Build-Up to The Office Finale

[shivkala]

the G-man wrote:

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Same thing as the businesses that employed Chandler Bing and Ward Cleaver

With their investor dropping out, I wonder if it'll more reflect Entertainment 7wenty.

The Jim and Pam things is pretty weak. It seems a way to (slowly) phase Jim and Pam out of Dunder Mifflin. I would be surprised if Pam doesn't move to Philly by the end of the season. I'm still wondering why they haven't fired her. They revealed how terrible of a salesperson she is, she left with Michael to form the Michael Scott Paper Company, and when not selling (which seems more often than not), her sole responsibility seems to be to sign for pens...

This week's episode was really annoying with not-Roy defacing Pam's mural. I think it would have fit better if it was Roy. Maybe his marriage falls apart and he's working for Dunder Mifflin again, sees Pam's mural, blames her for the sad state of his life, and defaces the mural (which is something I see him doing).

[Guy Gardener]

the G-man wrote:

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You're right. I don't recall all of it. I remember Jeaneane Garafalo's character (their now-adult daughter narrating) saying they split up. Was there an epilogue where they got remarried?

Some time after the previous episode on the very day of their wedding anniversary they bump into Lyle Lovett who married them on that cruise before the pilot... It turns out that he was a regular dude in fancy dress and not a real priest at all so they had never been married. They try really hard to get married on that very day to retain the same wedding anniversary but fail, or give up with seconds to spare because they decide that how it is now is what works, and to actually get married would change things too much and ruin their perfect relationship. A lot of time later they broke up because "she stopped being kind" 10 years later they sit beside eachother in a theatre to see Mable's final project for filmschool which is all about how awesome her parents are, and then, caught up in all that nostalgia, they leave together and never part again.

[Guy Gardener]

shivkala wrote:

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With their investor dropping out, I wonder if it'll more reflect Entertainment 7wenty.

The Jim and Pam things is pretty weak. It seems a way to (slowly) phase Jim and Pam out of Dunder Mifflin. I would be surprised if Pam doesn't move to Philly by the end of the season. I'm still wondering why they haven't fired her. They revealed how terrible of a salesperson she is, she left with Michael to form the Michael Scott Paper Company, and when not selling (which seems more often than not), her sole responsibility seems to be to sign for pens...

This week's episode was really annoying with not-Roy defacing Pam's mural. I think it would have fit better if it was Roy. Maybe his marriage falls apart and he's working for Dunder Mifflin again, sees Pam's mural, blames her for the sad state of his life, and defaces the mural (which is something I see him doing).

It's possible that when Michael got them all rehired that their was a clause in the contract to make sure they couldn't be refired immediately or without good cause. Michael isn't very bright, but he must have been burnt enough in his life to see that coming which is why he should have been able to guarantee their safety for at least 5 years.

She's either outright unfireable or Pam has a multi million dollar golden parachute for a limited amount of time she would know about if she was the sort of person to read her own contract.

In third form (14 years old?) this girl was wandering about the class room asking all the boys mostly in ear shot of each other if they wanted to be her girlfriend. I heard a successive rally of noes from lads who were really wigged by the proposition until she asked the fat short geeky kid who jumped at the bait... Half a second later at the top of her lungs she screams "YOU'RE DUMPED!!!!!"

Same principle.

[the G-man]

Venardhi wrote:

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It was shown time and time again in the first season or two that beneath his trying too hard and lacking common sense in certain social situations, he was a capable professional and often had a better hold on a situation than the people around him. His occasional offensiveness was part of his charm because it was never malicious.

It might not have been malicious but he was racist and sexist. It was part of the character. As the show went on those aspects were toned down and he just got dumber and dumber, with the driving into a lake because his GPS told him to being the tipping point.

[Venardhi]

Yes, but ignorance is looked upon with a lot more forgiveness, and that is why he was still likable in spite of those faults.

[Jono]

shivkala wrote:

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With their investor dropping out, I wonder if it'll more reflect Entertainment 7wenty.

