Your daily weekly diversion from sports ...

Since I'm still not that interested in talking sports this morning (damn you Cubs!), let's talk The Office shall we.

First off, I heart the show, but it seems everyone in unison thought the show took a wrong turn with the ridiculousness that was Michael and Dwight's sales visits and subsequent absurdity of driving into a lake. Will Leitch (of Deadspin fame) was disappointed in his review for NY Mag:

"Steve Carell is obviously the star of The Office, and clearly the most talented and successful (though that Dan in Real Life movie has a treacly, cloying feel … and Dane Cook!); it's only a matter of time until his schedule's too busy to keep up a weekly television program. The beginning of the season gives one the sense that this might necessarily not be a bad thing. Carell's definitely funny, but his character is stuck in a man-boy rut. The show came alive last year when Michael was shown to be a sort of a competent employee; his methods might be infantile and insecure, but he wasn't a drooling dolt. But this episode's second-half subplot of Michael obsessing over in-person gift baskets and GPS trackers that send him into lakes turned him back into a cartoon character. Carell's not an inherently showy performer, but he's so skilled at buffoonery that the show can't help itself sometimes. But his antics last night sent a promising episode careering off the rails."

From TV Squad who was annoyed by the whole sequence of sales trips and Michael driving into the lake:

And if there's one thing about this show that I can't stand it's when we veer into this ridiculous territory! I know it's just a show, and I know it's a funny one (probably neck-and-neck with 30 Rock for the funniest on TV), but I don't think the show needs this kind of humor. It's at its best when functioning as a pitch-perfect satire of the American working environment. When it devolves into ridiculous farce, I'm reminded, "Oh, I'm watching a sitcom" and the things that make the show special are lost to the kind of morning-zoo wackiness that any-ole-team of writers could provide. That's not The Office I love.

I'm usually not into evaluating TV shows, but I thought I'd get your take on last night's show. On the bright side, at least saving a deer wasn't involved. Your thoughts?