(S03E08) I think what I like best about Michael Scott is that he believes the hype. About himself. That he creates.
The long-awaited merger of the Scranton and Stamford offices took place in this episode and, of course, Michael is putting out all the stops to make his new staffers feel welcome. You can see the utter joy in his face when he says, "My family is doubling in size." A family that includes Andy Bernard and Dwight Schrute at loggerheads to see which one will be Michael's right-hand man. No wonder Tony decided to quit, but who could stay around when your boss, in trying to lift you onto a table, says "I'm in your crack!"
It goes without saying that a lot went on in this episode, so I thought I'd put together a few bullet points for discussion amongst ourselves. Obviously, there are a lot more that could have been put in, but I figured this was as good a start as any. Please feel free to add more bullet points in your comments.
- Pam's confession to the camera where it looks like she's questioning her motives over making Dwight run around the building. Could it be that her newfound independence is causing her to rethink her entire existence?
- I thought Michael's idea of giving gift bags to the new arriivals was a nice touch. Demented, but nice.
- Kevin's almost obsessive love of the paper shredder. Where could have Staples gotten a better product placement than that anywhere else? Survivor? I don't think so.
- When Karen walked in, I thought Pam immediately felt a sense of competition from her. Of course, it became more overt when she saw Karen and Jim walking together in the parking lot.
- How great is Ed Helms as Andy? The competiton between Andy and Dwight will surely make for some classic moments, but you know that sooner or later that Dwight will somehow win out in the end. Andy's charm offensive certainly brought a smile to Angela's face--we'll have to see if Dwight notices and takes action. And how great was that battle of (nit)wits at the end of the episode? Xterra means XEarth, indeed!
- What can you say about "Lazy Scranton"? Michael doing his best Eminem imitation (I think) was priceless. What makes it even more funny is that Michael truly believes he can kick it with the best of 'em. Let's not forget that he humbly gave himself an "A++" for his efforts. Whatever makes him happy...
- Michael's scheme where he discovers everyone's tires have been deflated could have fallen flat (no pun intended), but somehow he managed to bring the staff together, albeit in their disdain for his management style. I never thought I would want to hear this phrase again, but "Mission Accomplished."
Of course, I'm sure most of us were waiting to see how Jim and Pam would interact with each other now that they were back together in the same office. Things were definitely awkward between them--Pam was almost too cheery to be believed. Jim definitely wants to keep things at a distance, a natural reaction by someone who has been rejected by someone else but both trying to remain friends. When Jim told Pam that he was "kind of seeing someone," it seemed that Pam's heart sank, albeit for a moment. It remains to be seen if she tries to play it cool and lets the Jim/Karen thing unfold, or if she'll try to win Jim's affection, or go back to Roy, or continue to exhibit her independence.
What makes this show so great is that the supporting players have a chance to shine at the right moments. I thought Stanley's reactions to the whole situation were hysterical, and Creed is just great. He deserves some more airtime.
It goes without saying that this episode laid the foundation for many more storylines over the course of the season. As many of you fellow fans of the British version of The Office know, things definitely came to a head for a number of people rather quickly, but we'll be treated to seeing these plots take time to develop. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-17-2006 @ 12:08AM
SJ said...
The look Stanley gave the new black guy when he made the 'brother' sign is one of the greatest Office moments ever.
And how the hell did Creed get a pic of the breast?
It was kinda sad to see Pam not getting much attention from Jim, but Jim gave Pam a chance and he seems really happy with Karen.
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11-17-2006 @ 12:12AM
shawn said...
i love this show.
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11-17-2006 @ 12:22AM
Big Tuna said...
Creed is so good he deserves his own show! His character is so creepy and disturbing I seriously squeal whenever he has a quick comment to add to the mix.
More Creed! Let's have an episode where he gets busted for having illegal amounts of Viagra and OxyContin when coming back from a vacation in Thailand. Send Dwight and Micheal to bail him out. Gold Jerry!
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11-17-2006 @ 12:25AM
Bryce said...
The Lazy Scranton video was supposed to be like some semi-recent SNL skit called Lazy Sunday I think.
Also, that shredder product placement was awesome. They need to use that excact fottage for their commercials(way better than the easy button).
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11-17-2006 @ 12:40AM
FlagPatrick said...
That Shredder product placement was eerie. But you know what else is eerie? Staples is huge competition in the Dunder Mifflin world so it's like there a sponsor but an enemy at the same time. By the way the new black guy at the Office is the same guy from the
"Wa-Mu" commercials right? Oh and that look Stanley gave him was priceless. I honestly want a spinoff with Creed, Stanley and Dwight sharing an apartment watch the hilarity ensue. Such a great ensemble cast and the best part about the show is the great one-liners god this is the reason I love it!
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11-17-2006 @ 1:27AM
Diego said...
"in 4th grade you get together and hate the lunchlady, at the end of 4th grade i she was the one i spent most of my time with." or something like that. Great episode, especially now that Jim is gonna date Karen. I am so tired of women who do not know what they want and just drag things out with men. Jim is a smart dude. 2 weeks from now scrubs comes back. making thursday the best weeknight ever.
