The Office: Is Michael too mean to Toby?
 

With the return of Toby this past Thursday, I found myself actually finally feeling sorry for the guy again.

At first Michael's hatred of him seemed irrational, then as you find out Toby is a bit of a creep, Michael's hatred turned amusing. However Michael knocking his pictures all over and trying to pick a fight with him just made me feel bad for the guy again. The deleted scene of him acting like he was hitting Michael was equally pathetic and sad.

What's your take?

On the poll options I'd go with: Michael's hatred is justified but I still feel bad for how sad/pathetic Toby is.

I've never seen Toby as a creep.

Michael Scott is a mean person.

Toby is Michael's polar opposite. I think that's where the source of tension is. But, it often goes over the top.

I don't know that Toby is Michael's polar opposite. In fact, I think a certain amount of the loathing Michael feels for Toby comes from the fact that they're both exceptionally socially awkward people. I do think that Toby's job puts him in nearly constant opposition to what Michael wants to do, which is the remainder of the tension between them.

Toby goes by the book, though. He's very much a product of corporate culture.

Michael hates this.

What makes the tension work is that Michael really has no reason to hate Toby. I mean, someone has to tell Michael he can't do the dumb shit he wants to do, but Toby is so gentle about it that you can't hate him. Michael's hatred of him is great because it's so inexplicable.

Of course he's too mean, but it's a sitcom so it doesn't have to be justified.

i would say he is, but i can see him trying to get Toby Fired last episode, Having Holly getting transferred then having Toby come back.

Who... do you think you are?

I thought the source was that he's the only one in the office that doesn't report to Michael

Oh, I agree. I'm just saying they're not entirely opposites. Personality-wise, a guy like Packer is more Michael's opposite.

I see Jim as the true polar-opposite to Michael. Even Packer is a lot like Michael in the way that both make socially awkward jokes and such as often as possible.

I'm not a fan of Toby's type of person. And by that I mean the typical cooperate stooge. He's not a creep per say, he's just a very awkward person.

Michael has a few reasons for hating him (mostly that Michael doesn't like HR period), but takes it way too far and it makes for an unwarranted and totally unjustified and unnatural hatred.

That being said, I think it is one of the funniest aspects of the show and while Toby was never one of my favourite characters, I am glad to see him come back if only for Michael to hate him.

I hate it when the subject header of the thread is completely opposite of the poll question.

I don't think it's justified....but it IS hilarious.

Yes, but it wouldnt be funny any other way.

Yeah, I hadn't thought about this.

As for who Michael's opposite is, perhaps he's so out there that all of the other characters are his opposite in some way?

I think Toby partially reports to Michael, else Michael's boss wouldn't have been so irritated about him not realizing that Toby was there for a week. I think it's one of those situations on an org chart where somebody has a solid line going one place and a dashed line going somewhere else.

Toby is meant to be everything Micheal hates. Micheal see's himself as a jokester buddy, fly by the seat of his pants, hip guy, and Toby is mousy, by the book, boring, and personality free (in terms of what Micheal thinks "personality" is).

The relationship is funny because everyone else just sees Toby as a harmless, milquetoast individual, but to Micheal those things are positively dispicable, thus this irrational torrent of hate. I dont get the creep thing with Toby at all. He's more awkward than creepy.

That said, I think the whole framing of Toby took it too far. I dont like it when The Office pushes things so far over the edge, out of reality, just for the sake of silliness (like the whole Micheal-does-Survivorman ep).

It's funnier when the hate comes in small spurts. But basing an entire episode on it was just way too over the top. The Michael-Toby thing is close to jumping the shark, if it hasn't already.

No casue Toby sucks and the world hates him

I think maybe Michael has some kind of 'feeling' about Toby.

Toby is weird as shit, and I think his dealings with Pam are borderline stalker-ish.

I dont know. I still see it as an ironic thing- Micheal hates Toby because Toby is a shy weenie who isn't cool or affable so no one really gleans to him. Micheal, on the other hand, sees himself as cool and affable, but he isn't, so people pretty much treat him the same way they treat Toby, as a weirdo.

Michael: Toby is in HR which technically means he works for Corporate. So he’s really not a part of our family.
http://www.givememyremote.com/remote...story-of-hate/

However, he is intensely disliked by branch manager Michael Scott, presumably because Michael has no authority over him, as Toby reports to corporate headquarters and generally tries to dissuade Michael from some of his ideas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Flenderson