The Office running thread

There have been plenty of others if you think about it. Many of the times when the show speaks to true moments in corporate life, it does so with a bit of sarcasm, but also sincerity. Andy's funny throw in "He was delightful!" is meant to defuse the seriousness of his comment about not knowing Oscar, but it makes it no less true.

Off the top of my head, I would also point to Jim and Michael's conversation at the end of Survivor Man, when Jim revealed he'd made a mistake by grouping together everyone's birthdays, leading everyone to hating him, just like they hate Michael for being the boss, and Michael said Jim would figure it out in 10 years. Jim says "I won't be here in 10 years." Michael tells him, "That's what I said."

He then reveals he just says "That's what she said" sometimes to relieve the tension in The Office when he has to be the bad guy. It's a small window into how Michael isn't all that different from Jim, and that even though we're supposed to hate our bosses, they are often just real people who used to be like their employees.

A few more I can think of...

-- The conversation between David Wallace and Jim during Jim's interview for the position at corporate.

"What do you think you'll miss most about the Scranton branch?"

"Um ... The friendships."

What is it that makes office life tolerable? Your coworkers. I'm married to someone I met in my office. So I can totally relate to what was going through Jim's head in that moment.


-- Pam talking about Jim in Office Olympics:

"The thing about Jim is when he's excited about something like the Office Olympics, he gets really into it and does a really great. But the problem with Jim is that he works here, so that hardly ever happens."

Most of us become corporate drones in office culture, and our creativity gets completely sucked right out of us. There is sarcasm in Pam's comment, but there is a real truth as well.


-- Michael after the lawsuit in The Deposition:

"You expect to get screwed by the company. But you never expect to get screwed by your girlfriend."

Ultimately we all expect our company to fuck us over, because that's the way corporate culture works, and so even though David Wallace betrayed Michael by saying he wasn't a real contender for that corporate job, that was ok with him because you always have a guarded sense that might happen, whereas in love you don't expect to get betrayed. (Obviously it works on another level because of the double entendre.

-- Michael, after he fake fires Stanley in "Did I Stutter?"

Stanley curses him out, forcing Michael to send everyone out of The Office. He then tells Stanley that no matter what he thinks of Michael, he can't talk to him that way in The Office. "You don't respect me? Fine. But you cannot talk to me like that here. I can't have it."

It's actually a fairly serious moment, and the point is no matter what an idiot you think your boss is, he's still your boss and you can't disrespect him like it's a sitcom. As Dylan said, we've all got to serve somebody.


There are tons more, but I think that kind of makes me point.

 

I just re-watched the episode.

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi356712473/

They are really doing some great things with these characters. I cannot think of a current or recent comedy that took such time to grow their characters.

Does anyone else think Jim, Pam, Dwight and Michael are the current day Hawkeye, B.J., Frank and Hotlips?

 

I hate following a DD post. It makes your 30 second thought seem so freeking paltry.

Along with what DD said was Dwight showing his true skill as a salesman when he used the prospective client's phone to call Staples and then immediately called Kelly when it was obvious that Staples still had the client on hold.

Stanley also playing the race card when he took B.J. on a sales pitch was pretty damn funny and thoughtful as well.

 

There definitely are a lot of those moments. If the show was all irony, all sarcasm all the time, I think it would be off-putting. The moments of sincerity really make the show resonate without diluting the satire.

 

NBC has the full episodes on its website along with deleted scenes for each.

 

OK, I was wrong. Well done, DD.

 

Don't forget that scene at the end of one episode of Jim and Michael sitting together, and Jim says something about not being there in a few years.

Michael tells him he thought that at one time, too.

 

Second paragraph.

 

Jim not leaving is based right out of Tim in the British Office, who was a dilettante who still lived with his parents and while smart, really had no ambition for anything.

As for this episode... I've thought the Office was losing its fastball, but it's really coming on strong. I laughed more at this episode than I did in a long time. And if it's because Paul Feig has greater input, then bring it on. Feig's stock-in-trade is uncomfortable moments and laughs with people who seem way too real for comfort. And I was struck by that line from Andy about having to travel to get to know someone working 20 feet away... because I once had a coworker say the same thing to me, about me.

 

Who is that, Monkey?

 

I cannot wait until Andy finds out. The blowup is going to make for great television.

I loved the "Oh, D...oh, d!...ohhhh ddddd!" between Dwight and Andy from Local Ad.

 

Anybody catch Gervais' new standup special on HBO? Some good stuff in there.