i'm liking the episode.

but I wonder if this strange thing between Pam's parents and Jim and her dad is what I was predicting earlier:

Quote :

"any week now they'll insert some kind trumped up drama to get us all interested again [in pam and jim]."

well, scratch that


was that the first look of "Parks and Recreation" we've gotten?

[Edited on February 1, 2009 at 11:34 PM. Reason : .]

2/1/2009 11:34:00 PM

oh my god this is terrible.

as someone who has watched every episode of this show, i feel like i have the right to bitch and moan about this.

2/1/2009 11:34:59 PM

awwwwwwwwww

2/1/2009 11:35:05 PM

who was Michael being with that outfit and the speech.
some late night guy?

2/1/2009 11:37:39 PM

Quote :

""any week now they'll insert some kind trumped up drama to get us all interested again [in pam and jim].""

holy shit

un-strike that with the return of a pregnant Karen

[Edited on February 1, 2009 at 11:49 PM. Reason : \/ I'm not nostradamus, it was in the teaser]

2/1/2009 11:42:01 PM

You all really thought that was that bad?

I give it a 9+/10, I laughed throughout, one of the best episodes in a long while.

Although they have yet to address the Andy-Angela situation again, which bothers me.

[Edited on February 1, 2009 at 11:47 PM. Reason : ^ IMBD does show that Karen will be in the next episode, interesting]

[Edited on February 1, 2009 at 11:53 PM. Reason : ^ i guess i missed the teaser, my bad bro.]

[Edited on February 1, 2009 at 11:54 PM. Reason : .]

2/1/2009 11:43:08 PM

^yea it's pretty sad that they couldn't wedge that in there somewhere with an hour. I had actually forgotten all about it

2/1/2009 11:45:00 PM

Yeah I thought Andy was gonna get inspired by that terrible Jack Black movie and try and make a new play for Angela, but after both Andy and Dwight discovered that they were being used I think they've pretty much both dropped her for a good while

when the show starts faltering again they'll bring it back i'm sure

2/1/2009 11:50:43 PM

Quote :

"i hope YouTube comes by and films this"

2/2/2009 12:05:25 AM

a few laughs but overall not a good episode at all.. the fire part at the beginning was terrible, way too ridiculous/slapstick-y for a show like "The Office." the Jack Black movie was also awful.. this show just tries too hard now, and fails

2/2/2009 12:09:10 AM

i laughed my ass off at the fire scene

but yes, it def smacked of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia or some other over-the-top show

(i can't think of anything else actually - it looked like a scene out of Always Sunny)

2/2/2009 12:17:31 AM

Quote :

"this show just tries too hard now, and fails"

QFT

2/2/2009 1:02:37 AM

Turned it off after 11:15 to get a decent sleep for work. It wasn't a difficult decision to make.

The opening fire scene was terrible. It's funny when the characters do ridiculous things and all, but they pushed it too far IMO. Sure, you have to have be able to create some suspension of disbelief when watching Michael and Dwight do their crazy things, but in this season, and especially with the opening of this episode, it has been impossible to do so. Not only do you have to have plausible situations where you can successfully suspend disbelief in the character's actions, but you also have to be able to believe that the other characters reactions are somewhat realistic. In the first 20 minutes of this episode you have neither.

Sure, some of those guys should have been fired five times over given stuff they've done in the past, but they are seriously pushing it too far. It's to the point where it's not even funny anymore. Karen is back, and pregnant? I'm done.

The Office was the only show I made it a point to see during the course of the week. At least my schedule is clear now.

[Edited on February 2, 2009 at 7:16 AM. Reason : -]

2/2/2009 7:15:07 AM

i thought it was the best episode i had seen in a while. Then again, i take it for a show of entertainment, so i'll prolly enjoyy it more than most on here. Oh well, i laughed my ass off. It was great

2/2/2009 7:18:23 AM

The best part of the whole show for me was Dwight wearing the CPR dummy's face as a mask, Silence of the Lambs style. The shit was great, especially followed up with, "That's why we ahve training... now Dwight know's not to cut off the face of a real person and wear it."

2/2/2009 9:01:43 AM

This episode sucked major donkey dick. What the fuck was up with the whole Andy movie scenes. Just so they could claim a bunch of names as guest stars?

2/2/2009 9:05:20 AM

I laughed at the CPR scene but that was about it

Really lame to tout Jack Black and Alba and have them just be in that stupid movie

and Alba was in there for what, 5 seconds ?

2/2/2009 9:47:22 AM

it wasn't one of their stronger episodes. i don't think the movie thing contributed to anything at all and really should have been left out. it detracted from the rest of the story and was just stupid imo. i did like the roast part, although it was pretty predictable.

2/2/2009 9:52:22 AM

i laughed at a few parts. can definitely tell the series is falling off a bit though :\

2/2/2009 10:10:15 AM

Man, I laughed throughout but I do have to say that I was very weirded out the whole episode. I know awkwardness is their bag but jeez, awkward was so overwhelming last night.

2/2/2009 10:13:02 AM

Once again, this just proves the office needs to stay at 30 minutes

2/2/2009 10:16:50 AM

Quote :

"Then again, i take it for a show of entertainment, so i'll prolly enjoyy it more than most on here."

what? you think the rest of us tune in to see dwight solve crimes or some shit?


...another thing, did they really expect us to give a fuck about Pam's parents?

[Edited on February 2, 2009 at 10:42 AM. Reason : ..]

2/2/2009 10:41:53 AM

you know the whole parents thing was just a setup for the 'awwww' moment at the end, I don't think they really expected you to care too much

they're just setting up the drama for just when you think their relationship is as strong as ever, a challenger approaches (karen)

[Edited on February 2, 2009 at 11:08 AM. Reason : grammar]

2/2/2009 10:45:15 AM

i'm gonna go ahead and call it. karen's baby daddy is...



DWIGHT

2/2/2009 10:53:32 AM

Quote :

"Then again, i take it for a show of entertainment, so i'll prolly enjoyy it more than most on here."

i love this show. it's my favorite network program. i just thought the movie thing was really really stupid and pointless.

2/2/2009 11:06:40 AM

last nights show wasn't anywhere near the quality of what they have produced in previous seasons or this season. i agree the whole fire scene was a bit too much, as was the dummy scene. 30 minutes after the super bowl would have been sufficient. i rarely ever complain about episodes but i made my gf stay up to watch it with me and i felt bad for having done son given how unimpressive the episode was. I agree saying they have jack black and alba and then restricting it to that movie is a little too much of a bait and switch. I see what they did there, i just don't appreciate it. The movie scenes i felt contributed a little only because they made andy feel so inferior to pam and jim as they discussed her parents. i too missed the teaser but only because i was so unimpressed with the teaser the option of 3 extra minutes of sleep seemed more appealing to me.

2/2/2009 12:01:34 PM

great episode last night

2/2/2009 12:41:40 PM

I really wish that they hadn't televised the fire scene so heavily in the super bowl commercials, because just like the trailer for a bad comedy movie, all of the best jokes and parts of it were totally given away and I would have laughed a lot more had I not already seen it three times before

2/2/2009 12:59:08 PM

karen has been gone for over a year. it is obviously not jim's.

michael: i am trying to remember how long ago you and jim were together...

karen: a year and a half, moron.

joke over

2/2/2009 1:32:34 PM

oh well whatever, I thought it was a pretty good episode, and yeah the movie with Jack Black was pretty stupid

anybody know what the song was in the last scene with Jack Black?

2/2/2009 1:51:15 PM

i liked this episode, laughed the whole time.

angela's cat was in the filing cabinet, hahahahahaha

and dwight putting the face on was great.

the movie thing was dumb.

that is all.

2/2/2009 1:54:07 PM

Quote :

"karen has been gone for over a year. it is obviously not jim's."

because there is no way possible jim could have gotten with her while pam was in new york....

2/2/2009 1:55:40 PM

that would be a huge stretch for Jim's character, especially given how he and Karen acted around each other last spring when they went to her office

2/2/2009 2:29:39 PM

Everything with Dwight and Michael was good.

The Jim & Pam drama and the movie were just pointless and unfunny.

2/2/2009 2:31:34 PM

John Krasinki or whatever his name is really struggles when he has to act outside of the normal smug Jim Persona

When he tries to be surprised or angry or frustrated, it comes off as pretty forced and non-believable

2/2/2009 2:35:03 PM

Quote :

"angela's cat was in the filing cabinet, hahahahahaha"

i just don't think this type of shit works in The Office.. obviously they used that to set up the cat-through-the-ceiling gag, but why would anyone keep a cat in a filing cabinet?

