The Office: 10 Things About Robert California That Make No Sense

It would be impossible to talk about some of the most popular and legendary sitcoms of all time without mentioning the masterpiece that is The Office. The stories of the lives that play out in the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch is easily one of the most endearing tales told, full to the brim with hearty jokes and tear-jerking moments that would rattle even the most stoic human being around.

A big reason as to why The Office is so memorable is definitely its massive cast of memorable characters, each of whom have become legends in their own right. However, there’s one oddity in the mix that most people simply can’t make up their mind on: Robert California. James Spader might definitely be a great actor, but one can’t deny that his character—or even his presence, for that matter—as a bad fit for The Office. To add more context to this statement, here are ten things about Robert California’s character that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

10 His Smooth-Talking Capabilities Were A Bit Too Exaggerated After A Point

Robert California is built up as this amazing speaker who can smooth-talk his way into anything he wants, ultimately becoming the CEO of Sabre after initially only being chosen as a Regional Manager. However, it’s the later instances in season eight that make it quite hard to believe that Robert has a way with words, given the fact that he constantly blurts out the most nonsensical and offensive blabber at times.

9 His Dynamic With Andy Is Painful To Watch

There are many reasons as to why season eight is one of the worst seasons of The Office, and the dynamic between Regional Manager Andy and CEO Robert California is definitely one of the reasons why this is the case. It’s clear that Robert’s personality doesn’t really play off well with Andy’s, leading to a situation where any scene involving both of them is an absolute pain to watch at times.

8 The Episode Featuring His Wife Has Some Truly Hypocritical Behavior

Robert also tends to send some very mixed messages at times, and this is truly exemplified in the episode where his wife makes a guest appearance, which is considered by many to be one of the worst episodes of The Office.

The fact that he tells Andy to never hire his wife only to double back on this and pretty much force his employee into hiring his wife in a face-to-face conversation is easily one of the worst moments in the show and elicits nothing else aside from a perpetual sense of confusion.

7 For Someone Who’s Supposed To Be Strong-Willed, Nellie Did End Up Walking All Over Him

If there’s one thing that most people would associate with Robert California, it’s a no-nonsense attitude that would never back down against anyone, especially anyone who’s his subordinate.

So, the fact that Nellie could just join the Scranton Branch and become the Regional Manager under Robert’s nose while he doesn’t even have the guts to deny her this opportunity is easily one of the weirdest and most nonsensical moments for his character.

6 He’s Supposed To Be A Business Guru But Doesn’t Really Show Why

Given the fact that Robert has a way with words, one might assume that he’s a pretty successful business guru who can provide the best advice for any budding enterprise. However, as was the case with his silver tongue, the later episodes tend to reverse on this character trait, as well, making him seem like just as much of a bumbling fool as some of the other branch managers of Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

5 The Fact That He Was Fooled By Kevin Is Quite Suspect, Indeed

Perhaps the best indication of Robert’s pretentiousness and his surface-level business acumen can be seen in the fact that he unnecessarily read into the comments of one of his employees, mistaking him to be a genius when he actually was the stupidest member of the office.

It goes without saying that the person in question here is Kevin Malone, and the fact that his rhetoric on cookies ended up “impressing” Robert so much is a testament to the couch expertise of this individual when it comes to running a business.

4 It’s Weird That Kevin Managed To End Up On His Winner’s List

Another time when Kevin ends up bamboozling Robert is when the latter is so impressed by this glutton in a conversation that he ends up placing Kevin in his “Winners” list. One can’t even comprehend being fooled by Kevin once, but Robert managed to be fooled twice by this individual, which is quite telling.

3 For Someone Who’s The CEO Of Sabre, He Spends A Ton Of Time In The Scranton Branch

One would’ve thought that being the CEO of a company would imply that Robert would be busy with the working of the company at every step of the way.

Instead, we see him still spending a ton of time at the Scranton branch even after being appointed as a CEO, which is certainly quite weird indeed.

2 His Behavior Is Extremely Inappropriate At Times

Robert seemed like a fairly level-headed and logical individual when he was introduced, but, once again, this character trait was rolled back as the season moved forward.

All of a sudden, Robert started talking about things that were quite inappropriate in a workplace environment, including matters of a sexual and personal nature. The fact that he was ridiculously unfunny during some of these moments made them even more painful to watch. Of course, one can’t be surprised at his lack of comedic chops, given the fact that…

1 Hiring A Drama Actor In A Comedy Show Was A Foolhardy Notion From The Get-Go

James Spader is definitely a great actor who made a solid name for himself in the industry, but he never was an actor who specialized in acting. He mostly had a drama background, making him a weird casting choice in a show that thrived on the comic timing of its actors.

This led to a situation where, unless the scene was heavily scripted, most of Robert’s jokes didn’t really pack a solid punch, turning his character into one of the more boring aspects of the show’s eighth season.