The Office Premiere: Thoughts?

I really liked tonight's season premiere of The Office. I'll try to keep this relatively spoiler free for those of you who are time-shifting tonight.

Last year's hour-long episodes didn't work for a lot of folks because the familiar quick, snappy pacing of the show was diluted to fill the extra 22 minutes. I was pleased to see that didn't happen this time. This episode had some excellent one liners, a healthy dose of drama and intrigue and some seriously feel-good moments. (Anyone else want to give Stanley and Jim giant hugs?)

It was really reminiscent of season two or early season three when the show was at its creative peak. Hopefully they can ride this wave all season long. Remember they have a 30 episode order to get through. Even with several hour long eps, that's a lot of story to fill.

After tonight's premiere, I am cautiously optimistic.