The Office Fan Ratings, Season 5

After each episode of The Office airs, fans rate it on a scale of 1 to 10.
Here are the ratings for Season 5.

  1. 5.25 Broke (Avg Rating: 9.17)
  2. 5.01-02 Weight Loss (Avg Rating: 8.92)
  3. 5.14-15 Stress Relief (Avg Rating: 8.89)
  4. 5.24 Heavy Competition (Avg Rating: 8.66)
  5. 5.16 Lecture Circuit Pt. 1 (Avg Rating: 8.64)
  6. 5.07 Customer Survey (Avg Rating: 8.62)
  7. 5.27 Cafe Disco (Avg Rating: 8.49)
  8. 5.10 The Surplus (Avg Rating: 8.42)
  9. 5.28 Company Picnic (Avg Rating: 8.36)
  10. 5.05 Crime Aid (Avg Rating: 8.35)
  11. 5.19 Golden Ticket (Avg Rating: 8.33)
  12. 5.23 Michael Scott Paper Company (Avg Rating: 8.27)
  13. 5.08 Business Trip (Avg Rating: 8.17)
  14. 5.12 The Duel (Avg Rating: 8.11)
  15. 5.22 Dream Team (Avg Rating: 8.00)
  16. 5.26 Casual Friday (Avg Rating: 7.95)
  17. 5.18 Blood Drive (Avg Rating: 7.86)
  18. 5.21 Two Weeks (Avg Rating: 7.74)
  19. 5.04 Baby Shower (Avg Rating: 7.74)
  20. 5.09 Frame Toby (Avg Rating: 7.59)
  21. 5.03 Business Ethics (Avg Rating: 7.34)
  22. 5.20 New Boss (Avg Rating: 7.32)
  23. 5.06 Employee Transfer (Avg Rating: 7.20)
  24. 5.17 Lecture Circuit Pt. 2 (Avg Rating: 7.14)
  25. 5.11 Moroccan Christmas (Avg Rating: 7.08)
  26. 5.13 Prince Family Paper (Avg Rating: 6.98)

See past ratings in the Fan Ratings Archive.

112 comments

  1. wow, i expected business ethics to at least be an 8. it had a very season 2 feel to it…to be honest, i was relieved not to have a JAM centric episode, but i guess i’m in the minority

  2. I think it threw people off because it was such a different episode than we have seen in awhile.

  3. I’m sorry but the first episode was not worthy of a 8.9. I voted the second ep a 10! It’s so season 2 and we all love that!

  4. No, you weren’t in the minority Oaky, I was relieved as well.

    Unfortunately, despite all it had going for it, that episode just fell flat to me. Seems like a lot of other people felt the same.

  5. Business Ethics so low? Weight Loss so high? Who says? I say:

    1) Business Ethics- 9/10 (Very S2-ish and just a breath of fresh air)
    2) Weight Loss 7/10 (Jam-packed with too much new stuff, but still great)

  6. My *updated* ratings:

    Business Ethics, 9/10
    Baby Shower, 7.5/10
    Weight Loss, 7/10

  7. I totally disagree with the ratings. Business Ethics was much stronger all around. It’ll be interesting to see where everything ends up when we play Survivor Season 5!

  8. Tanster- you should have a survivor with like the first episode of each season, then which 2nd episode of each season was better, than the 3rd and so on

  9. Tanster-you should have a season long Office Survivor with all episodes from the first four seasons.

  10. I love the idea of another survivor game. I’d still like to do one with cold opens or Jim’s pranks.

  11. Ugh! Crime Aid was just so much better than Weight Loss! WTF? My list:

    1. Crime Aid
    2. Baby Shower
    3. Weight Loss
    4. Business Ethics

    But they’re all great.

  12. Mine would be:

    1. Crime Aid
    2. Weight Loss
    3. Baby Shower
    4. Employee Transfer
    5. Business Ethics

  13. My ratings:

    1. Employee Transfer
    2. Weight Loss
    3. Business Ethics
    4. Crime Aid
    5. Baby Shower

  14. I wonder why the tallyheads have rated each episode lower than the last. =/ … I look at it as plot building…i hope there are more mindless antics coming up!! DON’T FORGET TO VOTE everybody! No matter who you vote for, get out there and do it!

