The Office (US) — Season 6 thread

New "this show just doesn't do it for me anymore" answers.

PARKOUR PARKOUR

(I actually still love it, btw)

Me too :)

Wow, this is the most "acting" Stanley's done in the show's whole run.

Another man inside of Kevin working him with controls!! I lol'd.

Who's been saying that there's another person inside of me?

Damn no new post alert when posting by phone.

That new Jason Schwartzman HBO show looks amazing!

Shut up. I don't have hbo.

Andy's gay dilemma was probably the best part of this.

Jet Li, Julia Stiles, Alan Thicke.

I don't have HBO either. :/

There's always bittorrent!

parks and recreation was better, for once.

Yeah, tonight's shows

It's Always Sunny > Parks & Recreation > The Office > Community (but I liked them all, actually)

PARKOUR was greattttt

"I hate being left out, whether it's being not picked for a team...or being picked for a team and turning up and finding out that the team doesn't exist...or the sport doesn't exist"

"Don't vaccinate it!"

I knew almost exactly where the was going as soon as Oscar walked in the office, yet it was still hilarious.

"Hey Andy, let's go visit grandma and then get drunk together.. ha ha!"

That was absolutely one of the worst Office episodes ever. Just AWFUL.

Didn't see that post coming. No way.

xxp that was a great underplayed line

cheese cart thing was awful but mercifully short, the rest of was boilerplate (amusing enough) Office stuff. also typical: using an entire episode just to set up this whole Jim co-manager situation

this episode should've ended with creed bratton bashing jim and pam to death with michael's cheese cart

WTF. Our DVR just up and decided not to record this tonight, so not happy. Recorded Parks and Rec and Community, but not The Office. I don't get it.

When does this go up on NBC???? Anywhere else I can watch this???

Ugh seriously? I have to wait 24 hours for this to show up on NBC.com or Hulu? Come on internet, you are failing me here.

doesn't it go up on hulu in the AM?

Maybe, I thought it was 24 hours. Either way, doesn't matter, I won't be able to watch it until after I sit through 8 hours at work with people quoting the punchlines all day and completely ruining my enjoyment of the episode.

bittorrent it

su rfthechanne l.com

Anyway, this was high quality Office, assuming you are not a geek who wants Booze Cruise and Casino Night every episode.

really??? I am someone who enjoys almost every episode and I thought this was not great

There was nothing as good as PARKOUR PARKOUR this episode

otm

I didn't hate it over all, but my favorite parts were the opening bit with Oscar and the Dwight/Toby/Darryl subplot.

I thought it was fine. I don't really watch The Office as anything more than an enjoyable sitcom, though, these days. I don't expect it to be the apex of greatness, so I'm occasionally pleasantly surprised.

the Pam/Angela bit at the end was tops.

It drives me crazy that Michael's being so bitchy about this, because he brought it all upon himself and he 100% knows it.

wtf is jim's hair

I noticed that too. It looks greasy.

greasy and feathered

Michael's "I have so much work to do, I feel like I’m gonna blow my brains out." line o corporate guy from the second ep was pretty great

"what does a bean mean?"

Pam and Ryan at the end = my favorite scene so far this season.

i liked how it was dragged out just enough to make her sudden caving in more of a laugh

I'm trying to wrap my head around the new physical layout of the office since they bumped the accountants somewhere else to accommodate Jim's new office. I'm weird like that. I was at least hoping for a meta joke of "hey, where'd that come from" or something. But in all honesty, I think the ramp is being set up for the shark jumping on this show. The co-manager thing just sets up all sorts of things that won't end up cleanly and the wistful nostalgia commercials for the "very special" wedding episode are bad bad signs in my book.

Extended shark metaphors used in reference to television shows are a sign of profound idiocy.

The notion that promos for future episodes are indicators of creative direction seems flawed to me. I kind of doubt the people behind the show have any role in making those promos.

Extended shark metaphors used in reference to television shows are a sign of profound idiocy.

Er, fuck you too.

The notion that promos for future episodes are indicators of creative direction seems flawed to me. I kind of doubt the people behind the show have any role in making those promos.

That's true, the promo just rubbed me the wrong way.

It's so sad to think the Office might not be a good show forever. I don't think I got any huge laughs out of either of the episodes this season, usually there's one or two, but it's still not bad!

last night's episode was totally great--the co-manager thing adds another layer of complexity and ridiculousness

loved the little moment w/Creed & Meredith

"Yeah, we did."

haha

i had a hard time believing jim would arrive at that 1st compensation decision much less announce it in that way but that horrible 'rewind' moment he did made it worth it (surely the jim haters approve? do u see?)

those bits are great! anytime they show the slow inevitable tranformation of jim into michael it's wonderful

I'm trying to wrap my head around the new physical layout of the office since they bumped the accountants somewhere else to accommodate Jim's new office.

I just checked that scene and they seem to be in the same place?

We actually had a big debate about the physical layout at Dunder-Mifflin at work yesterday (lol architects) and ended up finding this on Google. It's a bit outdated, but seems to make some sense. Jim's office is down in the corner that shows Creed's and Derrin's desks on this plan.

Welcome back, truly uncomfortable moments!

Yeah. I've barely been able to look at the television for the last 5 minutes.

Creed eating spaghetti while everyone else
pukes... Oh god.

Torn scrotum!

Pam looking good with glasses.

Awesome episode so far.

What happened when Dwight was talking to the girls and she said she was a stand in? Housemate had the nerve to stop by...

Wow, Kevin looks good with hair!

I should hate this Chris Brown thing, but it's actually so in-character for the show.

Really kind cute despite itself.

ugh

Andy with the walker, Dwight kicking the bridesmaid in the face... so good. And then Jim acknowledged the youtube video itself.

Nice end.

Also, totally called the Michael/Pam's mom thing at least a half hour ago.

Whole episode was pretty classic I'd say

The first 50 minutes was the best episode since season 3. But the ending was terrible (cheezy), except for dwight kicking the bridesmaid bit. Otherwise solid lols throughout.

The Chris Brown thing was totally cheesy, but as mentioned above, also totally in line with the characters of the show. I think it could have been a disaster, but they pulled it off.

A+++++ episode for Kevin btw

too bad they have to keep lining Chris's pockets...they could've picked a less abusive artist and we'd still get the reference.

Great episode and all, but am I the only one that noticed that the woman that plays the part of Pam's grandma is THE EXACT SAME PERSON that played Michael's grandmother in the Michael Scott Paper Company episode? Lame.

lol. I hadn't noticed that.

Ah c'mon, all old people look the same after a certain point.

too bad they have to keep lining Chris's pockets...they could've picked a less abusive artist and we'd still get the reference.

― dan selzer, Friday, October 9, 2009 3:25 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

truth bomb :(

I never noticed that about the grandmother, but now that I know, I think that is pretty funny. Barney Miller used to do that stuff all the time, including a couple of people that became regulars on the show later on.

Arrested Development did it the other way where the soap opera girlfriend was a different actress each time.

impressed w/ mr. snrub's memory

Oscar & Kevin vogue-ing ruled very much. Also I had two weddings -- one legal and one in a church -- and it does very much make a huge difference in your ability to have fun and laugh off ridiculousness on the bigger day. /terrifying TWOP housewife.

This was a fantastic episode, actually. Every time Dwight is portrayed as the King of Sex = big laughs.

i got 6 numbers!

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/09/office-gives-us-wedding-to-remember/

October 9th, 2009 9:12 am ET

How can anyone write about big TV weddings in the past, and forget to mention Rhoda’s?

How, indeed?????????

there were only two actresses who played the girlfriend on Arrested Development, and they didn't switch back and forth.

I think this show would be so much better without Jim and Pam.

^^^^OTM. I'm hoping they have some sort of fatal accident during their honeymoon.

This was a pretty sweet episode, funny and sweet and up there with the best of them. Hah, "Silvio". I had no idea about the whole dance thing at the end (thanks, Pam, for telling me what it was) and it seemed like an easy out. Like woah we are in a cell phone commercial or something.

Then again I guess they figured more than any other episode this is one the office worker demographic would be watching so the youtube thing would have huge wink-wink potential across that audience.

Do people not like the original youtube wedding thing? I thought it was pretty great. As was this episode. Mrs T was in tears.

I hated the YouTube video at first, but it kinda grew on me when I decided to stop being such a fun-hater. I thought it worked really well for The Office, because most of those characters would totally be all up on loving something like that. However, if I ever attend a real life wedding where they break that out, I will not hesitate to punch someone in the face.

My only problem w/the youtube video is Chris Brown. That douche does not deserve any royalties.

Man, just realized I'm a week behind because I watch it on hulu. Now I'm dreading the youtube dance part.

Thought the writers did a really nice job of having it both ways on the video -- it WAS in fact a completely tasteless, embarrassing thing to do, but Jim & Pam didn't care because they'd had their perfect secret wedding.

Also Chris Brown is the first musician in the history of recorded music ever to commit domestic violence. (i.e. do you morons live in CAVES????)

can someone link to the youtube? i have not seen it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8DCt3Lmi28

the divorce dance follow-up is a nice touch too!

Don't want to run this into the ground, but here is the recreation of the dance on the Today Show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFPeQuRirtg&feature=player_embedded

Note at 1:43 another thing they borrowed for the Office tribute.

is it me or is the bride kind of the dud of that whole thing?

what's not to enjoy about that youtube clip?

no, it's cute. it's just funny that they're all so excited and then she comes in, does like 2 steps and then walks down the aisle like a normal bride.

Also Chris Brown is the first musician in the history of recorded music ever to commit domestic violence. (i.e. do you morons live in CAVES????)

Because domestic violence is commonplace, it is therefore awesome and amazing when his banal bubblegum stinks up whatever context it is used in. Got it.

wasnt stanleys wife white?!

i thought that was his new girlfriend, the one that he cheated on his wife with

^Yes.

xpost to max: maybe you missed the first episode of the season?

This whole youtube video thing aside, does anyone else think this jim as co-manager thing is dumb as hell and bodes poorly for the future of this show?

it is a weird and stupid situation but I look forward to seeing the writers try to work their way out of it. unless it ends retardedly.

fwiw most of at-the-time-weird business mix-ups (jan losing job, ryan, the office mergers) have all led to lots of classic moments in the show...

no way the jim co-manager thing is going to last beyond this season - it feels so obviously a sitcom illusion of change deal to wring some plots out of. i'd be surprised if it even goes into 2010

They need to bring Jan back.

Just watched the wedding episode a third time. This was one of the best episodes they've ever done. "You thought I was dating this? What the hell's wrong with you???"

haha oscar

there were only two actresses who played the girlfriend on Arrested Development, and they didn't switch back and forth.

― musically, Friday, October 9, 2009 7:26 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i think there were three but one of them was only on for a second in one episode or something dorky like that

not according to IMDB

n/a is correct--there was a third Marta in a brief flashback in the third season. It was a gag involving buster pretending he had boobs.

well two actresses plus a one-time gag flashback =/= different actress each time, but whatever

definitely a whatever

The wedding banquet was filmed at the Smoke House in Burbank, which is literally across the street from Warner Bros' lot. I haven't seen the ep yet but from a still I saw it's obvious.

^EW cover story says as much.

In a perfect (tv) world, this episode would've been the finale....it was finally a conclusion to the Jim and Pam plotline that has dominated the series. I'm afraid it'll probably be all downhill from here....

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20091012/SHE0101/91012119/1062/SHE01/Inmate-charged-with-attack-over-%E2%80%98The-Office-

I'm sorry my picture finally ended up on the internet in such a manner.

Shacoya from Sheboygan? Really?

A complaint said Crawley got upset when an acquaintance wouldn’t answer her repeated phone calls and knocks at the door, so she set fire to a mop in an entryway.

Actually, Shacoya from Oshkosh. (Ah, my hometown...)

Shacoya really has moxie, we should hang out.

Tonight's episode was HORRENDOUS.

i'll still.. kind of be amused by these episodes, while saying to myself over and over again "why am i still watching this show" when half my friends dropped this show a year or so ago

but i guess it was inevitable, since the wedding episode was pretty decent, take the good w/the totally over-the-top. then watch 30 Rock which just accepts being completely unrealistic and insane and enjoy it instead

I liked the Dave Matthews line, tho.

I almost stopped this half of the way through, though. I felt like I really really identified with Oscar in a terrible way..."Just get me the FUCK out of here."

The wedding banquet was filmed at the Smoke House in Burbank, which is literally across the street from Warner Bros' lot. I haven't seen the ep yet but from a still I saw it's obvious.

where was the restaurant in tonight's episode? there was a pink wall outside with an ATM.

really liked the episode, it was like an early season throwback.

Kevin and Oscar moment = so great.

Mukduk.

hahaha yes, that line was great

I didn't really think the comedy came as much from the ridiculous insurance situation as it did from the continued badgering of Jim and Pam on their honeymoon (ESPECIALLY when Kevin canceled Jim's credit cards).

Is any one else bothered by Andy getting well so fast? He should at least had a cane or something.

Probably my favorite part was Oscar's line about Toby checking out in June, and then Toby being called on it. oh, and Kevin's initial reason for "borrowing" Jim's office.

In one of the long shots in the restaurant parking lot Andy was visibly limping a little.

I must have missed that.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I did think he was remarkably well-off for a man with a scrotum injury just a week ago. I just caught a little limp and assumed that was a nod to the last ep.

No, I agree with you. By that point in the ep, I just wasn't paying as much attention (doing laundry).

http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/34206/zombiemindy_jpg_595x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hm7pp_JFOs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz8iZgDQZW8

I've never said it before, but that was the worst episode this show's done.

This ep's pretty good. Also, I think it's the loudest episode ever.

tonight's was pretty excellent, especially angry Pam

Jenna Fischer totally bombed the "angry pregnant woman" scenes. She sucks at acting.

But this was a great episode. Ryan's fedora!

"What kind of car does she drive?"
"A green Camry"
"Oh (bleep)"

i can't agree with that, that whole scene when michael spills it, the facial expressions and dawning horror, to the "noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" screaming as she runs out was def classic

loled at andy being passionate about opera music

"This ARIA is a JOKE"

Stanley getting pumped over Pam's "No more meetings!" chant! Jim treating Toby like Michael does!

Also, scene in the conference room was actually really good, showing Michael's self-awareness both over what people think of him and of what his good qualities actually are.

Top episode. I really enjoyed Pam and Jim losing it, and Dwight's double-bluff mallard scam.

Unlike most people, I quite liked the Mafia one and wasn't really into the wedding one.

jenna fischer killing it imo

^ this - great episode

I hate Jim and Pam more every day. Everyone else is stealing the show....Creed tearing up immediately at the music was A+++

I agree. Just take J&P off the show.

i thought Pam was pretty good this episode, although Jim is just turning into a tool in increasingly predictable and not that funny ways. but the first glimpse of Ryan's fedora in the meeting was the best moment this episode, imo.

Pam was completely irritating this episode.

this show is just not funny anymore

get rid of jim and pam, yes, but also:

make Michael Scott start being a huge asshole again.

Michael was never a huge asshole, just a huge idiot

He used to be pretty mean at times. He still treats Toby like shit.

yeah but Toby is his sworn enemy, that's not representative of Michael's attitude at all. Toby is the only person in the office Michael doesn't like/love.

Michael was never a huge asshole, just a huge idiot

― musically, Sunday, October 25, 2009 9:59 PM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

watch season 1 again.

Toby is the only person in the office Michael doesn't like/love.

I think he also has some inexplicable contempt for Phyllis.

yeah but Toby is his sworn enemy, that's not representative of Michael's attitude at all. Toby is the only person in the office Michael doesn't like/love.

― musically, Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:15 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh he def. loves the people in the office. They're his pretend family.

But he's also (was) racist, selfish, sexist, equated his own problems with that of the handicapped etc.

this was really a bizarrely unfunny episode btw. Are we supposed to find it hilarious that Pam was being such an awful person?

also, weren't pam and michael supposed to be getting closer lately?

I thought it was because Pam and Michael were getting closer that she was able to act out to the extent she did. She no longer feels any compunction about "taking him on" because of that shared history. It felt very natural to me.

I liked this last episode a lot. Jim is (slowly, cringingly) turning into Michael, which feels a lot more realistic than him remaining charming and above it all. In early seasons he kept saying he didn't want Dunder-Mifflin to be his career, but now both he and Pam have staked their financial future on the company and it's kind of warping in them in obvious and unlikable ways.

"Oh you mean Marlon Wayans?" LOLOL

I really hate the new secretary, whatever her name is. Kate? I've just been calling her Anime Face.

Erin. And no way, she's great. I like how the last couple of episodes have given us little glimmers into her own weirdness.

(Actually, her name is Kelly, but there's already a Kelly in the office. /Mr. Snrub)

After a terrible season 5, and a rocky beginning to season 6, I feel like the show is starting to get back on track. I still think the co-manager thing is a terrible contrivance. I also feel like this is a show that desperately needs a periodic infusion of new blood (think Ed Helms, Rashida Jones, Amy Ryan), but so far Erin is being somewhat underutilized in that respect. But anyway this was like three good episodes in a row, and am feeling more optimistic about this show than I have in a long time.

what's up with subtle sexuality? did i miss an episode?

I think it's a web-only thing.

http://www.subtlesexuality.com

Decent episode. Not unrelated note: Pam and Jim barely appeared together.

Erin. And no way, she's great. I like how the last couple of episodes have given us little glimmers into her own weirdness.

― jaymc, Friday, October 30, 2009 12:39 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ya i like how at the end of the last one its like oh... she's totally insane

she's awesome! being super cute doesn't hurt either

I like the reference to Jan ("I don't even have Jan's number anymore!"). Creed still the best character on this show.

I can barely even look. My fingers are over my eyes.

I still like these characters and all, but The Office is becoming the annoying 30 minutes of tv I have to put up with between P&R and 30 Rock.

the office at its worst is still funnier than P&R. really do not get what folks are seeing in that show.

i liked this episode! it felt like 2 plots crammed into one, somehow working

Most sitcoms have 2 plots in every episode, so I'd expect it to work. Also, I thought Ron was hilarious throughout the entire thing.

well, there's always two plots, yes, but this show tends to stretch out its main plots thinly- like the michael dumping pam's mom thing and pam punching michael in the parking lot, for THIS show, would've typically been two episodes

http://www.thousandandonewords.com/

Oh man, I hope they plan on keeping this blog going.

I love how they've turned Ryan into an irredeemable twat.

LOL

It's sad, but the saddest part is that the woman was willing to pose for this photograph without a single question as to the artist's intent. What happened to integrity?

Also, I thought Ron was hilarious throughout the entire thing.

?

^^^ that's where the convo slightly derailed into Parks & Recreation discussion.

(or maybe I just perceived that happening when it really didn't? in which case, I R DUM)

Oh, OK, I don't watch that show, so I was like "who tf is Ron?"

ron was awesome last night

where was the restaurant in tonight's episode? there was a pink wall outside with an ATM.

Sorry I didn't respond to this sooner but I'm just catching up with the last two or three episodes.

I couldn't tell where they filmed that restaurant scene but, if I were to guess, I'd say Granada Hills (unless they went really South from their studio, in which case it could be anywhere)

I watched Parks and Recreations for the first time last night and the cheap motel where two characters go for some, er, quality time, is located by San Fernando Road and Alameda in Burbank/Glendale. That one was easy for me.

On the Office, I couldn't place the restaurant but the road where Michael, Pam, Jim and Pam's mom are driving down while they engage in car talk was Chandler Blvd in Van Nuys. You can tell because of the mansions, trees, one-way street etc. There aren't many places near the Van Nuys area that have a long, rich suburbia road, among other things.

I love how they've turned Ryan into an irredeemable twat

Was there ever a point where this wasn't true? Ryan's funny but I definitely prefer him in small bursts like they're doing now.

Was there ever a point where this wasn't true?

Of course. I've been watching old episodes recently, and in Seasons 1 and 2, Ryan's main purpose is as a normal, unassuming foil for all the wacky characters whose lives seemingly revolve around the office.

For instance, from Season 2, Episode 4:
Ryan: I don't want to be like, a guy here. You know? Like, Stanley is the "crossword puzzle guy". And Angela has cats. I don't want to have a thing... here. You know, I don't want to be the "something" guy.

