I dunno. Maybe I see the series differently than you do. I’m referring to Jim’s interactions with Katie (Katy?) and why it turned out the way it did.

You are right that Jim is admired, but not quite as universally as you think. The cracks in his armor are definitely there, and are clearly going to come out. Cf. my reference to Pip. You can’t expect it to come all the time. I’d definitely say we’ll see him jealous, possessive, and frustrated. Stuff we didn’t see from Tim.

But, if they make him less likable, will you like him more? It’s a weird dynamic — I can’t tell whether you dislike Jim, or just the fact that they’ve made him too likable. Hey, I’m not telling you how to feel.

Part of the problem is that the viewers have a hard time distinguishing between Jim as the “observers viewpoint” and Jim as a cog in the show. The British version was more clear about that. In general, then, the American show has trouble with blurring the line between the “everyman” characters and the “crazy” ones, although part of the show’s brilliance is showing that each group is more alike than at first glance (most obvious with Jim/Michael, of course, but also see Ryan’s transformation, Ryan/Toby, perhaps Pam/Kelly, and so on)

Part of the problem, of course, is that the show has no definite endpoint as did the British version. Part of the advantage of the British show is that any more Ricky Gervais would have killed it (he’s great in small doses. Funny as hell, but not as talented or versatile a performer as Carrell.)

I was kinda surprised they didn’t turn that into more of a punchline.

one of the few things about the current season i’m not digging