Andy was fine as a side character who appeared every once and a while. Then they decided to ride the wave of Ed Helm's popularity. Then the whole Jim and Pam drama that was so forced and pointless to try and get people to pay attention. I remember watching that season all the way through only because of all the years watching it week after week. But it was real hard to really care/ be excited for new episodes and tune in for season 9.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Office | In defense of Season 8 and 9...But also not.
- Thread starter AlphaSnake
- Start date
AlphaSnake
...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
I don't think he became an asshole at all. He was still a good guy, just a little lost. His only assholish act in the final 2 seasons was in season 9 after Erin broke up with him, he hired Plop's ex-gf and Erin's ex-bf (Gabe) to watch the 4 of them feud in the office. That was actually hilarious...and they sort of deserved it with the "move on" nonsense they were giving him.
Ooof, yeah. Those green screen scenes were absolutely terrible. LMAO.
Yeah, wtf was that about? Fucking awkward.
Or firing a gun. The writers really pushed the limits of reality frequently, to be honest. You kind of have to suspend yourself when it comes to Dwight, overall, as a character. He's actually a pretty contradictory character.
SlickWilly223
Time ta STEP IT UP
Weird, just binged this with wifey and everything OP said is spot on. Stuck with it so long she was crying at the finale haa
This is basically my assessment. They interfered way too much with the tone and humour of the show.
TwiztidElf
Member
Holly wasn't in any of the ending/wrap up of the series either which seems odd also. (Unless I missed her absence being explained?)
Vincent Grayson
Member
They mention Michael having more than one kid, so I'm guessing she just stayed home with them.
Vincent Alexander
Member
The only good thing the later seasons did was finally affirm that Dwight, Pam, and Jim were friends. They'd had enough close moments that it was turning dumb how many times they would do a 180 and turn their relationship cartoony and hostile.
I suppose I also like Jim and Pam's conflict with Jim's new job, because nothing pissed me off more than the forced drama of them with their fake fights. The worst was when Pam's dad decides to leave her mom after Jim spoke with him and Pam is pissed at him. She wants to know what Jim told her dad. And Jim says he doesn't know. "Oh my god, Pam and Jim are having their first big fight!" one thinks. And then the big reveal at the end:
I wanted to throw up in my mouth. What manipulative, forced horse shit garbage.
So to get back to my ramble, I liked Jim and Pam in the end because their fights over his job felt legitimate. They felt real to me, like "yeah...I can totally see this causing friction." Didn't feel overly forced.
And agree with OP. Plop and Erin were awful, but mostly because of how the show absolutely murdered Andy's character in order to make those two happen. Andy goes through so many personality changes in the show...the one he goes through that leads to Erin leaving is the worst. I mean, they make him such a dense asshole that they are practically begging Plop and Erin to start banging in front of us.
I suppose I also like Jim and Pam's conflict with Jim's new job, because nothing pissed me off more than the forced drama of them with their fake fights. The worst was when Pam's dad decides to leave her mom after Jim spoke with him and Pam is pissed at him. She wants to know what Jim told her dad. And Jim says he doesn't know. "Oh my god, Pam and Jim are having their first big fight!" one thinks. And then the big reveal at the end:
I wanted to throw up in my mouth. What manipulative, forced horse shit garbage.
So to get back to my ramble, I liked Jim and Pam in the end because their fights over his job felt legitimate. They felt real to me, like "yeah...I can totally see this causing friction." Didn't feel overly forced.
And agree with OP. Plop and Erin were awful, but mostly because of how the show absolutely murdered Andy's character in order to make those two happen. Andy goes through so many personality changes in the show...the one he goes through that leads to Erin leaving is the worst. I mean, they make him such a dense asshole that they are practically begging Plop and Erin to start banging in front of us.
I have a weird relationship with this show.
