Thu, 4 January 2007
Enjoy the episode tonight everyone... I'll be traveling and won't be able to see it myself until perhaps Friday at the earliest. Not sure when the new episode of TWSS will be up, but I will let you know as soon as I can. Right now, I'm wondering if I should make a detour through Scranton on my way home? Hmm... Edit: Hey, I *did* visit the "Electric City," if only for about 25 minutes. Good times!
Category:general
-- posted at: 4:51pm EDT
Comments[35]
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Yeah, there was one time where it did post with the backslashes so now I never know. But, it\\\'s probably not as much as half the time that they appear like I said. It\\\'s no big deal. Oh, there! It happened. OK, I shall not delete them this time. Scary . .. .
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Did anyone feel like Micheal was doing an impression of Steve\'s 40 Year Old Virgin character. He looked like Oscar being kissed by Micheal! For a guy who likes to have sex... sex with Jan... sex with Jan... in their room he certainly doesn\'t act like he has been having intimate relations with her. I don\'t even want to imagine that awkward scene. Maybe he was just nervous. It still seems weird. The only reason you would kiss anyone like that is when you don\'t like the other person or it is your 70-year-old Grandpa and you know he is going to slime you. Sorry that was a little gross!
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That ^^^ was me. Has anyone else had the problem of ALWAYS being told to \"type the numbers exactly as they appear in the image\"? It\'s happened to me every time the first time for weeks now. Then about half of those times, every apostrophe and quote mark has a backward slash before it which I have to remove before typing in the new numbers. Like this time right now.
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Martin ~ I think you might be taking our Karen bashing too seriously. I\'m not, and I\'m pretty sure Elisabeth\'s not in the Karen-is a-date-rapist camp. I think that\'s ridiculous. It\'s always ridiculous when people believe something\'s happening that is completely unsupported by anything we\'ve seen in the story. I\'m less irritated by the existence of a Pam rival than I once was, and the actress has finally started to grow on me. This may not be true for Elisabeth, but still, I have the feeling she plays up her anger for effect. Not that she needs me to defend her, but I just don\'t believe she\'s in that category of really weird females you see online who really think vile things about Karen, the ones who seem partially disconnected from reality, almost unable to discern fiction from reality. Yeah, I hope I\'m not making presumptions if I say that I don\'t think that Elisabeth is partially detatched from reality. But I can certainly see how it could bother you to see a character you like disparaged for no \"real\" reason. On the reality question, I think that what the show does well is create the feeling of authenticity. But I do not think it is really going after hardcore reality. (You can watch The Wire for that. And then some.) It\'s a story. And, like any story, it is, in part, a metaphor, a metaphor that expresses a world view. I know that sounds awfully serious for a comedy, but I still think it applies. And so Pam and Jim getting together or not getting together expresses more than the reality of life. If a story maker chooses to, say, have a happy ending, it expresses one world view. If he chooses an unhappy ending, that is another world view. I don\'t know how they are going to end the \"story.\" But, as most of us are at heart romantics, I think it is more likely that they will eventually let Jim and Pam get together. Let alone that the majority of the audience would feel extremely disappointed -- if not duped -- if they did not. It is still television, after all.
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Nomi is correct to say that I play up my anger against Karen for effect. I really don\'t think she is a whore. Now that she\'s in Scranton, I\'m actually starting to like Karen. Maybe it should be a tough call. It would be unfair to Karen to just be another Katie and just get booze cruised off the show. And it would be pretty boring. Even though I would be heartbroken (for Pam) Jim and Karen have to kiss eventually. It might help Fancy New Beesly get up the courage to do what needs to be done. Tim dated Rachel in the original Office, and you could actually tell that they were dating. Although this is becoming less and less like the original. But then again, I like Roy now and I’ve never liked Lee. And I don’t think anyone was sporting Team Rachel shirts. Based on this season and this episode especially, I would say Pam and Roy should be together. Roy’s sweet and sensitive now. He has a sexy, sexy beard. Heck, after this episode I personally would have picked Dwight. Jim still has some of the Joshness left on him. I want Jim and Pam to be together, but what I really want is second season Jim and Pam to be together. I appreciate the realism, or the attempt at it, but first and foremost it\'s a fictional television show. If I wanted a reality show, I\'d watch...no, wait, I\'d rather poke myself in the eye. I think there are two camps of Karen haters on the internet: those who hate Karen the character for driving a wedge between Jim and Pam, and those who hate Rashida Jones. Rashida, as most of you might know, used to be romantically linked to John Krasinski. Gasp. And I feel the more virulent hatred towards Karen theJimSlayer stems from those belonging to the cult of John Krasinski. And I would like to clarify...I do not think that Karen is/was a date rapist. Clearly she\'s been down the late night of work with a drunken coworker before and was just prepared and a nice person. I did joke about the situation, but quite frankly, I thought it was funny. As Michael Scott might say, its inappropriate, that\'s what makes it a joke. When I express my love for Toby Flenderson however, that\'s me being completly sincere. Flenderson!!!!
