TVSquad

(S01E01) CBS made a lot of noise when they premiered their new schedule. The stodgy old network was finally going to leave the safety and security of "take no chances" programming they have built their recent successes on and try something new. Moonlight, Viva Laughlin, and Swingtown are certainly a step in a new direction. And then we have Cane, which I think of as their safety show.

November sweeps stunts brought us stormtroopers on The Apprentice, a live debate on The West Wing, a dead chick on Lost and Medium in 3-D. Why are February ratings so tame? One word: Olympics.

NBC is expected to kick some television tail when it covers the Olympics every single night from February 10-26. Going into this month, the networks are touting some pretty uninteresting guest stars on the shows that need a boost. And that's about it. Oh, there is also going to be some sh*t going down on The O.C., but you don't want the spoilers, do you?

Here are some highlights for February sweeps, which began yesterday and run through March 1:

As we've readily seen so far this year, Michael Scott is an egotistical maniac. However, we have seen at times his more "human" side as well as his frailties. Upon arriving at the office one morning, he discovers a foul stench and sees that someone did a number two right on his carpet. He can't stand the smell, and immediately gets the cleaning lady to come up and clean, but it still reeks, and he then arranges to have the carpet removed and replaced with another one.

Michael is aghast that someone would do this to him because he thought was a beloved figure at Dunder Mifflin. He begins thinking about the previous district manager Ed Truck, who was not exactly popular with Michael or the rest of the staff. As his office is being cleaned up, Michael decides to sit at Jim's desk, and Jim ends up moving to the back and shares space with Kelly, who talks his ears off while he tries to work.

Michael tries to joke around with the staff, including a "raid" with Dwight in the accounting section, but everyone is too focused on their jobs. He continues to wonder why someone would do that do him by calling it an act of "terrorism." In order to pump up the staff, he starts a sales contest with the winner to get $83 out of his pocket. However, no one is very interested, and he decides to punish everyone by having them sit quietly, despite the ringing phones.