The Office running thread

I don't have any issue with the obsession over characters, since I do it plenty myself, I just find the fixation on Ryan, and issues with what Ryan's wearing, and what Ryan's reading, and how Ryan talks, to be one of the shows most minor concerns. I mean, did you see something of yourself in Ryan the first few seasons, and now you're deeply offended by his character's arc? It just seems like a weird point to hang your hat on.

Michael and Dwight have always been stupid idiots. That's the function of their characters.

If anything, I feel like the show has run out of stories to tell that are realistic and relateable, and thus they rely too much on "Michael and Dwight do wacky thing!" as a plot line. That seems like a more substantive gripe than, "Ryan should not be wearing an ascot. And those glasses do not suit him. This show has betrayed itself."

 

Phyllis: "I wear low cut tops and flirt with men....and Bob beats them up."

 

Pretty bad episode, the happy hour one from last night. Michael bears no resemblance to the character of previous seasons, never mind a real adult.

Was disappointed we didn't get to see Bob Vance deck anyone, either.

Did like Kevin's giggling and gesturing through the window while Andy and Erin are talking about keeping their relationship a secret. But Kevin's baby-screams running gag? Not funny.

 

Agreed. The "Date Mike" subcharacter felt completely out of place and forced because a.) we've seen plenty of Michael on dates, and b.) are we really to believe that Michael, who takes every cue in his life from his 19-inch plasma television, has just discovered reality dating shows?

 

I rather enjoyed this exchange:

Andy: Where did you learn to talk like that?
Erin: I don't know, the movies?
Andy: What movie? Black Snake Moan?

 

That was hilarious. All the Andy/Erin stuff was great, especially Andy's reaction to her flirting with the guy at the bar.

I thought the episode was great. When Michael turned into "Date Mike" 9 minutes into the show, I just rolled my eyes thinking I was gonna hate it, but I didn't.

 

Loved when Isabel whacked Angela in the parking lot.

 

Daryl is an underrated presence on the show. He can be hilarious in a very subtle way, often with wordplay.

His exchange with Oscar was classic:

"Just be straight with me, man. You can be gay with Matt, but be straight with me."

 

I didn't love it because of the broad humor, but they are knocking it out of the park in the portrayal of two new parents. Pam's reaction to getting out of the house had my wife grinning for an hour.

 

You mean the same Michael who thinks you call youtube to come cover something?

 

A lot of characters on the Office suffer from:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DependingOnTheWriter

 

I thought it was a great episode. Michael's character was true to the cringeworthy dude he has portrayed for six seasons now.