Pam isn't thrilled about who Michael is dating.

“The Office” has had its fair share of cringe-worthy couplings.

Jack Black and Cloris Leachman.

Creepy Creed and Meredith.

Phyllis and Bob Vance of Bob Vance Refrigeration and their exhibitionist tendencies.

Now we have the cringe-worthy cougar coupling.

In “The Lover,” Jim and Pam’s return from their Puerto Rican honeymoon is overshadowed by Michael’s revelation that “he has taken a lover,” who just happens to be Helene, Pam’s mother.

Michael, oblivious as always, doesn’t see the problem when he tells Jim of his new relationship. What is funny about this is seeing the always affable, always cool Jim finally lose it just a little bit with poor Toby the unintended victim.

Jim tells Michael that he never can see Helene – AKA “The Mom” – again and Michael says that she’s right on his way home. “Then take another way home, Man!” Jim shouts.

Jim and Pam present Michael with a bottle of rum and Jim can only watch in abject horror as Michael slowly ‘fesses up.

Pam reacts in the way one would expect, screaming “No, no, no. Oh, my God, no,” or roughly similar to NBC’s reaction to the ratings of its fall lineup.

Dwight helps Michael relax by giving him “the chills,” which combines a backrub and apparently the dialogue from Saw XVII. When Michael tells Dwight about his new lover, Dwight is offended, telling him he wished he had known about Michael’s proclivities. “I would have introduced you to my mom.”

Pam calls her mom and passes along her, um, “thoughts” on the relationship and Helene calls Michael, who says “Nobody talks to my baby that way.”

And then he calls her “Pickle.”

Michael is criticized by the staff, with Creed even saying “That’s messed up, Man …”

Michael asks Pam to apologize to Helene, but Pam refuses and Michael reminds her that  “I am your boss and someday could be your father.”

Believing he could be the victim of a hostile work environment, Michael elicits Toby’s help, playing on his neediness, only to drop him when Toby can’t help the situation. Toby’s like Charlie Brown and Michael is Lucy pulling away the football. Toby knows deep down that Michael is playing him, but he just can’t help taking a big kick anyway.

The argument heightens with Jim telling Michael to stop dating her mom. Michael, of course, won’t back down. “I’m going to start dating her even harder!”

Um, Ew …

Michael writes off Pam’s friendship, saying he has plenty of female friends. He has his mother, Pam’s mom, his aunt (though they seem to be on the outs) and “What’s Her Name at Quiznos.”

And, really, isn’t that all the female friendship a man really needs? Add in “What’s Her Face” in the Best Buy electronics department and a guy’s set for life.

So what did you think of the episode? Do you think Michael and Helene’s relationship will last? What about Damon D. Duck, who actually is a mallard? Most importantly, what’s up with Ryan and the hat?