OK, I’ve been biting my tongue about this issue for the past two weeks, trying to hold back from saying it, as I know it will incur the kind of commenter wrath I go out of my way to avoid. But you know what? This is America. And in America, I have the freedom to say… that I think the one-hour Office episodes are a bad idea. I know, I know. How dare I, etc. But be honest with yourselves for a second — the last three weeks of Office eppies have really dragged, last night’s being the worst of the three. Last night had some fantastic moments, of course (which I’ll get to momentarily), but the zippinees and, yes, zappiness of the timing has all but died. The one-hour episodes used to signal special events, usually holiday themed episodes, which felt like extra little bonus gifts that we, the undying fans, earned and deserved. Last night, when I realized the show was only halfway done, I actually SIGHED OUT LOUD.
Now, this could also be because, despite plenty of hilarious jokes, the main plot arc was sort of insane and belief-suspending. To try to summarize endlessness, the Dunder Mifflin website finally finished construction and is up for business. Andy and Dwight, now seemingly best friends (a relationship we highly approve of) come up with a challenge: Who is better: Dwight or Machine? Dwight instructs Andy to grab the bear horn under the pelts in the trunk, in a race to win back Angela’s love. This also leads to Jim and Pam organizing one of their best pranks yet, pretending to be a HAL-like Dunderbot over IM, in an effort to make Dwight believe is alive and watching. While Dwight is working on beating Terminator 4, DunMiff/sys casually “searched every database in existence, and learned every fact about everything. And mastered the violin. And sold more paper.” Darryl flirts with Kelly, the sheer comedic potential of this relationship makes my brain tingle with delight.
Michael mistakes an invitation for an Online ChatParty as one for a real life New York sushi party. Upon realization, he almost fake-voms on the phone with Ryan (whose d-baggy antics are too real for my liking), and chooses instead to celebrate “Scranton-style” by buying up 8 Pizzas by Alfredo, which, according to Kevin, is like “eating a hot circle of garbage.”
Then, about halfway through, things get silly. The pizza delivery boy refuses Michael’s half-price coupon (which, in all fairness, he SHOULD have accepted, customer’s always right, etc.), and in a fit of insane rage, Michael literally kidnaps this 15-year-old stoner kid to teach him a lesson. It really… just… didn’t make sense. It wasn’t really funny, and was actually kind of disturbing… almost as disturbing as Meredith’s underwear cast.
Fast forward half-hour later: Andy likes Angela, and flirts with her through a series of old-fashioned techniques, including stealing an ice sculpture for her (swoon!) This episode also featured one of the most innovative combinations of conference calls and Abba I have ever seen. It was adorable, and she’d be a fool not to be won over! Check out the scene here if you missed it!
Our office post continues after the jump! Don’t worry, it’s not as long as you think it will be.
Also, what’s up with Michael’s animosity towards Angela? Pipsqueak? This tall to ride? Because, whatever it is, I honestly don’t mind it. And might I also add that I’m slowly falling in love with Sad Dwight — his scruffy beard, likely unshowered odor, and sad sack expression are really endearing! Much like Michael’s tight purple shirt, now that I think about it. He should really take a vacation to Moscow, that guy — between the ladies suits and the purple button downs, he’d be a Russian prostitute magnet.
Only one more hour-long bonus episode to go! Then we get back to our (hopefully) tighter, funnier 22-minute eppies with added deleted scenes online. But to be honest — these hour long epidoes are WEARING ME OUT!
If you missed the original airing, you can watch the entire episode over at NBC.com. If you haven’t fallen asleep yet, do share your thoughts on the episode.
