(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.
(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.
Like most National Football League teams, the Kansas City Chiefs spend their free time creating parodies of NBC Thursday night comedies. So far they've done The Office (below) and 30 Rock (after the jump - warning: it plays automatically).
I don't know how funny these are, but they're well produced and cast. Which one do you think is better?
(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.
(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.
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.
(S06E06) After the fantastic wedding episode, there was a pretty good chance that the follow-up would be a letdown. But when Greg Daniels and Paul Lieberstein described this episode to reporters during press tour time, it sounded interesting. Michael mistakenly thinks he's talking to the Mafia. Sounds good, right?
Well, it wasn't. It was more than just a post-wedding letdown; it was one of the worst episodes in a couple of years. Why? Mainly because the entire episode was built around a silly misunderstanding that could have been cleared up in a few minutes. And this time, it wasn't even Michael's fault!
(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.
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.
(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.
We've seen comments the past few days regarding the fact that we're reviewing this show daily so I thought I should go ahead and address this at the top. We're continually evaluating our coverage of this show, but for the rest of this week at least, these will be daily reviews. Regardless of how we or you feel about it, the very existence of The Jay Leno Show is a groundbreaking chapter in television history.
As such, we'd be remiss to not acknowledge it and cover it upon its premiere. It is a primetime major network show that has completely shaken up the television landscape this season, after all. As for how we'll continue covering it, we have considered weekly roundups or even sporadic reports. And we do listen to you, our readers, as to what you want to read.
Tonight, Jay brought us Steve Carell, "Celebrity Pets," and the "Jackass of the Month." If you think about that last one, I'm sure you can figure out who it was.
(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.
(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...
This web-only video below is part of the "Where's My Emmy?" campaign to convince people to vote for Family Guy. It starts out funny (with a joke or two about The Office) but then turns really unfunny when Stewie starts to beat up Brian.
The Emmy Award nominees were announced this morning, and with the help of a lot of caffeine and my DVR, I managed to catch the announcement. Here are the nominees in the major categories, with some comment on who was nominated and who was neglected.
If you notice, the major categories have more nominees starting this year.
Outstanding Drama
Mad Men Damages House Lost Big Love Breaking Bad Dexter
(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.
(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.
(S06E06) After the fantastic wedding episode, there was a pretty good chance that the follow-up would be a letdown. But when Greg Daniels and Paul Lieberstein 
(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. 
The event that all of us hopeless romantics have been waiting for is almost here. On this Thursday's one-hour episode of 
(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.
We've seen comments the past few days regarding the fact that we're reviewing this show daily so I thought I should go ahead and address this at the top. We're continually evaluating our coverage of this show, but for the rest of this week at least, these will be daily reviews. Regardless of how we or you feel about it, the very existence of The Jay Leno Show is a groundbreaking chapter in television history.
(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.
(S06E01) Welcome to season six of 
The 
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