  15. I absolutely loved Employee Transfer for so many reasons!

    It makes me really happy when each cast member has a moment to shine :O)

    The only thing that would have made it better was if Jim could have witnessed Dwight pranking Andy, first hand – Jim would have been soooo proud.

  16. I think Baby Shower should be in last place. Business Ethics, Employee Transfer, and Crime Aid are definitely better than that. So far, I’m not completely into this season. Way too much focus on relationships. I also never, NEVER, see any scenes that don’t have to do directly with the plot of the episode. Which is depressing.

  17. hm…I didn’t like Weight Loss all that much. It was a good season opener (probably their best since The Dundies), but meh…here’s my list

    1. Crime Aid
    2. Business Ethics
    3. Baby Shower
    4. Weight Loss
    5. Employee Transfer

    Employee Transfer did nothing for me, except for making me depressed that Holly left

  18. I disagree with this order only because I think Crime Aid was one of the best episodes of the series. But I understand why Weight Loss is #1…that unbeatable Jam moment. Sigh.

  19. This season has got me so mad!! Sure, there are tons of funny bits like Dwight and Andy’s interview, but so far it’s been too much drama and not enough hilarity! I don’t tune in to The Office to watch Jim and Pam struggle to keep their relationship going. I tune in to watch Jim prank Dwight. And to see CREED. I personally think that this season is far below Seasons 4 and 3, because it’s lost what makes it unique– its 100% spot on humor. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the engagement and when Pam met Jim’s brothers, but three love triangles for one show are too much for me. There should be more one liners, awkward looks, and talking heads. If you go back to Season 2, a quarter of each episode was made up of awkward silences. Now that time is filled up with Michael struggling with Jan and Holly, or Jim looking lonely.
    The Office’s dynamic is just changing too much!

  20. IMO, the drama has been toned down compared to Season 4. In fact, in terms of quality..most of this season already beats last season as a whole.

  21. I personally am really enjoying this season a lot. I don’t know why, but it feels really solid to me. Although I will defend Season 4 for it’s own qualities, I have to admit that it had a more erratic feel to it. This season imo, has a better flow and brings back a lot of positive and excited feelings I had during and for Season 3, if that makes any sense. I’m very confident that Season 5 will feel just right when it is over and will work very well as an ensemble piece.

  22. I agree with the rankings so far except for Employee Transfer. It should be about 4th. I have to say that this season is off to a good start, I hope they can keep it up!

  23. My rankings would be:

    1. Customer Survey
    2. Crime Aid
    3. Frame Toby
    4. Weight Loss
    5. Baby Shower
    6. Business Ethics
    7. Business Trip
    8. Employee Transfer

    They’re all great though.

  24. 1. Business Ethics (Second to last? This was great!)
    2. Crime Aid
    3. Business Trip
    4. Weight Loss
    5. Customer Survey
    6. Employee Transfer (I love Holly, and they dropped her off randomly)
    7. Frame Toby (I’d rather have Holly and it was a bit too ridiculous at times)
    8. Baby Shower (Jim’s white board explanation at the beginning was hilarious though)

  25. I thought “The Surplus” should have done much better than “Customer Survey.” I suppose nothing will top Weight Loss until the writers find a way to top the Jim/Pam proposal with a bigger Jim/Pam event, so I think this is really like a race for second place, but, come ON. “Surplus” was GREAT!

  26. My ratings:

    1. Weight Loss
    2. Customer Review
    3. Crime Aid
    4. Business Trip
    5. Business Ethics
    5. Frame Toby
    6. Employee Transfer
    7. Baby Shower
    8. The Surplus

    I’m sorry, but The Surplus was way too cartoonish, sitcomy, and uncharacteristic – as though someone who had never seen the Office had decided to write an episode.

