TV Review: The Office 8.24, "Free Family Portrait Studio"
The eighth season finale was actually an above average episode for this season that made me laugh though its conclusions didn’t make much sense and were far from satisfying.
rating: 2
The eighth season of The Office was an important one. Everyone wondered after Steve Carells exit whether the show could still work well while making us laugh. After 24 episodes the answer seems to be a resounding, meh. Critics and fans alike whove been watching since the beginning have had very mixed reactions to the Michael-less Scranton branch. Truth be told, The Office has been a series which peaked early (seasons two to three) and has been steadily though gradually dipping in overall quality ever since. Dont get me wrong; up until this last season Ive still been a big fan whos looked forward to each new episode every week. But I think most can agree the last three seasons just havent packed the same punch. Im not saying change is a bad thing. In fact Im pretty sure if The Office remained what is was since the second season we all wouldve eventually grown so bored it never wouldve made it this far. Any series thats been on the air this long needs to change to reflect its growth. Unfortunately though Im afraid the changes weve bore witness to on The Office, especially more recently, are more indicative of a push toward greater mass appeal than of genuinely well thought out and executed growth in the characters or the environment. The gradual loss of the realism of the situations as well as the documentary style format have also contributed to the shows decline but it wasnt until the eighth season that these flaws became quite so apparent. The eighth season finale, Free Family Portrait Studio, was actually an above average episode for this season that kept me laughing though its conclusions didnt make much sense and were far from satisfying. It was by no means the compelling episode of television a season finale should be. The titular plot line was my favorite as Dwight devises a way to simultaneously scare Jim (fearing potential retaliation from a hilarious prank on Dwight in which Jim somehow was able to stripper-fy Dwights suit so as to allow Jim to rip it off a la Gob Bluth), and attempt to obtain a sample of Angelas babys DNA to submit for a paternity test. Plus we got to see how much older each of Toby, Stanley, and Merediths kids have become, which is nice in a sentimental way (Ill always remember Merediths son as the surly, drunk kid Charlie from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia thought might be his), but the best part of this gag had to be seeing Creed with what appeared to be his parents. Part of me wishes Creed was getting his own spin-off, not Dwight. I liked Dwights story a lot as it was a realistic set up that effortlessly allowed for the entire cast to make some great contributions (Ryans cue card photo-messages to Kelly were pretty funny) as well as provided Dwight with a mission (Operation Phoenix). I especially appreciated the shot of Dwights face looking absolutely morose at the prospect of never knowing whether the child is his as it was a nice long take, something I think the show needs to do more often, as well as a nice emotional moment right before the great stationary shot which saw Dwight running out of the office with one of the babys diapers and Angela running after him. That was one of the few moments that felt like a documentary as opposed to the more traditional sitcom shots that have more recently populated the series. I loved the high speed chase that ensued, especially when Dwight and Mose pulled the old switcheroo on Angela (although I cringed when she was beating Mose; she was really going off), but when she finally caught up with Dwight in the waiting room of the lab I was hoping for a more genuine exchange from the two of them than just more awkward, sloppy make-outs. We know these two will apparently never stop hooking up, what we havent learned is why. I think the last time Angela actually articulated her feelings for Dwight was way back in the season three episode, Traveling Salesman. Instead of seeing them simply revert back to stealing kisses on the sly, itd be nice to hear Angela explain herself. Otherwise theres virtually nothing for the audience to hold on to other than the curiosity of watching whether this utterly unlikeable woman will allow her husband to raise another mans child while denying the father his rights to his son. On the other side of the Dwight and Angela baby-papa-drama, theres (State) Senator Lipton, Angelas husband, and definitely closeted homosexual whos made multiple passes at Oscar and in the episodes final scene gave Oscar a very firm (almost scary if you watched Heroes) insistence to call him. For all the time spent on this minor plot thread I feel as though were supposed to expect some epic romance drama occurring between Oscar and The Senator. Hopefully this has just been to contribute to the Dwight/Angela conflict (which has been largely ignored the entire season, only to pop up now?) as I can hardly stand having to care about such soapy nonsense. Generally Im pretty disappointed The Office has been reduced to using this trope. Its cheap and has no place in such a sitcom which is supposed to surpass conventions, not maintain them. Oscar served as a kind of pair of bookends to this episode as he was also the focus of the cold open in which he attempted to record a video (or make some kind of live broadcast on a blog?) speaking to young, troubled, gay youths. It wasnt a terrible open as it allowed for several members of the office to make many small contributions which served as nice little caricatures, all of which worked well in terms of humor and accuracy except of course for Kevin whose formerly laughable naivety and seeming lack of common sense has transformed into Looney Tunes level stupidity (seriously, he cant spell crazy?) and ended up serving as the scenes chaotic climax as he cried loudly while Oscar attempts to convince his videos viewers (and possibly himself) that, It gets better. Not much better, but better. I guess I appreciate the writers subtly telling us the past season was just a creative hiccup and that the ninth season of The Office will be better, but I hope they can actually deliver because this eighth season was the sloppiest, laziest, biggest disappointment in television, possibly ever. Free Family Portrait Studio also decided to do us the favor (notice the bitter, jaded sarcasm?) of letting us know where that whole Daryl and Val coupling stands. As much as I liked hearing Daryl explain how crazy he would go on himself if he were Val, and seeing the best surgeon in Japan explain how he and the other warehouse workers that left after winning