UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Go!

- My friends in Morocco, Japan, and Italy, I assure you that Michael Scott is only kidding. You too, Ca-NA-da.

I hope.

- Michael: “My boss is sending me abroad to do a presentation to an international client, and I have always been intrigued by all things international: the women, the pancakes, the “man of mystery.” Michael Scott, star of “Match Game 2008!”

- Jim sure is grinning a lot. I’m certain it is because he’s in charge while Michael is away!

(Uh-huh.)

- Kevin’s butt slap of Jim was the most unfunny thing I’ve ever seen that still caused me to spit water all over my monitor.

And yes, it took me more than a few seconds to figure out what was going to happen in one week. I must be sleepy.

- $50 for per diem? Winnipeg in November??? You’re a brave man, Michael. A brave man, or an idiot. Probably an idiot.

- LOL. Andy and Oscar get to go with Michael…but they don’t get business class seats? Sucks to be them.

- Did Michael get hit by a drink cart, or was he shot?

(This episode is putting me to sleep. It better get better in a hurry!)

- Wait a second…why is Ryan headed back to where Kelly is? Don’t tell me Michael is re-hiring him as a salesman!

Nice one-armed pushups, by the way.

- Raise your hand if you didn’t see Ryan and Kelly doing something right after Kelly’s talking head.

- Michael: “The concierge is the Winnipeg equivalent of a geisha. This is a woman who has been trained in the fine art of fanciness and pleasure, and when you meet one, it is intoxicating. Just what the doctor ordered.” OK.

- Pam: “I have to stay and retake it.” Please, please, please, don’t tell me that this means Pam is going to stay in NY until the end of the season!

(PLEASE!!!)

“That means another twelve weeks.” Well, at least it won’t be a Winter break cliffhanger!

Poor Jim and Pam. Is it just me, or does Jim kinda doesn’t want Pam in NY, and does Pam kinda wants to be back in Scranton?

(Yeah, kinda. And I kinda like ice cream.)

- Michael: “Everybody’s going to end up dying someday, and I think it’s better to die with some people that you like, like Oscar, and Andy, and concierge Marie, than to know that there’s somebody out there that you love that you’re not with.” It’s pretty obvious that this is referring to Holly…but could he be talking about Jan here?

- Oscar: “How can ANYONE stand that woman [Angela]?” Ask Dwight.

- Sign that this episode is boring me to tears: I didn’t even crack a smile at the entire drunk-dialing scene with Andy and Oscar (am I using the term “drunk-dialing” correctly?)

- OK, Dwight explaining why he knew that Pam was going to fail in art school actually made me laugh a bit. Seriously, this episode is awful.

- Andy’s realization that he called Angela while drunk might have saved what might end up being the worst episode of The Office to date.

- I take that back. The text message/breakup between Kelly and Darryl, Darryl’s “It’s cool” response, and a kicking-up-his-heels Darryl walking towards his truck might have saved this episode.

- Andy: “Oh man, she is so pissed. She’s taking us back to first base.” Oscar: “What’s first base with Angela?” Andy: “I get to kiss her forehead.”

- Please allow me to change my opinion again. Michael finally realizing that the business trip was anything but great saved tonight’s episode. Sure, the rant about the shuttle, the flight, and the hotel was classic idiot Michael, but for him to call out David Wallace for sending away Holly was shocking. Yes, it was highly inappropriate, but incredible at the same time! Like I always say, sympathetic Michael is the most entertaining Michael on this show.

- Michael: “…Why have I stayed at Dunder-Mifflin for so long? Certainly not because of the paycheck, because I could be making more money as a doctor, or a professional athlete. I think it’s because they respect me. A boss that will not fire you even though you just tell him off right to his face, over the phone. That’s respect.” Idiot Michael is fun, too.

- Who didn’t expect Jim to see Pam in the parking lot there?

- Pam: “It’s not because of you.” Sure it isn’t.

- Dwight: “You’re back.” LOL, freaking Dwight.

- Ryan: “I…I realized that, for whatever reason, I just couldn’t do better than Kelly.” Stupid, stupid Ryan!

Great way to end an otherwise forgettable episode.

