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The Office Discussion Thread - Page 10

post #451 of 1100
12/4/09 at 9:30pm
When the employees at the Scranton branch come together, they immediately become like a Simpsons mob.

"WHERE CAN WE GET THESE PLACEBOS!?"
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post #452 of 1100
12/4/09 at 9:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaNY View Post
I'm getting reeeaally uncomfortable with how hostile everyone's being towards Jim. Not loving it, y'know?
I don't mind the basic idea, but like everyone's been saying, they've had to dumb down his character considerably to draw it out. All he had to say at any point in this episode was "Dwight put together the rankings, and I shouldn't have even been on the list." The only redeeming part of that entire storyline was Dwight's cruelly accurate impressions of his co-workers. Actually, Pam's "yup" was pretty cute, too.

As for Michael, this was the most egregious instance of the writers pulling the punch on something impossibly horrible he did. Although, it is entirely in character that he would find whatever little silver lining he could to make himself the hero in his mind, so I'm not sure how annoyed to be.

Weak outing overall, but it did give us this gem:

"I've made a lot of empty promises in my life. But this one was by far the most generous."
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post #453 of 1100
12/6/09 at 10:07pm
I'm pretty skeptical of the long con argument. It's one thing for Jim to be dumb enough to fall for the ruse, but it's another thing entirely to risk his relationship with his boss over one of Dwight's schemes. That David Wallace is in on it seems even less feasible given that the company is falling apart; not exactly a lighthearted, prank-pulling climate for the folks in charge.

The print out of My Diabolical Plan was gold, but most of the episode was a chore for me to get through.
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post #454 of 1100
12/7/09 at 2:46am
I'm slow getting to all my shows this week; I have to say that as cringe-worthy as this season has been thus far (and I mostly mean that in a GOOD way), I have never wanted to avert my eyes as much as I did during the "Scott's Tots" scenes. Loved the set-up for the kids instead getting the laptop...batteries ("Hey! They're LITHIUM!")

This ep wasn't the best because of the stretched plausibility in both plots (yes, I'm aware it's a sitcom). NO ONE from the high school has ever checked up on Michael Scott's financial creds before this point, in order to avoid such a scene as transpired? Also, I don't see the "long con" happening for Jim; it seems like he's being written as more oblivious than usual on purpose. It was an easy situation to explain away; while being somewhat funny it just got a little ridiculous.
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post #455 of 1100
12/8/09 at 12:00pm
Finally caught this episode as well. I usually really enjoy the uncomfortable humor, but man, that Scott's Tots thing was brutal. I couldn't laugh at anything because I was too busy squirming. And that's the first time that has happened on this show.

I also have to agree that they are writing Jim dumb here for some reason. Perhaps he is doing the long con. It certainly isn't beyond the realm of possibility that he found Dwight's Nefarious Plan on the copier before Ryan did (or Pam did and told Jim). It boggles my mind that Jim would go along with anything Dwight proposed without checking everything first...but that seems to be the case.

Also, while some of the workers there in the office are pretty stupid, that Stanley or Oscar would immediately believe Jim would give himself Employee of the Month is a stretch. I guess like others have said, that mob mentality is a hard one to avoid.

The Baby Talk/Elvis cold open was OUTSTANDING.
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post #456 of 1100
12/8/09 at 12:36pm
The Elvis "Thank you, thank you a lot." got me pretty good.
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post #457 of 1100
12/10/09 at 11:37pm
I LOVED it! I mean, this show normally does great Christmas episodes, but that was awesome!
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post #458 of 1100
12/11/09 at 2:05am
Michael seems to be at his most petulantly monstrous during Christmas episodes. Usually at the expense of Phyllis. But at least he didn't get people to like him by getting them drunk. Hehehe.

Really liked the payoff to Andy's gift for Erin.
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post #459 of 1100
12/11/09 at 2:43am
So, the shake-up at the top of Dunder Mifflin has probably wiped out all of the groundwork for Dwight's Operation:Get Jim.

Of course, the new regime could send Idris Elba back to the branch.
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post #460 of 1100
12/11/09 at 10:26am
I love how David Wallace was like, No, all of you are safe, it's just me getting fired and everybody goes "IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!" haha

12 drummers drumming was pretty freaking sweet.
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post #461 of 1100
12/11/09 at 12:09pm
Interesting take on last week's episode
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post #462 of 1100
12/11/09 at 12:15pm
I can't say I disagree with any of that. But I don't mind the show shaking things up.
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post #463 of 1100
12/11/09 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Sounds like the writer doesn't like that it isn't "more of the same." With most comedies/sitcoms, a character might go through something in one episode that could be profound. But the very next show the "Reset" button is hit.

