(S05E26) Driving home tonight, I got a text from my wife: "Wow wow wow Office... just wow! Rivals 'Casino Night!'"

That kind of praise has the potential to ruin what would normally be a very good episode, if only because you're prepared for something extraordinary. So far, only three things in my life have ever lived up to the hype: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, sex, and Cadbury Flake bars. Everything else has been kind of a letdown.

I was worried, then, that my wife's words would condemn tonight's Office to be more meh than magnificent. After all, we're not at the end of a grand storyline like we have been the last few season finales -- part of what made "Casino Night" so special was that it was the culmination of two years of Jim's pining away for Pam.

I just didn't think "Company Picnic" would be able to pull off that kind of greatness as a standalone episode ...