The Bell Tolls for The...Office

I really lament writing this, but I think The Office is finally done.  Maybe when Steve Carrell leaves at the end of this season there will be a sigh of relief and the show can find a new direction, but it doesn't look like it.

Last season had some highlights (see Date Mike and the parkour cold open), but overall if you missed it, you missed nothing.  The funniest thing was Kelly's music video, which was never on TV.  This season, more of the same.  I laughed pretty hard at the what will Stanley notice cold open, and moderately at a few things here and there.  The problem seems that they've run out of ideas.  They have tried to revive Jim as a prankster, but only half-heartedly.  They keep beating the Andy still loves Erin joke into the ground so that it just isn't funny.  The Dwight-Angela sex contract is just awkward and doesn't work unless the tension with Dwight caring more about Pam's friend is there.  Ryan is not funny. Period.  Ditto Gabe, and Erin.  I think the show needs more Creed, Daryl, Kelly, Oscar, Kevin and douche bag Andy.

The writers also seem to lack direction.  So many plots the past two season start, then kind of just sit in idle.  I'm not sure what they were trying to do with the baptism episode: there was nothing entertaining about the Jim/Pam plot and the Michael filled with the Holy Spirit plot was wholly predictable and didn't do anything.  When I watch I keep feeling like there is about to be some funny twist, but there just isn't.

At this point the show literally feels like we are watching an office, not The Office.  Yeah there are a few chuckles here and there, but no more ill-timed that's-what-she-saids, no more inventive pranks on Dwight or Andy, no more zany misinterpretation of social norms.  It's becoming too much work to watch a show that just seems like a normal day at work.  I hope that this is more a product of the Michael Scott farewell tour need to wrap things up for the character, but since last season was almost as bad I highly doubt it.  The cast and crew seem like every American worker at about 1:15 on a Friday, tired of being there and just waiting to get out.