TVSquad

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.

"This is man is an impostor. Do not do business with him. This is not Dwight Schrute." --Dwight to Jim

NBC has released a sneak peek of The Office's season finale called "Good-bye Toby." After Thursday night's stellar episode, I'm psyched for the finale even though I tend to be underwhelmed by one-hour Office episodes. How about you? Ready for next Thursday?

In the scene, Jim reprograms Dwight's phone to forward to his own. Dwight reacts...well, exactly how you'd expect him to. It's pretty hilarious. I love the Jim-Pam-Dwight dynamic. And I love any time Jim pulls a prank on Dwight. My favorite prank had to be when Jim sent Dwight a fax from "future Dwight" telling him not to drink the coffee.

I put the video after the jump. I also put the two-minute recap of last Thursday's show just in case you missed it. The Office's one-hour season finale is Thursday May 15th at 9 p.m. ET / PT.

(S04E12) Jay Black couldn't be with us today because he was called away suddenly. Something about not leaving the table until he'd finished all his vegetables but he didn't like asparagus and yet that didn't matter he can sit there all night if he has to or until the asparagus evolves arms and legs and jumps off his plate and leaves on its own. So he figured since my name is the closest to his, maybe we could get away with this last minute pinch hit.

I got an episode that won't necessarily go down in the annals of time as an Office classic, but does bring us back to the core of the show: the office. The episode takes place entirely in one day, entirely in the office, and virtually every cast member gets pulled into one storyline or the other. For me, this is when The Office is at its best, when its presenting us barely controlled chaos. Offices are constantly bustling with activity productive or otherwise. Tonight's episode captured just that, and very well.

David Denman impressed me with the depth of emotion with which he played Roy, former coworker and boyfriend to Pam Beesly on The Office. The scene in which he erupted in jealous rage was portrayed so perfectly, it was one of the most uncomfortable moments on a series that excels at discomfort. Denman nailed it. And while it makes sense that his character arc has come to an end on The Office, it is nice to see Denman's arc continue.

TV Guide says that if this pesky strike ever ends, Scrubs' Zach Braff will executive-produce Saint of Circumstance for FOX, written by his brother Adam. The pilot will feature Denman as a man who quits his office job to work as a night-shift paramedic in the midst of a mid-life crisis. That could be a spin-off. Roy had to quit his office job (granted he worked downstairs in the warehouse) so this could be the next chapter in his life. Maybe he could get a call to Michael and Jan's house for a freak implant spork-related accident.

In a reversal of their stance on most of the major awards shows this season, Variety tells us the WGA is not only allowing Guild member Rainn Wilson to host the 2008 Spirit Awards, but he has received a waiver to write gags for it as well. The awards ceremony will be held February 23, a day before the Oscars (which did not receive a waiver), on the Santa Monica beach in a tent.

Broadcast live and uncensored on IFC at 5/4pm Central, the Spirit Awards honors the best in independent filmmaking and tends to feature a lot of off-color humor and remarks. Hell, last year's host Sarah Silverman opened the ceremony with a long discussion of her Mommy parts! Hopefully Wilson won't feel the need to discuss his Daddy parts, but if he wants to tell any off-color stories about Jenna Fischer, I'm all ears. Pam Beesly is my Office crush (Shh! don't tell HR) and now that Jenna's as "single" as Pam is, I can fantasize about both of them without feeling guilty! It's a win-win ... win!

On the show's season premiere this past Thursday, longtime fans of The Office surely noticed Pam Beesly's (Jenna Fischer's) new sexier wardrobe, make-up and hair. For the past two seasons of The Office, Pam has sported the following:

• button-down cotton shirts (nothing too colorful, mostly stripes and neutrals)
• frumpy skirts (paired with opaque stockings or pantyhose)
  
• comfortable loafers with low wide heels
  

Her skin was pasty and pale lacking any real make-up and showing little to no evidence of ever being in the sun. And her gorgeous curly hair was suppressed back into a a half-ponytail. Clearly, Pam put little effort into her appearance for her workday. But keeping that extra button fastened on her shirt and not wearing lip gloss does deter Toby from asking her out and Michael making inappropriate comments about how well-endowed she is. Well, in the case of the latter, nothing prevents that.

I'm talking about Betty Suarez, not the actress (America Ferrera) who plays her on the hit ABC show. Every year one of the financial sites figures out how much money various TV characters make a year. Last year we discovered that Homer Simpson makes $67,422 at the power plant. This year's list comes from CareerBuilder.com.

I'm not surprised to find out that Boston Legal's Denny Crane makes $210,000, but I was rather shocked that Cold Case's Lilly Rush only makes $44,000 a year. She solves cold cases, for pete's sake! Hopefully the benefits are good.

The list also has the salaries for Arthur Branch on Law and Order, Jim on According To Jim, Pam on The Office, and many others.

Update: Betty Suarez makes $37, 810 a year. Now you don't even have to click on the link and all the world is at peace again.