Welcome to a new Sitcom Tuesday! This week, I’m continuing my coverage of The Office (2005-2013, NBC), which is currently available on DVD/Blu-ray and Peacock. Please note that for these posts, I watched and will be considering the regular version of the show that presently appears on cable and online — with 204 half-hour episodes total.

The Office stars STEVE CARELL as Michael Scott, RAINN WILSON as Dwight K. Schrute, JOHN KRASINSKI as Jim Halpert, JENNA FISCHER as Pam Beesly, and B.J. NOVAK as Ryan Howard. See more of the regular ensemble cast here.

Season Five is the start of a new era: the second half of the Michael Scott years. With showrunner Greg Daniels off with Mike Schur to prepare the forthcoming Parks And Recreation, new creative leadership ushers The Office into a warmer, sillier, ensemble-driven ethos that feels more like a traditional sitcom, naturally accelerating several trends that have been progressing throughout the run, all shaped around an inevitably dwindling novelty of premise and a rising understanding of the characters (well, most of them). For one, the mockumentary framing is less elementally reinforced now (outside of a few deliberate moments) — the show is not as discerning about what its cameras can capture, and the general performance style is not as evidently self-conscious. Similarly, stories don’t as often produce the kind of cringe comedy that implicitly corroborates the situation in full. By this point, most laughs come from the simple display of the leads’ expected but heightened comic behavior and the innately amusing, increasingly silly ideas they enable. That speaks to the series’ enhanced command of its characters — which is, by itself, a good thing, for this means the show is more character-filled overall; now everyone, even lower members of the ensemble who’ve previously been underdeveloped, are well-defined and helpful for story within the low-concept workplace apparatus… It’s just that said story is otherwise becoming less and less reflective of the series’ high-concept particulars. This will continue as such for the remainder of the show’s life, but with narrative notions that grow progressively less worthwhile, either lacking in sheer freshness or straining both the very characters whose support they need and/or the sense of literal realism that the mockumentary lens and low-concept setup essentially implies. Additionally, The Office‘s storytelling is continuing to become more arc-minded as well — Five takes Jim/Pam through the predictable beats of happy coupledom like an engagement and a pregnancy reveal, along with a stretch where Pam is out of town at school, ginning up some clichéd tension in the central relationship that seems like a waste of time, largely because we know the status quo will be restored eventually, and, of course, it’s just never ideal to cut one main character off from the others. That reduces their ability to deliver good sitcommery and it’s seldom justifiable.

The same could perhaps be said of the Michael Scott Paper Company arc later in the year, where Michael, after being incensed over a new VP who is asserting authority (portrayed by Idris Elba), decides to quit and start a rival business in the same building. But at least he does so with Ryan and Pam alongside him (and in close proximity to the rest of the ensemble), meaning this idea at least plays with these characters together, and since the funny, multi-dimensional Michael is at the helm, the results are also quite funny, so it works more than it doesn’t. That arc is a preview of the kind of long-form business-based conflict that’s to become more frequent in later years, as new owners and managers pop in, and regulars hop around to assume different positions, disrupting or evolving The Office’s status quo as it tries not only to navigate cast changes, but also to remind us of the low-concept workplace aspect of its premise, which, again, is no longer as inherently fresh. As always, the more support from the situation, the more likely these ideas are to satisfy. To that point, Five’s Dwight/Angela/Andy triangle is another mixed bag; it favors the key players — strengthening well-defined laugh-getters like Dwight and Angela, while diluting the weaker Andy, a Michael Lite who seems more like a plot device than an actual character. Its partial quality is indicative of what we’ll see more with other ensemble rom-com maneuvers that also accelerate in the show’s back half, as discrepancies in value for character, and how much they actually can uphold soapy narrative turns, increasingly determines the show’s general health… which, from here, is on a steeper decline, as The Office inevitably becomes more like most long-running sitcoms and less like the unique property it was premised to be. Season Five is the first to fully predict where the run is heading, but before its negative trends get too negative, and with a burst of energy as a result of the ensemble’s enhanced prominence plus the comic freedom a loosening grip invites. In fact, Five is not perfect, but like Three, it’s got a high baseline, and that’s no small feat — these folks produced 28 half hours this season and most work well; it’s the best collection from the late Michael era. After this, The Office is just not as good at routinely providing excellence on its own established terms.