In one of the recent episodes, I think the only thing Ryan did was appear on screen for three seconds holding a pair of folded-up black hipster glasses. And it conveyed so much.

Was there ever a point where this wasn't true? Ryan's funny but I definitely prefer him in small bursts like they're doing now.

Jaymc is right. Early in the show Ryan was a fairly normal twenty-something who was "just there" but over the seasons they've changed him around a great deal. BJ Novak, Mindy Kaling, and Paul whatshisface (Toby) may have started out as writers/producers for the show who were supposed to just be background filler in the office but they've evolved the characters since and, for better or worse, made them wackier.

Toby coaching Pam on how to punch Michael was pretty great.

BJ Novak seems a lot more comfortable now that they've got him back doing the season 1 and 2 role, and not having him be a coke head or an egomaniac.

The only constant is him messing with Kelly (or is it Kelley?).

Birthday scene in latest ep was so painful. I liked it, but yeesh.

I agree that P&R has really come into its own this season. The last few have been the highlights of the NBC Thursday lineup imo. This probably has just as much to do with the relative underperformance of recent Office & 30R as it does with the quality of the show itself, but still, I'm glad I didn't bail on it (which I almost did).

http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/images/books/9780253203380_med.jpg

4 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Very misleading!, March 16, 2006
By steve - See all my reviews

I thought this was going to be a book full of jokes ending with the punchline, "That's what she said". Lame.

Of COURSE Creed drives a beige Lincoln Town Car.

oscar's attempts at a southern accent almost killed me

I'm a little worried that if Creed thinks he's a suspect in a murder, he just packed up, left town & we'll never see him again.

oscar's attempts at a southern accent almost killed me

^^^

One of the better episodes of the season because they allowed it to just be silly.

Dwight's stealthy attack on his own balls was a classic for the ages. NBC replayed it about 10 times last night and it was still funny.

Oscar's southern accent was the funniest thing they've done on this show for a long, long time.

Agreed that Oscar's accent was the funniest part of the episode, in that I almost laughed. I'm starting to feel like this show is tired of itself. I think it's time for the documentary to go public and have the cast deal with the aftermath, as was promised some time ago. Something to shake the show out of its slump.

First Jim and Pam have to have twins.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5460/92276447.jpg

I laughed so hard at Oscar's accent that I had to pause it to compose myself. This was one of my favorite episodes of the show actually.

def. funniest of the season by far

Agreed that Oscar's accent was the funniest part of the episode, in that I almost laughed. I'm starting to feel like this show is tired of itself. I think it's time for the documentary to go public and have the cast deal with the aftermath, as was promised some time ago. Something to shake the show out of its slump.

OTM about the show feeling tired. I think the show is capable of greatness still (some funny eps this season) but the jokes don't hang nearly as well now that the show lacks any sort of dramatic tension.

There's also the sort of complacency that comes from all the actors and writers on the show either being stars or in the process of becoming rich and famous. When the show was new and you didn't know anybody outside of Steve Carrell and there was that great dynamic of the actors being anonymous and fresh.

This was one of my favorite episodes of the show actually.

^^^^

complacency??? to use that word after this episode is crazy, every cast member went all out on this one.

No kidding. Also big globs of real heavy tension, particularly btw. Jim and Michael. This was a very fine episode.

I don't really feel any tension anymore, mostly because there are no attempts to maintain any kind of consistently believable reality anymore. I can't put my finger on why exactly, but it really rankles. Too many instances of people not acting like human beings actually act in this ostensibly documentary format where you're expected to care that dramatic things are happening while Dwight's punching himself in the balls. I think maybe the show is just increasingly not for me.

I haven't seen the last episode yet.

watch it! it's great

Definitely will. I missed the whole lineup thursday, unfortunately.

Dwight's stealthy attack on his own balls was a classic for the ages

agreed

The stuff with Ryan is desperate and unfunny. Their idea for him is just to show him in a different wacky outfit every episode? Really?

Barring an amazing comeback, this show is done.

I love how the only way to express displeasure about a TV show is to declare it "done" or "dead". See also, 30 Rock thread.

no, 2 years ago I was just saying "man this show is getting shitty."

Now it's dead.

how did you have such amazing foresight dude

no, 2 years ago I was just saying "man this show is getting shitty."

Now it's dead.

I had similar thoughts two years ago, especially after the "Dinner at Jan and Michael's house" ep, but the show picked itself back up.

dinner at michael and jan's had that great thing with the tiny TV though. Or was that just a blooper?

No, that was in the actual episode.

"THAT WAS A $200 PLASMA TV YOU JUST RUINED!!"

The stuff with Ryan is desperate and unfunny. Their idea for him is just to show him in a different wacky outfit every episode?

If by "wacky outfit" you mean "douche signifier", then yes.

the first 3-second glimpse of ryan is pretty much the funniest part of every episode for me at this point.

I think if anyone's scene stealing, it's Creed

Has Creed ever had a scene in which he did not completely run away with it?

jan and michael dinner party is my all time favorite episode of this show i think

jan and michael dinner party is one of the best episodes. I re-watched the whole series recently. And there's a definite drop in quality beginning in season 4. I had to skip a number of season 4 episodes that I couldn't bear to watch again. Season 5, on the other hand was a lot better than I remembered except for the first few episodes and the last few episodes of that season.

I liked this last episode. It was pretty funny/enteraining. But that beginning bit with Dwight stealth attacking himself in the balls was pretty stupid, I thought. Absurd in a bad way.

dinner party was hilar just saw a rerun a couple days ago - but yeah this show kinda sux now

hope dunder miflin goes out of biz

yeah, I want them to go out of business or to have the doc come out. They've done everything else it seems.

Couldn't help but notice the lack of thread bump this evening. I think I might be just about done with this show.

New "this show just doesn't do it for me anymore" answers.

I dunno what people expect out of this show, I mean it's something that always makes me laugh a few times a week and if the new episodes don't do it for you, I'm pretty sure if you rewatched the old episodes they wouldn't either. if anything, this season is better than the early seasons cause

a. don't have to care about whether Jim and Pam will get together b. Andy Bernard and Erin exist

if the new episodes don't do it for you, I'm pretty sure if you rewatched the old episodes they wouldn't either.

You'd be wrong.

Office seasons 1, 2, first half of 3: lots of belly laughs

Office now: occasional chuckles.

I don't think there's any show in its 6th season that people wouldn't complain about for some reason or another. Maybe the show's not as good as it once was, but it still makes me laugh enough to keep watching it. But honestly the show isn't incredibly different either -- perhaps we've all just gotten used to its formula after 100 or so episodes?

Nah, there's been a significant drop in quality, starting sometime last season. It honestly hardly ever makes me laugh these days. And mine is a relatively easy laugh to get. It just doesn't seem to go anywhere anymore, and it's too cartoony for my tastes.

I haven't noticed a drop-off. The only episode this season that I really didn't care for was the Mafia one.

Okay: "Nah, there's been a significant drop in quality the extent to which the show appeals to me, starting sometime last season." And that might just be because the formula has finally found its limits.

I continue to find this programme amusing.

Me also. It's become comfort telly for me.

yeah at a certain point i just stopped comparing it to the first three seasons and just think of it as a good solid sitcom, and it still is IMO

I dunno what people expect out of this show, I mean it's something that always makes me laugh a few times a week and if the new episodes don't do it for you, I'm pretty sure if you rewatched the old episodes they wouldn't either. if anything, this season is better than the early seasons cause

a. don't have to care about whether Jim and Pam will get together b. Andy Bernard and Erin exist

― iatee, Friday, November 20, 2009 2:09 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if the new episodes don't do it for you, I'm pretty sure if you rewatched the old episodes they wouldn't either.

You'd be wrong.

Office seasons 1, 2, first half of 3: lots of belly laughs

Office now: occasional chuckles.

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, November 20, 2009 2:15 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah i saw some reruns and they were hilar

I never catch this show anymore due to other commitments but whenever I stumble across repeats of recent seasons I am always massively amused. The whole Dwight-Angela-Andy debacle and the 1-2 punch of the Christmas party episode where everyone found out about it except for Andy and the follow on with the Dwight-Andy fight are series high points for me.

(Other high points include: 1st season sensitivity training; Jim, Pam and Dwight eat dinner at Michael and Jan's; Jim & Pam missing each other while she was in design school; the basketball game)

Jim, Pam and Dwight eat dinner at Michael and Jan's

this is maybe the high point of the entire series for me

That dinner party episode might really be the best of the series. It's got that whole "Who's afraid of virginia woolff" vibe to it.

The most recent episode wasn't great. It seemed more about setting up future plot developments than generating laughs. But it was okay. After the first two episodes, I think this season has been solid enough. But there needs to be some kind of major shake-up to reinvigorate the show, cause it's been stagnating for like three seasons now.

By the way, anyone else find it kind of weird that Bj Novack gets a starring bill in the credits along with Michael, Pam, Dwight, and Jim? I mean, he's never gotten the kind of screen time they get, and in fact he gets less screen time than Andy Bernard. Plus they've kind've ruined the character at this point. I just think it's weird.

Agreed, they've run through his arc at this point. and there are plenty of other characters they can go with, or introduce new ones. I think he's one of the writers, so doesn't he have enough to do?

I think he gets the credit because he's one of the main writers/producers. Probably in his contract.

Glad to see him in the closet and glad to see Jim assert some authority without getting laughed at for once.

andy bernard continues to completely delight

"time for the nard dog to take matters into his own paws!"

yeah at a certain point i just stopped comparing it to the first three seasons and just think of it as a good solid sitcom, and it still is IMO

This. I know I'll be entertained for a half hour. I don't expect anything of this show, I just enjoy the enjoyable bits and leave it at that.

I think the reason the dinner party episode is so great is that the discomfort level is through the roof, and that's what made the first few seasons so funny. There are fewer moments that are so uncomfortable they're PAINFUL now. But it's hard to humanize your characters and maintain that level.

The last two episodes were pretty good. I'm glad they're moving the show forward (the plot of the last episode) and they've devoted little to Pam and Jim's new marriage so far.

There are fewer moments that are so uncomfortable they're PAINFUL now

I found that break up w/ Pam's mom to be maybe the most uncomfortable moment of the series yet!

i hid behind a pillow for most of this episode.

the employee of the month thing was absolutely unbelievable and horribly written.

which is too bad, because the other plotline was fine.

