Looks like the official word is out: we’ve got a supersized season finale to look forward to (scroll down to Thursday, May 11). The episode is titled Casino Night for those of you who are wondering.
IN SUPER-SIZED SEASON FINALE WRITTEN BY SERIES STAR STEVE CARELL, ‘OFFICE’ MATES LET IT ROLL — In the super-sized season finale, Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) and the Dunder Mifflin crew hold a “Casino Night” for charity in their warehouse — and take some big gambles. Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Melora Hardin and David Denham also star. The episode was written by series star Steve Carell.
NBC decided on some pretty funky scheduling that night with expanded, forty-minute episodes of Will & Grace (8:00-8:40), My Name is Earl (8:40-9:20) and The Office (9:20-10:00). Not to take anything away from Will & Grace and My Name is Earl, neither of which I watch enough to judge, but their decision to supersize the entire night dilutes things a bit and makes this seem more like a marketing maneuver and less like a show of support for The Office.
But hey, what really matters in the end is whether or not Greg Daniels and Co. got the extra time they needed to accommodate the full potential of the finale. Ten minutes may seem underwhelming at first, but if ten minutes is all they needed, then I’m all for it. I just assumed that we would see an hour-long episode, but a complete forty-minute episode works just as well. Either way, NBC has my gratitude for giving them the extra wiggle room.
Thank you to all of you who participated in the Supersize My Office petition. I don’t know how much of an effect we had on the final decision, but it was an impressive act of solidarity if nothing else. I really enjoyed reading all of your comments, even the off-topic and off-color ones. Well, most of them, at least. Give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done.
After commercials we are looking at an extra 7 minutes or so. But hey, we'll take what we can get.
Again, my props to Kathie, James, and Jennie for their hard work.
Who said online petitions don't work? With the Dwight Bobblehead hitting the market - that's two "wins" this week.
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Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification, Graham. And you're right: NBC has stood strong by The Office so far, and I'm certainly grateful for that.
Thanks, David. It's been a good week for petitions (in theory, at least).
I'll take whatever few extra minutes of The Office I can get!
I say congrats are in order for all of you who put the petition together. Any show of support the powers that be get from the fanbase is all good.
Well said James...I will take whatever I can get.
This is great! It may not be the full hour that we wanted but at least it's something!
Yeah, it's been a good week for petitions, huh, David?
Beautifully said, as always, James.
But why does Will and Grace get to be supersized on May 11, when they get a 2-hour series finale a week later?
That's it. New petition! ;)
This is so fantastic! Thanks for the update. :) And I'm totally claiming that I helped by signing the petition. Yay!
Yeehaa WE DID IT.
Could you guys start a new petition drive? SmallerSizedWillandGrace.com?
Could you guys start a new petition drive? SmallerSizedWillandGrace.com?
Sure, we'll get right on it. :)
YEAH! What Mo said. :)
Look at it this way: Now, instead of the show being 20 minutes long, it's now 30. That's how it works. NBC's been doing SuperSized finales for a while now, so it's not a "We don't support The Office" or "We love The Office more than anything else," but it's just par for the course.
SAVE WILL AND GRACE
Yeah, well they've done this awkward 40-minute thing before on NBC a few times at least, so there's some precedent for that. Oh well, NBC has done well by The Office so far, and I appreciate the extra ten minutes.