“CONFERENCE ROOM, FIVE MINUTES is a collection of essays written by Shea Serrano with illustrations by Arturo Torres about the American sitcom “The Office.” Now, these essays are nothing short of a superfan geeking out on their favorite show, in an intellectual matter. Yet, the passion exhibited draws the reader in and gives them a newfound appreciation for a show that aired 16 years ago.
The collection of essays does not follow a linear timeline, but jumps around the series, pinpointing the most impactful scenes. Serrano also just has fun with these 10 essays and you can feel his excitement throughout the essays. The audience can understand the mood Serrano sets just from the page-and-a-half introduction that pretty much ends in a “you can shove it up your butt” joke. Pretty much, do not overthink it and sit back and relax while reading these fun essays.
Serrano’s range in these essays goes from meticulously picking apart characters and scenes to awarding yogurt lid metals to different “The Office” based topics. He referenced scenes that causal watchers or people who were not fans would definitely not be familiar with, but that is the beauty of the essays. He is not being broad but really pulling the hardcore fans out of the casual ones.
In a sense, the reader feels they are a part of a super-secret, know-the-secret-knock club dedicated to “The Office.” In the fifth essay called “The Olympiad (Part 1),” Serrano awards Kelly (Mindy Kaling) the gold yogurt lid, which is in reference to the “Office Olympics” that Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) held in the second season. He awarded her the gold yogurt lid in the Highest LPL category — also known as “Laughs Per Line.”
Kelly was awarded gold because of one particular scene when she shouts to her off-and-on-again boyfriend Ryan (B.J. Novak) that she is pregnant. Then the camera abruptly cuts to her confession with the camera and she simply smirks and shakes her head no. This scene may not seem worthy of the gold yogurt lid metal for some, but avid “The Office” fans can vividly picture the exact scene and aggressively nod in agreement with Serrano. She was worthy of that gold yogurt lid.
That is the pleasant magic of Serrano’s work. “CONFERENCE ROOM, FIVE MINUTES” is the perfect fun guide a fan needs to further connect with the show. Or simply to just feel a connection with someone who deeply cares about “The Office” as you do. The collection of essays feel like you are meeting up with an old friend and gushing of the show for hours on end.
The most standout essay that stole the show was the one called “Pam Has An Art Show.” This section goes into detail about one of the most heartwarming scenes in “The Office,” the beautiful scene where Pam and Michael (Steve Carell) share a memorable moment. To quickly explain what happens, Pam has finally mustered the courage to display her art in an art gallery and invited everyone from work to attend. No one showed up. Aside from her fiancé-turned-boyfriend and one coworker whose boyfriend completely devalued her work.
At the end of the night, the completely heartbroken and crushed Pam starts to take her work down when Michael comes strolling in. He is completely blown back by her work and is immensely proud of her. Michael genuinely compliments her work, and that is all Pam wanted. She wanted someone to support her and here comes Michael, the person she least expected. It was a touching moment and reading Serrano’s in-depth analysis of it brought tears to my eyes.
“CONFERENCE ROOM, FIVE MINUTES” is a heartwarming, silly collection of essays that any fan of “The Office” should read. There will not be one moment where you want to stop turning the page! A beautiful love letter to one of the most beloved shows in American cinema.
The Beat @APU 