The Office: Ben Franklin
Author: tanster
Description: Acting on Todd Packer's advice, Michael brings two "adult" performers into the office in honor of Phyllis's wedding shower. Karen confronts Pam about her past with Jim.
Date: 2007-02-01T17:00:33-08:00

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Posted on February 1, 2007June 11, 2017 by tanster

# The Office: Ben Franklin, 3.15

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W: Mindy Kaling, D: Randall Einhorn

Summary (NBC): Acting on Todd Packer’s advice, Michael brings two “adult” performers into the office in honor of Phyllis’s wedding shower. Karen confronts Pam about her past with Jim.

#### The Office Ben Franklin promo

#### The Office Ben Franklin extras

- Reviews: TV Guide | Entertainment Weekly | Tori | Northern Attack
- Photos: Sparklies Gallery

#### The Office Ben Franklin quotes

Michael: Hello son. If you’re watching this, that means I’m already dead.

Michael: Yesterday I was scraping some gunk off my wall sockets with a metal fork, and I gave myself the nastiest shock. And when I came to, I had an epiphery. Life is precious. And if I die, I want my … son … to know the dealio. The dealio of life.

Michael: Number eight. Learn how to take off a woman’s bra.

Michael: You just twist your hand until … something breaks.

Michael: So get your suits to the dry cleaners, and get your hair did. And Karen, you might want to invest in a dress or a skirt of some kind, if you don’t already have one. This may be Phyllis’ only wedding ever. It’s my job to ensure that none of you look like ragamuffins.

Michael: I am instituting prima nocta.

Jim: Prima nocta, I believe from the movie, Braveheart, and confirmed on Wikipedia, is when the king got to deflower every new bride on her wedding night. So …

Michael: I’m sorry. I had a very different understanding as to what prima nocta meant.

Michael: It’ll probably be on a boat.

Michael: What’s up, spinstas?

Michael: Sort of a guys’ night out. A G-N-O, if you will. A guh-no. Actually, it’s more of a Guys’ Afternoon In. A G-A-I. A gai. Not … not it’s uh, not gay.

Michael: It’s a bridal shower for guys. A guy shower. An hour-long shower with guys.

Jim: Karen and I had a long … talk last night. And the night before that. And uh … every night. For the last five nights.

Pam: Something’s up with Jim and Karen. Not that I’ve been eavesdropping. It’s not really any of my business. But … I’ve gotten pretty good at reading the back of Jim’s neck.

Packer: Halpert! Tall, queer, handsome as ever. Hey everybody, it’s me, Jim. Hello, hello. Todd Packer.
Karen: Karen Fillipelli. Jim’s girlfriend.
Packer: Shut up! Shut it!
Karen: That’s rude.
Packer: Either this chick is a dude, or Halpert got scared straight!

Packer: And what kind of stripper did you get?

Packer: Have you ever even been to a bachelor party?

Packer: A stripper is Bachelor Party 101.

Michael: I can’t get a stripper here. Sexual harassment.
Packer: Get one for the girls, too. That evens it out. You know, separate but equal.
Michael: So that’s what that means.

Michael: We are still going to be having two parties, but each is going to get a little extra dose of naugh-tay.

Michael: Okay, coed naked strippers in this office. For realsies.
Angela: Under no circumstance should a man strip off his clothes in this office.
Meredith: Shut up, Angela!

Pam: Everything okay?
Jim: Oh yeah. Why?
Pam: Well, you seem a little tired.
Jim: Oh. Yeah, well, I guess there’s been a couple of late nights. Karen and I have been up talking.
Pam: You should get more sleep.
Jim: Yeah. I know I should.
Pam: Never ever underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep.
Jim: No, I’m sure you’re right.
Pam: When I get eight hours, compared to like, six hours, it’s like, big difference!
Jim: Really?
Pam: Oh yeah. Gotta get your REM cycle, going with the whole … sleeping … better than not.
Jim: Good advice, Beesly. Thanks. See you out there?
Pam: Yeah. Don’t fall asleep at your desk! (Under breath) Oh my god.

Dwight: Ruddy cheeks, thick calves, no tats, no moles. No tats. No … tats. Of course I want —
Jim: Stop. That’s disgusting.
Dwight: Leave me alone and get the male stripper.
Jim: Fine.
Dwight: I knew you would, Nancy.
Jim: Sally.

