(S06E10) This week we had a bit of a head-scratcher. I want to like this episode because of how it pushed the corporate end of the story along, and I want to like it because it showed Michael in a bit of a different light than we expected, especially at the end. There were also a couple of laugh-out-loud moments (especially one involving Creed... but, then again, Creed is guaranteed laughs).
But overall, the episode felt tentative. The writers set up the murder mystery part of the episode to offset some of the bad news at DM, but didn't seem to go far enough.
(S06E04 / S06E05) The one thing you knew going into this episode was that Pam and Jim were going to be married at the end of it. There wasn't any big mystery; no old lovers were going to come back to interrupt the proceedings; Jim wasn't going to say Karen's name instead of Pam's.
Nope, that's been the beauty of the Jam pairing from the minute they got together; they just continue being a solid couple in the background while the craziness spins around them. Even when one of them gets sucked into the craziness -- Pam defecting to the Michael Scott Paper Company, Jim becoming co-manager -- the pairing is still solid.
That's what made this hour-long wedding episode so enjoyable. It wasn't the fact that Pam and Jim got married, it's that they had a memorable, very PB & J-style wedding despite the presence of the crew from Scranton.
One of the highlights of Friday's press tour day was a visit to the set of The Office. During that visit, various cast members took groups of critics through the entire office set (Angela Kinsey was my group's guide, as you can see in the photo). After the tour, the entire cast, except for the ailing Rainn Wilson, joined creator Greg Daniels in the warehouse to answer our questions.
Executive producer Paul Lieberstein (who also plays Toby) took the bulk of the questions about what's going to go on this season. One tidbit that he readily dropped (probably because it had been published already) was that there's going to be a special event in the fourth episode. Details after the jump.
(S05E05)[Jay couldn't be here tonight, as he's off being Jay Black somewhere.] Tonight's theme seemed to be about relationship crossroads. We had three storylines interweaving, and all of them centered on the three major hook-ups on the show. Dwight decided that the only way to come to terms with how he felt about Andy and Angela's impending nuptials was to goad Andy into a pointless feud. Michael and Holly had to deal with the fallout of David Wallace discovering that they'd become romantically involved (the hint is in the episode title), and Pam had to have quite possibly the most awkward lunch in history with Jim's brothers.
As always, The Office manages to weave slapstick humor brilliantly with moments of raw emotion and pathos. Particularly, again, with a wonderful performance by Steve Carell. With most of the action centering on the major storylines, we didn't get much work out of the supporting cast, so it was at least good to see them having some costume fun in the cold open. Don't forget the rest of the cast, writers, we love them all!
If you haven't noticed lately, Angela on The Office has been doing her acting while hiding behind papers, desks, tables, etc. That's because she was very pregnant while filming the last few episodes of this season.
Today, People is reporting that she gave birth to a baby girl! Angela and her husband, TV writer Warren Lieberstein, named their daughter Isabel Ruby Lieberstein (so cute!). The baby was born on Saturday. She was just about average size, weighing in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces (average is about 7 lbs for a newborn). The Office co-star, Jenna Fischer, was there for the birth, as was Angela's mom, Bertie. No word on how the labor and delivery went, but it sounds like everybody is fine.
Before her baby was born, Kinsey blogged about letting the public see her little darling. She said she's "on the fence" about a photo shoot for a magazine. On one hand, she says, it's a neat scrapbook item for them. On the other, it may be too much of an invasion of privacy. We'll just have to wait and see how she feels about it now that Isabel Ruby is here.
Angela Kinsey, who plays 'Angela' on The Office is doing a video diary for People.com. I wish I could say that it was awesome but it's really not. It's just a lot of pointing the camera at people and they say, "Hi!" We get to see a few trailers and the set, which really isn't much more exciting than seeing the set during the show each week. I realize she's probably just excited to have the video camera and doesn't want to be too pushy with her co-workers... but there's no 'inside scoop' on The Office. Angela heads off to a 'table read' but the camera doesn't follow her in. We basically see everything she does between scenes, which is eat lunch and hang out. We do see a lot of Jenna Fischer, though.
Anyway, with that glowing recommendation, here they are. It is kind-of odd to see 'Angela' all bubbly, bouncing, and... smiling. I feel really bad saying that I didn't like the videos because she's so happy and cheerful in them- they obviously have a good time working at The Office. So, if you're only going to watch one, I'd recommend this one. You get to know a little of the real Angela.
OK, I'm officially jealous of Ryan Budke. He's been visiting the sets of some very cool shows, and now he's on the set of The Office! He even gets to sit down behind Michael Scott's desk and talk on the phone. He doesn't just talk to some of the stars (including Jenna Fischer and Brian Baumgartner), but it's actually filmed like a lost episode of The Office, where the characters talk about Netscape and what they think it is. Great stuff! But if Budke visits Studio 60, I'm never speaking to him again.