The Office - Season Three Season: A Extras: A-

made the decision last year to casually begin watching the U.S. version of "The Office," around the time of the "Benihana Christmas" episode. My casual watching turned into a DVR series recording, and I didn't miss an episode for the rest of the season. The careful development of the characters and their awkward interaction had me hooked.\nSeason one was more like a bad Ben Stiller movie. It focused too much on Carell over the other characters, and Carell played his role overly-obnoxious/awkward to the point where he wasn't really likable. \nIn season three, Carell does an excellent job of remaining the annoying boss, but is able to do it with enough integrity to remain enjoyable to watch. Season three was so smart and funny, it won last year's outstanding comedy series Emmy, and was nominated again this year. Former producer Ben Silverman was also rewarded by the shows success with a promotion to co-chair of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studios. Season three of "The Office" reminds me of season six of "South Park." After Kenny was finally killed off for the last time, Trey Parker and Matt Stone brought in a new group of hilarious characters to fill the void and take the show to the next level (and eventually brought Kenny back to join the newer, larger cast). "The Office" utilizes the supporting cast better in season three, and with Jim working at the Stamford branch, the characters of Karen (Rashida Jones) and Andy (Ed Helms) are added to the cast. When the two branches merge in the eighth episode of the season, it's back to the original office in Scranton with a couple new characters to make the show better. \nIf you're concerned about the $35 price tag, consider this: You get 22 episodes on four DVDs with tons of bonus features. Also, some of the episodes are 40 minutes long, as part of a NBC comedy night promo. In total, you get nine hours and 34 minutes of "Office" viewing material. The bonus features are definitely worth watching like the "Lazy Scranton" training video, a blooper reel depicting the hilarity of cast members break character, a Dwight Schrute music video, and episode commentaries and enough deleted scenes to keep you satisfied until the new season. \n"The Office - Season Three" reinvents the show and puts it into the "Arrested Development" level of amazing television comedies.