The Office (American TV series) season 4 explained

Season Number:4
Bgcolour:
  1. 4e4a4a
Network:NBC
Num Episodes:19
Episode List:List of The Office (American TV series) episodes

The fourth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 27, 2007, and concluded on May 15, 2008. The season consisted of 9 half-hour episodes, and 5 hour-long episodes to comprise the 19 total episodes of material created. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The season was originally set to include 30 episodes, but due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, production was called to a halt, in result, the season was shortened to 19 episodes. It stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, with supporting performances from Melora Hardin, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith.

This season marked the departure of Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) as a regular character, although she appeared for a few seconds in the first episode, "Fun Run" and in the tenth episode, "Branch Wars", as the regional manager of the Utica branch. Relationships again emerged as the main theme of the season, with Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesly's (Jenna Fischer) rising, and Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Jan Levinson's (Melora Hardin), as well as Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Angela Martin's (Angela Kinsey) declining. Technology was another prevalent theme as the office staff struggled with initiatives introduced by Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) to modernize the company.

The fourth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States. The season marked a slight drop in ratings compared to the previous two seasons. Critical reception to the season continued to be largely positive. The season was released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in a four-disc box set in the Region 1 area on September 2, 2008. The DVD set contains all 19 episodes, as well as commentaries from creators, writers, actors, and directors on some of the episodes. It also contains deleted scenes from all of the episodes, as well as bloopers and other promos.

Production

The fourth season of the show was produced by Reveille Productions and Deedle-Dee Productions, both in association with Universal Media Studios. The show is based upon the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom are executive producers on both the US and UK versions.[1] The Office is produced by Greg Daniels,[1] who is also an executive producer and the show runner. All the writers from the previous season returned, with the writing staff consisting of Daniels, Michael Schur, Lester Lewis, Mindy Kaling, B. J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein, Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky, Jennifer Celotta, Brent Forrester, and Justin Spitzer. Schur, Lieberstein and Celotta were co-executive producers; Kaling, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky were producers; Novak and Lewis were supervising producers; and Forrester was a consulting producer.

This season featured 19 half-hour segments which were combined and aired to produce 14 distinct episodes, directed by 11 directors. Greg Daniels, Craig Zisk, Ken Whittingham, Paul Lieberstein, Jason Reitman, Joss Whedon, Paul Feig, Julian Farino, Jeffrey Blitz, Randall Einhorn, and Tucker Gates each directed episodes during the season, with Feig and Whittingham directing multiple episodes. Although The Office was mainly filmed on a studio set at Valley Center Studios in Van Nuys, California,[2] the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the show is set, was also used for shots of the opening theme.[3]

Originally, NBC ordered a full season[4] of 30 episodes.[5] After 12 episodes were filmed, production was suspended due to the effects of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 5, 2007.[6] [7] Filming of The Office immediately halted on that date, as Steve Carell, who is a member of the WGA, refused to cross WGA picket lines.[8] Members of Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West voted to end the 100-day strike on February 12, 2008,[9] and writers were allowed to return to work on the same day.[10] The WGA allowed for show runners to return to work on February 11,[11] in preparation for the conclusion of the strike. The show runner for The Office, Greg Daniels, returned on February 11,[12] and the show's writers returned to work on February 13. The duration of the strike resulted in a script of a Christmas-themed episode being discarded, as production of the episode was due to start the week that the strike began.[13] The basic premise of the Christmas episode, which revolved around the German folk character Belsnickel, was later purposely recycled and reused in the ninth season entry "Dwight Christmas".[14]

Season overview

Notable ongoing subplots that affect the fourth season and beyond include:

Cast

See also: List of The Office (American TV series) characters. Many characters portrayed by The Office cast are based on the British version of the show. While these characters normally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its generally large cast size, with many of its actors and actresses known particularly for their improvisational work.

