the lowest original episode rating of the fifth season at the time of its broadcast, although the season finale "Company Picnic", would later receive a lower rating on May 14, being watched by 6.72 million viewers. "Casual Friday" received a 4.2 rating/12 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 3.7 rating/10 share among viewers between 18 and 49. The episode received generally positive reviews. Most reviewers particularly praised the opening scene with Kevin dropping his pot of chili; Fickett called it "a great silent comedy moment [and] a quintessential Office moment". Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger praised the episode, saying that it proves the show will still be good following the "Michael Scott Paper Company" arc, which he referred to as one of the best storylines in the show's history. Sepinwall said he thought all the supporting characters were excellent, and that he particularly liked the new adversarial dynamic between Michael and Dwight. Margaret Lyons of Entertainment Weekly said, "This was the episode I've been waiting for weeks." She said she particularly enjoyed many of the subplots involving Kelly's clothing, Creed's chess game with Jim and Toby dealing with casual Friday problems. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave "Casual Friday" a B+ grade, and said the episode had good character moments and a bit of dramatic depth in addition to a few good laughs. Travis Fickett in IGN said Creed, Kevin, Meredith and Toby were all in top form in "Casual Friday", and said he enjoyed the changes that resulted in Michael's departure from and return to the company. However, Fickett questioned what direction the show would go now that so many questions have been resolved. Jay Black of TV Squad said the conflict between Michael and his co-workers was very good, and he enjoys the way Phyllis revealed how hurt she was by Michael's departure from the company; however, Black said he did not like that the episode included a "Casual Friday" even though the office had never had one before. Rick Porter of Zap2it said the supporting characters were all in top form and that the episode demonstrated how Michael, in offering a genuine apology, has grown this season. Porter also praised the scenes with Jim and Creed, and described Kate Flannery as "one of the most fearless actresses on TV" for her scene with the short bathing suit. Josh McAuliffe of The Times-Tribune called the episode "yet another winner in what's shaping up to be a terrific last third of the season". "Casual Friday" was voted the sixteenth highest-rated episode out of 26 from the fifth season, according to an episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally; the episode was rated 7.95 out of 10. References External links "Casual Friday" at NBC.com Category:2009 American television episodes Category:The Office (American season 5) episodes