['The Office' - 'Search Committee']

Right off the bat, let me give this caveat to my review: Going in, I knew that this was going to be a very difficult episode for the writers of 'The Office' to pull off.

The first degree of difficulty was that the episode was an hour, which is not something that this show has excelled at in the past. The second degree of difficulty was the multitude of guest stars -- as candidates -- parading through Dunder Mifflin Scranton, each with their own character flaws on display.

But the third degree of difficulty is that, without some sort of manager to kiss up to or hate, the atmosphere around the show feels rudderless. It's probably the reason why the episodes in which Deangelo and Dwight were the boss more or less worked, whereas this episode and Michael-less stories from earlier this year didn't.

There was a story here -- the search for a new manager -- and you have a pretty good idea who the most viable candidates for the job are by the end of the episode. But in a lot of ways, this felt like a series of sketches in search of a plot.

One thing that was very noticeable about each of the candidates -- most of whom didn't have names -- was that they were written pretty close to what their character types have been over the years:

Will Arnett -- arrogant and uninformed. He had a three-step program to increase sales but wouldn't reveal any of them. Sort of a combination of GOB and Steve Wilde.
James Spader -- super-confident, intimidating, a bit slimy, with fantastic verbal skills. Even though he said to Jim that he didn't think Jim could be steamrolled, Jim was still nearly speechless. Think a creepier version of Alan Shore.
Ray Romano -- Neurotic, easily influenced, full of self-doubt. Spader's character convinces him that he's about to enter the ninth circle of hell, so he whines through his interview and eats his lunch. Then, he does a 180 and says "These are the nicest people I've ever met." Think Ray Barone with even less balls.
Warren Buffett -- Well, this is more based on the legends about him, which usually talk about how thrifty he is. He tries to negotiate the mileage allowance up two cents, among other nickel and diming.
Ricky Gervais - He's playing David Brent, so that one's a gimme. Arrogant but clueless. Can't even be bothered to make the trip from England (which, I guess, is what happened with Ricky, but who knows).
Catherine Tate - Her character changed her management style any time she got pushback from the committee. First there were no titles, then everyone managed someone else with weekly firings, then she advocated for a Zen office with massages. Don't know her career as well as the others, so I can't say if this is a match to Tate's past characters.
Jim Carrey - Really liked the Finger Lakes. We only saw him address the camera, not in an interview.



Out of all of them, the only one that realistically might come back is Tate, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which made sense even before that report came out. Everyone else was there to be a guest distraction; they all have different projects going on. Tate might have to work around a stage commitment, but I'm sure that can be worked out. Oh, I guess Spader is available, but he's a bit too intense for the show, don't you think?

Of course, the other thing that makes you think Tate is the one is that her character was suggested by Jo Bennett, who told Jim to make sure that, if he doesn't pick her choice, that the ultimate choice be a real standout. That's a big clue that tells you that it's either going to be Tate or one of the internal candidates.

Given what Paul Lieberstein and others have said, it's been apparent for awhile that the internal candidates were going to be Andy, Darryl and Dwight. Dwight was at first indifferent to the process, growing an uneven beard, dressing in his pig-slopping clothes and openly looking through the classifieds ... until Spader's character insulted the place; then he threw his hat back in the ring.

And somehow, by the end of the episode, he became a viable candidate, and not just because he paid off Kelly (who replaced Gabe after she ratted him out to Jo) with the same offer that Jim turned down. Jo, despite her misgivings about his judgment, liked his crazy tenacity, especially when he came in for an interview wrapped in bandages, claiming to be a French man who had been horribly burned. Can the office stand to have Dwight as the manager again? If so, he can't be Frank Burns-ian again, which he might have learned after losing the job the first time around.

Andy finally decided to go after the job, rather than metaphorically let his housekeeper get it for him. It might also be the reason why he turned down Erin, even as she puppeted up to ask him out. And Darryl ... well, he was less prepared than anyone thought. He figured he'd do well because everyone knew him and "I'm blaaaaack!" He couldn't get through an interview question, and didn't have a resume. Then he tries to use his daughter to sway the office his way, getting a "don't do this, man" head shake from Jim, who's obviously in his corner. He doesn't even realize that Microsoft killed off Clippy years ago.

So, as the THR article stated, there's a very good chance that there could be some competition among the three candidates and Tate early next season. It might make for a good few episodes. Though I don't know how much they can take having Creed be the manager, considering Pam is resorting to doing "plays" as fake clients over the phone in order to keep him from talking to any real clients.

More fun stuff:

-- The Angela engagement story got a little overwhelmed by the management search. But, even though it wasn't that funny, it was interesting that everyone decided not to tell Angela out of compassion. She's happy, she'll have kids with him, why rock the boat? That'll burn her later, I'm sure, especially when that upset aide comes forward to the press.

-- Is that Porsche that Creed was driving new or did he have it already? I hope he can bring it back ... loved how he created an acronym and asked the group to make up words for it. Also liked how he split a non-existent meeting into sides, even though some of the people he listed didn't exist.

-- "Did you know Gabe's last name was Lewis? Because I didn't." Jim giving us all we need to know about Gabe's tenure at DM.

-- So is this the last of Zach Woods? Will Gabe be in Florida forevermore or will we see him again? He certainly didn't acquit himself well in Andy's interview, or when he dismissed Kelly's candidacy as "not serious." Nothing is worse than a Kelly Kapoor scorned.

-- Ryan wants to be led, but only when he feels like being led. Not sure where he's going to find that in a manager, so I wish him luck.

-- Ryan had a couple of good moments, like when he said the new boss should be a homeless person, or when he told Jim to take a break from "the Jim schtick" for a bit.

-- I'm guessing Jordan's a keeper. Not sure if she's just going to play the bored mall chick or if there's more in store for her, but she did seem to like Pam's methods to keep Creed occupied.

-- "Corporate wanted you to find the seven differences between this picture and this picture." -- Pam to Creed. "They're the same picture" -- Pam to the camera.

'The Office' airs Thursdays at 9PM ET on NBC.

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