JennaFischer-related stories
Posted Nov 20th 2009 9:16AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E11) You know a company is doomed when it parades Michael Scott in front of its shareholders as an example of its best and brightest. But, as we saw from Michael today, his sales skills only take him so far.
You really, really wanted to see him pull a plan out of that savantish mind of his that would have saved Dunder Mifflin. At least I did. But, thankfully for the show's writers, that was never going to happen.
The interesting thing about this episode, though? The shareholders meeting plot was just OK. What I really wanted to see was more of Jim devising ways to assert his authority around the office.
That was much funnier, and it was a small reminder of what attracted people to the show to begin with: small, real-life situations everyone who's ever sat in a cubicle could relate to.
Continue reading Review: The Office - Shareholder Meeting
Posted Nov 6th 2009 9:01AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E09) There was so much comedic potential in this week's episode, that I ended up coming away from this one unsatisfied. It played out as essentially two mini-episodes, and while the second one was better than the first, neither was particularly funny.
Michael Scott is always funnier when he produces cringe-worthy moments via his cluelessness. Cruelty just doesn't suit him well, and the only time it really works for him is when he's dressing down Dwight. What I was expecting to see during his and Helaine's double date with Pam and Jim was some blissful obliviousness on Michael's part and seething anger on Pam's part. What we got was a Michael that was about as cruel as he's been to anyone in quite some time.
Continue reading Review: The Office - Double Date
Posted Oct 30th 2009 12:07AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E08) You know, as a solitary episode, "Koi Pond" was incredibly satisfying from beginning to end. Outside the office, you had Andy and Pam making cold calls, while back at the office you had the aftermath of a different sales call Jim and Michael had gone on.
It was the perfect blend of everything that makes
The Office work, when it's on its game. There were plenty of laughs, great lines and little moments for everyone in the office. We got some developments on the dramatic side, and most important of all -- an incredibly awkward moment with Michael Scott.
As for Jim, he's really struggling with aspects of his new position, and it's adding a whole new dimension to his character. He's always been a little insecure about his leadership ability, but now we're seeing that he's about as ineffective in controlling the Scranton branch as Michael ever was, thus realizing many of his worst fears.
Continue reading Review: The Office - Koi Pond
Posted Oct 26th 2009 5:30PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Video, The Office, Reality-Free
Since
Fringe comes on at the same time as
The Office now, I'm a little behind on my
Office viewing. But no worries, because the folks at
SlashControl are fantastic about getting new episodes on the site shortly after they air. That means even if you missed last week's episode of
The Office, "The Lover," and your DVR / TIVO failed to record it for you, you can watch it at SlashControl.
Continue reading What's Hot on SlashControl: Last week's episode of The Office
Posted Oct 8th 2009 11:35PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(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.
Continue reading The Office: Niagara
Posted Oct 7th 2009 6:09PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Video, Watercooler Talk, The Office, Reality-Free
The event that all of us hopeless romantics have been waiting for is almost here. On this Thursday's one-hour episode of
The Office, titled "Niagara," Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly will finally tie the knot. Their big plan was to have the wedding at Niagara Falls, so that no one from the office would be able to make it. Unfortunately, Michael gave everyone the time off to go to the wedding. Bad for Pam and Jim. Great for us.
I'm one of those people who's been patiently waiting for this day to happen. In fact, it ranks right up there with Luke and Laura on my list of most anticipated TV weddings. Ever since Jim planted a big smooch on Pam after Casino Night (season two finale), my heart's been all aflutter for these two. Sniff ... I knew they'd be walking down the aisle (or whatever they have at Niagara Falls) one day.
After the jump, check out
seven sneak peek clips straight from AOL's awesome video site,
SlashControl.
Continue reading Sneak peek at Pam and Jim's wedding on The Office (tomorrow!)
Posted Oct 3rd 2009 3:18AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free, Jay Leno
I had a really hard time finding an image to include with this article. I went through every newspaper article that had
"The Jay Leno Show" in the body of its text. I did searches on Google Images until Google got sick of me clogging their bandwidth. Even my editor
Jane Boursaw couldn't use her super press connection powers to find one stinking shot of Jay blowing his nose in between sets from Friday's show.
Perhaps that's because Friday's late night appetizer on NBC wasn't really all that eventful. Don't take that to mean that it was totally dull, drab or boring, just a typical show for Jay and company.
And given some of the past episodes that sucked out loud, there's nothing wrong with being typical. Compared to
the Pee Wee Herman debacle, it's a Devil's Tower sized step up.
Continue reading The Jay Leno Show: Jenna Fischer
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 1:40AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E03) Your regular host, the esteemed Joel Keller, is off hiking the Appalachian Trail this week, so he asked me to cover for him. He should be back in time for the nuptials of Pam and Jim next week. But before we could get to that, David Wallace decided to throw new co-manager Jim a major curveball fresh into his new job.
I'm with Joel on the David Wallace situation. Is he really as clueless about how things are at the Scranton branch? My experience with executives is that ... well, he probably is. In fact, on the one hand, I'll say it's a smart move to make Jim and Michael co-managers. Wallace knows the branch brings in solid sales figures, but he also knows what a loose cannon Michael is.
Maybe the thought was that Jim could reign him in and bring a semblance of sanity to the office. If tonight's challenge is any indication, it's not gonna happen.
Continue reading The Office: The Promotion
Posted Sep 24th 2009 11:10PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E02) Well, we knew the closing of the Buffalo branch would intrude on the world of Scranton at some point. Little did we know that it would produce convoluted but ultimately positive results.
Well, the results could have been even
more positive, but you just know that can't happen in the world of Dunder Mifflin, not with the insecure Michael Scott running the branch and the seemingly clueless David Wallace in the executive offices.
This episode proves to me that Wallace is either a brilliant executive or the most patient sap I've ever seen in an executive position.
Continue reading The Office: The Meeting
Posted Sep 21st 2009 4:26PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Reality-Free
Most wedding-related websites tend to be annoying. The website for the
wedding of Pam and Jim ... well, it almost was. However, the quote from the "About Us" section of the site which states "Together, we're easily the seventh most interesting couple in Northeastern Pennsylvania paper sales" sold me on the concept.
This isn't the first time
The Office has launched an Internet campaign. Who remembers
Schrute Farms? This one seems similarly clever, although most of the sections give you a pop-up window that says "Coming Soon!" (hopefully it won't remain that way indefinitely).
Look in the Guest Book for comments from other characters (my favorite, of course, is from Michael Scott: "Pam, you are like a daughter to me, and Jim is like a son. I'm so proud that my son and daughter are to be wed!"). Apparently anybody can leave comments as well, so go for it. Try not to overwhelm the web servers.
Posted Sep 17th 2009 9:37PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E01) Welcome to season six of
The Office (wow... who would have thought we'd be looking at the sixth season of this show? I didn't, and I liked the show from day one). Jay Black did a great job of reviewing the show the last couple of years, but his stand-up and other duties have called him away on Thursday nights. So your humble editor has decided to take over and sink his teeth into one of his all-time favorite shows.
Even though we pick up season six somewhat where we left off last year -- Pam's preggers, but she and Jim haven't told anyone around the office yet -- it's otherwise just a regular day around Dunder Mifflin. Well, regular in that Michael spends the day telling rumors to cover up one that's actually true, we find out that not all is what it seems in Stanley's life, and Andy is seriously questioning his sexuality. Like I said, just a normal day...
Continue reading The Office: Gossip (season premiere)
Posted Aug 9th 2009 8:02PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, The Office, Reality-Free
Readers of
TV Squad know that our fearless
editor-in-chief Joel has been at the
Television Critics Association press tour, scooping up all the cool news and interviews, and posting them here for all of us to read.
It's a lot of work attending these events; you have to be "on" all the time and not only attend panels, do set visits, conduct interviews, and hob-nob with celebrities, but also write everything up and post it to the site in a timely fashion. I have to give a big shout-out to Joel, because I love seeing all the TCA news coming through.
I'm especially geeked about the news he posted after his set visit to
The Office. In case anyone wants to stay spoiler-free (which would be tough regarding this particular news, since it's all over the place and was pretty much a given anyway), I'll post my commentary after the jump.
Continue reading I'm so excited about this news from The Office!
Posted Mar 27th 2009 3:32AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E19) And just like that -- as mysteriously as he arrived -- he was gone.
SPOILER ALERT: At the end of
The Graduate, Ben Braddock and Elaine Robinson get together after Ben makes an impassioned plea at her wedding to another man. They hop on a bus and as they ride off together, the camera lingers just long enough for us to watch the enormity of their decision wipe the smiles off their faces. A happy ending ruined by reality.
Watching Pam walk out with Michael tonight made me think of that scene. I don't know if this episode compares favorably to one of the greatest comedies ever filmed, but certainly, that idea -- that nothing ruins a good time like a dose of the real -- infused every bit of it tonight.
Continue reading The Office: Two Weeks
Posted Mar 6th 2009 1:14AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E16) At the risk of
annoying John Hodgman, allow me to quote from this week's show: "Meh."
Tonight's episode felt like the obligatory Valentine's Day sex that millions of married couples went through a few weeks back: a robotic, passionless visit to all our familiar places that still manages to serve as a pleasant reminder of why we fell in love in the first place.
But that's okay. Not every experience can be the kind of handicap-stall-destroying booty-knocking that Phyllis and Bob Vance (of Vance Refrigeration) enjoy.
It's like I tell my wife, if the worst you do is "Meh", then you're probably doing all right. (It's usually at this point that she excuses herself from the room and weeps quietly in the bathroom).
Continue reading The Office: Blood Drive
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 8:05PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Web, The Office, Reality-Free
If you've never listened to
The Sound of Young America podcast, you're missing one of the best talk/entertainment shows on any format. This week, host Jesse Thorn (who is known as America's Radio Sweetheart) meets Jenna Fischer (who is also America's Sweetheart as Pam Beesly on
The Office). Thorn is a first-rate interviewer and he gets a lot of great detail from Fischer.
There is some great behind-the-scenes stuff. In the beginning, shoots for
The Office would started with a half an hour of fake work time with everyone at their desks, and in the second year, everyone got phones that worked and Internet so they could look busy in the background. Fischer says Stanley (Leslie David Baker) furnished his entire home through Internet shopping on set.
Continue reading Jenna Fischer talks The Office on The Sound of Young America
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