Wed, 9 April 2008
Hard to believe, but a new episode is finally here! From NBC.com:
DINNER PARTY
9/8c TV-PG 04.10.2008 GUESS
WHO'S COMING TO DINNER - Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinski)
find they have run out of excuses and are forced to go to Jan (Melora
Hardin) and Michael's (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) house for
dinner. When Andy (Ed Helms) and Angela (Angela Kinsey) are also
invited to dinner, Dwight's (Rainn Wilson) jealousy gets the best of
him. Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez,
Phyllis Smith, Paul Lieberstein, Mindy Kaling and Creed Bratton also
star.
As always, leave your comments below.
Category:general
-- posted at: 11:59pm EDT
Comments[45]
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This was one of the best Office episodes ever, especially if you\'re a fan of the original BBC Office. Concerning Jim \"ditching\" Pam at the party, Gene and Lee (the writers) answered some questions about the episode at Office Tally, and one of the questions was concerning just that: Q. Was Jim really going to leave Pam? | Courtney A. Maybe. But the reason we think the scene works is that you get a sense of the playfulness of them as a couple. We never viewed it as Jim being a jerk — after all, he did try to bring her with. That exchange was meant to be a little chess match between them with Pam coming out with a checkmate. If he had actually left her, well, that’s a different story … Some of the other things I loved - Michael\'s Bowflex, Andy\'s sweater with a sweater tied around his neck, the look on Andy\'s face as Angela rolled down the window, the neon blue glow of Michael\'s beer sign, Pam singing along at the end in Jim\'s car, Michael\'s \"bed\", Jim\'s faces in the Candle Room... Overall a great great episode, incredibly painful but hilarious as well.
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Funny Stuff...just ended watching the episode and I keep on thinking what kind of spinoff could they do with the Office that would make sense? The key behind the success of Office (and all of the Offices around the world) is this meditation on what it means to live in developed country where the needs of the \"system\" is more important than the needs of the individual. I watched tonight\'s episode with the idea of a spinoff in mind and I can\'t really see it properly. The idea is to do something in a spinoff that you can\'t do in a normal episode of the Office, and I can\'t really see anything that could work elsewhere...unless you do something like focus on blue-collar jobs or high-end jobs. But that would still make the Office redundant rather than augment their base of people to watch shows.
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Hi all, Scanned the comments. Watched it again last night on hulu (which I think is kind of cool) and still didn\'t really like it. Would rather stay in the office and get some Creed, Oscar, Kevin time than venture to Michael\'s condo for this sad dinner party. I agree with Phil about that. Overall I was disappointed. Jan is a crazy tragic figure, not very funny.
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Wow. EXPLOSIVE! That was OK after the first watch, but seeing it a second time, I guess I really liked it. Though, even after reading several comments trying to vouch for Jim, I still don\'t get how he could leave Pam! I agree with some people who have said that it makes no sense, when only one week before, he was defending her honor, and now he is ready to leave her at Michael\'s and Jan\'s horrid dinner party! I think the whole \"babe\" thing was really funny that they continued that even as the outbreak and screaming occured. And after that, I was happy that when the police came, Jan ran out worried and actually was like \"What are you doing to him?\" (Michael) and she also was fixing the Dundie at the end. Of course the whole Dwight thing was hilarious, as well as the Pam-Michael thing, which Michael could have only done to make Jan somehow impressed that he \"had\" a younger girlfriend at the workplace. What I can\'t believe is that Jan believed him! THAT was pretty funny. I liked this episode, but I didn\'t see a whole lot of Andy-Angela stuff (besides the ice cream cone and the whole \"Cornell\" thing in the deleted scenes), that might have been pretty funny to see.
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I am not sure how I felt about this episode- I know I laughed, but I can\'t really remember those parts because the sad parts are the ones that stuck with me. (Michael ran through the window because he thought he heard the ice cream truck?) I tried to figure out why Jan would want to entertain- is she really so lonely with Michael she wants to see other people? But then I guess I came to the conclusion she wanted to entertain possible investors in her candle company. I totally thought Jim was going to bail and leave Pam at the party alone. Could their honeymoon phase be over? Ooops- I do remember laughing at Michael\'s neon sign. So classy, and it gave everyone that blinding bluish glow. Glad the show\'s back; can\'t wait to hear the podcast!
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I thought it was a good episode...but still a really akward one! About the Jim leaving Pam situation, i dont think Jim really wanted to leave Pam behind, i think he just got caught in his own lie... Still not the greatest episode but im just happy that the show is back!