I disagree for two reasons: 1. Dwight's Prop Joe imitation & 2. the writing wasn't that awful, but in the last two seasons, the acting in large ensemble scenes has gotten painfully bad, like high school improv class bad, and that's what messed up the B story for me.

i assume that everyone but Dwight was in on the "Jim awarded himself all the money" gag--everyone seemed like they were acting fake mad about it. also, what was up with the dave wallace/let's have dinner this weekend stuff

Both were awful, worst episode of the season by far. Cold open was lame and it went downhill from there.

cold open was amazing! the fact that michael got mad at someone else for making a stupid voice is hilarious to me

The Michael plot was great! A masterclass of sustained embarrassment. I loved Erin getting into the spirit of it as well. The b-plot was pretty daft, yeah. Some easy but proper laughs from Dwight's impersonations.

The Michael embarrassment was good, but I feel like there should have been some other consequence for that other than shrug tee-hee. Its like the writers have completely abandoned reality to put Michael in these situations then pull him out of them with absolutely no ramifications. First the shareholders meeting, come on. There would have been some fall out from that somehow. And now this? Not that I should be counting on this to be super realistic, but it just irks me that this season has Michael getting into increasingly ridiculous situations and it just gets shrugged off.

I missed the last 10 minutes because my housemate popped in - what ended up happening in the school? Last I saw the bell had rang and he was hoping they'd all leave.. ??

i assume that everyone but Dwight was in on the "Jim awarded himself all the money" gag--everyone seemed like they were acting fake mad about it. also, what was up with the dave wallace/let's have dinner this weekend stuff

― jazzgasms (Mr. Que), Friday, December 4, 2009 2:57 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

So everyone is "in on it," but Jim can't figure out that Dwight set him up?

"seemed like they were acting fake mad"= BAD ACTING

no, Jim knew Dwight set him up, and got everyone else except Dwight to play along

this was a dumb episode that warrants no further discussion

max OTM and Que really RONG

i liked the cold open the best about this episode--the rest of my theories on this thread are an attempt to try and salvage some kind of understanding at the WTFness

also, max, YOU'RE a dumb episode that warrants no further discussion

The last two episodes weren't bad but I'm not really in a mood to watch the new one if it's another step backwards for the show.

it's not "wtfness" it's awful, dreadful shittyness.

Yeah This episode was pretty terrible. I actually thought the Jim/Dwight plot was more enjoyable and better written than the michael subplot which was a weird out of the blue contrivance. I believe that Dwight could engineer that scheme, and but for a few unnecessary details, execute it. That thing with the college tuition on the other hand just feels like a contrivance the writers have been sitting on for like 3 seasons and finally decided to use only because they couldn't come up with anything else to fill the episode.

The really frustrating thing about this show is that after six seasons of character development, they often have the characters revert to a caricature that no longer feels that true.

the michael plot was just "there." Yeah not good, really, but not mindwrenchingly awful like the employee of the month thing.

The face cake? Every character buys that?

If the Dwight/Ryan thing ends up with Jim being demoted, the show will have achieved a complete collapse. I kind of hope it happens, because then I can just quit.

For whatever reason, I could suspend my disbelief on the face cake and all that. I probably just don't really expect too much from this show anymore, except forward motion and a couple of laughs. I thought Dwight writing out his plan and leaving it in the copier was way dumber.

I extremely doubt they're gonna demote jim because he's supposed to be the relateable character and they're not going to have the "villians" prevail. Though I don't see this stupid co-manager situation lasting forever either, so I don't know how they'll resolve it.

I'm sure I've already said this upthread, but there's really no purpose left to ryan's character. Once he became VP, there was no turning back. They should find a way to kill him off. Maybe this dwight alliance will be a way to do that. I doubt it though.

The new episode still hasn't popped up on EZTV, after everything else that aired Thursday night has been up for at least 24 hours. Is that telling in some way...?

I wanna say that they've written themselves into a corner, but I would be willing to show them the way out if they wanted to shoot me a baller TV writer paycheck or two. Just sayin'.

Agree with above, sooooo bad. Also agree w jon about the continual bailouts they give Michael, how it hurts the show in the long run. But at the same time I like that he stood up in front of the kids and told them the truth, rather than make up a wacky lie or just running away.

The Dwight plot was a little painful to watch unfold.

Jim has made mistakes in the past, but he seemed to turn into a complete idiot this episode

this was pretty bad all around. dwight's scheme was sort of funny but the plot as a whole was not good, and the scott's tots things just seemed like nobody was reacting on the right scale of emotion at ALL.

I disagree for two reasons: 1. Dwight's Prop Joe imitation & 2. the writing wasn't that awful, but in the last two seasons, the acting in large ensemble scenes has gotten painfully bad, like high school improv class bad, and that's what messed up the B story for me.

OTM. The Jim awards himself the prize scene was poorly done, but I can't blame the actors too much because what they were asking them to do was so absurd and out of character for almost all of them.

Its like the writers have completely abandoned reality to put Michael in these situations then pull him out of them with absolutely no ramifications. ...it just irks me that this season has Michael getting into increasingly ridiculous situations and it just gets shrugged off.

OTM.

Yeah, the Scott's Tots arc could've been salvaged with better actors. Since most of the school kids were dancers, but probably not actors, the reaction to Michael's "big news" was way off - there the same sort of phony outrage from the Jim scene, and everybody still looked too excited to be in the Office. The girl he meets at the beginning, before going into the classroom, was good I thought.

http://www.thediabolicalblog.com/

I know this is melodramatic, but when Ryan said he "wanted in" on Dwight's scheme, I went to my DVR and deleted the show from the series recordings. No more of this. No more.

Can't really blame you.

evil ryan is the only thing i still love about this show (except for the rare mindy kaling scene).

They should just do a spin-off show with those two. They serve little purpose on the current show and a Mindy/Ryan move to L.A. could be funnay (Mindy explores L.A. night life, Ryan, er, takes over a previously respected pop music blog, or something).

Kaling has a pilot for her own show (might not be a spin-off) in the pipeline.

I find it funny how lots of people had a hard time watching that episode because of how terrible Michael is... the laughs on them imo.
Seriously, you feel uncomfortable because Michael does something terribly embarrassing? For real?
Oh and Erin gets hotter each episode.

http://www.theawl.com/2009/12/meghan-keane-the-office-is-the-most-depressing-show-on-television

Seriously, you feel uncomfortable because Michael does something terribly embarrassing? For real?

I've heard similar things from people, like they can't watch the show because of how mean he is or that he drives them nuts and they have anger towards him. Really? I also know somebody who doesn't like the show because of the "crappy camerawork" but that dude and his personality is its own thread.

Seriously, you feel uncomfortable because Michael does something terribly embarrassing? For real?

I feel this way, for real! Secondhand embarrassment triggers the fight or flight response in me. When I was a kid, every crappy sitcom I watched did that same plotline where the main character accidentally schedules two dates on the same night, and they have to rush back and forth between dates and make more and more outlandish excuses until they finally get caught. I seriously couldn't be in the same room as that shit, it made me want to tear out my hair.

The feeling's gotten less pronounced as I get older, but Michael promising twenty underprivileged students a college education and then watching him get caught in the lie was pretty much my own personal Nic Cage "NOT THE BEES! OH GOD MY EYES!" moment.

Mostly dud episode, but kissing santas at the end was great.

Wasn't the writing getting lazy enough without resorting to a fucking clips show?

That's what I was thinking. boo.

aw man, i don't even WANT to run to hulu and search

I am somehow less disappointed I missed this week's episode

It didn't even air last week, and this week it's a clip show. And the Winter Games are gonna start soon, so what... there's gonna be about two new episodes before it goes away for another month? I may just not come back to it.

I do like this Travis song however.

any chance this is a last minute 'oh shit we need to fill more time without Leno in the lineup' deal?

You mean you think there's going to be another Office at 10? I doubt it.

well no more that they've already ordered more episodes of this as well as other shows to try to fill the gap down the line, so why not run a clip show in January when people don't really care.

A clip show, wow. I know a lot of good shows have done it, but in a season as weak as thing one it really stings.

kinda of curious to see how they weaved the clips into the story, but that's about it.

Watching Community it seems I forgot what it was like to watch a good show with a lot of years left on the tires.

hey there's this show called 30 rock on right after the office that's not completely emarassing, f yalls i

sez u
tho the clip show was hella bad

I would have honestly preferred a straight out half hour of clips to that horrid, awkward excuse for a new "episode". Even though I was briefly geeked to see the Baltimore Sun editor stride into Dunder-Mifflin.

aka creepy ass dirty cop from Damages! and famous from lame Mohegan Sun and cell phone commercials! man that guy gets around

clip show was what it was, though i was shocked to see it - i can't remember the last time i actually saw a sitcom clip show

Yeah, wasn't ready for the brand spankin' new clip-a-thon. I was thinking after Conan getting dumped i'd just stop watching NBC,then it popped in my head "Oh no, can I drop the Office at this point?!?" Um, yeah...so much for that...

How many more seasons left do ya think? Carell's gotta be tired of doing this, no?!?!

They should just wrap it up at the end of this season. It's clear they're out of gas.

jesus christ. clip montages are things people make and put on youtube to the tune of daniel powter's "bad day," i refuse to believe they count as viable prime-time programming in two thousand fucking ten.

it's especially galling now that a show's entire run is available on dvd. if i really want to go back and revisit all the old funny joeks, i'll watch the fucking box sets i already paid for.

What I hear from my people who know people is that this clip show was NBC's idea, who didn't want to start the Pam's baby story arc until after the Olympics were complete.

It's clearly beyond their capabilities at this point to even write a stand-alone episode, let alone a loosely themed group of stories. If this is what they could do with 6 weeks off, imagine how good the next few will be after another month off.

dude was also doug in flight of the conchords, duh

What I hear from my people who know people is that this clip show was NBC's idea, who didn't want to start the Pam's baby story arc until after the Olympics were complete.

