Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Season premiere review: 'The Office' - 'New Guys': YOLO

Dunder Mifflin says some hellos and goodbyes as the final season begins

By Alan Sepinwall Thursday, Sep 20, 2012 9:30 PM

Rainn Wilson and Clark Duke in "The Office" season premiere.

Credit: NBC

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"The Office" has begun its final season, and I have a review of the premiere coming up just as soon as I take a course at the Weintraub Memory Academy...

When Greg Daniels announced that this would be the last season, I wrote that if anyone had a chance to right the ship before the end, it was him. And though I skipped some episodes towards the end of last season, I feel enough nostalgia for the show as a whole that I expect to watch til the end (even if I'll only be writing about it on occasion).

On the comedic side of things, "New Guys" (which Daniels wrote and directed) unfortunately didn't give me a lot of hope for a last-minute resurgence. An Andy with more confidence is still Michael Scott 2.0 — even the Outward Bound running gag was reminiscent of how Michael was a boy who never really grew up — and all the slapstick involving Dwight and the tightrope, and then Dwight and his bicycle stunt, fell flat to me. Dwight falling down in and of itself isn't funny, even if he keeps doing it until he injures himself. Also, Kevin continues to act mentally disabled(*), and Oscar having an affair with Angela's husband is no funnier than when Angela was cuckolding Andy with Dwight.

(*) Although credit where it's due: Brian Baumgartner's delivery of "But you can't eat cats. You can't eat cats, Kevin," was enough to make me laugh despite myself.

But as the documentary filmmakers note — in what I believe is the first time we've ever heard one of them speak — at a certain point, this became Jim and Pam's story as much as it was about the paper company, if not more. And even though the show lost the thread on Jim and Pam around the time Cece was born, their scenes in the premiere, and the way the arrival of the new guys forces Jim to realize he's trapped in the job he despised back when he was that young, was interesting. This is a character arc I've been waiting for the show to remember to do for years now, and the scenes here were promising (if not incredibly funny).

What did everybody else think? Did you like the way that Kelly and Ryan were written out because of "The Mindy Project"? Did anyone come back specifically because it's the final season? Did you like Clark Duke and Jake Lacy as Dwight Jr. and New Jim?

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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Next 48 Comments

Justin

Really Dissapointed :( I miss the old days of the Office
September 20, 2012 at 9:49PM EST Reply to Comment
stb128

Creed's summary of the episode at the end was one of the funniest moments in a long time. "Not a bad day at a dog food company..."
September 20, 2012 at 9:50PM EST Reply to Comment
- Bernie When the only funny moment comes at the 29 minute mark Creeds hilarious wrap up you know it's not a great episode
  September 21, 2012 at 2:09PM EST
- MC Once again, Creed delivers when we desperately need him to. Otherwise 29 minutes of meh....
  September 26, 2012 at 3:40PM EST
Zed

Some stray TKs at the end there, Alan...
September 20, 2012 at 9:53PM EST Reply to Comment
Oats

I was disappointed by the premier. I didn't like the slapstick/somewhat gross comedy (dwight vomiting on angela, kevin crushing the turtle, dwight falling over and over again until he rose with a bloodied mouth.) I actually felt really sad for Dwight. Watching him fall was painful, because it didn't seem like the same, justified-because-you're-so-ridiculous type of thing...I just felt like he lost a lot he was hoping for, and didn't get anything back, and it was amplified by the fact that he couldn't walk that rope...I had hopes for the season--I really wanted Dwight to be the father of Angela's baby (I still am holding out....). I do enjoy the rising story arc about Jim feeling trapped, that's building a good amount of suspense. All in all, I was not thrilled, and I was sad that I did not laugh very much at all, but I'm holding out that the next episodes with be good.

Oh, and I thought the exits of Kelly and Ryan were good. I'm not too in love with the new guys, but, we'll see. Oscar and the senator--I saw that coming, and it's good.

