The seventh season of The Office started out with a bang with the entire cast performing a lip dub of the song "Nobody but Me" by The Human Beinz. As a cold intro, I thought the musical sequence was a fresh and creative way to start off the episode, and it was a nice departure from the usual pranks and jokes that we're used to seeing.
Watching Erin dancing on her roller-skates, Meridith dancing on Kevin's back, and Michael performing his amateur magic tricks were definitely highlights of the intro, although Rainn Wilson's (Dwight's) part in the performance was a bit trite and overdone, in my opinion. It was also nice to see The Office pay homage to Creed's musical background during all the commotion, even if it only did last for a couple of seconds.
Watching Erin dancing on her roller-skates, Meridith dancing on Kevin's back, and Michael performing his amateur magic tricks were definitely highlights of the intro, although Rainn Wilson's (Dwight's) part in the performance was a bit trite and overdone, in my opinion. It was also nice to see The Office pay homage to Creed's musical background during all the commotion, even if it only did last for a couple of seconds.
Right off the bat, I noticed a couple of changes. Pam, for some reason, seems to wearing a lot more make-up and her hair is straighter in this episode. I'm not really sure why the writers decided to do this (perhaps it was to signify new changes to come for Pam), but she definitely looks more attractive and polished. Whether or not this is a good thing is another matter, seeing how this is kinda a big change from the old Pammy we've grown to love and expect.
New scenes were also added to the opening credits, including a few from the Stress Relief episode (one of my personal favorites) and a couple from the current season that we haven't seen yet.
Check out the new intro here:
So apparently, a lot has happened over the summer: Erin is dating Gabe, Dwight is now the owner of the building, and Michael has hired a new assistant for the office. First off, why the hell is Erin dating Gabe? Gabe is the epitome of ick, and quite frankly, I can't stand looking at him or hearing him talk. Besides, Erin and Andy were so cute together, and it doesn't really make sense how she could just dump him over something so petty. I mean, everybody has exes, right? Although, I guess her anger was understandable (I would be pretty pissed too if I found out my boyfriend had dated Angela).
Dwight as the new owner of the building might actually turn into something interesting given his previous record as the owner of an agriculturally themed bed and breakfast. The subplot revolving around Pam's attempt to prank Dwight was amusing to watch, but it wasn't really all that funny. Pam and Dwight get stuck in an elevator after Pam switches all the buttons around, and Dwight suddenly has an urge to urinate not 5 seconds after the elevator stops. Eh.
Michael's new assistant, Luke, it turns out, is actually Michael's nephew who has been receiving special treatment from Michael, even though he's horrible at what he does. The entire office soon comes to hate the new assistant, ultimately leading to a classic scene involving Michael spanking Luke in front of everyone.
The episode ends with Gabe telling Michael that he needs 6 sessions of counseling for physically assaulting an employee. As soon as Michael finds out that the counseling will be done by Toby, however, he considers choosing the alternative, which is termination. This was probably the writers' way of alluding to Steve Carell's departure from the series, which was unexpected seeing how this was only the first episode of the season. This better not be the way Michael decides to leave; a great character deserves a great exit, and this simply doesn't cut it.
Highlights
1. The lip dub
2. Luke's spanking by Michael and the reenactment of Luke's spanking.
3. Meridith breaking into Luke's car- gotta love that Meridith.
4. The "don't bother Luke" drawing on the white board.
5. Jo's misunderstanding of Michael when he said he loved the new assistant.
Lowlights
1. Creed's one-liners: Creed rarely speaks in the series, but when he does, his lines are gems. I just didn't feel that way with this episode, especially when he was talking about having a "front row seat" to the debate over nepotism.
2. Pam's prank
Best Quotes of the Episode
1. "I stepped on a piece of glass in the parking lot, which hurt. That got infected, even though I peed on it." -Michael
2. "I will cover his ass like moss on a Mississippi tree stump."- Michael
Final Verdict
Overall, the first episode of the season was a bit of a let down. The episode started out strong with the lip dub, but things sort of tapered down from there. There were a couple of funny scenes sprinkled throughout the episode that made me chuckle, but for a first episode, I expected better.
7/10
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