The Jim and Pam things is pretty weak. It seems a way to (slowly) phase Jim and Pam out of Dunder Mifflin. I would be surprised if Pam doesn't move to Philly by the end of the season. I'm still wondering why they haven't fired her. They revealed how terrible of a salesperson she is, she left with Michael to form the Michael Scott Paper Company, and when not selling (which seems more often than not), her sole responsibility seems to be to sign for pens...

She's not a salesperson, she's the office administrator now.

[Guy Gardener]

The office administrator job is made up.

She just said she was the OA and dared anyone to call her liar.

Made up jobs are paid with made up money.

[Ood Sigma]

Mr Light wrote:

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Does anyone know when Andy comes back? This is way too long an absence. And I didn't know about Krasinski leaving early, that makes me worried about how stupid they're going to go with this...

I believe Andy is back with this week's episode [2/7/13]. At least, when I went to nbc.com to watch last week's, they were promoting his return for the next episode.

[Jono]

Guy Gardener wrote:

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The office administrator job is made up.

She just said she was the OA and dared anyone to call her liar.

Made up jobs are paid with made up money.

It was made up but she got Sabre to accept that it was her position in the branch.

[trekkiebaggio]

One episode of Andy coming back and I really wish he hadn't come back. I almost forgot how annoying they had made him.

I did love Dwight's impression of him though.

[Squiggy]

They made Andy as much of an abusive partner as one can and keep at TVPG rating.

[J.T.B.]

trekkiebaggio wrote:

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I did love Dwight's impression of him though.

Yeah that was funny. I have to say, too, that Dwight's interview of Trevor the week before was the hardest I've laughed all season. Trevor's appearances have all been good, really.

[Mr Light]

I don't like what they did with Andy. He spent all that time and effort to win back Erin at the end of last season, then immediately ditches her and disappears for three months without talking to her? Bull. They should have just written her off the show while he was gone and had them away together. Do they really need to be destroying the Andy/Erin and Jim/Pam and Angela relationships all at once???

[JirinPanthosa]

I like what they're doing with Jim & Pam. After making them the token romance of the entire show they've found a believable way to put their relationship in serious jeopardy that makes neither of them the bad guy.

I don't like the way they handled Andy. I mean, Office has relied too much on the 'good guy/bad guy' romance. First, Pam: Good guy Jim, bad guy Roy. Then Angela: Good guy Dwight, bad guy Andy. Then Erin: Good guy Andy, bad guy Gabe. Then Erin: Good guy re-Jim, bad guy Andy. Enough already with the trope!

After working so hard to make Andy likeable they should have wrote him out in a way that stayed likable instead of self-destructing him.

And I like the way they incorporated the camera crew, I thought that was clever. The only previous time they've acknowledged the concept that the office is being filmed for a television show is when Michael took off his mic in his final scene.

And I like the way they're giving Dwight all the hero moments this season. The way he handled the Angela/Oscar situation was paragon-like. This season we're seeing far more of his likable qualities than his obnoxious ones.

My general feeling of the Office is this.
Season 1: B
Season 2: A
Season 3: A-
Season 4: D-
Season 5: C-
Season 6: B+
Season 7: C+
Season 8: C-
Season 9: B-

After the very beginning when the show was great, the show descended into predictable gimmickry for a few years. The show was revitalized a little by the Sabre acquisition and the character of Gabe, and then they focused an entire season on Michael's ending and a new CEO, Robert California, who ended up being a waste of James Spader who was far more interesting in concept than in execution. But I like this season and the gut wrenching schism between Jim and Pam. I'm excited to see how this turns out.

It's a shame if Steve Carrell isn't going to come back for a final appearance. It'd be gratifying to see him walk in carrying a baby, then interact with the group as equals for the first time. Almost as bad as Cuddy not appearing in the House finale.

[the G-man]

Squiggy wrote:

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They made Andy as much of an abusive partner as one can and keep at TVPG rating.

The writers have always struggled with whether Andy is a good guy or a bad guy. But this latest heel turn is just shitty daytime soap opera writing.

Between this, the 'cousin Oliver' cameraman and the manufactured Jim and Pam drama, this is a master class in how to not do a final season.