― Three Word Username, Friday, January 22, 2010 9:11 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

start it before the olympics to that ppl will want to watch when it comes back imo i.e. cliffhangerrr

Sparkle Motion OTM. Two years ago the writers would have been able to come up with a great little stand-alone episode, but its like they don't even want to try anymore. I was this shows biggest stan even up through last season, but I don't know if I can do it anymore. Unless things really turn around I kinda hope this is the last season to. I never thought I'd see the day where The Office was the least funny show on Thursday night's line-up, but I am now laughing consistently more at the other three shows.

I've stopped bothering to download new episodes without really noticing. I didn't even think the quality had got that bad, suppose I must've just had enough (also getting into the much fresher 30 Rock was probably a factor).

Food for thought - even a clip show by The Office easily had better ratings than every other NBC show that night:

http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/01/abcs-deep-end-gets-shallow-ratings.html?

Yeah, I stopped watching regularly last season, then bought that season on DVD (it's pretty good, esp. towards the end) but this season things are really, really soggy.

The show is at the stage in the game where it seems like everybody is phoning it in and secretly anticipating and working on their solo projects. Social scientists call this the "white album stage"

the white album was good though

haha good point.

Will The Office have an Abbey Road?

No. More likely, it was all Creed's dream.

fuck this noise, a clip show? Can someone summarize the "plot"? Did the auditor do anything, or should I say did the staff do anything to him?

no.

he wrote the place up has having a very 'dickensian' feel.

then did something unspeakable to Bob Vance

there have been a few wire alums...beatie, stringer and whatever his name was

Suck It!

major LOLz for the kid drumming

ya david wallace stole the episode

the kid yelling "suck it" was my favorite part. this was one of the better recent episodes, imo.

Not holding alot of hope out for the new characters, especially CEO...was that Kathy Bates? Just bring Jan & Holly back somehow, write a couple of decent ones and end this thing while you can.

Fifteen minutes in, this is the worst fucking office episode I've ever seen.

This episode was in no way worse than "Phyllis's Wedding," the gold standard for terrible Office episodes. This episode was just kind of meh. I liked Meredith's throat-cutting complaint, plus the latest entry in Ryan's parade of douchey hipster accessories.

This one was pretty bad. It's too early for me to quit watching The Office (I'll give it another season or two) but it has definitely gone down the "not funny hill" into "the plot lines that I couldn't give 2 shits about" gorge as of the last year (or more?)

yeah, and now that it's done, i don't think the "jim becomes co-manager" thing ever really blossomed into anything funny. if anything it made jim increasingly humorless and unappealing, which i guess is realistic character growth but still a weird choice given the growing "Office isn't funny anymore" sentiment.

i'll admit though, i love erin and her insane perkiness, and even though the marketing is being obnoxious and trying to push andy & erin as the "return of the JAM YUMMINESS," i like their interactions together. plus i don't think the show would be as precious about their relationship as they were with jim and pam.

I admit Erin is a major factor in why I'm still consistently watching the show. Well, that, and being inbetween P&R and 30 Rock and laziness. But I don't think the show is really bad, it's still amusing, its lost its spark, though.

I feel like the characters have been so developed that they've grown out of their initial purposes as ingredients to the satire of everyone's relatable office experiences. Now, instead of an accessible look into the awkward days of office life (just like yours and mine!), its self-referential and complicated and even the minor characters struggle to hold on to their purpose. Also, why did Pam become such a hard-ass?

because she is a pregnant woman on a television show

she's been like that for a while though

"yours in professionalism, Nard-dog"

I still watch this and I think it would have to get considerably worse before I cut it off completely, but I watch everything on Hulu days afterward and arrange them in order of favorites ascending...it used to be second place behind 30 Rock but now Modern Family and Community are ahead of it.

Modern Family is amazing. It's a brilliant set-up for a show, endless variety of situations can be pulled from the one extended family. The interview/documentary aspect is a bit forced but it is on Parks and Recreation as well. Pretty easy to suspend disbelief. Amazing stuff like the MLK Jr Day blackface baby gag, pretty much everything Phil says and does, etc. I'm a believer.

i can not believe modern family did an episode that explored coulrophobia and the history of clowning. so impressed! it's one of the few eps i've seen, but that signals to me that the writers probably have a LOT up their sleeves.

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/129107272690010606.jpg

1. wouldn't "inappropriate comment" have sufficed
2. That teacher needs to get a sense of humor

God, this shit isn't even funny anymore. Nothing about it.

ha, this is the first new episode i've watched in years, and i was all "i'm not gonna be a hater if the thread gets bumped" but... wow.......

I'm done. I'm out. This show only fills me with hatred.

Same here. Tonight was the last time.

You guys, theres a baby blog. Are you telling me you aren't going to talk about the baby blog? Where will I - ..guys the baby blog.

the jim freaking out bit was nice. other than that........some of the worst michael stuff ever, basically.

Actual LOL from me when Michael asked, "Who wants to live in a world where Stanley has two lovers and you have none?" and Stanley laconically raised his hand.

The little fancy feast bit was amusing too.

Pam's mom is bangin'

Not that big of a fan, but I do like how they're dealing with Ryan.

I like when Andy "fired" Erin and how she responded.

To me, Dwight + Weapons still=Comedy Gold, so I loved him dropping his contraband.

My favorite part so far is when Nick the IT guy made that horrible joke.

I didn't really watch this (lol WoW) but I did catch the "Who wants to live in a world..." bit and Jim's extreme discomfort with the nursing coach, which was awesome. I guess the rest of the show featured the cast stomping on mice, based on the reactions here?

Nah, it was amusing enough, though I wasn't a huge fan of the Dwight/Michael stuff, I dug that for the most part they used the episode to show some awkward/uncomfortable stuff for Jim and Pam - a good reversal of tone from the Niagra episode (though I enjoyed that one too).

C'mon guys, there were much worse eps earlier this season than this.

At this point in the show's life the positive fans aren't gonna stick around on the thread... das the internet!

it was ok i guess, not great but yeah, def. not the worst episode i've seen. they seem really resigned on having michael's main source of humor be the mispronunciation/conflation of words, huh

yeah, the show seems to be squeezed pretty dry at this point. I am a fan of the Andy-Erin relationship angle, finally.

jim and pam stuff was great, the dwight stuff was just beyond stupid

It's not that this episode was any better or worse than any other episode this season, it's just that I reached a point last night where I was focusing less on the sausage than I was on seeing how the sausage is made. These characters all have such obvious go-to modes now that there's nothing surprising about any single one of them. An occasional line might make me laugh, but it feels like work watching this now instead of an entertaining diversion.

the andy erin relationship is so gross, it's like a serial killer x a sexy four-year-old. o for the glory days of DWANGELA, JAM, RELLY!!!!!

Johnny otm. Watching this week's I felt like I might finally give up on the show, not because of the particular episode but basically for the reasons Johnny mentioned.

yeah like all the subplots are super annoying now. i wish jim and pam were never having a baby, it makes it like a real serious tv show about life. zzzzzz.

And the Ryan hipster thing is so unexplained I'm not sure whether its a random character development thing, Novak's new fashion obsession making its way into the show, or some inside joke only the cast gets.

the joy is that it is unexplained. he reads a poem to kelly, then two scenes later he's claiming to be single. he's the exact same as he was in the earlier seasons, and they know that.

But how did he get there? It would have been alright if there was even one scene or character (maybe I missed it) that acknowledged it, like Jim seeing him all hipstered out, being confused, and smirking to the camera. Otherwise I keep feeling like I missed that scene or episode.

it's been progressing in the background, which i thought was the joke.

And the Ryan hipster thing is so unexplained I'm not sure whether its a random character development thing, Novak's new fashion obsession making its way into the show, or some inside joke only the cast gets.

― Evan, Saturday, 6 March 2010 03:11 (33 minutes ago)

It's just lazy writing.

i think a 5-second shot of Increasingly Hipster Ryan every episode is bound to be funnier than any actual plotline they could give to him at this point.

It's just lazy writing.

Yeah, even though I'm kind of amused by the Ryan jokes in a way it epitomizes everything that's wrong with the show now. It's so self-indulgent and has so lost the plot that Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak are now spending their time making cute little in-jokes about hipsters and the internet (Dwight's wolf shirt) every episode.

But reddening makes a good point: the Ryan character was kind of ruined a long time ago anyway.

i think a 5-second shot of Increasingly Hipster Ryan every episode is bound to be funnier than any actual plotline they could give to him at this point.

― the jaws of impermanence and soul death (reddening), Saturday, March 6, 2010 5:16 AM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark

this can't be possible, because it's not funny at all.

like why not have him DO hipsterish stuff? their big idea is just new outfits every week?

Thats kind of what I mean. Its suggesting a subplot thats never really feels addressed, so its confusing to the audience. And like I said, even a slight scene to acknowledge or introduce this new development would have been enough.

This show is clearly never going to be as good as it used to be, but I got quite a few more laughs from this one than I had from about half a dozen prior.

this can't be possible, because it's not funny at all.

what kind of world is this where dressing buffoonishly is met with such jaded languor.

http://i50.tinypic.com/wiaj3s.jpg

also now that i think of it, maybe the joke is supposed to be that Ryan's been dressing in increasingly outlandish and attention-grabbing ways all season, but neither the employees nor the documentary crew give enough of a shit about Ryan to figure out why.

Maybe, but you'd see him trying to get that attention slightly beyond the outfit if that were the point. He is barely acting any differently (except for that poem scene pictured above).

Lol @ this thread, "I hate this show but I'm going to spend hours arguing about it on the internet and analyzing why a character wears clothes".

Seriously though, this was so not the worst episode of the season, but still not good enough to drag it out of being the 4th funniest Thursday night show on NBC.

Pam's mom, doodz.

Lol @ this thread, "I hate this show but I'm going to spend hours arguing about it on the internet and analyzing why a character wears clothes".

Seriously though, this was so not the worst episode of the season, but still not good enough to drag it out of being the 4th funniest Thursday night show on NBC.

― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Saturday, 6 March 2010 17:28 (6 hours ago)

It's not that we hate the show, it's that we used to love it and we're pissed that they're ruining it.

I was teasing, really. I'm in the same boat, I just can't be bothered to care enough to figure out why. If you would have told me 2 seasons ago it would be my least favorite of the Thursday night line-up (not to mention that one of the better ones would feature Chevy Chase and the guy from The Soup), I would have laughed in your face.

