IGN Rates The Office’s Season 4
The site, IGN, picks the episode, Deposition, as its best and gives it an overall score 8.5 out of 10.
Excerpts:
Steve Carell continues to prove why he’s such a star. As the center of this show, he manages to expand and deepen Michael Scott in a way that most actors would find impossible. Michael alternates between lovable idiot and insufferable cad – sometimes in the same scene. His tour de force in this season is the excellent episode, “The Deposition.” The episode ought to win Carell an Emmy. There are several priceless moments in this episode, but watching Michael listen to the stenographer read back the discussion of what he meant by “That’s what she said” is one of the funniest moments in the series so far.
While “The Deposition” was the high point in the season, there were several terrific episodes. “Money” showed us a glimpse of Dwight’s frightening home life on the Shrute beet farm. “Local Ad” is a fun episode that shows us Michael’s true passion for what he does. When the team put together what is actually a clever little commercial, it includes the well meaning but misguided catchphrase “Dunder Mifflin, limitless paper in a paper-less world.” The episode also featured Dwight’s adventures in Second Life – where he’s a paper salesman who plays “Second Second Life.”
This season also had a few moments where the show simply went a bit overboard. Part of what works so well with The Office is that these characters feel very real, and the situations do seem as though they’re possible. When Michael drives his car into a lake, or heads into the wild – things seem to go off kilter. The episode “Branch Wars” felt a bit over the top, despite having some great moments (and one of the best performances from Jon Krasinksi).
The season went on hiatus due to the writers’ strike after “The Deposition” and too an extended break (along with the most of the rest of television). It returned in fine form with “Dinner Party,” which picks up where “The Deposition” left off. This is one of the more uncomfortable episodes to watch as the party is an extended social train-wreck. It showcases Melora Hardin as Jan, a woman experiencing what seems to be a perpetual mid-life crisis.
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