2/2/2009 2:50:54 PM

maybe so Dwight doesn't stick it in a freezer?

2/2/2009 2:51:56 PM

i'm convinced that the people saying they still like this show are doing it just to spite me.

2/2/2009 4:50:35 PM

The beginning would have been a lot funnier if they did not show all of the lol moments in the preview... I liked it because it was a nice change of tempo from the regular awkward beginning - even if a bit too slapstick.

Jim and Pam thing was gay. Dwight was a little too Dwight... the dummy mask was a lol moment - but his actions throughout the episode were way over the top... even for the character. Less believable, but still kinda funny.

The roast was forgettable. Stayng Alive song was good, especially when the pan over to Kelly dancing. Creed had 2 funny lines I think.

All things considered, I was happy with the episode.

2/2/2009 5:23:21 PM

Quote :

"i'm convinced that the people saying they still like this show are doing it just to spite me."

you're giving yourself too much credit. So hard to believe some people have a different sense of humor than you?

2/2/2009 6:24:46 PM

Quote :

"i just don't think this type of shit works in The Office.. obviously they used that to set up the cat-through-the-ceiling gag, but why would anyone keep a cat in a filing cabinet?"

Seriously? It's just as credible as anything else that happens in The Office, everybody knows how Angela is a huge cat freak, I mean she broke it off with Dwight because he killed her cat a long time ago

Between that and all the other weird issues she has I wouldn't put it past her to sneak her cat to work so she doesn't have to leave it alone

Of course it's not realistic that she'd get away with it but it's the fucking Office, stop over-analyzing everything and just laugh, it's a comedy not a reality show

2/2/2009 6:31:49 PM

call me crazy, but one of the big appeals of The Office is the realistic aspect of it.. being able to create funny/awkward situations while still keeping things (somewhat) believable..

the longer this show goes on, the more it shows that Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant are much better writers than anyone associated with this show.

2/2/2009 7:40:11 PM

anyone have a link to this clip of karen from next week? I fail at the google.

2/2/2009 9:24:27 PM

^^

realistic?

really?

have you ever had a job?

That said, this episode was hit and miss. I laughed pretty hard a few times, but for a lot of it, they turned up the awkward a few notches too high, and i was cringing rather than laughing.

2/3/2009 7:10:24 AM

Quote :

" Stayng Alive song was good, especially when the pan over to Kelly dancing. "

yes! that was my favorite part of the episode

2/3/2009 7:19:34 AM

Cringing rather than laughing pretty much describes all of season 5 and most of season 4 for me.

Quote :

"call me crazy, but one of the big appeals of The Office is the realistic aspect of it.. being able to create funny/awkward situations while still keeping things (somewhat) believable.."

Yeah, I hear what you are saying. There certainly are different degrees to unbelievable situations, and they've gone from could happen to would never happen to not even remotely plausible in short order.
I think they've just ran out of material... for my sense of humor at least.

2/3/2009 7:26:33 AM

I thought this was one of the better episodes in a long time.

2/3/2009 10:41:55 AM

^^ I've been making that basic argument since Season 3, but everytime I brought it up on here I would just get yelled at - "it's just a TV show, lighten up".

I guess by the end of Season 4, I more or less "got over it" and have since then just tried to enjoy the show for what it is, without worrying about the realism or the number of camera angles or whatever. Although, it does take away a lot of the initial magic of the show that it had back in S1 and 2 where you could actually imagine that stuff happening in a real office.

2/3/2009 11:57:13 AM

The episode definitely had a different feel and style from the norm, especially right at the beginning. And I think that makes perfect sense. It's right after the Super Bowl, you've got an enormous audience out there that hasn't changed the channel or turned off their TVs, so you blitz them with some really zany, fast-paced, slapstick comedy to get their attention. As a play to get more viewers interested in the show, I thought it was well-thought out. As a new style to be used in general, I think that would be a terrible idea. But just once, when given a once-in-a-series opportunity to draw in a bigger audience? I can live with that.

And Stanley smashing the vending machine had me rolling.

2/3/2009 12:11:11 PM

^ Kevin

2/3/2009 12:12:38 PM