Done rambling. I do love The Office, hope it gets better!
September 20, 2012 at 9:57PM EST Reply to Comment
- sajid anwar I love the office too. Stuck with it from season 1. Will not stop watching. But it's become clear they've lost track of what to do with these characters. It's clear that Dwight, Angela, Oscar, Kevin, Meredith and other characters won't be redeemed. If we can get out of this with Jim and Pam leaving with a promising career, I'll consider it a minor victory.
  September 20, 2012 at 10:12PM EST
C

we thought last season was really funny, really cleverly written. We stopped watching this one, the new season premiere, two-thirds through; it was just so flat and silly and dumb. Wow, what a disappointment.
September 20, 2012 at 10:10PM EST Reply to Comment
- Col Bat Guano You should send a note to the producers. They would love to meet the two people who enjoyed last season.
  September 20, 2012 at 11:28PM EST
will

im excited and optimistic. jim pam dwight and andy are the show now. andy is much more interesting, dwight has new enemies to be paranoid of, and we can see what will bring small town jim and pam conflict over the rest of the series.
September 20, 2012 at 10:12PM EST Reply to Comment
srpad

Really surprised at the negativity here. This episode was really good. The jokes were funny and the characters (especially Jim) were more human than they have been in a long time. This had me hoping The Office is going to pull a Frasier and go out with a strong final season after a couple of duds.
September 20, 2012 at 10:31PM EST Reply to Comment
- Thomas Rhys I thought it was maybe not too funny, but showed potential for this being a better season. There was some wackiness, but they seemed a bit more grounded in the actual office and people's dreams/fears. I missed/liked that.
  
  Kevin has become too stupid though. I guess it's too late to fix that. Also the Oscar/State-Senator thing kind of annoys me, but it might be nice for her to be the one dealing with another man. I kind of hope she'll apologize to Andy due to it.
  September 21, 2012 at 12:50AM EST
Seth

I didn't think it was that bad, honestly. Had some good laughs, and I'm excited to see these character arcs wrap up throughout the season. Is it as good as the first 3 seasons of the show? Of course not. And you shouldn't expect that.

Also Creed's line was fantastic.
September 20, 2012 at 10:34PM EST Reply to Comment
megbuckley

My real comment was lost because I was not registered. The gist is that I approach "The Office" now as a spinoff of sorts. I feel the true series finale was when Pam said goodbye to Michael at the airport. The past 2 seasons have been a disappointment. I will say that I liked the self aware nature of the Jim/Pam storyline in this premiere. I hope they focus on this. And Creed was brilliant per usual.
September 20, 2012 at 10:47PM EST Reply to Comment
- BeetsBearsBattlestarGalactica Exactly. Dunder-Mifflin R.F.D.
  September 21, 2012 at 1:05PM EST
ben

Im so tired of people complaining abt the office. It is what it is, its not going to win any Emmys but its worth 25 min of my time a week and a few laughs. Its not what it once was and never will be, so either accept that and enjoy it or stop watching and complaining if its beneath you now.
September 20, 2012 at 10:52PM EST Reply to Comment
- DB Cooper Or maybe, if you've decided to just accept whatever this show gives you, uncritically, you could stop hanging around a TV critic's reviews of it.
  
  That seems a little more likely than your suggestion.
  September 20, 2012 at 11:14PM EST
- Marie No, I think I will continue to watch AND complain. Since, you know, it's a free country and all.
  September 20, 2012 at 11:49PM EST
- DB Cooper Ok. I guess I've no choice but to confine my freedom to the options you're allowing, then. I choose "stop watching it."
  September 21, 2012 at 12:03AM EST
- Vaughn "It is what it is, its not going to win any Emmys" -----> "As of 2011, the series has received 26 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, with four wins".
  September 21, 2012 at 2:42AM EST
Dr. Gross

I'm happy to see shades of the old Andy. Loved the Jim and Pam stuff. I have some hope for this season (after giving up on the previous one).
September 20, 2012 at 11:04PM EST Reply to Comment
Mike.G

I had no idea this was the last season until I heard you mention it. I thought tonight's episode was OK - and definitely a cut or two above last year's disaster - but if this had been the pilot for a new show I don't think I'd be watching it for another week. I get that Andy's not happy with Nelly but mean spirited usually doesn't mean funny and it certainly doesn't mean funny here. The best part of the episode was the beginning. The summer recaps were funny, with the Kevin gag with the turtle probably one of the best gags they've done in a while. But overall the show just seems kind of dull now, like they don't know what to do or where to go with any of this. Yes, the Jim story could be interesting.