- Time for my review:

“Forgettable” describes this episode nicely. It was way too predictable (Pam’s back? Kelly and Ryan are back together?), and the first fifteen minutes of the episode bordered on completely unwatchable. The last five minutes absolutely saved tonight’s episode. Ryan and Kelly’s second go-around doesn’t interest me in the least (though I’m still laughing a bit at Darryl’s reaction to the break-up), Dwight was woefully underused (Why didn’t the writers send him along on Michael’s trip???), and Pam’s abrupt return to Scranton was, in a word, dumb.

I know I was clamoring for a quick end to the long-distance part of the Jim/Pam relationship, but I was prepared to wait until after the Winter break for resolution. For the writers to bring Pam back to Scranton like that is just plain awful. It’s as if the writers wanted to stretch out their storyline to the winter break, and then immediately realized that they were going to run out of material a few weeks before the Winter break. I could imagine the writers finishing the script the day of the taping, ultimately deciding to bring Pam back to Scranton ASAP. What’s next for them? Are we going to see tensions develop between them? Will Jim try to push Pam back towards the art program again?

So the Andy-Angela relationship is back to “first base,” huh? What happens next with their relationship? I’m surprised that, given how quickly the writers sent Pam back to Scranton, the writers didn’t immediately have Angela dump Andy and profess her love for Dwight! Would anyone have been surprised if Andy’s drunk call caused that to happen? That being said, I hope that the tensions between Angela and Andy, as a result of the drunk call, is a theme that carries throughout the rest of the Andy/Angela/Dwight storyline.

The truly redeeming scene of tonight’s episode, though, had to be Michael’s chewing out of David Wallace. It was great to see Michael pour his heart out, explaining how “sucky” the entire situation was. There’s no way Wallace gets that go without disciplining Michael, right? If not, then what was the point of tonight’s episode? Of course, the show won’t work if he leaves the office, but would a storyline where Michael might really considering leaving Dunder-Mifflin be that outrageous?

Consider this a first-draft of my review of tonight’s episode. I’ll probably watch the episode again later, and hopefully, I’ll have better things to say about it.  Tonight’s episode could not really be that bad, could it?

Right?

As it stands right now, I didn’t see the worst episode of The Office of all time, but I’m thinking “bottom five” for sure.  Extremely disappointing, coming off such a strong episode last week!

Until next time.

Tags: business trip, review, running blog, The Office by Peter
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It’s that time again.

- Boy, neither Pam nor Ryan are ever going to escape Dunder-Mifflin, are they?

And why is corporate so lax on personal calls?  Man, I want to work for Dunder-Mifflin!

Actually, let me think about that…

- Yeah, Michael and Holly are perfect for each other.

And where can you buy a whole set of putt-putt golf clubs?

- Michael:  “In my opinion, the third date is the one…where you have sex.”  Really?

“If she starts having sex with me, I’ll know for sure.”  I just spit Dr. Pepper all over my monitor.

- Andy’s handing out Save the Dates already?

- Phyllis:  “You know I know.  You know THEY know.”  I love that the writers are giving Phyllis more lines.

- Michael:  “Some of what we order depends on if we’re having sex after.”  Wow.

“Are we gonna have sex tonight?”  “Hell yeah.”  WTF?

- Dwight:  “Why is she marrying Andy?”  For those of you that have read my prior Office episode reviews, I am a big fan of Michael any time he needs sympathy.  The same can be said for Dwight, like in his second conversation with Phyllis.  You almost feel sorry for him!

Almost…”That’s really fattening!”

- LMFAO at the entire scene with Michael and Holly making out.

- I was wondering why this episode was entitled “Crime Aid.”  Poor Kevin!  He got his surge protector stolen :P.

(BTW, did Oscar say his “labtop” was stolen???)

Oh oh…did Holly and Michael’s, um, session, have something to do with the robbery?

- Michael:  “So much for sex without consequences.”

- Is going to Phyllis for relationship advice really a good idea?  Well, at least Dwight didn’t go to Michael.

And, of course, leave it to Dwight to get what he wanted, and then dump Phyllis on a different floor.

- Creed:  “Nobody steals from Creed Bratton and gets away with it.  The last person to do this disappeared.  His name?  Creed Bratton.”  I need not say a thing.

- A charity auction?  “Crime Aid!”  Got it!

- Phyllis was in a sorority?  And why did the camera pan over Stanley when Michael mentioned auctioning off people “like in the olden days?”  LOL.

