Who remembers the series of episodes when Michael loses his job at the TV station, then loses jobs in a shoe store and a supermarket as well as suffering meltdowns that land him in a sanitarium? He also broke up with Stephanie because he felt he couldn't afford her.

Eventually, he got his life back together when he reunited with Stephanie, married her, became a dad and general manager at WPIV.

Anybody think those episodes were signs of a shark jump?

Who remembers the series of episodes when Michael loses his job at the TV station, then loses jobs in a shoe store and a supermarket as well as suffering meltdowns that land him in a sanitarium? He also broke up with Stephanie because he felt he couldn't afford her.

Eventually, he got his life back together when he reunited with Stephanie, married her, became a dad and general manager at WPIV.

Anybody think those episodes were signs of a shark jump?

I'm not sure I would call it a "shark jump". Stephanie and Michael had been together for 4 or 5 seasons by that point without them actually growing or changing much so by having Michael's life go into the toilet and break up with Stephanie was just a way of expanding their characters. Peter Scolari did a great job with this story arc and as a result of their separation, they both realized just how much they needed other. It was probably a little heavier than some viewers would like, but I'm sure everyone knew they would reconcile at the end.

I thought Michael's crying was excellent funny acting !

7 was the worst season. It only had about two good episodes IMO.

They turned it around for the final season thankfully.