“The Office”: Still Satisfactorily Leaving Us Unsatisfied
September 22nd, 2006
BEWARE OF SPOILERS! If you have not yet watched last night’s episode of “The Office,” do not read this post until you have done so (this means you, Porpoise!).
My trust in the writers of NBC’s “The Office” has not gone unrewarded. In last night’s season 3 premiere, our Dunder-Mifflin crew dealt with the Jim-Pam cliffhanger just as I hoped they would. Pam broke things off with Roy, but didn’t immediately jump into anything with Jim. Moreover, Jim took the proffered promotion and has been transferred to the Stamford branch, leaving everyone in the “oh, how adorably pitiful” situations we like to see them in.
I even felt sympathy for Roy when he brought Pam the frozen, uneaten wedding dinners and asked her, “Chicken or fish?” Now, if I feel sympathy for Roy, that’s some good writing.
Jim’s attempts to connect with his new, more uptight Stamford coworkers are so delightfully poignant: when he puts the Ed Helms character’s calculator in Jell-O, you know how much he misses fighting with his old deskmate, Dwight Schrute. His silent interaction with the camera crew, as he goes from amused, “yes, I put the calculator in Jell-O” pride to “don’t you dare let on that it was me” fear was priceless.
Entertainment Weekly now has which means that one of their staff comments on each week’s episode online. This week’s reviewer, Abby West, writes: “Why is it that Michael can say the most idiotic, prejudiced things, out a gay employee, insult his boss, and then, when someone rightly calls him out on it, make me feel sad for him? Steve Carell is a genius, that’s why. A genius, I say.”
I’m with West there. As far as I’m concerned, Steve Carell’s ability to inject obnoxious boss Michael Scott with pathos takes the NBC show beyond its BBC predecessor. The more sympathetic Michael emerged at the beginning of the second season, when the American show came into its own. The premiere of the second season in September 2005 also coincided with the aftermath of the success of The 40-Year-Old Virgin: with audiences having responded so well to Carell’s sweetly pathetic character in that movie, the timing worked well for introducing a more sympathetic side of Michael. And it hasn’t gotten old.
Our guests assembled to watch “The Office” last night debated about when—not if—Jim will return to the Scranton branch. Dormouse predicts that it will be just in time for “sweeps” in November. We’ll see. Until then, we’ll glare at usurper Ryan, who has no right to sit at Jim’s desk!
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5 Comments Add your own
1. Jillian | September 23rd, 2006 at 9:21 pm
*ahem*
You’ll have to forgive me for mentioning that my sister has some potential items of Office interest at her .
While wearing my stylish Pam + Jim t-shirt in a small Midwest town the Casey’s clerk asked me if Jim was my boyfriend. I really wanted to say ‘yes’ but instead used the time to plug my sister’s store. Plus I’d have to explain why the name on my credit card wasn’t ‘Pam’…
One of the key differences between the UK and US versions that I like is that Jim is the one who went off on the transfer. I’m sort of dismayed that his new work space isn’t Jim-compliant at the present. I suppose I don’t want to have to see a Jim-retreat even it’d be a happy day for a Jim + Pam reunion. Although, snappy co-worker girl was quite astute in observing Jim’s classic ‘face to the camera’ pose.
Also, I have decided that I have a huge crush on HR guy, Toby. Irrational, sure. But if we were in the parking lot playing ‘who would you do’…
2. theotter | September 23rd, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Oooh–I think I may need a Pam-Pong shirt. I’m tempted by “Ryan Started the Fire,” but that would lead to me having the Billy Joel song stuck on constant replay in my head.
Has anyone thought of making a Flonkerton T-shirt yet? I would totally buy one.
Yeah, Toby’s interesting as a character (though no one can rival Jim’s place in my affections). Now that I own the season 2 DVDs, I’ve been enjoying listening to the actor who plays Toby as part of the commentary tracks. He’s apparently a writer, too.
3. theotter | September 24th, 2006 at 7:22 am
I just IMDB-ed Toby (Paul Lieberstein) to see which episodes he’s written. Apparently he’s behind two of my least favorite episodes (”The Carpet” and “Dwight’s Speech”), but he did also do “Health Care,” which wasn’t bad, and “The Client,” which is maybe my sixth-favorite episode.
4. Jillian | September 24th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
The competition does have “Flonkerton” t-shirts, if you google the word their shop is the first one that comes up.
But don’t tell my sister that I told you…
I love watching the deleted scenes on the Season 2 DVDs because the cut stuff was good enough to be in the show–except for time issues of course. I really liked the cut-scene from The Booze Cruise where Toby just somehow misses the boat. Hee.
From listening to the commentaries, it seems like a lot of collaboration goes into scripts. Perhaps Paul is kind and picks the tricky episodes that no one else wants to iron out… erk. Just making excuses.
I think I’m coming to like Toby, not only because I think he’s rather cute, but because of how he has to be a wise HR person about relating DM details to corporate. Like with the employee complaints. His daughter was cute. And I’m amused that Toby’s the one person that Michael hates hates hates but that doesn’t stop Toby from being one of the few persons who actually, genuinely wish Michael a happy birthday regardless. Plus, he got the book from the Christmas episode.
5. theotter | September 24th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
If I buy a Flonkerton shirt, I’ll just have to buy a Pam-Pong one as well! Maybe I’ll wear Office apparel exclusively from now on. It counts as “professional,” right?
Re: Toby, you can tell he’s an important character to the show, since he’s the recipient of what is apparently one of the cast’s favorite lines. Say it with me: “I hate . . . so much about the things you choose to be.”
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