I have no problems with how they wrote off Kelly, but then I'm not the Mindy Kaling fan that most are. Her character had her funny moments but was a pretty one-note character that had probably outlived her usefulness a long time ago. Ryan also peaked years ago after his fall from grace. It was never realistic that Dunder Mifflin hired him back.
September 20, 2012 at 11:36PM EST Reply to Comment
- MC The Andy and Nelly thing really bothered me. Andy bugged me. It's painful how much they are trying to force that character into the Michael personality. It just doesn't work. On the other hand, I think Nelly has promise. Her reacting to them throwing the recycling at the window actually got a chuckle from me.
  
  The Kevin cats line, the dog food company line and the "fluke!" line were my favorites.
  
  The Jim storyline, however, is awesome. It's nice to see where they are going with the end of the show. Welcome back, human Jim!
  September 21, 2012 at 1:02AM EST
- Paul in Phx I totally agree. I actually thought Nelly's character was closer in personality to Michael than Andy's ever been. I didn't like their interaction.
  September 21, 2012 at 10:29AM EST
John

On the balance, I found the episode passable, it was just the fact that the lows were oh so low that really brought it down for me. I didn't mind the Dwight stuff that much until the ending stunt that was way too far off the ridiculous deep end. And Kevin. All awful. I've accepted that he's now treated as the dumbest human being on the planet, but, um, since when does he care about Angela's cats in the least?
I liked the Jim stuff though...
September 20, 2012 at 11:55PM EST Reply to Comment
Gregory Gregson

This episode just showed us that humor-wise, The Office is dead. But I'm still hopeful that the serious parts will be good, specially since this is the last season and that's where the show's strengths were in the last seasons.
September 20, 2012 at 11:57PM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave I always loved how the Office dealt with serious scenes/storylines
  September 21, 2012 at 3:24AM EST
Tom M

I liked it. I mean, I thought it was so-so, but so-so on an upward trajectory from terrible, which is where I thought we ended last season, so I liked it.

What worked for me:

1)The seeds of potential non-infidelity-based marital conflict between Jim & Pam. I mean, I love Jim and Pam, but so much of their pre-marital relationship was fun in the face of adversities like fiances or girlfriends or long distance, and then the show just kinda gave them an "all problems cease once you're married" ending when there was still more story to tell. I like where I hope they're going with this...they'll come out of it fine, but just giving John & Jenna some substantial material again will be a plus.

2) I like the show seemingly just conceding to Andy being Michael-lite. Ed Helms will never be Steve Carell, Andy will never be Michael, but, to me, one of the formulas at the heart of the show should always be (insert boss) engagaing in eccentric conference room sessions or zany parking lot outings. Was it painfully obvious Andy was just apeing Michael? Yeah, but for what it means to the fabric of the show, I can live with it.

3) The new guys. Too soon for any significant determinations, but neither one stuck out like a sore thumb or seemed ill-suited to the apparent functions of their characters.

What didn't work for me:

1) Kevin as mentally disabled. This worked great as a one-off gag when Holly first showed up, but when it became part of the DNA of the character I feel like it ruined him. The horse is probably too far out of the barn to do anything about now, but it's just a shame.

2) Nellie as punching bag nemesis to Andy. Full disclosure, I think Catherine Tate is one of the most gifted comediennes out there, and it pains me to see her given such weak material by this writing staff. I'm generally never a fan of variety players playing every character in one specific mode,but with that being said, I NEED Tate to unleash Lauren Cooper on Amdy.

3) Oscar's relationship with the Senator behind Angela's back. I'm just gonna say it: it makes me uncomfortable. If I'm being honest, it's not strictly the infidelity that bugs me. I mean, I never root for anyone, real or fictional, to be unfaithful, but I accept that it happens, but there's just something...I don't know, slimy or dirty to me about engaging in a homosexual affair behind the back of a co-worker who thinks they're in a happy heterosexual marriage with one of the parties to the affair. Maybe that makes me a bad person or I just can't open my mind wide enough to accept it, but I just don't think the whole situation presents Oscar in any remotely positive or sympathetic light whatsoever. The only comedy I get out of it harkens back to "Gay Witch Hunt", when Michael asks, "Could Angela and Oscar be having a gay affair?"...and now, yeah, they kinda are.
September 20, 2012 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment
- Col Bat Guano Normally, I'd agree with about the Oscar/Angela/Senator story, but Angela has been a horrible witch since the show started and has never suffered any repercussions for it. The idea that she could have cheated on Andy with Dwight and then just resumed her role as office scold without everyone tearing her to pieces was just another of the failures since S6.
  September 21, 2012 at 3:05AM EST
Haik Mendelovich

I was going to write that although it was mostly weak, there were, as Alan mentioned, a few redeeming scenes and threads. So that overall, compared with most of what passes for network comedy these days, it wasn't too bad.

