time but were still accepted by many as something that had to happen. At some point a show simply wears out its welcome unless it can find a way to stay relevant, and those shows that try to come back don’t have a tremendous track record throughout the history of TV. Maggie Green of Inverse has a theory on why some people can’t just say no to reviving old shows, and it’s kind of interesting.
Perhaps the greatest point of irritation comes from the inability of writers to find anything new to develop since there are untold stories out there that could be tweaked in a way that might allow people to get into them in one way or another. There are so many stories waiting to be told that going back to the stories that have already been told is maddening in its approach as people attempt to revive one old show after another in an attempt to prove that they can generate interest in it again. Nostalgia is great, but too often all it does is remind us why we stopped watching the show in the first place.
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