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I\'d thought about a Utica branch before - especially when there was talk of Jim going back to school. I could see him going to school in Utica and creating a conflict. If he and Pam were having problems, due to the physical separation or just plain problems, he would then be tempted to turn to Karen (who assumably would be managing the office there)...
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On Angela & wine, Pam didn\'t drink either. Jenna and Angela (real) are friends... and Pam is nice enough to be someone else not drinking... even if Angela (character) was being a \'super-bitch\'. Also, I love that Jan\'s candles were \'fire\' scented.... she seems to be failing at everything, including candles.
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Pretty brutal overall for me. Thought Jan and Michael\'s fighting was over-the-top. Painful. What couple would fight like this in front of company? Jim\'s looks to the camera and Pam\'s normalcy saved it for me. Loved the scene at the end, eating in their car at the burger/hot dog place. Reminds me what a great couple they are. Writers may split them up eventually. But their finally getting together was worth it all for me. I\'ll always have that. This episode also made me really miss the rest of the office crew - except for Kelly\'s character as it was in the episode before the strike (playing pool). Not one of my favorite episodes but I\'m so desperate to have it back, I can live with it.
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I thought the CD was called \"The Hunted\" which would be even funnier and say a lot about slow dancing Jan. My favorite part was Pam\'s face when Dwight showed up and her, \"awesome\". She really is the heart of the show. And Michael talking about his tiny condo, \"I bought this place to fill it with children\" Very good episode and better than 30 Rock which is rare this season.
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Oh yeah, appearently the name of Parking has been changed to Chair Model. Plus I\\\'m almost positive the spin-off character will be introduced in that episode because the synopsis of the episode from NBC.com,\\\"With Michael distracted, Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Andy (Ed Helms) team up to win back Dunder Mifflin\\\'s stolen parking spaces, forcing them into a showdown with the bosses of the five businesses of the office park.\\\" I guess the spin-off will be aboutone of the other businesses in the office park
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Hey, was that a new Jim face? Stifled nausea? I laughed a lot, but I did want to see more of the office itself. The dinner scenes reminded me a little of Christmas Vacation, with Michael dipping his meat in the wine and Dwight chowing on a turkey leg. Loved that Dwight and his “date? were seated at opposite corners of the table in lower, fold up chairs. That Hunter song and Jan’s dancing, EW. Andy and his perfectly draped sweater. Looking forward to the podcast!
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No one has commented on how mean Angela was at times last night. She sold Pam out to Jan and later smashed her ice cream cone on the side of Andy\'s car because he took a playful lick of her ice cream. Plus she was so mean to Dwight! And Dwight was so mean to his \"date\". When she said she wanted to leave and he told her to go, and then HYSTERICALLY leaving her at the bus stop as he drove by. The episode talked a lot about Dwight\'s lost loves... he lost Angela and he hasn\'t had the relationship he once had with Michael since season 1, but he sure jumped on the opportunity to rescue Michael and take him home with him.
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In Woman\'s Appreciation, in the food court scene, Michael says how unhappy he is with Jan and how terrible their relationship is. I think it was good to finally see just how bad Jan and Michael\'s relationship actually is because I couldn\'t really feel all that sympathetic for Michael way back when. It is like the opposite of Schrute Farms when a lot of people were saying that it was better just if hadn\'t seen it had just some crazy recurring joke. On a side note, I\'m surprised to see that no one has said anything about Michael living with Dwight. I think that\'s the best thing to come out of this episode.
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Re: Jim leaving Pam at the party. I agree with Laura. I think that Jim thought that if he did get to leave either Pam would figure out a way to get out of it, or he\'d leave for a minute, only to return with an \'everything\'s fine!\' and finish out the night. Dave -- I took that last scene with Jim and Pam calling each other \'babe\' every other word as them making fun of Michael and Jan, and it totally cracked me up. The police coming to Michaels condo randomly made me think of \"Troops\" which, if any of you haven\'t seen it, you should. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=gO6rqAJ3mGc) Also, I loved Pam\'s dress. SO cute! Ooh this is so exciting! I\'m just so happy to be posting about a new episode of The Office again! Woot!
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Okay, I just read elsewhere that Hunter\'s song was about losing his virginity to Jan. Ha! I don\'t know why I didn\'t pick up on that- I think I was distracted by Melora Hardin\'s dancing, and everyone\'s reactions. I am going to have to watch this episode again when I get home and catch all the things I didn\'t get the first go round. Did anyone else notice that??