Here the characters are allowed to grow up, change, etc. and it has a lasting effect. That's a good thing.
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post #464 of 1100
12/11/09 at 1:33pm
I don't mind the show shaking things up, either, but I think they're doing a pretty mediocre job of it. Perhaps this is just where my biases lie, but I'm continually bothered by how completely they seem to be writing around Jim and Pam (not as individuals, but as a couple) this season. They're at work, so I certainly don't expect romantic moments or the like, but so much of the heart and moral center of the show hinges on the way the two of them interact in a given episode. Their barely speaking to one another makes the show feel hollow.

Moreover, and this was mentioned in the NPR article, if we consider them as individuals, we suddenly have both of them taking work that they do not like seriously. They haven't even touched the ramifications of that. Three or four seasons ago, Jim told us that he'd throw himself in front of a train if selling paper was his career. Now it is. Aside from the print hanging above his desk in his office, we haven't had a single comment on this change. And Pam seems to have cast aside her artistic ambitions in favor of helping to make ends meet. What does that mean for her? There are interesting ways this could be brought into the show and it's just not happening.
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post #465 of 1100
12/11/09 at 1:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissZooey View Post
Moreover, and this was mentioned in the NPR article, if we consider them as individuals, we suddenly have both of them taking work that they do not like seriously.
I don't think it's been sudden at all. I think we've slowly seen their jobs becoming more important to them, and more importantly, I don't think we're necessarily supposed to see that as a good thing.

Quote:
Three or four seasons ago, Jim told us that he'd throw himself in front of a train if selling paper was his career.
Three or four seasons ago, Jim wasn't married with a kid on the way. Life has a funny way of adding permanence to things you swear are temporary.
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post #466 of 1100
12/11/09 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
I don't think it's been sudden at all. I think we've slowly seen their jobs becoming more important to them, and more importantly, I don't think we're necessarily supposed to see that as a good thing.
Perhaps suddenly was an overstatement. And I agree, I don't think it is supposed to be a good thing, but we really haven't had any comment on the complexity of the situation.

Quote:
Three or four seasons ago, Jim wasn't married with a kid on the way. Life has a funny way of adding permanence to things you swear are temporary.
I know that this is a very common turn of events for people in their late 20s and early 30s. It's a complicated and often poignant place to be in life. I wish the show was doing something to mine the richness of it.
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post #467 of 1100
12/11/09 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissZooey View Post
I know that this is a very common turn of events for people in their late 20s and early 30s. It's a complicated and often poignant place to be in life. I wish the show was doing something to mine the richness of it.
If they were even partially successful in this, it would return a poignancy to the show that has not been there since Jim and Pam got together.
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post #468 of 1100
12/11/09 at 1:54pm
Hear, hear, englebert. It bothers me that they are, basically, perpetuating the stereotype that life and romance ends with marriage. Given that they had done such interesting and realistic things with Jim and Pam for the first fourish seasons, this sudden abandonment is disappointing.
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post #469 of 1100
12/11/09 at 2:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissZooey View Post
It bothers me that they are, basically, perpetuating the stereotype that life and romance ends with marriage.
Wut!? It doesn't!? (runs off and gets hitched)

I am hoping that they're at least saving the really meaty stuff involving Jim and Pam's married life for the end of the season. Because you're definitely right about them seeming so one-dimensional lately.

Ryan showed a surprising amount of kindness when he got Toby the kite by observing his current reading material. Then he showed his douchey side again by rejecting Toby's hug. Poor Toby.
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post #470 of 1100
12/11/09 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
Is it possible Pam will sit out for the rest of the season after the baby is born?
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post #471 of 1100
12/11/09 at 2:53pm
How far into her pregnancy is Pam supposed to be now?
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post #472 of 1100
12/11/09 at 3:01pm
I don't even think Pam's really pregnant!
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post #473 of 1100
12/11/09 at 3:04pm
The scene where Kelly is overwhelmed by getting the Twilight poster was just perfect.
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post #474 of 1100
12/11/09 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
And yet another classic Creed moment.
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post #475 of 1100
12/11/09 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
How far into her pregnancy is Pam supposed to be now?
By my timing, she should be due in February. The wedding episode was Oct. 8th, and she complained to Jim that she was "five months pregnant and not feeling pretty." That would make her due in February - which, judging by her current fake belly, looks about right (assuming that the air date of a TV show episode is definitely corresponding to an event taking place in that episode. Or something...).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
The scene where Kelly is overwhelmed by getting the Twilight poster was just perfect.
I absolutely died laughing! I love how they only show you a little bit of the corner of the poster while she's hyperventilating, "Oh, Jim! Oh Jim!" Then when she tackles him for a hug, it kind of flips around so you see the front of it, and just... golden!
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post #476 of 1100
12/11/09 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissZooey View Post
It bothers me that they are, basically, perpetuating the stereotype that life and romance ends with having kids.
fixed, and it's true.
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post #477 of 1100
12/12/09 at 1:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
Ryan showed a surprising amount of kindness when he got Toby the kite by observing his current reading material. Then he showed his douchey side again by rejecting Toby's hug. Poor Toby.
Giving someone a kite because they read The Kite Runner is like getting them a skull keychain because they liked The Lovely Bones. Toby was probably just happy not to be forgotten.
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post #478 of 1100
12/12/09 at 1:53am
But but but... this is Ryan we're talking about!