But then I watched P&R...

September 21, 2012 at 12:26AM EST Reply to Comment
Kensington

I gave up on the show early last season but came back to see what it looked like now.

I don't think I'll be back. It was kind of a chore to sit through the episode, really.

I'm mildly curious to know why Andy is so hostile to Catherine Tate, but not enough to stick around and find out.

And I'm not so crazy about the idea that Jim will become a brilliant billionaire entrepreneur at the end. One of the things I liked about The Office was how normal it could be. And most people don't quit their jobs and become billionaire entrepreneurs.
September 21, 2012 at 12:48AM EST Reply to Comment
- Thomas Rhys As I understood it the friend isn't a billionaire. Jim thinks he'll become one, but Jim could be wrong. I'm hoping he's successful, but regular-people successful. Like Pam can get a decent house with the terrace she wanted, but there's no luxury cars or summer home in Majorca or anything like that.
  September 21, 2012 at 1:01AM EST
ghoti

Clark Duke is too good to be on this show.
September 21, 2012 at 1:29AM EST Reply to Comment
StevieG21

The affair with Oscar and Angela's husband bothers me. Oscar has been portrayed as a good guy up until now and I don't think he would do that to her. Just not true to the character.

The show feels tired and it saddens me when I think back to the early seasons when it was one of the best shows on the air. I'll watch it until the end, but it should've been finished a few seasons ago.
September 21, 2012 at 2:42AM EST Reply to Comment
rdave

This episode wasn't really funny (except for the whole "sitting on Meredith's face" and Creed at the end), but I did love the scenes with Jim. Kind of reminded me of Jim of seasons past and am excited to see how things work out for him. Been watching this show for so many years, and am connected with the characters, even if I don't laugh, it's good to be around them for one last season.
September 21, 2012 at 3:23AM EST Reply to Comment
Kmarko

This show was too great for too long for me not to see it through to the end. I'm hopeful it will end well--but this wasn't good. Not funny. But I agree that the set up of the Jim and Pam arc is promising, so that's not bad for the premeire.

Beyond that, two small points:

--Hate that Oscar is doing that, completely out of character. He felt bad for Angela that she was going to marry a gay man...hardly think he would start a relationship with him. Not funny, and sour.

--I don't care at all that Kevin morphed into his current incarnation. He's funny. My thought with most of the minor characters is that if they arrive in a place that's humerous, then it's fine to go there. And "it's not OK to eat cats, Kevin!" was indeed hilarious.
September 21, 2012 at 8:17AM EST Reply to Comment
Brendan

I couldn't help but laugh at some of the falls Dwight took. And when he was hanging from the handlebars.

But Andy is never going to be funny.
September 21, 2012 at 9:35AM EST Reply to Comment
Brendan

I couldn't help but laugh at some of the falls Dwight took. And when he was hanging from the handlebars.

But Andy is never going to be funny.
September 21, 2012 at 9:43AM EST Reply to Comment
Paper salesman

Aside from losing Steve Carrell, I think the show is suffering because something weird has happened with Dwight- ever since he didn't get the promotion he's been weird and angry and just a lot less funny. Part of it might be the loss of Michael- a lot of what made Dwight funny was his devotion to Michael, but now, angry Dwight in the middle of it messes up the whole thing.

A renewed focus on Jim and Pam is the only thing that can save this show.
September 21, 2012 at 10:24AM EST Reply to Comment
Slow Down

It's one episode, people. Don't be so quick to write it off.

Cannot wait to see where they take Jim and Pam until the finale- happy in Philly, or true to its roots and stuck being miserable in Scranton.
September 21, 2012 at 10:51AM EST Reply to Comment
Printin' Mike

I wholeheartedly agree with what a few others have said: it was really nice to have “human Jim” back. We haven’t seen him for at least 3 seasons now. His reappearance is bittersweet though – as it makes the viewer realize all the potential that the show squandered during the past 3 (mostly horrible) seasons. So, yeah, certainly a positive development to see a human character return, but the rest of the show’s characters and plotlines? Mostly irredeemable at this point.

As good as Greg Daniels may be, he can’t go back in time and correct all of the huge mistakes of the past 3 seasons. And, from the evidence of this first episode, with the exception of setting up a believable evolution for Jim and Pam, he isn’t going to try.

