(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.
(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.
We've got a new e-mail address for the podcast! If you have any questions or suggestions about the 'cast, please e-mail us at tvsquadpodcast [at] google [dot] com.
This week, actress Linda Purl joins me, Jason Hughes and Kona Gallagher to talk about her guest starring stint as Pam's mom on The Office -- she's on tonight's episode, by the way. She also chats about her long acting career (remember her during the waning days of Happy Days?), her work with the California International Theatre Festival and her current success as a touring lounge singer.
After the interview, which is about 30 minutes, Kona, Jason and and I talk about the following:
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for November Sweeps: 90210, Bones, Castle, Desperate Housewives, FlashForward, Fringe, Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Melrose Place, NCIS, Smallville, Supernatural, Ugly Betty, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist and The Office. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
The candy manufacturers had better watch out, because as Halloween is approaching, TV shows have been coming up with their own candies, inspired by some of the more colorful, interesting characters. Take a look at this list, and see which are treats and which are tricks. And, listen, tell us what kind of candy your favorite TV characters might inspire!
8. How I Met Your Mother - Robin Scherbatsky's Canadian corn
Oh, Canada. Slutty pumpkins aside, Robin had to convince her American friends that Canada not only celebrates Halloween, but Canadian corn is the best Halloween candy ever. That's right, Canadian corn. It's like candy corn, only it's orange on the top and white on the bottom. It also tastes like pancakes because it isn't made with corn syrup; it's made with maple syrup.
If The Real Housewives of Atlanta can record an upbeat party tune, why not (the beautiful and mysterious) Kelly Kapoor and (the pretty) Erin Hannon from The Office? They may fictional characters on a sitcom, but they are just as real as the Housewives. And their debut song, "Male Prima Donna," is a lot more fun than tardiness in regards to the party.
Kapoor and Hannon are the new singing sensation Subtle Sexuality, and "Male Prima Donna" dropped just after midnight this morning. They already have a Web site, a merchandise page with t-shirts, mugs, and tour posters. es, they list several dates in and around the Scranton, PA area and one in Ithaca. If you happen to be in the Dickson City, PA area tonight, you can catch the tour kickoff at Idle Hour Bowling Karaoke.
Rules are meant to be broken... especially for these ten television characters. For them, the rest of the world has one standard to live by and they have another. It makes them interesting and fun to watch... you just wouldn't necessarily want to be the person having to deal with them because they could drive you to distraction. Here's my ten pack of characters who live in a world of their own, according to no rules except their own. From the not-too-bad to the really bad.
10. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist
You would think that as a consultant to the CBI -- California Bureau of Investigation -- Patrick Jane would be compelled to uphold the rules and regulations of the department. However, Jane is a free spirit when it comes to office protocol. He does his own thing. For instance, bugging the office of a CBI higher-up is definitely not kosher. Jane doesn't care; he did it anyway and will probably get away with it.
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.
It's one of those things that you think would be cool if it happened, and then it actually happens. Joss Whedon is reporting that he'll be directing an upcoming episode of Glee.
We know he has on occasion stepped outside his usual genre of sci-fi and fantasy based on his directorial work on The Office. We know he's into musical theater based on his creation of the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. Now, he's merging all that he's done before. Or at least he would be if the episode of Glee ends up involving evil scientists and vampires.
Despite my own history in musical theater, I haven't been watching Glee. Whedon's involvement in an episode would certainly pique my interest enough to catch it. Perhaps he could get together with his brother Jed and write the music for the episode, as well, turning it into a 42-minute operetta. They've done it before.
(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.
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.
(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.
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.
(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...
We've got a new e-mail address for the podcast! If you have any questions or suggestions about the 'cast, please e-mail us at tvsquadpodcast [at] google [dot] com.
If The Real Housewives of Atlanta can record an upbeat party tune, why not (the beautiful and mysterious) Kelly Kapoor and (the pretty) Erin Hannon from 
It's one of those things that you think would be cool if it happened, and then it actually happens. Joss Whedon is reporting that he'll be 
(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 
(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.
Most wedding-related websites tend to be annoying. The website for the 
(S06E01) Welcome to season six of 
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
The Prisoner -- An early look
