While the first 2 ½ seasons of "The Office" were as great as any comedy television as ever seen, the last half of the third season started to lose steam. Having Jim get transferred to the other office was great. Having the other office close and having Jim return to Scranton was overkill. The overuse of the Jim/Pam romance has gone beyond trite and predictable. The greatness of "The Office" was its unpredictability and its irrelevant humor.
Last year's season opener was the brilliant and hilarious "Gay Witch Project." This hour long season opener entitled "The Fun Run," is bloated and unfunny. The writers took the predictable path with Jim and Pam and have used it has the focal point of the office. There's no place for that to go now. But with the juvenile and annoying behavior expressed by Jim and Pam in the second half of last year, I can only say that they deserve each other. But as a viewer, it's starting to get real sickening. The writer's also took the easy way out by getting rid of Karen, just like they did with Roy last year. The subplot with Jan has also become ridiculous and Michael has tuned into a caricature Lately, the most interesting, funny and human characters on the show have been Darrell, Kevin, Stanley, Creed and Oscar. Here's to seeing more of them and less of Jim and Pam.