September 21, 2012 at 11:52AM EST Reply to Comment
- Haik Mendelovich "...he can’t go back in time and correct all of the huge mistakes of the past 3 seasons."
  
  Sure he can!
  
  Dwight, at his desk, rubbing his head...
  
  "Boy, did I have a bad dream last night. I have to tell Mose to turn down the alcohol content in the beet wine."
  
  "Hey, where's Michael?"
  September 21, 2012 at 12:52PM EST
Mark

So lets review here. You are not going to write about SOA, Treme and The final season of The Office? What shows are you reviewing that you find more worthy?
September 21, 2012 at 1:13PM EST Reply to Comment
Swearin

All I could see in this episode was the ways it was pointing to The End, and what comes after:

- The film crew finally speaking, and Pam's slightly-meta response to them about "Haven't you guys got enough yet?"

- Jim taking the job that's going to take them out of Scranton

- Andy finally becoming a (relatively) decisive leader.

- Erin fully in Andy's corner now.

- Kelly and Ryan bolting out the door.

- Oscar, along with the Senator, going one step closer to becoming one of those older, gay couples that fawn over their pets

-Dwight had 2 moments that made me think; the way he beamed about having a son (via Dwight Jr) when he already has a baby son, and then seeing how the young guys are coming for his job, a job he never really liked to begin with. I wonder if this points to Dwight perfecting his beet sports drink and deciding to move to the farm and raise his boy (aka the oft-mentioned potential " Office" spinoff).

Still, I'll be sad to see this show end, but hopefully it goes out on a creative high note.
September 21, 2012 at 4:23PM EST Reply to Comment
LJA

I've been ripping on The Office for the past three years, but there was something in the tone that felt back to form. A lot of the jokes didn't work for me (anything that required a stunt double in particular), but I felt a definite shift in the right direction. It's kind of intangible, but it gives me hope for the final season.
September 21, 2012 at 7:52PM EST Reply to Comment
Jayne

Like the new guys, delighted to see Ryan gone and more of Toby, but I hate hate hate Nelly. She's not funny and she brings every scene she's in to a screeching halt.
September 22, 2012 at 8:23AM EST Reply to Comment

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Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Justin Really Dissapointed :( I miss the old days of the Office

stb128 Creed's summary of the episode at the end was one of the funniest moments in a long time. "Not a bad day at a dog food company..."

Bernie When the only funny moment comes at the 29 minute mark Creeds hilarious wrap up you know it's not a great episode

MC Once again, Creed delivers when we desperately need him to. Otherwise 29 minutes of meh....

Zed Some stray TKs at the end there, Alan...

C we thought last season was really funny, really cleverly written. We stopped watching this one, the new season premiere, two-thirds through; it was just so flat and silly and dumb. Wow, what a disappointment.

Col Bat Guano You should send a note to the producers. They would love to meet the two people who enjoyed last season.

will im excited and optimistic. jim pam dwight and andy are the show now. andy is much more interesting, dwight has new enemies to be paranoid of, and we can see what will bring small town jim and pam conflict over the rest of the series.

Seth I didn't think it was that bad, honestly. Had some good laughs, and I'm excited to see these character arcs wrap up throughout the season. Is it as good as the first 3 seasons of the show? Of course not. And you shouldn't expect that.Also Creed's line was fantastic.

BeetsBearsBattlestarGalactica Exactly. Dunder-Mifflin R.F.D.

ben Im so tired of people complaining abt the office. It is what it is, its not going to win any Emmys but its worth 25 min of my time a week and a few laughs. Its not what it once was and never will be, so either accept that and enjoy it or stop watching and complaining if its beneath you now.

DB Cooper Or maybe, if you've decided to just accept whatever this show gives you, uncritically, you could stop hanging around a TV critic's reviews of it.That seems a little more likely than your suggestion.

Marie No, I think I will continue to watch AND complain. Since, you know, it's a free country and all.

DB Cooper Ok. I guess I've no choice but to confine my freedom to the options you're allowing, then. I choose "stop watching it."

Vaughn "It is what it is, its not going to win any Emmys" -----> "As of 2011, the series has received 26 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, with four wins".

Dr. Gross I'm happy to see shades of the old Andy. Loved the Jim and Pam stuff. I have some hope for this season (after giving up on the previous one).