 

01) Episode 74: “Weight Loss (II)” (Aired: 09/25/08)

Dwight goes overboard trying to get others to lose weight for a company contest.

Written by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky | Directed by Paul Feig

Season Five’s two-part premiere — originally broadcast in a single hour block — is worthwhile in its entirety, but I’m only featuring Part II to save room for others on this list. Collectively, this is a strong opening to the year that reveals its increased ensemble focus via a great office-set story that involves the whole cast — a company-wide weight loss competition in which they’re participating. That’s a smart starting point for a bevy of funny character moments, some of which are cringey (or inappropriate, not politically correct), especially with Dwight, who schemes to get a few of the larger people to lose weight, and Michael, who dons a fat suit for a seminar about bias. Like most of Five, it’s broader and less literally realistic than the series’ peak but still narratively acceptable, utilizing the leads’ established depictions and meeting the show’s premised need for awkward humor, all predicated on characters with varying levels of self-awareness. I also appreciate Michael’s growing feelings for Holly (Amy Ryan), which I’ll talk more about below, and the capper to this half hour, when Jim proposes to Pam — a big rom-com set piece that is most interesting because of how it’s shot. It’s one of the few explicit reminders this season of the mockumentary part of the series’ premise, which is otherwise less elementally felt in how the show is written, performed, and filmed.

02) Episode 75: “Business Ethics” (Aired: 10/09/08)

Holly is shocked to learn that Meredith has been sleeping with one of her clients.

Written by Ryan Koh | Directed by Jeffrey Blitz

This underrated entry seldom makes fans’ list of favorites, especially in a season where there certainly are flashier options with bigger moments and more exciting stories. But I think it’s one of the year’s best sources of the cringe comedy that becomes increasingly rare in the show’s back half, and this is courtesy of an A-story that acknowledges the basic inappropriateness and overfamiliarity Michael has encouraged within the workplace — with Holly, the relatively new HR representative, serving as a fresh set of eyes and ears, and therefore a great device to vocally flag behavior to which the regulars have grown accustomed. Specifically, she learns that Meredith has been sleeping with one of their clients — a terrifically funny notion that thrusts Meredith into the spotlight and further evidences the elevated treatment of the ensemble this year, while putting Michael in conflict between his own desire to protect and be liked by his staff… and his desire to be respected and liked by Holly, his love interest. That’s a strong use of his character, and in general, Holly brings out new ways to explore him — unlike Jan, who was his opposite, she is more inherently compatible with Michael, at least temperamentally, since she’s well-meaning and goofy. And that dynamic is really fun — as she’s another oddball in the office, and someone for whom Michael adjusts his behavior… adding a new layer to the performance he’s giving both to everyone in the room and to the cameras themselves. I wish Holly was a regular and stuck around longer — she’s a well-applied addition to the cast and could have been deployed to reach even more comedic heights.

03) Episode 83: “Moroccan Christmas” (Aired: 12/11/08)

Michael turns the annual Christmas party into an intervention for Meredith.