Main

Starring

Recurring

Notable guests

Reception

Ratings

The fourth-season premiere "Fun Run" received a 5.1/12 share in the Nielsen ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49, meaning that 5.1% of viewers aged 18 to 49 watched the episode, and 12% of viewers watching television at the time watched the episode.[20] "Fun Run" attracted 9.7 million viewers overall.[21] Both of these figures built upon the marks set by the third-season finale "The Job".[22] In the weeks following "Fun Run", The Office never received more than nine million viewers. After the Writers Strike, The Office once again eclipsed the nine million viewers mark, when the episode "Dinner Party" received 9.3 million viewers.[23] The episode "Chair Model", the second episode to be released after the end of the strike garnered 9.9 million viewers, a high for the fourth season.[24] While the episode "Job Fair" received the lowest number of viewers for the season, at 7.2 million,[25] it and the episode following it, the season finale "Goodbye Toby", both scored the highest viewer percentage increase among digital video recording users for their respective weeks.[26]

The season ranked as the seventy-seventh most watched television series during the 2007–2008 season, with an average of 8.04 million viewers; this marked a decrease in ranking and viewership from the previous season, which had ranked as the sixty-eighth most-watched series.[27] [28]

Critical review

The fourth season received critical acclaim. Travis Fickett, a reviewer from IGN, praised both the writing and the acting of season 4. When speaking of the season finale "Goodbye Toby", Fickett went on to say "It's a great episode that ends a great season. There are more than a few questions raised that will have us eagerly tuning in when the show returns in the fall." Aubry D'Arminio praised the season, but she also showed disapproval at what she felt was a lack of use for some of The Offices supporting cast in the episodes directly following the Writers' Strike, saying "I just feel a bit sad that, minus Leslie David Baker's Stanley, these excellent actors/characters haven't been highlighted nearly enough since the series' return in April."[29] In a comprehensive review of the fourth season DVD, IGN reviewers Travis Fickett and Phil Pirrello both believed "this season to be one of the show's best, [but felt] that 14 episodes across four discs gives way to crowding, especially when the season tries to tackle Jim and Pam dating, Angela and Dwight breaking up, Andy and Angela dating by way of awkward silence, Michael and Jan breaking up, Toby leaving the office and a new love interest for Michael joining the cast." Fickett and Pirrello gave the season a total score of 8 out of 10.[30]

Honors

The Office received eight nominations at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. The show's producers received a nomination for "Outstanding Comedy Series", while Paul Lieberstein and Paul Feig both received nominations for "Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series", for the episodes "Money" and "Goodbye, Toby", respectively. For his portrayal of Michael Scott, Carell received a nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series", and for his portrayal of Dwight Schrute, Wilson received a nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series". Dean Holland and Dave Rogers both received a nomination for "Outstanding Picture Editing For A Comedy Series (Single Or Multi-camera)" for their work on "Goodbye, Toby", while Ben Patrick, John W. Cook III, and Peter J. Nusbaum were all nominated in the "Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (half-hour) And Animation" category for their work on the episode "Local Ad". For the episode "Dinner Party", the creative writing team of Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg received a nomination for "Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series".[31]

Episodes

See also: List of The Office (American TV series) episodes. In the following table, "U.S. viewers (million)" refers to the number of Americans who viewed the episode on the night of broadcast. Episodes are listed by the order in which they aired, and may not necessarily correspond to their production codes. denotes an hour-long episode (with advertisements; actual runtime around 42 minutes).

Home media

The Office: The Complete Fourth Season
Set details[32] Special features[33]
  • 19 episodes
  • 4-disc set
  • 1.78:1 aspect ratio
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround)
  • Commentary on 4 episodes by the actors, writers, and producers
  • Deleted scenes from every episode
  • Blooper Reel
  • The Office Convention "Writers' Block Panel Discussion"
Release dates
Region 1Region 2

