Mike86

I don't know to me where Michael used to be stupid and I could laugh at him now its just like he's so stupid all the time that I can barely stand it whenever he's on screen. Its like the writers are just trying so hard to make him funny that it just comes across as way too over the top and dumb most of the time. I think the show still has its moments from time to time and characters like Dwight, Andy, and Stanley I really enjoy. Pam and Jim are okay but now that they're just a couple the relationship isn't as interesting to me as it was in the beginning where it was more a will they or won't they kind of deal.

Tarantino

I loved the "I like tea" part - it had me cracking up. All of the Andy stuff was hilarious in this episode.

Quake1028

Awesome opener. Was the whole time.

Kal-El

I'm another one who absolutely HATED the Michael Scott Paper company storyline last season and dropped off towards the end, but last night's episode was hilarious for me. Andy had some real killers but my favorite would have to be:

"For the record, I like women, but off the record, I'm confused."

unskilledgymrat

I have to go watch the premiere now yay! Glad Office is back I LOVE THIS SHOW!

JediMindTricks

andy had me rolling when he was talking about brad pitt.

the whole time, i was wondering where i saw the intern before, then i realized he was one of the twins from desperate housewives.

Jack Straw

I thought that was clever how they dealt with the revealing of the pregnancy as part of another storyline, which ended up resolving Stanley's conflict (for the moment).

"You said I showed you where my manure comes from"

Also, Andy asking Michael if he was in fact gay or not based on a rumor. Greatness!

SpinalGuffman

I really liked it. Last season was hit and miss for me. This felt like it was right out of season 2 or 3.

Meglos

Obligatory "They need to update the opening credits" comment.

Pam's not a receptionist anymore. And if they're not going to add the entire cast to the opening, they should at least add Ed Helms.

whoopdido

Yeah no doubt. Isn't this his third (or is it 4th) year on the show now? Plus he's arguably the biggest name on the show now. He's been in more movies lately than Steve Carell and Jim Krasinski's movies have flopped. Steve Carell appears to have more movies in the pipeline, but Ed Helms has been in more stuff lately. How is he not in the opening credits?

DJariya

So agree that the opening credits need an update. Especially Pam's had a new hairstyle for awhile now.

I don't know if it's in BJ Novak's contract, but he should not get 5th billing in the opening credits.

thematahara

The Kevin and Andy parts were hilarious. Kevin and Creed are my favorite characters. Anytime you get Kevin doing that snaggletooth grin of his I lose it.

"Do you like tea as much as you like guy's butts?"

Gunde

Awesome episode. I was laughing pretty much throughout. Great to have it back.

My Other Self

Brilliant stuff. I'm sure all of the threads this season will just be the standard "Show isn't funny any more, Michael is more stupid, blah blah." Oh well.

Anyone notice BJ Novak didn't even have one line? What was that. I saw him in a couple of shots but he wasn't prominent anywhere in the episode. And his hair was back to normal.

Howie2000

Last season was probably the best since Season 2. This was a pretty great opener.

DarbyD53

You got to check out the deleted scene on nbc.com with BJ in it.

He walks up to one of the interns and says something to him and the intern replies "You know you aren't supposed to talk to us right" then it goes on to why Ryan is banned from talking to them

BJacks

Some of my favorite moments on the show are when Michael reveals himself to be more clever, caring and savvy than people give him credit for. So it's a huge disappointment to me when we get episodes like this, where Michael acts like an unbelievable fucking idiot, utterly beyond the pale.

There were funny moments in the episode, I just really wish they were able to get to the jokes without tearing down any shred of real credibility that Michael has developed over the seasons.

Draven

What did he do that was so out of character? He felt left out, he found something out, he took it too far, then when Stanley actually confided in him, he panicked and actually managed to make it worse.

That's par for the course for Michael, and if he didn't make those mistakes he wouldn't be the same person. I don't understand why people want him to change into this other character than what he is. I've known some people in my life for 15 years that are pretty much the same people now they were then, making the same mistakes and with the same personality quirks.

Why should Michael be so different only 5 seasons? I just don't understand that at all.

pinata242

So how about Stanley? No way the character we've grown to know would ever confide that secret in Michael and expect him to actually keep quiet. That was the crux of the whole episode and it was forced.

My Other Self

Be that as it may, I was dying when he was destroying Michael's car.

SpinalGuffman

I think you need the setup of Michael's bufoonery to give some weight to the times when he is an actual human being. That push and pull is Michael's character, has always been.

And i personally have had co-workers who did utterly ridiculous things, but then revealed a different side of themselves in a different situation.

Michael's character is of course an exaggerated version, but IMHO he stretches (really, really far), doesn't break. Even this episode, when it dawned on him that he could be hurting Stanley, he acted out of sympathy in his own twisted way.

whoopdido

I don't think he meant that he did anything out of character. I think he just meant that he likes it better when Michael acts "normal" rather than a complete buffoon like he did in this episode.

Throughout the run of this show every now and then Michael just goes totally off the wall crazy. Phyllis's wedding comes to mind. Most of the time he's just really stupid, but in kind of a cute and funny way. Also every now and then he redeems himself and acts pretty much normal and usually saves the day in some way. For the most part his scenes with Holly were that way. He was awkward, but for the most part genuine and likable and not over the top.

I for one, absolutely cannot stand Michael when he's ridiculously dumb and when he just goes too far. For example, I wanted to kill him during the Phyllis wedding episode. There are other examples, but I just can't think of them right now. I wouldn't necessarily say that he was over the top in this episode but he was very borderline.

Draven

I disagree. Michael actually confronted Stanley in the right way: "I found something out and I want to know if it's true." Stanley obviously had a lot of guilt...and it's not like he could have told anyone else in the office. Plus, Michael had already figured it out. So I thought that was a pretty honest moment for both of them.

Brent L

Not only an honest moment, but one of the funniest moments of the episode for me:

"She was my nurse, when I was in rehabilitation. We used to take those long walks on the treadmill..."

In the middle of Stanley spilling his guts, letting his guilt get the best of him Michael goes "Wait a second, do people often say they're going on sales calls then go somewhere else? Cause that's not cool."

And even simply Michael's look to the camera while in the car at the very end when he tells Stanley "You can count on me..."

This is why the show is so great, getting so many laughs out of nowhere, just throwaway lines sometimes. Just like in the scene right after that one of Michael and Keven in the break room. Micheal sees Kevin putting cookies on a sheet to cool and says "that smells good" and Kevin instantly goes on the defensive big time and goes "Yeah, I might have extra. It just depends on how many I eat."

tofu

Just finished watching the opener. Awesome episode. My favorite parts were of Andy grappling with whether he thinks that he's gay or not, culminating with him asking Michael if he's really gay or not at the end.