Still, I thought this week's episode was one of the peaks of this season. Which really shows you how low the bar is right now. The Dwight contraband was hilarious, especially because the cop knew it was him! And Jim was more likable than he's been in aaaaaaages between the "frazzled" bit and the lactation consultant.

ryan's hipsterism (esp moleskine) is hilarious, and it is TOTALLY the point that the doc crew isnt making a big deal about it, and he's attention-seeking and seeking some relevance/edge with it just like with his beard. andy and erin is a terrible idea if it works out. everything else is basically fine. generally, i want the show to be about the day-to-day stuff that happens at the office and NOTHING ELSE, but im okay with jim and pam stuff, because theyre like america's sweethearts.

Had wondered where Packer went.

But even he seems to be phoning it in, oh really, another joke where he changes a word to "queer", how hilarious. This show borderline flat-out sucks right now. Cannot wait for the Sabre thing to disappear again.

Trying to figure out what the janitor's were listening to when they came in, it really sounded like Eluveite or some other folk-metal band.

The "pull out the tampon" line was pretty OTM for Packer--I kinda laughed and kinda cringed.

haven't seen this show in months, i wish i could just watch a five minute clip with all the ryan (& kelly i guess) moments of the season

I don't think that clip would even make it to 5 minutes, maybe 3.

i liked this episode

i do not know what to make of this weird plotline with Erin's foster brother.

was excited to see Packer again but yeah, they didn't give him anything interesting to do except exist. and get humped by Meredith, i guess.

the erin/foster brother plotline could be awesome. The more nard dog the better imo

http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/tv_impact/photo/picture-1png-5035741908e1e463_large.png

M. Knoght Schulman?

Effin biffed that one!

Liked this last one. Kind of going back to the old "Booze Cruise/Dundies" formula.

Kevin crying at Pam's boobs!

Need a gif. of him doing that and his reaction to Andy & Erin's interview.

yessssssssssssssssssssssss

kind of have a crush on erin

Erin is helping to perk up this season, likely because the character is more "fresh" than the rest of the cast. Also really like Dwight's new girl/Pam's sister for the same reason.

trudat. Oscar crushing on the warehouse guy was unexpected and along those same lines.

kind of have a crush on daryl lol

of course you do, daryl is the man.

"What's your drink?"

"Grenadine"

"What?!"

^ my favorite lines of the episode

Andy: "And I hate drama, so, there you go."
Erin: "You love drama."
Andy: "I know I do, right? I'm a total drama queen."

"Oscar, I need you to be straight with me about this."

"You can be gay with Matt but be straight with me"

I liked "how did you get to be so good at this?", "Whacking moles" + Pam's sister whacking Angela on the head at the end. Pam's sis is pretty hot.

I want to poll the straight guys in here: who would you rather be in a relationship with, Erin or Pam? (I definitely choose Erin a-ri-di-di-dit-dooo)

I thought this was the best episode of the season. Kind of pitch-perfect for me.

I'm not sure if it's great for the show's future as it has been getting a little too wacky, but I liked the difference between tonight between Michael and Erin and all their scenes together - she was just so over the top weird it actually gave Michael a chance to not be the dumbest guy in the room, their interplay was great. Erin's going to have a really dark past, isn't she? Also "I resent the implication that I can be trusted with any secrets!"

I missed Ryan's undone bowtie this week.

this was not a terrible Office episode, tho def the weakest show on thursday nite

Ryan's attempt to be like Michael was gold.

pretty good episode or two lately (maybe not in that order I forget)

i thought that last episode was a new level of awful tbh. like probably the worst episode in the show's history.

Amy Ryan back next season?

this one sucked but i lolled a couple times

my favorite restaurant closed down, and my new favorite restaurant sucks

xxp crossing fingers. carell already said next year is his last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhBKmfw1c9k

I missed the final six or seven episodes of this season. It is worth it to finish?

if you liked it up until then, sure

I was losing interest with every ep. :-/

I think I'll catch it on DVD maybe.

On Facebook they've revealed that Gabe (the Sabre rep) is now a regular.

iirc they revealed that in the show, months ago, by having him appear regularly

Presumably he now gets credited in the main title credits, tho.

And in not so surprising news, Carell announces he is leaving after next season. A few years too late, imho.

O_o

Just cancel this, I would much rather see another season of Eastbound & Down.

Agreed, cancellation would be the dignified course, though a season too late.

stopped watching for good when Kathy Bates and "Gabe" appeared.

Season 2 of this show is still one of my favorite things, though.

Actually, time for a breakdown

Season 1 - Only five or six episodes. Showed great promise, two or three classic episodes (Diversity Day, Basketball Game)

Season 2 - Perfect season iirc. Not one bad episode. A great mixture of droll comedy with surprising bits of pathos.

Season 3 - Almost as good as two. The Season 3 finale would've been a beautiful ending to the entire series.

Season 4 - Still occasionally terrific, though it was starting to get much more broad and you could tell the actors were unnecessarily chipper because the show was a big hit and they were all starting to become celebrities. The charming "who are all these talented, unknown actors?" quality that the show had previously (exception for Carell) was gone. Writers strike really messed up some story arcs.

Season 5 - Occasionally rather dull and you could tell they were running out of ideas for where to go with the show and what to do with certain characters (epitomized with BJ Novak).

Season 6 - *sigh* all the problems of season 5 but even worse. Haven't seen the last half of it myself. Previously charming or somewhat redeemable characters now coming off much worse or are just tired.

I can't argue with any of that.

Season 6 improves on an episode by episode basis in its second half, but not by a whole lot.
I think overall S3 is my favorite.

Yeah this is gonna get ugly.

If the creative staff on the show hadn't completely sold out 2 years ago, maybe they'd actually reinvigorate the show by starting over with an entirely new cast. But we'll probably see a lot of ROMANCE!

If the show weren't the only thing NBC had going for it I think the creators would have stopped it. At least I hope they would have.

What kind of salaries do you think the employees of the Office are supposed to make? The internet says that the average paper salesman salary is 31k a year, but the employees seem better off than that? Or am I totally misreading their socioeconomic conditions?

I imagine 31k will get you further in Scranton than it will in Philadelphia.

In the Halloween episode (season two), Michael needs to find a way to keep from firing somebody, so he asks the accounting department "Um, I'm going to need you to find, like a, a full employee salary plus benefits, like fifty grand. I'm going to need you to find 50 grand in the numbers."

I guess that would mean Michael himself makes about $75,000 (a little less than the mean regional manager salary of $85,000, since he does not have a bachelor's degree).

$50,000 for a salesman seems really high

This is a fantasy show at this point anyway. They'll probably give Dwight super powers next season.

I never got the impression that they made big money. The houses they live in seem fairly modest to me, and wasn't there a whole plotline early on about how Michael made little more than a starting wage because it never occurred to him to ask for a raise. Dwight's a different issue, because his family obviously have money buried in graveyards and hidden under stable floors, but the rest never seemed disproportionately wealthy.

This is a fantasy show at this point anyway. They'll probably give Dwight super powers next season.

otm

I've been watching reruns of TBS recently and it reminds me what I liked the show so much in the beginning.

they've all been working there at least 6 years at this point (longer for most of them) so you have to factor in cost-of-living raises and also maybe commissions for the sales team.

ya wasn't there a whole thingy about how they're making more off commissions now

Somehow a summer of Office syndication has helped me forget how bad this show was last season. I'm kinda excited for tonight!

They were so obviously out of ideas last season, and I bet this year will be even worse.

La-la-la! I can't hear you!

I'm watching Fringe and recording Nikita. That's how poor last season was.

should add that if Parks was on and I would be watching The Office as well.

I'm actually going to subject myself to the next hour of NBC television because I'm morbidly curious about how bad bad can actually get.

From what I've heard about Outsourced it can get REALLY bad.

While this isn't a legally binding statement, I'm pretty sure that was the last episode of The Office that I'll ever watch.

two of my friends just filmed bit parts for this.

The opening of this episode was impressive in a "plumbing new depths" way.

I really don't know why I subject myself to new episodes. With every other show I gave up on it was so much easier to make a clean break.

i don't really have the hate for the show you guys have, but basically feel the same way - just watching it out of inertia. i guess at least they'll have to wrap up Steve Carell's character this year, so there's some motivation

They all just became cartoon characters. They used to be "real" people in relatable office situations and relationships...

Stuff like this just kind of emphasizes that total disconnect from the original concept:

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/09/22/clickable-impressive-one-shot-lip-synch-by-the-office-video/

ugh
and outsourced was WORSE

was it actually on last night?

I stopped watching this altogether last January, and I think I have been able to figure out a huge part of where this show has gone wrong: this show, when it worked, was about the tension between office and private life, and the fact that people spent all day every day with people they didn't really know and to an extent couldn't stand. Now, everyone is an open book to every one else, and that book is a copy of Archie Comics.

I had to bail out after the first 10 minutes, it was just painful.

I don't think re-watching the Office UK over the summer helped, either.

This show didn't use to hate young people.

(I actually still love it, btw)

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, September 17, 2009 9:03 PM

Ahh, the simpler times.

Finally got around to watching the season premiere, this show is just terrible now.

http://image.com.com/tv/images/processed/default/95/5f/955f8547fe311c2b7ed9928ea761b059_def.jpg = http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_iSbPkKrOwM0/Rye8oORFTpI/AAAAAAAABXg/AyR_NKz5UfI/s320/scrappy%2Bdoo.gif

Lol

What this show needed was more love triangles and rebellious nephews.

Can't wait for the group field trip to Paris.

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/8241/67783403.gif

This fills me with hatred and sadness.

Was going to OnDemand this but hoo boy that looks poor. Seeing so many 2nd and 3rd season eps on reruns isn't helping its cause either.

alan sepinwall did an interview with paul lieberstein (now executive producer) over the summer, and paul called last season "strong." so i'm not holding out any hope that they're going to suddenly realize the error of their ways.

everything about the last couple seasons feels really perfunctory, compared to the emotional involvement of the early days. like jim and pam had a baby and it has changed nothing about them as people, except that sometimes they say "oh we need to make more money for the baby" to drive the plot along. or when the show briefly flirted with getting dwight and angela back together, and then it just kind of went nowhere and fell apart over the course of four episodes.

