George W. Bush and Tony Blair star in the parody “The Oval Office.”
Dumb but deep
The Arizona Republic has an interesting story about how “stupid is the new smart” where TV comedy protagonists are concerned.
The Office’s Michael Scott, of course, is the poster boy for this phenomena.
“I don’t consider Michael as the stupid guy,” [Greg] Daniels said of his lead character. “He makes some very bad choices … I think in certain circumstances he’s very competent. There are just certain circumstances he’s not suited for.”
Indeed, The Office takes care to point out on occasion that, while Michael is a train wreck as a manager, he was an excellent salesman. And that’s crucial to being able to stomach the guy.
Link: Dumb but deep
Office Set Visit Report: Part 1
I finally got a chance to transcribe all my notes of our set visit, and now realize that I have to divvy up my report into several parts. This first part covers a rough timeline of our day, as well as some of the places we got to see.
Promos of next week’s newpeats
The Merger deleted scene #9
[NBC.com video no longer available]
Toby-hosted Office Marathon on March 29
This just posted by NBC:
On Thursday, March 29 (8 – 9:30 & 10-11 p.m. ET), “Toby Flenderson” (co-executive producer/writer/ actor Paul Lieberstein) who plays the Director of Human Resources, will host “A Night at the Office” marathon. Five “human resource nightmare” episodes will air surrounding an all-new episode of “Andy Barker P.I.” at 9:30 p.m. ET. The encore episodes include “Diversity Day” (8 –8:30 p.m. ET), “Healthcare” (8:30-9:00pm), “Sexual Harassment” (9 – 9:30 p.m. ET), “The Injury” (10 – 10:30 p.m. ET) and “Gay Witch Hunt” (10:30-11 p.m. ET).
Read the full press release here.
NBC presents Office ‘newpeats’
The Wall Street Journal is reporting:
In an unusual experiment aimed at improving ratings for reruns, NBC next week plans to air two previously seen half-hour episodes of “The Office” that have been re-edited into a new hour-long show. Some scenes will be cut so producers can weave in unaired footage that introduces a new storyline into the older episodes.
Producers of “The Office” say re-editing the episodes is a way to keep the program’s rabid fan base from moving on … “Their loyalty must be rewarded somehow, and we don’t have the budget to send out 10 million muffin baskets,” says Executive Producer Greg Daniels.
This would be next week’s airings of Traveling Salesmen and The Return.
Greg did mention at Paley Fest last weekend that an additional four minutes of new footage would be added to next week’s episodes. (Did I get that right, Kath?)
Shouldn’t every Office rerun be a ‘newpeat’? Clap your hands say yeah.
Link: NBC Remixes ‘The Office’; Reruns Become ‘Newpeats’ (subscription required)
Tipster: John
It’s Getting Hot in Here
As GMMR first reported, seat18b is a favorite fanvid creator of The Office’s Executive Producer, Greg Daniels.
After you watch her latest video, you’ll understand why.
Watch It’s Getting Hot In Here: Scranton Style.
Catch more videos at The Office Fan Video Playlist.