Company Picnic

Company Picnic
Originally aired: May 14, 2009

Summary
Michael reconnects with Holly at the company picnic and the two accidentally reveal that a regional office of Dunder Mifflin is to be shut down. Pam and Jim receive some exciting news.

Background Production/Notes




Company Picnic was the 100th episode of The Office(US), it was written by Paul Lieberstein(who plays Tobey) and Jennifer Celotta(The Duel) and directed by Ken Kwapis(whose other directorial work include 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants', 'License to Wed', and 'He's just not that into you'). Greg Daniels(developer of The Office US) has stated that he was proud that the series made it to a 100th episode.
Daniels said, "I remember interviewing with Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant(creators of the original Office, and Extras), seven years ago, and this (100th episode) was certainly the goal, so I'm very pleased that we got to 100 episodes in a strong fashion. I think the show is in a very good place right now.

Whats also interesting is that the hospital that Jim and Pam went to may look familiar to some viewers, as it was the set used on another hit NBC show --Scrubs.

Review

Personally I did not enjoy this episode and felt that it was the weakest finale for the show. The episode was predictable in every sense, Michael and Holly's sketch wasn't funny...which is a shame as I felt these two characters have had memorable moments in previous episodes.


I did not like the fact that the show hints of a reconciliation between Dwight and Angela, its not shown but a subtle eye glance between the two can be seen and the viewer can easily guess that these two will be back together. As much as I loved this quirky pair in previous seasons, this arc starts treading on the Ross/Rachel relationship.

I feel that the writers were afraid to take chances with this show this season, I dunno if its because Gregg Daniels has left to work on Parks and Rec, but the shows governance isn't working. Whoever is at the helm of this ship is moving it into a wrong direction, which will ultimately lead to the demise of this once great show.