The Office Season 7 DVD Buying Guide

The Office Season 7 DVD

Release date: September 6, 2011

Info: Bonus features & commentaries | Box art | Screenshots | Blooper reel

Special packages: NBC Store | Freebie inside box

September 5, 2011

One more tidbit about a freebie inside the DVD box.

September 4, 2011

Here’s the latest information about special packages (or lack thereof) and my blooper reel notes.

Previously posted news on the next page.

137 comments

  1. Unfortunately, there appears to be nothing about Carell’s departure, no commentaries by Carell, Wilson, Krasinski, Fischer, and Helms, and no music video from Subtle Sexuality.

  2. @Matt

    we’ve never had episode commentaries with any of the starring cast besides B.J. lol. anyway it looks great, i’m really digging the choice of episodes for commentaries as i loved all of them.

  3. Underwhelming to say the least. Only five commentaries out of an entire season, I suppose I shouldn’t really be surprised. Despite the lack of the main cast I think the commentaries have some good lineups though. I had high hopes that Steve might be present for the commentary on one episode, however.

  4. @guy

    I’m not sure if you’re just being facetious :P but up to season 4 the commentaries were pretty much guaranteed to contain at least one of the starring cast besides BJ. Rainn was in loads, at times it seemed he was making it his personal mission to take care of them!

  5. Agree that it sounds underwhelming. I think this might be the first year I wait until later to buy.

  6. Why does the press release list Will Arnett’s notable roles as Saturday Night Live? Maybe he hosted once but he was never a cast member. Why in the world wouldn’t they just put Arrested Development?

  7. All of this sounds lame. And Steve Carell did do commentaries in Season 1, and Jenna, John, Rainn, etc have all done them several times as well. Only 5 episodes out of 26? Super lame. At least the ones that do have them were important episodes.

  8. I’m disappointed that Jenna Fischer isn’t doing a commentary especially since PDA is one of the episodes getting one. I get why she didn’t this year.

  9. I feel so disappointed. I was hoping more than anything that we would get a commentary from Steve and John on Goodbye, Michael. I thought if any episode would finally bring them back for a commentary, that would be the one. And no Jenna or Rainn? What a huge let down.

    I’m very surprised there is no tribute of some kind to Michael and Steve. Just something about his 7 years on the show. And only 5 commentaries? This is all very underwhelming for such an important season.

    @6 I’ve been holding my breath for a table read for a long time. I guess it’s time i stopped.

  10. I can only hope there is a Best Buy or Target special edition that will include something extra besides what’s listed here. Because yea, that’s really disappointing.

  11. It makes me very sad that i don’t feel compelled to buy this right away. I was really looking forward to this one. I always love the bloopers and deleted scenes. But how can there only be 5 commentaries? No John, Jenna, Rainn or Steve? No SS music video? And nothing to indicate this season was as special as it is.

    I’ll get over it and buy this of course. But right now i’m just sad.

  12. Can Blu-ray please stop getting the royal treatment? I’m not going to pay extra for a technology that makes such a minor difference in the viewing experience, so why should there be exclusive features?

    Anyway, I am SO EXCITED that I finally get to see The 3rd Floor! (It didn’t work in Canada.) Awesome commentary track lineups, too – I’m especially looking forward to “Threat Level Midnight”. Though I hoped beyond hope that “Goodbye, Michael” would include Steve Carell, I never really expected it, considering that he and John K. aren’t commentary regulars.

    Can’t wait for this DVD set to cheer me up after I move to university in the fall. :)

  13. @ chris

    Please don’t remind me that there are commentaries with Steve on from season 1, they were inexplicably removed from the Region 2 DVD…

  14. no Ryan on the cover? BOOOOOO

    but Darryl? that is cool, this should be a sign they are pushing him more, and will have a bigger role in season 8..maybe even manager.

  15. Looks like they are still reusing old photos for the cover. Pam was back to her cardigans and hair pulled back for this entire season and this photo still looks like S4-6.

  16. I’m very surprised that Garage Sale and Search Committee don’t have commentaries. I mean season 5 had 10 of them, 10!

    First time no BJ on the cover. But great for Craig and Ed. Looks like the the best feature will wind up being the bloopers, in particular, John’s squeaky laugh. Let’s hope it’s at least 20 minutes.

