The Office season 5 - Page 8

Re: The Office season 5

Loved seeing Idris Elba (Stringer Bell from The Wire) back on my screen!

Re: The Office season 5

I guess I didn't make my point very well; I need to remember to not respond to posts first thing in the morning! What I was trying to say was... it wasn't so much the party being canceled and whether or not he could have one, so much as it was the way it was handled. I agree that it's not unreasonable to make such cuts, particularly in this economy. And I also agree with you that Michael's branch being the only one to turn a profit and Dwight being the top salesman is more of a writer's thing to keep everyone in place than any sort of believable reality - so be it, it is television afterall. The issue is more about respect and just treating people with some level of decency. Now I agree Michael should have been fired a long time ago -- but he wasn't. And after 15 years, at a certain point it becomes more than just Michael's responsibility that he behaves inappropriately, it's the responsibility of his supervisors who are fully aware of his shenanigans and lets them go on anyway. If Michael's behavior has been allowed for that long, it's almost unfair at this point for his boss to suddenly be a jerk to him. David Wallace should have had the decency, or the guts, or whatever you want to call it, to say "Hey Michael, listen, we appreciate the work you do for us, but the fact of the matter is that I'm the president (?) of this company and I have a lot of things to oversee, and that V.P. position is one that needs to be filled, because I don't have the time to directly oversee individual branches." And he should have told him directly, hey, you're taking marching orders from this guy who does have authority over you, and I'm fully aware of and approving of his decisions. Michael bothers David way too much, and I agree that a person in David's position can't be bothered to deal with that stuff on a daily basis. But as someone who's enabled or allowed Michael's behavior to continue over the years, as much as it would have made Wallace come off as a jerk, it really should have been up to Wallace to say, hey, don't bug me anymore. Sending someone else to say "the boss doesn't want to talk to you" considering the nature of their relationship, as we've seen it in the show, is just a crappy thing to do.

That doesn't, in my opinion, let Michael off the hook for his outrageous behavior. I'm sure we've all had problems with supervisors before, but especially if you're a management-type person and your boss comes in, you can't contradict or be insubordinate to that new person, particularly in front of the people you're supposed to be managing. It's just that in my opinion, David Wallace obviously knew there was going to be a reaction like that, which is why he didn't want to be there or be part of those conversations, and as a high management person, not wanting to deal with it isn't a good enough excuse not to. In this particular instance based on the history we've seen, not as an across the board rule. More people were out of line than were not in this situation, I think. Michael most egregiously so, but by no means the only one.

Re: The Office season 5

Poor Jim. He kept trying to appeal to the new VP's sense of humor, but when it comes to business and company time, he didn't seem to have one. Jim's comment about making his career "disappear" at the end almost single-handedly sold the tux gag for me.

Michael's words to Wallace at the end of the episode weren't as meaningful as they might be with another employee, because he's always making rash statements and then digging himself out again. I'm not saying he didn't mean it, or that it won't have serious consequences, but it's easy to imagine such a statement coming in the middle of any other episode, and then being resolved ten minutes later. With a man like Michael, it's sometimes hard to take his defiance seriously. (Which I guess is kind of the point.)

Re: The Office season 5

Yeah, Pam's comment about Michael's stages of ridiculous behavior was great - she knew that when Michael goes right into repeating everything like a 4-year-old, it means trouble is brewing.

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Loved Pam's "Jerry Maguire" moment tonight.

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and then "The Graduate"...

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and "Office Space" with the copier.

Going by Charles' meeting in the conference room, I can see that he has no idea on which employee is the best fit for each position. The only person worse than Kevin on phones is Creed. I think Charles' experience at DM is going to be like a duck in winter.

Re: The Office season 5

I liked the camera work at floor-level, with Michael's army crawl and Pam working on the copier. I want her to come and work on our copier!

"Finally, Michael has a story that we all want to hear, and... He knows."

Kevin on the phones and Stanley as the Productivity Czar?!

I liked how Pam told Michael how to make his own company letterhead by scanning DM's letterhead and Photoshopping it... only to be interrupted when he just wanted scotch tape instead.

Pam leaving with Michael but demanding to be a salesman instead of the receptionist was great. I'm liking her initiative.

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I did like the montage of abuse the copier took

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I just finished watching these last two episodes back to back. Not really sure what to say. I kept waiting for SOMEONE to just shout out "GOTCHA!" revealing the whole thing was a prank. This show was never about realism but it always seemed to do pretty well to cross over the line and then pull back just in time. These last two episodes were completely out there. Pam joining Michael in his company that will never happen just topped the whole absurd thing off. Didn't enjoy these episodes at all.

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Pam likes Michael enough (or pities him enough) to want to help him. And it's not like she's putting alot on the line, she's got a crappy job, she can probably get something similar fairly easily (when Michael fails), she's living with Jim so there's no rent check due and she can rely temporarily on Jim's income.

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Somehow I feel they are going to twist it by having Jim fired just as Michael and Pam are re-hired.

