The Office Season 5 thread

[BrewCrewForever]

This weeks was better then last weeks. But not by a whole lot. Like most said the "Bill Buttlicker" part was good.

[adamb100]

It was an alright episode. The mach up sale between Dwight and Jim was quite funny but other than that it was a pretty serious episode. I wonder what Pam will do though about staying in New York.

[bullox]

I thought it was hilarious right in the beginning when he told everyone he was engaged and they asked him if he told his mom. He said no, they all tell him to call her so he does. "Michael, you're not getting married." "Mom, you always say that!" And eventually he just hangs up the phone on her in the middle of the call. Classic Michael.

[GoudaBrew]

This was the most enjoyable episode for me this year. Andy and Oscar were great!

[Chio151]

This was the most enjoyable episode for me this year. Andy and Oscar were great!

Yes, the calling Angela scene was perfect. I'm sure everyone can relate to one moment in their life like that.

 

Also, Darrell skipping out of the warehouse after Kelly broke up with him was hilarious.

[pitchleague]

yep, Darrel's text message and the scene of him "walking on clouds" to his truck were side-splittingly hilarious.

 

Nice to see them use Oscar a bit more for once.

[patrickgpe]

i loved the look on Ryan's face when Darrel was so quick to break up with her.

[Invader3K]

How are they going to explain Ryan still being employed, after committing fraud, now that Pam is back?

[Mike Felder]

I thought Ryan trying to do one-handed pushups in Kelly's "nook" was hysterical.

[bbrauch2000]

Entertainment Weekly said the he's asked for a leave from the show to make a Tarantino movie and it was unsure if he'd be coming back. I'm guessing this is a set up for a heart broken Kelly once again

[BrewCrewForever]

"Whats first base with Angela?"

 

"Kissing her on the forehead."

[mothershipconnection]

I hope Ryan leaves permanently. He had the potential to be funny, but I've always thought he played way too large a role for what should be a minor arrogant character who speaks in buzzwords.

[jjfanec]

I agree I am not a Ryan fan, although last night was one of his best episode in some ways. Give me more Creed, Kevin, and the rest instead of more Ryan.

[razzzorsharp]

So do we know who the new HR person is yet?

[Gobias Industries]

I really liked Ryan's character the last few years, especially when he was in corporate. His talking head about his $300 haircut was classic Ryan. This year, it's just too far-fetched to have him employed at Dunder Miflin.

 

Andy was great on Thursday. "Beer me two long island ice teas." and "Do you like apples?" were some good ones I can remember.

[Fatter than Joey]

I really liked Ryan's character the last few years, especially when he was in corporate.

 

I think Ryan's character though helped define Michael's character as well. That said, I think Ryan has run its course.

[logan82]

Fatter than Joey wrote:

That said, I think Ryan has run its course.

I think the show has run it's course. I watch it just in case it is funny more than because I think it is good now.

[Point Beer Is Best]

I liked the scene of Pam at corporate on Halloween dressed as Charlie Chaplin. "I guess nobody dresses up for Halloween at corporate. I wish someone had told me before I put grease makeup on. Plus, I can't take my hat off... because then I'm Hitler."

[patrickgpe]

So do we know who the new HR person is yet?

 

not sure what they are going do to with it, but i did see a preview for this weeks episode where Toby returns.

[colbyjack]

I think the show has run it's course. I watch it just in case it is funny more than because I think it is good now.

 

Bingo. I just mentioned on a different thread that the Office has really lost it's original novelty. Last week's episode was by far the best of the season, but that was carried almost entirely by Andy Bernard ("beer me two long island ice teas" actually did something no line in any episode this season caused me to do: laugh).

 

I'm not sure what happened. It's like the show got too caught up with its own success and tried to get too cute (like the commercials that promote different "office" type antics on their website). They need to cut out the love stories, as the Jim/Pam and Michael/whoever love storylines seem to be the root of the reason why the show is going downhill.

[homer]

The problem is that there are only so many story lines in a stereotypical office. At some point you need to involve the characters personal lives.

 

I haven't gone back and watched seasons one or two in a while but I wonder if some of the appeal was the freshness of the show at the time. Would those seasons still be as funny to me now?

[Patrick425]

I don't see that the show has changed that much from the first one or two seasons. I still find it very funny and enjoyable.

[colbyjack]

I haven't gone back and watched seasons one or two in a while but I wonder if some of the appeal was the freshness of the show at the time. Would those seasons still be as funny to me now?

 

I watch the new episode every week as well as the two re-runs that are on TBS on Tuesday nights. Quite often I watch these back-to-back over the weekend after I have DVR'd them, and the difference between the early shows and the new ones from this season, and even last season, is night and day.

 

I realize that more characters have to get involved (Andy Bernard as noted above is a great addition, but even he's better on his own as opposed to when they focus on his relationship with Angela), but it just seems to me they have lost what made the show so funny and successful. It's hard to pinpoint what that is exactly, but it just seems like they're trying too hard now.

[tyguy20204]

I completely disagree. For the most part, the new episodes are just as good as the old ones, if not better.

 

Yes, there are noticeably terrible moments to the relationship narratives - see the dinner between Pam, Jim, and Jim's brothers - but on the whole I think the relationships have been handled well. Pam and Jim's relationship has been portrayed through a nice mixture of minor moments, like the one that the episode closed on last week. It's not as if they're entering Ross and Rachel territory.

 

Meanwhile, the relationship between Michael and the Amy Adams character was the best thing to happen to the Office in a long time. It was simultaneously sweet and funny funny. It was believable, awkward, and endearing. Not once did they hit a bad note, and Amy Adams gave an incredible performance.

 

I would argue that the comedy hasn't suffered in the least. Just because they're branching out into new story lines doesn't mean things are necessarily going downhill. To the people that miss the first few seasons, what exactly is it that you want? Do you want every episode to involve Michael doing something stupid, Dwight playing the lackey in an obnoxious manner, Jim making Jim faces at the camera, with the rest of the crew tossing out funny one liners? Yes, that formula is tried and true, and it works - as a matter of fact, they still use it to a large extent - but, speaking for myself, I like to see variations on that theme.

 

I too watch the old episodes on TBS and I must say that I find the new ones to be remarkably more fresh than the old ones.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a lot of your complaints stem from the fact that you don't like humor that derives from the awkwardness and uncomfortable. I get the feeling that you enjoy humor that involves people getting into funny situations and saying funny things.

 

If that's true, then perhaps I can understand why you take issue with the last couple seasons. There has been a definite push towards humor steeped in the awkward. Jan's narrative of the past few seasons, especially the dinner party episode as well as her recent visit to the office, is exemplar of this shift in tone from the light-hearted to the uncomfortable and sometimes agonizing.

 

Myself, I enjoy both brands of humor. But our differences in enjoyment may simply come down to matter of differing taste.

[Godspeed]

I think it has a lot to do with expectation level. This show has been so good for so long, we compare it itself and forget what separates it from the standard television drivel. It's hard sometimes to judge the episodes for their own merit instead of their legacy, but it's funnier that way. I find if I set aside everything I expect the show to be, I enjoy the episodes much more.

 

To me, the beginning of Season 5 is their best stretch of episodes since their peak in Season 2.