It's kinda lame but actually the whole Human Beinz thing made me smile alot because 1) I have no idea what internet meme they are referencing and 2) that song is just kick-ass.

They REALLY do need to use the rebellious more! Least tired character of the series.

I like how, with each passing season, they spend less and less time on "drabbing down" Pam.

All of Michael's constructive criticism is paying off.

if the nephew is never seen again, this was a weird blind alley to go down for a return episode (esp with Michael's family estrangement being out of nowhere?), but I guess it's setting up - as if it needed to be any more set up - Sabre being aware of his incompetence and presumably being happy to lose him by the end of the episode

good riddance btw - we can do with no more "Michael lies in the meeting room, then confesses, then everyone reacts" scenes, and lots more of the other characters. OMG @ Erin/Gabe!

totally didn't get the musical opening, and unlike the wedding dance, the reference wasn't able to be figured out from context. <3 sulky Jim bursting into song though.

poor nard dog :-0

and Jim and Pam have been totally shit for baot a whole season now

did like "i'm the nard dog. nard man is my father."

yess, that was <3

If it was a show that I'd never seen before I might have really liked it, but it should be better than this.

I think if they add Rhys Darby, it will get better. I see no reason for Harvey Keitel on this show...unless he reprises his role as Wolfman or the masturbating cop.

This show is basically is now "lol what wackiness will Dwight do this week" with a bit of Michael Scott having a slow burn mental breakdown imo

Still makes me laugh, don't get a bro wrong.

Thought this was actually a pretty good one, disposable camera, Pretty woman reenactment, that picture of Dwight!, Pam's scheme subplot, actually could pick up a lot of steam once Michael Scott is gone.

i enjoyed it too, machiavellian pam was fun. Also ~I'll take the wizard~

Guys, it was like one of those fanfics brought to life. This whole "Dwight owns the building" plotline is worse than if Norm had bought Cheers.

otm

when did that happen? in some summer webisode or some shit

It was in one of the final episodes of last season, someone suggested Dwight put his saved money into real estate, and it was a post-credits reveal that he bought the building.

Remember in the first season, when he was trying to fool himself into thinking the conference room was his work space so he could feel important and Michael kept saying "temporary" and he would look all deflated? I miss the "I know people like that" satire this show used to be about.

Removing all the layers and stripping down your characters to only their most recognizable traits and then exaggerating them is supposed to be the job of parodies, not something self-inflicted, unless you're a children's cartoon show.

Also, they used to create the illusion that they were people working in an office, now they might as well be prancing around in front of a painted backdrop, or a green screen.

Carell still gets me as an actor, something I've been paying attention to more since his confrontation with Stanley. The whole "Toby psychoanalyzes Michael in the breakroom" was a bit much, but the look Carell gave after Toby talked about walking from the yogurt shop after dropping his little girl off on Sundays tore me up.

the end of last season was chock-full of office stuff, having to broaden/dilute their sales skills to flog Sabre printers etc (admittedly the non-sales staff get short shrift, but this goes for their personalities and plotlines these days too). there's been 'dealing with new corporate overlords' stuff in both eps this year.

that disposable camera bit finally brought me to the OMG this is terrible moment and believe me i watch some really bad tv. of course the extra 5 minutes nbc has somehow made our dvr record after every office let me in on how much worse it could be

I thought Dwight with the knife in the cold open wz the funniest part of last night's ep., though Andy blowing it w/ his cellphone in the middle of the play was BRUTAL.

OTM though on whoever said the pretense of this being an actual office where ppl do work is completely shot. Bound to happen, I guess...

I enjoyed the episode, but the moment afterwords when the whole "gang" from the office shows up was so ridiculous. I had to check my email while Andy was blowing it, couldn't look at the screen. Nice misdirection since the commercials made you assume Michael alone would cause the uncomfortable and awkward disturbance.

^yes I wz thinking that exact same thing re: the misdirection

the whole thing where andy lost his gf over the summer seems like such a contrived way to get the romantic plot going once more

havent watched season 6 or the first two eps of season 7 yet

I think I've officially given up on the show. Unless I get really bored one afternoon.

im getting towards end of s06. still funnie fth.

I'm looking forward to the return of Holly next week. She's become my favourite character; i hope beyond hope she's involved when Michael Scott bows out at the end of this season.

Just watched the last ep; mostly agree with the consensus, but Creed phoning in a review was funny.

Creed is both one of my hands down favorite characters and at the same time one of my least favorites. I know he's supposed to be "Crazy" but phoning in that scathing review, and then fifteen minutes later confusing the guy who played Sweeney Todd with a real murderer = not a real character.

last nights was good. HIRPEES

oh the herpes pizza party was awesome. slap in the face for those who think this show is past its prime...

Nard Dog.

the part at the park with Pams mom and mistaking the old lady for Helene. "Hi its Michael Scott, we dated a while ago, but you probably don't remember"

I liked the

"What were we doing?"

"I think it was an indie movie, quirky thing. Like, we were both discovering life and making mistakes together or something."

or whatever that was.

kind of lame to not actually bring holly back onscreen though.

also, generally not very funny, I'm kind of done with the show

Best episode so far this season, but thats pretty relative. Wouldn't even rank in the top 20 from the show's prime years.

herpes pizza party shoulda been longer yeah...

I'm kind of starting to worry how Michael is going to exit this show.

I've seen a couple of references now to some Twitter campaign to have him killed off at the end of the season.

it'll never happen, they want to leave the story open so he can "visit" for ratings purposes.

i would join a twitter campaign to kill this show off at the end of the season

just kidding, i would never join a twitter campaign

The Office is kind of the devil we know at this point. If it leaves, we might get another Outsourced instead of another Parks & Recreation. 9pm is a Thursday deadzone for me now, though, because CSI finally went off the deep end last night, kind of like what The Office did last season. I just reached a point about 15 minutes in where I was like "I CANNOT WATCH THIS ANYMORE EVER!"

when does parks and rec start again?

Hopefully as soon as Outsourced gets canned and NOT as soon as Community gets canned.

Oh my god if somehow Outsourced survives and Community doesn't I will be absolutely devastated.

I still don't understand why the stronger-performing 30 Rock isn't on at 8 to lead into Community at 8:30. Seems like it would benefit both shows, but I guess NBC is more comfortable making Community the sacrificial lamb who goes against The Big Bang Theory and then counting on people to switch channels when it's over.

kind of lame to not actually bring holly back onscreen though.

I thought this too initially. But in a way it worked better not to show her. Their exchange made more sense over the phone (more uncomfortable, and anyway something tells me the characters would have acted differently face to face). Besides, given his message to her at the end, I'm hoping that this was merely a set-up for something bigger down the road.

9pm is a Thursday deadzone for me now, though, because CSI finally went off the deep end last night, kind of like what The Office did last season. I just reached a point about 15 minutes in where I was like "I CANNOT WATCH THIS ANYMORE EVER!"

Don't watch this; (partly bcz) I had the same experience with CSI: Miami--but it was the first episode I ever saw.

^ lol'd

yeah, they're not gonna send Michael away unhappy and alone, pretty safe to assume the Holly thing will be developing throughout the season. xpost.

Dean Pelton's Lady Gaga costume was soooo much better than Gabe's.

Oh yeah, so much better. And it did make MUCH more sense. I do have to admit, though, that I actually laughed out loud at The Office this week. More than I have yet this season and most of last season too. The cold open with Stanley was lol and so much better than the forced memes they've been playing with.

Back to the topic at hand though, its killing me that I can't remember where the "I love you" - "I know" reference is from. I know I should know that one. Donald Glover's timing is perfect. His "I have no idea why I thought this would work" switch was so great, as was his "sexy Dracula" costume.

― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, October 29, 2010 3:32 PM (31 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yes. the stanley opening was brilliant.

Heh, thanks for copying that over.

i also laughed at Schrute thinking Pam was dressed as his mother.

Yeah, that bit was good too.

I'm sure this will be heresy to some, but I came up with a way to make the show interesting. Hire Phil Dunphy from Modern Family to be the new Dunder-Mifflin boss. I think we would fit in well, but I still want him on that other show too, so he'll have to pull double duty.

haha. My vote is for Rhys Darby.

although it looks like they are grooming Daryl for the job...or setting it up.

Well isn't Rhys Darby already planned to come on later this season?

really?

http://screenrant.com/the-office-craig-robinson-replacing-steve-carrell-aco-83605/

LOL @ "but we promise the show isn’t losing its funny just yet.".

This is what I've heard, can only find it on wiki right now - so take that for what its worth:

"On 10 August 2010, Entertainment Weekly claimed that Darby was in consideration to have a part in the television series The Office replacing Steve Carell's character when the actor leaves at the end of the upcoming season."

The only part I really liked was Kevin getting upset after Michael yelled at him.

But, whose idea was it to put a fog machine/dry ice during the little runway costume contest? Why are they so actively trying to destroy any connection this show had to believability? I know its a lesser example but still that kind of stuff is so opposite of how well they used to do subtly and relatable situations.

i hope so, i dont find craig robinson funny at all and daryl is a drag.

1st one I've seen all the way through this season but it was alright. The tag was pretty great.

lol'd@MACGRUBER! and also at Gabe pointing out Darryl's truth bomb

But, whose idea was it to put a fog machine/dry ice during the little runway costume contest?

Pam's obv, duh

Looved Gabe in this one, he should stay in Gaga costume all season. Also loved Andy getting confusedly turned on at Gagabe's runway strut. Like Daryl getting recognition at work, he's earned it*. Loved Kelly actually shouting down Michel Scott's toddlerism at the party! Like the Stanley gags in the opener playing off stuff we've seen Stanley do for six years. Generally hate Packer but liked him coming back in for a party and giggled at his trouser mouse. <3 at Pam embracing her dorkiness and Jim's to-camera bit afterwards. Rly rly liked the punchlining from Oscar's win being done with shot-earlier to-camera pieces!

I enjoy spending time with these characters still, and no bitter grouches on ILX are gonna stop me!

*and promotion from within, if they went that way [although this early in the season I'm sure it's a shitty misdirect] would be better both for the show's dynamic - forcing it to change rather than fly in another "wacky boss" to suck all the energy from the plots toward themself - and for acknowledging Jo's management style.

yeah Gabe was fantastiche

sic otm, show is still funny

Last week's was funny, but that has been very unusual for the past two seasons. If you go back to older threads, I was a staunch defender of this show, but even I have to admit that it mostly sucks now.

think it's consistently funny tbh. like, i was pumped for 'community' to come back, but there were three straight duds (eps 3-5) in the current season.