- Oscar:  “So, in order to recoup the value of items we liked, we have to spend more money on things we don’t want.”  Spoken like a true accountant.

(Actually that was spoken like anyone with half a brain.)

- Holly:  “He knows how to get things.  He got me.”  Whoa!

- Wow, Dwight really gave Angela the ultimatum!

- )@(*$)($()*#)@()!!!! MICHAEL!  BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN DID NOT SING “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” you buffoon.

- C.R.I.M.E. - A.I.D. = Crime Reduces Innocence, Makes Everyone Angry, I Declare.

I typed that out just to see how many hits my blog gets from a search of that phrase :P.

- Darryl:  “Mike gave me a list of his top ten Springsteen songs.  Three of them were Huey Lewis and the News.  One was Tracy Chapman…’Fast Car.’  And my personal favorite:  ‘Short People.’”  Tracy Chapman???

- A yoga lesson?  Offered by Holly?  $300???

- Michael:  “It squeaks when you bang it.  That’s what she said.”  YES!!!!!!

- Damn that Darryl…what a smart guy!  Conflict of interest?  LOL.

Jim:  “Five dollars.”  Darryl:  “Sold!  To Jim!”

- Oh oh…I was wondering if we were ever going to see Roy again.  Sure, he’s not gonna beat up Jim now, but what’s gonna happen when he finds out that Jim’s engaged to Pam?

- Kevin’s willing to do someone’s taxes?  Now that has real value!  So, naturally, no one is bidding.

- Poor Dwight.

(I wonder if there’s anything significant about 6:14 PM being Angela’s deadline to make a decision.)

- What the hell?  David Wallace not only dropped by and didn’t fire Michael on the spot, but he’s actually offering to auction off something???

- Yes, Dwight, that’s it.  Move on.

And that slap that Phyllis gave to Dwight needed to be about ten thousand times harder than it actually was.

“What did Phyllis do wrong?  I’ll tell you what Phyllis did wrong.  She stuck her nose into my business and tried to help me.”  WTF?

- Wow, Jim actually told Roy that he’s engaged to Pam…and Jim’s still conscious?

- Roy:  “Wow….I mean, you were a friend.”  Incredible line, for the possible double meaning behind it.

- Of course…the Springsteen tickets were stolen.

That is, if they existed in the first place.

(EDIT:  Mystery solved!)

- Bob Vance just bid $1,000 for a hug from his own wife.  David Wallace and Dwight both tried to outbid him for that hug.

It’s the scenes like this one that really make the show great.  You all can have the scenes where Jim destroys Dwight, or the scenes where Michael does something stupid, but what really makes the show great is how personable most of the characters can be.

I know; that sounds pretty weird, but I really mean that, and I’ll try to elaborate on this point during my review.

- Was that an illegal U-turn?  And who didn’t see that coming?

- Busted!  You knew David Wallace wasn’t going to be there without something bad happening to someone.

Full review to come!

Tags: crime aid, review, running blog, The Office by Peter
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I’ve got rants about WalMart, rants about Fantasy Football, and (hopefully) a resolution to my complaint with Costco, but I can deal with all of those another time.

On to my Office running blog!

- Dwight in an apron? Oh wait…he’s pretending to carry a baby??? This episode already blows last week’s episode out of the water!

- Jim: “Now, this baby will be related to Michael through (draws a ? on a whiteboard) delusion.” I couldn’t have put it any better myself.

- Tell me that he had some container of water under that apron.

Oh my…

- Dwight: “Babies are one of my many areas of expertise. Growing up, I performed my own circumcision.” Growing up? Oh my.

- Was this episode rated R? ZE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!!!!!

- EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW….AND HE’S EATING THE WATERMELON????????

(passes out)

That might have been the worst (not bad, just absolutely ridiculous) first two minutes in Office history.

- “AS-TIRD?” Nice…I think.

(EDIT:  I actually had to go back to this point in the episode—you’ll see why later—to check the spelling of “AS-TIRD” on the M&M bowl.)

- Michael (to Phyllis): “…we gave you your wedding shower here…we all came into this room and gave you a golden shower. Well you know what? Where’s my golden shower?” Seriously?

- That phone call between Jim and Pam was pretty telling, no? Great…an entire season filled with Jim-Pam moments of them starting to drift away…?

- Gee, I wonder who the little black kid is?

