THE OFFICE - Season 9...

Of all the TV shows that ever have been, this was definitely one of them.

 

One thing that struck me last night, was that it felt more like a Steve Carrell cameo rather than a Michael Scott one. It seemed more like emotional catharsis for the actual cast rather than the characters.

 

Anybody else a little bummed that they didn't bring Holly back along with Michael? I do like the idea of them having a bunch of kids, though.

We also should have gotten a Michael/Toby scene.

 

Michael's return was pitch perfect - he had his farewell already - he got to have a "surprise" return with his trademark line and be at Dwight's wedding, as he should - but he was present, but mostly in the background so he never overshadowed the current actual cast's farewell.

The past few episodes have been pretty good and the finale was a really nice sendoff. Having watched it from the first episode and been a fan even through the show's decline, I'm glad it got to go out on a quality finale.

And yes Jenna, people will watch the Office on "DVDs or whatever format" for years to come.

 

It's not my opinion, it's a fact...

 

I loved this finale. Everyone got their moment to shine, the understated return of Michael was perfect and I'm so glad Pam and Jim are getting out of Scranton. And nothing crazy happened like Dunder Mifflin closing down. I'm glad to know DM will be going forward and thriving. Thanks for a great 9 years!

 

The finale was pretty great. That sequence where they're just all hanging out in the office and it's just the core characters was neat.

Yes the show was pretty terrible the last few years but I was reading about the comedies NBC is doing next season (and heard a bit about them in my office building where NBC is a client for the marketing company I work under) and my impression is we will be missing the brilliance of The Office- even last season- by comparison.

Andy Bernard hit it on the head: I wish there were a way to know when we're in the good ol' days while were still in them.

 

They nailed it. Very satisfying finale!
I almost thought Michael Scott was going to have a mute performance, but it was very wise to only give him a couple lines.

 

Nice send off.

 

It was... okay to good at times. Neither terrible nor great, in my opinion.

• Didn't really care about Erin being reunited with her parents.
• The warehouse mural was really dumb in my opinion: the warehouse workers have to see a Dunder Mifflin mural that doesn't include any of them, every day? Nice way to remind them of their white collar overlords I guess.
• I agree that Michael Scott's appearance was tastefully done, considering the circumstances. However, I'm not totally convinced it was the right thing to do. I would have preferred a one-line cameo, maybe at the very, very end, and that's it. It felt weird to have him show up but then just sort of be in the background. I mean, they could have avoided this problem all together by ending the show with his departure, but I guess that's beating a dead horse.
• On a related note, is Steve Carell really that gray? Or was Michael Scott supposed to have grayed that much after three years time?
• On the plus side, they stayed away from much of the zany hijinks that the show fell into in later seasons.

 

I figured the graying was a symbol of his character having two kids. If you watch the first hour where they show him on the baseball field he looks the same.

 

I wonder how long The Office will be remembered by the general public. Jenna mentioned Roseanne and Raymond on TVLand, but those shows had much higher ratings when they originally aired. Already, Office reruns have been dumped off to late nights on TBS (they used to air a Tuesday-evening block until they acquired Big Bang Theory in syndication). And here in Chicago, Office reruns used to air at 6:30 local time on the Fox affiliate, but have been replaced by The Simpsons.

For big fans like myself, I have no doubt the show will endure. The first four or five seasons were some of the best television ever, and my DVDs will certainly continue to get regular viewings.

I only caught the first 35 minutes or so last night and was kind of underwhelmed (the scene with Dwight and the stripper/Fun Run nurse was really dumb), but I've read enough today to know that things picked up near the end.

 

Uneven , but enough good bits
to make it worthwhile , teared
up a few times

 

I agree. The finale was actually about the show ending and the actors, and only as a pretense about the characters working for a fictious paper company.

 

Also agree: felt more like a behind-the-scenes look at the actual wrap party at times. Some of the actual producers/writers/show-runners (Greg Daniels) were even posing in the picture they took in front of the warehouse mural. I guess they were supposed to be the documentary producers?

Oh and by the way I felt vindicated when the show used my exact explanation for continuing to film: DVD extras.

 

Yeah, I think they were suppose to be the (the previously mentioned) PBS producers the Office staff wanted to avoid by returning to the Office.

 

There was a sign in the finale episode that advertised the doc on video as a 5 disc set. I had always presumed the documentary was a Ken Burns length mini series.

 

The show took a bit of a meta-fictional turn. It seemed fitting.

 

Of course only time will tell but you can't really compare Office ratings to Roseanne, times were different and tech was different, and these days people watch on DVR and computers and all that, ratings don't quite work the same way.

Before the finale aired they did a retrospective thing and they were talking how first season had terrible ratings but went gangbusters on iTunes which saved the show.

 

I liked it. They let us know everybody would be okay and didn't fabricate some big fancy ending, they just quietly walked away.

 

Interesting that Stanley lives in the Florida swamps wood cutting bird figures. Surprised he went that far off the grid. I'll miss the antics of Creed too.

 

His bird figures are pretty nice, too.

 

That's pretty much my feeling too. In general, there was an air of weariness about the final episode, it felt like everyone was really tired and ready to "go home."

The Michael Scott portions were just right: not too much to distract, enough for us to remember his years at Dunder Mifflin, and to let us know he's doing well.

The plot line with Erin's birth mother probably was not necessary, but casting Joan Cusack - someone get's an A+ for that choice.

I wonder how many people even remember Devon ever existed? lol....