Wed, 2 April 2008
Well, NBC has been busy unveiling its 2008-2009 prime time schedule today, which includes some rather baffling (but not unexpected) news -- "THE OFFICE SPINOFF" will debut in January 2009. A regular episode of THE OFFICE will air in the coveted post-Super Bowl slot, followed by the pilot episode of the unnamed (I can only pray it's not named "The Office Spinoff"...) spinoff. The ORIGINAL show will return in September, once again, with hour long episodes. E! is also reporting that the episode order for 2008-2009 is "28 half hour episodes" (not sure how those hour longs fit into that). The New York Times got the following information on the new show from Ben Silverman: NBC isn’t revealing much about the show itself. “The entire creative team of ‘The Office’ is behind this show,? Mr. Silverman said, including Greg Daniels, the show’s executive producer. It’s a tall order for Mr. Daniels and his colleagues, as they will also be producing hour-long versions of “The Office? throughout September. Mr. Silverman noted that “The Office? has a “huge ensemble? of actors. “We can’t even service some of these great actors and performers [on the original show], so it’s very likely you will see some of those actors on the spin-off,? he said. I got a chuckle out of some of the comments in the NYT article-- since the show was unnamed, the author asked, what names would its readers suggest for the show? Reader Jaimie quipped: 'I think they should name it something like “Creative Oversight? or “Gigantic Error.?' Damn right, Jaimie. Can anyone REALLY see it as a good idea to split the attention of THE OFFICE's writing staff? A good idea to take characters from one of the most beloved and talented ensembles ever assembled and shuffle some of them off to another show? THE OFFICE is amazing BECAUSE it has such a huge cast of characters... it's a TEAM effort, through and through. Sure, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW gave birth to RHODA, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW begat MAYBERRY RFD, ALL IN THE FAMILY spawned THE JEFFERSONS (and MAUDE), and DOCTOR WHO led into TORCHWOOD. I GET the concept. I know it's worked in the past, but it just makes me incredibly sad to think that one of the best shows on TV is going to screwed with in this way. For those people who say "But everyone said an AMERICAN remake of THE OFFICE would suck, and look how it turned out," I say "Bah." The situations aren't analgous in the least. The UK show was over, the American version took the pilot idea and ran with it, quickly making the show a very distinct beast. None of the UK cast came to America, the UK audience didn't have to watch David Brent or Tim suddenly relocate to Scranton, PA, being replaced by some new "nobodies" (or even worse, not replaced at all). Will I watch the new show? Of course. Maybe I'll even love it. But right now, it just worries me more than anything else.
Category:general
-- posted at: 6:11pm EDT
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Thu, 8 May 2008 NBC & Microsoft Team Up To Bust \"Pirates\" Many people were and are still upset about NBC yanking their content from Apple\'s iTunes store. The feud has been going back and forth, with rumors flying it may return, or may not, or whatever the case may be on that particular day. In the meantime, NBC has pimped their shows out to just about everyone ELSE, including Amazon\'s UnBox service, Hulu.com, cell phone video streaming... you name it. NBC is now teaming up with Microsoft to sell their shows on the Zune (Microsoft\'s MP3 player) video store. Not really that big of a deal, except that NBC is demanding Microsoft install some kind of filter on their Zune devices which will somehow block the device from playing any video file the filter believes is \"unauthentic.\" Never mind the consumer\'s legal right to rip their own DVDs, for example. If NBC doesn\'t like it, it won\'t work. Why Microsoft is bending over and taking this isn\'t a big mystery (they\'re desperate, and have already kowtowed to Universal Music\'s demand to give them a cut of sales... a \"pirate\" tax, if you will), but it seems to me to set a pretty dangerous precedent. EDIT: According to the NYT article, Microsoft is apparently denying they agreed to do anything more than \"discuss\" the issue with NBC. Category: general -- posted at: 11:37 AM Comments[7] Thu, 8 May 2008 The Office -- Episode # 4.13 \"Job Fair\" This one sounds pretty promising-- Jim, Andy and Kevin on the links? A situation rife with comedic possibilities if I\'ve ever heard one. From NBC.com: JOB FAIR 9/8c TV-PG 05.08.2008 Jim (John Krasinski) hits the links with Andy (Ed Helms) and Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) to try and land his biggest client ever. Meanwhile, Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) sets up a booth at a local job fair, which happens to be at Pam\'s (Jenna Fischer) alma mater, to find \"the best and the brightest\" for Dunder Mifflin\'s summer internship. Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Angela Kinsey, Creed Bratton, Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Phyllis Smith and Craig Robinson also star. ----------- Leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat after the show. Category: general -- posted at: 10:43 AM Comments[41] Wed, 7 May 2008 That\'s Assistant President To You... Looks like Kevin was right in his speculation about Dwight\'s politics: on the Daily Show With Jon Stewart tonight, Republican presidential nominee John McCain (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) said that his running mate in the 2008 election is going to be Dwight Schrute. Well, he couldn\'t be any worse than Dick Cheney, could he? Category: general -- posted at: 11:45 PM Comments[5] Wed, 7 May 2008 Rainn Wilson ROCKS The first trailer for THE ROCKER was just posted over at Yahoo! Movies, and it\'s definitely worth checking out if you\'re looking for a glimpse of the \"wilder\" side of Dunder Mifflin\'s favorite beet farmer. I dunno... looks like it could go either way, as the trailer seems heavy on \"getting hit in the nuts\" and \"falling off stuff\" jokes. Not exactly subtle... but then, when is rock ever subtle? In the plus column, one of the writers is listed as Wallace Wolodarsky, a verteran writer on THE SIMPSONS (you know, from the GOOD seasons before it jumped the shark...?). If you\'re unfamiliar with THE ROCKER, allow Yahoo! Movies to elucidate: A failed drummer is given a second chance at fame. Robert \"Fish\" Fishman (Rainn Wilson) is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n\' roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew\'s high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he\'s always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives. THE ROCKER is set for an August 1st release. Category: general -- posted at: 11:22 PM Comments[3] Tue, 6 May 2008 \"Cool Guy Paul\" Talks To Remote Access Friend of the show Brian Howard over at the Remote Access TV blog offers up yet another interview with a recent THE OFFICE guest star, this time talking to Five Families member Paul \"Cool Guy Paul\" Faust. Head on over to Brian\'s blog for all the details. Category: general -- posted at: 12:05 AM Comments[0] Mon, 5 May 2008 Episode # 43 -- \"Did I Stutter?\" (5/1/08) Episode # 43 of THAT\'S WHAT SHE SAID finds both Matt and Kevin polishing up their back-up glasses. When a sassy, upset black man named STANLEY lets out his smelly frustrations on his clueless, purple boss MICHAEL, it\'s up to Dwight to eat the nice catfood. Errr... let\'s try that again. When Stanley erupts, Michael has to find a way to deal with the office insurrection. Dwight plots his revenge against Andy, Pam gets beaten with the ugly stick, and Jim faces a humiliating beat-down of his own from a hobbit-loving half-beard. How can Jim and Ryan solve their differences? Two words -- fluffy fingers. Incidental music provided by the Podshow Podsafe Music Network. Email us at TWSSpodcast @ gmail.com, or leave a comment on our blog page at TWSSpodcast. com. Check out Kevin\'s blog and podcast at the-frat-pack. com. iTunes reviews are always appreciated! Help spread the word! Direct download: TWSS43.mp3 Category: podcasts -- posted at: 11:31 PM Comments[24] Sun, 4 May 2008 Buy Andy\'s Xterra (For Real) Dwight buying and then flipping Andy\'s Nissan Xterra was one of the funniest bits to be found in DID I STUTTER? this past week. Dwight\'s Jedi mind-trick sales techniques, the \"three way bidding war\"... pure comedy gold. Inspired by the episode, the actual OWNER of said Xterra (one of the hairstylists on THE OFFICE) has put the car up on eBay as well. If you happen to be luck
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I think you - or this story - is overlooking the biggest news development. Getting the post-Super Bowl gig is HUGE for \'The Office.\' Networks have previously used that spot to debut new shows, but in recent years, it\'s pretty much been affirmation for a top show (House, Grey\'s Anatomy, etc.). As far as the spinoff, weakening the original show is definitely a concern, but we talk all the time about how we wish the show was longer because there\'s more material than can be fit into those 22 minutes or so many great characters that deserve more storylines. Maybe this spinoff will provide that opportunity.
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Great post, Matt. Though your response is hilarious in that Life in the Office greeted this news with wild applause. I think a spinoff with Todd Packer and Andy Bernard would be hilarious! But, obviously, we all need to remain guarded (at the very least) until we learn more.
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