Care to explain why you feel that way?
Mmmm...mostly because I suck balls, I guess.
But also a little bit because I just watched the Season 1 DVD again last weekend, and have been comparing this season's episodes. As a ball sucker, I'm not really good at explaining myself (usually all I can manage is "mmmmfrffrmfffrrmbbllt," or if I've had a few drinks, "ssshllsssshslrrthtbbllt"), but in Seasons 1 and 2, the show seemed to just nail it; the episodes were really brilliant, and now it just seems like the show is trying to take itself to 11 all the time. It's like its trying to out-Office the Office.
Another thing that's gone by the wayside is the kind of comic melancholy that the first two seasons had. There were always rumors of downsizing, and nobody was really happy except Michael, who was happy in a kind of blissfully ignorant way. There was a nice thematic juxtaposition between some truly hilarious situations and plotlines and this kind of Scranton-sad melancholy.
That's mostly gone, I suppose because they got the payoff with the Stamford branch closing. Now it's just wackiness from Michael and Dwight.
Admittedly, I'm being way too hard on the show--it's still better than Who Wants to Deal with 500 Big Losers or whatthefuckever they're showing on every other channel, and it really isn't jumping the shark, and the episode with Dwight's cousin is one of my favorite episodes, and the Christmas episode wasn't
thaaat bad, but I just wish they'd tone it down a little, maybe be a little more respectful of the whole "mockumentary" style.
I dunno, I'm not a critic. I just haven't been nearly as impressed with this season as I was by the other two. That's all. Just my opinion. If you don't agree...well, mmmmfrffrmfffrrmbbllt.
EDIT If I weren't so busy...well, you know, I would've read Deanpaul's post. That review really sums it up well, I think.