Dwight: Do you have any blonde women?

Ryan: He hasn’t even said a word yet. Just giggling.

Jim: Yep, SpongeBob SquarePants.
Michael: And you think that’d be sexy?

Jim: Michael referred me to a male strip club called Banana Slings. Instead, I called the Scholastic Speakers of Pennsylvania.

Michael: You wearing a thong?

Angela: Sparkling cider is very good.
Pam: I think that’s champagne.

Michael: Half pants, right, Mr. Franklin?
Ben Franklin: Knickers in fact, yes.

Michael: Mr. Franklin, I would say you are probably one of the sexiest presidents ever.
Ben Franklin: Well, actually, I never was president.
Michael: Yes, but Ben Franklin was.

Jim: Have you ever seen a stripper before?
Dwight: Yes. Jennifer Garner portrayed one on Alias. It was one of her many aliases.
Jim: Yeah. Me neither.

Dwight: Okay. I specifically ordered a stripper.

Karen: Mr. Franklin, do you have a girlfriend?
Ben Franklin: I have a lovely wife, Deborah.
Pam: But don’t you have girlfriends in Paris? Like, a lot of them?
Ben Franklin: Ah, well, that is a gray area of my life.

Ryan: Is this the same grill you grilled your foot on?
Michael: No. yes.
Ryan: Oh gross.
Michael: But I got all the foot off of it.

Karen: Oh, Ben Franklin tied a cherry stem in his mouth!

Pam: Do you wear boxers, briefs, or pantaloons?

Michael: Guys! Beef. It’s what’s for dinner. Who wants some man meat?

Jim: Michael, Dwight would like your man meat.
Michael: Well then my man meat he shall have.

Pam: I was confused by your phrasing.

Pam: I’m not into Jim. Yeah.

Elizabeth: Hi guys! I hear there’s an important meeting here.

Roy: I’m not really into strippers. You know what I find sexy? Pam’s art. She’s an artist. And I appreciate that. It’s very moving. And … sexy. The art.

Michael: You smell nice. Like Tide.

Elisabeth: You want me to answer phones, with my clothes on.
Dwight: We hired you for three hours work, and we’re gonna get it.

Elisabeth: Ooh, I love your poster.
Angela (about ready to faint): Thank you.

Ben Franklin: You know, I invented electricity.
Pam: I know.
Ben Franklin: Well, I’m sensing a little electricity right here.
Pam: Didn’t Ben Franklin have syphilis?
Ben Franklin: Yes. But I don’t. My name is Gordon.
Pam: Oh …

Ben Franklin: These things only serve to upset the women. They are the gentler sex.
Michael: Wow. Ben Franklin, you’re really kind of a sleazebag.

Michael: Stripper? Could I ask you a question? About women? Um … should I tell my girlfriend that you danced up on me?
Elizabeth: Secret secrets are no fun. Secret secrets hurt someone.
Michael: Wow. Thank you.

Dwight: Who is the king of Austria?
Ben Franklin: Joseph the Second.
Dwight: Who is the king of Prussia?
Ben Franklin: Friedrich Wilhelm the Third.
Dwight: Who is the kind of England?!
Ben Franklin: Why, the tyrant King George, of course.

Dwight: I don’t care what Jim says. That is not the real Ben Franklin. I am 99% sure.

Pam: God, I need a boyfriend. You know, Ryan, I’m totally ready to be set up with one of your business school friends. Whenever.

Elizabeth: Oh my god. I would get so fat if I worked here.
Pam: Yeah? I lose my appetite all the time.
Elizabeth: You could strip, you know.
Pam: Thanks.

Michael: So you don’t want to end our relationship?
Jan: I’m closer to firing you.
Michael: That is so sweet. You are the best G-D girlfriend in the world.

Michael: So you know who turned out to be kind of a creep? Ben Franklin. And Elizabeth the stripper? Gave me great advice. Which rhymed. Really makes you wonder how Ben Franklin can become president but someone like Elizabeth can’t.

Icon courtesy of pessimistreader.

## 491 comments

1. GOOD GOD that was a weird episode :/

2. WOW! FUNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

3. Yikes! Keep Karen NO MATTER WHAT!

4. It wasnt a very good one either

   where was Andy?

5. AND WEIRD???

6. probably the most revealing Pam confession yet

7. BEST SCENE: “Who was the king of Austria? Prussia? England?”

   Jim would tell Dwight that was the real Ben Franklin! :)

8. this show had too many lies. jim, pam, roy. ahh im going crazy!!

9. One of the best episodes of the season. Hands down. It just felt a little too short and could have been slightly longer.

10. thats why i invented the bifocals!

11. fucking great

12. did anyone else cringe as much as i did when Karen was talking to Pam. that was more intense than 24.

13. karen is kind of crazy.
    or self destructive?
    no, crazy.
    the hugging of jim was way weird.

14. Can someone please tell me what happened when Jim, Pam, Ryan,and Kelly were in the break room? I missed what they were saying and felt confused about everyone’s crankiness afterwards.

15. This was the first time I was disappointed by The Office. :-(

16. Pretty good episode. Andy is in anger management for the next month or so I think.

17. andy isnt in any feb epiosdes. but hes a regular now. :)

18. Pam totally grew a set this week! I wonder why she attempted her bad flirting with Jim, when she knew that he and Karen were still together? Karen is totally insecure right now, and it seems like Pam doesn’t care all that much. Plus, that line about Ryan setting her up with a guy from his business school!

    P.S. “Ben Franklin, do you wear boxers, briefs, or pantaloons?”

19. sigh, 30 minutes is not enough time.

20. Who played Ben Franklin?

21. Funnier epsiode than 2 weeks ago, but didn’t advance the storyline. Still, I enjoyed this episode more than the one 2 weeks ago.

22. Not sure if I liked this one or not… very strange episode. It was funny but…strange.

23. Andy is in “Management Training” (aka…anger management) Really awkward episode…

24. Good episode. Felt weird. But good too.
    I like the smell of Tide.

25. Andy is in anger management for a few eps. so we won’t see him for a little bit.

26. Fair at best. Surprised it was written by Mindy. Very weak episode. The wedding has got to be better than this. Pam/Karen/Jim just plain odd.

    Andy’s in anger management. Now that would have been funny…seeing him sing along to the stripper or something.

27. jam is over now

28. Neither Ben Franklin nor the stripper was funny. But I agree that Pam could be a stripper. =P

29. so great, my Pam, really starting to slip and become REALLY desprate for our Jim Halpert.

    The wedding, according to gmmr’s SAG award video, should be a good one for JAM fans! fingers crossed!

30. It wasnt one of the best episodes but it was still funny, and the expression on on Jims face when Pam says that she wants to date again was awesome lol ha HA Jim ha ha…

31. Good episode- not my favorite but still good. I felt it was a bit “weird” too- but still funny :D There’s just so much going on in 22 minutes I can’t keep up until I watch the episode about 5 more times lol.

32. To quote Pam: “Wow…just wow.” Funny, but in a different way than it usually is.

33. odd episode… funny but odd. not sure if it really went anywhere or not. seems like it could have had a lot had potential than they gave it.

34. I’ve never felt closer to Pam that this episode. I’ve sooo been there… Painfully awkward interaction but you just gotta keep talking because it’s *him*. And I was starting to like Karen, but dang, that girl needs to RELAX. Highly annoying. Overall, not a bad episode, but not the best either. However, “I’m 99% sure that’s not the real Ben Franklin,” is THE. BEST. LINE. EVER.

35. I agree, this episode was weird… but mainly in its tone. It seemed a lot different from other Office episodes. But I still liked it.

36. Incredible episode! I really liked Pam’s scenes here: very awkward, but she made the first move for Jim. Getting him jealous: was not expecting that.

37. What is this thing about Ryan setting up Pam?

38. This is the first episode that Pam has made me cringe and she did it quite a few times

39. Pam is turning into Jim before he kissed her! PAM JUST SAY YES!

40. Tanster, what happened to our ability to vote on episodes?

41. Also:
    did anyone notice Jim refers to Pam as Beesley now. He didn’t utter her first name once.

42. Wow, was that weird, and awkward and occasionally funny. And no way is JAM dead…they’re just making us think that, but it’ll happen.

43. I’m so upset.

44. Btw, where was Oscar? I didn’t see him at all, and the stripper was even sitting in his desk. Did they move the order of the episodes or something?

45. Dwight in a bra was the best part.

46. Yeah, where the hell was Oscar?????

47. “I wonder why she attempted her bad flirting with Jim, when she knew that he and Karen were still together?”