Eh, you're right. Hahaha.
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post #479 of 1100
12/12/09 at 12:29pm
"But what if I've been really bad? More evil than wrong?"
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post #480 of 1100
12/15/09 at 3:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
Giving someone a kite because they read The Kite Runner is like getting them a skull keychain because they liked The Lovely Bones. Toby was probably just happy not to be forgotten.
It was a Rainbow kite. I thought Ryan gave it to him because he thinks Toby is gay, and the book was a coincidense
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post #481 of 1100
12/15/09 at 4:16am
No coincidence-- he specifically says he got the kite because he saw the book out on Toby's desk. To wit: he put the absolute least possible amount of thought into the gift, and was taken aback at how emotionally starved Toby really is.
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post #482 of 1100
12/15/09 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
No coincidence-- he specifically says he got the kite because he saw the book out on Toby's desk. To wit: he put the absolute least possible amount of thought into the gift, and was taken aback at how emotionally starved Toby really is.
I thought that was a cop out for the gay Kite when he glanced at the book on his desk. I'm probably wrong but it would have been typical douche Ryan to buy him a gay pride Kite.
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post #483 of 1100
12/15/09 at 4:58pm
I don't recall any previous speculating on Toby's orientation. Nobody cares enough about him to bother.
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post #484 of 1100
12/31/09 at 1:50am
After watching tonight's "marathon" of episodes, Dwight has veered from amusing to downright creepy. I am really beginning to hate that character.
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post #485 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:25pm
A goddamn clip show???
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post #486 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:30pm
I can't remember the last time i saw a clip show.
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post #487 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:42pm
In an era where you have easily accessible episodes from past seasons there really is no need for a clip show.
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post #488 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
A goddamn clip show???
THIS!

God dammit, Office. I thought you were better than that.

I fucking hate clip shows.
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post #489 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:43pm
What the shit was that? Is it 1992? Who thought it would be good to come back from over a month of hiatus with a CLIP SHOW? Didn't even know they still existed. I choose to blame NBC. Fuck those guys.
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post #490 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:45pm
Weak. The Office hits a new low.
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post #491 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:47pm
*cough*jumptheshark*cough*

Was there anything good in the way of new material? Thinking of skipping this episode.
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post #492 of 1100
1/21/10 at 11:54pm
Eh, I guess there were some mildly amusing moments in the framing segments but you can absolutely afford to miss this one.

Aside from clip shows being lame and dated, they really don't fit the format of the show. I know they already play fast and loose with it but come on, busting out a television trope from the VHS era is pushing it too far
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post #493 of 1100
1/22/10 at 12:49am
I stopped wathing the moment the second clip segment started. I assume I didn't miss anything?
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post #494 of 1100
1/22/10 at 1:01am
There were only 10 total funny seconds of tonight's episode and they all occurred during Dwight's "Computron" scenes.

Even The Simpsons quit doing clip shows 10 years ago.
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post #495 of 1100
1/22/10 at 2:09am
So NBC continues to ruin its reputation. No surprise there.

Computron was awesome, though. And Fake Stanley.
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post #496 of 1100
1/22/10 at 2:48am
Ugh. UGH!
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post #497 of 1100
1/22/10 at 11:50am
what the fuck? the fact-checker visiting should have been RIPE material for a full ep.
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post #498 of 1100
1/22/10 at 12:05pm
I agree with Ryan. The fact checker's presence just screamed for new, hilarious shenanigans, and the most that we got was fucking Computron. (Not that Computron wasn't funny, but still.)

I think Fake Stanley stole the show, personally, but that's probably not saying much given that it was a fucking clip show.
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post #499 of 1100
1/23/10 at 1:13am
There was just enough new material to make me watch the entire goddamn thing, and they're bastards for doing it. The real dick move was coming back from the break with this.
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post #500 of 1100
1/23/10 at 6:50am
A clip show? Seriously? Is this some ironic meta-thing that I'm missing?
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