I think 148 days might have done me in.

Luckily “The Deposition” aired only 147 days ago. That’s some kind of mid-season hiatus. But the writers strike is over, and The Office is finally back tonight!

But the show is back in the news, as my overflowing in-box full of Office-tagged news alerts illustrates. I’ve got some more scoop to share beyond what I posted here or talked about on our vodcast the other day. But first, here’s the official episode summary for…

Dinner Party (9 p.m. ET): Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinski) find they have run out of excuses and are forced to go to Jan (Melora Hardin)and Michael’s (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell)house for dinner. When Andy (Ed Helms) and Angela Angela Kinsey) are also invited to dinner, Dwight’s (Rainn Wilson) jealousy gets the best of him.

In USA Today yesterday, Jenna gave us an idea what to expect. (Isn’t she awesome with how chatty she has been with us scoop-starved fans in the last couple weeks?)

“It’s an evening of dinner and games, and it is cringy and uncomfortable because Michael and Jan get in one of those passive-aggressive fights … where you’re fighting but you say it all with a smile on your face.”

Showrunner Greg Daniels says a lot of what was planned for this season is being saved for next year, now that the 25-episode run has been chopped down to 19. But we can expect to see Ryan (BJ Novak) get a little out of control, according to Daniels, in part because of sexual predators accessing Dunder Mifflin Infinity, his pet Web site.

Fischer again confirms what we she said earlier, that somebody’s leaving Dunder-Mifflin, though she confirms it’s neither her nor Steve Carell. I think was safe to assume it’s not John Krasinski or Rainn Rainn Wilson either, and Daniels confirms just that.

While I don’t mind a few spoilers, I really have no interest in watching the episode clips up at NBC.com. I don’t want to see an episode before I see an episode, if you catch my meaning. So apropos of not much of anything, this video clip of cast interviews had me rolling from the moment Fischer opens her mouth.

TVGuide.com’s Michael Ausiello, meanwhile, went on an Office blitz this week, scooping and speculating on Jim and Pam and the much ballyhooed spinoff.

Regarding Jenna Fischer’s comment that there’s “big stuff” on the way for her and Jim, Ausiello says that “can only mean one of four things: They’re getting engaged, they’re having sex, they’re eloping or they’re breaking up (again).”

I’d say engaged seems likely but uninteresting. Their sexual relations seems like a non-story. Eloping is possible but un-Office-like. And a break-up would just shatter the space-time continuum, angering Doc Brown immensely. But one of them is true, according to MA…

Naturally, I ran my theory by my Office snitch, who confirmed that one of those four events will indeed take place, but the April 17 episode merely serves as the staging ground. Apparently, the plot is set in motion next week, picks up steam on April 24, and then climaxes on May 1.

From the “great minds think alike” department, Ausiello shares Chris Serico’s conclusion that Ed Helms’s Andy Bernard is the most spin-off-able character. The idea was mulled before the strike, a network insider tells Ausiello, and NBC seemed interested. The A-man rules out the idea that it’s Dwight (Rainn Wilson), citing a network insider who says the Michael-Dwight dynamic is “too integral to the show.”

And who would be The Nard Dog’s female lead? Gilmore Girl (and Steve Carell’s Evan Almighty co-star) Lauren Graham, if Ausiello has anything to say about it. But he doesn’t, so take that for what it’s worth. Then again, she did sign a development deal with NBC last year, so….

…I haven’t missed a weekly episode of the That’s What She Said and The Office Alliance podcasts since they started in late 2006. Well, TWSS’s Matt and OA’s Sarah teamed up for an interview on neutral podcasting ground, and it’s up at TWSS now. It’s definitely worth a listen.

…Jim has pulled a lot of pranks on Dwight over the years. Yeah, I know that’s not a newsflash. But the amazing thing about EW.com’s list of the top 16 pranks, is just how many there have been. And you know that’s not even all of them. My favorites? Nickels in the phone receiver, vending machine office supplies and bathroom desk. Oh, and Future Dwight. And where’s Andy’s phone? (OK, I’ll stop now.)

…The Canadian-American Office Alliance chatted recently with new Office scribe and north-of-the-border-ite Anthony Farrell. You should read the whole interview, but here’s a couple of highlights…

On auditioning for Greg Daniels… “Greg is a hard man to impress. He basically reads all your material before he even considers meeting you. Once you pass that test, he interviews you then brings in all the other writers to grill you. Then he makes you sweat it out for 3 to 4 weeks. It’s not pretty, but once it’s all said and done, you’re the happiest most grateful person in the world.”

On Jim and Pam: headed for rocky waters?… “I cannot tell a lie. I also, cannot answer that question.

Meanwhile, TVGuide.com polled fans on their favorite Office characters, and you will not believe who beat out who in the top 3. That’s all that I’m saying.

And lastly, KateFlannery, who plays Meredith, updated her blog, and suggests a banner idea for the Office spin-off: A British version starring Ricky Gervais. I think that idea’s got wheels. Brian Baumgartner, back to writing in the character of Kevin Malone, updated his too. And he, quite brilliantly, had this to say…

I have a real dilema. Dillema. Dalimma. How the F do you spell that word? Anyway, I have a problem. The Triple-A Baseball Affiliate for the Yankees are now stationed in Scranton/ Wilkes- Barre. How do I root root root for the home team, when I hate nobody as much as I hate the Yankees?

Niiiice.