NBC's "The Office" to offer off-season web only episodes.

[Ghoulish Delight]

http://www.nbc4.tv/irresistible/8081389/detail.html

NBC said that it will make 10 web-only episodes of popular comedy "The Office" during the summer, when the show is not on the air.

In a news release, the network said the "webisodes" will focus on a mystery facing the accounting staff of the Dunder-Mifflin paper company.

I absolutely love this show. I've tried watching the British version a few times. While I like it a lot, the boss is just played too realistically, and I find myself cringing and wanting to cry it's so painful more than I laugh. But the other characters were so fantastically funny. I was really glad to find that the American version managed to keep the characters just as good, and Steve Carell manages to take the manager character just enough over the line into the absurd to remove the "painfully real" element so I can watch it without cringing...too much.

[BarTopDancer]

This has become one of my favorite shows. It's funny, how after spending a day at the office I like to go home and watch The Office. Probably for the same reasons Office Space is so popular.

[innerSpaceman]

I'm glad I'm an old man who will not be riding this particular wave of the future where TV is watched on your ipod.

Some shows are already filming differently, using far more close-ups, to accomodate the switch to the tiny screen. Sorry, count me out.

Oh, did I mention that people will be paying to watch TV on a 2" screen, whereas they used to get it free on at 20" one?

I feel I weened myself off television just in time.


(And if a show is highly recommended and seems up my alley, I'm more than happy to Netflix a season at a time ... I'm in no rush.)

[Ghoulish Delight]

The article doesn't seem to indicate that they'll be charging for these...and one can just as easily watch it on one's high resolution 20" computer monitor as you can an iPod.

[Not Afraid]

If I can't stand to watch mhe large box in my living room, how could I stand to watch a 2' screen? I'm obviously NOT the market they are targeting.

That and I can't stand that show.

[BarTopDancer]

The article doesn't seem to indicate that they'll be charging for these...and one can just as easily watch it on one's high resolution 20" computer monitor as you can an iPod.

But I want to watch it on one of these (http://www.loungeoftomorrow.com/LoT/showthread.php?t=3136).

[innerSpaceman]

The article doesn't seem to indicate that they'll be charging for these...and one can just as easily watch it on one's high resolution 20" computer monitor as you can an iPod.
Ah, but TV directors are already tailoring their shows for the itsy bitsy screen, as the computer monitor will be considered the mega-display in the near future .. with the common display being the ipod and the Dick Tracy wristwatch.


Some movie directors have been tailoring their shots to the tv screen rather than the movie screen, for the DVD market that brings in more money than the theatrical. I recently read an interview with Steven Spielberg where he states his refusal to do this (noting that he also is one of the stalwarts who still edits non-digitally). He shoots for the giant screen, and admits that important detail will be lost on the small one.


I want my films shot for the 65-foot movie screen and my television shows shot for my 40" TV. When movies are shot for the 40" TV and TV is shot for the 2" ipod screen, it will be a sad entertainment-geek day. The future just got bleaker. How far behind can the Apocalypse be?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I think iSm is the king of complaining about things before they truly manifest :cheers:

[Alex]

I wouldn't disagree with that, but in this case I do agree with him. The hope for money in very-small-screen-format (VSSF) distribution is already having an effect for the worse in my opinion.

A similar thing has happened with the expected future of widescreen television as the standard and current shows therefore requiring letterboxing but that doesn't bother me so much (but only because I'm used to watching 99% of my movies that way).

It is funny, though, that as televisions have increasingly grown in size to create a more cinematic experience the chic model has reduced the viewing area so small in iPods and PSP handhelds. A friend raved about watching some tv show on his video iPod and I tried it but it sucked. It is fine for 2 minute long viral videos but not for even 30 minutes of TV (let alone movies).

Of course, that announcement has no details so it may not even be the case that the videos will be available in a format suitable for portable players but instead use streaming RealAudio or some such crap.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Well, the show did have a blatant video iPod product placement episode earlier in the season, so it wouldn't be surprising.

[Boss Radio]

I think that the obvious answer is to shrink people so that their ipod screen appears big, and then the directors won't have to pander.

[Prudence]

MAGNIFICATION!

[€uroMeinke]

Now I'm thinking about porn enabled iPods...

[Alex]

I was going to link to a site that is way ahead of you on the iPod porn, but don't know what the allowability of linking to porn sites is. So I won't.

But for future reference, what is the allowability?

[€uroMeinke]

I was going to link to a site that is way ahead of you on the iPod porn, but don't know what the allowability of linking to porn sites is. So I won't.

But for future reference, what is the allowability?

It's allowable as long as it's clearly identifies as "non-workplace safe" but we also discourge excessive linking to porn. In other words, relevent links of an adult nature are fine as long as clearly labled as such (so those of us who like to access LoT from work can continue to do so).

If you want to start a thread on an "adult" topic we might move it to the Parking LoT where access is restricted to registered members - as we did with the Mohammed Cartoon thread.

[FEJ]

I think that the obvious answer is to shrink people so that their ipod screen appears big, and then the directors won't have to pander.


Just ask Mike T.V.

[Alex]

This articles (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060319-6412.html) from Ars Technica has a bit more detail (though not a lot). The biggest new detail is that the episodes will be streamed which tends to point away from being available on ITMS.