The Office thread: Shove it up your butt!

JonBob

Fantastic cold open. Erin's planking assessment and Dwight's enforcement in particular.

Wash

That comparison she made of Early Pam to Present Pam was apt

Schrodinger

How did Kevin get in the winner's column?

MalReynolds

It's because Robert California knew nothing about the staff and was making snap judgment calls; that's why Andy called him out on it. It was a pretty good episode, too.

Disrupter

For anyone who didnt see this episode. You might want to find a friend that has it on DVR, go over to their house and then

shove it up your butt!

tardcore

Someone talk about the new episode.

JonBob

Okay. I will.

Andy is so much easier to watch as manager than Michael ever was. He manages to get the same amount of ridiculous decisions and inappropriate comments in while not making me cringe. They even still have the sentimental "he's doing a good job after all" stuff. Michael Scott was easier to watch than David Brent; Andy Bernard is easier to watch than Michael Scott. This is a good trajectory for me, even if it's taking the show farther away from its initial concept.

TexiKen

I do think they need to steer clear of Andy kind of bumbling into stuff like Michael did, things where a regular person just doesn't have a drop in intelligence simply for the sake of the joke; early in the episode Andy wasn't being Andy but just being Michael-lite, with the ties and talking with Spader. It was a good A plot, the Pam and Angela stuff was kind of dumb though.

Kirbith

I really do prefer Andy to Michael Scott. I've always liked Andy as a character and Michael Scott really just irritated me. He started out fairly amusing and then his antics just kept getting too ridiculous. And James Spader is fantastic. I've missed him since Boston Legal ended.

TexiKen

I did like the opening with Kevin and his idea of cutting off words make quicker. Good idea, bad office no like.

Wappadu

I wasn't paying full attention last night and missed what happened with Darrell and the ex-wife. They went into his office, and that's the last I saw of her. Anything more on screen after that?

The Judge

I had fun with the episode. The entire office running like a well-oiled machine was enjoyable to watch and Kevin running two calculators at once about killed me.

KalTorak

I should have guessed Andy would get the manager job - stays with the theme of the manager having two first names.

Good episode, I'm impressed with how they've been able to keep the quality up without Carrell.

Taximes

I liked this episode a little better than the premiere, it was nice to see Andy succeed some.

Decoy

JonBob wrote:

Andy is so much easier to watch as manager than Michael ever was. He manages to get the same amount of ridiculous decisions and inappropriate comments in while not making me cringe.

The bold part is the reason I could never get into the show for more than small bits of an episode at a time. The Jim and Pam stuff, the Jim vs Dwight stuff, other co-workers quirkiness was always funny to me, but anything having to do with MS just made me facepalm and change the channel/close hulu.

GreasyKidsStuff

James Spader is fantastic in this role. I love him every moment he's on screen. He flirts every so slightly with being a little deranged, but then he lets out some brilliant speech that shows that he is a lot smarter and a lot more down to earth than he can appear. It's a really interesting dynamic and I'm enjoying watching him.

Disrupter

My wife will probably love the new office. She always sort of enjoyed it but couldnt watch the awkward michael-ness. So far the first two episodes have been solid funny without much awkwardness.

dlinfiniti

i'm gonna miss jo and her big dogs
i wonder what gabe's deal is now

GreasyKidsStuff

Gabe got sent off once Joan realized he had issues with Andy because of the whole Erin thing.

JonBob

Sent off? He's hanging out in the background still. Andy explicitly called him out when he was going through the list with Robert, too.

GreasyKidsStuff

Gabe? Really? I honestly do not remember.

KalTorak

Yeah I was wondering why he was still there. Figured Robert brought him back from Florida or something.

AManFromEarth

Everyone always makes a big deal about the cringeyness of some of Michael's adventures, but I have never really felt it got to an unwatchable point. The UK version was full of awkward moments where I was genuinely embarrassed for the characters but the closest I got was when Andy tore his scrote (and that was really just the same feeling you get when some jerk mentions nails on a chalkboard).

TexiKen

The only unwatchable thing Michael did for me was Scott's Tots. Just because he had so many years to back out on that, and it ended with laptop batteries.

Bursar

Gabe said he spends two days in Scranton, then two days in Florida, every week. So pretty much all his time is spent shuttling back and forth between the offices, and never actually getting any work done.

TexiKen

That was a pretty good episode, the idea for moving paper at the end was a bit too slapstick but everything else was pretty strong. This season is almost season five strong, and I'll be glad to admit I was wrong with where I thought the series would end up. I really do like Oscar not acting completely offended when someone asks him general gay things, like the most muscular guy in town.

