Take your review and shove it up your a** with a red hot poker.

Okay, that's a little exaggerated, but still, I loved this episode! It wasn't better than some of the earlier ones (Customer Survey) but it felt like a normal Office episode to me.

One of my favorite scenes was when Angela said she liked the sign Pam put up, and Pam's reaction. That, an, of course, the cold open.

How can one genuinely nice person affect Michael so much that he would, like you said, plot to send him to JAIL?

While I do agree that The Office has returned to its default settings (Pam back in the office, Ryan/Kelly on again and off again, Toby back in the office), I'm trusting that the writers have a plan to go forward, rather than repeating the same storylines as before.

This episode had some great, laugh out loud moments. We don't need to worry about The Office being believable, because it's a work of fiction. Employees who behave like Dwight or managers who behave like Michael would never last in a company. It's tv. It's outrageous. And that's what I love about it.

The frameup plot was outlandish and not "real". But IMO it was well balanced by the microwave mess subplot. I have observed that exact office dispute too many times in my career. Someone leaves a mess in the communal area, and then someone else thinks they can solve the problem with a self righteous anonymous overwritten note that explains things exactly to the perpetrator.

In the end, the same lowly person as ends up cleaning things up.

The Office has sucked all year. At this point I've given up on it and Earl. They're both staid and rarely amusing any longer.

I have to disagree with everyone saying they didn't like it. I actually laughed out loud when Michael shouted NO! upon Toby's reappearance. I don't find it unbelievable that he didn't notice his return either, especially since he works in the annex. I know I have certainly worked with people who I less than loved to before and was so busy relishing their absense during a vacation that I didn't notice their return until I bumped into them in the lunch room. And don't think for a second Michael is too dumbed down to be a real person. Just last week in my office our safety committee chairperson held a meeting about the rise in ibuprofen usage from the first aid kit and speculated this was due to someone who was "addicted" to ibuprofen "since it's use can make you very very numb and be used to get high." Yes, really. It was even suggested an addictions specialist come in to speak with us and to stage an intervention. Again, yes, this really happened, in real life. Never mind that it's not addictive and you'll get ulcers before you get high. At least now I know from last nights episode I'll plant Sweet Tarts in coworkers desk and wait for the raid!

As for Jim and Pam and their house, I can't believe how upset everyone is over this! I was worried when I saw the look on Pam's face as she toured her new house, but was relieved and realized the error in my thinking as she reveiled that she in fact loved it. Remember Roy? (Obviously) Remember how he treated her? Unfortunately for Pam, she's used to being treated second-class and as an after-thought in relationships. She gave her everything to she and Roy but he could barely be bothered to do anything she cared for until it became a sword fighting contest for him to prove his manliness and ownership of her in. There, my friends, is the key. Pam isn't used to being treated as a partner. Good relationships aren't 'you and me' or 'him and her' or 'he and she' or 'mine and yours', they're 'us and ours' and 'we'. Jim buying THEM a house wasn't a selfish move for him, it was the opposite. A very serious committment to their future together as a married couple. Despite all the noticable downsides (i.e. the proximity to a quarry and a weird coworker and the outdated interior) it's not like this will be their home forever. It's a starter home, and for an artist and a new couple, a fun project to do together to make it theirs. Plus, how many of you would have cried foul if they moved into a sparkly new cookie cutter housing development on a paper salesman and secreatary salaries, especially in this economy!? Talk about unrealistic.

Maybe I'm being too optimistic, too glass half full, but I for one and happy to see a love story that isn't doomed or haunted or bound to fail. You all beg the writers almost weekly to keep our beloved Jam together, but are seemingly up in arms with the "gotcha" moments another poster mentioned. "Don't leave her in NYC!" "Don't let the Art Guy get her!" "Don't let them break up!" "Don't draw out a Roy-esque engagement!" Everytime a problem presents itself, the true love they have for each other triumphs and it's quickly resolved. Can't they just be young, happy and in love without a MAJOR relationship flaw and can't we all just be happy with that? It's almost like watching an action movie. Everyone wants James Bond to win in the end, but you guys get a little disappointed when he does away with the baddies with grace and ease. Just sit back and relax and be happy that the writers are doing your bidding.

Sure, spending $500 on a baggie of caprese salad you think is weed, hiding it in a coworkers desk and then calling the cops is pretty outlandish, but would you honestly rather watch a show that's so realistic, it could have been filmed earlier that day in your own office? Would you rather the big conflict be who jammed the copier and left a half torn sheet in the machine? Who used the last of the coffee and didn't make more? Sure it's nice to see something like the microwave and think to ourselves "Gosh my office is JUST like that sometimes!" but I doubt any of us would still be loving the show if it too closely reflected our own drone work. Loosen up a little and just enjoy the television show for what it is, a comedic television show that is real enough for us to see ourselves in/ care about the characters, but zany enough to wish our own offices had a little more pep in them.

And for the record, Wings is awesome and I still DVR it every morning at 6AM.

I didn't like the framing of Toby, but the rest of the episode was OK. More importantly, there should be a law that sets the minimum quality of a show scheduled between Earl and The Office. Anything with Molly Shannon does not qualify.

Jay, I love your reviews and I'm a Jersey girl so I always support you, but please do not insult WINGS or anything else Tim Daly related in the future. thanks....ha ha

Best part of the episode: Creed telling the camera when the cops came in: "Let's just stay in here and make like we're talking for a while" (or something to that effect).

I thought it was a great. I don't care about them being realistic. TV is my escape from real-life and the real people who I invest emotion in. There were good laughs and Michael's unexplainable hatred of Toby has always been hilarious and wonderfully dark. The show is funny and that's good enough for me.

Jay,
I usually agree with your assessments. Having said that, after last week's overwrought emotional and sad episode, I welcomed some buffoonery. Office-style. Agree to disagree.
However, when you compared Barney Stinson (A GOD) to Charlie Harper (mediocre), you lost me.

Cartoonish is the right word. This has swerved off into "jump The Shark" territory in an awfully big hurry.