I’ve never been a huge fan of The Office, but I have watched Seasons 1-4 on DVD and am getting caught up on Season 5 via TiVo. I just got done watching episode 5×03 (called “Baby Shower”) and have two more on tap. Here are a few thoughts from Season 5 thus far.
– I have never really understood the whole documentary filming angle, but got past that issue a long time ago. What I absolutely cannot comprehend, however, is why the cameras would still be following Pam now that she’s at art school. She’s not even a Dunder-Mifflin employee anymore, is she? It makes zero sense that a film crew would be anywhere near her.
– I had some reservations about the new HR person (Holly) joining the staff, but I have to admit that she’s growing on me a little bit. Toby was my least favorite office member anyway, so I have no problem that he was replaced. I just didn’t know how Holly would fit into the mix. She’s actually pretty funny, in that dorky, uncomfortable way that Michael has (though Holly is not as over the top about it). She makes stupid jokes, raps with Michael, does ridiculous dances, talks in a pirate voice… what’s not to love??
– Now that Toby is gone, Ryan takes his place as my most hated character. Why is he even back on the show? He was funny in early seasons when he was just a temp, but he became such an unmitigated jerk in Season 4 that it’s hard to even look at him anymore. And Michael’s man-crush on him wore out its welcome a long time ago as well, so….
– Another character that is nothing like the Season 1 and 2 version is Jan. She used to be so awesome in her dealings with Michael, just the perfect foil to his antics. But now Jan is completely insane, selfish, and bitchy. What a shame.
– The season premiere didn’t really grab me like I hoped it would. I mean aside from the Jim/Pam proposal, there wasn’t too much going on in it. An company-wide weight loss competition? What a snooze. If the Scranton branch was so interested in winning, why not hand out a CLA supplement at the door to help drop pounds? I didn’t get the point of that storyline.
– The funniest part so far this season had to be during the ethics ep when Dwight said he never stole from the company, causing Jim to pull out a stopwatch every time Dwight started talking about non-work related topics. That was hilarious — especially when Jim prolonged the torture by deliberately messing up his Battlestar Galactica recaps!
I’ll probably be able to catch up on the rest of the Season 5 eps within a couple of weeks, at which point you can expect another post.