Cast shines in season five of The Office

Film Critic

The boxed set of The Office: Season Five is slated to his shelves next Tuesday and it the best of the series thus far. It has a nice collection of special feature goodies, episodes that will leave viewers snorting with laughter and anxiously waiting for it to return this fall. This is one impressive package -- "That's what she said".

What separates this season from the previous four is Jim and Pam. John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer have been the unsung heroes of this series from its inception and now are able to stand in the spotlight and impress. Leading up to this season, the question revolved around "Will they or won't they?" It's seemed inevitable and the wait was well worth it.

The showcase episodes from this season are Golden Ticket, Michael Scott Paper Company, Stress Relief and Frame Toby, but the moment that made the season something to watch is Jim's proposal at a gas station midway between Scranton and New York City in the series opener.

This was also what seemed to be the first season where each actor was able to flex their comedic muscles and showcase what they had. Each character had their moment in the spotlight and for the first time, all 28 episodes had something significant to offer. It's not intellectual humor, but how can you tire of seeing Krasinski's looks at the camera, Steve Carrell's (Michael) unpredictable yelling and Raine Wilson's (Dwight) simple sayings that make life easier?

The set contains all the episodes of the series for season five, along with special features including a hilarious gag reel, 100 Episodes, 100 moments featurette, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents The Office, Promos, Webisodes, deleted scenes and a series of audio commentaries.

Final Cut: Season five of The Office is a real gas. It shows that the series has many more years left in the tank and with the new dimension of Jim and Pam added, it's sure to only get stronger.

The Office: Season Five

5-Disc set

Starring: Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, Raine Wilson, Jenna Fischer

Available Sept. 8 on DVD and Blu-ray