Dear “The Office”,
Remember at the end of last season when Michael stuck it to David Wallace and got his entire Michael Scott Paper Co. team rehired? What a great moment. Finally, some growth.
This year, not so much. I root for him every week but I need a little more. Please? Please. Just a little reason to hope? He had some good moments of self-awareness with Kathy Bates. But “Date Mike” … I really had to look away.
Chris Cocca 
I have to agree. Michael Scott is funnier when he’s not so….desperate.
Yeah. He’s the show’s heart.
I actually thought this week very nicely continued the meme that Michael is an idiot, but things still manage to work out for him through sheer charisma or good karma. Date Mike was awful, yet he managed to charm the manager of the bar without even trying or being aware of her interest.
That’s a good point…and her interest definitely fits the mold of good things tending to happen for Michael even despite himself. I like that you call it karma. Deep down, I feel like Michael is the best person, as a person, on the show (despite his obvious foibles). I think we’re supposed to love him, not ironically. I’ll be interested to see what happens with the bar manager…but it’s also a little hard to believe that she’s’ into him. I love the name of his memoir. Perfect.
I agree that Michael has a good heart in spite of his pettiness and narcissism. Really, everything he does is to convince himself that everyone likes him and it works a little too well. Like Willy Loman, his world falls apart when that myth is shattered. (See, for example, him planning to jump a train a few seasons ago until Jan talked him down.)
But have we ever seen a dark side to Oscar or Erin?
Oscar can be pretty cynical, but he’s also pretty longsuffering of Michael. Erin seems like a pure force for good.
Speaking of, Andy’s character is kind of an example of the kind of change that is capable in characters on these long-running shows. He’s a lot different now than we he first showed up in the Stamford branch.
Steve Carrell is notable for not watching any of the original BBC Office to prepare for his role. The first season’s US episodes have nearly identical scripts. Jim in particular comes across as aping; but Michael has always been an individual character.