jenna fischer-related stories
Posted Mar 27th 2009 3:32AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E19) And just like that -- as mysteriously as he arrived -- he was gone.
SPOILER ALERT: At the end of
The Graduate, Ben Braddock and Elaine Robinson get together after Ben makes an impassioned plea at her wedding to another man. They hop on a bus and as they ride off together, the camera lingers just long enough for us to watch the enormity of their decision wipe the smiles off their faces. A happy ending ruined by reality.
Watching Pam walk out with Michael tonight made me think of that scene. I don't know if this episode compares favorably to one of the greatest comedies ever filmed, but certainly, that idea -- that nothing ruins a good time like a dose of the real -- infused every bit of it tonight.
Continue reading The Office: Two Weeks
Posted Mar 6th 2009 1:14AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E16) At the risk of
annoying John Hodgman, allow me to quote from this week's show: "Meh."
Tonight's episode felt like the obligatory Valentine's Day sex that millions of married couples went through a few weeks back: a robotic, passionless visit to all our familiar places that still manages to serve as a pleasant reminder of why we fell in love in the first place.
But that's okay. Not every experience can be the kind of handicap-stall-destroying booty-knocking that Phyllis and Bob Vance (of Vance Refrigeration) enjoy.
It's like I tell my wife, if the worst you do is "Meh", then you're probably doing all right. (It's usually at this point that she excuses herself from the room and weeps quietly in the bathroom).
Continue reading The Office: Blood Drive
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 8:05PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Web, The Office, Reality-Free
If you've never listened to
The Sound of Young America podcast, you're missing one of the best talk/entertainment shows on any format. This week, host Jesse Thorn (who is known as America's Radio Sweetheart) meets Jenna Fischer (who is also America's Sweetheart as Pam Beesly on
The Office). Thorn is a first-rate interviewer and he gets a lot of great detail from Fischer.
There is some great behind-the-scenes stuff. In the beginning, shoots for
The Office would started with a half an hour of fake work time with everyone at their desks, and in the second year, everyone got phones that worked and Internet so they could look busy in the background. Fischer says Stanley (Leslie David Baker) furnished his entire home through Internet shopping on set.
Continue reading Jenna Fischer talks The Office on The Sound of Young America
Posted Feb 12th 2009 11:07PM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E14) I don't usually cringe at
The Office. For whatever reason, it's hard for me to disconnect the part of my brain that understands that the people I'm watching are actors speaking words written by writers. I know that makes me sort've like Rain Main describing a kiss -- wet -- but I can't help myself: I just don't cringe.
That being said, during Michael's presentation tonight, I cringed so hard that I am currently a hunchback.
I'm not even sure what I felt could be described as good. It's like eating hot peppers at one of those places that makes you sign a waiver that you won't sue them for burning off your tongue: are you happy or sad at the end of the meal?
All I know is that any show that's able to get my gut to churn that much (even though I
know that the person on the screen isn't real) must be doing something right...
Continue reading The Office: Lecture Circuit (Part 2)
Posted Jan 30th 2009 1:08PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Late Night, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Last night, I did my usual flipping around the late-night landscape, doing what I usually do: checking to see which of the talk shows has the hottest guest in the skimpiest outfit. Last night was a bonanza, with the ever-so-squinty Renée Zellweger chatting with Dave and the oh-so-adorable Jenna Fischer gabbing with Jay.
Something struck me as curious when I watched Leno's talk with Fischer, though. When she mentioned how much she loves getting messages on her BlackBerry, calling the message light the "red light of love," Leno responded with a story about NBC giving him a BB "when I first started this job." Ever straining to be the "regular guy" of the late-night world (he told Fischer that his entire casual wardrobe consists of jean shirts and jeans), he said he'd open the vile device, disable it with a soldering iron and give it back, claiming it stopped working. NBC eventually stopped issuing him BlackBerries, fearing that his magnetic aura or something like that was shorting them out. Thus Jay was able to keep his proud Luddite street cred intact.
One problem... Jay started hosting
The Tonight Show full-time in 1992. The first BlackBerry was
introduced in 1999. Video of the chat is after the jump.
Continue reading Jay Leno used to destroy his non-existent BlackBerry in 1992 - VIDEO
Posted Jan 23rd 2009 11:29AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Web, Watercooler Talk, The Office, Celebrities, Reality-Free
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.
For the record, I have no opinion on the matter.
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 Oct 10th 2008 1:00AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S05E02) Before we start tonight's review, I'd like to take a moment to worship at the
Sling Media altar. Yet again, the makers of the Slingbox have made it possible for me to review
The Office in a timely fashion despite the fact that I'm currently doing a week of shows in Las Vegas (where
The Office airs three hours later than I'm used to and, for marketing purposes, has magician Lance Burton digitally inserted into every scene). If you're a traveler and a TV watcher and you haven't bought a Slingbox yet, you're missing out.