Written by Justin Spitzer | Directed by Paul Feig

Although the competition is steep among The Office’s holiday installments, I consider “Moroccan Christmas” to be an underrated sample, and a winning display of the series’ ethos in its fifth season, where the ensemble is more frequently being used to uphold low-concept workplace stories. Not only does it boast a centralized look at the ever-funny Meredith, who assumes the focus of the office’s Christmas party (which has an unusual Moroccan theme — with a bit of cultural stereotyping that winks at the politically incorrect tenor of some of its leading characters and their evidenced comedy) when she drunkenly catches on fire, but it also ends up offering some of Five’s cringiest moments, as Michael turns the festivities into an intervention for her. It’s a terribly uncomfortable notion that makes the entire half-hour dark and downbeat — which explains its relative unpopularity — but it’s starting to get harder for the show to explicitly engage now with the mockumentary framing that’s a key aspect of its situation, and because it also showcases Michael well (his desire to help Meredith is rooted in his desire to be loved), I think it’s a sublime play to the series’ identity, enjoying rising character support and a maintained command on the high-concept premise. Also, I love how the well-established rivalry between Angela and Phyllis is maneuvered here to yield an awkward climax that sets up…

04) Episode 84: “The Duel” (Aired: 01/15/09)

Michael tells Andy about Angela’s ongoing affair with Dwight.

Written by Jennifer Celotta | Directed by Dean Holland

As noted in my essay, the Dwight/Angela/Andy triangle that started last year but dominates the first half of this season is mixed because it’s better for some characters than others. Those involved with the show say that it helped make the previously antagonistic Andy more vulnerable and likable, and therefore more utilizable inside the ensemble, but I see this as a dilution that keeps him a diet version of Michael. Rather, I think this is only good for Dwight and Angela, two outrageously funny players whose very affair is itself a humorous notion. More than that though, I especially like how this season deliberately plays with who knows about them and who doesn’t — with Phyllis revealing the news to the entire staff (sans Andy) after a well-earned moment of conflict with Angela in the Christmas excursion highlighted above. That’s a great use of established office dynamics to further this arc and produce a memorable comedic scenario, which is continued here. Indeed, the fun of this outing is that it’s got the aftermath — when everyone knows but Andy, and that shared discomfort enables the awkwardness of the series’ premised cringe comedy, before building up to the eponymous duel, which is broad but amusing, and believable for wackos like Dwight, and even Andy. And while Michael is off to corporate for a subplot that plays against our expectations of his competency, this is nevertheless a terrific ensemble show, spotlighting one of the season’s main storylines, and the series’ evolved sensibilities, in a supportive way that’s also comical.

05) Episode 86: “Stress Relief (I)” (Aired: 02/01/09)

Dwight’s fire drill gives Stanley a heart attack.

Written by Paul Lieberstein | Directed by Jeffrey Blitz

Both this installment and the following aired in a single hour-long block after the 2009 Super Bowl and were The Office’s most-watched showings. They’re also two of its greatest samples ever; I was actually torn about which to select as my MVE. I’ll make the case here for Part I, which starts off with the best and most memorable cold open of the whole run — a bolder, more comedic redux of Season Two’s “The Fire” where this time there’s a fake fire, courtesy of Dwight, who wants to check the office’s ability to follow safety protocols. His surprise test incites a panic, and the ensuing madness that culminates in Stanley having a heart attack is hysterical — cringey because Dwight is deliberately causing these people to fear for their lives without actual danger, which is amusing but discomforting. That invokes the premise well. And it’s just a bit of not literally realistic but inspired, character-supported lunacy, where the entire ensemble, as a group, is outstanding — an example of this season’s unique elevation of that element of its identity. What’s more, the rest of the half hour is fun too, as Michael responds to the incident with Stanley by arranging a CPR lesson for the office… which both he and Dwight make uncomfortable, as their primary comic characterizations are on display. It’s broad but funny, helping to set up a new scenario for Part II: the office is stressed because of Michael.

06) Episode 87: “Stress Relief (II)” (Aired: 02/01/09)

Michael forces his staff to roast him.

