A shorter day at the office still delivers a work week full of laughs

Last year, the Writer’s Guild of America strike screwed up a lot of things for television productions and fans alike. The strike lasted 100 strenuous days, disrupting production on basically everything and left fans with nothing to watch.

And even when most of the high-profile shows returned in the spring, they’d lost most of their momentum. Thankfully, NBC’s high-profile comedy “The Office” experienced the exact opposite: Post-strike season four was actually better than the pre-strike episodes.

Season four of the show saw Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) finally admit their feelings for one another and become a couple. Meanwhile, Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Michael Scott (Steve Carell) struggles with his own domestic life, as Jan (Melora Hardin) has moved in since she was fired at corporate headquarters.

 Even with the focus on the relationship between Jim and Pam that most fans had been clamoring for, season four of “The Office” is clearly the program’s most uneven. And really, the issues with content stem from NBC’s need to have hour-long episodes.

The season’s first four episodes, all an hour long, are hilarious in spots, but struggle with keeping a story going. Once the half-hour episodes return, so does the constant humor.

The second half of the season really delivers when the focus turns away from Jim and Pam and onto Michael, who breaks it off with Jan and finds it difficult to pick up new employees at a job fair. Steve Carell consistently proves why he’s one of the funniest
guys around.

Much like previous sets, the special features here are tremendous. There are more than an hour of deleted scenes that add tons of depth and humor to the plot lines. Also included are four solid commentaries, mock “The More You Know” ads and a funny blooper real.

“The Office” is easily one of the best comedies on TV, and even a weak season still trumps almost everything else.on the air.