What doesn’t he like or love? Writers strikes, especially the kind that punch a gaping hole in the wall of a season he and fellow fans have been waiting so long for. The 36-year-old from Denver goes by AlphaMale Jackhammer at Northern Attack. And I’m not saying that ought to intimidate anyone, but Ben Silverman might want to watch his back.

(Part 7 of many. I – II – III – IV – V – VI)

10 words or less: Which side do you support in the writers strike and why?

The writers. They created the content, they should get paid.

Presumably you’re watching less TV than usual lately. What are you doing instead?

I actually feel like I’m watching the same amount. I got turned on to Chuck late so I went back and watched the first few episodes I missed, then Friday Night Lights still has new episodes, and I watch any Office reruns that are broadcast. And after society yelled at me for four years for not watching The Wire, I started watching it. I’m really enjoying it even though I have trouble keeping all the drug dealers and cops straight.

Office fans waited two and a half years to see Jim and Pam together only to have the strike hit. Two months in, the strike could wash the season away. What do you think about that?

What do I think? I think it sucks. Jim and Pam together were what I always imagined they would be – a fun, laid-back, relatively uncomplicated (and very attractive) couple. Their relationship in S4 was living up to my expectations.

Jim and Pam aside, what are you missing the most with the show on unscheduled hiatus?

The Michael and Pam relationship is fascinating to me. They always make me laugh, especially when they get into their snippy little arguments. No matter how many inappropriate comments Michael makes to Pam or how many ridiculous tasks he asks her to do, she is always there for him and I think she genuinely likes him. And I think that Michael knows deep down that Pam is more than a pretty face, she is an intelligent and warm-hearted person, and the Scranton branch would probably collapse without her presence. I also miss Andy Bernard, who cracks me up on a constant basis.

How’d you like the way things were going overall on the show when the strike hit?

Well, Pam is happy, and that makes me happy. Overall I liked the direction that was being taken. It wasn’t as good as S2 was, but I don’t know if anything will ever be as good as S2 was. But a lot of the aspects that made S2 great meant that the show would never be that great again. I liked that the show was taking some chances and messing with the dynamic a bit – Ryan as the corporate boss, Jan moving to Scranton to live with Michael, Dwight and Angela breaking up, those were major changes and I applaud the writers’ willingness to attempt those changes. I think the hour-long shows weren’t the best idea. The more Office the better, but most of the time the show works best in a 30 or 40-minute format. I believe a lot of the story lines would have flowed better if they’d been presented 30 minutes at a time. But I blame the network for that, not the writers. Most of all I like that Jim & Pam were brought together and kept interesting and seem to be together for the long haul.

Would you rather see the strike end now and The Office back on for even just a few episodes, or would you rather they scrap the season and take the extra time to return strong in the fall?

I’d like to see it back on for a few episodes. I’ve been holding out hope that the strike will be solved in enough time for the cast and crew to at least create three or four episodes for the May sweeps period. I want to see some of the fallout from Michael & Jan’s disastrous deposition, what was going to happen with the Dwight/Andy/Angela triangle, and the existential crisis that Jim seems to be going on and how it will affect his relationship with Pam. Also, I heard what the next couple episodes were going to be about and they sounded like they have the potential to be great, so I really want to see them.

Bonus round: Fill in the blanks

1. This strike sucks. Ben Silverman, who has turned into an insufferable jerk throughout this whole mess, should be sentenced to a year of According to Jim/My Two Dads/Blossom reruns for making this happen.


2. Kelly and Darryl make such a great couple. They’re like the Brangelina of the northeast Pennsylvania paper distribution industry.


3. I still can’t believe Michael followed his GPS into a lake. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve seen on TV since the creators of Friends tried to make us believe Rachel would ever want anything to do with Ross.


4. Pam ooked so much better this season, especially with her new clothes and seeing her with big smiles in every episode.


5. The strike has been particularly rough on my Office obsession. In fact, the strangest thing I’ve done since the hiatus began was watch an entire episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.