Making the world a better place, one show at a time.

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I guess you would like to know a little bit about the person making all these proclamations upon good taste and horrid characters. I'm Andrea and when I was 15 I fell in love. An hour after meeting "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" I was forever altered in the way only love can, and I never questioned for one minute afterwards that television offered me an amazing chance to experience lives and moments that I could never imagine. So now, when I'm not getting distracted by my real life, I write about TV. I also read, am finishing a Master's degree in English Literature, travel, am attempting to learn vegan cooking, am the 5th of 6 children, and drive my roommate nuts by constantly cleaning our already clean apartment. Now that we're old friends, time for you to take my opinions as the be all and end all.

Friday, April 18, 2008

The Office (8.5): How Old Was That Catalogue?

I expressed a fear yesterday that I know many other fans of The Office shared with me: would our beloved show ever be as good as it was in Season Two? (Season Two is what I meant when I used the word “again.”) Last night, for one episode, my fears were assuaged. That was an awesome episode. It had all of the elements that were missing from the last episode: the majority of the episode took place inside the office, there was at least on work-related plot line, the incidental characters got to have their say, Pam and Jim seemed like themselves and not strange relationship robots. Again, awesome!

I know that we will never know and we are probably better off not knowing, but I have to ask: what does Creed need three office chairs for?

I am so jealous of Andy and Kevin. Am I the only one who would love to reinterpret/reenact a scene from The Godfather? I wish I could call a meeting of the Five Families to address minor inconveniences to my day. I loved their righteous indignation over the parking situation, and the enthusiasm with which they attacked the problem. And major points to Mr. Andrew Bernard for matching his socks and his tie.

Disagree with me all you want, but Michael Scott is a better character as a jerk. The guy is a total ass-hat and it is fantastic. He requires his employees to set him up on dates with their friends. He tells a woman he thinks is ugly that all he wants is a companionable relationship, and he tells a woman he thinks is hot that he should be having a torrid affair. He visits the grave of a total stranger and sings. He is preposterously self-involved, and while the small moments of vulnerability make him bearable, attempts to make him sympathetic or relatable do not do the show any favors.

And Dwight's old-world understanding of male/female interaction can only be described in one word: brilliant.

I suppose I should talk about the big news from last night’s episode. Well, if I must. Jim is going to propose to Pam! And he is going to fake her out about it to torture her and us! That is the prank-pulling guy Pam (and we) fell for. Though the rational part of my brain wonders about the wisdom of buying a ring after dating for a week, or the wisdom of getting engaged so soon after ending an engagement, I am unable to hear that rational part of my brain over the excited giddy part of my brain. I think Jim and Pam’s marriage would be a good place to end the series.

The TV Girl

2 comments:

Kay Pea said...

Yes, yes and yes! Last night was brilliant. Favorite line was Andy Bernard: "Kevin, I lost a penny from my loafer!"
I noticed that BJ Novak wrote that episode and it seemed noticely better than the previous episodes so perhaps he should maybe do a little less screen time and a little more writing, although he is pretty perfect as Ryan.
And you are 100% right about Michael Scott. Any attempts to make his sympathetic take away from the nature of the show.
I would argue though that The Office is in no hurry to end the series so I forsee a Pam/Jim breakup and then a get back together...and I bet that is not the last we see of pam's landlord...

The TV Girl said...

Sing it sister!