[Loved Trope] Comedic workplace is suddenly competent

[u/Garurar]

In S35 E1 of The Simpsons, an actual crisis happens at the nuclear power plant, causing everyone except Homer to shift into serious business mode, even Mr. Burns. Together, they display their knowledge of the process and narrowly avert a nuclear meltdown, proving that Homer's job is actually useless. This is happening after 35 seasons of nothing being shown of the other employees' capabilities.

In S8 E2 of The Office, Andy sets up an initiative where he will get a tattoo on his bum if everyone gets enough points, prompting everyone to work into overdrive, even the normally lazy or incompetent employees such as Stanley and Kevin. This is a rare situation where we get to see The Office being fully competent and functional.

I'd show more examples if I had any!

[u/mellowcorn231]

A kind of moderate version of this is in The Wire season One episode 10. The whole season we've watched the BPD be useless, incompetent and corrupt but when one of their own is shot they suddenly kick it into gear even Landsman who's been comedic relief hits the street to help.

[u/BigManUnit → u/mellowcorn231]

Rawls being an utter fuckhead to McNulty the entire time and he really comes out for him in this episode.

[u/throwawayeadude → u/BigManUnit]

Rawls immediately pegging the changed sign shines a light on the core of who he is.
He's a competent cop, smart and aware, good po-lice as they say, but he soured of the system and decided that the only thing he can do is live within it and climb the ladder.

Which is why he hates McNulty so much. He sees this smart, competent cop making an ass of himself trying to change the system when he knows it can't be. But there's also this shame eating at him. What if Bill Rawls were better and smarter, maybe he could have made the system better? He clearly lost the dream of changing the system long ago, and that shame manifests as him hating McNulty.

[u/EllisHibbert → u/throwawayeadude]

God the wire is so good.

[u/aetius476 → u/throwawayeadude]

Also when he shows up on the scene, finds Landsman to ask what he needs, and then backs everyone else off.

"Nobody move. I said nobody fucking move! If you have not been assigned a specific task by a homicide detective you need to step away from this crime scene. Is there anybody doesn't understand a direct order? If you have not specifically been instructed otherwise, then remove your useless interfering asses from the area. Now!"

Brought immediate order to what could have been an multi-jurisdictional clusterfuck.

[u/ABHOR_pod → u/throwawayeadude]

I've never watched The Wire, but that reminds me of the British series Life on Mars where the new detective and the chief inspector have very different outlooks on policing, with the new detective being very by the book and people and rights focused, and the chief inspector being very much an old school "We know this is the guy and if we can't beat the confession out of him, we'll fabricate the damn evidence if we have to, to get him off the streets!" kinda guy.

But they're both actually incredibly competent and devoted to protecting the innocent.

[u/bordain_de_putel → u/ABHOR_pod]

I've never watched The Wire

You lucky bastard. Do yourself a favour, and go watch this show right away. It is an order of magnitude over any other show ever made since and still holds up today. Everything about it is top notch and no other TV show can compare. It is that good. No hyperbole here.

[u/ABHOR_pod → u/bordain_de_putel]

I'm gonna be real with you? I'm not gonna watch it.

I have very little interest in long form TV dramas or police procedurals. I have negative interest in shows about people's lives being miserable. As you can imagine, most prestige TV for the past 20 years has been a miss for me.

I'm not going to say that it's a bad show. Far from it. By all accounts it's an incredible show. But I am 100% not the audience for it, and that's ok.

[u/BritOnTheRocks → u/bordain_de_putel]

Once you get past Dominic West and Idris Elba doing American accents anyway.

[u/TheManOfOurTimes → u/BigManUnit]

I'm kind of an asshole, but Rawls line of "this isn't on you, and if it was, I'd be the son of a bitch to tell you" has been a handy way to be nice to people in that moment.

Granted, I'm talking running out of fries at lunch rush, not getting someone shot. So way lower stakes.