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Heehee, Flenderson. And calling on Michael Scott for pearls of wisdom -- what a soldier you are. I\'ve been bugged about this whole realism question since I wrote my post last night. I said if you want realism, go watch The Wire. I knew I was fudging it then, but now it\'s bothering me too much. Please forgive a Wire detour. I promise not to make it a habit. What I want to say is that realism, even the serious Realism with a capital \"R\" that they are going after on The Wire, is not, well, real. It\'s still a freakin story. I finished season three of The Wire tonight and watched a feature on the DVD of a panel discussion with writers, producers and a few of the 5,000 actors on the show. A woman in the audience, a long time public defender and hardcore fan of the show had a complaint. She wanted to know why a public defender in a certain pivotal scene wasn\'t more realistic in one particular way. And the writers essentially said the it wouldn\'t have worked for the scene; the scene wasn\'t about her. This is not to take away from the remarkable elements of realism in The Office. They are truly awksome. And I agree with Matt and Elisabeth about the idea of Karen being little more than another purse girl is a kind of dull. Though I think it\'s a fine line between the tension of having another romantic interest and making sure we know his heart still belongs to Pam. I really wouldn\'t know how to pull that off. But, yes, the show thrives on surprises that have an incredibly authentic awkward feel. And that feel comes from the ring of truth, and that ring of truth can only come from the often experienced but rarely talked about and even more rarely depicted -- uncomfortable embarrassing reality that we all live in every day. BUT, it still serves a larger purpose: the story. OK. I pledge to make my next post less lecturey. But I can\'t make any longer term commitments.
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We really liked the episode here. I loved the opening. Jim would be a great boss. Plus, it was funny watching Andy try and fit in. I was touched with the Pam/Dwight business. I knew he was going to screw it up somehow but his intentions were good. . right. . . We need to remember that to Jim, his relationship with Karen is more or less a rebound thing. He doesn\'t want it to get \'serious\'. The Jan business was a bit much for me. I loved her saying that he is all wrong for her and he doesn\'t even seem to care. To me the best bit was when Michael was talking about his weekend. That Jan was there at night. And in the morning. And sex. We had sex. I had sex with Jan.
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First, where\'s Oscar? Did he decide to extend his vacation (or not return early)? Andy is invading the accounting turf, but where would he go? I guess there\'s room by Meredith now that breast-bump is gone (is she suing michael by the way?). Second, there\'s a slight editing mistake (unless you assume the show is non-linear). Jim and Pam are talking in the breakroom (Pam offers to listen, Jim says \'really?\') then we cut to a shot of the office and focus in on Michael and Dwight... but we can see Jim and Pam at their desks. (I was looking for Oscar and saw this... I miss the token Gay Mexican Accountant). Third, when Dwight takes off his coat to comfort Pam... he says \"it\'s hot in here\" or whatever.. but for a split second, I thought it sounded like Napoleon... then I started thinking about all the similarities. Dwight Dynamite. They\'re not endless... but there are similarities.
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I thought Dwight sounded like Napoleon Dynamite too! And in the scene from the Coup, when he said Michael had to follow his heart, I almost expected him to add \\\"gosh!\\\" or \\\"idiot!\\\" Remember when I called this a great episode? Well, this is the first one for me that has actually depreciated with each viewing. So, I\\\'m now rating it a B minus. The Ipod....I think John the prop guy mentioned a deleted scene where Dwight hid something in the warehouse. It\\\'s so weird that this one was left in there. Karen, it is not cute when you Jim \\\"Halpert.\\\" It\\\'s cute when Pam does it, but you sound unnatural and hollow. I wish I were there so I could throw cans of Spam at you. I don\\\'t want the sitcom cliche were Pam is running to tell Jim how she feels and stumbles upon Karen and Jim making out in a supply closet. That\\\'s mostly because I don\\\'t ever want to see Jim and Karen kiss. Ever. Ewww...I\\\'d rather see Michael and Toby kissing. Moby.
