UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

No quick-hitters this time. Let’s go straight into my review.

- Since I forgot to review last week’s episode of The Office, I’ll do so here.

(Note: This review was written before I watched the current week’s episode.)

Last week’s episode was pretty good, but not fantastic, and awfully disappointing for an hour-long episode. There were a few good moments, but overall, I thought the episode was pretty boring. After the first ten minutes, I nearly fell asleep as the episode wore on. When Michael kept the pizza guy hostage, I was seriously considering changing the channel. How he didn’t get arrested for kidnapping is beyond me (oh yeah, that’s because this is TV). Yeah, I understand the parallels between Michael/the pizza guy and Michael/Ryan, but that was some seriously boring crap. The scene with Jim and Pam on the roof saved the second-half of the episode, for sure.

The interaction between Andy and Dwight, though way over the top at times, was pretty damn funny. I can’t wait to see how Andy’s interest in Angela is going to ruin their chemistry. And I was especially happy to see Jim and Pam pulling a prank on Dwight again! Dwight’s facial expressions were priceless! Phyllis’ handling of an increasingly bitchy Angela was quite enjoyable too. I LOL’ed when Phyllis threw the crumpled-up post-its at Angela’s face.

As soon as I saw the DVD player screen saver on the television in the conference room, I knew that everyone was waiting to see if the little box was going to hit the corner of the screen. I will admit that I have done that once or twice before

My favorite moments:

• Meredith asking Jim to sign her cast. “Can you write where I can read it?”
• Pam: “[Killing Angela’s cat] has caused a lot of unpleasantness between Dwight and Angela…who are both already prone to unpleasantness.”
• Jim (to Pam): What would you say if I told you we could pull a prank on Dwight at the same time and not be working?
• Dwight: “I did so well last February that Corporate gave me two plaques in lieu of a pay raise.”
• Michael: “It’s a club called ‘Chat room’ and there’s a password to get in, which is actually ‘password.’”
• Kelly sticking the pizza on the TV screen, followed by the pizza guy’s plea for help.
• Andy’s a capella rendition of “Take A Chance on Me” via the speakerphone, followed by Angela realizing the other workers were standing in the room.

- Today’s episode was FAR better than the previous two, even though it was awfully mushy at times. Then again, who didn’t enjoy the last few minutes? From Jim consoling Dwight, to his explaining why he left Scranton, to his never wanting to wish his emotional pains on his worst enemy (”and that includes you”), to Dwight turning towards the space that Jim had occupied, to Jim planting a kiss on Pam, and finally, to the declaration that Jim is very passionate about Italian food, who didn’t find those last few moments enjoyable? I agree with my sister’s comment that many female Office fans just fell (further?) in love with Jim Halpert. And LOL at Dwight turning back into his old self at the very end, knocking over Jim’s pile of stuff hanging over Dwight’s desk.

Speaking of relationships, poor poor Michael. Although it was great to see Jan prove that she values her relationship with Michael, nothing got resolved with regards to his money problems! I was kinda hoping Michael was going to chew her out, pointing out that she is the one sending him to financial hell. Dammit Michael! Grow a pair! And whatever Jan’s psychological disorder is, it must really be serious if she can’t figure out that she is causing Michael’s financial strain. Oh well, it seems that the writers will be dragging this storyline out for the entire season.

(Nice job screwing up the lyrics to “Runaway Train,” by the way!)

Of course, as long as there is a substantial Jim/Dwight interaction in an episode, the episode can’t be awful as a whole, right? And “agro-tourism”??? I didn’t even realize there was such a thing! Oh yeah, any episode that prominently features Mose can’t suck either.  And of course, I loved how Michael got bossed around for a change. If only his superiors at Dunder Mifflin would do the same to him.

(Tangent: If I were Jim, Pam’s taking me to Dwight’s non-bed-and-breakfast would be a relationship killer.)

(Tangent #2: The Beets Motel? The Embassy Beets? Radish Inn? HAHAHAHA. Borscht hotel? *groan*)

It’s a damn shame that this was the last hour-long episode for the foreseeable future. I’m still bent over the fact that two not-so-great hour-long episodes were sandwiched in between two excellent episodes.

My favorite moments:

• Dwight (answering Pam’s call): “This is a misuse of company phones!” (Pot, meet kettle.)
• Dwight’s story about Schrute family members giving males a bag of wild oats when he has sex with a woman.
• Kevin’s new band, Scrantonicity II. Of course that’s what it’s named!
• Michael taking the bus to his second job…also in sales. LOL!
• Jim’s explaining how he dreamed of his and Pam’s first night away together, and how he imagined it to involve less manure.
• Michael cold-calling Stanley, and then attempting to disguise his voice to hide his identity, followed by the talking “head” scene with Stanley over the speakerphone (LOL!!!!)
• Mose sitting in the room, while Dwight was reading from a Harry Potter book.
• Michael’s impromptu presentation, complete with him having to register the new version of PowerPoint and download updates.
• Pam: “Now that I think about it, Angela and Andy might actually make a good couple. But I couldn’t do that to Dwight. Or Angela. Or Andy.”
• Michael trolling around the office, asking for advice on how to get out of his financial woe, especially when he asked Kevin about how to double his money seven or eight times. I wouldn’t mind doubling the money in my wallet seven or eight times!
• Michael: “If I had money problems, would I do this?” followed by him crumpling up a dollar bill, then putting it in his pocket.
• Michael literally declaring bankruptcy.

If there’s one good thing about the hour-long episodes ending for now, it’s that these Office reviews will be much shorter

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