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Besides the so-so cold open, this episode was great, especially after re-watching it and noticing the clever, subtle moments that I usually miss the first go around. Yeah it didn\'t take place in the office and we barely saw the other characters but I was just glad to be watching an episode of The Office. I think many of us were so hyped to the point of thinking this was going to be like a season premiere episode when in reality it\'s a middle of the season one. Before I watched it I told myself to imagine I\'m watching this episode a week after seeing The Deposition, and it fits. When Michael said \"sue me for liking ice cream\" or something he then said \"wait don\'t take that literally cause Jan really likes lawsuits, don\'t you\" or something like that. The episode just fit for me, and next week will be back to in the office, don\'t worry. Oh, the funniest line for me was when Michael was mad at Jan and said \"man I would love to burn your candles\" 1) because he had a mouthful of food, 2) because what exactly would be the harm in burning the candles haha, and 3) because it sounded like some obscure sexual innuendo
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Thursday Kevin says this was hilarious and a great change of pace from the normal episodes. I really liked learning more about both Jan/Michael and Pam/Jim (Andy/Angela, deleted scenes I\'m sure will shed some light). If anyone every wondered how to do a funny show that is that as well as \"uncomfortable and awkward\" then the Dinner Party is the episode.
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I liked the episode, even though some parts were too obvious (the initial TV bit was a bit much; the \"tuna\" bit...) and some \"hey! hey! lookit the funny!\" pointing out of stuff (not letting the video camera just be a background thing). But I do agree that it was a pretty big misjudgment to relaunch, as it were, with this. This was supposed to be their \"trying something different\" episode for the season, but what everyone wanted/needed/expected was a great office-set episode, not the experimental \"make it as awful for the characters as possible in a different setting\" episode it is. Strangely, though, my favorite line was Jan\'s \"nice wine to cook with\" to Pam. So condescending. Least favorite part was Michael curled up on his little dog bed. How much more pointless degradation after we\'ve already gotten the point do they have in store for him?
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(sorry for adding another Ian into the mix of TWSS fans, I know there are already quite a few) This episode was very reminiscent of who\'s afraid of virginia wolf like you mentioned in the last podcast. I thought the parts about Micheal getting the vasectomies(sp?) was just unbearable. Is it me, or was Angela on \"ULTRA BITCH\" mode?
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Regarding Jim almost leaving Pam at the party - I didn\'t have a huge reaction to that. Jim tried to create an \"out\" for both him and Pam. When that didn\'t work, he probably felt the need to still attempt to leave in order to make his lie seem real/legitimate. At least that\'s my theory. I don\'t think he had an \"every man for himself\" attitude. Overall, not my very favorite episode, but I\'m not a hater either. Yes, I love the laugh-out-loud and touching moments this show often delivers, but I also appreciate the awkwardness, silence, looks, etc. For me, this episode may be much like \"Money\" - which I didn\'t love right away. It took several viewings before I truly appreciated it.
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Poor, poor Michael. And poor Jim, Pam, Andy and Angela for having to sit through that! I liked the episode- it was painful to watch and I will have to re watch it for sure to let it really sink in. I loved the private bathroom/kitchen interviews. And the tour. And I love that Jan is now making candles. That\'s a nice touch. I know people like that - with too much time on their hands who take up a slightly weird habit they are no good at, and expose everyone to. So, I appreciated that. I agree that a B story would have helped - at least it would have relieved some of the tension - but maybe that was the point? It definitely showed that Michael and Jan are screwed up, but I think there might be some hope. In addition the the polishing of the Dundee, did anyone else hear Jan say something to the cops when she went outside? I can\'t wait till next week! I hope they don\'t just drop this storyline, and that at least something is mentioned - like Michael is sleeping in the Irrigation Room or something.
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Yikes, that was a little rough. I was glad to see Jan fix the dundie at the end, because after seeing the talk they had sitting on the train pre-strike hiatus, I thought they might actually have a nice relationship. The best part of the episode was Pam\'s \"Michael\'s former lover\" interview. That was awesome.
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I feel heavily disturbed after this episode. It\'s not that I didn\'t laugh, but it was...awkward laughter. Jan is batnuts crazy! I\'m not sure if it is out of character, but things are certainly more severe now than they ever were before. I am very glad than Jim stuck around, because leaving Pam in that nut-house would have been as bad as leaving a hen in a house full of cocks. And by cocks I mean male chickens. Get your head out of the gutter, seriously. I\'ll give it a 3 out of 5. Dwight saved the episode, and the ending was actually pretty fitting, with Jim and Pam rocking out to the sounds of one happy deflowered virgin. Yet again, not in that way. What is wrong with you people?
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Maybe it was just cause it\'s been awhile, but I really thought that was a great episode. For a comedy there is always so much emotion. I can\'t decide how I feel about Jan and Michael. They are clearly mismatched, but then at times like Jan gluing the trophy they seem to really care about each other. Here\'s to a great rest of season!
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