'The Office' 'Seasons Of Love' Tribute At Michael Scott's Last Dundies (VIDEO)

In one of those well-earned TV moments where a sitcom gets to be as bittersweet as it is funny, the Dunder Mifflin team gave Michael an emotional send-off for his last Dundies, singing their own version of "Seasons of Love," from "Rent." You could imagine Michael Scott crafting such a moment in his own head a million times over, but never actually expecting it to happen.

The episode was written and directed by Mindy Kaling, who wrote the original Dundies episode, and is the penultimate in the "Michael Scott is leaving Dunder Mifflin" story arc. As is often the case when a beloved character leaves a show that will continue without him, the televised goodbyes often nudge at the fourth wall, becoming real life goodbyes to the actor, and that's certainly the case here.

Michael's last words to the camera kind of say everything that needs to be said.

WATCH:

Comments

[tinanyc]

02:42 PM on 04/25/2011

well done.

[Max Shaw]

01:40 PM on 04/25/2011

I thought that scene was really sweet..you could really tell Carell was touched by it.

[Lorenzo46]

04:33 PM on 04/23/2011

Can the USA please get out of their Glee phase? Or just come out as the most gay nation on the planet? The USA version of The Office was always weak, but this is just pathetic.

[VerizonCells]

11:12 PM on 04/23/2011

judge a nation by a tv show?

[Carmen Madonna Campos]

11:26 PM on 04/23/2011

WWF anybody?

[Lauren Kottwitz]

11:59 AM on 04/23/2011

That was sweet.

[missdboat]

09:59 AM on 04/23/2011

I loved this episode! When Michael was sitting on Deangelos chest trying to prep him for hosting the dundies I about died laughing! And when he said Merediths house reminded him of Katrina!! LOL!! And throwing eggs at Toby's house. This was a great episode.

[You Are My Density]

07:28 PM on 04/24/2011

I dunno, maybe I just wasn't in a good mood or something, but the only part of this episode I really liked was this particular song, which I had sung last year in our symphony chorus at a Broadway pops concert, so it had nice memories for me, and I think they did a cute job of it. Plus, you could see Michael wasn't faking the tears. The rest of it didn't seem very funny and was kind of depressing. In fact, before they started singing this, I was thinking to myself, do I really want to keep watching this show? Well, I'm glad someone liked it so it wasn't a total loss, and maybe it was just me.

[okay anhedoniac]

01:20 AM on 04/23/2011

Am I the only one who cringed when the entire cast suddenly broke into a coordinated Broadway performance? The show has strayed so far from it's roots that it's unrecognizable. What happened to the Dunder-Mifflin employees resenting and barely tolerating Michael, the person who has offended them constantly and made their daily lives miserable for years? And now they're suddenly rewriting and presumably spending hours practicing a RENT song to serenade him with after another disaster at the maligned Dundees? This show jumped the shark awhile ago but now it's jumped over the mountain with an elephant on top with a giant shark tied to the top of the elephant.

[Kremfresch]

03:01 AM on 04/23/2011

No, you aren't the only jaded, too cool for school hipster who flaunts his coolness by slamming a show that has grown far past the original vision of its' creators. You are wrong though. Why bother commenting on a thread about a show you obviously hate? You must not have very much to do with your time.

[jerryjerry5959]

05:06 AM on 04/23/2011

Your right.....He/she is obviously a perpetual whiner

[RedDogBear]

10:56 AM on 04/23/2011

I love the show but I cringed at the song. And I'm not a "hipster" just someone who doesn't like cliched maudlin TV. I expected better from the Office.

[DietRite]

03:13 AM on 04/23/2011

That was awesome. Perfect scene. Loved it.

[CamBrown99]

01:13 AM on 04/23/2011

From the look on his face and the tears in his eye, I got the impression that Steve Carrell didn't know that was coming. It was a cool moment.

[RedDogBear]

10:56 AM on 04/23/2011

Its called acting.

[CamBrown99]

03:30 PM on 04/23/2011

I think he stayed in character, but you can tell there was genuine surprise there.

[You Are My Density]

07:33 PM on 04/24/2011

I got the same impression. I don't think he was acting. He's been on this show for many years. Naturally, he'll have some emotions about leaving it. I was touched by this scene. Of course as a musician, I happen to like musical interludes when they're clever like this was.

[Commie]

10:49 PM on 04/22/2011

Thoroughly enjoyed last night's episode. Thought Ferrell was a lot better this time also. They still got it.

[jcop815]

10:37 PM on 04/22/2011

This moment goes right up there with the Jim and Pam's marriage. An instant classic. Michael (and Steve) will be greatly missed.

[VerizonCells]

11:18 PM on 04/23/2011

almost as big as who shot jr... lol

[I Luv Dogs]

09:18 PM on 04/22/2011

I Luv The Office and the musical, Rent. Great send off to Michael, you will be missed!

[HialeahJDM]

08:54 PM on 04/22/2011

Classic. I really love this show.

[Don Stalvino]

08:41 PM on 04/22/2011

I believe the show should have been canceled after Pam walked on coals at a company cookout.

[46n09]

08:28 PM on 04/22/2011

I for one am glad to see Carell leaving the show. I stopped watching the show because of him, which is funny, because I used to watch the show because of him. His character is tired and was keeping the show stagnant. I won't see anymore of his movies either because it is always the same character.

[metivo]

08:54 AM on 04/25/2011

I too am disappointed in Steve Carrell. At the beginning of his career he seemed so full of potential. But he went for the easy money and has appeared in too many lousy unfunny comedies. Evan Almighty anyone? He's turned into a one-trick pony.

[capt ayhab]

08:08 PM on 04/22/2011

Is this the best art form America has to offer?

[longhorn20twelve]

09:26 PM on 04/22/2011

jealous?

[nycpaladin]

02:15 AM on 04/23/2011

First of all numnutz, the show is multinational, with versions appearing in the UK, France and several other countries. Second, if the art form is so bad, how is it that so many other countries and cultures crave American TV. Third, with the exception of Al Jazeera, the Arab world broadcasts NOTHING that the non-Arab rest of the world wants to wast a minute of their time on.

[Honora]

09:17 AM on 04/23/2011

The show has given me lots of needed laughs & I bought a bobblehead of Dwight so I can be reminded often. And I love some of these comments. Almost as funny as the show itself.

[capt ayhab]

09:54 AM on 04/23/2011

Right back at you.

[TruGal]

07:59 PM on 04/22/2011

"Seasons of Love" always makes me cry anyway, but seeing Carell tear up was especially moving. I'll miss seeing him every week.

[You Are My Density]

07:36 PM on 04/24/2011

Me too, though it was pretty funny to see how many ways he had of screwing up an office. :)