"Cocktails" at The Office

[orangerful]

'The Office' this week was so very good. So many little things. I have to say, it is probably the most complex 25 minutes of TV out there right now. All in one episode you have moments of hilarity, of ridiculousness, of happiness, of silliness, of anger, and sadness. And characters with SO many layers, it's just amazing.



Michael/Jan - Michael's joy over finally being able to "come out" about his relationship was adorable. His heart is in the right place, it's just his brain that seems to roll around. And Jan struggling to come to terms with her attraction to Michael and all her other issues. As janeespenson commented in her blog, these characters have "wrinkles" and that's what makes them so watchable.

"What's that over the 'I'?" "It's a heart"
"Why is this so hard?....That's what she said. Oh god, what am I saying?"

Jim/Karen - damn they are so great together! For awhile, we were having little hiccups, but now we're getting to see a bit more of the silliness that we used to expect from Jim & Pam. Her practical joke let us know that she had the right sense of humor for Jim. But at the same time - did she just do it to make him squirm the way she has actually been squirming since she found out about Jim/Pam? If so, it gets a little creepy.

Pam/Roy - I've been unsure about this from the start. I was never 100% with them. Roy seemed like he was making an effort to do things, but then he'd complain about having to do the "boyfriend things". They are fine as friends, but I don't think Roy respects Pam enough to be romantically involved with her. And the blow-up at the end of the episode really shows that. That moment was scary. And Roy's last line - I'm gonna kill Jim Halpert...well, things are going to get a bit messy when the show returns.

Toby/Pam - aaaaaw, poor Toby. That poor man is probably the plainest looking guy, I don't even think he registers on Pam's radar. But the fact that he sat there all night, trying to win that duck for her. And then she didn't really realize what he had done (Hey, don't you have a daughter?) I think you could actually see his heart breaking.

Dwight/Colonial House - okay, all the moments with Dwight "inspecting" the house was good for a giggle. The physical comedy for the evening. And ending with him on the roof, attacking the chimney? Priceless.



Also, I attempted to watch a little bit of Rainn "Dwight" Wilson's guest hosting on SNL...good to know that show is still un-funny. Yes, them parodying 'Office' right off the bat, now that was giggleworthy, but the next 3 sketches were just painfully bad. I couldn't survive the rest of the show. Ugh. What a waste of TV time.

Comments

[impalalove]

Yeah, I agreed completely with the Office. Especially "Don't call me Pammy."

By the way, I discovered your site, and snagged a few icons, and headers. I'm even using one right now. They're awesome.

And SNL? Haven't seen it in ages, but it's famous for going "up and down" sometimes due to new people.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

thanks for the graphics love. :) It's always nice to know someone besides me likes them hehe.

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

My thoughts :-) (kinda wish I could rewatch the ep first, but eh, I'm going on memory, fwiw..)

Michael/Jan: See, I don't think this is really a relationship, although who knows, it could turn into one. Right now Jan is basically reeling from her divorce, and needs someone who adores and worships her unconditionally, and, oh yeah, someone she's into screwing. That's all it is for her. Hence her reacting to Michael's typically socially inept behavior by dragging him into the bathroom for some sex.. she was reminding herself why she was with this clown who is jeopardizing her reputation and career. Michael is going to be shattered when she is done with her little stage and moves on. That's my read, at least.

Jim/Karen: I'm actually finding them kind of flat. Jim just doesn't seem to be having a good time these days. Even when he plays pranks with Karen (like the vampire bat thing), he just seems like he's going through the motions or something. I don't know if I'm reading into this or if this is the way JK is playing the character, but Jim seems to be in a sort of holding pattern (which we can assume he'll be knocked out of, literally, when Roy tries to kill him). Oh, and I think Karen's jokes were in fact partly about enjoying having the tables turned. In fact, looking at the theme of jealousy in this episode as a whole would be very interesting. Which brings us to..

Roy/Pam: god, scary stuff. I really like how Roy was written at first as genuinely having seen the error of his ways, and then as being more and more resentful at the effort it took to play "the boyfriend". I don't think he and Pam even have the basis of a friendship, since he clearly has zero interest in her as a person (all examples to the contrary coming from when he was just dumped and trying to win her back). To Roy, Pam is property, which becomes obvious at the end of this episode. Run, Pam, Run!

Toby: I would have taken your duck, Toby! Well, maybe not that big absurd duck, but something smaller that I could put in my pocket, maybe..

Dwight: *snort!*

SNL: ended up watching more of it last night than in the last, uh, many yeas, combined. And yes, the suckage is just painful. But it made me really respect Rainn Wilson as a comedian rather than as just the guy who plays Dwight. Every time he opened his mouth, an unfunny skit became a bit funnier, and a few times I even caught myself smiling. Not that I watched the whole thing- I still was good for only a couple of skits. I muted the rest but left the picture on b/c I was curious about Arcade Fire. On the whole I liked them, but wtf on the guitar smashing at the end of the first song? Unless there's a backstory I'm missing, it's not even remotely original, and he ruined a perfectly good guitar! There are starving people in China who would kill for a guitar!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I turned it off when the band started. I find that bands on SNL usually just sound bad - every time I watch a band I actually do like I usually end up cringing, so I try to not watch bands I don't know. Guitar smashing is so lame. And to me, it sends the message "hey, we've got soooo much money, we can smash our guitars and who cares?" which makes me want to support a group even less.

BUT ANYWAY!

Good take on Michael/Jan. You're right that she's pretty much using Michael as a rebound. And he will be devistated by the break-up because he is so infatuated with her. But now she's sort of made a commitment with that "love contract" she submitted, so now she might have to really sit back and take stock of what she's done.

I agree with the holding pattern too. As far as we can tell, Jim & Karen just sort of hang out. We haven't really heard about too many dates or adventures. We know Jim is still interested in Pam (last week he seemed ready to say something at the wedding) but he keeps just watching (which has always been his problem...except for that one night). And when Roy confronts him, things could get really hairy.

Oooh man why does next week have to be a rerun?? noooooo.

follow-up on Arcade Fire

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

haha- looks like I'm not alone:
http://gawker.com/news/arcade-fire/arcade-fire-invents-frightening-new-rock-music-technique-on-snl-239486.php