The Office (TV Series Review)

Over the last 3 years, I have written a bunch of movie reviews, and I’ve done some album reviews as well, but this will be the first time I have ever reviewed a TV show.

I had been hearing a lot of good things about this show, but I never actually got around to watching it until earlier this year when I found it on Netflix and decided to give it a try.

Please note: This review will contain spoilers, so keep that in mind. I will also be reviewing each season and giving them individual ratings, then I will give the show its overall rating, so without further ado, let’s get started.

Season 1 - Nothing really memorable. It was mostly just an introduction to all of the characters. 4/10

Season 2 - Pam gets engaged with Roy, but Jim confesses to Michael that he had a crush on Pam, and about a month before they were supposed to get married, she kisses Jim. This season wasn’t bad, but it was still pretty underwhelming for the most part. 6/10

Season 3 - Jim starts working at a different job for a while and starts dating a girl named Karen. Meanwhile, Pam gets back together with Roy, but later breaks up with him again after he destroys a bar when she confesses to him that she kissed Jim. The next morning, Roy comes into the office and tries to attack Jim, but Dwight sprays him in the face with pepper spray. To tell the truth, I didn’t know if I was even going to like this show at first, but this was the season that finally got me into it. Pam really develops as a character during this season. She went from letting people walk all over her to finally standing up for herself and having the courage to tell Jim that she didn’t feel as close with him ever since he started dating Karen. 7.5/10

Season 4 - Jim breaks up with Karen and asks Pam out. We are also introduced to a character who would later become Michael Scott’s girlfriend, Holly. His then girlfriend and boss, Jan also has a baby named Astrid. Toby goes away and Michael, who hates his guts, is ecstatic about not having to see him. This is where the series finally starts to pick up. 8/10

Season 5 - This is my favourite season in the series. Holly is transferred to a different job, Toby returns, Jim and Pam get engaged, Pam’s parents get divorced, and overall, this season is just full of life. 9/10

Season 6 - Jim and Pam get married and have a baby named Cece. Michael starts dating Pam’s mother. Andy and Erin start dating, but they shortly break up after Erin learns that he was engaged with Angela. Scott’s Tots was just a mean-spirited episode, but for the most part, this season is still fairly solid. 7/10

Season 7 - Last season with Michael. He meets his replacement, Deangelo, but he is only there for 2 episodes. Dwight becomes regional manager for a bit as well, but he is shortly fired after accidentally setting off a gun in the office. Soon, CEO Robert California finally chooses Andy Bernard. A lot of emotional moments in this season. 8/10

Season 8 - Surprisingly, it was actually pretty good. Jim and Pam have another baby named Phillip. Angela marries the Senator and they have a baby, also named Phillip. Erin quits her job to work for an old lady in Florida, and Andy, finally realizing he still has feelings for her, sets off to get her back, but while he is gone, a new character named Nellie takes over to the dismay Robert originally had before he quickly starts to accept her. The two start dating again, but both get fired after they get into a destruction rampage upon finding out that Nellie had taken Andy’s job. However, David Wallace, the former CEO of Dunder Mifflin, also makes a surprise return to the show, buys the company back, and he is able to get Andy his job back. Nellie continues to work there though. Overall, it was much better than I thought it was going to be, even without Michael there. 7.5/10

Season 9 - The season almost immediately starts off with Ryan and Kelly leaving and two new characters, Clark and Pete, who everybody calls “Dwight Jr.” and “the new Jim”, coming to replace them. Andy takes off for one last sail on his boat before his family gives it away due to going broke. He leaves for 3 months and despite treating everybody at the workplace like garbage, he expects them to help him out when David arrives to talk to him about the rise in sales in the 3 months. Erin falls in love with Pete and finally gains the courage to break up with Andy for good. Angela finds out that Oscar and the senator had been having an affair. She and Dwight then hire someone to bust Oscar’s kneecaps. She later gets a divorce with the senator after he admits while on the air that he is in fact gay, but not for Oscar. Soon, the crew finds out that a documentary capturing their lives at Dunder Mifflin was in the works, but everybody starts to panic when footages of them doing things they thought nobody else saw appear in the promo, so Pam visits the cameraman, Bryan, who had recently been fired for standing up for Pam after she was caught vandalizing one of the warehouse guys’ cars for payback after he vandalized her art, as he tells her that they got pretty much everything on video. Jim and Pam start to have issues in their marriage and decide to try out couple’s counselling where they have to learn to acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifices the other person makes. Honestly though, this season for the most part is nowhere near as good as seasons 3-8. Hell, I would argue that it’s not even as good as season 2. This show has always been known for awkward scenes that went on for way longer than they should have, but here, it’s just excessive, and almost all of the characters are unlikeable at this point except Nellie, who started out egotistical and cruel, but starts to have a change of heart, which is probably one of the most redeeming things about this season. The last few episodes, including the finale, also really tug on your heart strings, but other than that, this season isn’t great. 4.5/10

Overall rating: 7/10. It’s a little overhyped, and it gets really awkward at times, but if you like comedy sitcoms, then this show is one that you might enjoy.