'The Office' is still worth watching

WHEN | WHERE Thursday at 9 on NBC/4

REASON TO WATCH Mrs. Robert California -- played by Maura Tierney -- brings her weirdness to Dunder Mifflin.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Did you even know that Robert California (James Spader) was married? Probably -- or maybe. After all, he has a son named Bert who visited Dunder Mifflin recently and "fired" Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) as part of a Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) prank. Mrs. California gets a job in tonight's episode, while Dwight opens a gym. Sorry -- no review copy was available.

MY SAY CEO Robert California and new regional manager Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) in lieu of departed regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell)? That's the big question that has divided "Office" devotees, many of whom have already voted with their feet, as the saying goes. Viewership is down to around 5 million (and change) this season from around 7 million (and change) last. Play with the numbers a bit, and you can easily arrive at one overly simplistic conclusion -- Carell is missed and his replacements are unloved.

But that may be only partly true. Under the Spader-Helms watch, "The Office" has at times become a strange show filled with awkward silences and bizarre non sequiturs leavened only by Jim's (John Krasinski) baleful glance at the camera. The best episodes of the eighth season -- "Spooked," "Pam's Replacement" and "Doomsday" -- rank with the best of any season; the others are character studies that tend to be more interesting than actually funny.

Over those, this portrait of Andy has been filled out: Smart (but we knew that already), deeply insecure, father-fixated, approval-seeking, empathetic and utterly incapable of leadership. While California is a cipher given to self-styled Jedi-warriorisms like "how dare we let fear into our livelihoods, our relationships," he rules by silence, or by questions -- the scariest kind of leadership.

BOTTOM LINE The transition has been awkward -- to be expected when a classic character has been replaced -- but "The Office" seems to know where it's going and seems to be enjoying itself in the process. Spader? Absolutely a keeper.

POST-CARELL GRADE B+