This is something you may not have thought of before. In fact, this stunning realization only came to me last night. But it's true. The soon-to-end NBC series The Office is in fact the same show as the classic CBS series M*A*S*H. Despite the fact they both are adapted from other sources (The Office being based off the BBC2 show of the same name, M*A*S*H being based off the film and book of the same name), we'll focus on the American television versions. And to begin, we'll focus on the more obvious comparisons.
The Office... is a long-running sitcom focusing on a group of wildly different characters, set in the workplace they all share - Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
M*A*S*H... was a long-running sitcom focusing on a group of wildly different characters, set in the workplace the all share - the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital located a short distance from the front lines in of the Korean War. Okay, so while they're similar, that's not enough evidence to justify the claim, I admit that. So let's look through what defines any show: its characters. For starters, there's the....
5. Annoying Boss Who Is Hopelessly Incompetent (Michael Scott/Henry Blake)
Both shows are set in a workplace, so naturally they both heavily feature a boss. While the stereotype for "The Boss" in popular culture is being grumpy and demanding, both The Office and M*A*S*H have one who is laid back and friendly with their workers, though capable of being exceptionally annoying and sometimes selfish. Nonetheless, they inspire loyalty from their inferiors (except for two... stay tuned...), but also are never fired despite their staggering incompetence. The reason? Their incompetence, mixed with the loyalty of their workers and the general laid-back attitude leads to their branch somehow being the best performing one. Don't believe me?
The Office... tells us in the 5th season episode that Michael Scott's branch of Dunder Mifflin is the best performing branch of the company, and Scott is called in to explain what he's doing right. Of course, he doesn't know.
M*A*S*H... has in nearly every season at least one episode of another doctor being brought to the 4077th to learn why their success rate is so much higher than everyone else's. But in both these shows, the boss isn't necessarily the main focus. Rather, each show features...