I couldn't disagree with you more, Community has been fire all season.

nope

the apollo 13 one, the jesus one, the one i've forgotten, all unfunny

nard-dog saying that he wanted to write a song about 'inverse snobbery' is funnier than anything in those eps

Okay the Jesus one was a little weaker, but if you didn't find the KFC shuttle episode funny, I think maybe this isn't the show for you.

Community is a show filled with caricatures. It never tries to be anything else. The office started with realistic characters who've now turned into something else, and as good as they are at being one dimensional, you can't completely ignore their past, unless you start a new show and call it Parks and Rec.

I don't care enough to get into a fight about this, but I think Community's characters are more three-dimensional than the Office's characters ever were. (Esp since most of the supporting characters on the Office didn't even have personalities until the 3rd or 4th seasons -- rewatch early eps and you'll notice that like Kelly for instance is a totally different character than in later episodes.)

two buddies of mine are on tonight's episode. They're both in their early 20s, one has a beard while the other has black hair. They're both two youth group counselors iirc.

i like 'community'! im just saying that, apart from the really exceptional eps, it's not in another league from 'the office'. it is a show 'for me' -- when it's good.

Hmpf

the Michael Scott meltdown continues...

craptastic episode, minus Toby.

yeah it was poor. Jim losing the baby and angela stealing scones and michael and nard dog getting antsy on the bus...ehhh

loved nard dog talking about wanting lots of little nard dogs tho

what was that line from a few episodes ago? "I'm the nard dog. Mr. nard dog is my father"?

found it upthread: "i'm the nard dog. nard man is my father."

yes the nard pups got a laugh.

would be v interested in nard dog furry storyline

^yes. also dwight as merchant in the temple was kindof lol

xposts

..but typical of it now relying on dwight

(also Angela looked smoking in the nurse outfit in the Halloween ep)

SHAYROOT as creed calls him

yeah it wasn't really funny this week...right now I'm more interested in seeing what they're going to do with Michael as a character to send him off...

prolley obvious but from what I've heard they're setting up Darryl to replace him.

Maybe he'll drive into a lake again and won't make it this time.

please no DARRYL. He is not funny.

I've only seen one episode of this season but it seems pretty obvious that they are setting up Darryl as Michael's replacement.

nah, i think they are MAKING it look like that. My bet is the new guy demotes him.

I missed last season and a couple of eps this season, but when did Timothy Olyphant get on the show?

he came on like two episodes ago.

what function does jim even serve on this show anymore, kill him off already.

LOL

this one, not good. halloween one good. michael's line about "corporate fatsuits" LOL

also apple bobbing

rainn wilson was doing a booksigning when i was at the strand and there were lines of people hoping to see him talk

you know, I forgot the funniest part of last episode was: Pam apologetically forcing Michael to admit he's not the godfather...

beer me jim.

not a bad episode, not great either. Did like Andy getting all messed up on "sea-horses" and Im crushing on Erin these days.

UGH this episode. Not fun to watch, just people acting extremely mean to each other and not being funny. Can't wait to see the new Sunny...

Well, I did like Gabe's chillwave at the end.

oh fuck, our DVR has been screwing with us so we've been missing the little codas on the nbc shows, bummed to find out that's what it is. The way Gabe described his music? I've said the same exact thing.

What I do with my dvr to get around nbc's coda problem is record community and set it to stop 90 minutes after the episode's over. You get the whole Thursday lineup as a block in one recording. (you don't have to watch outsourced just because you recorded it btw)

whew

whenever they do an ep outside the office -- and this is two in a row -- there's something a bit bunuelian about everyone's lack of outside friends

the godfather exchange was funny (one of the only funny bits in the dreadful christening ep) but, like, really, jim and pam have chosen someone from birthing classes or whatever? okaaaaay, totally normal

this ep had enough jokes, on the whole, but the bit at the end with erin and michael was really mishandled and sloppy

all otm^

lol'd @ nard dog covering up his tiny spew with the pillow

whenever they do an ep outside the office -- and this is two in a row -- there's something a bit bunuelian about everyone's lack of outside friends

never noticed that! weirdly otm

it's amazing how many shows and movie plots fall apart, too, if you just think "how are these people making a living? Can they really afford to take a week off of work to go on this adventure?"

make sure you don't think too hard about the camera crew.

this morning i thought it would be great if they replaced michael with christopher walken.

not a bad idea. christopher walken can add the much needed seriousness to this series while still being aloof and especially funny in afterthought

and harvey keitel is a poor mans walken.

I think it would be good idea if the replacement is somebody that no one predicts - like sarah palin in the 2008 presidential election

Petition for Walken.

I think they should bring Jamarcus Russell in for tryouts.

haha.

Christopher Walken, yes! He comes in and the series takes a dark turn. Last episode is Twin Peaks S2 ending stylee with every lead character dead and Walken in limbo between good/evil.

i like the "every lead character dead" part

co-sign

Kevin can live

make sure you don't think too hard about the camera crew.

you know, I had forgotten about that completely

i like the "every lead character dead" part

a couple of years ago I remember thinking they should've ended the show but have done a spin-off where Dwight and Andy move out to L.A., or something. All new characters except those two.

Our DVR records the whole episode, plus the first two minutes of "Outsourced".

Every week, we rediscover the joys of missing the other 28 minutes of that show. The theme song is snappy, though.

jims prank on Gabe was good. "you gay"

the Darryl/ nard dog sms situation was lol

not that this was notably worse than it's been, but finding almost zero lolz and the "heartwarming" ending was enough for me to FINALLY remove my tivo pass
good luck scranton

Yeah, I think I'm packing it in as well, just can't get into this any more. Three years ago I would have claimed this was my favorite comedy on the air. Now I can barely force myself through an episode. I may check back in at the start of next season if the cast gets interesting, but I doubt that will be enough to save this.

terrible ep.

LOL @ Creed's "I understand pirate jargon but I can't speak it."

Wow. See, we have completely gone off 30 Rock this year (parody of itself) but The Office is on top of its game, i.e. you are all wrong fact.

If you honestly think this season's 30 Rock is a parody of itself, then I don't think you really ever understood the show to begin with. But since you actually think The Office is good right now, well, your taste is suspect to begin with.

Or...

Nice job trollin'

this show is terrible now. I didn't hate last season, but this one has just been dreary.

i laughed some at last night's episode, and i think the addition of erin and gabe had freshened up the show a bit, but i'm the same as jon: this used to be my favorite show on television, and now it feels like a chore to watch. what's also frustrating is that none of the writer/exec folks will admit that the show has gotten bad. it's like, really? they've given in completely to caricature and all but abandoned the realism inherent in the documentary conceit. i remember back in S3 i used to have excited fangirl arguments about how they were going to eventually factor in the documentary stuff, but now...they've just kind of let it go. climactic moments happen from multiple angles, uptight christian angela no longer cares that her indiscretions are being filmed, whatever. it's all lazy and broad now.

I always felt that the documentary conceit was too close to the original Office, and that this production was always about the impro talents of the players. The caricature did get a bit silly 2-3 years ago but I reckon it's settled nicely into a groove now.

I'm grimly fascinated by the show. Shows that pervert and insult everything that made the show good usually get cancelled pretty quickly, but this one keeps trucking along!

Like, remember when the humor of the show came from the office being such a boring, annoying place to work in? Now it seems like an awesome place to work!

I'm sure the hivemind will disagree with me here but every character continues to do things that are true to character, and grows and mutates believably. We are never surprised by anything anyone does in any episode.

(Dwight is not believable but he never has been so)

But it's not funny anymore.

I always felt that the documentary conceit was too close to the original Office, and that this production was always about the impro talents of the players.

nevertheless the show committed to the documentary format early on, and they've been using the limitations of the conceit to heighten the drama for a long time (initial sneaky capture of jim and pam's first kiss, interrupting pam's talking head for jim to ask her out, no microphone in the ER when pam finds out she's pregnant, etc). for them to let the underlying limitations of the show slide away because it's easier is kind of emblematic of how lazy they've gotten.

and i said this a couple weeks ago, but jim might as well not be on the show anymore for all he's been contributing. i don't know if john krasinski's just checked out mentally or if the writers have stopped caring about him or both, but there's nothing compelling about jim any more.

I'm sure the hivemind will disagree with me here but every character continues to do things that are true to character, and grows and mutates believably. We are never surprised by anything anyone does in any episode.
― one-time Perrier winner Frank Woodley plays a loveable dad (Autumn Almanac), Saturday, December 4, 2010 12:30 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

they clearly bailed on their initial conception of Michael and have made him more lovable and harmless every year. He hasn't "grown" as a character; he's been dumbed down for idiots who squee at love triangles and baby plotlines.

I do agree with the last two posts tbh

It does feel like there's no tension between these characters anymore, at least anything that could be considered an arc. But I think it wouldn't really matter if the show was as funny as it used to be, and it isnt. I do think that it's only slightly less funny than it used to be, but the lack of character arcs tends to make that more unforgivable.

Reading this thread is affecting my enjoyment of the show. Stop it.

Its like finding out what is really in a hot pocket.

they clearly bailed on their initial conception of Michael and have made him more lovable and harmless every year. He hasn't "grown" as a character; he's been dumbed down for idiots who squee at love triangles and baby plotlines.

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, December 3, 2010 8:57 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

do you seriously actually think they're consciously "dumbing him down"? they're just running out of ideas.

Not dumbed down but definitely softened. It's not out of the realm of possibility for a character like MS to mature and improve through self-awareness or whatever, but I do think it works against the show a little bit. Not a bad thing considering Carell is leaving anyway.

do you seriously actually think they're consciously "dumbing him down"? they're just running out of ideas.

― shirley summistake (s1ocki), Sunday, December 5, 2010 6:06 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Carrell has said in interviews that there was a conscious effort to make Michael more likable after season 1. Ratings improved, so they just kept making him more harmless and agreeable to the point where now he's boring as fuck.

but... the show got better after season 1!

And got worse after season 2...

I think season 1 is the strongest, tbh.