Thu, 19 March 2009
From Yahoo! TV (because NBC.com hasn't bothered to update): NEW BOSS | 03.19.09 | 9/8c PT | TV-PG  Michael has big plans for his 15th anniversary party at Dunder Mifflin, but is in for a shock when the new, no-nonsense Vice President (THE WIRE's Idris Elba) has some ideas of his own. Meanwhile, Jim's prank on Dwight has some unexpected results. ---------- Well, we've been asking for it for months, and the time has finally come-- Michael has a new boss (if only for 6 episodes). Gotta say, the "wacky Michael must deal with a straight-laced superior" vibe seems like the same old thing we've had since season one. I'm hoping that the writers will surprise me and use this new character to pump some life into the tired dynamic. Despite what I said on the last podcast, this episode was written by the classic team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and is being directed by Mr. Freaks & Geeks himself, Paul Feig. With that combination, I'm hoping this episode can bring a smile to Thursday Matt's tired, bitter face. As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.
Category:general
-- posted at: 11:28am EDT
Comments[26]
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It bothered me that during the David Wallace confrontation how Michael never once mentioned: A) Without a GM, he lead Dunder Branch to being the top-selling branch. B) That his Golden Ticket idea caused Blue Cross to increase their purchasing... again, without the supervision of a GM. Obviously, we can\'t expect Michael to act like a reasonable human being, but the opening was there, especially after the \"I\'ve been here for 15 years\" speech. Those two factors (I\'m assuming there\'s a future episode where Michael\'s managing is somehow tied to Holly) would\'ve been a powerful hit between Wallace\'s eyes.
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I\'ll just say a couple quick points -- most of what I was gonna say has already been said. Generally I liked it - didn\'t laugh much, as others have said, but writing wise its a good set-up for some new story arcs with Jim, and of course Michael. I didn\'t know where this episode was going (didn\'t hear spoilers) so I gasped on the episodes last line. Damn -- next Thursday is a long way away. \"A two-way petting zoo!\" Think about that one for awhile. I think if the tone in the show hadn\'t been set so serious this line would have gotten bigger laughs.
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Loved that episode!!! But I don\'t understand why the writers named the new boss after Jenna Fischer\'s ex-husband. That\'s kind of cruel to be screwing with her that way. That\'s a big F.U. to their big star. I\'m sure she doesn\'t want to be reminded of her failed marriage every week, but maybe it was her idea. No one really knows.
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The whole \"continuity\" issue everyone seems to be having has an easy explanation. When Jan was in charge, her business policy was to have a #2 at each branch. But when she went nuts, and after Ryan committed fraud, the whole #2 thing was disbanded at corporate, but probably didn\'t get around to the lower branches. So I imagine that even if Charles did know about the #2 thing, he still would have disbanded it. Either way, not a real issue for me. I was more happy with Michael quitting, thus fulfilling the season long arc of Michael doubting his place in the company. Here\'s my prediction for how the season will play out. Michael will leave, but due to the economy and the closed job market, he\'ll be coming back to DM. Charles will be in charge, and while at first everyone will be happy to see Michael gone, Charles will crack down on their various idiosyncracies that Michael let flourish under his command, thus the entire office (sans Kelly and maybe Angela) will band together to get rid of Charles and bring Michael back. Haven\'t figured out how Holly will fit into the mix.
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I\'m going to go against the grain and say this was one of the most thought provoking, multi-layered, satisfying episodes they\'ve done. The thing about The Office is that you can\'t push aside an episode because it\'s not outright, sidesplitting hilarious. There were some funny moments. But there is such humanity within each scene. Michael has built up his office as his own kingdom. Jim is his confident. Pam is the damsel. Dwight is the fool. He has everything under his control. When his party planning committee is disbanded, when his 15th anniversary party can\'t have Cirque De Soleil, the storage for his figs can\'t be justified and another person such as Charles comes in that his staff has to answer to - Michael becomes that kid you see throwing a tantrum in the dairy section of the supermarket. I love what they\'re doing to Jim. They are deconstructing him to build him up...finally. This embarrassment he endured is probably the first step toward growing a pair. I don\'t know if he told Charles that the ARM job was pretend because his nerves made the words come out wrong, or the writers aren\'t getting properly fact checked because Daniels and Schur are spending so much time with Amy Poehler. If it\'s the latter, these lapses in continuity are getting worse. Kelly going after Charles? Funny! Angela going after Charles after what she did to Dwight and Andy? No thanks. Enough of seeing Angela in heat. Leave that to her cats. I\'m repeating what I wrote on my blog, but there you have it. My brain is fried. Loved this episode. Can\'t wait for next week.
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I enjoyed the episode. However, I do agree with others that have mentioned the continuity issue. Seriously, this is an issue that has come up entirely too much this season. I\'m done making excuses for the writers. That being said, Jim may have gotten a pay raise, but he is still very much a salesman. The few times he has been left in charge of the office have been epic fails. It was great to see him squirm a bit. I\'m not too concerned with Michael quitting. I imagine he is going to turn around and say \"sike\" at the beginning of the next episode. He\'s probably still in debt and has a mortgage to pay. Until he perfects the business plan for Shoe la la, he is going to need Dundler Mifflin.