  17. @#19 Good point. That’s season 6 Pam. Why not use an up-to-date picture relevant to the season? I love her season 7 look, perfect blend of the old and new.

  18. The cover art, as Michael would say, “looks like it was made by a 2-year old monkey!”

  19. Anyone else notice this is the first DVD cover without Ryan on it? A little lame, but I guess they added Darryl because he was a big character this season.

  20. Glad to see Darryl on the cover (Ryan hasn’t been relevant since S5!). But they need to stop reusing the same pics!! (Darryl is in a warehouse uniform and pretty sure that’s the Dwight from the S5 box art)

  21. Michael should be holding his World’s Best Boss mug, not that one.

    Boo! to no BJ on the cover, S6 Pam photo, lack of commentaries, and lack of Jenna Fischer in said commentaries. She always gives such great insight.

  22. Why on earth is there no commentary by Steve or special video from or for Steve on his final season?? Missed opportunity…..

  23. @guylaroche5, we’ve had commentaries with Jenna, John, and Rainn previously. I, too, am disappointed by the lack of commentaries, especially “Michael’s Goodbye” with Steve. If they don’t change this, I will burn Utica to the ground.

  24. John’s last commentary was season 3, Rainn’s season 5, and Jenna’s season 6. They’ve all done quite a few of them. So i really don’t think it was unrealistic to hope they would be on this one. Steve was the biggest long shot, but even then, i did have some hope.

  25. Agreed about the cover art. I really preferred Pam’s S7 return to “classic Pam”, so why reuse an old shot? Overall they’re unflattering shots, but not in the realistic Office-y way; in fact, it’s quite the opposite – they look over-shopped and awkward. I don’t think I’ve liked the cover art since season 4.

  26. The press release mentions “over 100 minutes of deleted scenes.” While this might seem like a lot, season 6 had over 4 hours of deleted scenes and season 5 had over 3 hours!

  27. Geez Dwight’s head looks huge in this pic (and has an upside down triangle shape.) I’m just saying.

  28. Definitely underwhelming. :( I had so much hope for the Blu-ray; I really, really, really wanted to see some behind-the-scenes stuff on Carell’s last days on set.

  29. I’m underwhelmed. It’s starting to feel like the fans aren’t appreciated like they used to be.

  30. Steve Carell couldn’t bother to do even one commentary on his final season with the show?

  31. No Jenna commentaries? :( I of course will buy this season, but I probably won’t rush to get it the day it comes out like I usually do. Like the rest of you, I’m feeling underwhelmed. And there really should have been a commentary for Andy’s Play.

  32. And why are they advertising the time that it airs on the box? That’s so cheesy…

  33. The Thursdays ad is the promo version of the artwork. When it’s actually released, that won’t be on the cover.

    It’s the seventh season. Most shows start to run out of juice in terms of bonus features by this time.

  34. @MGBBF This isn’t just any old season, this is Michael Scott’s last, further attention should have been paid to it for that reason. It’s an important season, and this is The Office, they usually have way more extra stuff than your average show. I doubt they’ve run out.

  35. It’s become clear that some of the actors are distancing themselves from the show. The show’s quality has plummeted in recent years and the actors are finishing their contracts without doing anything that isn’t contractual.

    This is how you get Creed and Daryl as the main commentary voices.

  36. Look, it’s not 2006 or 2007 anymore. They’re not trying to generate buzz through the dvd set. After 7 seasons, the fanbase is pretty much established. They know we’re gonna buy it. At this point in the show, someone has probably figured out that having more extras won’t boost the sales that much.

  37. I agree that it’s an important season but sadly the bonus features aren’t showing that. I have to assume that Universal makes the final decision on what makes the DVD and that the creative team doesn’t.

    I sure hope that the press release isn’t the final list.

  38. I wish I could say Matt was wrong, but I can’t. Should but shorn’t

  39. I’m surprised that none of the big characters (Steve, John, Jenna, and Rainn) aren’t in any of the commentaries for this memorable season. But, I’m also surprised that Nepostism got a commentary track. I know it was the season opener and was funny, but China, Classy Christmas, Costume Contest and definetly Garage Sale were worthy of having one too.

  40. @Dan You’re right. But i also don’t buy that just because it’s later in the show’s run they are “giving up” so to speak. Season 5 was a fantastic set and that was far beyond the point of needing to generate buzz.

    I would find it really sad if they just stopped caring about their show. If season 8 winds up having more bonus material than S7, i won’t know what to think.

    I agree it’s crazy Nepotism has a commentary and Classy Christmas does not.

  41. @Matt, are there other instances where you feel some are trying to distance themselves, or is this the main source of that opinion? I’m saying this purely out of curiosity (and sadness).

  42. Bad Idea Jeans, #45, asks if there are any more instances-besides none of the main cast participating in the DVD-where some on the show are trying to distance themselves from the show.

    Yes, plenty of instances:

    1)Greg Daniels the exec prod., and Mike Schur a top writer, left The Office in S5 to do P&R. You can’t get more distance than that.

    2)John K stopped doing TV guest appearances promoting the show in 2009. Fact.

    3)Jenna & Angela stopped doing The Office updates on Myspace in 2010.

    4)Steve stopped promoting The Office on TV talk shows in 2008.

    5)The top writing team of Gene & Lee left last season.

    6)Steve left the show this season, and left without doing any commentary on the DVD.

    7)Ed promotes his movies on talk shows, never The Office. See his recent appearances on Leno & Letterman.

    8)Mindy’s cutting back on writing/acting on the show to do other projects.

    These are some instances that come to mind.

  43. @Westin, thank you for sharing. As I was reading, I remembered watching Ed Helms hosting SNL not too long ago. During his opening monologue, he said, “You probably know me from ‘the Hangover’.” I said to myself, “Um, what about the Office – the show you’ve been on for 4 years?!?” Each of your bullet points is right; however, each is like a little knife in my heart.

  44. I’d like to think everybody involved in the Office recognizes and appreciates its importance in all of their lives.

    But.. the distance really does sting.

  45. Cheer up, Bad Idea Jeans #47 & Dawn #48!
    The cast was distancing themselves from the old Office.
    With James Spader as new CEO, and a few other new cast members, the new & improved Office may rock our socks!
    Paul, Jenna, and John, have recently spoken about how psyched they are about S8 and the show’s new direction.
    Paul’s recent interview speaks of a re-birth of The Office that has the entire cast/writers stoked.

    Next year, EVERYONE on the show may be bragging about it and doing the opposite of “distancing”.
    Won’t that be something!

  46. I hope the deleted scenes and bloopers make up for the lack of extra content. I am extremely disappointed that there is no tribute or extra for Steve/Michael. What is up with that? He probably won’t ever be mentioned next season and they couldn’t even add a little something extra for his last season? It’s too bad Steve couldn’t do a commentary for “Goodbye Michael” or any other episodes. I would’ve loved that! I wish Classy Christmas, Garage Sale, Michael’s Last Dundies, or another episode would have had commentaries instead of Nepotism or Dwight K. Schrute (Acting) Manager. I’m not satisfied with the cover art either. Is it really too much trouble to get everyone together and take a couple of pictures for the dvd cover?

    @MGBBF I also hope this press release isn’t the final list. I’ll be disappointed if it is:(.

  47. @Westin #49, thank you for your positive outlook! We needed you to bring us out of our funk. :o) @quartet #51, don’t bring us (back) down!
    Here’s to a great season 8!

  48. So does anybody know if there will be any Target or Best Buy exclusives this year?

  49. With regards to the commentaries…I think it has more to do with the fact that they are all major stars now and have movies and other projects in the off season so aren’t available to do commentaries. The show still totally rocks and they are giving us 100 minutes of new content, most shows don’t do that. I’d rather have that than commentaries!

  50. @Diane, I don’t buy the busy excuse for commentaries. How long can it take? An hour or two out of a single day? And how many days do they have to do that? I don’t know, but i’m not buying it. And 100 minutes is rather low for TO, we usually get around 3 hours of deleted scenes. My biggest gripe though is that there is nothing dedicated to Steve or Michael, that’s just sad.

  51. Anyway that Tanster can get in touch with one of her contacts at the show or with someone at Target and or Best Buy to find out if there will be special editiions of the DVD / Blu-Ray releases for season seven?

  52. I won’t rush to get this. The bloopers and deleted scenes usually make up for a lack of features on The Office DVD sets, but nothing on Steve’s departure is a missed opportunity. It’s a milestone, and should have been documented for the DVD. Makes me sad to think what will be included on this show’s last season DVDs…

    I’ll get the first two seasons of Community instead.

  53. Also, I’ll get pretty mad if there’s exclusive features for different retailers relating to Steve or deleted scenes. Makes people in UK miss out on a lot, unless paying a high price on ebay…

  54. I’m with you, ValidityCommittee, re commentaries. How long can it take? While it’s true that the cast has always been quite genereous, I guess commentaries aren’t a priority for them anymore :-/ Just my opinion, of course.

  55. I’m disappointed in the main stars. It doesn’t take long to do commentaries. Why not do what other shows do, & film them as they go along. John has time to make these crazy commercials with Alec Baldwin, but can’t sit down for a half hour for a commentary.

  56. It has become so apparent that the cast’s interest in the show has been low as #46 indicated. I get the feeling that they simply just don’t care enough to do commentaries.

  57. Oh I love that screen shot :) The blooper reel is what makes the DVD in my opinion!! Can’t wait!

  58. What a disappointment. I’ll just wait and ask for the dvds for Christmas. It truly is sad that none of the main stars can spare a couple hours to do a commentary or two. Those are the best parts of the early seasons.

    Would you be able to let us know how long the blooper reel is?

  59. Tanster, I agree with you about John and Jenna and chemistry. If there are lots of extra JAM stuff I will be buying next week. If not I will just ask for this one at Christmas.

  60. I’ll be getting this for the blooper reel which is almost always my favorite part. Good to see some John/Jenna bloopers, love those. But still this is such a disappointment. Makes me sad.

    No retailer exclusives?

    Tanster- Could you maybe post how long the bloopers are?

  61. According to the weekly ad for next week, there would appear to be no exclusive at Target.

  62. More surprised there is not a separate tribute reel to Steve Carell/Michael Scott. Not classy.

    What I was hoping to see is I read John Krasinski made a video using Office fans as a tribute to Steve. I wish that would be included.
    Tanster, could you find out if that video exists?

    Disappointed that Jenna is not part of the commentaries. I know she is expecting but Jenna always gives the best commentaries.

  63. For those of you waiting for tributes to Steve/Michael from anyone involved with the show, you’re going to be waiting an awful long time. His name has yet to be mentioned on the show since Goodbye, Michael. When his character is referenced at all, it’s as “my last boss” or “the previous manager”. And worst of all, “That’s what she said!” has apparently been retired for good, since it was Michael’s favorite joke.

    Good God, Paul! What did Steve do to warrant this? He gave you seven great years. Something must have happened behind the scenes that never reached the fans. I mean, M*A*S*H mentioned Henry Blake reverently multiple times, AND THEY KILLED HIM OFF when McLean Stevenson quit the show after 3 years!

    By all means, move on with the show. But you don’t have to try to make the fans forget about a beloved character to do so.

  64. #75 Michael’s name was mentioned when Jim and Pam mentioned his and Holly’s new dog, Pamela Beagsley. This was in “The Inner Circle.”

  65. I would love to point out that this marks the FIRST time in The Office history that Ryan is not on the cover of the dvd….which is kind of disappointing lol

  66. @75. Yeah, I don’t think that anyone’s trying to make us forget Michael Scott, nor do I think there is any bad blood. Pretty much all of Season 7 was a tribute to Michael/Steve. He made his movie, he got the girl, and he got his Rent song. Now he’s moved on, and so has the show. There’s always reruns.

  67. I found the leaked Target ad for next week (Google “Target 9/4 ad”) and it looks like this will be the first year that they don’t have some sort of exclusive bonus. I don’t know about Best Buy, but I have a Target gift card I’d like to use, so hopefully they’re not getting any exclusives either.

  68. Any exclusives at Target/Best Buy this year? The lack of enthusiasm regarding the season 7 DVD feels weird. Last year (which was considered the least popular season) there were season 6 specials and people running to the store at 8am… Anybody?

  69. This is the first year I’m not going to be at Target at 8:00 to buy my copy. In fact I’m leaning more towards waiting until I hear more feedback. Very different from the year I was driving around the day before hoping some store put it on the shelves by mistake.

  70. Blooper reel only 15 minutes. Season 6 was 50% bigger.
    Only 5 Commentaries-and no major cast.
    Karen #87, I won’t be at target at 8 either.

  71. I agree with the lack of enthusiasm… I’d completely forgot this was the weekend that it was released until I stumbled on it in the Target ad. And I oddly don’t care. This is the first time since Season 3 (my first season) that I’m not rushing out to buy it at 8 am from Target on that very first day. Heck, one year I broke down in tears when I couldn’t find it. Now, maybe I’ll add it to my birthday list…

    And no special features except an outrageously expensive one from NBC…

  72. What?! No special box sets at Target or Best Buy?! Every year I’ve (foolishly!) bought BOTH special editions because I just had to have all the special stuff. Have always snuck out of work Tuesday morning to buy them, and then rushed home at night to watch all the bonus features. Disappointed… Will check out both stores just in case, but otherwise I guess I’ll order from Amazon then, since they usually have good prices and free shipping. :(

  73. I’m wondering how the availability of the show on Netflix streaming affects DVD sales…I know there are a lot of DVDs I’d normally buy if they weren’t available on Netflix. The Office is always an exception for me, but it really seems like they don’t push DVD(/Blu-Ray) sales of the series as much as they used to.

  74. Tanster, thank you for the information you have given. Do you mind telling us if there are any nice JAM deleted scenes or funny bloopers involving John and Jenna?

  75. @ 85: I am excited for the season 7 dvd! Can’t wait to see the entire Threat Level: Midnight movie :)

  76. I’m still going to Best Buy tomorrow to buy this on Blu-Ray. Even if it’s not packed with a lot of extras. Still NEED this to stay alive!

  77. I work at Best Buy, I know the season 7 copies there come with a small poster of the image of the staff by the lake that was shown on the website a few months ago

  78. I’m glad there are no exclusives…before Christmas, this should be available for $14.99 so I’ll pick it up then. I’ll go ahead and get Community tomorrow though.

  79. Getting the DVD’s were always such a huge part of this whole things for me. I look forward to the commentaries, bloopers and deleted scenes just as much as the episodes. It was like half of the experience. With this set, i feel like i’m having to say goodbye to half of my show already. Only a little left to go..

  80. @tanster

    Just noticed that on the inside flap of my season 7 dvd set, under disk 2, in the summary for Christening, they misspelled Cecelia. They wrote down Celeste. Let’s all thank Pam and Jim Halbert for the christening of their daughter Celeste?

  81. Target also has the mini-poster of the Seurat photo, FYI. No other freebies, unfortunately. Looking forward to watching the blooper reel and Threat Level Midnight tonight!

  82. For anyone who cares, the poster measures about 12-1/2″ x 19″ (got mine at Target–still fun to go get it on the release date).

  83. Best Buy also has the poster. I bought the DVD along with the Parks and Rec Season DVD and got a $10 gift card.

  84. Wow! Soooo completely forgot to go buy my Office DVD’s today! In the past I was always sneaking out of work to go on a “sales call” so I could run to Target and Best Buy and get the exclusive packages. I guess I’ll get them later this week, but in no rush just now.

  85. @Ginger: That bothered me too! Twice – how did that one slip by?

    Seriously, though, on a week where I have to leave home, live on a campus where I don’t know a soul, and go to classes I barely want to take, this is an absolute godsend.

  86. For those asking, yes the Blu-Ray comes with the poster. At least it did at Best Buy. Oh and watch after the credits of Threat Level Midnight the movie!

  87. I had heard that Cody Horn (Jordan) wasn’t going to be back for season 8, so this poster would be a true collector’s item!

  88. Can anyone with the blu-ray edition tell me whether it’s region free or not? The last two seasons were region free but on eBay and some other websites the season 7 blu-ray is listed as region A (USA and Canada only). That would be quite the bummer if it was true. Can someone confirm this?

  89. Well, just breezed through the box set. Can’t believe how few special features there are now. It’s like they don’t even care anymore. Even the stuff that they still did have (bloopers and deleted scenes) were really short. It seems like there were way more deleted scenes in previous seasons’ box sets.

  90. It’s really obvious how much they scaled back on the deleted scenes. I would like to know the reasoning behind why this year feels so feeble compared to all the others? The bonus features are why I get so excited about the DVD’s. I’m sure they have hours of both deleted scenes and bloopers.

  91. On disc 4 when I select ‘play all’ it only plays the first episode on the disc. Does anyone else have this problem? What should I do?

  92. @ 112

    I found this very interesting. Here you can see the Seurat painting but Cody Horn has actually been removed from the image.

  93. The DVD was pretty good. the deleted scenes were not as funny as they usually are but there was alot of them. The bloopers were funny and short. Good DVD.

  94. Ok, I have to agree w/ everyone else. I don’t usually nit-pick, but the extras on the DVD’s are pretty minimal. Some of the commentaries were really great, but even Ellie made the comment in the “Goodbye, Michael” commentary, that she felt weird to be there and that someone who had been on the show longer than her should’ve been doing the commentary.

    Oh, and “Celeste”? lol Major faux pax…

    Some great blooper moments, but it was so short in comparison to past seasons.

  95. I have yet to pick up the Blu but it’s a shame the extras seem so sparse in comparison to previous years. It makes me wonder if this was a result of NBC expecting people to buy it on the strength of Michael’s farewell season, or if they are planning another separate release similar to the Digital Shorts collection.

  96. Just received my pre-order of season 7 from NBC.com and it did come with the magnet set – and the poster!!

  97. I haven’t picked this up yet, and that is shocking for me. I will get it eventually cause i gotta have the complete set – but perhaps they might release a larger collection of all the seasons in the future? I’m all about the extras so i would hold out if there was even the slightest chance there would be new extras included.

  98. The season 7 blooper reel might be my favorite, just for the fact that it has Rickey Gervais’ laugh in it. Best laugh ever.

  99. If anyone really wants/needs the poster, I’d be happy to mail mine. I’m not attached to it. You can message me on twitter @sara823, if you’re interested.

  100. One thing I didn’t see mentioned anywhere was that this set includes a previously unreleased Producer’s Cut of the Season 7 finale, “Search Committee.” This cut of the already hour long episode (or 44 minute episode, should we say?) comes in at over 55 minutes, which I believe is the longest episode of The Office yet. And it is FUNNY!

  101. In the commentary for “Goodbye, Michael,” Greg Daniels says that they were at Ontario Airport for the scenes with Michael and Pam. :) Big smiles over here! Ontario Airport is down the street from me. (Tom Hanks likes filming there, too)

  102. I’m in the UK, and usually get my DVD from Amazon.com. This year, I will be in Boston in a few weeks – where would be the best (Cheapest!) place to get it? Best Buy? There is one near my hotel. Would Barnes and Noble be more expensive. Thanks!

  103. Jen – The cheapest place is probably going to be somewhere like Walmart or Target, but you could check store ads for the time you’re here to see if anyone is having sales. Probably not Best Buy or BN.

  104. Before I delete last season’s eps from my TiVo, has anyone noticed if there was anything that aired on TV that wasn’t included in the DVD’s, like happened with that Halloween episode opener from a season before when Michael “hangs” himself?

  105. @Carla, the only thing that’s missing is the extended version of Goodbye Michael. The one that aired the week after the season was officially over (with David Wallace on video chat). They put those as deleted scenes and did not integrate them into the episode. Dave Rogers refers to that as the “Hour-Long” on the commentaries.

  106. I just watched the Goodbye Michael deleted scenes. Can’t say I’m impressed. The entire box set is below average; not even comparable to previous sets. I feel this was a letdown as the departure of such a high-caliber character.

  107. It’s been so fun watching all the episodes again. The commentaries are great (although I wish there were more). I always avoid watching deleted scenes during the season so I have a treat when the DVD comes out, so those are fun too. Oh and Threat Level Midnight is even funnier in full!!

  108. i have the same question as carla above, any differences in episodes at all? musical differences, scenes cut out??

    thanks for the help!!!

  109. Wow, the deleted scenes from this season were amazing! i wish they had kept them all in the episodes.

  110. Anybody find it odd that there is absolutely no mention of Will Ferrell on the DVD box at all? Any ideas why that is?

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