Written by Paul Lieberstein | Directed by Jeffrey Blitz

Part II of the classic post-Super Bowl broadcast of The Office continues where its predecessor left off, as Michael realizes that he has contributed to his staff’s heightened stress levels, and so, in his efforts to deflate their tensions and no longer be a stressor to them, he decides to throw a roast of himself, in which they all must participate. This is a marvelous setup for an episode of The Office, for we get to watch the sensitive Michael, who is so desperate to be loved by everyone, become more and more wounded with every joke made at his expense, both because he gets insight into what they truly think of him, and because, simply, the mild ribbing threatens his own fragile ego. It’s a hilarious, brilliant way to both explore his character’s natural vulnerability, playing him in his most basic, elemental form as a child craving affection, while also acknowledging how he actually exists to the people in the office (and to the audience, via the cameras) as a ridiculous, immature, often difficult boss. In other words, this idea is the perfect venue to display the show’s central character in all his rich dimensionality, and with cringe laughs that reiterate the mockumentary aspect of the premise and what it’s designed to deliver. Accordingly, although Part I is audaciously funny and claims the most iconic scene of the whole hour, Part II is even better for character and premise, and that’s why I’ve chosen it, specifically, to stand as my MVE (Most Valuable Episode). It’s superb. (Oh, and incidentally, I like it regardless of the hacky network-ordained subplot where big name guests Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman appear. I suppose it’s clever that the show avoids stunt casting that would corrupt its own literally realistic world by instead having these stars be actors in a movie that Jim, Pam, and Andy are watching, but it’s pure 30 Rock-ian gimmickry — Big Event NBC stuff that “Stress Relief” doesn’t need to be hysterical and situationally ideal.)

07) Episode 95: “Michael Scott Paper Company” (Aired: 04/09/09)

Michael, Pam, and Ryan set up shop in their new tiny office.

Written by Justin Spitzer | Directed by Gene Stupnitsky

After shooting 19 in a row to accommodate an extended holiday hiatus for the booked and busy Steve Carell, the company had nine scripts to complete in the spring. Of those final nine (making 28 total!), the first six are consumed by the aforementioned Michael Scott Paper Company arc, where Michael quits Dunder Mifflin after getting micromanaged by the new VP, played by Idris Elba. These entries sample the kind of corporate, company-based status-quo-disrupting intrigue that will persist throughout the rest of the run, allowing the series to reinforce its low-concept workplace premise… but in a more heavy-handed manner. This arc, which I mostly like, has its minuses — it takes Michael out of the office for a development we know is temporary, and it’s more story-driven and therefore written than The Office is used to being. However, it really delivers some good comedy once Michael gathers Ryan and Pam, and they, as a trio, set up shop in a tiny room in the same office building, for now we get to focus on these characters in relation to one another, and with the other leads not too far away. In particular, this funny offering from the middle of the arc, which also introduces Erin as Pam’s replacement (more on her later), represents this storyline at its best — when it’s putting several of the regulars, including Michael, at the fore. (I also like that Elba’s character does not favor Jim — this creates new dynamics within the office that are fun, especially with Dwight.)

08) Episode 97: “Broke” (Aired: 04/23/09)

Michael, Pam, and Ryan hope to negotiate a buyout from Dunder Mifflin.

Written by Charlie Grandy | Directed by Steve Carell

The Michael Scott Paper Company arc concludes in this popular outing that culminates with a victory for Michael, as he, with Pam and Ryan, successfully manages to negotiate a buyout from Dunder Mifflin, thereby restoring the status quo that we all prefer, and with a warm welcome back that sort of suggests that his staff really has come to love Michael — a sign of growing closeness that will ramp up in the two years ahead, especially in Steve Carell’s long, drawn-out farewell lap. It almost feels like the apex for his character and maybe the premise — he has their appreciation and no longer makes them cringe. Similarly, what I like most about this half hour is that it reveals just how much this arc has solidified the bonds in the trio, particularly Michael and Pam, whose increasingly affectionate relationship will come to be regarded, by Seven, as his most important with anyone in the office. This evolved use of Pam also accompanies a stronger, more assertive portrayal, and to a certain extent, it looks like motivated growth, ushering in her development into a salesperson. So, for several reasons, this is a climax — moving The Office to another phase of its life, and one that, frankly, arrives after a few core characters have peaked.