Part of me worried about the ethics of opening with what amounts to be a commercial for Slingbox (and also for my fabulous Las Vegas comedy show at the Tropicana: tickets still available for the weekend!) Then I realized that by doing so, I actually provided a pretty good segue into the theme of tonight's episode. So let's get to it...
Continue reading The Office: Business Ethics
Posted Aug 18th 2008 3:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
One of the fun games to play when it comes to TV shows is "What If." What if Mickey Rooney had been cast as Archie Bunker on
All in the Family? What would have happened to the show (and to Rooney)?
That's one of interesting revelations (though that one has been known for quite some time) in the new book
Mickey Rooney as Archie Bunker and Other TV Almosts by Eila Mell. It lists a bunch of actors and actresses who almost got roles we know and love. For example, Jenna Fischer (
The Office) tried out for the role of Sydney Bristow on
Alias, but was deemed not sexy enough for the part (as we told you about
before). Whitney Houston didn't want the role of Bill Cosby's daughter on
The Cosby Show so the role went to Lisa Bonet. And Leonardo DiCaprio almost played David Hasselhoff's son on
Baywatch (the role went to Brandon Call and later Jeremy Jackson). That one isn't surprising at all, considering DiCaprio did work on
Growing Pains and other shows.
Continue reading Jenna Fischer wasn't sexy enough to play Sydney Bristow
Posted Aug 16th 2008 1:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: The Office, Celebrities, Reality-Free
In an effort to promote his new movie
The Rocker, Rainn Wilson has "kidnapped"
his co-star of The Office Jenna Fischer. On a post on Jenna's MySpace page, Wilson promises that she will be released if his movie grosses 18.7 million dollars (presumably the cost of making it).
There's even a website up detailing the progress of the kidnapping:
FreeJennaNow.com. The first question I have is: what happens to Jenna if the movie doesn't reach the $18.7 million goal? That answer is left intentionally vague. My guess is he'll let her go anyway.
I'm glad Jenna is being a good sport about all this (watch the videos to see how Jenna is playing along), otherwise I would find any sort of image involving tying up a woman and leaving her in a vehicle somewhat disturbing. I guess he needed to "kidnap" someone America cares about in order for this Dwight-like scheme to work (and a co-worker who would go along with this silly promotion in the first place). Of course, for better publicity,he could have kidnapped Michael Scott. I think more people would have noticed if Steve Carell was missing.
Posted Jul 4th 2008 8:50AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Entourage, My Name Is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, Weeds, Emmys, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Reality-Free
Here come two more lists of the ten actors and actresses that are finalists for Emmy nominations in the supporting comedy categories. As with the other awards, there are some surprises on the list, and some notable omissions. For the ladies, the headline is that last year's winner, Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), didn't make the cut. Surprise finalists include Conchata Ferrell (Two And A Half Men) and Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live). I don't mind seeing Conchata on the list because she is consistently funny on the show, but I don't know that there is enough to her role for her to actually garner a nomination when you consider the competition.
On the other side of the coin, the defending champ, Jeremy Piven (Entourage), is back. None of the boys over at SNL managed to make the leap from Variety to Comedy that Poehler did.
Continue reading Supporting comedy actor and actress finalists
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 May 16th 2008 1:19AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, Video, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Episode Recaps
(S04E14) I performed tonight in Hartford, CT. Coming out of the comedy club, a woman who wasn't at the show checked me out. I heard her say
helloooooo in a guttural way, like I was a really good looking guy. A few seconds later, though, once she got a better look at me, she said, "Never mind." Then, she and her friends laughed for as long as I could hear them.
Apparently, I'm only good looking when someone is looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
I bring this up not to inform you that I'm unattractive -- my blogger profile photo does a better job of informing you of that than I ever could -- but rather because I didn't think I could be any more depressed than I was after that comment. I honestly thought their derisive laughter was going to be the low-point of my evening. Then I watched tonight's
Office finale...
Continue reading The Office: Goodbye, Toby (season finale) - VIDEO
Posted May 9th 2008 2:07PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Video, The Office, Reality-Free
"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.Continue reading Sneak peek of The Office finale -- VIDEOS
Posted May 9th 2008 2:22AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, Video, The Office, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E13) Remember that movie
The Chase? Okay, you probably don't, but believe me,
it exists [link NSFW]. Anyway, Charlie Sheen takes Kristy Swanson hostage, and over the course of the movie some major league Stockholm Syndrome kicks in (like, really major league: they do it while he's leading the cops on a high speed chase). The lesson of the movie is obvious: if you kidnap the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she'll eventually fall in love with you.
I bring this up because I'm becoming scared that I might have lost perspective on
The Office. I've sincerely loved every episode that has aired since its return from the break. Now, here's the question: is this because the writers spent the entire strike doing brain push-ups? Or is it because
The Office is Charlie Sheen to my Kristy Swanson? My (glowing) review after the jump...
Continue reading The Office: Job Fair - VIDEO
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