  27. This would be my rating (I pretty much agree with the general order of the above rating, but have some switch-arounds)…

    1. Crime Aid
    2. Weight Loss
    3. Customer Survey
    4. The Surplus
    5. Business Trip
    6. Frame Toby
    7. Baby Shower
    8. Employee Transfer
    9. Business Ethics

  28. 1. Weight Loss
    2. Crime Aid
    3. Business Ethics
    4. Customer Survey
    5. The Surplus
    6. Baby Shower
    7. Moroccan Christmas
    8. Business Trip
    9. Frame Toby
    10. Employee Transfer

  29. 1. Customer Survey
    2. Frame Toby
    3. Business Trip
    4. Crime Aid
    5. Business Ethics
    6. Weight Loss
    7. The Surplus
    8. Moroccan Christmas
    9. Baby Shower
    10. Employee Transfer

  30. I have no idea why Moroccan Christmas is at the bottom! Here is mine:

    1. Weight Loss
    2. Customer Survey
    3. Moroccan Christmas
    4. The Surplus
    5. Crime Aid
    6. Business Trip
    7. Frame Toby
    8. Business Ethics
    9. Baby Shower
    10. Employee Transfer

  31. Here’s Mine:

    1) Weight Loss (I can’t wait. Will you marry me?)
    2) Customer Survey (Two words: Bill Buttlicker)
    3) Business Trip (I’m coming home the wrong way)
    4) The Duel (Sasqatch is the most powerful animal)
    5) Moroccan Christmas (Fa la la la la..re doo doo doo)
    6) Crime Aid (Five Dollahs!)
    7) Employee Transfer (I’ll just go back to Jan and I hate her!)
    8) Business Ethics (Lets get ethical…ethical)

  32. 1) Weight Loss
    2) Crime Aid
    3) Business Ethics
    4) Customer Survey
    5) Moroccan Christmas
    6) Baby Shower
    7) The Duel
    8) The Surplus *would have been higher if the Dwight Angela story had been cut
    9) Business Trip
    10) Frame Toby
    11) Employee Transfer (Cold Open was classic, whole episode should have been halloween based instead of that road trip)

  33. Kind of surprised to see the Duel ranked so low. I thought it was one of the top-2 or 3 episodes this year.

  34. 1.) Weight Loss (not just for Jim/Pam)
    2.) The Duel
    3.) Customer Survey
    4.) The Surplus
    5.) Business Trip
    6.) Moroccan Christmas
    7.) Baby Shower
    8.) Crime Aid
    9.) Employee Transfer
    10.) Business Ethics
    11.) Frame Toby

    To give some perspective on where I think the show is this season, I really liked Business Ethics and Frame Toby even though I listed them as the bottom two. I actually have enjoyed the love triangles, the Pam in New York story (because that really happens), and Michael’s emotional roller coaster. Also, I think it is remarkable that it is still so consistently funny in its 5th season.

  35. 1.) The Surplus
    2.) Customer Survey
    3.) Weight Loss
    4.) The Duel
    5.) Crime Aid
    6.) Business Trip
    7.) Baby Shower
    8.) Moroccan Christmas
    9.) Frame Toby
    10.) Employee Transfer
    11.) Business Ethics

  36. It gets harder and harder to rank these each week! My new order is:

    1. Crime Aid
    2. Weight Loss
    3. Customer Survey
    4. The Duel
    5. The Surplus
    6. Business Trip
    7. Frame Toby
    8. Business Shower
    9. Employee Transfer
    10. Business Ethics
    11. Moroccan Christmas

  37. What the hell? PRINCE FAMILY PAPER GOT A 6.98?!?!? That one was HILARIOUS!!!! deserved way better…

  38. There is NO WAY that Employee Transfer is better than Prince Family Paper. ET was the worst episode of the series. No freaking way.

  39. 6.98!? There’s no way that’s correct. My order:

    1. Customer Survey
    2. The Duel
    3. Crime Aid
    4. Frame Toby
    5. The Surplus
    6. Weight Loss
    7. Prince Family Paper
    8. Moroccan Christmas
    9. Baby Shower
    10. Business Ethics
    11. Business Trip
    12. Employee Transfer

  40. The season as a whole hasn’t been that impressive, but there is no way Prince Family Paper deserves to be at the bottom of the list…it may not be one of the funniest episodes The Office has put out, but the episodes that provide the human-side of Michael always seem to affect me the most, and Prince Family Paper was definitely one of those

  41. I didn’t rate the last episode because I knew it would get a low number but I am shocked how low it turned out.

    Most people didn’t like it.

  42. I thought the B-plot in “Prince Family Paper” was fantastic, though Michael and Dwight’s plot wasn’t as funny nor did it hold my interest. I wouldn’t rank this episode last, but I am not surprised by the lower rank. I wish the second deleted scene was added. The entire plot with the ensemble made the episode.