Robos A Go Go

And I loved his creepy leering through the blinds during the interview process.

HadjiQuest

I really hate Andy and I don't like seeing him as the manager, but all three episodes so far he has miraculously stepped up in the final few minutes and done the correct, proper responsible thing for a manager to do. Which makes me like him more.

But he has to re-learn that lesson every week. And I'm getting tired of that formula, how much time we're spending with him, and the lack of any real significant spader action in the last two episodes.

I'm really on the fence right now. I may only be watching because like everyone else on the internet I have a TV crush on Ellie Kemper

Disrupter

Eh, Andy is fine because he openly admits hes in a bit over his head and is learning/asking for help. His stumbles so far have pretty much always been the result of someone else.

First it was everyone insisting he bring the list to Mr. California. Even though he knew it was a bad idea.

Second week it was Mr. California demanding they double their growth even though thats not very realistic.

This week is was Darryl not doing his job right because he was bummed about stuff.

Andy hasnt really had to learn any lesson any week. He has really just had to overcome other people'es problems and it takes an episode to do so.

DanHibiki

why was Andy the smart one in this episode?

Schrodinger

Wait, they were worried about a dog being trapped even though the sun roof was open?

JonBob

DanHibiki wrote:

why was Andy the smart one in this episode?

He went to Cornell.

electricitylikesme

Erin was great this episode, and it was enjoyable to watch Andy deal with stuff.

Last episode I thought he didn't real cope very well, Pam and the staff just saved him at the end - which was very sweet.

I am sad though that James Spader hasn't had more direct interviews with the "documentary" crew.

jackisreal

Darryl talking about tacos is the best thing

HadjiQuest

Sooo, this show is pretty much unwatchable now.

When Dwight is by far the best part of the show, it's time to move on.

TexiKen

Jim was a dick, Pam was a bitch. Spader getting in lines to basically punch holes in the dialogue of the characters is a nice touch, but this was one of the more out there episodes that come about in shows, like when Charles in Charge hit his head and became Chaz, his evil persona.

gundam470

I wouldn't call last night's episode completely awful, though it had plenty of awful parts. It is probably the worst episode of the entire series for me though.

southwick

So has the show now "officially" jumped the shark?

Jim actually writing an entire book, getting it published, and Dwight conveniently buying it, just so Jim can trickington Dwight?
The entire office for some reason still being complete jerks to Andy after he did the whole tattoo thing,
Darrel discounting Andy after Andy helping him out last episode.
Dwights cousin for some unexplained reason parking Tobey's car in a field in a completely different spot than everyone else's.

It feels like they have run out of ideas, or at least good ones.

MalReynolds

Whaaat? I thought the episode, while strange, really wasn't that bad. Also, @TexiKen, they already did something like that. Season 2's 'The Concussion,' where Dwight gets a concussion and turns nice.

What I assumed Jim did; 'write' the book, which seemed relatively thin and full of stupid shit, then talk to Dwight about a book he heard of one time for throwing garden parties, which Dwight then looked up. It's not that far-fetched. Jim didn't even have to get the book published. Just write it, and get Dwight to check it out on the internet.

And no one discounted Andy; he threw a big party, everyone could tell why, and everyone was nice to him when it turns out his dad was a jackass. I didn't think anyone was a jerk to him, either.

I liked it

southwick

MalReynolds wrote:

Whaaat? I thought the episode, while strange, really wasn't that bad. Also, @TexiKen, they already did something like that. Season 2's 'The Concussion,' where Dwight gets a concussion and turns nice.

What I assumed Jim did; 'write' the book, which seemed relatively thin and full of stupid shit, then talk to Dwight about a book he heard of one time for throwing garden parties, which Dwight then looked up. It's not that far-fetched. Jim didn't even have to get the book published. Just write it, and get Dwight to check it out on the internet.

And no one discounted Andy; he threw a big party, everyone could tell why, and everyone was nice to him when it turns out his dad was a jackass. I didn't think anyone was a jerk to him, either.

I liked it

Book

It was a fairly well put together book. The whole point of "messing with Dwight" made no sense when ultimately all it does is ruin a party Andy was trying to throw. I mean at this point its gone slightly sociopathic the levels Jim will go to, to mess with Dwight.

Andy

Everyone ignores the fact that Andy is the boss. Oscar basically says it at the table. They then make sure to point out that California is the boss. Finally the whole Andy?dad singing scene everyone conveniently overlooks how awkward the moment is, and are happily smiling as Andy is pushed out of singing and his brother is brought up instead of him. As usual with the show they only are "nice" when it comes in hindsight that they have been jerks.