the lottery lost their winnings on a bad investment in an energy drink targeted at Asian homosexuals (seeing Robert California drink the Coconut Penis flavored drink later on was priceless), I thought Val suddenly jumping in on Daryl and his daughters family portrait was a cheap ending and borderline offensive to Daryls daughter. You would think Val would have at least one line in an episode in which her love triangle is a major component, but no. Instead we only see Daryl being nice by talking up Val to the latest additions to the warehouse and we see Vals boyfriend (who somehow found time to own a restaurant in addition to being a plumber at Greendale Community College) being a jerk to Daryl (as he should since he knows Daryl wants to date Val) and simply must put two and two together so that last scene of that story makes sense because there is no other explanation offered. It was a lazy bit of writing and something I wish had more time to be properly fleshed out. I dont see why this plot thread had to wait until the season finale to be so hurriedly tied up. Finally, there was Andys story of trying and failing to effectively shock the office with his news of former Dunder Mifflin CFO, David Wallace, buying the company and reinstating Andy as manager. Again, I really liked the bulk of this plot, but the conclusion felt really nonsensical and unsatisfying. Watching Andy build up so much shtick for his delicious moment was extremely Michael-esque in the best way, especially his, From m-o-p to m-v-p, line. Those two really do share a flair for the dramatic and in that way I suppose Andy is a very worthy successor to Michael. Ive always believed it was possible and truly hoped Andy would fill Michaels shoes but the poor, pathetic man didnt have much of a chance with this seasons writing being all over the place yet failing to provide one plot that contributed anything with lasting consequences. We now see that by the end of this season yet another deus ex machina, this time the newly multi-millionaired David Wallace, swoops in to save a company that clearly doesnt deserve to survive. It was one thing in season three when Dunder Mifflin still projected the image of being a real company whose management and employees appeared to demonstrate at least some competence and a branch closing actually meant something, but after so many branch closings, corporate acquisitions, shifts in management, and most importantly, the utter and complete absence of any sense that this company was more than the backdrop of a failing sitcom, I just cant bring myself to care what happens to Dunder Mifflin or its employees. Its almost fitting then how anticlimactic the resolution to this story was. The man that ran Dunder Mifflin-Sabre into the ground and whom Andy seemed so hell bent last episode on defeating ended up with a million dollars that hell use to I really wasnt clear on the details of this set up a foundation that allows him to scour the planet in search of young, uneducated female gymnasts? So just as suddenly as he appeared and talked a CEO into giving him her company Robert California is now suddenly disappearing after talking his way into the creepiest vacation ever (and is Cazamakas his real last name?). Robert California, as much as I like James Spader, hardly worked as the enigmatic authority figure and his whirlwind of crazy ridiculousness only served to further erode the realism that once made this series so special. To his departure I say good riddance. Meanwhile, the woman that swooped in and callously (and totally illogically) stole Andys job will be spared by the Nard-Dog because she quoted Shakespeare. Okay. I dont dislike Nelly or Catherine Tate as much as most of the people who Ive read comments by on websites like this, but I do heavily hate how the character has been reintegrated post-Florida. Her stealing Andys job was just such a giant middle finger in the face of logic and decent story telling that the recent efforts to humanize her have come off as borderline insulting and I cant accept her presence as being anything other than a remnant of the worst season of The Office ever. That being said, I did love when she yelled Get out skeleton man! to Gabe when he attempted to interrupt Andys intervention with talk of his birthday. More moments like that may help me to not hate Nelly so much in the ninth season. The intervention scene worked really well and mightve been the best bit of comedy of the entire episode because not only was it such a great reversal on Andy after he behaved like such an unprofessional jackass, but because for a minute there the episode actually held some genuine tension for Andy, until Wallace showed up and made everything all better. Aside from Wallace waving his magic money wand and completely negating everything thats occurred this past season, the other element from this plot that bothered me a bit was Erin. Now I love this character but like Kevin the inconsistency with which her intelligence is portrayed is a little too staggering to be tolerated. The episode tried to convince us that the same woman who had the sense and foresight to use the word calibrate in telling Andy that he should take it easy with the liquor gargling and soup spilling is the same woman who minutes later could contend that her boyfriend abuses her and be convinced that he was actually a paranoid schizophrenic suffering from hallucinations. Right. Now that we know Jim, Pam, and Andy will return for the ninth season we can at least be happy that a reboot wont occur, but seeing as how Mindy Kaling is leaving to pursue her Fox sitcom and Rainn Wilson and Paul Lieberstein will be leaving to pursue the Dwight spin-off, The Office needs a new showrunner that can make up for this last season of nonsensical, directionless, ludicrous, consequence-free television (maybe BJ Novak?). Hopefully Wallaces presence will lend some realism to the show and ground it in a world without Robert California, but ideally I just want to see the show stop avoiding giving the characters something to do, something to fight for that isnt related somehow to a situation that could be described as wacky or zany. The best episodes of The Office never had to try so hard to create comedic situations and the harder the show tries the less effective the results are. If the writers could just stop taking for granted our love of and familiarity with these characters and provide some plots that contribute something to our understanding of them as opposed to constantly going back to the well the series could find its glory once more. Unfortunately though, I have the dreaded feeling that the series will continue to sputter into mediocrity until people stop watching. I just hope the series gets a proper send off before the axe finally drops.