Will Amy Ryan disappear like a Holly-gram? (Blame Michael Scott for the bad pun. Blame Greg Daniels for any short term stuntcasting.)
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- May
- 29
So I just assumed, probably against all common sense, that Amy Ryan would become a regular on The Office.
The season finale certainly set her up to be a recurring character, replete with a permanent desk job in Scranton and an entangling romantic interest with the boss, Michael Scott. And I admit, wishful thinking may have been a factor. Ryan was sparkling in her Office debut, alternately sheepish and intriguing, insecure and risqué.
But apparently she’s a pretty big star, and that Oscar nom for Gone Baby Gone and her acclaimed stint on HBO’s The Wire put her beyond the reach of ordinary network fare. Of course, that doesn’t explain why Glenn Close and Holly Hunter both hold down small-screen day jobs, and on basic cable no less.
Korbi Ghosh of Zap2it was snooping around the Office set and came back with this tidbit.
I ran into a well-known Dunder-Mifflin worker this weekend who was tight-lipped about season five plans, but did give me the “wink wink” on a possible Amy Ryan photo…If I read him right, we can expect Toby’s replacement to make an encore appearance in the Fall.
Matt Roush over at TVGuide.com isn’t much more encouraging in reflecting on the finale. I bolded the disconcerting part.
I agree that it was one of the show’s better hour-long episodes. Amy Ryan greatly contributed to that. Her rapport with Michael was brilliant, and the running gag involving Kevin was hilarious. It helped that the hook of Toby’s farewell was a strong one, and so much story broke in that episode (Jan’s pregnancy, Andy’s proposal, the Dwight-Angela reveal) that it rarely lagged or felt overdone. Mind you, I’m not encouraging the show to expand to an hour — not a fan of NBC’s addiction to “super-sizing” — but this time, it worked. As for Amy Ryan: Last time I checked this week, there was no news yet about her returning to the show. But it’s hard to imagine she won’t appear at least once more — unless Holly was so put off by Michael’s arousal and later rejection that her absence is explained later in exposition. I hope we get to see her again — but yeah, don’t count on her for the spin-off. This actress’s career is just taking off, and this Office role is likely something of a fun lark.
So right there you have to figure Ryan’s return is hardly considered a given. Bummer. Makes me wish they hadn’t gone with a “big name” to fill the role. Then again, I probably wouldn’t care if it wasn’t her.
…In Season 4 DVD set news, DVD Times reports that the Sept. 4 release will be a four-disc set retailing for $49.98 and including:
- Deleted Scenes
- Outtakes
- Second Life Footage
- Did I Stutter? Read-Through
- The Office Convention Invitation
- The Office Convention: Writer’s Block Panel
- Goodbye, Toby Music Video
- â€Money†Commentary with Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, Brian Baumgartner, Paul Lieberstein, Michael Schur, and Jennifer Celotta
- â€Local Ad†Commentary with B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Jason Reitman, and Anthony Ferrell
- â€The Desposition†Commentary with Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, Brian Baumgartner, Ed Helms, Lee Eisenberg
- â€Did I Stutter?†Commentary with Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Justin Spitzer, Brent Forrester, Gene Stupnitsky, and Randall Einhorn
Off the top of my head, I love the idea of the “Did I Stutter” read-through. Seeing the initial cast reactions to a hilarious script like that should be great. Outtakes are always great and not necessarily a given. I’m intrigued by the “Goodbye, Toby” music video too. That could be epic.
As far as the commentaries, they look crowded. And Leslie David Baker and Melora Hardin are wonderful actors but their contributions to past commentaries have been less than enjoyable. She talks too much and he has little interesting to say. And where’s the finale commentary? It’s omission is egregious.
…Last Comic Standing update: The show is still terrible, but Angela Kinsey and Oscar Nuñez are on tonight. You still won’t get that hour of your life back, but it might be 43 percent more bearable with their contributions.
…If you click here you can learn about Jenna Fischer’s ideal summer. Hint: margaritas and Target figure prominently.
…And here are photos of her, Sean William Scott and Fred Armisen from the premiere of their new movie, The Promotion.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 3:00 pm by Brian Howard.
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Does Jenna needs any company poolside? No? Just asking.