The Office – Season 4 Episodes Ranked

Season 4 of The Office is quite short on the whole (mainly due to the 2008 Writers’ Strike … a far cry from the excellent pay they receive these days!), but it still provides the jokes.

There are only 14 episodes this season after I combine the two-parters – let’s rank them all!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

14 – Survivor Man

Rating: C

Steve Carell wrote two episodes of The Office – “Casino Night” and “Survivor Man”. Suffice it to say, I like one far more than the other.

All the Michael camping stuff goes way over my head, since shows like “Survivor” don’t really exist in the UK. The only salvageable part of the episode is when Michael gives Jim some advice after combining three birthdays into one party. Rookie mistake.

13 – Nights Out

Rating: C+

Ryan pitches Dunder Mifflin Infinity 2.0, but when he returns to New York he has Michael and Dwight following him to all the clubs.

I don’t like either the clubbing or office locked-in plots really, but Toby touching Pam and hopping the fence was a fun visual gag.

12 – Job Fair

Rating: C+

Michael decides he wants to “euthanise the place”, so they go to Pam’s old school to hire interns.

Jim golfs with a client and Dwight / Angela do absolutely nothing for a whole episode, but the ending where Pam applies for graphic design is a pivotal moment in her arc.

11 – Chair Model

Rating: C+

Michael is “ready to get hurt again”, so he enlists the office’s help to get a hot date. He calls a Wendys, has a disastrous date with Pam’s landlady, and mourns a fallen chair model.

In the meantime, the rest of the office fight to get their carparking spaces back in a plotline that resolves far too easily. At least Jim preparing for a proposal is something for the viewer to get excited about.

10 – Local Ad

Rating: B-

The Office needs to come up with an ad to run on local TV, so everyone gets to work. I love the scene at the end where they take pride in their work, and Pam’s animation is really good – but Michael’s instant rejection of the songs feels mean-spirited and out of character.

As for B-plots, Dwight gets into Second Life and Andy furthers his relationship with Angela. Pretty standard stuff.

9 – Did I Stutter?

Rating: B-

After the funny wet cement cold open, I was sure that “Did I Stutter?” would grind to a halt.

The stuff with Pam’s glasses is a little filler, but the Stanley vs Michael feud was much more engaging than I remembered – their final clash in particular was an unlikely highlight of the season.

8 – The Deposition

Rating: B-

Michael needs to testify at Jan’s deposition, and it derails pretty quickly – his diary is brought up, and he can’t help but slip in a few That’s What She Saids.

Jim also needs to get better at ping pong to fend off Kelly’s smack talk, but the ending where Pam and Kelly fail at their own game could’ve been done better.

7 – Launch Party

Rating: B-

The first four episodes of the season are double length, and as such “Launch Party” has a lot going on.

The DVD logo hits the corner, Dwight fights the new website as well as a sentient computer, Phyllis tries to calm an irate Angela, Angela ignores Andy’s advances, and Jim and Pam spend a heartfelt minute on the roof.

The MVP is, yet again, Michael Scott. After incorrectly thinking that the party was in New York, he vents his frustration back in the office by ruining the livestream and kidnapping a pizza boy. Never change, Michael.

6 – Dunder Mifflin Infinity

Rating: B

Michael is worried about ageism and the old ways becoming obsolete, so of course he combats this by driving into a lake and screaming “Where are the turtles?!?” in a customer’s face.

The office (because of Toby’s interference) find out about Jim and Pam, Creed pretends to be young, and Angela finally breaks up with Dwight.

5 – Branch Wars

Rating: B

Stanley wants to force a move to Utica, so Michael, Dwight and an unwilling Jim drive there to confront that branch’s boss – none other than Karen Filippelli.

Their antics are amazing, and the B-plot of Andy trying to join the Finer Things Club works well too.

4 – Money

Rating: B+

Michael is struggling financially, which leads to him working in a call centre, catching a (not so) runaway train and declaring bankruptcy.

Jim and Pam also stay on Dwight’s farm and help him through his break-up – which is worsened when Andy finally woos Angela. A really solid double episode that justifies its runtime.

3 – Goodbye, Toby

Rating: B+

“Goodbye, Toby” is a great finale to the season jam-packed with loads of funny plotlines and jokes.

Michael meets Holly, Jim wants to propose but Andy beats him to it, Dwight tells Holly that Kevin is “slow”, Michael gifts Toby a farewell rock, Ryan is arrested, Jan is pregnant, and Angela hooks up with Dwight. That’s a lot of stuff!

2 – Fun Run

Rating: B+

One of the best season openers of the show, “Fun Run” is a riot pretty much from start to finish.

Michael hits Meredith with his car (but saves her from Rabies), Dwight puts Sprinkles the cat in a freezer, Pam sees Michael naked, and Andy’s nipples chafe during the run.

This also has one of my favourite Office jokes ever – “I’m not superstitious … I am a little stitious”.

1 – Dinner Party

Rating: A+

The best episode of cringe comedy in TV history.

Michael and Jan put their guests through the dinner party from hell, and every joke and interaction is golden. Jan thinking Pam dated Michael is a great act of pettiness, and the folding TV gag never fails to make me laugh. An uproar from start to finish.

Season Rating: B

This was a fun season, and the start was especially strong, but it felt like something was missing. The long stretch of passable episodes near the end didn’t help either.

Let’s look at the stats for the season:

• 1A (7%)
• 9B (64%)
• 4C (29%)

And the stats for the series so far:

• 7A (11%)
• 41B (63%)
• 17C (26%)

Aaaand that’s my list. You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: