I thought the same thing at first, but my wife has been watching through the series for the first time and both George Michael and Michael are pretty dumb in the original series. They just seem smarter in comparison to the barely functional level of everyone else.Another minor complaint, I think they made Michael a little too dumb all around. He was always quirky with how he treated George Michael as well as how he was around women, and I understand those were pretty much his two main story arcs in season 4, but it's still kind of weird to me that he isn't the relatable rock centering things like in the past.