Thu, 4 December 2008
From NBC.com:  THE SURPLUS | 12.04.08 | 9/8c | TV-PG L 
SURPLUS
SPENDING AT THE OFFICE - Oscar (Oscar Nunez) informs Michael (Golden
Globe winner Steve Carell) that the office must spend a $4300 surplus
or lose it in next year's budget. When Michael opens up the floor for
suggestions, factions break out and officemates square off against one
another in order to get what they want. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn
Wilson) takes Angela (Angela Kinsey) and Andy (Ed Helms) to Schrute
Farms to work on their wedding plans. John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer,
Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling,
Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.
-------------------------- Post your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chatroom after the episode.
Category:general
-- posted at: 8:05pm EST
Comments[27]
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I would disagree with many in saying that Jenna took Pam out of character. I enjoyed this more assertive Pam. And the little JAM conflict rocked more than anything else. Jim\'s talking head after the threat was priceless. BTW, am I the only one who noticed Pam said \"those three little words\" right before she threatened Jim? Is that the first time she\'s ever said it?
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A well-rounded episode! Funniest part? Michael getting lower and lower in Pam\'s chair, for certain. Second funniest part? Pam\'s final look to the camera...\"Oh crap, I totally did NOT win!\" Non-funniest part? Andy\'s \"non-refundable\" talking head. I am not delighted that I feel sorry for Andy--he was a character I liked to laugh at. Though him stepping in manure twice was awesome. I just liked the focus of the episode...we can all relate to needing a new copier or new chairs. And Michael trying to pin the decision on the employees was excellent. Thanks, as always, for all you do, gentlemen!
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Since when does Dwight wear a green shirt? Has he ran out of shades of brown? Or is it his version of a wedding tuxedo. Throughout alot of the wedding plans at schrute farms in previous eps dwight looked happy as if he had a plan and had it under control. I was kinda hoping he had a cool over the top romantic plan to change angelas mind. But he had a trick wedding planned disguised as a rehearsal? Pretty sure its not a valid wedding if angela didnt consent properly. Dwight has a bit of a history of being clueless about the ways of women (eg. asking toby for anatomy advice and also in valentines day episode when he was going to forget about a present for angela until he was reminded) but still it was pretty disappointing stunt for him to try to pull. From a plot point of view Dwight is back to square one in terms of winning her back. I guess we have a lot of season 5 to go (subject to any strike action) and the wedding is approaching - I cant see angela cheating on andy after the wedding but I cant see angela really going thru with the wedding either. Hard to know whether the writers will take that. I
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No mention of Ryan. I guess he did leave. But where did he go? He really didn\\\'t leave the country. I\\\'m sure that would be in violation of his probation. On this episode. It was one of my least favorite, but the ending made up for such a drab predictable story.
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Just a small detail. Why is it Dunder Mifflin\'s responsibility to pay for radon checks? Dunder Mifflin merely leases space out of the office building, right? Does Vance Refrigeration do its own radon checks? Perhaps Billy Merchant is neglecting his duty as building supervisor...hmmm?
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Kinda silly, when re-watching, I found a few things that I didn\'t see mentioned: Did anyone notice in the cold open when Michael was trying to whistle? He was trying to do that whistle that people do when things are bad. He starts the whistle, then SAYS \"WOOOOOOO.\" I also liked when he was trying to show that the chair was just fine, and kept getting shorter and shorter at the desk. THAT in itself wasn\'t funny, but notice the characters in the background. You can see they are trying not to bust, laughing. Finally, I agree about Pam, on the second watching. She was SO out of character. I think it was more a Jenna Fischer, and not Pam Beesley. Pam would NEVER have talked TWICE about Michael\'s ass.
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\"Why did Jim and Pam agree that she won when he asked for a truce?\" Gary: are you married? My husband would have given me the W for that one. :-) All in all, I thought this was a B episode. Not terrible, not great. I liked that it focussed on \"The Office\" and not \"The Relationships\". That is, after all, what we all watch and love this show for.
