"If you are a racist, I will attack you with the north..." - Michael Scott

I didn't like his hair in the first seaon. I'm glad they changed it.

For the first real entry in this blog, I feel as if it should be about Michael Scott since he is a staple, if not the most important character in the show. Michael Scott is played by Steve Carell. Funny guy. He started his career on TV by playing smaller roles on various shows, one of which was "The Dana Carvey" show. Then, he got a boost in his career by being a correspondent to Jon Stewart on the "Daily Show". It was from here that you might remember him after he played another news anchor/weather man in the film "Anchorman". The lovable, yet idiotic character of "Brick" was loved by many and some even think to out-stage Will Farrell. From here his career blossomed even more by being in the "40 yr. Old virgin" and finally running Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch.

Looking more into the show, the character of Michael Scott based on the the character of David Brent, played by creator Ricky Gervais, from the original show from the U.K. In the defining season 1, the American version of the show was very heavily tied to the same themes, scripts, and motifs of the British version. Michael Scott's first impression to the viewer was that of a boss that not only seemed irresponsible but also immature. The same followed for David Brent. However, as the seasons progressed, Steve Carell made Michael Scott differ than that of David Brent.

With the same idea for this character in mind, both shows have a patriarchal figure head that is inept to a basic interaction between his subordinates and himself in this environment. The demeanor of Michael is in a sense more "goofy" and "awkward" where as David is seen more as "frustrating" and "a hardass". However, the traits of these two characters are interchangeable where one will embody the other. Interestingly enough, as said by Steve Carell in the commentary of the first season, "I actually did not watch any [episodes] of the British version" (Season 1). From this perspective, the idea of having the same character being played by another person is visible. The commonalities between the two are highly evident. The differences come in where Carell defines Michael Scott to be his own.

With Michael's immaturity, the element for conflict is highly evident. The sophmoric antics that he plays in the office do not go over well most of the time. The reasoning for this behavior stems to his childhood as the viewer is exposed to it in the episode entitled "Take your daughter to work day", he shows the kids that come to visit a video of him as a child on a children's television show. The show's host, Edward R. Meow says to young Michael, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Michael replies, "I want to be married and have a hundred kids so I'll have a hundred friends and no one can say no to being my friend" (Season 2). The interactions between him and the kids in that episode are also very endearing. He bonds well with Toby's daughter and is able to connect with all of the kids. In a way, his immaturity is what draws kids to him. Along with this, the workers also see a more vulnerable side of Michael where they have somewhat of an emotional to him. It can be concluded that a majority of Michael's social awakwardness stems from his childhood.

As much as he is immature, his ability to have two women interested in him still baffels many. (To be continued...)