    Pam thought that Karen and Jim were acting strange, and she was trying to find out what was going on. I think perhaps she was afraid Jim was sick or something? It could also be that she had a feeling that Karen and Jim were finally “being intimate” and had to know for sure…

    Some really funny Michael moments:
    “GAI…Gay”
    “If he wants my man meat, then my meat he shall have” (or something like that)
    I also liked that he just called her Stripper – “Stripper, let me ask you something”

    Nice moment of disgust from Angela, but no Oscar or Toby!!!

48. oh, and i’m upset cuz i totally missed what Pam said to ryan as she was leaving the break room. anyone remember?

49. 51 I asked and no one has answered yet…

50. Pam is a REALLY bad flirter

    i watched this one w/ my mom and she seemed kind of upset…i loved it though, i just couldnt show it in front of her, i had to pretend i didnt understand…it was great though!

    ben franklin hit on pam!

51. Pam asked Ryan to set her up with one of his friends from business school… in front of Jim.

52. Re: 51 and 52- She asked Ryan to set her up with someone from his business school. She said she was ready for him to do it. Something to that effect.

53. In the breakroom Pam told Ryan she was ready to be set up with one of his business school friends.

54. interesting…

55. Andy is in anger management, for those that are asking and evidently didnt see the producer’s cut of The Return.

56. Andy? Oscar? Maybe I missed them but where were they? Very weird episode but it was still funny and moved the story a little which is always good.

57. does anyone know who the actor who played ben franklin was?

58. And: “I’ve learned to read Jim’s back pretty well.”

59. i loved the jan and michael conversation.
    …..
    jan: i’m closer to firing you.
    michael: that is so sweet.

60. that’s really weird that they didn’t explain where andy was to everyone who hadn’t seen the producer’s cut.

    pam is a very bad and awkward flirter when she’s desperate and trying to salvage something. the casual “i think we broke his brain” bit in the return made jim crack up! why, pam, why?

61. Jim and Karen up late for 5 days in a row “talking”!!
    Sure, now I’ll be up late trying to erase the image from my mind.

62. The moments when “champ” from anchorman appear in episodes is priceless. The way that Michael looks up to him and tries to impress him cracks me up

63. What did Pam say after she saw Karen give Jim the awkward hug…i missed it.

64. I really thought that they were JUST talking.

65. Believe me, that was the unhappy look on Jim’s face of a man whose girlfriend has hounded him into talking things out, over and over. There was nothing but talking!

66. redraven: Not sure, something like “Jim’s been acting weird lately, I think something’s going on between him and Karen, blah blah…I’ve gotten really good at reading the back of Jim’s neck.”

    I’m missing something there. :/

67. Yeah I thought they were just talking too.

68. I want to cry.

    Now, I feel like I have a respect for Karen and Jim’s relationship. Im in a jungle of confusion right now though. Pam seemed really weird in this episode…she was trying to hard to be funny with Jim in the break room. I was kind of furious…

    Anywho…This was a good episode. Cant wait for next week.

69. They were just talking, because Jim seemed less than thrilled about the prospect. Looked like he was sick of hashing it out with Karen.

70. i think pam’s about to lose it. and i’m LOVING it!!

71. Up all night talking followed by the reassuring office hug…they aren’t just talking. She moved to be with him, they aren’t just talking. It’s probably why he’s with her. Remember what he told Michael at the Christmas party…”the diversion is great, but it’s not the real thing” or something like that. She’s his diversion. And they aren’t just talking.

72. I’m confused about the whole staying up talking thing.

    I took it as they really did stay up late talking and it was frustrating Jim. But that when he explained it to Pam she took it as a euphemism for sex.

    Did I get it wrong?

73. Ben Franklin: “You know, I invented electricity…and I can sense some between us!”
    Pam: “Didn’t Ben Franklin have syphilis?”

    Hahahaha.

    Anyway, Pam might be awkward but she’s smart to start “looking” for a boyfriend. Jim needs a kick in the ass to realize that if Pam gets into a new relationship he’s just as screwed as he was before. I’m convinced that the arc Brian Baumgartner is referring to is JAM-centric.

74. I thought this episode was really quite funny. There were a couple of nods to earlier episodes. Hence the Foreman grill that Michael burned his foot on. Plus in the opening the interaction with Dwight yelling “action!” was so similar to when they made the video for Diversity Day (scenes which may have been on the deleted scenes)…Kevin’s poker skills and special glasses.
    Pam did seem to act weird and I think this must have been the time when Jenna had a cold…I could hear it in her voice. Also, did Michael have the same ring or was it something new?

75. I think they were just talking. cuz if they were doing anything else, jim would not look as fed up as he did. he looked almost pissed off when she hugged him.

76. I liked it, but not a favorite. I agree Pam was a bit off, but I think it is going to help build up to something awesomely explosive later this month. I know some of the cast said this month’s story arc is the best of the series, but I hope they don’t count tonight’s episode as part of that arc. It was good, but not great. The highlights were definitely the opening video, Michael’s thoughts on how a man like Franklin could become president, and that amazing befuddled look Jim shot Pam at the end.

77. 77: Everyone agrees they aren’t just talking, but people are saying for those 5 nights they WERE just talking. Jim is getting hounded by Karen because she wants to “talk” and “work things out” about the fact that Jim and Pam kissed.

    I am confused about how you can work out Jim saying he still has feelings for Pam…he must have lied to get out of that one.

78. I was hoping that Karen would reveal to Pam that Jim admitted he still had feelings for her…not the kiss. Ugh.

79. I loved the “how-to-take-a-bra-off” bit at the beginning with Michael and Dwight….hee hee!

80. I thought what Roy said about Pam’s art was really lame. I think I actually gagged.

81. The Pam/Jim scene in the break room was very awkward.

82. I laughed at the Roy bit…just because I think he sincerely wanted to believe what he was saying.

83. Oh and when Jim said that he prefers a BLOND stripper not a brunette!! In YO face Karen!! lol

84. Also, did Michael have the same ring or was it something new?
    –
    It was eaither White N Nerdy or Ridin Dirty. I don’t know what it was before this though.

85. Jeff I think it was “My Humps” by fergie.

86. “Oh and when Jim said that he prefers a BLOND stripper not a brunette!! In YO face Karen!! lol”

    I was really hoping he would say redhead. :)

87. in terms of roy, I know he was a jerk for the first two seasons but the writers are making him a guy who’s realized he has been a jerk and has turned himself around. I put him in the same category as Karen – I like them as characters, on their own, but it’s gonna suck to be them eventually because Jim and Pam belong together.

88. What the heck? The Office was totally off tonight. I was not left satisfied and smiling. Hopefully next week we’ll get back on track.

89. redraven: he said that because Pam has red hair and Karen is the brunette. It was a dig at both of them.

90. Pam has blond hair

91. Pam has brown hair. ?

92. she has dirty blond

93. I always thought Pam’s hair was reddish.

94. im pretty sure jim picking a blonde stripper was a metephor for his current situation, so he picked neither the brunette or red head… the blonde

95. Gollara…you need to adjust your set! While she’s by no means a red-head, I would say she has auburn/red hair.

    Agree with strawberryblond, this one was weak. Lamest of the series I think. Lamest cold open too. Oh well…the wedding is bound to be funny.

96. pam has dirty blonde hair

97. I agree with RixChick (#93)- Roy is trying really hard to turn himself around now, and it is so hard to believe him when he says things like the thing about Pam’s art. I guess I still remember on the Booze Cruise when he was making fun of Pam for being “artsy-fartsy” in high school. I bet if he had Pam back again he’d return to his old self. For now he’s just trying to look good to get her back.

98. Yeah, I thought Jim was just trying to be neutral about the whole situation by picking the blonde.

99. I have a feeling that Pam is going to continue in a downward spiral until she decides that perhaps she should just settle for someone who still loves her – Roy.

    Maybe that would lead to Jim admitting his feelings to save Pam from making a mistake with Roy again.

    Just a thought…

    Also, I think Jim said “Blonde” for his stripper preference because he saw redhead as Pam and Karen as Brunette, and didn’t want the girls (who were listening) to to read his choice of stripper as choosing between Pam and Karen.

100. i didnt say shes a red head, obviously she is a blond

101. Actually Redhaven, when Jim said he wanted a “blonde” stripper was a critical moment for both Karen AND Pam. Dwight asked Jim if he preferred brunettes or redheads…Obviously, Karen (brunette) and Pam (the redhead) were both very interested in what his response would be. If he said redhead, Karen would be crushed and Pam would feel great, and vice versa. “Blonde” was the “neutral” reply, whether Jim realized it or not…(probably did!)