(But seriously, that’s pretty awesome that the entire cast donated their baby pics to this episode, assuming that those pics are real, and why wouldn’t they be?)

- Angela (to Andy, after he stuck his baby pic next to what he thought was Angela’s baby pic): “That’s Phyllis.” Oh crap!

- LOL! Is that really Angela?

- No, that whole conversation with Michael and Holly was not weird at all. “And I’m treating Ryan the same way.” WTF?

- Thank you Stanley, but I do not care to hear about your sore nipples. *gag*

- Dwight: “Jan had the baby, and Michael wasn’t there to mark it. So the baby could be anybody’s. Except Michael’s.” That about sums up the first part of this episode.

- Ah, it’s “AS-TRID” You kids out there named Astrid might want to change your names, anyway.

- Thank goodness Jan did not let Michael pick up the baby.

- Michael: “If a baby were president, there would be no taxes. There would be no war. There would be no…government.”

- Wow, he wasn’t kidding about being cold to Holly.

- I agree with Dwight…$1200 for a stroller? That thing better have an ABS system and air bags on it!

- Dwight: “$1200 is what I spent on my whole bomb shelter.” Is that a good thing? “For that kind of money, the stroller should be indestructible.” I can’t believe this. I’m totally agreeing with Dwight!

(AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

- And the Jim-Pam drift continues…

So Jan is singing a wholly inappropriate song to the baby, huh? She should have sung Hunter’s love song :P.

- Of course…Creed is the only one eating cake while Jan talked about her tub birth.

- Michael: “I usually love babies, but when I held Astrid, I felt…shortchanged.” Oh oh.

- It appears Darryl is busy as usual.

- Thank goodness…if Darryl had sat on Michael’s lap or something, I would have banned The Office from my house.

- Ok, that scene with Holly and Jan was AWESOME.

- WTF Angela??? And turn off the flash, at least!

- Wow, that stroller really is worth $1200!

- Jan (to Michael): “Don’t date Holly.” Hmmmmmm…does somebody still have feelings for somebody?

- Michael: “Wanna go out?” Holly: “Yes.” That was quick.

- Michael: “I didn’t feel much when I held Astrid. But I got a good feeling from Holly.” Great line to close the episode with!

- Oh, that last scene…*sniff*

(Where’s my box of kleenex?)

- Here’s my review:

The episode was definitely a bit too relationship-heavy for my liking, and it sure looks like that will be the norm for the remainder of the season.

One relationship at a time:

1) Angela/Andy/Dwight: The tension between these two is amazingly underrated. We know that Angela has nothing in common with Andy, and she’s only with him because Dwight chased her away. I just love how she is getting more and more uncomfortable with Andy as the season progresses (did you she how uncomfortable she got with all the baby talk? It’s a shame that she was pregnant in real life last season.). Too bad Dwight was too busy, um, testing the stroller, to perform any extra-curricular activities with Angela this time around.

2) Michael/Jan/Holly: So what do we make of Jan telling Michael not to date Holly? Is Holly really not right for Michael, or does Jan still have feelings for Michael.

(Survey says…the latter, most definitely.)

In a move that should have surprised no one, those words actually pushed Michael (literally!) into Holly’s arms, and now it seems Holly and Michael are officially an item. I’m guessing we are not close to seeing the end of Jan visiting the office, probably with AS-TRID in tow. Or maybe Jan just cares about Michael too much, and really thinks that Holly is not right for her.

(Not a chance.)

3) Jim/Pam: Just when we thought they were seemingly drifting apart, that dual voice mail “call” showed just how close they really are. At the same time, though, the phone call seems to tease that they are now so far “off” that, maybe, just maybe, they need to question whether or not their relationship is going to work.

I hope the writers do not introduce a third person into their relationship, as the barrier between them—the drive to NY from Scranton, namely—is obstacle enough. In just one episode—I’d aruge just one moment—the writers have now brought serious doubts to the minds of us viewers as to whether or not the Jim/Pam relationship will survive.

And you know what? Don’t put it past the writers to decide that the Jim/Pam relationship is headed for failure, as unpopular as that will be!

Tonight’s “storyline” episode was FANTASTIC, despite being so relationship-heavy, and a plethora of one-liners kept me laughing my butt off throughout. How dare I doubt your ability to entertain me, The Office! Shame on me!

Until next time!

Tags: baby shower, review, running blog, The Office by Peter
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