AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
So over the past 4-6 weeks, I binged through The Office. I've always wanted to get into it, and finally did it. Season 1, as expected, was a little bit slow, and I didn't mind it. It was a mid-season show and it didn't have enough time or episodes to be fleshed out. But seasons 2-7 were brilliant (apart from the flashback episode). I'm not going to dissect the seasons too much, because I personally found them all constantly great overall. Yes, some may have been better than others, but for the purposes of this thread, it's somewhat irrelevant.
Now, I've endured a show before where basically everything changes and the cast is dramatically shook up (that show being Scrubs). I found it best to think of those instances as an epilogue, essentially. The main story has ended, and the epilogue serves to basically close up a few points and stories, and give us a glimpse of what's happened to the characters in the future.
So once season 7 finished, I knew I was going into The Office post-Michael Scott...and I knew I had to prepare myself for the infamous turbulence. And in some ways the final 2 seasons surprised me (in a good way) and it other ways disappointed me.
The highs were that I still liked:
Jim and Pam dealing with two children
Jim's antics with Dwight.
Dwight's antics with...Dwight
Andy as manager (I liked the character, for one)
Andy and Erin
Angela's arc with a gay husband
Andy's second outburst
Andy's Cornell education being good for something at the end of season 8
David Wallace returning
Gabe fired
Robert California fired/severance
Jim starting a new business venture and dealing with the conflicts of it all
Oscar & Angela
Asian Jim (easily my favorite prank)
Nellie knocked down a few pegs
Nellie's past, loneliness and urge to care for a child
Dwight on the radio show
Assistant to the Assistant to the Regional Manager (LMAO)
Dwight and Angela and their son
Dwight the manager
Dwight the husband
What I didn't like:
-Show got a little dark tonally
-Some episodes and arcs seriously dragged
-Robert California was a terrible character and we didnt need him that long (or at all)
-Californias wife and divorce related episodes were pointless too
-Andy getting screwed over by Erin. Wtf? Him chasing Erin and vice versa was a colossal waste of viewers times.
-Plop and Erin. Plop was a shitty character with zero substance, fuck him.
-Clark sucked too
-Robert California had no balls to stand up to a woman who simply waltzed in to steal a job?
-The Jim and Pam conflict was deep, but felt a bit dark sometimes. It works out well in the end, but it felt out of character for them both.
-Cathy the Pam replacement was lame. Her trying to get Jim to cheat felt like the show was trying too hard to put their relationship to the test. Athlead and the move to Philly/Austin should've been the extent of that battle between both seasons.
-Brian the boom mic guy having a crush on Pam was unnecessary, creepy and distracting. I did like that they had a major interaction with the doc crew, but still that was a little off.
-Dwights son uhhh, Dwight literally had a DNA test that said it wasnt his? Was this a retcon? A theory says that it was Philip Halperts diaper that Dwight stole. But its still a bit odd. Was baby Halpert even in that scene/episode?
-Andy crashing and burning. I dont think Andys character was given a fair shake. Not sure why the writers felt compelled to cast a dark cloud over him between his love life, family, and overall lack of successes.
-Ryan abandoned a baby I laughed and also gasped. Not sure what to think. Although, it did wrap up a character arc for Nellie.
-Why wasnt Michael in the final scene with them in the office? I really think he should have been. I understand Carell did not want to steal any ones thunder, but he was extremely important to the show. He basically was the show at one point. And he also only said like 5 words the entire time. His return felt so cold and hollow.
I think that mostly covers my thoughts. All in all, seasons 8 and 9 had one solid season worth of content. And were it not for pointless characters, sub and side-plots, the overall quality would've been terrific. But unfortunately, the writers felt compelled to keep shaking things up and it never felt natural and always felt forced.
Now, I've endured a show before where basically everything changes and the cast is dramatically shook up (that show being Scrubs). I found it best to think of those instances as an epilogue, essentially. The main story has ended, and the epilogue serves to basically close up a few points and stories, and give us a glimpse of what's happened to the characters in the future.
So once season 7 finished, I knew I was going into The Office post-Michael Scott...and I knew I had to prepare myself for the infamous turbulence. And in some ways the final 2 seasons surprised me (in a good way) and it other ways disappointed me.
The highs were that I still liked:
Jim and Pam dealing with two children
Jim's antics with Dwight.
Dwight's antics with...Dwight
Andy as manager (I liked the character, for one)
Andy and Erin
Angela's arc with a gay husband
Andy's second outburst
Andy's Cornell education being good for something at the end of season 8
David Wallace returning
Gabe fired
Robert California fired/severance
Jim starting a new business venture and dealing with the conflicts of it all
Oscar & Angela
Asian Jim (easily my favorite prank)
Nellie knocked down a few pegs
Nellie's past, loneliness and urge to care for a child
Dwight on the radio show
Assistant to the Assistant to the Regional Manager (LMAO)
Dwight and Angela and their son
Dwight the manager
Dwight the husband
What I didn't like:
-Show got a little dark tonally
-Some episodes and arcs seriously dragged
-Robert California was a terrible character and we didnt need him that long (or at all)
-Californias wife and divorce related episodes were pointless too
-Andy getting screwed over by Erin. Wtf? Him chasing Erin and vice versa was a colossal waste of viewers times.
-Plop and Erin. Plop was a shitty character with zero substance, fuck him.
-Clark sucked too
-Robert California had no balls to stand up to a woman who simply waltzed in to steal a job?
-The Jim and Pam conflict was deep, but felt a bit dark sometimes. It works out well in the end, but it felt out of character for them both.
-Cathy the Pam replacement was lame. Her trying to get Jim to cheat felt like the show was trying too hard to put their relationship to the test. Athlead and the move to Philly/Austin should've been the extent of that battle between both seasons.
-Brian the boom mic guy having a crush on Pam was unnecessary, creepy and distracting. I did like that they had a major interaction with the doc crew, but still that was a little off.
-Dwights son uhhh, Dwight literally had a DNA test that said it wasnt his? Was this a retcon? A theory says that it was Philip Halperts diaper that Dwight stole. But its still a bit odd. Was baby Halpert even in that scene/episode?
-Andy crashing and burning. I dont think Andys character was given a fair shake. Not sure why the writers felt compelled to cast a dark cloud over him between his love life, family, and overall lack of successes.
-Ryan abandoned a baby I laughed and also gasped. Not sure what to think. Although, it did wrap up a character arc for Nellie.
-Why wasnt Michael in the final scene with them in the office? I really think he should have been. I understand Carell did not want to steal any ones thunder, but he was extremely important to the show. He basically was the show at one point. And he also only said like 5 words the entire time. His return felt so cold and hollow.
I think that mostly covers my thoughts. All in all, seasons 8 and 9 had one solid season worth of content. And were it not for pointless characters, sub and side-plots, the overall quality would've been terrific. But unfortunately, the writers felt compelled to keep shaking things up and it never felt natural and always felt forced.
