THE OFFICE: SEASON SIX
(not rated)
MOVIE: ****1/2 (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ***** (out of 5)
STARRING
Steve Carell as MICHAEL SCOTT
Rainn Wilson as DWIGHT SCHRUTE
John Krasinski as JIM HALPERT
Jenna Fischer as PAM BEESLY
B.J. Novak as RYAN HOWWARD
Leslie David Baker as STANLEY HUDSON
Brian Baumgartner as KEVIN MALONE
Angela Kinsey as ANGELA MARTIN
Phyllis Smith as PHYLLIS LAPIN
Kate Flannery as MEREDITH PALMER
Mindy Kalin as KELLY KAPPOOR
Creed Bratton as CREED BRATTON
Oscar Nunez as OSCAR MARTINEZ
Ed Helms as ANDY BERNARD
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The sixth season of NBC’s “The Office” finds some new changes to the Scranton branch of the Dunder-Mifflin paper family. The biggest change comes from the fact that the company has new ownership, the printer company Sabre. Kathy Bates comes on as a guest star as the owner of Sabre. This season also moves from Jim and Pam getting married to Jim and Pam having a baby. The geek romance has been replaced with Andy and Erin. And, of course, Dwight is as crazy as ever.
WHAT I LIKED
After watching the fifth season of “The Office” in its entirety, I was totally hooked. And one week when I had the flu last winter, I watched the entire first four seasons on Netflix, catching up on the whole series. So now I can talk about the show as a bona fide fan. I may not be a long-time fan, but I am caught up with the rest of them.
The fans have blown hot and cold throughout the years, saying that “The Office” sometimes moves away from its roots of reality and hyper-reality. In the sixth season, there’s a lot of reality introduced in a very funny way. Mergers and acquisitions happen all the time – and I’ve been through them before – and as crazy as some of the things are that happen in this season, I can’t say they aren’t out of place.
The Sabre acquisition really breathes some life into the show, particularly with the addition of Bates as the new boss and her crony Gabe Lewis (Zach Woods). The key to a show like this is to keep adding new blood but to keep that blood fresh and good. Zach Woods is great for this show, as much as Ellie Kemper was when she was brought in during season five as Erin, the new receptionist.
It’s also refreshing to see the show move away from Jim and Pam storyline and focus on other characters. Dwight is still hilarious, as is Michael Scott. Of course, the show is going to have to look at some new blood for when Steve Carell leaves after season seven, but I have faith.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
This season of “The Office” really hit a stride. I can’t find anything about it that I don’t like.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The Blu-ray for season six includes a nice selection of bonus features, which is always nice to see in a sixth season release. The features are scattered over the four discs, including two hours of deleted scenes. There are also commentaries on five episodes.
Disc 2 includes the extended cut of the “Secret Santa” episode. Disc 3 includes the “Welcome to Sabre” company video, which is hilarious and features the character of Gabe. Disc 4 also features Gabe in the original digital short “The Podcast.” Additional features on disc 4 includes a blooper reel, “The Office” promos and an episode of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of “The Office” and anyone frustrated in their own workplace.