After watching an hour-long episode of The Office, normal half-hours seem slight.  The Office is good enough to fill an hour without feeling over-extended.  Most comedies can't pull this off, but The Office employs such a deep cast of great side characters, that you can pad episodes with little moments without making the episode feel too lengthy.  Nonetheless, there is something to be said for a tight, 22-minute episode of television.  While, as an informed audience member, I know that there will always be some great material left on the cutting room floor, any regrets are masked by the constant laughter that The Office generates.  Tonight's Office was co-written by the creators of the original British Office, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, along with current Office show runner Greg Daniels, and that pedigree lived up to its name, producing one of the funnier episodes in recent memory.

HR lady-nerd Holly Flax has to give a Business Ethics symposium to the Dunder-Mifflin office as a result of Ryan's recent in-house shenanigans that ultimately got him fired.  In the middle of the meeting, Michael gives his employees “immunity,” allowing them to confess to unethical office behavior.  When Meredith admits to sleeping with a paper distributor in return for a better price (and gift certificates to Outback Steakhouse), Holly finds herself in a moral quandary.  She has to report Meredith, who Holly believes will have to be fired as a result.  Michael spends the episode trying to talk Holly out of it, while also trying to woo her.  He is, not surprisingly, unsuccessful in both cases.

Pam was not seen this episode, only heard via a brief phone call in the cold open.  The Dwight and Jim B-story was perhaps the highlight of the episode, Jim torturing Dwight by calculating the degree of “time theft” that Dwight perpetrates at the office. But, the episode was all about Michael, Holly and Meredith.  It's nice to get Meredith some more screen time and to be reminded how much of a saucy tramp she is.  Dwight is continuing his rendezvous with Angela, a story line that will definitely come to a head in the near future, one would assume.  But, most importantly, tonight likely signaled the beginning of the end for Holly.  She has reasons to leave Dunder-Mifflin, and Michael is a ticking time bomb of inappropriateness, even if Holly does appear to be impervious to his particular form of insanity.  Amy Ryan isn't signed up for that many more episodes, so we should enjoy Holly's time on The Office while we still can. 


Top 8 Quotes of the Episode

“Why is it OK for smokers to take breaks all the time?  If I want to go outside and hang out once an hour, I'll just take up smoking.  I'll do it. I don't care.”

“You have been cuckolded by a stronger, smarter male.”

“I viewed 'Cookie Monster sings Chocolate Rain' a thousand times.”

“You are a thief of joy.”

“After we did it, when he gave me those coupons, I just felt good about myself.”

“Would you care to bang it out over lunch?”

“I just don't want my employees thinking their jobs depend on performance.”

“How do you tell someone you care about deeply 'I told you so?'”


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of NBC)