I only started watching The Office after it had been on for a while.  Since I enjoyed the episodes so much, I decided to pick up the DVD sets earlier this year when I found them on sale.  I just finished watching The Office - Season 4.

I will be mentioning some things in discussing The Office - Season 4 that would be spoilers for people who haven't seen the earlier seasons yet.  Things will make more sense if the episodes are watched in order since the episodes build on what has happened earlier.

The Office is based on the British show of the same name that was created by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais.  That version only has two six episode seasons as well as a special.  The show was very popular and eventually versions of the show were created in other countries.  The US version began to air in 2005.  Gervais and Merchant serve as producers on the US version.  The first season of the show only had six episodes and they were very similar to episodes from the British version.  By the second season, the storylines start becoming a bit different.  The show is currently airing the sixth season at 9:00 P.M. EST on Thursday nights on NBC.  The show began to air in syndication in the fall of 2009.

The Office isn't filmed in front of a live audience and doesn't use a laugh track, making it different from most of the other half-hour shows that air in the United States.  Things are set up like a documentary film crew is taping the staff of Dunder Mifflin, a fictional paper company.  Most of what happens is at the Scranton branch of the company, though one or two other branches are mentioned, as is the corporate office in New York.  Most of what happens in the episodes takes place in the office or is tied to the office in some way, though a few things that happen away from work are shown every so often as well.  

The fourth season of The Office only has fourteen episodes because of the writer's strike.  The season is still entertaining and has some interesting developments even though it is shorter.  I'm guessing that some things are more condensed because of the strike and a few things develop a bit faster than they might have in a normal season. The first four episodes originally aired as hour long episodes.  Some of what happens is complicated and other things are more simple.

The development that I liked the most during the fourth season is that Pam and Jim have started a relationship.  They try to keep it from their coworkers for a while, but it doesn't take long for everyone to know what is going on.  There aren't any complications for them to deal with and they are just able to enjoy being happy.  I really liked that, though I have heard some people complain because there weren't complications or drama for Pam and Jim.  I don't think that a couple always has to have complications or drama in a show.  Frankly, I get tired of it when a couple is put together and then pulled apart over and over instead of just letting them to happy.  I've stopped watching shows for that.

At the end of season three, Ryan is offered a job at corporate that he jumps at, dumping Kelly as soon as he accepts the job.  He is now Michael's boss and he has Jan's old position.  I've always thought that Ryan was a bit arrogant, and it really shows now that he is in corporate.  He loves to hold his position and authority over people when he shows up in Scranton and he acts like an even bigger jerk.  It does make for some entertaining episodes and I love how things are left with him at the end of the season.  The other big development is that Angela dumps Dwight after an incident involving her cat and she ends up starting to date Andy.  Things do progress kind of fast for them, but that could be because of how pushy Andy is about certain things, something he already showed in the third season.

The fourth season of The Office continues to be really funny.  Michael is frequently clueless and he tends to bumble through things which adds a lot of humor in my opinion.   The dynamic between Michael and Dwight continues to be funny.  Jim still tries to irk Dwight, and while of what Jim does is silly or juvenile, it is funny.  Much of the humor is twisted in some way.  That works perfectly for the show, though the humor probably won't appeal to some viewers.  There are uncomfortable moments between characters, frequently caused by something Michael has said or done.  A few serious things come up every so often, though they usually aren't dealt with in a serious way.

Romance plays a slightly bigger part in the fourth season of The Office.  Jim and Pam are finally dating and several things connected to that are shown.  They are just really sweet together and I love seeing them together.  They are affectionate with each other and it is made clear that they are sexually active even though there aren't any sex scenes.  Angela is still secretly involved with Dwight when the season begins, but she quickly dumps him because of an incident with her cat.  Considering what he did, I fully get why she is so upset. She ends up involved with Andy and that is an odd relationship.  Kelly is distraught about Ryan for a while, but then she ends up dating Daryl from the warehouse even though she can't push him around.  Things really aren't that great for Michael and Jan even though they are living together.  The relationship eventually falls apart, but Jan manages to pop back into Michael's life just when he shows interest in someone else.

The fourth season has the same main group of returning characters, most of which have been in the show since the beginning.  Those characters are really well developed by this point.  Jim still tries to irritate Dwight whenever possible, but he does take some things more serious.  John Kransiski does really well with the part.  Pam seems a little more confident about certain things.  She is the happiest she has been throughout the series.  Jenna Fischer does really well with the part, making Pam very likeable.

Michael Scott continues to try to get everyone to like him while actually ticking off or offending people instead.  He bumbles through so many situations and creates huge problems.  He does mean well, but unfortunately things tend to go very wrong.  Steve Carell is great in the part.  Jan Levinson is Michael's live in girlfriend for much of the season.  She still treats Michael horribly and just doesn't seem like a nice person.  Karen, a character who was around for all of season three, only makes a short reappearance this season.  I was glad about that since I don't like Karen.

Dwight is still sticking to Michael like glue in most situations.  A little more about Dwight's life away from the office comes out when the bed and breakfast he runs is shown.  He can act like a jerk and he seems insensitive at times.  He isn't really that nice, but he isn't really mean or a bad character either.  I do think he is really entertaining.  Rainn Wilson does a really good job with the part.  Angela is a very uptight accountant.  She does show more emotion a few times while still being very reserved.  Angela Kinsey is great in the part.

Oscar and Kevin are the other accountants.  They are always around without receiving as much attention as some of the others.  Phyllis stands out a little more every so often, like when she takes over the party planning committee.  Stanley continues to not say much most of the time, though he does blow up at Michael at one point.  Meredith still has issues with drinking and she has some health problems after an accident caused by Michael.  Creed doesn't add a lot, though when he does receive more attention, it is usually interesting.

Andy is still a bit over bearing, though he is a bit more calm than he was in the third season.  He is still pushy about some things and is still annoying, though he does add a decent amount of humor.  Ed Helms is really good in the part.  Toby is upset about Pam being with Jim and he is still treated horribly by Michael most of the time.  Kelly mopes about Ryan for a while before starting to date Darryl from the warehouse.  She is still annoying with how much she babbles.  Darryl turns up in briefly in a few episodes.  I've never liked Ryan that much.  I think he is an even bigger jerk this season. He tries to act like a hot shot because of his job at corporate.  

Main Cast

Leslie David Baker - Stanley Hudson
Brian Baumgartner - Kevin Malone
Creed Bratton - Creed Bratton
Steve Carell - Michael Scott
Jenna Fischer - Pam Beesley
Kate Flannery - Meredith Palmer
Melora Hardin - Jan Levinson
Ed Helms - Andy Bernard
Mindy Kaling - Kelly Kapoor
Angela Kinsey - Angela Martin
John Krasinski - Jim Halpert
Paul Lieberstein - Toby Flenderson
B.J. Novak - Ryan Howard
Oscar Nunez - Oscar Martinez
Phyllis Smith - Phyllis Lapin
Rainn Wilson - Dwight Schrute

DVD Information

The Office - Season 4 has the fourteen episodes on four discs.  The case unfolds and has two discs per panel, with one disc slightly higher and behind the other disc.  I really don't like these type of cases.  Two more panels in the case have a list of the episodes along with short plot summaries.  Each disc has a main menu that has options for playing all the episodes, one after the other or selecting the episode list where they can be watched one at a time.  

The deleted scenes can be found from the episode lists and also from their own menu.  The deleted scenes have a finished look to them and they do tend to add to the plot of the episode in some way.  Some episodes have more deleted scenes than others and most o the deleted scenes are entertaining.  There are commentaries for some episodes that I haven't listened to yet.  The extras include a fake public service message, a summer vacation promo, the ad that Michael created in one of the episodes, a very funny blooper reel and something called The Office Convention: Writer's Block.  That is almost an hour long and features several of the writers talking about the show and answering questions from fans.  It was interesting.

The Office - Season 4 is still entertaining even though it is short.  The DVD set is good for fans of the series.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movies EpiGuide 3 Write Off.

The Office Collection ~ The Office - Season One ~ The Office - Season 2 ~ The Office - Season 3 ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD