'Office' gets super slot

"Office" fans are in for a treat after the Super Bowl.

The hourlong episode of the show is full of some very, very funny stuff.

If you're not already a fan, you might just be left wondering what the fuss is all about.

There are moments in this hourlong episode that are as hilarious as anything the show has ever done. Beginning with the World's Worst Fire Drill — an event the ever-demented Dwight (Rainn Wilson) cooks up to teach his co-workers a lesson.

One of those co-workers nearly ends up dead.

There's also the World's Worst Roast — an event orchestrated but the ever-demented Michael (Steve Carell) to make him seem likeable.

There's even an original musical number.

There has been some concern expressed by "Office" fans because, as announced, this episode will feature appearances by Jack Black, Jessica Alba and Cloris Leachman. To which I can only say, "Shame on you, disloyal 'Office' fans!"

Really, you ought to have more faith in executive producer Greg Daniels and his team. Black, Alba and Leachman are integrated into the episode in a way that makes sense within the show's warped reality. And it doesn't violate the show's reality at all.

It's also quite amusing.

The biggest problem with the episode is one we've noted here before — it's too long. "The Office" works best in half-hour episodes, and its weakest outings have been the hourlong episodes NBC insisted on last season.

This one is better than any of those, but it would have been better to have two really good half-hours.

The bigger question is why NBC decided to give the post-Super Bowl slot to "The Office." Generally, it goes to either a new show or a fairly new show that can get a boost out of the exposure.

Way back in 1996, NBC aired an hourlong episode of "Friends," cleverly titled "The One After the Super Bowl."

"Friends" was already hot at that point, and it got even hotter. But it was also in the middle of its second season, just 36 episodes into a run that would eventually stretch to 160 episodes.

This is by no means mean at criticism of "The Office," but this is a show that's in its fifth season. It's already aired almost 80 episodes.

The chances of it attracting a big, new audience seem slim at best.