Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Office: Complete Christmas Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

There are certain movies and television specials that always put me in the Christmas spirit. The old Alaister Sim A Christmas Carol from 1951 hits my screen every mid-December. As do more modern films like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Scrooged. Then there is an entire sleigh-load of vintage television specials from Rankin/Bass and the Peanuts gang, and superhero Christmas episodes from Justice League and Batman: The Animated Series. Each of these entertains as, in most cases, the main character(s) go through some sort of trial, leading to learning or a transformation, and finally coming to understand the true meaning of Christmas. The best find a way to help us confront on-screen behaviors or attitudes present in ourselves so that we can go on the journey with the characters with very low or no barriers to entry. Anyone can screen A Christmas Carol without ever having read a word of Dickens and become fully immersed in the tale of Scrooge's redemption.

For those looking for something different or "new" for this holiday season, Universal has released The Office: Complete Christmas Collection featuring all of the Christmas episodes from the series. Oftentimes, when I see sets like this one I bristle a bit. They feel like just another cash grab. If I already have the The Office: The Complete Series sitting on my shelf, why do I need to get this release? However, my feelings changed pretty quickly once I started the second episode, A Benihana Christmas. Why? Convenience, pure and simple. Absent this set, if I wanted to binge every one of The Office's Christmas episodes I'd be changing discs frequently while trying to remember which seasons had the episode I needed to see next. It wouldn't be the end of the world by any means, but it is excellent to get an avalanche of the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin's unique take on the holiday.

The episodes are universally entertaining with the standard format of the series holding true on each of these episodes. Jim (John Krasinski) is typically involved in some sort of prank while focusing on his relationship with Pam (Jenna Fischer), meanwhile Dwight (Rainn Wilson) struggles for dominance as Michael (Steve Carell) typically creates the problem of the week and then works to solve it. The rest of the cast shifts in and out of these plots and subplots with hilarious and cringeworthy moments coming one on top of the other. The holiday theme does not prompt any of the characters to behave any better than they typically do, and in fact, one could argue that their behavior is amplified. Michael Scott's displeasure at having a female Santa leads to some extremely childish behavior that leads to something approaching blasphemy. Dwight's quest for revenge borders on assault. Serious issues like race and substance abuse are handled with such humor that some of the more uncomfortable moments are slightly diffused without losing their point.

Dwight Christmas, however, goes a bit too far. When the Party Planning Committee fails to plan the annual Christmas party, they decide to let Dwight bring the annual festivities to life at the office. Fans will be well aware that Dwight eschews Santa Claus for Belsnickel, a figure from the folklore of southwestern Germany. He's dirty, creepy, and isn't above spanking people with a switch. The problem, however, is that Belsnikel's traditional companion is typically portrayed by a person in blackface. While the episode included on this set edits the bulk of this footage out, there is a brief scene toward the end where we see Nate, from the warehouse, at the party still wearing remnants of the offensive makeup. I'm not normally one for censorship, but this is one exception. The Office is not normally known for subtlety, preferring to hit things hard and broadly. Here, after Stanley quietly tells Dwight that blackface is a bad idea, we see Dwight quickly reach for his cell phone. We know what he's done despite his denials, and he's wisely calling it off. That could have and should have been enough. Blackface, in full or in part, did not need to be seen, and I'm glad to see it was excised from the episode to the fullest extent possible.

The Office: The Complete Christmas Collection consists of seven episodes on two Blu-ray discs. (Episode summaries are from the interior art.)

The Office: Complete Christmas Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For those familiar with The Office: The Complete Series there won't be any real surprises here regarding the MPEG-4 AVC 1080p transfer on The Office: Complete Christmas Collection. It seems to be the identical transfer to the The Office: The Complete Series which you can read about here.

The Office: Complete Christmas Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track appears to be identical to what is found on The Office: The Complete Series, which is good news and you can read about ithere.

The Office: Complete Christmas Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplemental features are spread across both discs and are as follows:

Disc One

The Office: Complete Christmas Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Most, if not all, of the classic Christmas specials don't require the viewer to come with much preexisting knowledge. The Office which ran for nine seasons is populated with characters that have rich and detailed histories. Not knowing some of those details and what is going on in each character's story arc at the point in time of each of these Christmas specials will diminish their enjoyment in some instances. For the uninitiated, I would advise watching with someone who can quickly fill you in on key backstory elements, or, better still, cozy up with The Office: The Complete Series first. But for those who haven't missed an episode and love the insane and irreverent takes on Christmas that Michael, Dwight and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin employees create and/or are subjected to, The Office: Complete Christmas Collection is ho-ho-Highly Recommended.