The Office: Season Eight (2012)

Showrunner: Paul Lieberstein

 I think by now it's pretty much a universally accepted idea that the Michael Scott send-off episode, "Goodbye Michael," from last season should have been the series finale of this show. The first post-Michael season has been so unambitious and left a mild taste in my mouth. I didn't hate it, because I have a connection with these characters and can always watch them, but nor did I come close to loving it. This is because there was nothing to love. The writers of this show know how to write jokes and the actors know how to deliver them consistently, but the writers have no idea how (or have no desire) to write compelling story lines for these fabulous characters.

I think the failure of this season to have any real stakes is mostly just laziness on the part of the writers. They've been at it for eight seasons, and lot of them were on their way out (like Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein). So it feels like the writers are just doing the motions instead of actually flexing their creative and artistic muscles. One example is the Andy and Erin relationship. The writers tried to recycle the Pam and Jim relationship because that worked out well for them, and so the natural inclination for a business is to repeat successful strategies. It feels like the writers are making sure they save their best material for their next jobs. So the writers are getting lazy, and the actors are moving on. I guess the death of The Office is now official.

Grade: C-