Office Watch: 911 Is a Joke
Spoilers for this week's Office coming up after the jump:
"I learned a while back that if I don't text people '911,' they won't return my calls." Is that a meta-comment on the Pam and Jim storyline this season? If the writers don't seem to present the couple as if they're running into big problems, we'll be bored with their storyline? Or are they simply having fun with our expectation that, if we see two main characters in a sitcom fall in love, big problems must present themselves? That's what last night's episode seemed to suggest, when Pam's seeming horror at Jim's having bought his parents' house—because Jenna Fischer played it that way, or because we are trained to expect it?—was revealed as boring old delight.
If so, The Office seems to hit on an interesting twist in dealing with a consummated relationship: don't put a twist in it, then hang a light on the fact that there's no twist. For my money, I was actually more interested in the microwave subplot, because just as with "Jim is smudge," it's always good when the show reveals that not everyone at Dunder-Mifflin loves our beloved characters as much as we do. (Oscar, who called Pam's anonymous note "holier-than-thou"—it had to hurt that only Angela defended it—was the same one who ripped on her at her art exhibit. And we can't completely write his opinion off, because he seems to be a fairly good guy generally.)
As for the main storyline, though it was one of those episodes that gave Michael's craziness free rein, it made sense this time. Michael hates Toby; if Toby shows up again as Holly's replacement, naturally he's going to hate him twice as much. If the episode was mainly Wacky Salad, it at least had plenty of funny moments: Michael's inadvertently appropriate note for Pam to give to her secret admirer Toby ("Please hug and kiss me, no matter how hard I struggle. I am too shy to tell you that I love you"); Dwight's belief that he is irresistible to men, especially in his mustard shirt; Dwight's basing the drug frame-up on watching The Shield; and Creed's laying low when the cops arrive.
Your thoughts, or life lessons you learned from Neve Campbell in Scream 2, welcomed in the comments.
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1
The microwave mess was totally Jim, otherwise kind of a meh episode.
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2
I enjoyed the episode, but it felt a little weaker than the rest of the season. I loved Ryan's completely out-of-show persona. The best joke was the smarmy social trickery he used to try and get Pam to clean the microwave while weaseling out of it himself. And the whole breakup scene, making no attempt to realistically detach him from the show, was hilarious.
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3
The episode felt a little strange. They spent a lot of time on Michael trying to get Toby busted, which even I thought was a little far, even for Michael. But he redeems himself when he starts to panic as Toby's desk is searched.
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I thought the best ongoing joke (though maybe unintentional) was Toby talking about how perfect Costa Rica was with pictures and saying that the beaches were amazing. But we learned in a recent episode that he got in an accident early in his trip and had broken his neck. In that same episode he says something like, "I haven't even seen the beaches yet." I had a good laugh throughout.
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Clown picture. Enough said. -
4
I was a little squeamish with the intensity of Michael's hatred toward Toby...it just made me feel so bad for Toby. Especially the scene where Michael knocked the pictures out of his hand and then Toby was cleaning them up, looking all sad and lonely.
I loved the continuation of the yellow shirt color joke though. And I completely agree with you JP about them creating a relationship with no problems. It's actually entirely refreshing as all the non-communications and forced obstacles get really stale in sitcoms.
I LOVED the breakup scene with Ryan. LOVED it. Ryan cracked me up last night with the microwave scene with Pam and the breakup scene. Also the part where Pam accuses Jim of inching away from her was subtle but hilarious.
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5
I'm with packsox (assuming he/she is not a Packer/White Sox fan hybrid!)--I really dislike the times when they spotlight Michael's hatred for Toby. It makes me very uncomfortable and shows an entirely unlikable side of Michael. Plus, it really strains credulity--I mean, this IS supposed to be a workplace and he IS the boss. Michael's behavior towards Toby is not at all subtle and totally unprofessional to a degree that his other odd behaviors are not. Maybe because those missteps are gilded by good intentions? But the Toby stuff--you're just hard pressed to condone or accept it at all. It goes too far.
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