THE CLIMAX OF THE OFFICE IS ANTI-CLIMACTIC

In the end, the climactic episode of The Office — the one in which Steve Carrell as office manager Michael Scott checks out — turned out to be an anticlimax. The episode was as jumbled as the ratings, critics said. They seemed to agree that it was mostly boring but with some solid laughs thrown in to wake up viewers — and there was none of the expected sentimentality that ordinarily accompanies the departure of a key fixture in a TV series. On the Atlantic magazine’s website, the episode was reviewed by Andrew Cohen, the longtime chief legal analyst for CBS. His conclusion: “Even with the low expectations I brought to Thursday night’s episode, I was greatly disappointed. It didn’t make me laugh and it didn’t make me cry.” As far as the ratings went: among total adults, the show was in last place with 8.1 million viewers. But among the key demo of 18-49 year-olds, it was No. 1, beating out such hits as Bones on Fox, Grey’s Anatomy on ABC, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS.