I can't believe it. A good episode of The Office this week. It wasn't an all-time classic or anything, and it's graded on the curve of diminished expectations, but still. It was good. It was funny without being overly cartoonish. It actually moved the story of The Office along for the first time in seemingly forever. And it was actually about something.
Loosely setting up the spinoff idea for Dwight, he's taking a team to Florida with him to set up an Apple Store-like branch of Sabre stores. Andy picked a team he hated; they interviewed everyone who wanted to go to Florida, and Andy still picked a team Dwight hated, only now including Jim. Dwight's expletive-filled reaction to his team was great, as was his conference room attempt to get them to quit the team. But best of all was the sweet final scene where Dwight saw the value of the people, (Florida) Stanley, Erin (who doesn't plan to return to Scranton because of Andy), Ryan, Cathy the temp who still works there even though Pam's back from maternity leave, and Jim, he's going to oversee as manager.
I thought every character was spot on with their jokes and little subplots. Nothing felt superfluous or pointless. It's like The Office writers finally decided it was time to stop screwing around and try to tell a story again. At least I hope so. For the first time since Michael Scott leaving, I'm genuinely interested in what's going to happen next to the folks at Dunder Mifflin Sabre.
Originally posted by John OrquiolaI can't believe it. A good episode of The Office this week. It wasn't an all-time classic or anything, and it's graded on the curve of diminished expectations, but still. It was good. It was funny without being overly cartoonish. It actually moved the story of The Office along for the first time in seemingly forever. And it was actually about something.
Loosely setting up the spinoff idea for Dwight, he's taking a team to Florida with him to set up an Apple Store-like branch of Sabre stores. Andy picked a team he hated; they interviewed everyone who wanted to go to Florida, and Andy still picked a team Dwight hated, only now including Jim. Dwight's expletive-filled reaction to his team was great, as was his conference room attempt to get them to quit the team. But best of all was the sweet final scene where Dwight saw the value of the people, (Florida) Stanley, Erin (who doesn't plan to return to Scranton because of Andy), Ryan, Cathy the temp who still works there even though Pam's back from maternity leave, and Jim, he's going to oversee as manager.
I thought every character was spot on with their jokes and little subplots. Nothing felt superfluous or pointless. It's like The Office writers finally decided it was time to stop screwing around and try to tell a story again. At least I hope so. For the first time since Michael Scott leaving, I'm genuinely interested in what's going to happen next to the folks at Dunder Mifflin Sabre.
Perfectenschlag!
I thought it was great right up to the last line when Cathy was telling her friend basically she was going to break up Jim and Pam's marriage and sleep with Jim while in Florida. That seeemed like such a Dynasty/melrose Place kind of end that it soured me a bit. Jim is not a dim wit who wont know a woman is hitting on him and how could he evern cheat on Pam? had they left that line out or basically had Cathy brag about a free trip to Florida and how she was not going to do any work since Pam is back and she would be gone anyway would have been better.
Yeah, I think we can all agree that there is no chance Jim is cheating on Pam, so that storyline is DOA. Interestingly, apparently the plan for the random intern girl who was in the cast last year was for her to develop an office crush on Jim, so I guess they're just taking that idea to the nth degree with Cathy.
On a scale of judging which relationship I care about less, Erin/Andy slightly edges out Darryl/Val.
Let's see, back-to-back solid Office episodes and hey, neither featured Robert California. Not a coincidence.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
Originally posted by WpobI thought it was great right up to the last line when Cathy was telling her friend basically she was going to break up Jim and Pam's marriage and sleep with Jim while in Florida. That seeemed like such a Dynasty/melrose Place kind of end that it soured me a bit. Jim is not a dim wit who wont know a woman is hitting on him and how could he evern cheat on Pam? had they left that line out or basically had Cathy brag about a free trip to Florida and how she was not going to do any work since Pam is back and she would be gone anyway would have been better.
Cathy's shown interest in Jim since she was introduced. I got no problem with them finally moving this forward.
Originally posted by WpobI thought it was great right up to the last line when Cathy was telling her friend basically she was going to break up Jim and Pam's marriage and sleep with Jim while in Florida. That seeemed like such a Dynasty/melrose Place kind of end that it soured me a bit. Jim is not a dim wit who wont know a woman is hitting on him and how could he evern cheat on Pam? had they left that line out or basically had Cathy brag about a free trip to Florida and how she was not going to do any work since Pam is back and she would be gone anyway would have been better.
Cathy's shown interest in Jim since she was introduced. I got no problem with them finally moving this forward.
Interest is one thing - like innocent flirtation. Attempting to break up a marriage - of the woman you are temping for - is another level. If Cathy innocently hit on Jim in a "is she or is she not interested" way, it could have been fun to see Jim's reaction. But presented this way, who doesn;t hate Cathy already for trying to break up a marriage? It reeks of laziness.
The obvious solution for the Jim and Cathy thing is for Cathy to end up with newly single Robert California.
One of the problems with The Office, which is their own fault when you think about it, is that there are just so many fucking characters on that show. They lost their leading man but they kept adding and adding ancillary characters. It must be a huge pain in the ass to find something for everyone to do all the time. It's certainly hard as a viewer to find reasons to care about Val or Andy's girlfriend Jessica or Nate or Cathy. Fuck, Gabe's been on the show two years and I despise him. He's been around a couple of years as well, but is anyone actually interested in learning more about Angela's gay State Senator husband? And I don't think anyone can truly say with total confidence Robert California has been a bona fide super success.
It's different from earlier seasons when ancillary characters were largely great, like David Wallace. Man, do I miss David Wallace. I'd kill for some David Wallace.
Dwight taking Jim, Ryan, Florida Stanley, Erin and Cathy to Tallahassee with him (to interact with Robert California) for however many episodes is a long over due brand split that should give both groups a little room to breathe. I'm surprised The Office took this long to do a brand extension but at this point, it's overdue. I have a little more interest in Dwight's Smackdown brand than Andy's RAW brand right now, but let's see how it plays out.
(edited by John Orquiola on 10.2.12 0538) @BackoftheHead
Originally posted by John OrquiolaIt's different from earlier seasons when ancillary characters were largely great, like David Wallace. Man, do I miss David Wallace. I'd kill for some David Wallace.
This Cathy gal is not human or even character, she's a pile of branches with a wig on it who apparently lives only to evilly destroy true love, conjured from the ashes of the blonde girl from last year, built in the same Brunette Machine as Andy's girlfriend (who is not the same person?). Wouldn't it be more interesting or funny if she erroneously believed Jim was her very own workplace love of destiny and shared furtive glances or sumtin.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroThis Cathy gal is not human or even character, she's a pile of branches with a wig on it who apparently lives only to evilly destroy true love, conjured from the ashes of the blonde girl from last year, built in the same Brunette Machine as Andy's girlfriend (who is not the same person?). Wouldn't it be more interesting or funny if she erroneously believed Jim was her very own workplace love of destiny and shared furtive glances or sumtin.
People who saw me write this here, be happy and then move it to Facebook, and then feel obligated to narrow it down on Twitter must be like "boy the internet is stupid."
John was telling me about Cathy's deleted scenes, let's recap them here. Were they like the one I saw that I think one Big Bad was alluding to, where blonde from last year was also charmed by Jim and was like "I dunno, that Jim's pretty cool."
I don't think too many characters isn't really an inherent problem, assuming you guys like Parks and Rec as much as I do. By having a whole town to go to the well for, it really opens things up.
While it seems very un-Office like, I'm intrigued to see how the Cathy/Jim story plays out. This has probably been the most interesting story line they've put in since looking for Michael's replacement.
The moment of the night for me, was the silence after Jim asks Dwight, "would now be a good time to go over what you expect of us?"
I agree and disagree. Jef was probably the funniest guy in the show, making me and my friends say 'Gusset' over and over. The first time I saw his replacement (Oliver) it didn't work for me.
Thread rated: 7.77
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