This is by for the most bizarre and surreal episode ever for
The Office. It is so off-the-wall strange as everybody with a pulse comes in for a interview for the next managers position at
Dunder Mifflin. And as far out crazy this episode was, it was entertaining for the most part. But it is definitely not a perfect episode. Far from it. I have been openly critical of how I hate when they bring in big Hollywood name actors into the series. It never feels right and always reeks of a desperate grab at ratings. Having said that, I thought Jim Carrey's cameo at the very end may have been the best guest-starring cameo ever for the show. When this first aired on broadcast TV, I immediately thought it would be super cool if Carrey actually got the job and would become a fixer in the series. Alas, that didn't happen.
Other guest stars in this episode were
Will Arnett, Warren Buffet, Ray Romano, James Spader, Catherine Tate and
Ricky Gervais, who in the end should have taken over the role left vacated by the irreplaceable
Steve Carell. Ah yes, S
teve Carell. In the back of my (ours) mind we are always made aware that he is gone and that no one can ever replace him. This is what ultimately drags this episode down. It's like the writers of the show are basically run in circles, looking for something to say and do. It's kind of what every episode has been like since
Goodbye, Michael aired.
Let's move on to what was good about this episode, namely
Creed. I knew he was going to hit it out of the park the minute they opened the episode with him driving up to work and tossing his keys to a valet that wasn't even there to begin with. His talking head scenes were hilarious and his "managing" throughout the day even more so. Loved the voices that
Pam came up with to dupe
Creed into thinking he was talking with clients.
Dwight's 'self-interview' was very funny as well.
With that said, they should have ended not just this season, but the series when
Michael Scott walked off into the sunset with
Goodbye, Michael. It would have gone down as the greatest series finale ever. But instead it will only be remembered as the last truly great episode of
The Office.