  43. Come on. There’s no point to rating them anyways, aside giving ourselves a bit too much of an ego. The writers don’t owe us anything. PRINCE FAMILY PAPER was great TV. What objective scale are people using to vote anyways?

  44. Sorry, but I think we need a re-vote. That’s what the survivor poll at the end of the year is for – because we look back and realize in the scheme of the entire season how good an episode really is.

  45. I am not at all surprised by the ratings. I actually rated it a 1. It was my least favorite episode in quite a long time. I didn’t find myself laughing much at all. I didn’t feel like the plot took a huge step forward which sometimes happens in episodes like these. I just felt that my 30 minutes were gone and never coming back. And I rarely feel that.

    The thing I love about this show though, is that every week some fans think it’s the best episode and other think its the worst. There’s just so many ways to look at it.

  46. Tanster – This is something I found very interesting and would love to know what other people think…

    A couple weeks ago I noticed that there are a lot of viewers for the xmas episode. I also felt that it was a fairly weak episode as far as the season was concerned. Since then I have been thinking about the ratings compared to the viewers. So today I decided to actually look for a minute.

    Aside from the season premiere, which was the 2nd highest watched, and the highest rated episode of the year, the next 5 episodes with the most viewers are the 5 episodes rated lowest by fans on here. While I realize all episodes have people that love it and others that hate it, this kinda scares me. Are lots of casual viewers tuning in to end up seeing the worst episodes? Thoughts?

    Sorry for being short. Trying to stay at 200 words…

  47. Although Stress Relief was funny I don’t think it should have been higher than Crime Aid or Business Ethics which were dang near perfect episodes.

  48. Wow. These are almost identical to how I would rate them EXCEPT:
    Switch Weight Loss and Stress relief.
    Bump Prince Family Paper WAY up and put it in front of the Duel.
    Tanster, I have a question:
    How Is that some people have blue names? (The only example I have is “tuna tuna tuna”) Is that some sort of membership thing? Cause if it is, I’d love to learn how to join.

    [from tanster: the hyperlinked name results from entering something in the Website field.]

  49. I agree with 62. What were the ratings like for season 2? Could that formula/chemistry get the ratings the current one has? Could the ratings differences just be due to being more established, and not to having material with a broader appeal?

  50. My new ranking:

    5.01-02 Weight Loss
    5.07 Customer Survey
    5.11 Moroccan Christmas
    5.16 Lecture Circuit Pt. 1
    5.05 Crime Aid
    5.08 Business Trip
    5.10 The Surplus
    5.12 The Duel
    5.03 Business Ethics
    5.09 Frame Toby
    5.04 Baby Shower
    5.06 Employee Transfer
    5.14-15 Stress Relief
    5.13 Prince Family Paper

    And I’m hoping Lecture Circuit Pt. 2 will go with Pt. 1 in terms of its perfection :)

  51. Lecture Circuit, Part 2 was so funny and well acted. The cat licking must have killed it in the fan rankings. How do you come back from THAT?

    Um, you don’t, I don’t think, come all the way back, you know.

  52. I would love to see all of the seasons’ rankings cross-referenced against the order of appearance in the season and cross-referenced against the writer of the episode. If anyone is bored at work and has a hankering to make a spreadsheet… :) I’ve just always wondered if these factors were significant to the awesomeness of each episode.

  53. Okay, I lied. I got them all in one shot actually–

    Link

    And of course, these are all as of today xD … Who knows where this all will be at the end of Season 5? :]

  54. I have to agree that “Weight Loss” was one of the better ones, but I really liked Prince Family Paper. It was classic Dwight and Michael.

    But I do wish the show would get back to its roots more- Michael’s personality has changed as much as his hair style.

  55. How is Prince Family Paper the last one??

    Stress Relief would be the 1st in the list for me, followed by the Duel

    This season is so far so good, keep it going

  56. Weight Loss was easily the best episode of this season, and the only episode I would rank in my “All Time top 20” list.

    This article sums up my thoughts on this season quite nicely.

    I still watch, but it’s just not the same anymore.

  57. Mike G., I respectfully disagree.

    The Office (UK) and Summer Heights High are brilliant examples of the clever mockumentary style that I’ve grown to love. But the fact that they are brilliant does not take away from the brilliance of The Office.

