The Show
For several reasons, The Office Season 5 was one of its best ever, and certainly worth a second look. With strokes of humor alternately broad and subtle, the team at Dunder-Mifflin survived yet another year on the job (mostly) intact, navigating the challenges of the modern workplace under the world's most fun/annoying (miraculously at the same time) boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carell).
From the ethics seminars and business trips to parties and rivalries, and even the occasional moment of productivity, we can't quite decide if we should be grateful for the job we have... or curious if they're hiring? The paranoia pervading the current economy permeates everything they do up in Scranton, leading to Michael's cold, hard dose of reality late in the season, a tense and ultimately rewarding multi-episode act that brought The Office to new heights.
The Picture
The 1.78:1 high-def video quality is outstanding, flaunting the finest weave of a suit or a dress shirt and genuine subtleties of color, particularly since this mostly-Caucasian workforce runs the gamut of pinks. The clarity of these faces is fascinating at times during the frequent one-on-one interviews, while the central office set, now five years old, still surprises with its incredible verisimilitude in the plaques, awards, announcements and more in the background. Only the faintest hint of video noise intrudes, and a bit of aliasing on the tight pattern of the ceiling lighting fixtures.
The Sound
The greatest strength of this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is its clarity, as dialogue is always legible, even little bits muttered off-screen and potentially missed. The unique acoustics of each room are preserved, surrounds are precise but unspectacular, often silent in the final mix. Overall it is disappointingly front-heavy, even the big outdoor picnic episode doesn't do much in the way of creating a living, breathing multichannel soundfield. At Rancho Chiarella, we watch TV over our DISH Network ViP722 box in Dolby Digital 5.1 whenever available, which is pretty often, and I know that modern TV soundtracks can do a lot more.
The Extras
There's a real sense of enthusiasm and well-deserved pride throughout extensive bonus materials. Deleted Scenes are provided for all 26 episodes, totaling about three-and-a-quarter hours, spread out across the set. The 15-minute gag reel is a hoot, and the nine-minute, half-decade-spanning "100 Episodes, 100 Moments" is a real time-saver, although most of it is funniest if we've already seen the episodes highlighted. Six themed, in-character Office promos are quite amusing (four-and-a-half minutes), while a pair of heretofore online-only "webisodes" feature most of the supporting cast (20 minutes total). All of this is presented in high-definition.
"Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Presents The Office" gives us a half-hour with the entire cast and creator Greg Daniels, moderated by Andy Richter, in standard definition. Assorted episode commentaries are provided on Discs One, Two and Four, pulling together an exemplary array of talent: actors, producers, and even the craft service (catering) crew, along with co-creator of the original British Office Stephen Merchant, who directed one episode this season. Disc One is also BD-Live-enabled, with the One-Liner Soundboard which lets us re-play and collect favorite bits of dialogue, organized by character, and create a playlist for our own amusement or share with friends over the internet.
Final Thoughts
Much like Michael's ability to turn a profit in the Scranton office, the writers, cast and crew miraculously managed to crank out 26 episodes last season as funny as any we've seen. Add to these a slew of terrific bonuses and solid picture quality and you have a must-own TV-on Blu-ray set.
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