Paul in Phx I totally agree. I actually thought Nelly's character was closer in personality to Michael than Andy's ever been. I didn't like their interaction.

Gregory Gregson This episode just showed us that humor-wise, The Office is dead. But I'm still hopeful that the serious parts will be good, specially since this is the last season and that's where the show's strengths were in the last seasons.

rdave I always loved how the Office dealt with serious scenes/storylines

Haik Mendelovich I was going to write that although it was mostly weak, there were, as Alan mentioned, a few redeeming scenes and threads. So that overall, compared with most of what passes for network comedy these days, it wasn't too bad.But then I watched P&R...

ghoti Clark Duke is too good to be on this show.

Brendan I couldn't help but laugh at some of the falls Dwight took. And when he was hanging from the handlebars.But Andy is never going to be funny.

Brendan I couldn't help but laugh at some of the falls Dwight took. And when he was hanging from the handlebars.But Andy is never going to be funny.

Slow Down It's one episode, people. Don't be so quick to write it off.Cannot wait to see where they take Jim and Pam until the finale- happy in Philly, or true to its roots and stuck being miserable in Scranton.

Haik Mendelovich "...he can’t go back in time and correct all of the huge mistakes of the past 3 seasons."Sure he can!Dwight, at his desk, rubbing his head..."Boy, did I have a bad dream last night. I have to tell Mose to turn down the alcohol content in the beet wine.""Hey, where's Michael?"

Mark So lets review here. You are not going to write about SOA, Treme and The final season of The Office? What shows are you reviewing that you find more worthy?

Jayne Like the new guys, delighted to see Ryan gone and more of Toby, but I hate hate hate Nelly. She's not funny and she brings every scene she's in to a screeching halt.

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The Office is updated

Justin

Really Dissapointed :( I miss the old days of the Office

stb128

Creed's summary of the episode at the end was one of the funniest moments in a long time. "Not a bad day at a dog food company..."

Zed

Some stray TKs at the end there, Alan...

C

we thought last season was really funny, really cleverly written. We stopped watching this one, the new season premiere, two-thirds through; it was just so flat and silly and dumb. Wow, what a disappointment.

will

im excited and optimistic. jim pam dwight and andy are the show now. andy is much more interesting, dwight has new enemies to be paranoid of, and we can see what will bring small town jim and pam conflict over the rest of the series.

Seth

I didn't think it was that bad, honestly. Had some good laughs, and I'm excited to see these character arcs wrap up throughout the season. Is it as good as the first 3 seasons of the show? Of course not. And you shouldn't expect that.

Also Creed's line was fantastic.

ben

Im so tired of people complaining abt the office. It is what it is, its not going to win any Emmys but its worth 25 min of my time a week and a few laughs. Its not what it once was and never will be, so either accept that and enjoy it or stop watching and complaining if its beneath you now.

DB Cooper Or maybe, if you've decided to just accept whatever this show gives you, uncritically, you could stop hanging around a TV critic's reviews of it.

That seems a little more likely than your suggestion.

Dr. Gross

I'm happy to see shades of the old Andy. Loved the Jim and Pam stuff. I have some hope for this season (after giving up on the previous one).

Gregory Gregson

This episode just showed us that humor-wise, The Office is dead. But I'm still hopeful that the serious parts will be good, specially since this is the last season and that's where the show's strengths were in the last seasons.

Haik Mendelovich

I was going to write that although it was mostly weak, there were, as Alan mentioned, a few redeeming scenes and threads. So that overall, compared with most of what passes for network comedy these days, it wasn't too bad.

But then I watched P&R...

ghoti

Clark Duke is too good to be on this show.

Brendan

I couldn't help but laugh at some of the falls Dwight took. And when he was hanging from the handlebars.

But Andy is never going to be funny.

Brendan

I couldn't help but laugh at some of the falls Dwight took. And when he was hanging from the handlebars.

But Andy is never going to be funny.

Slow Down

It's one episode, people. Don't be so quick to write it off.

Cannot wait to see where they take Jim and Pam until the finale- happy in Philly, or true to its roots and stuck being miserable in Scranton.

Mark

So lets review here. You are not going to write about SOA, Treme and The final season of The Office? What shows are you reviewing that you find more worthy?

Jayne

Like the new guys, delighted to see Ryan gone and more of Toby, but I hate hate hate Nelly. She's not funny and she brings every scene she's in to a screeching halt.

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