8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
Based on the popular British series of the same name, this faster-paced American version follows the daily interactions of a group of idiosyncratic office employees at paper company Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch via a documentary film crew's cameras. Regional manager Michael (Steve Carell) thinks he's the coolest, funniest, best boss ever - which, of course, makes him the uncoolest, most obnoxious and annoying boss as far as his staff are concerned. Salesman Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) has always loved receptionist Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and loves sabotaging his cube-mate, the know-it-all Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) started as a young, smart, self-possessed temp, but quickly figured out the real office politics despite Michael's attempts to instill the official point-of-view, and gets himself a job at corporate HQ in New York. The staff is rounded out by quiet Phyllis Lapin Vance (Phyllis Smith), beaten down by the working life Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker), office alcoholic Meredith Palmer (Kate Flannery), up-tight Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey), formerly closeted homosexual Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez), stocky and uncouth Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner), ambivalent kleptomaniac Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton), Sad Sack HR rep Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein), persistently love-struck Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling), icy corporate manager turned Michael's girlfriend Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin), former Stamford branch denizen and Cornell graduate Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson), and Pam's ex-fiancé Roy Anderson (David Denman)
Starring: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. NovakComedy | 100% |
Dark humor | 32% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (5 BD/DVDs)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
BD-Live
Mobile features
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
I know now that I spent last September and even much of October living in blinding denial. In my 2011 review of The Office: Season Seven, posted three weeks before the series' eighth season began, I penned the following wildly optimistic opening: "Can The Office thrive without Michael Scott? Can it even survive? The short answer: absolutely. Had Steve Carell resigned from Dunder Mifflin at some point in the series' first three seasons, chances are The Office would have faded into the Scranton night. But now? Seven, soon eight seasons in? Michael Scott, proud purveyor of one-liners, misunderstandings and awkward pauses, is just another cog in a well-oiled ensemble; a beloved cog, sure, but a cog all the same. Jim, Pam, Dwight, Andy, Stanley, Angela, Kevin, Oscar, Kelly, Daryl, Phyllis, Ryan, Meredith, Erin, Creed, Toby... how is that a single show has given us so many unforgettable characters? Who would have thought the Little American Adaptation That Could would grow beyond its leading man, to the point that his departure would bring laughter, tears and, perhaps most surprisingly, a sense of exciting new possibilities? For all the doubt hanging over Michael's empty desk, for all the questions about who will fill his chair, does it really matter? Should anyone really be worried?"
I was wrong, dear readers. Soooo wrong. In retrospect, the answer to the last two questions in my Season Seven intro should have been: yes, it really does matter, and yes, everyone, particularly the successful NBC comedy's biggest fans, should be very, very worried. Season Eight turned out to be a disaster of post-Carellian proportions. The writers' room spent twenty-four episodes scrambling for material, desperate to justify the series' continuation. The cast soldiered on, rudderless and to increasingly uncomfortable ends. And the show, once a wry commentary on office life and awkward workplace relationships, became little more than a pale imitation of what it once was not so long ago. Season Eight proved just one thing: The Office really was doomed the moment Steve Carell bid his castmates a sweet, fond farewell and walked out the door.
"What else could make our ninth season better than our eighth?"
If you have a block of Office seasons sitting on your shelf, you know exactly what to expect from Season Eight's deceptively unremarkable 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation. The series has never been an out-and-out Blu-ray stunner; it's mockumentary premise, handheld footage and off-location camerawork all but guarantee as much. But spend any amount of quality time with any of the show's high definition releases and you'll almost immediately recognize how faithful-to-a-fault it all actually is. The eighth season encode is no different. Interview segments are more striking than anything else; colors are bright and lively, skintones are lifelike (albeit a touch pink this season), black levels are decidedly decent and detail is commendable. Other shots and scenes vary based on the cameras being used and the aesthetic being pursued, but still look as good as should be expected. Car-mounted cameras, standard definition footage are littered with the most distractions, of course, but it too is designed to bolster the ongoing joke, unwieldy artifacts, unsightly aliasing and all. Even in Season Eight's visually problematic stretches, though, the presentation impresses. Surprising primary punch, unexpected texture clarity and other visual treats await the diligent videophile, and the encode remains proficient throughout. There aren't any bouts of worrisome macroblocking, banding, ringing or other significant anomalies, even if, frankly, it would be next to impossible to know if there was a issue to report. When something odd appears, it's simply dismissed; we assume it's a natural part of the mockumentary presentation and think nothing of it. That said, even when Season Eight disappoints and underwhelms, Universal's encode does not. Fans will once again be pleased.
The series' sound design is intentionally low-key and sometimes low-fi as well, traits Universal's solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track embraces wholeheartedly. Dialogue is clean, clear and exceedingly well-prioritized -- up-selling the documentary shtick with precision and ease -- and every rustle, bump, beep, crash and office equipment whir sounds as if it's nestled within a realistic business environment. Even acoustics, which are on the surface stuffy and unrefined, are quite convincing on the whole and play their role brilliantly. Everything about the show's audio is in on the joke, in fact. LFE output is restrained but effective, rear speakers are assertive without being overly eager, dynamics deliver despite being less than remarkable, and pans and directionality know when to hold back and when to charge ahead full force. It's a constant balancing act being played, between the energizing and the mundane, and it works wonders. Like previous season releases, Season Eight's lossless audio is everything it should be. No more, no less.
A flimsy DigiPak. Five BD-59 Blu-ray/DVD Flipper discs. Overlapping discs. Fragile, easily cracked hubs. Awkward disc removal. The Office seasons have a history of irritating packaging, but Season Eight's ungainly case and Flipper discs are almost as aggravating as Nellie Bertram herself. The supplemental package isn't nearly as extensive as those of previous seasons. No commentaries, no Q&A's, no featurettes. Just 104-minutes of deleted scenes, two extended episodes, and a few other inconsequential odds and ends. Prepare yourself accordingly.
"What is going on?" A fair question. A good question. What is going on with The Office? Easily the series' worst to date, Season Eight stands as pretty damning evidence that the once-blazing workplace comedy is out of sync, out of touch and out of its mind. Universal's Blu-ray release is better, thanks to another faithful AV presentation, but its lazy, lightweight supplemental package is yet another indicator that the show may as well have ended last year with the exit of Steve Carell. Can The Office go out on a ninth season high? Honestly, I have serious doubts. Nellie Bertram will be back, if that tells you anything. It tells me a lot. I'll be watching, but if it's anything like this season, I don't know how long I'll be willing to stick around.
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