This was one of my topics this morning for a debrief with the hosts at :53 past the hour. People are buzzing about tonight's baby delivery episode of The Office. One article on msnbc.com looked at what happens on sitcoms when a baby is introduced.

Remember Family Ties, Murphy Brown and especially, Mad About You? The baby story arc seemed to either end the show or contribute to its demise. Critics complain that a baby either becomes cliche (dirty diaper jokes, baby spit-up story lines, etc) or is ignored. Remember Friends? We rarely saw baby Emma.

But I think The Office will be different. For one thing, it is set in a workplace and not in a home like so many other sitcoms. The baby probably won't be a part of the story line because a baby doesn't usually belong in an office. However there have been some funny episodes on The Office involving babies -- remember after the merger in the 3rd season when one of the Stanford employees brought her baby boy to work? She dressed him in pink and everyone was confused. Or there was the baby shower episode when Jan brought in her baby (named Astrid), and Angela tried to photograph it on a bunch of fruit and vegetables. Very funny.

Anyway I'm hoping the addition of Jim and Pam's baby won't be a bad thing for The Office. I'm a big fan and it's too soon for this great show to end.