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Ian -- Yes! Thank you for solving the iPod mystery. They really are in touch with their fans, huh? Funny you say that about \"The Convict.\" I was about to ramble on last night in my last post about how I couldn\'t say for sure if the \"more is better\" thing would apply to a couple of the episodes this season that have not made it for me. I\'ve watched them all twice, but had no desire to watch them beyond that. Diwali, though, which bombed the worst for me, was slightly better the second time around. Others did not improve, and could possibly have deproved if I\'d given them the chance. I suppose I should test that with one and see. What I did find on just the second viewing of the few that I was really disappointed with, was that it was actually only maybe one tenth of the whole episode that brought the whole thing down for me, that the rest was often as good as usual. BUT, it didn\\\'t matter -- those one or two minutes just kind of poisoned my impression of the whole episode.
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Come on Matt! Not an immediate winner? To quote Nomi, this was \"freakin genius\". :-) There wasn\'t a scene in the whole ep that didn\'t have me laughing (well, except for the Jim/Pam moment). Everyone\'s timing was impeccable. Andy\'s weak \"rin-in-in\" even when he knew his chopping off Phyllis\' head joke bombed; Michael and Dwight running about the office on special assignment; Michael and Toby\'s whole exchange (\"My ex-wife and I don\'t even talk.\" \"Well maybe this is the icebreaker you need\"); Angela\'s \"Did you try the petting zoo?\" (cold!); Kev\'s little wave as Michael trudges up the stairs, etc etc. And one of my favs has to be the Dwight/Pam scene. Dwight acted all concerned and when he started taking off his coat I went \"Oh my God how sweet! Dwight\'s going to wrap his coat around her!\" But no, he puts the coat around himself and is totally clueless. Classic! I should\'ve known better but it still caught me off guard. Watch it a few more times - I know you\'ll love it. ;-)
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Yes. Hopefully, our host will . . . come back to the future and realize the greatness (goodness?) of this episode. Never has an episode gotten worse for me with rewatching, and many have gotten better, some considerably. The most dramatic for me was Conflict Resolution. It kind of disturbed me the first time. But I grew to really like it.
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Oh Matt, you party pooper. Watch it on a regular-sized TV screen before you make a judgment. I have determined that the iPod boombox moment was a shout-out to me, as I received one of those for Christmas, and have been using it hardcore ever since. Nomi, I generally agree with you, though I actually liked \\\"The Convict\\\" less and less, the more I watched it.
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This was an awksome episode. (Yes, Elisabeth I use your word all the time, sometimes when it\\\'s not even appropriate. But here it is so so appropritate!) But two moments didn\\\'t work for me. 1. Pam\\\'s talking head. Her forced fake oblivion is no longer believable to me. \\\"Just the other day I helped Phyllis take a piece of tape out of her hair\\\"? Come on. Maybe if she had said it with some irony it would have worked. But straight? No. 2. The flirtation with a possible Pam/Roy rehook up. I don\\\'t know, I just felt the wheels turning too much there. Almost like, \\\"Well, we have to stretch out this Pam and Jim thing -- let\\\'s have Roy finally say something witty and charming and plant the idea of Pam possibly wanting to rekindle something or other.\\\" I don\\\'t think that the idea of Pam sort of slipping and having a brief reRoy is ridiculous. (Though I do think that anything more than a brief episode of amnesia would be unrealistic, let alone an incredible downer.) I\\\'m just saying that the way they hinted at it here felt clunky to me. Is all. BUT, the greatness of this episode overcame these minor off notes. It rocked. The timing was great. The jokes were great. Wait, I\\\'m not really supposed to call them \\\"jokes,\\\" right? Um, the incidental humor was amazing. Steve Carell is a freakin genius. My God, he never ever misses a beat and he\\\'s just so incredibly subtle with a character that in lesser hands would so easily be a one-note caricature. Just to pick one moment of dozens, his walk of shame (terror?) up to his office was incredible. Rainn Wilson is . .. a freakin genius. He made the Pam crying scene absolutely RIVETING. It was .. . all things weird and wonderful. Jenna Fisher MAY have had something to do with that as well. I don\\\'t know anything about acting, but I bet five dollars that when you hardly notice someone in a scene, it\\\'s because they\\\'re perfect. I\\\'ll just conclude by saying that every single other person associated in anyway with making this show is a freakin genius.