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This was such a great episode. I\'ve seen it twice already. We were laughing so hard last nite watching it. Great lines, too. Michael with the \"Silent killer\" line, then the whole I\'ve swallowed your ideas, I will digest them and see what comes out.\" great stuff. Classic Michael trying to cope out of making a decision so that he doesn\'t look bad, only to end up backfiring on him. i loved that twist in the end with the whole office choosing the chairs so that Michael didn\'t get the bonus. Lesson people: Do not buy a fur coat at Burlington Coat Factory and charge it. And with $640 you\'re like a king in that store. JAM stuff was awesome!! She was so great trying to get what she wanted, but Jim was better at sticking it to her with the copies. I\'m wondering, is this the end of the Dwight-Angela-Andy triangle? Dwight pulled a Kelly, when she told Ryan that she was pregnant to get a date with him, by using a German speaking minister and the \"rehearsal\" to marry her. But in the end it was Andy who won. I have to admitt, we sort of saw that coming, but I was expecting a different reaction from Angela. I guess that part surprised me. And I\'m so sorry but I wouldn\'t kiss my boyfriend right after him taking a bite out of his tuna sandwich, but I guess Andy liked it and Angela didn\'t seem to mind. Overall I liked how pretty much the whole office was involved. Stanley opening up the door for Michael was so funny. It reminded me of Beach games when he joined in the hot dog eating contest. And Pam asking Michael to shake his ass; \"Don\"t take it away.\" I have to say it made up for last week\'s episode.
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Pam ruined this episode for me. I couldn\'t stand to watch her character act so...out of character. I miss the sweet, shy Pam Beasley. This Pam was cold, conniving, and even used her sex appeal as a tool! Jenna Fischer, I still love you, but I don\'t like what Pam is turning into. However, I did laugh really hard when Michael kept coughing on the chocolate powder! :)
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I gotta say right off the bat... \"I don\'t think I will be buying season 5 on DVD\". That being said there were a few laughs, not a ton but a few... The B-Dog stepping in Manure several time was fitting to him getting crapped on all season by DwAngela. The Threesome is coming to a climax very soon. and B-Dog will be putting a hole in something very soon... German language gag was pretty predictable and was telegraphed when Dwight switched places with Andy. I liked the conflict between JaM...She is a Bitch after all..Must be New York! Good talking head by Jim also!!! The bright spots aare that TOBY says hardly anything and where is Ryan??? Se..Ya.. Micheal\'s fur coat was stupid, but I did like him stating where he got his ensemble; \"in the boys section\".. Creed\'s line was nice about Jim\'s \"grandes pelotas\".... That\'s about it for me.
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\"I thought it was a little absurd the way everyone immediately took one of two sides and then pursued it with relentless zeal.\" I disagree, Alex. If you thought that was absurd, what would you rhetorically call this last presidential election? It was the same thing, only slightly more important. I did really really enjoy the Jam tension, though. You have to wonder now if that\'s gonna come back to haunt them.
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What? No comments about there being no happy ending this time around for Pam and Jim? After ALL season of little conflicts between them that end with them back nice and cozy at the end, this one ends with Jim getting Pam to do his copies again, and then the look on Pam\'s face. Just another way for the writers to keep everyone still on edge about \"will they or won\'t they\" with PB&J. I would have voted for the copier.
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Oh, god, I hate copy machines. Here are some questions I have: 1. Why is a paper company--one that presumably does a fair amount of business--working on only one copier? There\'s not a separate one for HR? Or Sales? Shouldn\'t Accounting have its own? 2. Are they buying their office chairs from Sharper Image? Who the hell spends that much money on a chair? I want to know how the office came to their agreement. I hope it comes up in a later episode. I really liked Dwight\'s real/fake marriage trick. The first time I saw it. On Happy Days. When I was five. This time around? Not so much.
