Isn't this basically the same thing they tried with Scrubs? It didn't work out too well with that. Scrubs died a slow painful death.

I would prefer they just gave The Office a proper sendoff and let the viewer see the show end with a little bit of dignity.

The problem is that Michael is gone -- IMO. He was the central figure in every episode. That said, the show did go creatively bankrupt three seasons ago and the Michael character was probably the fall guy.
There is nobody to care about anymore and having Andy play a goof is stupid... he was the angry guy for a while and they should have just gone down that road.

I loved Season Three Andy. Everything he did was fucking hilarious. Then they had to go and neuter him and it just hasn't been the same. Especially since he took over the branch. They may as well be completely different characters.

That was the only real laugh of the night.

The real problem is Andy sucks as a Manager

Which sucks, because that last season was pretty darn good. The main new girl wasn't much, but the other new characters were good.

It's time for Dunder Mifflin to have a major layoff so these characters can disappear forever

Kevin
Meredith
Gabe
Nellie
Kelly

I'll have to echo other sentiments and say I can't stand Nellie. She was too much to bear in the Florida episodes but the fact that they're having her come to Scranton and Robert California is acting so stupid as to let her just come in and run things is too much.

I really want the show to be good again but this past episode didn't offer many laughs. I did love the Creed bit with his songs, though.

Not much to say other than Nellie is insufferable. Had to force myself to finish this episode. She's painfully unfunny and her face is hard to look at. Is it known whether she's going to be on next season? Just no way I'll be able to suffer through more of her.

They really botched the Michael Scott replacement thing. Instead of picking one person and running with it, they wimped out and went with three people and made them all unfunny morons.

I don't think this season has been a total waste, there have been some really good episodes that I felt were on par with other episodes during Michael's last season or two. The Nellie and Robert California stuff has just gone flat though.

Disagree about Kevin. He usually gets a few good laughs in each episode. Put Ryan in the list instead.

I couldn't agree with you more. I think the The Office peaked in the third season and has been in slow decline ever since. The situations and characters used to be believable and now they are so ridiculous and over-the-top that it's gotten stupid. The writing just isn't very sharp anymore and the characters have gotten so broad that they seem more like characatures at this point. And Nellie is the worst character of all. She makes Gabe seem like a welcome addition. You can actually hear the show flatlining when she's on screen.

Based on your comments, I don't understand why so many of you are still watching this show. Peaked 5 seasons ago? It's not like it was ever brilliant. I'll give that some of the new characters suck, and the show isn't quite as good as it used to be, but wow.....

last season for me...

I wonder if it will be for NBC too.. the writing is on the wall...

I don't know either --- more out of habit and hope than anything. I keep hoping the writers come back to their senses but I realize with the Nellie addition and Andy going after Erin that my dream is over.

How can you say that? The branches sales have never been better.

I just can't get over the scene when the phone was ringing and there was no receptionist to answer it because Eric was in Florida and he didn't have the authority to make someone else answer it. He ended up answering the phone himself and taking over receptionist duties which was sad for him to be the manager of the branch

I like Nellie. Wouldn't be sorry to see the show go though.

I honestly still enjoy this show and I'm hoping it sticks around, though I've always kinda been in the minority when it comes to what I like/don't like about The Office. That episode a couple of months back written by Amelie Gillette was really good, and most episodes have had pretty good moments. I never liked Robert California and I wish he hadn't been brought in, but other than that, this season has been OK.

Ellie Kemper's character has gotten funnier and some of her more annoying traits have been toned down. Plus they give her better makeup and tighter tops to wear, which definitely helps in this show's watchability for me

I'm a Doctor Who fan, and I loved Catherine Tate on that show, but I feel like she's a little broader than I'd like on The Office. Maybe she'll dial it down a bit after this episode.

When you're sales are better than ever, you can afford to not answer a phone or two.

No I was saying that no one was getting up to answer the MAIN PHONE at the receptionist desk.

Letting it go to voicemail is probably better than letting Erin actually answer it when she's in the office anyway... at least the current Homer Simpsoned Erin.

That's not very surprising in the places I've worked.

There were some things I liked in this episode. I really liked the idea of purposely throwing a really awful party.

Not liking the idea of an Office reboot. As others have said, it immediately reminded me of Scrubs. It's probably best just to let it go, but NBC is just too desperate right now that I can't see that happening. I'm also a bit worried about the Dwight spinoff.

I saw the episode dude. What I'm saying is that Andy has the sales team rocking as they've shown. If you've ever worked in a place that does sales, when you're rocking sales, you sometimes don't answer a phone.

I'm not entirely sure myself. Like I said, the decline wasn't immediate, it was gradual. Season 4 was still really good overall, but there were some elements that started to creep in that in retrospect proved to be harbingers of what was to come. Season 5 was a little bit worse than 4, and 6 was a little bit worse than 5. Season 7 was probably a little bit better than 6, but only because it was Steve Carell's last. Now the show has gotten even worse in Season 8. There are still a few good moments to be found in every episode, but they're not as consistently funny as they used to be. Unless there is a surprise turnaround, I seriously doubt you'll find me posting here about Season 9.