Notes and References

  1. News: American Office Gets Green Light. The Guardian. June 22, 2008 . David . Wood . May 25, 2010.
  2. The Office: Working Overtime . August 24, 2008 . Pastorek . Whitney . . . July 24, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080724122136/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1569832_20164555_20058714,00.html . dead .
  3. Marchese, John. Scranton Embraces The Office Infamy The New York Times, retrieved April 16, 2008
  4. January 17, 2007 . NBC Renews Hit Series 'The Office,' 'My Name Is Earl,' 'Heroes' and 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' for Full Season of Episodes in 2007-08 . NBCUniversal. April 12, 2008.
  5. Web site: New Details on The Office's Fourth Season . August 8, 2008 . Goldman . Eric . July 19, 2008 . News Corporation. IGN.
  6. News: Michael . Cieply . Writers Begin Strike as Talks Break Off . . November 5, 2007 . April 11, 2008.
  7. Web site: WGA goes on strike . January 19, 2008 . McNary . Dave . November 4, 2007 . Penske Business Media. Variety.
  8. TV Guide Staff. Office Closing: Carell, Others Won't Cross Picket Line . . November 7, 2007 . June 13, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071109162402/http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Strike-Watch-Season/Office-Closing-Carell/800026773 . November 9, 2007 .
  9. Writers Guild Members Vote to End Strike . . February 12, 2008 . February 13, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080418063200/http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=2775 . April 18, 2008 .
  10. News: Cynthia . Littleton . McNary, Dave . It's Official: WGA Strike is Over . Penske Business Media. . February 12, 2008 . February 13, 2008.
  11. News: Cynthia . Littleton . McNary, Dave . Showrunners back to work Monday . Penske Business Media. . February 10, 2008 . February 13, 2008.
  12. Web site: Pencils Down Means Pencils Down . May 25, 2008 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080501075439/http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2529 . May 1, 2008 .
  13. Web site: Strike effect . June 13, 2008 . Daniels . Greg . Greg Daniels . April 10, 2008 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20080525033413/http://blog.nbc.com/theoffice/2008/04/strike_effect.php . May 25, 2008 . dead .
  14. Web site: Greg Daniel/John Krasinski Press Call. OfficeTally. May 4, 2013. May 2, 2013.
  15. https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3566414&page=1 The Man Behind The Office's Favorite Suck-Up, Dwight Schrute
  16. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/arts/television/20Cart.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=John%20Krasinski&st=nyt&oref=slogin&scp=2 The Office Transfers to a New Cubicle
  17. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/24/arts/television/24stan.html?scp=1&sq=Jenna+Fischer&st=nyt An American-Style Office With a Boss From Heck
  18. https://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3307 Hawaii, The Office & Lost in Space Castings
  19. Web site: The Office: Amy Ryan to Return as Holly . September 21, 2008 . Dahl . Oscar . June 20, 2008 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20080913024948/http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-office/the-office-amy-ryan-to-return-20828.aspx . September 13, 2008 . dead . mdy-all .
  20. CBS takes first Thursday of the season . Media Life Magazine . Toni . Fitzgerald . September 28, 2007 . September 13, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110520095446/http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Overnights_50/CBS_takes_first_Thursday_of_theseason.asp . May 20, 2011 .
  21. Thursday Ratings: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss. CBS . September 28, 2007 . October 15, 2008.
  22. Web site: NBC Ratings Results for the Week of April May 14–20 and the 2006-07 Television Season. May 22, 2007. The Futon Critic.
  23. NBC Ratings Results for the Primetime Week of April 7–13. The Futon Critic. April 15, 2008. October 10, 2008.
  24. NBC Ranks #2 in Adults 18-49 for the Week of April 14–20, Paced by The Office, SVU and The Biggest Loser. The Futon Critic . April 22, 2008 . October 15, 2008.
  25. NBC Results for the Primetime Week of May 5–11. The Futon Critic. May 13, 2008. October 10, 2008.
  26. Web site: Nielsen TV Ratings Office Again Tops Broadcast Shows w/ 41.2% Time-Shifting Gain . . . October 15, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121012175041/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2008/06/05/office-again-tops-broadcast-shows-w-412-time-shifting-gain/4035/ . October 12, 2012 .
  27. Web site: Season Rankings (Through 5/18) . ABC Medianet . . May 20, 2008 . May 29, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090310091046/http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=052008_06 . March 10, 2009.
  28. News: Prometheus Global Media. The Hollywood Reporter. 2006–07 primetime wrap. September 30, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071025030515/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/features/e3ifbfdd1bcb53266ad8d9a71cad261604f . October 25, 2007.
  29. Goodbye, Toby . August 10, 2008 . D'Arminio . Aubry . . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080828205710/http://www.ew.com/ew/allabout/episodes/0,,20000736_20200783,00.html . August 28, 2008 .
  30. Web site: The Office Season 4: DVD Review . September 21, 2008 . Fickett . Travis . Pirrello, Phil . August 20, 2008 . News Corporation. IGN.
  31. Web site: The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmy Awards Nominees . August 10, 2008 . Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
  32. The Office: The Complete Fourth Season . Greg Daniels, et al . back cover . NBC.
  33. Web site: Universal Issues a Press Release for The Office – Season 4 DVDs . Universal Studios . August 23, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080812095626/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Office-Season-4-Press-Release/9775 . August 12, 2008 .