    Just because something is shorter or less mainstream does not make it automatically better. The Office has gained in publicity and may be a bit different than when it first came out.

  58. Golden Ticket beat Blood Drive??? Wow, we must have lots of Willy Wonka fans up in here. Blood Drive was fantastic and apparently underrated.

  59. I agree completely #74. I loved Blood Drive, and didn’t care for Golden Ticket. It was OK, but not one of the best.

  60. It’s exciting for me to realize that Season 5 has already matched Season 4 insofar as number of episodes produced. That Strike-plagued season will forever haunt me. And I’m so hyped for what the rest of this season has in store.

  61. I cannot wait for the Survivor Poll at the end of the season. I am so eager to see how all of these episodes will rate. Here’s mine:

    1.) Stress Relief
    2.) New Boss
    3.) Customer Survey
    4.) The Surplus
    5.) Weight Loss
    6.) Prince Family Paper
    7.) Lecture Circuit (Pts 1&2)
    8.) Crime Aid
    9.) Business Trip
    10.) Golden ticket
    11.) Blood Drive
    12.) The Duel
    13.) Moroccan Christmas
    14.) Frame Toby
    15.) Business Ethics
    16.) Employee Transfer
    17.) Baby Shower

    Wow that was hard to do. But the thing is, a sub-par episode of the office is better than any of the crap on tv today. I liked all these episodes, But I LOVED 1-12. Wow, this season has actually been pretty good.

  62. Everyone has such different opinions about the quality of these episodes. I disagree with a lot of these scores, including this one. However, with the upcoming plot developments regarding New Boss still to come, I have a feeling this one will be ranked much higher when we do the Season 5 survivor.

  63. Switch “Crime Aid” and “The Surplus” and you’ve got my top five in that exact order.

  64. Tanster, were there a lot of relatively mediocre scores for this episode, was it a mix of high and low scores, or did it go across the spectrum?

  65. #83 Knope Knows is absolutely right…

    I think Two Weeks should be #1 on this list, I can’t believe it got such a low score … ??? I am confused.

  66. totally agree with this list. the office is more drama than comedy nowadays. such a shame.

  67. #86:

    You agree with what? That some episodes get ranked higher than others, like in every season?

  68. Upon reflection, my new list:

    1. Two Weeks
    2. Dream Team
    3. Heavy Competition
    4. New Boss
    5. Customer Survey
    6. Weight Loss
    7. Moroccan Christmas
    8. Crime Aid
    9. Lecture Circuit Pt. 1
    10. Michael Scott Paper Company
    11. The Surplus
    12. Business Trip
    13. The Duel
    14. Frame Toby
    15. Business Ethics
    16. Employee Transfer
    17. Baby Shower
    18. Golden Ticket
    19. Blood Drive
    20. Prince Family Paper
    21. Stress Relief
    22. Lecture Circuit Pt. 2

  69. I have watched Heavy Competition about 15 times already – it is hiiiillarious. I would have put it at #1 so far this season.

  70. Great to see “Heavy Competition” up near the top–such a quintessential episode! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Season 5 and appreciated how well balanced the cringe, the dark, the little background moments, the silly slapstick, the poignant, and the flat out hysterical elements have been throughout the year. I like how the stories aren’t always neatly wrapped up but get to breathe, and come up again in their own time. The fact that the Office continues to be (what I consider) a relevant, intelligent, silly and compelling comedy series after five years is just an amazing accomplishment!

  71. YES!!!! I am SO glad to see something FINALLY topped Weight Loss! Go Broke!

  72. Finally! Weight Loss has been topped! I never thought I’d see the day!

    I’m glad it was an episode I enjoyed so much.

  73. I agree with “Broke”‘s position, but as far as the rest of the list? I think it’s way off!

    I really do think most people vote for an episode based on JAM moments rather than comedy or story.

  74. I liked Broke but I thought Two Weeks was an episode that gave a lot of the cast something to do plus it was more touching. But that last scene in Broke probably was one of the best moments of the series.

  75. I am so happy to see Broke at the top of the list. It definitely was the best of the season (in my mind) glad to see it getting the ratings it deserved! Can’t wait for the rest of the season!

