THE OFFICE - Season 9...

I'm glad Spader didn't get a mention. Worst cast member ever. It might help if he didn't always seem to be speaking through a mouth full of spit.

 

Erin: her adoption storyline was introduced way back before Michael left, and has been touched on occasionally since then, so it was rightfully closed up here since she was a pretty big part of these later seasons. I really had no problem with it - I actually don't understand why anyone did. Had they not, guaranteed people would be complaining that they left that story hanging, regardless of how little you cared about it.

The mural: I thought exactly the same thing. I know we're supposed to focus solely on the workers we know and love, but it really does look like they were the "important" people in that environment with the warehouse workers being inconsequential nothings. Moreover, the mural made it look like the office workers were constantly watching over them!

Michael: He really had a very minor spot and it was extremely fitting. He was the most important part of the show and we all know without him this show would have tanked. To save his "one line" for the very end would have been massively disappointing - it would have both felt like he was being tacked on and also being made the focus. They fit his "two lines" in much more naturally and let him not be the center of attention. His very presence showed what had been lacking since he left: warmth. His character brought back a warmth and compassion that completely left the show with his departure.

 

Admittedly I haven't watched in the last few seasons, but last night was VERY well done in my opinion.

And yes...at times the final hour felt very "blurred" as to where the actors ended and the characters began.

And we finally got an "official" mention of Creed being in The Grass Roots (which, unless I missed a reference was only mentioned in a deleted scene).

Lastly: I forgot just how incredibly cute Jenna Fischer is!

 

I agree that the finale was a mixed bag, but how do you really wrap it all up? Real life goes on, but this show had to end, and I thought they did a pretty good job of ending it.

I agree with those who think they featured just the right amount of Michael Scott: that final "that's what she said" was pretty great.

 

Indeed. I think she looked more like Jenna last night and less like Pam.

 

I liked Spader: I thought they gave up on him too quickly, or maybe it was just impossible to follow Carell. But a couple of episodes featuring him, including the pool party at his house, and the episode where he tried to sabotage his wife getting a job at Dunder Mifflin, were pretty damn funny, I thought.

 

Oh yeah, the Communist propaganda poster-style portrait of Dwight in the conference room was the funniest thing about the final few episodes.

 

All of Steve Carell's lines were funny, it's more in the way he acted - of course, now being married and having two kids, Michael Scott would have sure mellowed out, but he seemed totally subdued. I understand Steve didn't want to take away from the cast member's goodbyes with Michael Scott-styled antics (because Michael Scott had his goodbye a couple seasons ago already), but he could have been a little more "in character" and still gotten away with being respectful to the show.

 

He was getting funky on the dance floor at the reception..

 

I agree. IMO, Will Ferrell was the worst guest star. Three worthless episodes.

I just watched the rest. Very nice, though I agree with those who said it seemed more like a farewell for the actors as opposed to the characters they played.

 

Yeah, one of the articles I posted a link to yesterday at TV Tattle mentioned how NBC is going back to "safe" laugh track-filled comedies next fall. The inane sitcom model works wonders for CBS, so NBC probably figures "if you can't beat 'em..."

 

Someone really enjoying Michael's re-appearance...

 

One of my fears for the finale was that they would find some ultra-contrived way to bring back Spader, Will Ferrell, Kathy Bates, Idris Elba, etc. So very glad they didn't choose to go that route.

(Although I wouldn't have minded seeing Karen again. Rashida Jones... )

 

Cost and scheduling probably would have prevented this anyway, but I'm with you, these were all folks I didn't want or need to see again. I do have a soft spot for Hank the security guy... hahahha

 

Yup, a deleted scene from way back in "Booze Cruise":



EDIT: I think I misread you originally, I thought you said you missed it unless it was in a deleted scene. But you were referring to this scene already. Well, at least everyone can enjoy it if they missed it previously.

 

Yeah, I didn't catch Jan in the finale, either. She should have been there.

 

Agreed.

 

Jan appeared earlier in the season. Honestly I'm glad she didn't appear as I was pretty worn out with that character by... season 4 after the Dinner Party episode.

 

I really enjoyed the retrospective show. It was more moving and heart-tugging than the finale.

I thought the finale was very well written and funny. Best part was the "I can't believe you came - thats what she said".

 

Yeah, I was disappointed in not seeing Holly. I was also hoping they'd find a way to include Jan and Karen. One last Michael slam of Toby might have been fun, but they probably didn't want to have Michael do anything other come off great. The gray hair was one way of showing it was a changed Michael we were seeing. And as VeeFan64 said, it did seem more like a Carrell cameo than a Michael appearance.

 

It would have been funny however if Clark brought Jan to the wedding as his date

 

I didn't care about Erin's parents either, but it was nice casting Joan Cusack. Good point on the warehouse mural.

 

disappointing limited appearance by Michael Scott. Felt more like a tease than anything. He should have been in it just a little more, like at least some interaction with the other core characters, or not at all. It just wasn't satisfying enough, and a little more of him in this episode definitely would not have been inappropriate; he WAS what made the show great, and his two/three lines were the funniest parts of the episode

 

I thought giving less was smart, for no amount would have really been enough. And he had his goodbye already. He was there for Dwight.

 

Yeah, that would have been nice.

I think the amount of Michael Scott in the finale was just right. He had his goodbye. It was smart not to try and have him come dominate like the Scott of old.