JohnKrasinski-related stories
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 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 Jun 7th 2009 2:30PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Site Announcements, Reality-Free
The folks at our sister site
Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:
- Land of the Lost, the new Will Ferrell movie, opened in theaters this weekend. I'm kind of undecided about whether or not I want to see it, but Cinematical's interview with director Brad Silberling is pretty interesting.
- The Summer of '91: Truth or Dare, Boyz n the Hood, Thelma & Louise, and Point Break. It was a good time. Relive it with Cinematical.
- Although I'm not so sure about John Krasinski's beard in this film, I do like the idea of he and Maya Rudolph playing a couple. Plus, Away We Go is directed by Sam Mendes, who helmed American Beauty. I'm so there.
- In honor of this weekend's release of The Hangover, Cinematical Seven looks at Wicked Hangovers on Film.
- Wow. This is probably the greatest wedding invitation in the history of the world. Cinematical gets away with posting this by calling it a "short film," so I'm totally going to link to it too. The video is four minutes long, but it's amazing.
Posted Jan 24th 2009 3:04PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Site Announcements, Reality-Free
The folks at our sister site
Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:
- The Cinematical crew is staying at Sundance until the bitter end. Check out their Sundance in 60 Seconds for Friday, January 23.
- I've been hearing a lot about the new Lil' Wayne documentary and it sounds really interesting. Check out what Cinematical has to say about The Carter.
- John Krasinski is more than the adorable Jim Halpert on The Office; he's also a budding director. He premiered his first film, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men at Sundance. Jim Rocchi got a chance to interview him. Check it out here.
- Another movie that premiered at Sundance that I'm excited about is Paper Heart. Starring Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi. It's both a comedy about a documentary and a documentary about a comedy, if that makes sense. Cinematical explains it all in their review.
- Hey! Oscar nominations were this week! Check out what gott snubbed!
Posted Oct 30th 2008 11:48PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(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!
Continue reading The Office: Employee Transfer
Posted Jun 30th 2008 11:39AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: The Office, Casting, Reality-Free
In last season's finale of
The Office, sparks flew between Michael Scott and Toby's HR replacement Holly. Amy Ryan, seen for four seasons on
The Wire, brought a new dynamic to the show as Holly with her interactions with Steve Carell's Michael. "Amy gave the character of Holly an openness and matured innocence that exposed a new side of Michael," said Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby and was recently promoted to executive producer on the show. "She placed her character right on his level."
All I can say is bring on more Holly and congratulations to Toby! I guess since Lieberstein will still be so involved with the show, there's always a chance of more Toby in the future, but the beautiful Ryan will add a new dynamic to the series. While
Amy Ryan's currently only set for five or so episodes, I hope they can expand that if it works. Now that Pam is back off the market and Karen's gone, Holly represents a new amorous target for the boys of the office. And having her be the HR rep at the same time makes it all the more taboo to pursue. Which means Michael will be all over it like Dwight on
Second Life.
Posted Jun 13th 2008 9:02AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
The big screen adaptation of
I Dream of Jeannie has been years in the making. Now a script writer is attached, so who knows, maybe we'll see it in theaters in the next few years (
IMDB.com lists a release date of 2010). And something tells me we'll probably see a belly button or two.
Producer Sid Ganis is bringing Rita Hsiao, who scribed
Mulan, on board to rewrite the script for a movie based on the 1960s series. Ganis is psyched for Hsiao's vision of the character -- a Jeannie who's smack in the middle of modern times.
In a
Hollywood Reporter story, Ganis said of
Hsiao's meeting with the producers, "She has a terrific, bright, fresh approach to Jeannie's story, with a twist and turn along the way. She captured all of our imaginations in the telling of it."
Continue reading Who should play Jeannie on the big screen?
Next Page >
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
