Author: John Paulsen (Page 57 of 79)

A couple of the season’s biggest plot points struck this week as Dwight gallantly resigned under a shroud of mystery and Karen finally found out about Jim’s (former?) crush on Pam.

Andy is hell bent on being Michael’s right-hand man – in fact, I think he’d actually like to be his right hand – and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to move up the office ladder. He effectively pushed Dwight out of the office, by playing on Michael’s suspicions about Dwight’s loyalty. But all he’s done is put himself squarely in Angela’s crosshairs. This could get ugly.

It was interesting to see the sales force actually go out and make sales calls. Despite their many differences, Dwight and Jim make a pretty good team, even though Dwight has to spend a few minutes in the parking lot, psyching himself up to Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart.” Meanwhile, Phyllis took Karen to the beauty salon before hitting up one of her customers who apparently loves women who wear a lot of make up. Karen’s makeover was hilarious.

Andy and Michael didn’t jive in the sales call. If nothing else, Michael is an excellent salesman, which is why, despite his shortcomings, he’s survived so long at Dunder-Mifflin. It’s clear that Andy is not so good at selling paper, which may be his downfall, if Angela doesn’t get to him first.

He did have a great line when they were packing up Michael’s car: “Sebring by Chrysler. Heck of a motor carriage.”

Jim and Karen talked about Pam over coffee, and it seems like Karen did move to Scranton to be near Jim. He calmed her down, but I wonder how honest he’s being with her (and himself). I stand by my prediction that the two will stay together until Pam gets back together with Roy.

What’s going to happen to Dwight? There’s no way that he’s off the show, but it would interesting to see him flounder in unemployment for a few weeks before Angela throws herself under the bus to get him rehired. His resignation speech was great, but I really liked the line he said in private: “One of my goals was to die right here in my desk chair. And today, that dream was shattered.”

Don’t worry, Dwight. You’ll be back.

First off, I have to thank Deb for linking to the promo on last episode’s blog that confirmed that Jan was the one who accompanied Michael to Jamaica. I didn’t watch the promo, but her post led me to believe that there was a chance that it actually wasn’t Jan, allowing me to be (sort of) surprised when it turned out that Michael did indeed go to Jamaica with his boss.

Andy (Ed Helms) has been a terrific addition to the program and it’s nice to see the show utilizing his talents. In the opening sequence, his delivery of the line, “I am now chopping off Phyllis’ head with a chainsaw,” was hilarious. I always enjoyed watching Helms’ work on “The Daily Show,” and he’s made a deft transition to my favorite sitcom.

Two other actors have stolen more than a few scenes over the first half of the season. The bit in the warehouse where Michael visited Darryl (Craig Robinson) trying to track down the email photo was absolutely priceless. Robinson’s timing was perfect as he sat there munching on a buffalo wing, saying, “I’m really busy here, Michael.” Meanwhile, Toby (Paul Lieberstein) and Michael’s discussion about the picture in Michael’s office was perfectly uncomfortable. It’s obvious that Michael dislikes Toby mainly because Toby doesn’t work for him (and that he’s politically correct, something that Michael is most definitely not). Lieberstein’s portrayal of the wounded Toby is always subtle.

Anyway, Jan was Michael’s mystery guest, but really, who else could it have been? I loved Jim’s reaction when he was discussing the revelation with Pam – “What happened there…kidnapping?” Speaking of Pam, she finally broke down and cried over Jim’s relationship with Karen. I still expect that she’ll get back together with Roy before Jim parts ways with Karen, allowing the “will they?/won’t they?” theme to go on for a while longer. But back to the crying scene; I nearly shed a tear myself when Dwight took off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist, later saying, “So you’re PMS’ing pretty bad, huh?”

It was a nice surprise when Jan visited Michael, apparently oblivious to his idiocy surrounding the photo. She’ll eventually find out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’ll be even more upset that he didn’t tell her about it the night of the inventory luau. But you really can’t blame Mr. Scott. He’s got to take the lovin’ when he can get it.

(Note: For fans of the original UK series, Ricky Gervais’ new show “Extras” enters its second season on January 14th on HBO.)

What could be better than an hour-long episode of “The Office”? How about an hour-long episode that involves competing Christmas parties, Asian waitresses and lots and lots of drinking?

The episode got off to a great start when Dwight brought in a dead bird (was it a goose?) that he happened to hit with his car. How cool did he look in that orange stocking cap? It was a great exchange between him and Toby, where Dwight begs Toby to allow him to clean and cook the bird at the office.

Moments later, Michael sets up the rest of the episode when he announces that he intends to take his girlfriend to a resort on an all-inclusive vacation. His rendition of Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” was priceless. His girlfriend shows up and breaks up with him because he photoshopped himself into a picture she had from a vacation (with her ex-husband) two years earlier, and sent it out as his Christmas card. (I’m sure his awkward marriage proposal last week didn’t help matters, either.)

Jim: “It’s a bold move to photoshop yourself into a photo of your girlfriend and her kids on a ski trip with her ex-husband, but Michael is a bold guy. Is ‘bold’ the right word?”

Michael’s jovial mood quickly turns to depression, which manifests itself as he plays a sappy song clip over and over on his computer. I didn’t recognize the song, but it sounded like James Blunt (or some such crooner). Dwight asks, “Why don’t you just buy the song?”

Meanwhile, Pam extends an olive branch to Karen and the two become quick friends.

Jim: “Yep, it looks like the Scranton people and the Stamford people are finally coming together. And that’s what you want, right?”

Based on your delivery of that line, Jim, not so much.

Angela’s domineering attitude in the party-planning meeting gives Pam and Karen the idea to have their own (more enjoyable) party. The scene where the two opposing committees posted their flyers was great and Jenna Fischer’s comedic timing was on full display. Later, when Karen is asked if they are taking the party war too far, she responds, “I don’t think we’re taking this far enough.” She looks over to Pam, who says, “I just got goose bumps.”

Andy, who is trying to take residence up Michael’s ass, offers to take him to lunch, and Dwight and Jim go along. “Bro’s before ho’s,” Michael reasons. So it’s off to Benihanas, where they drink a lot of saki and egg nogs before returning to work (with two Asian waitresses).

Here are a few of the better moments from the two parties:

– Kelly’s karaoke, where she sang, “We belong together…Ryan!” while Ryan is pounding a margarita.

– Michael losing track of which waitress is “his,” and wisely marks her arm with permanent marker.

– Angela restricting Kevin’s intake of brownies. “You’ve got to be kidding!” Kevin exclaims. Angela responds, pointing at his belly, “You’ve got to be kidding!

– Meredith swaying back and forth with a bottle of vodka in her hand while Kevin sings karaoke.

– Angela suddenly “discovering” the power cord to the karaoke machine, hidden in a nearby planter. She’s a wily one, that Angela.

It looks like Jim is starting to realize that he’s still in love with Pam. His little speech to Michael about rebound relationships implies that he’s realizing that Karen was just a rebound for him. This happened more quickly than I expected, but I have a feeling that Pam will get back with Roy before Jim finally decides to make his move. However, I’m sure he’ll burn bridges with Karen first, ruining that relationship for good.

If I were him, I’d stick with Karen, at least for a while. She’s got a sick sense of humor, she’s hot, but mostly, she’s willing to admit she likes him. Pam’s great, but she’s too timid in the art of love.

And, at the end, who agreed to go on vacation with Michael? It has to be Jan, right?