OK, so you probably have heard that there is a wedding happening on The Office this season (which starts on September 17). You probably think you know who is getting married, but do you? Are you sure? What if the two people you think are getting married aren't actually the ones who are getting married? Click on to find out which two characters are tying the knot.
For a while there I thought The Office was meandering a bit. Over the top situations, some episodes (especially the hour-long ones) that weren't particularly funny, plot developments I didn't like. But it's been really good again lately. I thought the whole "Michael Scott starts his own paper company" arc was going to be a disaster, but it turned out to be funny, interesting, even important. Here's a clip from the recent "Casual Friday" episode. It features the Dunder-Mifflin gang talking about whether or not failure is an option.
I don't usually offer advice to television characters for a variety of reasons, number one being they (or the people who create them) don't listen to me, and number two being I don't want to be taken away by the authorities. However, I'm risking the latter and flying in the face of the former to serve up some counsel to Jim Halpert. Attention Jim: you are on the verge of being fired!
All the signs are there on The Office. Jim has thrived in Dunder Mifflin under Michael Scott's leadership (such as it was), by doing just enough to satisfy corporate. He had a comfy niche in the Scranton branch. Well, the happy times are over. The new boss, Charles Miner, does not like Jim.
(S05E17) I'm with Jay Black: last week's episode of The Office was kind of "meh" for me. Luckily, this week more than made up for it. Even though season five has our favorite Dunder-Mifflinites looking way more glamorous than in the first season (I mean, really. I know Pam's in love, but it does not make your hair that shiny), we've gone back to season one levels of Michael Scott stupidity.
At first, when Jim and Michael were freaking out about giving 10% off to one of their biggest clients, I couldn't figure out what the big deal was. I mean, I love sales and all, but 10% isn't enough "whimsy" to make me want to wear a top hat. Then I realized that the coupon was for 10% the entire year -- and as Darryl said, they use three pallets of paper a week. So that's bad enough -- but then it turned into 50%, and I can see why everyone was freaking out.
We haven't heard any rumors that Steve Carell is leaving the show, but we do know that Michael Scott is going to become increasingly upset with his corporate bosses at Dunder-Mifflin. He thinks he deserves crazy Jan's old job, but that job is going to former The Wire star Idris Elba. He has signed for six episodes (so far) and just might be the new guy in charge in Scranton. When this happens, Michael actually leaves, and another character leaves with him.
In a way, I'm just as interested in who leaves with Michael as I am the reasons why Michael himself leaves.
So let's talk about last night's episode of The Office. Should Hilary Swank be offended that half of Dunder-Mifflin didn't find her "hot," or should she be flattered that the other half did?
It's funny that this even came up because just the other day I made a reference to Swank in another post about a reality TV star that was rather unfair so I won't link to again, and here we see a major network sitcom discussing whether Swank is hot or not.
This being the web, where a mention of something on a TV show can mean an almost instantaneous response (even Wikipedia locked the Janis Joplin entry after last night's 30 Rock episode), we knew there would be a lot of talk about Swank, and someone has put up a site called IsHilarySwankHot.com. It's pretty basic, you just go there and click yes or no.
There's good news for fans of Michael and Holly on The Office, and potentially even better news. When Amy Ryan first stepped in to fill Toby's shoes as the HR rep for the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin, I wasn't sure how well she'd fit with the regular cast. The last time we got a massive infusion of new blood on the show via the branch merger, we wound up losing every one of the new cast members except for Andy (Ed Helms).
But then her wacky synergy with Michael really clicked, and suddenly I was happy for the both of them. And it was genuinely painful when she had to leave. I'm pleased to see that Greg Daniels, who steers The Office ship, really does get it. In the release announcing the return of Amy Ryan to The Office this season, he stated "I don't think she can blow in and out every so often. It would be too hard for [Michael] as a human being." He barely survived her leaving the first time, so it's good to see that Daniels has too much respect for the characters to just bring her in when convenient for ratings, or whatever.
It looks like The Office scored a major guest-star win. Jack Black will be appearing on the post-Super Bowl episode of the hit series. The episode revolves around a roast given by the employees to boss Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell). It is unknown as of yet what role he will play. Wouldn't it be funny if he was a Schrute? Feel free to speculate.
Usually a television appearance by a movie star is a sign that the star isn't quite as much a star as he/she once was. On the other hand both Black and Steve Carell are part of the Apatow clique, so that could be a factor in his appearance on the show.
A series doesn't get a bigger chance to shine than a Super Bowl lead-in (well, maybe American Idol, but that's debatable). I think between the guest-star and the timeslot, we'll see The Office bringing its A-Game to that episode. Since I'm not a sports fan, I'm looking forward to this more than the Super Bowl itself.
Ah, office gossip. It's kind of the best. Everybody knows that office jobs are soul-crushing endeavors, so it's imperative that you find something constructive on which to focus. That thing may be your job, but let's face it: it's probably not. Instead, it becomes the lives of those around you. People who, if you had your choice, you would never speak to, much less get involved in their lives, yet you end up spending more time with them than you do your own family.