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11-17-2006 @ 1:56AM
Monty said...
Speaking of Stanley, him sucking that Jello out of the cup killed me. And yes....more Creed! Let me show you where the slaves sit, Ouch!
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11-17-2006 @ 2:21AM
Paul Little said...
"Lazy Sunday" was pretty much the biggest thing on the internet a year ago, and paved the way for YouTube to become the huge entity that it is today (most people didn't even know what YouTube was until it started getting mentioned in articles about "Lazy Sunday" and its 1 million fews in a matter of a few days).
Everyone and their mother seemed to make their own response to "Lazy Sunday", and it's absolutely hilarious that Michael would do so himself, but a year late. Just like his use of the "that's what she said" joke, he's so behind that it's awesome.
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11-17-2006 @ 3:54AM
amy said...
this ep was HILARIOUS!!!! i was in tears at the last scene. i simply LOVE the new Dwight + Andy duo!
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11-17-2006 @ 5:28AM
doog said...
The shredder thing was actually sort of dumb - a salad? C'mon! They should have had Kevin learn later that he wasn't supposed to shred the stuff.
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11-17-2006 @ 7:14AM
Jim said...
I wonder if we watched the same episode ...
> When Karen walked in, I thought Pam immediately felt a sense of competition from her.
I thought there was an immediate sense of friendship. If you perceived competition, it's because you knew about the inevitable conflict over Jim.
> Andy's charm offensive certainly brought a smile to Angela's face.
Wrong. Angela didn't smile -- that's what made Andy's line so funny.
> Michael doing his best Eminem imitation (I think) was priceless.
Wrong again -- as pointed out already.
> When Jim told Pam that he was "kind of seeing someone," it seemed that Pam's heart sank, albeit for a moment.
Wrong again. Pam is a smart girl. Her heart had already sunk.
I have to agree that Creed was one of the best parts of this episode. The camera panning over to him during the breast-pump scene made me laugh out loud. Michael and Andy doing the Roxbury Guys (another SNL reference, Sciannamea) was also great.
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11-17-2006 @ 7:24AM
nuttmeg said...
I love how Michael jabs Toby repeatedly... oh how he HATES Toby, and I love every minute! Kevin's reaction right after he realises he just shredded his credit card in his over excitement is great, too. Staples isn't a competitor as stated above, they aren't even in the same business. Dunder sells paper and paper products to companies, Staples is an Office supply company that also sells paper. Michael signed them on as CLIENT at the convention, wowing Jan again ("in fact, don't ever estimate me"). Where is Oscar though? I hope he is still on his vacatin and not written off.
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11-17-2006 @ 8:09AM
Bob said...
Michael didn't sign Staples as a client, he signed Hammermill, who only dealt with Staples.
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11-17-2006 @ 8:30AM
Tara said...
#11 - Jim, Good points and I agree with you. Pam had noticed something was going on between Jim & Karen when they were sitting in the "banquet hall" and Karen handed him a piece of food and he scarfed it down. Karen looked put out that she was sitting behind Jim and not next to him and that little gesture was as if she was saying, "Hey, I'm back here, pay attention to me!" And Pam saw that and I think it was at that point that she knew she was going to have to put up a fight if she wanted Jim to be interested in her again.
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11-17-2006 @ 9:10AM
Gordy said...
Apparently, everyone missed the product placement joke. It was a crossover joke from The Office to 30 Rock. It became more apparent on 30 Rock. Did anyone see it?
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11-17-2006 @ 9:37AM
biggs said...
no, i didn't stay for 30 rock. explain please :)
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11-17-2006 @ 9:39AM
superbagman said...
NBC is getting ridiculous with the product placement crap. The 30 Rock GE oven followed by a commercial for the thing, the christmas episode of The Office which was practically a damn iPod infomercial and now shilling shredders for Staples...pathetic.
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11-17-2006 @ 9:46AM
Stephen said...
I found it funny that there was Staples commercial for the shredder that Kevin used in the first commercial break after that scene.
The 30 Rock GE placement was on the series premier of 30 Rock where Alec Baldwins character talk about the GE Trivection oven with three kinds of heat.
I though this was one of the best episodes of the office yet, definitely the most laugh out loud episode.
I can't wait for the 30th, Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock! It will probably be the greatest 2hrs on TV
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11-17-2006 @ 9:54AM
Stephen said...
I don't mind the product placement as long as serves a real purpose or is just something in the background, the shredder placement i didn't really think of it as a placement until i saw the Staples commercial after that scene.
Also on 30 Rock there was a video on product placement to create new corporate synergies to create upward revenue streams and shareholder value.
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11-17-2006 @ 9:56AM
whawha said...
In 30 Rock, the writing staff is given a mandate to write in product placement from parent company GE. An electric engine for offshore drilling rigs is even mentioned by management as an example! And throughout the ep, Snapple is displayed, even as the characters complain about having to do product placements. There's a scene where a guy in a Snapple bottle costume walks off the elevator and asks for HR. It was all very "winky."
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