In lieu of muffins, an Office marathon
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- March
- 28
Toby Flenderson may be everything that is wrong with the paper industry, but he’s a welcome sight at this point.
Executive Producer Greg Daniels explained NBC’s largesse in offering up a Flenderson-guided, five-episode “Night at The Office” marathon in the final week of a six-week hiatus this way:
“It’s about giving something extra to our wonderful fans,” a March 8 press release quoted Daniels. “Their loyalty must be rewarded somehow, and we don’t have the budget for ten million muffin baskets.”
Flenderson, played by actor, writer and co-executive producer Paul Lieberstein, will host the five “human resource nightmare” episodes from 8 to 11 p.m., with a new episode of Andy Barker, P.I. sandwiched in at 9:30.
These are some of the episodes that made me and countless others fall in love with this show.
So here’s my breakdown, in order:
Diversity Day – writer: B.J. Novak
Summary: When a consultant comes in to talk about diversity, Michael craves the spotlight. So he comes up with his own approach to sensitivity training.
My take: Diversity Today? Heck no, today’s almost over. If you have a gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or poor driving skills, you will probably be offended by the diversity exercise the staff must partake in. This episode includes one of the series’ all-time classic lines: “This, is an environment of welcoming,” Michael tells Toby, “and you should just get the hell out of here.” The Jim-Pam scene at the end is sweet as pie. By the way, they’re called collard greens.
Health Care – writer: Paul Lieberstein
Summary: Michael lets Dwight pick the branch’s new healthcare plan to Dwight, who embraces the challenge and slashes coverage. Some interesting maladies are revealed, and Michael ends up irking the staff in the end anyway.
My take: You may think your co-pays are too high and your network too small, but at least you’re covered for or killer nano-robot infections and dentohydroplosion. The Jam-index went through the roof in this one, as did the awkwardness. The moral here? A boss should do his own dirty work. Oh, and there is no health care in the wild.
Sexual Harassment – writer: B.J. Novak
Summary: Michael fears that a corporate crackdown on inappropriate sexual comments will hamper his ability to be the world’s funniest boss. Dwight gets some sex advice from Toby, the always inappropriate Todd Packer stops and so does Pam’s mom.
My take: You can plug a giant “That’s What She Said” in at the end of this one. The show stretches the boundaries of what you thought could make it past network censors. This actually earned the show it’s first viewer discretion warning, and a station in Kentucky even refused to air it. So you know it’s worth watching.
The Injury – writer: Mindy Kaling
Summary: Michael burns his foot when he steps on his George Foreman grill, and Dwight suffers a concussion rushing to his aid. They both end up in the hospital, but not before Michael learns a thing or two about what his staff thinks of him.
My take: Many fans will tell you this was the funniest episode ever. Dwight is unreal, or at least un-Dwight-like. Some have questioned how this one fits the whole “human resources” theme. My only guess is that it serves as an object lesson about how not to treat a person with disabilities. The van scene will leave you rolling on the floor, and you will never, ever look at a tub of Country Crock the same way again. Or bacon.
Gay Witch Hunt – writer: Greg Daniels
Summary: Michael unintentionally outs a Oscar from accounting. Meanwhile, the fallout from Casino Night finds Jim in another city and Pam single again.
My take: There are now 46 episodes of this show, and this is by far my least favorite. I don’t mind the cringe-factor, which is at an all time high in this one. But a four-month cliffhanger deserves a better resolution than this. And the second half of the Jim-Pam kiss was clumsily pieced together like a badly Photoshopped image. We’re still waiting for the closure this episode failed to deliver. Still, it’s actually one of the funniest episodes ever. Keep in mind, the kiss scene here was completely improvised.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 9:55 pm by Brian Howard.
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