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I really liked this episode as well. The Dwight/Pam scene was classic. I had just said \"Awww\" when the PMS line came out. Brilliant. I also really enjoyed Michael\'s slow walk up the stairs to meet with Jan in his office. Just like a little kid. Ok- I know I am going to get jumped on for saying this, but if Pam were to have a reRoy (love the term), I\'d be OK with that. Everyone gets lonely and the Jim/Karen thing is amplifying her longing for him. They have to wind up together, don\'t they? My only complaint is that is is another episode where I felt we were missing a lot. I guess we\'ll see in the deleted scenes. Love the retro podcast- would love to hear more podcasts for season 2 episodes. I think we\'ll all look back someday and realize that Season 2 of The Office is the greatest single season of any TV show ever. 221- Conflict Resolution is one of my favorites (hint hint).
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Wow, what a great episode. I feel like they are really hitting their stride now. Ryan - yes, my mouth was gaping when Jan and Michael had their talk and then she laid that kiss on him. For a second (when she asked to talk to him), I actually thought she might have gotten fired, but realized as soon as she started talking that I was wrong. I think Michael was so caught up in thinking he was getting fired that he didn\\\'t understand most of what she said until she did kiss him. He had that blank Michael look, like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop - it was one of those genius Carell moments that Nomi mentioned. I think that Pam is only just starting to come to terms with her feelings for Jim. She thinks enough of him that she wants to be a good friend, even if it hurts her to do it. I hated to see her cry, but I was glad to finally see a deep emotional reaction from her. And I\\\'m definitely on Team Pam, but I still don\\\'t want to see Karen get just tossed aside. By the way guys - I loved the retro episode! Anything for more \\\"That\\\'s What She Said\\\" shows. I agree with Erik too, that Season 2 may well be the single greatest season EVER!
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Erin, I was very happy to hear that Uptight Hyphenated-Last-Name Mom hit the road. But oh, if only we could\\\'ve seen it. Loved the Dwight-Pam scene, of course. Especially the thing with the jacket. Between that and the \\\"I\\\'ve been pooping during sex\\\" joke on 30 ROCK, there were a lot of laughs last night from NBC. Overall, there were so many good acting moments in this episode. The whole cast was really impressive.
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Why wasn\\\'t Pam in the first scene taking notes? Since when has Dwight been demoted to having clerical duties? This episode left me completely flabbergasted. I was POSITIVE that Jan was going to fire Michael for crossing the line for the umpteenth time. He looked so ashamed and frightened walking up those stairs to talk with her... It\\\'s only a matter of time before Jim realizes that Pam has deep feelings for him. When Dwight came upon her crying, it could have been anyone. If it had been Jim, he might have realized how hard it has been for Pam (and for himself!) being in the office with a new girlfriend.
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What a great episode! It seemed really short, which is why every episode needs to be an hour long. Question. Was Darryl eating chicken wings and a roast beef sandwich? Is Michael a guy that is good with the mouth moving and sounds coming out thing, or what? Sure, one might think that this episode was about Jim & Pam, but it was really all about MAN. It doesn\\\'t make sense at all, and honestly, it\\\'s kind of icky, but at least Jan came out and said what she wanted which is something Pam needs to do right now. I\\\'ve never been so happy to see Pam crying, although I started tearing up as well. And Andy sings again! I will be dissapointed if Andy doesn\\\'t sing in every episode from now on. P.S. Dwight, I love you. P.P.S. Toby & Michael could have a spinoff show and not only would I watch it, I would probably write fan fiction for it. Word. Slash fiction. P.P.P.S. I\\\'m totally kidding about the slash fiction.
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Soooo good. Oh man Jenna Fischer broke my heart. And I like how Dwight was sweet then an idiot, then sweet again and the capper was \"So you\'re PMSing pretty bad then?\" SOOOO wicked. And the scene with Michael & Toby - classic Toby \"I even got it from my ex wife\" Hahhaa... And was anyone else\'s mouth gaping wide open in the whole Michael/Jan thing? I wonder if she knew about the picture...
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Ryan -- it should be on iTunes by some time tonight, Friday night. Ryan from Canada -- I don\'t think she could have possibly known about the picture, as far fetched as that is. But I don\'t think she could have had NO reaction to it. More probing thoughts later. Too tired from endless mega marathon of America\'s Next Top Model. Yes, I said it. Oh, probing thoughts? Can thoughts probe, or only questions?
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