Did The Office live up to its own hype?

While it wasn’t the only thing going on last night, “Who will be the new boss?” was certainly the dominant theme of the season seven finale of The Office. So why don’t we start our discussion there?

We learned last week that Jim, Toby, and Gabe were Jo’s picks for a search committee, and the three spent much of the hour interviewing various internal and external candidates.

The Good

Warren Buffett was awesome as a penny-pinching executive. His pleas for a better salary, increased reimbursement for gas, and a suspicious question about whether his long distance calls would be monitored were hilarious … as long as you recognized him. As famous as the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, worth $50 billion, may be, his face isn’t necessarily recognizable to everyone who tunes into The Office. But for those who got it….

It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed Andy. I think he was a much better character before being emasculated by Angela. That said, I think he did an okay job representing himself. But his interview was marred by Gabe — man that guy is horrible! I can’t even tell you how thrilled I am that he’s on his way back to Florida. I’m so happy about it that I don’t even care that it was Kelly who got him sent home. In this case it’s whatever worked.

But as for Andy, his summary of himself as a candidate — the “safe, if not slightly unexciting, choice” — was hilarious, and I loved his excitement when penis size seemed to become a consideration: “Would a small penis work? Small to moderate.” Andy circa seasons three and four might actually make for a pretty decent boss.

It was awesome to see James Spader again. Did he do a good job? Looking at it unbiased, and not through a veil of being a fan, I’m not sure I was impressed by his interview. “There is only sex. Everything is sex.” Works when he’s Alan Shore, but as a refinery equipment salesman that we don’t know? Weird. But I got hooked in when he tried talking Ray Romano out of wanting the position, leading to a fight with Dwight. Spader saying he’d learned all he needed to know about the paper industry from an episode of Sesame Street was great (and possible).

Speaking of Ray, he was a bit blah … so it was his being Ray that tipped his interview into the good column. His reasoning for wanting to relocate farther away was funny, and I liked when he pulled out his sandwich … I would have thought more of the guest spot if that was the character, and not him being influenced by his chat with Spader beforehand.

Dwight. As much as he shouldn’t have a shot, I loved him from beginning to end. His giving up at first was great, and he only got better as he decided to throw his hat in the ring. Dwight’s first attempt ended with him in the parking lot trying to butter up and bribe Jim for the job. The “PeePee/PeePa” thing was hilarious. His encounter with Jo — which revolved around guns — was dull, but I loved how Dwight didn’t give up; texting Jo his resume one line at a time was priceless.

I would actually put the French burn victim on the other list if not for Jim screwing around with Dwight, and Dwight buying Jim’s fake astonishment. This show needs more of that! And let’s not forget Dwight’s actual interview: “Thank you Mr. Schnupe; we will let you know.” I wouldn’t wait by the phone.

The Bad

I don’t find Will Arnett funny. Not as Devon Banks on 30 Rock, nor in any of his many failed sitcoms. His refusal to discuss his three step plan to double profits at Dunder Mifflin was funny in concept — I liked the logic behind what he was asking them to do — but he didn’t cut it for me once again.

Darryl. I hate to say it, but I was really disappointed in how he wasted the opportunity to make a case for himself. He’s lucky that he’s an insider and Jim likes him, because otherwise he wouldn’t stand a chance. But I loved Stanley and Phyllis kissing up to him, how he thought a conversation about milk was the extent of his interview, and how he brought his daughter in to hug Jim. I wonder what he went on for four pages about on his resume.

Not only is Kelly not a serious candidate, as Gabe so rightly pointed out, but she’s crazy annoying. Why would Jo replace Gabe with her on the committee?

David Brent’s (Ricky Gervais) video CV. When Brent popped up a few months ago we all got excited about the possibilities. This is not what I, for one, had in mind.

I have no idea who Catherine Tate is, so maybe that was her brand of humor, but Nellie was terrible. I’m not sure if her being friends with Jo — and rumors about Tate being a producer favorite — will influence the show’s decision on casting her, but I’d like to say, for what it’s worth, that I think she’d make an awful choice.

Jim Carrey as the Finger Lakes guy. What a waste.

And lest we forget the rest of the episode — Creed did a brilliantly funny job as acting manager throughout. I loved him rolling up to work in a silver Porsche, license plate “NEW MGR.” Knowing him it’s probably not a rental. His request to “Find out what language this is,” followed by some gibberish, was classic Creed. And the empty meeting and the acronyms? I loved it all!

I appreciated how the search didn’t end Creed’s participation after the cold open. Pam saving the day as Creed was “saving face” was awesome — finding the differences between two identical pictures may or may not have occupied him for a while, and I loved how she played the role of all the office’s biggest customers. The best part about it was how Creed intended to handle those calls … he didn’t even identify where he was calling from! I’d miss him tremendously if ever he were to try and start his own paper company (I know how unlikely that is).

Phyllis and Erin’s story wasn’t for me, but Phyllis deciding not to tell Erin about the test results was sweet. Erin needs somebody to care about her, especially since it’s still unclear if Andy will ever step up … I’m no Erin fan, but that hand puppet was sweet. What’s wrong with him?

Angela has managed to find a third guy who loves her — granted one was delusional, one gay, and one Dwight, but still — but an engagement? Is it funny that State Senator Robert (Jack Coleman) is a gay man looking for a cover wife? Oscar being horrified was funny, but I’m not into that story.

So who will the new boss be? Andy, Darryl, and Catherine Tate are the only real candidates, and they were all underwhelming. I suppose it could still be someone else — Jim? — but looking at the candidates we saw I just don’t know who makes sense. Keep in mind, this boss will be the one who attends Stanley’s funeral … who’d make the most heartwarming speech? We have a summer to come up with an answer to that.

“Bread is the paper of the food industry. You write your sandwich on it.” – Dwight

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on May 20, 2011 @ 14:00 EST5EDT