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I have to disagree with Nikhil. I have seen quite the opposite of evolution with this show. The show\'s tone and voice was never more on point than it was in season 2. The Office can still be funny and poignant but now more than ever does it feel more like a typical NBC sitcom more than a mockumentary. The characters were written much more consistently in S2 which also leads to it having a better voice back then. Not for one second did I believe Jenna was Pam Beesly tonight. It was like Pam\'s arrogant meaner sister has come to Scranton to fill in for her at the office. Also, the whole wedding plotline while funny was just absurd. Look everyone Andy stepping in poo again and it was in the kitchen this time! I will take the plausible comedy in Health Care over this episode any day.
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I\'ve moved out of the country, so I\'ve been out of the loop for awhile--but: 1. did not like the manure jokes. We already saw manure being tossed about-literally- in Money. Enough. 2. but, loved the \"threesome\" comment and discussion with Dwangela and Andy. Laugh out loud. 3. I thought Michael\'s favorite store was Men\'s Warehouse? On another note, does anyone know how to download episodes abroad? Hulu, iTunes, and NBC don\'t work--any other sneaky websites where I can watch/re-watch? Thanks.
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Thursday Kevin loved this episode. I loved the poop jokes with Andy --- and the twist and then a double twist with Dwight/Angela. And nice to see some great \"office politics\" in play. I really liked how Michael actually did the smart thing - until the employees outsmarted him.
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I really enjoyed this episode. I certainly laughed a lot. Probably because it was not plot heavy at all...we only have the Andy-Dwight-Angela story developing. Speaking of, was that a pumpkin that Andy and Mose are throwing around? Whatever it was, it was hilarious. Also, I really appreciated the PB&J interaction this week. It was well-played. Of course this means that I loved the tag when Jim got back at Pam. Classic. Type the two words: Leonardo players
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This episode was big improvement over last weeks. The whole chair v. copier thing was a great \"office\" issue that really did bring out a conflict that I cared about as opposed to the dirty microwave. I found the Dwight, Andy, Angela story to be slow at first. The whole thing with Andy stepping in manure was kinda funny the first time but the second time was too slapstick. When will the writers learn that the best comedy from Andy is in his character like in \"Business Trip\" which had some of the best lines of the season. The storyline did pick up steam in the chapel which I thought was sweet of Dwight but I thought that Angela was in on it. Her reaction did make sense and it is a great example of how different Andy and Dwight are. Andy cares more about the process than the outcome of a wedding (as he has pointed out to Angela) whereas Dwight thinks rationally and sees the outcome as the most important part. This wasn\'t a classic by any means but if this was the worst the show did it would be more unanimous as the best comedy on television.
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What a great episode - I liked that they gave Oscar more of a role, and that they FINALLY added some tension on the otherwise \"skyrockets in flight, afternoon delight\" wuvvy duvvy JAM front. Pam kinda had some sass this week - throwin\' away the tiramisu? Cold as ice. Where was this Pam during \"Frame Toby?\" This was kind of like a do over of the Health Care Plan episode in S1. You can see the evolution of the show since then, as it has developed its own voice and tone. S1 Health Care Plan was funny, but quite painful (most especially because of Steve\'s hair plugs, eh Kevin?), and way too Office UKish. The timing was very well executed as well, as each joke and gag seemed to catch, no matter how silly. Andy stepping in cow plop in the kitchen, and then remarking \"Why is that even there?\" Awesome. This is definitely a top fiver in my book.
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Holy crap! Talk about surprises. Pam bares her claws towards her beloved Jim when they take opposite sides on what to do with the surplus, and Jim gets his revenge, eventually. Both scenes are laugh-out-loud funny. When she leans in to kiss him and tells him in that threatening voice \"You are on such thin ice\", I had to exhale, dude. It\'s that old trope, \"Beware the quiet one.\" More of an open-mouthed-shock scene was Angela kissing Andy open-mouthed, which is the first time I\'ve seen her do anything like that in public. And, damn, Dwight actually pulled a \"Ross\" and secretly married Angela, which prompted what she would would\'ve called \"whorish\" behavior if anyone else had done it.
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