I wasn't as enthralled with the first episode as I remember being for the vast majority of season 2 and 3. Had a busy weekend so haven't watched more than that, but we'll see...
The problem is that Michael is the straight man and acts as a foil against all the absurdity around him. When you focus on individual characters, you are just stuck with one particular brand of absurdity which becomes repetitive. And you don't have the relief that Michael provides. God damn it, they fucked it up. :ragecry-18: