The Office Review:
"Gossip" (6.01)

Ever since the luster of Jim and Pam's spotty romance stabilized into a happy ever after relationship of sorts, The Office has ventured (or strayed, depending how you look at it) into new seasons of its life cycle. Many of the episodes have since featured storylines that engage all personalities in the work place, lightly peppering in new characters like Holly and rival Charles Miner while devoting more time to touch up the original cast with clever details.
 
What hasn't changed is Michael Scott's childish antics that began last Thursday's Season Six premier with an early dose of hilarity. Accompanied by Dwight and Andy, we find Michael in a cumbersome attempt to mimic parkour stunts by climbing on desks, rolling over furniture and eventually leaping from the top of a loading truck.

The opener wastes no time in stretching the viewers' patience with Michael's usual, utter tactlessness. After feeling out of the loop regarding the dating life of Dunder Mifflin's leftover summer interns, he begins to spread rumors around the office about his coworkers. The episode is seemingly Michael's first lesson in gossip, fitted with quick plot turns and a heavy shot of Murphy's Law. It eventually snowballs into a collective bewilderment that showcases every character frenzied in the wake of Michael's slander and coincidental truth telling.

The debut proved strong, but this season more than any other will test how much more writers can draw from the show's creative well. Despite its few lagging episodes and uneventful finale, last season threw the series' wackiest curveballs to date with the upstart of the Michael Scott Paper Company and its ensuing chaos. An audience would be too hopeful to anticipate the same pop from Season Six, but it's important to dish out blame only where it is deserved. If anything about the show has grown mundane, it isn't so much the fault of the writers' contrived scenarios as it is the show's aging premise.