Ranking The Office Episodes: 150-101

Continuing on with The Office Rankings - this time 150-101

150. Secretary’s Day (Season 6, Episode 22) – Andy has made sure that everyone in the office knows its secretary’s day, and wants to ensure they are all nice to Erin – and that includes Michael takin her out to lunch. But it doesn’t go well, when Michael reveals Andy’s past with Angela – and Erin doesn’t take it well. This is an interesting Erin episode – she became more and more of a character this season, and here we’re really seeing how weird she can be – it’s nice to Michael be the one embarrassed by others behavior in public. The cookie monster B plot is fine as well. It just doesn’t add up to very much – it’s fine, but you’ll likely forget it completely.

 

149. Andy’s Play (Season 7, Episode 3) – Love the cold upon where Andy comes in singing Sweeney Todd, to be joined by his whole cast for the community production – perhaps just because I like Sweeney Todd. Overall, the episode is fun – I’m not always a big fan of all the Andy and Erin stuff, but this one is kind of sweet – with Erin showing up late, with Jim and Pam’s baby, to see him perform. Michael is also funny with his balloons, and his hurt feelings about not being cast – and the closing scene, showing his audition, is classic. It also has one of my favorite ever Darryl lines. Overall, a solid, if not spectacular episode.

 

148. Sabre (Season 6, Episode 15) – Sabre has officially taken over Dunder Mifflin, and this episodes introduces us to the controversial Gabe (Zach Woods), as well as Sabre’s CEO (Kathy Bates) – and a host of changes to the office, much to Michael’s chagrin – who goes to David Wallace for advice, and comes away disillusioned, seeing his former boss in his unemployed life. The B-plot involves Jim and Pam interviewing at a pre-school – and an embarrassing moment that they cannot let go of, which threatens to ruin the whole thing. This is the type of episode you need – you know Michael doesn’t deal with change well – but it’s also kind of forgettable. I do like David Wallace’s song before the end credits though.

 

147. PDA (Season 7, Episode 15) – It’s Valentine’s Day and Michael and Holly are officially dating again, and everyone is sick of seeing their constant PDA. Gabe gives a presentation singling them out. Meanwhile, Erin enlists Andy to decipher Gabe’s clues on a Valentine’s scavenger hunt. Jim and Pam get drunk at lunch, and when they realize every other couple has had sex in the office, they decide to find a place to do it. The Office usually did holidays well – but Valentine’s Day they have struggled with a little. By no means a bad episode, but also one you will likely forget.

 

146. The Carpet (Season 2, Episode 14) – Everyone returns to The Office to find that someone has taken a huge dump on Michael’s office carpet – and Michael runs the gamut of emotions throughout the day trying to figure out who did it. The episode is very good – but not quite great, as it diffuses it a little with the solution. Still, it’s impossible not to smile at the end – when Jim, who thinks Pam has been ignoring him all day because Roy is around replacing the carpet, finally gets back to his desk, and listens to all the messages she left him.

 

145. Diwali (Season 3, Episode 6) – Kelly invites the entire office to attend Diwali celebrations – which doesn’t make much logical sense, given that Kelly has known Michael, and the rest office, and probably wouldn’t want them there. Still, if you get by the concept, it’s still a fun episode – with Michael thinking it’s a costume party, inviting Carol, and then pretty abandoning her – before thinking it’s a good time to propose in public. It also has a little bit of poignancy – with Pam being sad about being alone, and ending up rejecting Michael. It’s a placeholder episode – like a number in early season 3 as they wait for the merger – but a fun one.

 

144. Ben Franklin (Season 3, Episode 14) – This episode, which is basically the twin bachelor/bachelorette parties for Phyllis and Bob Vance, where Michael hires a stripper for the boys, and Jim hires a Ben Franklin impersonator for the girls, is probably one of the more typical sitcom-y plots of The Office glory years. This doesn’t mean it isn’t funny – Andy Daly is quite good as the impersonator. It’s all amusing, but not particularly memorable.

 

143. The Convict (Season 3, Episode 9) – Michael finds out that one of the Stamford people was an ex-convict, and then decides it is up to him – of course – to make everyone comfortable with it. This was during the mid-season 3 run where it seemed like the show was getting rid of one Stamford person every episode – and to be honest, this one feels a little strained in that regard – as Martin (Wayne Wilderson) seems to handle Michael’s insanity over the course of the day quite well, and then just up and quits at the end. Again, there is a stand-out section in the middle of the episode – Michael’s prison impersonation – and overall, the episode is hilarious, but not quite as good as The Office at its best.

 

142. Pam’s Replacement (Season 8, Episode 7) – Pam’s temp replacement when she goes on maternity leave – Cathy – starts, and she spends the episode trying to get Jim to admit that she is attractive – even enlisting Dwight to try and get him to admit it, but Jim is too smart to say that to his 9-months pregnant wife. Meanwhile, Andy, Darryl and Kevin invite Robert California to play with their band – and he not so slowly completely takes it over. Both parts of the episode work quite well – it’s always good to get Pam, Dwight, and Jim together, and the episode is probably the best of Robert California – he’s there, he thoughtlessly takes everything over, but there isn’t quite so much intense creepiness. A fine episode by Season 8 standards.

 

141. Test the Store (Season 8, Episode 17) – The store is hosting its grand opening, and Dwight tries to Marshall the troops to do it properly – getting Cathy to flirt with bloggers, preparing Ryan for his speech, etc. – but Jim makes a mistake, and is punished for it (before he is really punished by having to give Ryan’s hilarious speech). Back at the office, Andy wants Toby to teach them all self-defense, after he gets beat up by a 10-year-old-girl. Yes, this is sillier than the office in its prime would ever get – but it’s still a fun episode all the way around, one of the few of the Florida episodes that the Scranton part may be better than the Tallahassee part.

 

140. The Farm (Season 9, Episode 17) – There was apparently a time when a spinoff of The Office, focusing on Dwight’s farm, was in the works – you can see the writers trying to expand that universe this whole season, culminating with The Farm – which focuses almost exclusively on Dwight’s expanding estate, his brother and sister (and nephew) who come back for a funeral, then decide to stay, and weird mating rituals – including with Esther, introduces for a mini-run here. It’s a lot of fun to be sure, but perhaps there wasn’t quite the depth to make and entire series out of – but certainly has enough for a fun episode of The Office.

 

139. Pool Party (Season 8, Episode 12) – Robert California has to sell his massive Scranton mansion – and is convinced to have a party at his indoor pool. Robert complains that this was supposed to be a den of sex, and instead his wife ruined it, and now he has to sell. Meanwhile, there is a lot of flirting going on. It is a little odd to have a party two episodes after the Christmas party, and it has some similarities. But overall, this one is slightly better.

 

138. Andy’s Ancestry (Season 9, Episode 3) – Andy starts bragging when he finds out that he is a distant relative of Michelle Obama – which makes the rest of the office think that the Bernard fortune may come from slavery. Meanwhile, Dwight teaches Erin Dothraki, and Pam teaches Nellie to drive. The Andy/slavery plot is the best thing about this episode – it’s classic office stuff, where originally, he is proud, and then he is gradually brought lower and lower throughout the episode. The other plot seems to be experimenting with different pairings – and Pam and Nellie actually work a little.

 

137. Hot Girl (Season 1, Episode 6) – The middle four episodes of the Season 1’s six episodes showed exactly what this show could become – but the first and last episode of the season of the weakest. This one, which has Amy Adams show up for her first of four episodes where she will briefly date Jim, as a girl selling purses – who both Dwight and Michael want to date, but of course it’s Jim who gets to. The whole episode is basically showing how awkward Michael and Dwight are – but is basically there to flip it a little, and make Pam jealous of Jim. It’s an okay episode – but it weaker than most early episodes.

 

136. Moving On (Season 9, Episode 16) - The first longer episode of Season 9, suffers a tiny bit from having to juggle so many storylines for so long, but basically is a fine episode. Andy is determined to make Erin and Pete’s 5life miserable – he first tries to fire Pete, and then hires two “consultants” – Pete’s ex-girlfriend, and Gabe, just to punish them. Dwight needs Angela’s help to wash his elderly aunt. Pam interviews for a job in Philly – an finds the boss (played by Bob Odenkirk) is a carbon copy of Michael Scott. In general, I don’t like Season 9 asshole Andy, but he’s actually kind of funny here, and having the exes back is funny. And Odenkirk is wonderful. And it’s nice to see Dwight and Angela coming back together, setting up the endgame with them. Yes, this seems like a supersized filler episode – setting the pieces in place for the final run – but it all works.

 

135. The Cover-Up (Season 6, Episode 24) – Michael thinks new girlfriend Donna is cheating on him, and enlists Dwight to investigate – and just when they think they may have an answer, Pam finds the evidence. Darryl gets some revenge on Andy, for something that happened years ago (that we never saw). Dwight at the gym is funny, Darryl messing with Andy is fun – even if it comes out of nowhere. The whole Donna subplot feels like filler – and quickly rushed through filler at that – but it inspired some interesting all office debates.

 

134. Vandalism (Season 9, Episode 14) – Pam’s mural is vandalized in the warehouse, and she, Nellie and Dwight go on the warpath to find out who did it. Darryl discovers just how big a slob Jim is when the two share an apartment near Philly for when they work there. And Oscar and Kevin go to the State Senator and Angela’s fundraiser/Phillip’s first birthday. One of the rare Season 9 episodes with three plots where all three of them work (the Darryl and Jim one seems like a throwaway, but it’s a fun throwaway). I lied the whole party, where Oscar realizes he was invited because it looks good to have a Latino at a Republican fundraiser – and I absolutely Kevin telling it like it is at the end. But it is the vandalism storyline that is truly wonderful – I liked Dwight and Pam working together, and Nellie basically works as well, and Nate is hilarious. It also sets up the endgame with the documentary crew with Brian stepping in to save Pam. A really solid episode.

 

133. Free Family Portrait Studio (Season 8, Episode 24) – The season 8 finale has the difficult job of bring all the storylines of the season to an end – and for the first time in a while, has only a half hour to end the season. And yet, it still works. The Portrait Studio – which Dwight throws for his tenants, as a ruse to try and get some DNA from Angela’s baby, works wonders. Andy probably goes a little too far playing down what he knows – that David Wallace is going to buy Dunder Miflin later that day, and give him his job back, but that works too. It’s also a suitable end for Robert California, who is the type of person who never gets his comeuppance. All of it is over-the-top, but it works for the most part.

 

132. Livin’ the Dream (Season 9, Episode 21) – The first, and weakest, of the three-hour long episodes that ended the series, this is really when we see the endgame coming into focus. Andy quits his job on the same day David Wallace was going to fire him. Dwight gets promoted to Regional manager. Jim decides to dedicate himself to Dunder Mifflin for Pam – even though it means giving up a big opportunity. And Angela and Oscar start to grow even closer. I think they ended the series just about perfectly, but this is a setup episode for those last two hours. Yet, it’s all wonderful just the same.

 

131. Dwight Christmas (Season 9, Episode 9) – I have always loved the office Christmas episodes – and for their last one, they really do pull out all the stops. Dwight is allowed to throw a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas, complete with him dressed as Belsnickel which is an absolute delight (yes, it also leads to a blackface joke, that I cannot believe they did). One of the last great Dwight/Jim/Pam episodes – as Jim was supposed to leave earlier for Philly, and comes back just to spend time with her – to the delight of Dwight. Other than that, Erin and Pete grow closer, but let’s be honest – it’s all about Belsnickel.

 

130. Last Day in Florida (Season 8, Episode 18) – Everyone is getting ready to return to Scranton – except for Dwight who has been made V.P. of the store, and will be staying in Florida. But Jim discovers Robert is planning on tanking the store at the B.O.D. meeting, and use Dwight as his scapegoat, and tries to protect Dwight from himself. The Scranton storyline – Toby and Daryl fighting over who gets to sell Girl Guide cookies to Kevin, is fun. Again, you could the Jim and Dwight storyline in an earlier season, but it wouldn’t have been this physical/over-the-top – but all of it works, right up the meeting itself, where Dwight realizes what Jim did for him. A very good episode.

 

129. Blood Drive (Season 5, Episode 16) – It’s Valentine’s Day, and Michael is still lonely – so he decides to host a Lonely Hearts party during the day, really hoping to run into the women he met at the blood drive that morning, but passed out before he could get her name. Meanwhile, Jim and Pam go to lunch with Phyllis and Bob Vance – and things get awkward. This is an odd episode for Season 5 – which had numerous multiple episode arcs, as this is one of the most standalone of the whole season, and as funny as it is, is also somewhat forgettable.

 

128. Chair Model (Season 4, Episode 10) – A newly single Michael decides he wants to start dating again – and gives the office the assignment of finding him someone, who looks like a model in an office supply magazine – all of this climaxing with a date with Pam’s landlord, where Michael is an asshole. Meanwhile, Andy and Kevin lead the charge to get their parking spaces back, that has been taken away during construction. And we find out, Jim has already bought an engagement ring for Pam. The episode is fine – it’s one of those filler episode every sitcom has, but it’s an amusing one from start to finish.

 

127. Survivor Man (Season 4, Episode 7) – Michael is left out of Ryan’s camping bonding trip with other regional managers – and Toby – and decides to take to the wilderness himself like that show survivor, where he will live by his wits alone – even as Dwight watches from afar. Jim, in charge of the office, decides to combine the next four office birthdays into one party – causing absolute chaos. Personally, as amusing as Michael in the wilderness is, it doesn’t really go anywhere. Jim at the office is kind of the same thing. The best scene is the one with Michael and Jim at the end – where Jim gets a glimpse of his future.

 

126. The Alliance (Season 1, Episode 4) – A solid episode, with Dwight and Jim teaming up to try and get the bottom of the downsizing rumors – which of course is just Jim messing with Dwight – with the other plot being Michael trying to improve morale by throwing a birthday party for Meredith, nowhere near her birthday. It’s the kind of awkward balancing act between hilarious and the weird tension of wondering if you still have a job, that works well.

 

125. Performance Review (Season 2, Episode 8) – It is completely like Michael to turn everyone’s annual performance reviews into getting feedback on his “relationship” with Jan. Everything with Jan – when she’s still a professional, trying to deal with Michael and getting frustrated, is wonderful. It’s all very funny – and Jim stringing Dwight along into thinking it’s Friday when it’s really Thursday is also fun.

 

124. After Hours (Season 8, Episode 16) – The best episode of the Florida run of episodes, it mainly takes place after the workday in Florida, with Todd Packer and Dwight both trying to seduce Nellie for the V.P. job. Meanwhile, Cathy shows up at Jim’s hotel room, with something similar on her mind. Back in Scranton, Val’s boyfriend is not happy with Daryl. This will always be remembered though as the one where Cathy tries to seduce Jim, and his increasingly frantic attempts to get rid of her. A highlight of season 8 for sure, even if I always thought Cathy kind of got a raw deal on the show in general, but for this episode, she is great – and everything works.

 

123. Doomsday (Season 8, Episode 6) – Robert wants there to be fewer mistakes in The Office – which makes Andy so desperate that he agrees to install Dwight’s Doomsday device – which will automatically send Robert California an email with a consultant’s report saying the branch should be closed, and all the emails the staff has sent about him (my favorite is Oscar’s). This is a great ensemble episode – making the entire office come together. It also properly utilizes Robert California – a little, at the end, playing squash with Jim who is trying to distract him. And the sequence on Dwight’s farm is fun. By Season 8 standards, a great episode.

