TVSquad

(S05E14) Last week's episode of The Office was kind of like a one-night stand that happens after way too much drinking: good for what it was, but ultimately unsatisfying.

Tonight's episode is like finding the girl you're going to marry. And then realizing that she's rich. And also that she believes that Han shot first.

In a return to form not seen since Paul Crewe came back into the game in The Longest Yard, tonight The Office found its way back to that perfect old- school alchemy of discomfort, satire, and heart. Oh, and Creed. Lots of Creed ...

You know, I've always wondered about Creed's background. We know he was with the 1960's band The Grass Roots, he runs a fake I.D. business with a laminating machine stolen from the police department, he faked his own death so he could get benefits, he keeps bean sprouts in his desk, and he's been homeless.

Now maybe we'll get to learn even more about his background. In a major time-slot coup, it looks like a one-hour episode of The Office will air directly following the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, 2009. Exec producer Paul Lieberstein said these longer eps offer a great opportunity to delve into the characters:

(Continued from Part Four...)

There is one major problem with The Office convention, as I see it: the people are normal.

Here's what I mean -- the average Office fan is someone who really likes the show and enjoys watching it with other people who really like the show. They are, in a word, average. At no point did I run into some crazed super-fan who spends every day dressed like Dwight or is currently converting his house into an exact replica of the Schrute farm. In just about every case, the people I talked to were kind, courteous people who made the trek to Scranton to a) meet the people they'd been talking to online and b) perhaps get a chance to hear their favorite stars talk.

This is not what I'd been hoping for.

For lack of a better word or description, last night's show was weird and anti-climatic. At first, I was really excited about the contestants doing modern hits from the last 6 years, but then...nothing happened. I kept waiting for that one really great performance that would put the show into overdrive, but it never came.

First off, the show was cut down to a hour last night since there are only 10 contestants left. This made everything feel very rushed. It felt less like a national hit show and more like a filler before House came on. Secondly, all the judges were in agreement last night, and yet they were still fighting. Always weird. Thirdly, lack of time translated into lack of Seacrest zingers. Seacrest zingers are always the cheesiest of zings, and yet, I miss them when they're gone. It's like getting a dollar every year in your birthday card from Grandma. A dollar doesn't get you much (heck, it doesn't get you anything), but that first year when it's not in there...it burns. Finally, I think Kevin might have been eliminated prematurely. I'm convinced that if given the chance, he would have performed Britney Spears' "Toxic" and it would have been the best thing to happen to American Idol since Bobby sung the praises of the Copacabana.