  76. *spoilers ahead*

    What a great season. Any of the first five deserve 1st place imho, but it’s a good thing that “Broke” is at the top since it was so emotionally charged and I love episodes where Michael Scott wins.

    This time it was even more beautiful since he acted like a true hero and team player and, at the moment of truth, was actually cunning enough to prevail over David Wallace, Charles Miner and even Dwight at once. I always find Michael’s loyalty to his “family” one of the most endearing things about The Office.

    Plus the scene with the asian lady patiently waiting in the van.

  77. Top five is exactly my list, except I would make Broke number five and push up everything else. Then I would switch Crime Aid and the Surplus…and that’s as similar as my list is.

    For the people who say that some people only vote for episodes based on the Jam content, I’d say that that’s true for some, but I don’t think they’re in the majority. Yes, Weight Loss had the proposal, but I think its ratings are as high as they are because they had great minor character moments (Stanley, Kelly, especially) and the ever-glorious presence of Amy Ryan.

  78. One thing i don’t understand and definitely don’t agree with on the list is the low placement of Business Ethics. I thought this episode was awesome! Jim’s time-theft prank on Dwight in my mind was the best and most classic-Office-like of the season, by far. And Michael’s decision to NOT say something obnoxious and mean to Holly (regarding the “i told you so” in the end was pure genius, it was surprising and at the same time really helped introduce the impact Holly has on Michael.

  79. Really, #7 for Cafe Disco? I would have ranked it lower.

    Wow, there have been a lot of episodes this season! Can’t wait to get the DVDs for Season 5! =)

  80. Cafe Disco got top ten? That was one of my least favorite of the season. I can’t believe it got higher than Dream Team!

  81. Wow. This is probably the first time a season finale hasn’t made top 3. Darn NBC for not making it an hour-long!

  82. Kinda close to my list, which would be:

    1) Weight Loss
    2) Stress Relief
    3) Heavy Competition
    4) Lecture Circuit pt. 1
    5) Company Picnic
    6) Cafe Disco
    7) Customer Service
    8) Crime Aid
    9) Broke
    10) The Surplus

    Yeah, my list has changed some. Still find it strange that Broke was THAT high. It was a truly great episode, but not the BEST of the season. I felt like CD and CP captured the old office and the chemistry, but an example of the old office without the chemistry would be Casual Friday. Anyway, while episode to episode it’s third, I’d say as a whole the season is my second-favorite to the always holy season 2.
    I think the problem was that the relationships had become so integrated into the show that when they yanked them out all at once, it felt really off and they didn’t know what to do. Just my impression. A show needs a balance of comedy plots and romantic and/or drama plots -the middle of the season lacked this. (See PFP and Golden Ticket)

  83. I sure don’t remember them all by name, but I agree that Cafe Disco wasn’t very funny. I don’t think I laughed the entire episode. The Picnic was just about the same way.

  84. And Season 5 Survivor starts…….. when?

    Also, I think this summer would be a great time to break out some of the other survivors that have been mentioned: Cold Open Survivor, Jim’s Pranks Survivor, etc. What do you think, Tanster?

  85. I agree that the finale should have been one hour. I just wanted more of the office! I think we needed more of a cliff hanger-type ending I guess, like other shows have been doing at the end of the season.
    I didn’t think that Company Picnic was the best either. A lot of times, things just go too fast for the 22 minutes alloted!

  86. I just finished re-watching most of the episodes from this season. The vast majority of them I enjoyed even more than the first time around. However, “Cafe Disco”, which I already didn’t really like the first time I saw it, stuck out as REALLY bad, even worse. Aside from a few funny Dwight moments, this episode struck out big time in my opinion and just wasn’t funny at all… am I missing something? But aside from that one episode, I thought overall this was a very strong season. I think a lot of the episodes ranked toward the bottom of the list have some of the funniest bits of subtle humor in them, the kind of stuff you might not even notice until the second or third viewing. If these votes were held now I think the rankings would be quite different… I know mine would be.

  87. I’m really glad prince family paper was the lowest rated one! It is the one episode i’ve seen that i actually hated! season was my least fave but it had good moments except that episode.

  88. I agree, Prince Family Paper was really bad. I mean, palm trees in the background in January, in Scranton. The Hillary Swank plot was also really disappointing.

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