09) Episode 99: “Cafe Disco” (Aired: 05/07/09)

Michael opens up a recreational dance lounge for the staff.

Written by Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan | Directed by Randall Einhorn

By this late point in the season, it sort of feels like the writers are looking for easy comedy with minimal effort, and I must admit that I detect a certain laziness in “Cafe Disco,” which predicates so much of its appeal on sequences where the cast dances. That’s not thoughtful or unique sitcommery. However, Michael’s encouragement of dancing in a dance room for recreation is an in-character motivation that gives this idea a tangible hook within the situation, and honestly, I would miss this memorable excursion if it wasn’t here, for I not only appreciate some of its laughs (Phyllis injuring herself and then getting treated by Dwight as if she’s an animal is probably my highlight — a funny display of his character), there’s also something to be said about this kind of uncomplicated conviviality that emphasizes the ensemble’s camaraderie, as it both defines this season in relation to its predecessors and also indicates what’s to come, when these colleagues become more like family and the show’s overall tone continues to move away from irony and cringe to earnestness and, well, sometimes hokum.

10) Episode 100: “Company Picnic” (Aired: 05/14/09)

Michael reunites with Holly at the big company-wide picnic.

Written by Jennifer Celotta & Paul Lieberstein | Directed by Ken Kwapis

Season Five’s finale has a bit of pomp and circumstance that looks forward to more of what we’ll see ahead — as the company picnic allows for an unimaginative story where the staff plays volleyball — but it’s actually a great venue for character and premise ultimately, reuniting Michael and Holly in a centerpiece that is classic Office, as they perform an improvisational sketch for the entire company in which they prematurely announce a forthcoming branch closure. It’s a riot — not just because it’s cringey, reasserting the type of humor promised as a result of the show’s mockumentary design, but also because it’s such a marvelous display of their personalities and the established rapport that again posits them as an ideal pairing. That is, the scene uses them to reinforce how right they are for each other, while also creating a comic conflict that showcases his central character and a key tenet of the premise. That’s smart writing. Also, speaking of the premise, I love the final reveal that Pam is pregnant — and specifically, how it’s presented: we learn this news, in silence, by observing Jim and Pam through a window at the hospital, filmed precisely in this manner in accordance with the mockumentary conceit, an element of the situation that has been, and is becoming, less regularly felt within the show’s weekly operations. This reminder is a nice bookend to their proposal in the premiere, and it makes a fairly routine rom-com sitcom development unique to the particulars of The Office. 

 

Other worthwhile episodes include: “Weight Loss (I),” which is a natural companion to Part II highlighted above, “The Surplus,” a low-concept office entry where the ensemble shines and Michael has a character-appropriate dilemma, “Golden Ticket,” where Michael memorably asks Dwight to take the fall for his bad idea but then wants credit for its surprise success, and “Casual Friday,” an underrated ensemble show with a lot of funny moments and some earned continuity following the Michael Scott Paper Company arc, which also boasts another strong sample in “Heavy Competition,” where Michael and Dwight find themselves on opposite sides of a business rivalry. I’ll also use this space to mention “Customer Survey,” which has fun putting Jim and Dwight in a low-concept conflict with Kelly, “Business Trip,” where Michael hooks up with a hotel concierge on a business trip, “Frame Toby,” where Michael’s well-established disdain for Toby is cartoonishly applied in a not fully believable plot that seeks character-based support but strains credibility a bit, and “Lecture Circuit (II),” where Michael acts overly cringey when he confronts Holly’s new boyfriend during a seminar.

 

*** The MVE Award for the Best Episode from Season Five of The Office goes to…

“Stress Relief (II)”

 

 

Come back next week for Season Six! And stay tuned tomorrow for a new Wildcard!