Fucking loved the UK version. Tried the US when it came out and was instantly turned off when it felt like a retread. Came back to it when I heard it got better, and really enjoyed the Michael Scott stuff but toughed it out to the end. Now I can't remember anything about it but still love the UK one.
Fucking loved the UK version. Tried the US when it came out and was instantly turned off when it felt like a retread. Came back to it when I heard it got better, and really enjoyed the Michael Scott stuff but toughed it out to the end. Now I can't remember anything about it but still love the UK one.
Vincent Alexander
Member
Yeah. He was an asshole because the writers needed him to be. Just like when they needed to make their movie star Ed Helms take the place of Steve Carrel, so they reworked Andy's personality to be a loveable, goofball underdog. He was kind of this while engaged to Angela, but it went away when that relationship did. I swear, his character jumped all over the place. And not in a good way.
Setzer
Member
This. Things started getting bad long before Steve Carell left. Seasons 1-4 were some of the best comedy on TV and it was pretty much hit or miss from that point on.
Vincent Alexander
Member
I think I need a rewatch. Friends is my absolute favorite comedy, but nothing on TV has ever come close to this. This moment rocks my world every time. Both actors really nail the moment.
brianmcdoogle
Member
My memory is hazy, and I never rewatch anything past... season 5, I think, so I may be wrong, but it always felt like the last few seasons they were just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck. Like, wasn't Maura Tierny in one episode as Robert California's wife, who had a crush on Andy, and then just disappeared? And, all the stuff with the new characters felt awful and lame rehashes of earlier seasons. I find Ed Helms to be unfunny in, well, everything I've seen him in, so making him the center really blew up the show for me.
But, the final straw that broke the back was an intro where it made it seem like Pam was having an affair or cheated on Jim with some sound guy and Meredith commenting on it. I don't know what episode number that was, but I think that was in the last season, and I hated it so much that they even suggested it that I remember getting up from my couch, turning off the TV, and not watching any other episode after that. Also, the whole storyline with the one girl trying to have an affair with Jim.
It is amazing how bad these final seasons were. Are there some good moments? Sure, but as a whole, it's a train wreck.
But, the final straw that broke the back was an intro where it made it seem like Pam was having an affair or cheated on Jim with some sound guy and Meredith commenting on it. I don't know what episode number that was, but I think that was in the last season, and I hated it so much that they even suggested it that I remember getting up from my couch, turning off the TV, and not watching any other episode after that. Also, the whole storyline with the one girl trying to have an affair with Jim.
It is amazing how bad these final seasons were. Are there some good moments? Sure, but as a whole, it's a train wreck.
Michael... Is there something in your pockestI think I need a rewatch. Friends is my absolute favorite comedy, but nothing on TV has ever come close to this. This moment rocks my world every time. Both actors really nail the moment.
BurritoBushido
Member
Season 8 is really solid, and I think Andy taking over for Michael was the perfect choice. Robert California is great and you are wrong.
Season 9 is fucking garbo:
-making the documentary crew characters
-weird emphasis on the documentary crew being an actual part of the show
-absurdly forced and unrealistic drama between Jim and Pam
-Andy was too busy doing another Hangover movie or whatever so they turned his character into a complete dickwad, thus squandering all of the romantic build up between him and Erin
Dwight's wedding and rise to Regional Manager were solid highlights
Season 9 is fucking garbo:
-making the documentary crew characters
-weird emphasis on the documentary crew being an actual part of the show
-absurdly forced and unrealistic drama between Jim and Pam
-Andy was too busy doing another Hangover movie or whatever so they turned his character into a complete dickwad, thus squandering all of the romantic build up between him and Erin
Dwight's wedding and rise to Regional Manager were solid highlights
OpinionatedCyborg
Member
How do you feel about Ferris Bueller as a character?
dead souls
Member
The Office was only truly great for seasons 2 and 3. 4 and 5 were mediocre and the rest were a dumpster fire.
