When I first read about The Office doing an episode around a Glee viewing party, I was a little confused. If it's for ratings purposes, certainly Community needs it more (although it would probably alienate Gleeks by point out all the silly/terrible things about the show). After watching the episode, it all seemed rather unnecessary since Glee is referenced very few times and is irrelevant by the end of the episode.
It's fun to see the characters out of the office setting, like when they went to watch Andy perform. However, "Viewing Party" puts the characters in situations where it's impossible to root for anyone. Let's look at what everyone is doing. Michael: whining about Gabe and being a jackass. Andy: whining about Gabe and being a loser. Dwight: being spiteful and mean. Angela: acting crazy. Pam: not caring. Jim: whining about Dwight. Erin: being oblivious. Gabe: trying to put up with these idiots. And the rest of the characters sit around, chiming in with random thoughts.
The episode ends on the fact that Erin sees Michael as her father. Is that why Erin cares what Michael thinks about Gabe? There's little build up to the scene since the episode is so wacky and out of control, but that's what The Office has become.
Score: 8.3/10
