Splitsider

"Oh, how the mediocre have fallen."

Finale time or not, I kind of feel like a mean big sister recapping The Office right now when the future of 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and Community have been signed on for shortened seasons next year. There were a lot of cries on the internet yesterday about why these excellent shows are getting abbreviated seasons next year while The Office, which has been arguably stale and scattered since the end of last season, seems to get a free pass to go on forever. We won't know all the details until NBC's upfronts come Monday, but it's safe to say that, whether you like it or not, The Office is returning next season, and it's not going to be a reboot. But maybe the other shows are the lucky ones, gaining "aww we're gonna miss you" notice and getting the opportunity to conclude their arcs and end on a high note. Last night's finale "Free Family Portrait Studio" was only another confirmation that The Office will never get that opportunity again. READ MORE

"Sometimes I wonder if I have ovaries in my scrotum, because I am great at girl talk!"

Despite all of the hilarious anger outbursts and banjo ditties he's brought us over the years, Andy could have left for good any episode this season and I wouldn't have thought twice about him, but "Turf War" won me over because it returns to the roots of why this show takes place in an office where salesmen work: Andy might have been a desperate wussy approval-seeker lately, but when there's a big client ready for the taking and nothing stands between his ambition and the sale, he finally unleashes the Nard Dog, and the becalmed office suddenly takes wind once again. READ MORE

"I'd rather she be alone than with somebody. Is that love?"

I was glad when Jesse posted his "Don't Re-Boo an Office Reboot" piece earlier this week, and as one commenter rightfully pointed out, what would a true Office fan rather have next year — a braindead continuation of the same tired characters, or the terrifying (to me) prospect of a completely new NBC show? Maybe if the news of 30 Rock's approaching end hadn't come out this week I wouldn't feel so defensive about a show that, by way of its own structure, has transformed into more of a comedy actor institution à la SNL and The Daily Show than a sitcom you can just pull the plug on (seriously, if 30 Rock and The Office both go at once I'll suffer from withdrawal). The third option of an Office reboot only confirms those feelings, and why not? We got past the Michael Scott era, and this week, we finally get past Andy! And there's a woman in charge who is even more magnificently manipulative than Robert California, and she leads her employees with prowess and gives conference room presentations on impotence! READ MORE

"I see you've found Benjamin. That's what I call my box full of photos of Henry."

After three weeks without a new episode, The Office finally returned last night, and despite some of the directionless and illogical problems this season, it followed up with a much more focused plot centered around the one element I loved and found most successful in "Get the Girl" last month — Nellie Bertram. It's only after witnessing Nellie's flawed yet frisky energy that I see how much of a disappointment Robert California has become — he used to be so mysterious and cunning with his mind games and cryptic statements, but in "Welcome Party" he's reduced to a doggish drone too obsessed with pleasing Nellie for me to keep my faith that there still might be some bigger scheme involved. But it doesn't matter — when Nellie's around, The Office has life again. READ MORE