The Office: Season Six

Happily, The Office had a much more productive year than Michael Scott (Steve Carell), who laments to his new boss in the season finale that he has been going through a "rough patch." Reviewing his home movies, he says, "There were only 12 minutes that I felt were worth taping." Season 6 provides ample footage that Officers will want to keep on file. Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) at last get married in the season benchmark, "Niagara," an Emmy-nominated episode (director Paul Feig was robbed!) brimming with hilarious and richly satisfying mental camera "click" moments to treasure. Kathy Bates and Zach Woods are welcome additions to the company as, respectively, Joanna Bennett, the formidable and no-nonsense CEO of Sabre, which purchases the struggling Dunder Mifflin, and Gabe, her intimidated right-hand man. Darryl (Craig Robinson) gets a well-deserved promotion upstairs, Andy (an Emmy-worthy Ed Helms) and Erin (the charming Ellie Kemper) fill the will-they-or-won't-they void left by Jim and Pam with their sweet and awkward courtship that is rife with drama, and Michael is oddly pleased to learn that (spoiler alert) his new girlfriend is married. Not everything works this season. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) hatches a diabolical plan to sabotage the newly promoted Jim, but it goes nowhere, as do his nonsensical negotiations with Angela (Angela Kinsey) to conceive a child. And a clip episode ("The Banker") seems like slacking off. But there is no reprimanding the ensemble for its total investment in their characters, whom Joanna rightly calls "some of the loveliest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing." Each episode has giddy grace notes (the camera catches Creed moved to tears by an opera aria in "The Lover") and priceless bits of comic business (Pam turns Borsht Belt comedian in "Body Language," Joanna gives budding author Toby unsolicited advice on his novel in progress in "Whistleblower"). And for the first time, the season-ending cliffhanger does not involve Jim and Pam, but the series' second most beloved couple. There are two disappointing omissions from this five-disc set. The Halloween-themed cold open has been excised from the episode "Koi Pond," and the viral sensation Subtle Sexuality webisodes, including the "Male Prima Donna" music video, are not included among the bonus features. --Donald Liebenson