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Can I just say... I want to work for David Wallace! Also, I read about what is going to happen in next week\'s episode. Michael gets a new job at ING. He ruins the company, gets a huge bonus, gets fired and then comes back to Scranton and buys Dunder Mifflin using his bonus money.
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Not my favorite episode. Just not enough funny. I did love the cold open, though. I agree with Chris about the writers\' mistake on Jim\'s #2 position. Not only did Jan appoint Jim to that role in Season 3, but Jim also told Dwight he gets paid a higher salary because of it. When Charles asked Jim if the job had any responsibilities, Jim said \"no.\" WHAT?! He should have at least said that he takes over for Michael when he\'s gone. Who would ever say to a boss that they have no responsibilities? I was also very surprised by the ending with Michael quitting. It\'s rare that an episode of The Office ends with a surprise cliffhanger with no explanation. I just felt out of place to me, probably because I know Michael won\'t quit for good. Who wrote this episode, by the way?
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That episode was not what I expected at all... in a good way. I agree with everyone who said this episode was a welcome change of pace, can\'t wait to see how this all unfolds. Carell is magnificant, I love watching him act. And of course the ever-gorgeous David Wallace always increases my enjoyment of an episode, even when he\'s patronising Michael. Loved the talking head where Pam is grinning delightedly at Jim wearing a tux, very cute. And the bit where Michael yells \'C\'mon, let\'s go!\' then whacks his hand on the door, I rewatched that about 5 times and it still makes me laugh way too loud. My only complaint- Kelly versus Angela is a good idea, but the execution was off. They could have done it in a way that didn\'t completely change Angela\'s character. Then again, she did lick a cat...hmmm.
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Chris, I totally agree. Remember there\'s a scene in season 3 back in Scranton in Michael\'s office where Jim, Dwight, Michael and Andy are discussing the #2 spot...Dwight says the position does not come with extra pay and Jim says,\"it does, actually,\" Continuity errors like this are distracting. Loved, loved the last scene with Wallace. You could see it coming in Michael\'s face. Great job by both.
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This show is so much more than a comedy, which is maybe stating the obvious to lots of fans. Tonights episode didn\'t really have too many laugh-out-loud moments for me, but that gap was filled with some pretty awesome acting from Carell and Krasinski. Those welling eyes in the final scene, ya just felt so much for Michael, that he shouldn\'t have to go through all that to talk with Wallace. Even if it was about his fig situation!! Jim not being the golden boy was kinda gratifying to see, he\'s not gona have this boss rapped around his finger like he has with Michael. Even though Michael is a crazy unconventional (maybe useless) boss they have kept employing him for 15 years and promoted him during that period. They should show him the respect he deserves or else get rid of him. On a side note i really think this episode could have done with a way stronger C plot, Angela and Kelly fighting over Charles wasn\'t really enough to get any big laughs.
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Although not a lot of big laughs, I found myself smiling throughout the episode. Loved the opening, c-shaped bagels, and even Michael\'s \"shadow\" game. Somewhat annoyed with continuity issues, and I agree with Chris\' post. And was the Jan/Ryan position always a vice president title? Overall, I thought this was a great introduction to Charles and I\'m excited to see how things will unfold. I think Michael nailed it with his steel/paper metaphor and I\'m anxious to see who will go into the furnace - steel or paper.
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I loved this episode. Having a true straight man to foil Michael (the first since pre-psycho jan) is a good change for the show. I won\'t predict Matt\'s reaction to the treatment of Michael, but I usually like the moments when michaels feet are truely held to the fire. Sure he\'s a sweet guy, and we can often have sympathy for him as he naively struggles through life; but mostly, he\'s an immature, selfish child that is exposed when contrasted with a realistic, practical character. I enjoyed the jim stuff too, although I think they laid it on a little think (i agree with chris that the writers take too much liberty with the show history).
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Very painful to watch Jim screw up on every turn. This is not fun. If Michael is really quitting (temporarily), at least it will be interesting to watch who takes over (Jim or New Boss). And it will be interesting to see how they bring him back. Either he will crash (because he can\'t fly high) or his replacement will be a disaster.
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Thanks for being so nice everyone in the chatroom, it was my first time. (TWSS!) The cold opening had me laughing REALLY hard, but I thought it was odd that all-of-a-sudden Pam is on the PPC. Also since when is it called the PPC? Thank Matt! PS:Matt your a Joss fan...do you watch dollhouse? Good job getting into Supernatural! I
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As it was said before, the cold open was hilarious. I was glad to see the new dynamic between Charles Minor and Michael. I felt like (not to be cliche) that it was breath of fresh air. I know that the stuff with Charles and Jim was supposed to be uncomfortable, but I felt conflicted about it because yeah Charles was a bit too serious about the whole situation, but I think it shows that Jim really doesn\'t take his job seriously enough. I suspect that Jim\'s work ethic will be changing very soon.
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