They gave you the feeling that Michael Scott was actually an eccentric genius at his job from time to time in the later years.

If I ever got to pitch an episode, it would be Creed's funeral. Take the comedy to a dark place. Mine some drama out of it as everyone grapples with the awkwardness of someone in the office dying.

That could be interesting. Jim resists Cathy, diffuses the situation, etc. Comes back, finds the kids are staying with Pam's mom, and Pam is with another man.

More to the point, if you check out the deleted clips from recent episodes, you'd see they're cutting the best material.

What if Robert is supposed to be a stand-in for fan commentary.