it seems i had lost my i/emotive voice there for a while, as well. turns out it had rolled under the couch.

just how does one aquire the suit their grandfather was buried in anyway?

Now if Tanster would be so kind as to open up the complaint file she keeps on all the members here, we can get all these little things resolved!

I don’t see a need to delete the comments. :)

Whatever. If that seems best, fine. I usually am OK with letting my warts be on display, helps me grow. But if you think that would be more productive, I’m good with it. I’d be glad to rewrite and resubmit my thoughts in a less personally directed way.

And beside, he trumped me forever by working in a win-win-win reference! Touche!

Sorry I tried to bring a little depth to the discussion of what makes this show tick. Perhaps, Fred, you would be better off watching Gilmore Girls. “Oh, when will Rory dump that nasty, nasty Logan?”

Of course, in the real world, we would all love to see Pam and Jim live happily ever after. All I was saying is don’t waste your time wishing for that to happen on this show, because it would ruin what the show is all about.

We’ve been through two seasons now. Has any character changed or grown in any significant way? Has anyone come to any self-realization through the situations that have happened? In standard comedies, the main character(s) always grow or change in some way. Take for example Northern Exposure, one of my favorites from the past. The starting premise of Joel’s character was that he was a hard-nosed New Yorker who could never be at home in the Alaskan wilderness. Yet as time went by, Alaska (and the people of Cicely in particular) got to him. By the time the show ended, though he went back to NY, he went back as a true Alaskan.

I don’t see anything similar ever happening on Office. It would break the rhythm of the show. This is not heartwarming comedy, and it is not meant to be. The only way anyone ever escapes the hell of the office is to get fired, so in a way the random guy who got downsized earlier this season was done an unknown mercy. Is that “existential”? Sure. But it’s what makes the show funny. As I said before, the greatest comedies have all been based on the tragedy of life…which is why Office is among the greatest.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled Office Tally discussion: “Do you think Dwight and Angela should go to Chilis on their first real date?”

your post suggests you see the show working on just one level. that’s fine because that is how you enjoy the show. but you seem to be criticizing others for enjoying the show as they see it.

the writers arent sitting around moaning “why dont these idiots see my work for the existential masterpiece that it is.” they sit down and discuss and write and rewrite into the show every week the very things you are criticizing people for enjoying about it. blame them.

go get yourself a writers forum.

I understand the sentiments, but let’s realize that the whole thing that makes this show work, it’s whole comic premise, is that all of these people are hopelessly trapped in their own private hells…themselves. They never will change or grow. That’s not what the show is about. The greatest comedies of all time have been based on human tragedy, and Office works so well because it is based on the greatest tragedy of all, being trapped with other human beings who, just like us, are hoplelessly destined to repeat their same sins over and over again.

Almost every single line in this episode was hilarious, but my favorite one wasn’t. It was just fantastic writing:

“When people work together there is going to be conflict. You can’t outrun your problems.” – “Hi Pam, it’s Jim. Um, I have a doctor’s appointment in the city…”

I definitely don’t think that Jim and Pam will be together when this season ends nor will she call off the wedding. I do think Jim might transfer only to get reassigned to Scranton in the future due to the imminent downsizing. Hopefully the cameras follow him wherever he goes.

p.s. – did anyone else catch the background conversation between michael and stanley during “bobblehead joe”?