 

122. Ultimatum (Season 7, Episode 12) – Holly returns from Christmas, still not engaged, but still not having broken up with AJ – even though the ultimatum time has passed. This is a wonderful Michael episode – he made two videos for himself depending on whether Holly was single again or not, and it’s wonderful to see him dance with his computer self. This is where Michael’s endgame is really starting to be set up, so there’s some bittersweet feelings here. Also, the B-plot, of Pam trying to get everyone to make, and keep, New Year’s Resolutions, is enjoyable.

 

121. Dunder Mifflin Infinity (Season 4, Episode 2) – Out of all the hour long episodes that started off Season 4 (four in a row) – this is the one that most needed to be two half hours – because although there is a lot of great stuff here, it also drags at 42 minutes. So much of it is good by itself – Michael is threatened by Ryan’s return, who wants to change the entire way the company runs, Pam and Jim have their relationship revealed, Dwight and Angela, etc. Again, there are moments here that are great – and it’s a fine episode. But I definitely think it would have been better as two half hours (as I’m sure it is in syndication).

 

120. Garden Party (Season 8, Episode 4) – When Andy became regional manager, you knew that there would have to be a little more exploration into the character – his past, to make you feel sympathy for him - they did this a few times with Michael over the years, usually small glimpses, not the Rosebud level exploration here (and yes, I love the debate about Citizen Kane in this episode). Andy desperately wants to impress his rich, snooty parents so throws himself a Garden Party at Dwight’s farm. His parents – and brother, played by Josh Groban – explain everything you need to know about Andy, and his office mates lifting his spirits at the end of the episode is a highlight. Fun, funny, awkward in all the right ways – this is what happens in Season 8 when they are working at the height of their game.

 

119. WUPHF.com (Season 7, Episode 9) – Ryan’s social media site – Wuphf – is on the verge of bankruptcy, but he has an offer to buy it. As long as Michael, the majority shareholder, listens to Ryan however and doesn’t sell, it won’t happen – meaning several people in the office will lose money. I like a few things about this episode – mainly that Pam finally manages to break through to Michael about the way Ryan uses him. But the fact that the episode has not one, but two B-plots (arguably three) – with Jim losing his incentive to work when he reaches his commission cap, to Dwight creating a Hay Festival in the parking lot – where Angela meets the State Senator – tells you that this is a filler episode, a decent one, but filler.

 

118. Todd Packer (Season 7, Episode 17) – Michael’s best friend, travelling salesman Todd Packer, wants an office job, and Holly pretty much just rubber stamps it – before she realizes that everyone else hates him – and they’re right. David Koechner’s Packer has always been best used in small doses, and here he is probably a little too much, although that is a large part of the point. The larger part is what Packer being back does to Michael – like several other episodes in Season 7, this one is about showing Michael’s growth – he is finally able to see through Packer – and why Holly is perfect for him – she being the reason he sees through Packer.

 

117. Sex Ed (Season 7, Episode 4) – Michael thinks he may have Herpes, so he gets in contact with all his former lovers – Carol, Jan, Donna, Pam’s mom and, of course, Holly with only the last one of those happy to hear from him. Back at the office, Andy gives the rest of them a safe sex lesson, clearly designed to try and keep Gabe and Erin apart. This is an episode clearly designed to setup Holly’s return later in the season – although it is certainly amusing to see all of Michael former lovers in one episode, and like a few episodes this season, it seems like we see some legitimate growth in Michael – at least in terms of self-awareness.

 

116. Costume Contest (Season 7, Episode 6) – The Halloween episode has the whole office excited as they all want the Scranton coupon book – with $15,000 in savings. Meanwhile, Michael is mad that Darryl went over his head, and Jim and Pam will not leave Danny alone until they find out why he never called her back when they had a couple of dates years ago. An enjoyable episode all the way through – one that has one of those adorable Jim moments when he cannot understand why someone wouldn’t like Pam. It’s also a good ensemble episode, where the whole office gets into the act.