In the first of The Office's new webisodes, Oscar gave his co-workers the gift of gossip when he was caught screaming at someone on the phone. In fairness, when you're on a cell phone and you're yelling in the middle of a crowded office, you kind of lose your expectation of privacy. Oscar, however, does not see it that way. He refused to explain himself, which naturally makes everyone all the more interested. This week, the investigation into Oscar's freakout continues.
NBC is becoming quite the experts at creating real products from the made up products and companies you see on their TV shows. Sure, every network's site has hats and shirts and mousepads that have something from a TV show on them, but the Peacock Network seems to be taking things one step further. We've seen Sheinhardt Wig t-shirts and Me Want Food t-shirts for 30 Rock, and now, after Thursday's episode, the network has quickly put up for sale MILF Island t-shirts! It's pretty much the Survivor logo, only with three hot chicks. I'm sure parents are just going to love seeing their kids wearing these.
I'm talking about the American version of the show. I'll put the answer to this question on the second page, but it's actually pretty easy to figure out. Just remember that The Grass Roots was a band in the 1960s and 70s (that leaves out 98% of the cast right there, they're too young) and that it was all male (that leaves out Pam and Angela, even if they were old enough). I think you've probably figured out who it is by now, but that doesn't make the video after the jump any less amusing.
Some fans of NBC's The Office have refused to believe that what happened in the season ender actually happened. They think that other fans are misinterpreting the last scene, that Ryan wasn't actually promoted at Dunder-Mifflin. But now there's official proof that he got the job.
DunderMifflinPaper.com has the official press release about Ryan's promotion. His new title is Vice President of Regional Sales, and he will be based out of New York City.
Fox News' Roger Friedman reports that NBC is actually thinking about giving the Dwight Schrute character his own spin-off show. Friedman is often wrong but this time it was confirmed (sorta) by Wilson himself. Friedman met Wilson at a party after the Tony Awards the other night and Wilson is the one who brought it up.
Remember the twist at the end of the season finale for The Office, where Ryan got the job that Michael, Jim, and Karen interviewed for? Judging from e-mails and other comments, many fans were confused and didn't think that Ryan really got the job, that it was some sort of trick out by the show that would be explained when the new season starts. But it looks like Ryan did indeed get the gig (which is probably good, since it would be weird being in the same office as the girlfriend you just said "we're done" to).
I finally watched the original, British version of The Office, and it's quite good. I still like the American version more though. That has nothing to do with the quality of the British version, really, it has more to do with the pace, the rhythm, the American-ized problems that the show focuses on, and the cast. Though I do think it's just funnier too.
This UK critic agrees. Though he thinks the Ricky Gervais original is a masterpiece and that some of the darker nuances have been lost in the American version, he thinks it's more entertaining and hasn't had that feeling that it had to burn out after a dozen episodes. He loves the fact that after three seasons it's still "remarkably fresh," and likes that Michael Scott is a different sort of annoying boss than David Brent and appreciates the real drama in the Jim/Pam relationship.
SPOILER!
I don't usually offer advice to television characters for a variety of reasons, number one being they (or the people who create them) don't listen to me, and number two being I don't want to be taken away by the authorities. However, I'm risking the latter and flying in the face of the former to serve up some counsel to Jim Halpert. Attention Jim: you are on the verge of being fired!
I don't think this is going to happen (not permanently anyway), but Zap2It thinks that it's possible that Michael Scott could be leaving Dunder-Mifflin.
So let's talk about last night's episode of The Office. Should Hilary Swank be offended that half of Dunder-Mifflin didn't find her "hot," or should she be flattered that the other half did?
It looks like The Office scored a major guest-star win. Jack Black will be appearing on the post-Super Bowl episode of the hit series. The episode revolves around a roast given by the employees to boss Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell). It is unknown as of yet what role he will play. Wouldn't it be funny if he was a Schrute? Feel free to speculate.
NBC is becoming quite the experts at creating real products from the made up products and companies you see on their TV shows. Sure, every network's site has hats and shirts and mousepads that have something from a TV show on them, but the Peacock Network seems to be taking things one step further. We've seen Sheinhardt Wig t-shirts and Me Want Food t-shirts for 30 Rock, and now, after Thursday's episode, the network has quickly put up for sale MILF Island t-shirts! It's pretty much the Survivor logo, only with three hot chicks. I'm sure parents are just going to love seeing their kids wearing these.
Some fans of NBC's The Office have refused to believe that what happened in the season ender actually happened. They think that other fans are misinterpreting the last scene, that Ryan wasn't actually promoted at Dunder-Mifflin. But now there's official proof that he got the job.
Don't do it Rainn.
Remember the twist at the end of the season finale for The Office, where Ryan got the job that Michael, Jim, and Karen interviewed for? Judging from e-mails and other comments, many fans were confused and didn't think that Ryan really got the job, that it was some sort of trick out by the show that would be explained when the new season starts. But it looks like Ryan did indeed get the gig (which is probably good, since it would be weird being in the same office as the girlfriend you just said "we're done" to).
I finally watched the original, British version of The Office, and it's quite good. I still like the American version more though. That has nothing to do with the quality of the British version, really, it has more to do with the pace, the rhythm, the American-ized problems that the show focuses on, and the cast. Though I do think it's just funnier too.
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