When did "The Office" jump the shark?

We have a running "Office" thread, but that seems devoted to new episodes.

I pose this question separately.

Some moments that leap to mind for me:

1. Michael and Jan get together
2. The Pam and Jim wedding line dance
3. Michael and Dwight kidnap the pizza boy
4. Phyllis's wedding (widely considered the first really bad episode and a moment when they started to lose control of Michael's character)

Thoughts?

 

Dick, I think it's useful to mention the season each of those things happened:

Michael/Jan: mid-Season 3 or early Season 4
Pam/Jim dance: early Season 6
Pizza boy (CROSSOVER ALERT! Artie from "Glee"): early season 4
Phyllis's wedding: late Season 3

I'll put it out there that I very much enjoyed the Phyllis wedding episode. I think the Pam/Jim wedding dance is probably the best point for me on your list above. I think my tipping point was probably Holly's hiring, or maybe Erin's, at least regarding where the decline started. (Although I've grown to enjoy Erin.) Or possibly the Sabre acquisition.

I look at it more in terms of seasons at this point. In my opinion:

Seasons 2-3: Pantheon-level television
Seasons 1 and 4: Very good television
Season 5: Still pretty good
Seasons 6-7: Flawed, but still good TV for the most part
Season 8: Didn't happen

Looking at that list, obviously it's all relative, but for me, the true decline into what it's become started with Michael leaving. It had been slipping incrementally before, but the stuff after he left is when it went well and truly off the rails.

 

Good post.

Couple other thoughts I have that may not be THE moment, but certainly were indicative of the decline:

* The Michael Scott Paper Company
* Ryan rehired

 

The first bad episodes of The Office were "Health Care" and "Hot Girl." Season 1, aside from "Diversity Day," has not aged well, though I love "Basketball."

That said, the decline clearly began when Jim and Pam got together. Season 4 is just not as good as Seasons 2 and 3. "Phyllis' Wedding" is a good jump-the-shark point, though Michael Scott Paper Company is a competitor.

 

Is "Hot Girl" the one with Amy Adams?

 

Yes. It's a terribly boring episode, even though Amy Adams is hot.

 

When it comes down to it, I see The Office as having two great seasons and a few other great episodes. Maybe 60 great episodes total. I don't think it ranks among my 20 favorite shows, even though I've seen every episode and will watch until the end. I'd take Community, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock ahead of The Office both right now (obviously) and in regards to the overall body of work.

 

The wedding line dance is the last possible moment for me. If anything, it was the final blow.

I think Jim and Pam being together worked fine for a while, but I think when Pam gave up design school it started to go downhill in that regard.

 

For me, the decline started toward the end of Season 4. Jan went crazy and that relationship with Michael kind of soured things for me. The Jim-Pam dynamic was also starting to fade at that point. Still watchable, but never the kind of home run episodes we got in Seasons 2 and 3.

 

That time they introduced a character, spent two episodes establishing traits, and then proceeded to redefine the character every two episodes thereafter.

 

I will, and have already, defended the wedding several times here. I will do so again on this thread if it becomes necessary. I think "Niagara" is actually a great Office episode. Now, it can still be the moment when everything that came after it was going to have diminishing returns. But for me, the true end begins with the Sabre stuff. I remain completely unenthused about the Michael Scott Paper Company stuff. It really bothered me, at the time, that Sepinwall adored it so much and felt that it was "classic Office" and that it saved Season 5.

But I've never found a single element of the Sabre stuff funny, clever, or even mildly interesting.

However, just for fun...

Favorite episodes of all time:

1. Office Olympics (Season 2)
2. Booze Cruise (Season 2
3. Casino Night (Season 2)
4. Benihana Christmas (Season 3)
5. The Deposition (Season 4)
6. Niagara (Season 6)
7. Dinner Party (Season 4)
8. Goodbye Toby (Season 4)
9. The Dundies (Season 2)
10. Goodbye Michael (Season 7)