 

115. Dwight K. Schrute (Acting Manager) (Season 7, Episode 23) – After Dangelo’s departure, the branch has no manager – but Jo first offers the acting manager job to Jim, who turns it down, and then to Dwight – who happily accepts, and becomes a tyrant in many ways – but blows it all when he accidentally fires a gun in the office. The whole episode is fun and funny – it shows that the show can exist without Michael (it’s the second post-Michael episode) and that the ensemble can come together and fill the void. But it also doesn’t really break any new ground – we’ve already seen Dwight the tyrant when he bought the office building.

 

114. The Sting (Season 7, Episode 5) – Dwight and Jim see their arch-nemesis Danny (Timothy Olyphant) at a sales call, and call in Michael to help them – and that doesn’t work. So the trip plan on setting up a sting to see why Danny is so good at sales – but make a mistake in thinking Meredith should be their executive. It’s nice sometimes to see someone from outside Dunder Mifflin see how crazy things are on the inside – and Olyphant does that wonderfully. It’s also fun to see Andy and Darryl form a band, even if forcing these two together this season feels like an attempt to give them both something to do, and force some chemistry, which is only partly there.

 

113. Initiation (Season 3, Episode 5) – Ryan wants to get better at sales – and makes the mistake of asking Dwight, who puts him through a series of increasing bizarre tests on his beet farm. Meanwhile, Jan asks Pam to document how Michel spends his day – and the results involve him waiting for a pretzel, and other slacking off. The emotional highlight of the episode is Jim calling after 5 – trying to go through the phone system, and getting Pam, and the two sinking back into their old chemistry right away – before the awkward ending. Again, a placeholder in some ways, but a fun one.

 

112. China (Season 7, Episode 10) – Michael reads a magazine article about China – and starts to worry that they will overtake America. Oscar thinks Michael is overreacting, but when Michael gets a fact right, and Oscar gets it wrong, it causes some tension. Everyone wants to see Oscar – who likes to “well, actually” taken down a notch, so they try and help Michael prepare for an upcoming debate. Meanwhile, Pam goes to war with Dwight over his cutbacks to the building as their new landlord. Yes, this episode is filler – one of those you can skip, and not really miss anything. But it’s also enjoyable from beginning to end – and has some genuine emotion from Pam – and Dwight showing some surprising humanity.

 

111. Café Disco (Season 5, Episode 25) – Michael still has the lease of the old Michael Scott Paper company office/closet, and decides to make it a relaxation space – essentially turning it into a dance club, that at first, no one wants to come to, but eventually, it’s exactly what he wanted. I am going to admit that this a placeholder episode – the writers had to deliver 26 episodes this season, they had nothing for the second to last, so they invent a concept. And yet – while that really does seem undeniable here, it’s a fun and funny episode throughout – so it’s impossible to complain.

 

110. New Leads (Season 6, Episode 20) – Sabre’s policies make it clear that everyone else in the company are there to support the salespeople – which has gone to the heads of Jim, Dwight, Phyllis, Stanley and Andy – who are basically acting like giant asses. There are highly touted new leads coming in – and Michael decides to teach everyone a lesson by withholding them – which doesn’t go well. The episode is good – shows some shifting in the dynamics in the office – but also feels like filler, since by the end, we’re basically at status quo.

 

109. Body Language (Season 6, Episode 23) – Donna, from Happy Hour, comes into the office, and Michael enlists the entire staff to read into her body language to see if she is into him or not. Only Pam thinks she is – but Michael keeps pressing anyway. A good ensemble episode, a good Michael episode, as it’s Carrel at his awkward, manic best – with a forgettable B-plot about Dwight encouraging Kelly to apply for a management program.

 

108. Crime Aid (Season 5, Episode 4) – Michael and Holly are officially dating, and they sneak back into the office to make-out – and then forget to lock up, and then the office is robbed that night. Feeling guilty, Michael decides to hold a charity auction – including a pair of Springsteen tickets he receives. The episode is funny – Dwight confiding in Phyllis, the bidding war for a Phyllis hug, Creed – just Creed – and the sweetness of Michael and Holly together, right before they are to be torn apart, all work. But two flaws keep it lowered for me – the first is I don’t understand why insurance never comes up, and no one in the audience really believes Michael has those tickets, right?

 

107. Michael’s Birthday (Season 2, Episode 19) – Michael’s birthday comes around, and as you can guess, he is insufferable at the office - making all the demands about his party, and wondering why people don’t seem to be as enthused about it as he is. Normally, this would be bad, but what makes it worse is that everyone knows Kevin is waiting to hear if he has skin cancer – so no one is in a mood to party. Still, Michael reminiscing about his childhood birthdays lets you inside his pain just a little bit. And Jim and Pam shopping for Kevin is, of course, adorable.

 

106. Grief Counselling (Season 3, Episode 4) – Michael learns that Ed Truck – his old boss – died over the weekend, which doesn’t upset him too much (he didn’t really like him) – but is very upset that no one in the office is that upset either, making him wonder how people will respond when he dies. There’s a little poignancy, a little humor (Pam describing the plot of Million Dollar Baby is a highlight). And in the audience, you really start to worry, when you see Jim and Karen doing the types of things, we are used to seeing Pam and him doing – as they hunt for a specific brand of chips.

 

105. Casual Friday (Season 5, Episode 24) – Michael, Pam and Ryan are now firmly back at Dunder Mifflin – and the salesmen are still angry, because Pam and Ryan have thus far kept the clients they stole when they were out on their own. Toby has initiated Casual Friday – and almost everyone in the office takes things too far – it escalates throughout the episode, starting with Oscar’s sandals, and then getting worse from there. This is the episode they had to do – address the hurt feelings on both sides over the Michael Scott Paper Company era, before basically going back to normal. As those types of episodes go, it’s very funny, and hits a few genuine notes (although I still kind of think that if the salesmen lost their clients, that’s not on Pam and Ryan).

 

104. Dream Team (Season 5, Episode 20) – Michael is officially out on his own now with Pam and the Michael Scott Paper Company, who decides to gather his perfect sales team – including Ryan, back from Thailand and working in a bowling alley, and Vikram, the great telemarketer he met back in Season 4 -  but he cannot given convince his nana that this company is a good idea. All of this is handled well, and I also enjoy Jim increasingly scrambling to try and impress Charles – the first person in the company who kind of sees through him – leading to a soccer injury (although, seriously, that’s Charles’ fault right). This almost feels like a placeholder episode – taking its time setting up things that could have been done quicker – but is still funny all the way through.

 

103. Halloween (Season 2, Episode 5) – The we concept of this episode is great – which is that Michael was given to the end of the month to fire someone to save costs, and now it’s the last day, and he hasn’t done it yet – and, of course, it’s Halloween – which puts a damper on everyone in their costumes. I think much of it works wonderfully – but it’s kind of undercut that the guy he gets fired is someone who I don’t think we ever saw before.

 

102. The List (Season 8, Episode 1) – For this episode at least, it seems like Robert California could work. The action revolves around a list he made – of winners and losers in the office – which introduces tension into the office, which the show always did well, but a completely different kind of tension that works. It also shows Andy in his new role, and growing his backbone, and James Spader was probably never better in the show than he is in this episode. This isn’t vintage The Office – but it shows that perhaps this could have worked better than it ended up doing.

 

101. Search Committee (Season 7, Episode 24) – The Season 7 finale is, in part, a parade of guest stars – Will Arnett, Ray Romano, Jim Carrey, Warren Buffett, Ricky Gervais – and an introduction to two characters who would become regulars, Robert California and Nellie Bertram. Even more than the previous episode, this really does show that The Office can function without Michael Scott – especially when it leans on the whole ensemble, which it does here, even with those guest stars. This hour long actually moves really quickly, and is fun and funny – making you optimistic for the future of the show.