Dear NBC: Sometimes, more is less

Midway into the construction of the Great Pyramids, the ancient Egyptians did not switch from stone to cardboard blocks. But that's the self-defeating approach NBC seems to be adopting this season. Create a solid electronic foundation - "The Office," "30 Rock," "Heroes" - and then junk it up, baby, junk it up.

Yup, that's the buzz phrase at the network now known as "NBeeC," having sold its soul to Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" for a few weeks: Junk It Up.

I come to vent about a streak of bad decisions that threaten a few of my favorite network series, all of them on NBC. Clearly someone at the fourth-ranked network thinks that overworking "The Office" and "Heroes," cluttering "30 Rock" with stunt guest stars and self-promotion, and turning the old, reliable "Scrubs" into a romantic tango will draw more viewers and help them endure. And the success of that theory has yet to be proven, as the 2007-08 season is still young.

But I'm certain no one at NBC thinks that strip-mining these series for quickie ratings boosts will ultimately turn them into better shows.

Perverting the greatness of "The Office" by giving us five hourlong episodes this season hurts the most. NBC has an ugly history when it comes to toying with sitcom length, reaching back to the early days of "supersizing" in 2001. The technique, created by then-entertainment-president Jeff Zucker, added minutes to sitcoms to throw viewers off the timing of other networks - to trap us in the NBC zone, where shows began at, say, 9:24 p.m.

Supersizing was an insult to viewers, and it was an insult to the integrity of the sitcoms, forcing writers and directors to leave in less successful bits - what the team behind "The Office" calls "chuffa," or filler, in Rolling Stone magazine. In May, network executives swore off the supersizing habit, but let's face it, blowing out a sitcom to an hour is close to the same thing.

Sitcoms are meant to be ruthlessly edited down into a dense, elastic-tight 22 minutes. Unlike "dramedies," such as "Desperate Housewives," they beat fast and stay light. Until last spring, "The Office" was TV's best sitcom, as it captured the ironic, cringing, and yet affectionate humor of our time while doubling as a political burlesque. It was a model of comic editing, both by quick-cutting away from subjects and by lingering on the painful moments a second - and only a second - too long. At its best, the show approached its jokes elliptically.

Now, suddenly, "The Office" is in danger of losing power, as this season's episodes drag on. NBC is using the show to vie for young viewers against ABC's hourlong "Grey's Anatomy," and abusing it in the process. These days "The Office" is chock-full o' chuffa - and understandably so, since staying funny for the usual 22 half-hours a year is already hard enough. The material lacks in the shorthand that was one of its best trademarks.

For example, showing Jim and Pam holding hands on a sidewalk says a lot; showing them partying on the roof and remembering their first moments together says less. For the first time, I don't want to watch episodes of "The Office" twice, to find what I missed the first time around.

"Heroes" will also be stretched out of shape this season, another victim of NBC's more-is-better myth. Not only will fans see 24 episodes, but they will get 6 episodes of a subseries called "Heroes: Origins," which will introduce two new characters per week, one of which viewers will vote onto the mother ship. Great idea: Take last season's NBC success story, add more characters to its overcrowded cast, make us sick and tired of it, and sink it.

It has been so pleasant to hear absolutely nothing about "Lost" for a while, much as I love the show. Absence, as cable seems to know, makes the heart grow fonder.

"30 Rock," meanwhile, remains tight. The sitcom still has the bounce and wit that helped it win the Emmy for best comedy last month. But NBC seems poised to push this show off its mark this season, too, not just by forcing an unfunny number of NBC promotions into the scripts, but by overdoing the guest-star list. Seinfeld has already appeared in the season premiere, Steve Buscemi is on tonight, and soon Tina Fey will be joined by Al Gore, David Schwimmer, Edie Falco, Meredith Vieira, Jackie Mason, and Carrie Fisher.

Does no one at NBC recall the creative damage done to "Will & Grace" by burdening it with different stars of the week? "Will & Grace" became little more than a merry-go-round for guests, with the regular cast members woefully diminished in the process. Popping in big names on a series can be a kick, but viewers don't really want to be kicked every week.

While "30 Rock" is in danger of catching a bad case of "Will & Grace," "Scrubs" is in danger of "Friends"-itis. NBC is promoting the show, which returns for its final season next Thursday, based on the off-again-on-again relationship of J.D. and Elliot. Those who suffered through Ross and Rachel on "Friends" know exactly how tiresome such back-and-forths can be. Romantic longueurs may work for the publicity department, which can easily design promotional campaigns around them, but they strain sitcom viewer patience.

Since "Scrubs" had wisely given up the J.D.-Elliot plot for years, letting them grow apart, I can't help but wonder if the network is behind the renewed focus on the couple. Perhaps somebody sent a memo down to the "Scrubs" writing staff with only one concise but urgent note: "Junk it up, kids."