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If Charles wasn't showing such disdain for Jim I would think he would get Michael's job. Then again, it could be a test of Jim's character.

Man, Pam leaving to go with Michael was such a Jerry McGuire moment. I wish the writers would have had Michael give some sort of acknowledgement to it as that's totally in his character to do so.

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The first two seasons were all about the slightly abnormal characters in real situations. It was after that that it became all about goofy jokes. I have to say, the last two episodes were the first time since midway through season 3 that I've really been excited about the show.

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I agree, Anthony. I've actually enjoyed the past couple episodes more than any in a while, if for no other reason than they're just doing something different.

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I bought it because Pam had just spent the whole day learning every function of that copier and was realizing that she actually was good at making things happen for herself instead of waiting for someone else to give her opportunities.

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I totally agree. Although this show stopped being a "mockumentary" a while back, the recent plot developments are no more "out there" (the wacky SNL approach to comedy) than anything we've seen this season or last, and the show hasn't been this "vital" since the end of Season 3.

I have arranged my expectations of this show to match what it is now capable of; nevertheless, after the last couple episodes, I'm very curious as to how they're going to handle Michael's absence. This got me to thinking: it's not so much that the writers or actors got any less talented; they've just worked in their comfort zone for so long that they began parodying their own show.

Jim's conflict with Charles is especially interesting, because Jim really has a lot to lose now.

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I'm sure it will be fleshed out a bit more with the awesome deleted scenes we get with every season release on dvd.

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the last episode especially blew me away. It felt fresh again for the first time in quite a while. The Pam leaving was a huge shock, but remember she has been willing to leave since season 1. I think she will now actually have the courage to follow her dream as an artist
I love this show again.

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My renewed love for this show just got crushed.

2 new episodes tonight, and I didn't think either was even mediocre. What gives?

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They were just sort of depressing watching Michael and Pam fail while Ryan the asshole hangs around. And the proper Office storylines were lackluster.

The only big laugh for me was the altered credits sequence with the Michael Scott Paper Company broom closet office.

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Yeah, both episodes just felt scattered, and rushed in the writing department.
What a letdown

I really liked that too.

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The Dwight-Andy bromance was kinda funny.

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Again, enjoying The Office nowadays is all about adjusted expectations. Personally, I enjoyed the two new episodes more than I've enjoyed this show in a LONG while, if just for the fact that they can't use the old "Michael walks out of his office and announces something stupid while people react in a muted / exasperated fashion" joke.

Jim's constant state of FAIL is a comedy gold mine, in my opinion. The evaporation of the stupid love-triangle, which almost single-handedly destroyed this season, has also made Dwight, Andy and Angela funny again. Dwight's creepy "ghost story" (and his leering guffaws at the end of the story) was so very WRONG.

Loved the bango / guitar competition that transformed into a joyful love-fest.

They should never have brought back Ryan to Dunder-Mifflin this season. That was a stupid. lazy move, and I think they realized it. THIS is the way they should have brought him back originally. It makes logical sense, but it's also funnier from a comedy perspective. He has more room to be a ridiculous jerk, and this show NEEDS villains. It needs Charles and Ryan... or Toby, Office Killjoy.

Speaking of Toby, wasn't that his voice coming out of the vent, talking about "Damages" and if blue will go with tan? Surprisingly, I didn't mind that Michael ended up in the same building, because they didn't ONLY do it to keep the ensemble together. It also makes sense that Billy is Michael's only real estate contact, and that he'd have very few other options but to go to him.

Michael quitting was the best thing that could have happened to this show, even if it's still falling short of its potential. Maybe this is a case of lowered expectations. I just hope they don't "reset" the format by the end of the season.

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"Who would have thought that the thing that would save this company would be work?"

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They're doing a good job of mixing things up instead of the expexted and tired storylines.

Yes the show is absurd but at the same time there is some real humanity in this show that is missing from so much of tv. It's sometimes subtle, but the Office does a great job of mixing reality in absurdness....

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I like how Dwight now has the upper hand over Jim by expoliting Jim's obvious mismatch with Charles in both personality and professionalism

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Yeah, if they would have saved Ryan until the last couple of episodes, it would have been hilarious, and unexpected. unfortunately, I got a "him again?" vibe.
I didn't enjoy it.

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The first one was okay, but the second episode was a laugh riot -- Ryan commenting on Pam being a 6 in NY but a 7 in Scranton (and her look as she realizes he's talking about her) and Dwight's line about "blood flowing to your penis" (and Stanley's look of disgust) had me howling. Also:

Michael saying, "It's Britney, bitch" to the camera (as Lady GaGa plays on the radio)
Creed putting back the 8.5 X 11 pancakes he took
Michael's dream about the tunafish and peanut butter sandwich
The bathroom call about Damages
Cute new receptionist
And yes, the reworked credits.

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Loved to see Michael the top-notch salesman again tonight. My guess is that the Michael Scott Paper Company will do enough damage to Dunder Mifflin's bottom line that Dunder Mifflin acquires the company and merges it with the Scranton branch, thus restoring Michael's place at the head of the office.