Thu, 1 November 2007
I got to see the first "act" of this episode at the convention, and I thought it was pretty hilarious. I hope the rest of it matches the beginning. Oh, and Rashida Jones? Man, she looks skinnier than ever. Give that girl a Coney Island Texas Wiener or two. BRANCH WARS
9/8c TV14 11.01.2007 ![]()
BATTLE
OF THE BRANCHES - RASHIDA JONES ("Boston Public") GUEST STARS - When
Karen (guest star Rashida Jones) tries to woo Stanley (Leslie David
Baker) away from Scranton, Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell)
fights back, dragging her ex, Jim (John Krasinski), into his war.
Meanwhile, the existence of a "Finer Things Club" further disturbs
Dunder Mifflin's calm. Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, B.J Novak, Ed
Helms, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey,
Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton and Craig
Robinson also star.
Category:general
-- posted at: 8:06am EST
Comments[26]
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I agree entirely with Melanie. I watched this episode with some buddies on Thursday, and every single laugh was quadrupled in number. This episode has split a few people down the middle, but then again, what else is new? People will like something, others not so much. Even the best show has a few flops, and even the flops are loved by others. Am I saying this was a flop? Nope! But if others are, they have a right to. To me, this episode represented everything I love about The Office, while continuing the road towards \"Jim needs to grow up and succeed in life or he\'ll lose Pam.\" Stanley holding out the way he did, all to the unnoticeable eye of Michael? Money. Jim\'s reaction to being forced to see Karen felt right, as most people would never want to see someone they just had a bad breakup with a few months prior, especially under these circumstances. The Finer Things Club was pure fun. Oddball comedy, yet perfectly reasonable when you factor in the history of the characters. And will somebody clean the damn microwave already? It smells like popcorn! By the way, anyone catch Roy (well, the actor that played Roy) on Grey\'s Anatomy this week? Good times.
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I\'m missing the clues that Jim and Pam are headed in different directions. Maybe I just like them together so much that I don\'t want to see it. If these two break up (permanently over time) then I\'m going to give up on romance. Liked Jim saying he\'s \"Trying to quit though.\" Sounds like someone trying to quit smoking or drinking. Karen still seems to be interested in Jim. She accuses him of using the prank as a pretext to see her again (and maybe he did). I think it\'s wishful thinking on her part. She WAS happy with him until he broke it off. She\'s sarcastic saying how glad she is to hear how great things are going with Pam. IF many are right and Pam and Jim have problems later in the season, maybe they\'re setting up a mini-reunion with Karen and Jim. Michael emotion about Stanley leaving the family is one of the reasons we forgive him for all his screw-ups. His voice cracking is sweet. \"Fly away sweet little bird.\" \"Wanted: Middle-aged black man with sass. Big butt. Bigger heart.\" Even Stanley is moved and contrite at Michael\'s calling his bluff. \"Is he some kind of secret genius.\" One of the things we like about Michael is that in his exuberance, he stumbles on the right thing occasionally.
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You know, it has occurred to me that watching this show with friends is a really good idea. Everything is funnier! Regardless, I really liked this episode because I have seen/been part of/heard of MANY experiences that echo what happened here. Most notably, of course, was the completely humiliating conversation between Jim and Karen made exponentially worse by the fact that Jim knew it was being filmed. (He looks at the camera just before sitting back down. But first, my list of favorite things from the episode: *Michael’s dummy. I’ll bet the prop guys had loads of fun making it! *?You cannot take the hilarious black guy from the office.? *Michael may be a good sales person, but he’s not so good that he can sell something he hates, i.e. Toby. *Toby’s bowtie. *Dwight peeing in a can. *Pam is using her teapot that Jim gave her in Season two for the Finer Things Club!! *?Kevin’s band is my safety.? *?If this is it for me, promise me something: Host the Dundies.? Ha ha ha! I laughed my guts out! *The three guys on the couch with facial expressions that showed EXACTLY how they were feeling: Jim = humiliated, Dwight = angry, Michael = devastated. *Jim/Karen conversation - while horribly awkward - was perfect. I love that Jim just kinda leaves at the end. *The want ad *Jim in a driving cap. *Ashes being the main character of Angela’s Ashes. I actually really like that they’re showing us differences between Jim and Pam. Some relationships thrive on differences and I for one am really excited to see a tv couple work through them and stay together despite their independent ideas and personalities. I hope I’m saying what I mean, but I really loved that Jim just wasn’t meant for the Finer Things Club but he wanted to be in it with Pam. I have a feeling he wont be in it much longer – probably by his own choice. I think it makes the relationship more interesting and less of a blissful perfection which, of course, is boring. Speaking of choices (or lack thereof) who can’t think of a time when you went along with something even though you didn’t want to just because you were worried about what would happen if you didn’t? For most of us it was worry about being considered stupid or lame, but for Jim it was that they’d do something worse than silly string the place. Like blow it up -- even unintentionally. I completely believe he would go along. He has to feel some sort of responsibility for what they do because he knows they’re plans. As for the Finer Things Club being annoyed with Phyllis and Kevin – I totally understand their feelings. Maybe I’m a selfish wench (probable) but when I tell people (as they did with their sign) that something is going on and ask them to be quiet or not disturb me, I get really, really cranky when they either consciously, or unconsciously disrupt me. (ala the vending machine and the microwave.) It was all compounded by the fact that they were both there at the same time. Also, I initially thought that the fact that Toby was in the Finer Things Club was a sign of him wooing Pam (just another reason he was so adamant that it remain the three of them) but after seeing the deleted scene I’m now convinced that that was just an added bonus. Finally, I would like to point out that I compared the Jim/Pam kiss in “Money? to A Room with a View and what is the first book we see The Finer Things Club reading? Awesome, that’s all I have to say. Whew. That was a bit long. Sorry, all.
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FIRST OFF: ANY PODCASTER WHO TRIES TO MONITOR OUR COMMENTS IS STUPID, DESERVES CHALK IN HIS EYES, AND HAD BETTER WATCH OUT FOR CASTRATING COKE CANS. Maybe that\\\'s a little off the deep end though... I really like how The Office is not TV... at least not \\\'normal\\\' TV. Examples: - the gay man of the show is not effeminate (compare Oscar to the male secretary on Ugly Betty) - the black guy is lazy or at least apathetic. It\\\'s not because he\\\'s black, its but because that\\\'s who Stanley is. (ie the show isn\\\'t afraid to have a character who is lazy and also african-american). - the fat people were loud, obnoxious, and almost bumping into the Finer Things club. I just like that all the cliché crap of regular TV (including political correctness) is thrown out the window or openly mocked... and the result is a show that is much more real and enduring then the rest of what\\\'s out there. Another thought, Dwight was really cartoonish in this episode. I liked it, but its out of character for the show. We saw him bouncing around and jubilantly flapping his hands in the back of the car when Jim found out the real plan for the road trip (really weird to watch). I would exclude him peeing in the can (which for Dwight is pretty realistic) as being cartoonish, but seeing him imagine the explosion of a molotov cocktail was a bit scary. Funny camera work + weird material = cartoonish Dwight.
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I liked this episode but it wasn\'t one of the greatest...it was \"eh.\" Stanley staying in Scranton makes perfect sense. He\'s just trying to get Michael to give him a raise for doing crossword puzzles. If Stanley was to uproot his family and move to Utica, he\'d actually have to work. C\'mon - don\'t you remember how long Stanley competed with the others for the Regional Manager position in \"Beach Games\"?
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Jim did not want to prank Utica -- remember he said he only agreed to go along so Dwight wouldn\'t blow anything up? He hasn\'t set out to pull a prank since \"Launch Party.\" He was definitely a total idiot in his conversation with Karen though. I just loved watching his face through this whole episode -- his reactions are always priceless, and it was fun to see him get his feathers really ruffled when he usually stays pretty calm. I don\'t know what\'s up with all Michael\'s cars this season, but I have to say, a PT Cruiser is an even more perfect ride for him than the much loved Sebring :-)
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I am a die hard member of Team Karen. I\'m not one of those fairweather fans who gives up on a character just because the actress is no longer on the show. I don\'t even need her to be with Jim because frankly, she\'s too good for him. So I was surprised to find that, for the first time, I really disliked an episode. The finer things club wasn\'t particularly funny (except for Oscar\'s line, which was the only thing all episode that made me laugh) and had no real pay-off. So I don\'t know where they were going with that. The prank was just disturbing. Kidnapping Jim and talking about blowing up the Utica branch was too far. I know Jim\'s always a little apathetic, but this was a situation where I would have expected him to be a little more pro-active. Finally, Stanley staying in Scranton makes no sense. I understand that for the show to work they need to keep the character where he is, but there\'s no reason for Stanley to choose to work for Michael for less money. For now, I am hopeful that we\'ll see Karen again in a better episode.
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Just OK for me, I was hoping the road caper would end up more interesting. They are really hitting us over the head with the Jim needs to grow up theme. He’s too immature for the Finer Things Club, he gets called out by Karen which seemed like being sent to the principal’s office, and the more subtle acknowledgement that he is an uncle. (Did we ever hear about the brother before?) The Christmas Raffle walkie-talkies came back into play, this time for branch wars instead of branch unity as Karen originally intended. The FTC: somehow Toby has managed to find another way to nurse his unrequited crush on Pam.
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Oh my word. I was worried after getting used to those hour long episodes how these half hour ones would go over. But this episode had me rolling! A few consistency problems like mentioned already: -PT Cruiser? -Angela??? -Toby in an exclusive club with Pam and NOT trying to woo her??? But I loved it! It was appropriately absurd and hilarious at the same time!
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Other than having sex with men, this is the gayest thing about me. Nice! I liked this episode a lot. I laughed a lot and the concept of pranking another branch is not as far-fetched as it might sound (though, obviously, the actual actions were exaggerated). I loved the Stanley stuff esp. the end! Boy, Karen sure is bitter. I wouldn\'t say the stuff with her was overly funny but at least it wasn\'t another rehash with Andy/Angela/Dwight or the Scranton characters. I liked the Finer Things storyline. Some funny stuff with Phyllis and Jim. I see Toby as the \"third musketeer\" not the organizer of this (Pam and Oscar...).
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Out of all the episodes thus far, this was probably my least favourite. Dwight\'s \'the eyes are the groin of the head\' and the urinating in/cutting himself on the bottle were the only things that really made me laugh, although I did love the uncomfortable Karen/Jim scene. Toby calling Jim\'s bluff on the book was fun, even though he\'s still a whiny pipsqueak. Michael\'s disbelief at the bowtie was great. Ok so I\'ve just listed a bunch of things I liked despite not enjoying the episode. I don\'t know exactly what it was that I didn\'t like, the whole thing seemed a little tired. Or maybe it\'s me that\'s tired (which I am), considering some of the other \'best episode ever\' comments here.
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I\'ve probably never have laughed harder at an episode I didn\'t particularly like...favorite scene was Michael on the phone with Karen and the Utica salesman he was trying to woo. That being said, I think the problem is the context. Each of the eps this season would be great as the occasional \"change of pace\" episode, but taken together they strain the credibility of the entire series. The writers have just got to relax and let the characters, rather than the situations, be the focus. What I wouldn\'t give to see an entire show set inside the office, without there being a party or meeting in the conference room...
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One of the worst episodes of the series, by far. Almost everything in this episode was over the top, way too unbelievable. How does this episode constructively fit into the season thus far? It used television\\\'s \\\"oh no a character is leaving but doesn\\\'t\\\" cliche. Bleh. Let\\\'s hope next week\\\'s is better.
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LOL......OKAY....best episode of the season so far! i haven\\\'t laughed this much for a while....\\\"jim, make love to her!\\\" \\\"the microwave has to be cleaned, it smells like popcorn\\\" \\\"jim, promise me something...host the dundies\\\" LOVING this episode!! it is pretty wacky but, i\\\'m totally digging it!
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Definitely was a very manic episode. I enjoyed it quite a bit as a silly thing. I do believe, though, with this week\\\'s finer things ending (the hats, ties and otherwise were great gags) and last week\\\'s animation stuff that they are setting up a thing of Pam potentially outgrowing Jim. Michael seeing silly stringing the warehouse as the ultimate revenge, while nutty, seemed about right (though the mustaches, while funny in and of themselves, were too over the top). It was when he was a little too approving or swayed towards the Molitov\\\'s that it got a little out of hand for me. Andy\\\'s preppy need to club up some how was a nice little touch, I thought.
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