Online he goes by the name Daoust, which apparently has something to do with hockey and, like many hockey-related terms, sounds nothing like it looks. Here’s his Office vitals… (Forgive the misspellings.)

First episode that hooked me: “The Dundies”
Favourite Character: Michael
Least favourite: Jan
Most favourite scene: The PLOD (parking lot of doom, for the uninitiated) or the kiss from “Casino Night”
Least favourite scene: Michael: Phyllis, did you break wind?
Most embarassing thing I’ve done in connection with The Office: Wrote this.
One thing I’d tell Greg Daniels: Why don’t you try to get The Office Convention to come to Canada. Also, can I play Pam’s love interest. Also, I love you.

How am I feeling about the premiere of the fifth season of The Office? Pretty darn excited, to say the least. Am I as excited about the season five premiere as I was about the season three premiere? No, I’d have to say I’m not. What about the season four premiere? That’s a little closer. Season four was, by most fans accounts, a disjointed season, due of course to the writers strike that cut the season in half. The strike robbed us of a lot, including the opportunity to see the show carry out a true plot arc like we were used to seeing in previous seasons. The last few episodes of the season were funny, enjoyable shows, but there wasn’t enough time for the writers to tie up the arcs that they may have tried to start at the beginning of the season.

That’s not to say we didn’t have anything to talk about over the summer. We had an impending engagement to talk about, speculate about, ponder about, and haiku about. As of May, our two love birds had not tied the knot, thanks to Andy stealing the fireworks that Jim had bought with his own money. How and when Jim finally does get down on one knee and propose will be the number one story of season five, I think. The question is, will they make us wait until next May to see that? Greg Daniels has said over and over that he wants Pam and Jim to be the B story, so I think we can expect to get drips and drabs of JAM as the season progresses until the point of the engagement and beyond that point (assuming it happens mid season).

So what do I think we can expect to the other characters this season? Well, the writers have two pretty interesting love triangles to work with. There’s Dwight-Angela-Andy, which is setting up like a soap opera. I have no idea how the writers are going to treat this, but I predict that Dwight will come out of this lovers squabble on top. TWSS. The second triangle involves Michael-Jan-Holly, and I’ll admit I’m not overly excited about this plotline. I have a soft spot for Michael (TWSS again) and I think I’m ready to see him happy. I think he deserves happiness, and I think sticking with Jan will make him not that way.

Personally, I’m tired of Jan. I think they could write her out of the show and the show would be fine without her. Of course, she’s pregnant now, presumably with Michael’s baby, so the writers have clearly indicated that she’s going to be a fixture in season five. But Holly, sweet Holly, she’s a great new addition to the show. She is the ying to Michaels yang. I can’t wait to see how the writers get these two together.

What else do I want out of season five? Well, I want Ryan and Toby back, especially the latter. I have heard bits and pieces of what possibly could be happening to these two this season, but I don’t really know anything for sure. All I know is that I like both these characters and I want to see more of them.

If all goes as planned, there’s going to be a lot of episodes of our beloved show this season. Some of the hardcore fans celebrate this; but it always causes me some unease. My greatest fear is that I’ll watch an episode of The Office and not laugh. And I have this weird, unsubstantiated feeling that the originality of the show is waning, and that the plots are getting thinner, and the quality and quantity of the jokes per episode are both decreasing. I can’t prove this is happening, or if it’s me that’s changed or if it is, in fact, the show.

All I know is that I want that feeling back again; that feeling that I get every time I see Jenna, in the character of Pam, sitting in a darkened office, draped in that dress, shoulders hunched, on the phone with her mom, when Jim walks in, walks up to Pam, and without a word, leans in and kisses her. I want that gutwrenching, heart-stopping, amazing feeling again, from the writers, directors and actors who gave it to me all those seasons ago. There’s very few television shows that can do that to me, but I wish, I challenge the writers to do it to me again. TWSS.

Up next: griefbone!