At this point I'm convinced I'm the only one who feels this way but I actually enjoyed watching the show slowly morph into a distorted, twisted, fever dream parody of itself.
I realize that Season 8 isn't objectively the best season of the show, but it is my favorite by a pretty wide margin.
Robert California is such a bizarre character right out of the gate, and it feels so disruptive to the general beats of the show...and then you kind of realize that the rest of the characters have been weird for years at this point.
It's sort of like that moment when you first realize that you're drunk.
I realize that Season 8 isn't objectively the best season of the show, but it is my favorite by a pretty wide margin.
Robert California is such a bizarre character right out of the gate, and it feels so disruptive to the general beats of the show...and then you kind of realize that the rest of the characters have been weird for years at this point.
It's sort of like that moment when you first realize that you're drunk.
Ooo those feels are real. I completely agree. She goes from a fairly sad plain Jane from Scranton to a weird homogonized suburban mom character who has a bad attitude. Michael and Dwight are the only characters that really remained the most pure through the series, Dwight not as much but his motivation remained the same. Jim goes from a down to earth smart sarcastic dude to a whiny bitch by the end whose only lasting gimmick is to look at the camera when the funnies happen. They lost what made them endearing in favor of lowest common denominator type characters.
Davey Cakes
Member
Making Andy the regional manager instead of Robert was probably the biggest mistake. Putting too much emphasis on Andy in general just made him insufferable.
Goro Majima
Kitty Genovese Member
peteykirch
Member
This you never would've known that he originally was a great poker player who could read people by the time you got to season 9.
The Jackdog
Member
I subscribe to the "Andy Bernard Ruined the Entirety of Those Seasons" theory.
whether its his boring plot, complete unlikeabilty, or screen time that could of gone to more interesting characters
whether its his boring plot, complete unlikeabilty, or screen time that could of gone to more interesting characters
BoogieWoogie
Banned
That storyline of the cameraman falling in love with Pam was the WORST.
CloudyTuba
Member
Are you kidding me? Robert California was the best thing of the post-Michael Scott episodes
Robert California is the sole reason why the remaining seasons were worth it.
Andy is the reason they're almost not worth it.
That about sums up my feelings on the post-Michael era.
Yeah, Andy didn't warrant the screen time he kept getting
BlackGhost
Banned
The whole Jim and Pam Conflict, and the camera man just kinda made me cringe. Hated it. It was a tonal shift in the show and relationship I wasn't looking for
Robert California is one of my favorite Office characters, loved him in every episode. I really like Season 8 and 9, personally. Thought the show was good throughout. I'll agree that boss Andy was a little shit, especially his subplot with Erin and how that resolved. And the new interns in Season 9 didn't do much for me.
I actually like the final couple of seasons with Andy as boss. Even though they treated him like garbage as a character, I still enjoy those seasons.
They are the weakest of the 9 in total, but they still have good moments.
And if you havent seen the table read of the final episode, its on youtube, check it out. Its a tear jerker for sure. Pam and Jim nearly break down during the read as it nears the end.
They are the weakest of the 9 in total, but they still have good moments.
And if you havent seen the table read of the final episode, its on youtube, check it out. Its a tear jerker for sure. Pam and Jim nearly break down during the read as it nears the end.
cartographer
Member
The mic guy is one of the worst sitcom storylines ever.
The only thing the Andy character has going for him after they tried to cash in on the Hangover is that at least he's not as terrible as the mic guy storyline.
The only thing the Andy character has going for him after they tried to cash in on the Hangover is that at least he's not as terrible as the mic guy storyline.
He was really great.
minor effort
Banned
He seemed to get a lot more screen time after The Hangover. I agree, though, I grew deeply tired of his character near the final seasons.
fuuuuuuuuck i had no idea
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
yea season 8 and 9 started out rough but eventually got really good.
and the office ending is one of the best endings to a tv show ever imo.
and the office ending is one of the best endings to a tv show ever imo.