102. What warehouse guy doesn’t like a stripper…please. None of them were into the stripper. That whole scene was so awkward…blech.

103. Pam is NOT a redhead!!!!!!

104. thank you!

105. Okay, so Pam’s hair is definitely reddish/brownish. NOT blonde of any sort.

106. I agree. I think it’s a auburn color…definitely not blonde.

107. PAM IS NOT A REDHEAD!!!!
     how many times must i say it.
     she is NOT a redhead.
     her hair is dirty blonde.

108. what did the stripper say to Michael? It was some quote “secret secret..??

109. That was the anti-feel good episode. Exact opposite of last week. I also think that art is sexy!

110. I am a red head. Pam’s hair is not red. Dirty blonde at best, but not red.

111. “secrets, secrets are no fun.
     secrets, secrets hurt someone.”

112. Jim should move and change his number.

113. I really want to see Jam dance….so badly!

114. whatever happens durring the wedding (maybe Pam will jump on Jimand they will start making out lol) Pams hair will still be dirty blond… just kidding.. but really it is dirty blond

115. my thoughts are Roy and Pam are going to get alot closer than Pam and Jim will in the short term, judging from the synopsis of cocktail it still going to be quite a haul

116. I’d say that Jenna has red hair, though.

117. enough about the DIRTY BLONDE hair!

118. I support the making out thing. It could totally happen since Pam’s hair is more brown than blonde…so Jim could be confuse her for Karen or something…

119. Thanks!

120. 91. Jeff I think it was “My Humps” by fergie.

     —

     You could be right, I’m not all too familiar with Michaels “modern” taste in music.

121. you know how this can be solved…ask jenna herself.

122. I don’t know about Pam and Roy in the coming weeks–I like to think that she could see through these new “agreeable” ideas of Roy’s. They seem too sudden, and I remember she was sort of put off when, in “Branch Closing,” he said she should try art school. “I am,” she replied. I don’t think she’s going to just open up to him immediately. But I agree with a previous post: it’s going to be a long haul this month. And. every. moment. will. rock!

123. Jim pissed me off in this episode. Pam too but Jim just rubbed me the wrong way. Why does he always make us love him in one episode and piss us off in the next?

     Michael knows about Jim and Pam, why can’t Michael open his big mouth in front of them? C’mon!

124. Here’s my two cents: I’m really hoping being at someone else’s wedding doesn’t make Pam nostalgic for her own failed wedding to Roy. I really hope nothing happens between them.

125. “you know how this can be solved…ask jenna herself.”

     haha…i just was at her myspace thinking about doing just that…

126. Uhm…what if the comment about hair didn’t really have anything to do with the girls? I honestly thought that Jim just said “blonde” to be contrary b/c the only options Dwight gave him were brunette or redhead…I saw it as more of a Jim/Dwight interaction than a Jim/Pam/Karen thing.

     However, I do consider the documentary team a “character” on the show: I think we panned to Karen and Pam because there’s dramatic interest in that (documentarians want to keep their audience awake, no?), and I thought the scene only served to show that both Karen and Pam are very aware of Jim right now, if that makes any sense.

     And for the record, I think that both Karen and Pam are brunettes. Pam’s hair is just on the light-to-medium side of the spectrum.

127. i think you should redraven.
     or maybe i will. whatever.
     haha.

128. I loved this one. Defintally one of the best of the season.

129. pretty funny episode! maybe not one of the highlights of the season but it still made my thursday!

130. not my favorite episode. i felt so bad for pam being cornered like that by karen in the break room. again another example of why the office is amazing. there was so much going on underneath the surface of that talk…

131. dosent ben franklin have syphilis?

132. Pam just can’t keep herself out of trouble when she drinks

133. ok but seriously.. jenna fischer was AMAZING ! ! in this episode.
     probably her best acting of the series.

134. AND for some reason i feel like pam was betrayed when jim told karen about their kiss.

     shouldnt that have been kept between them?

135. Moment with Michael in the sex shop=HILARIOUS!

136. Karen really seems to be falling apart. She’s needy and constantly needs to be reassured, not only by Jim but by Pam too. She’s certainly not the woman Jim met in Stamford.

137. Yeah, I agree, not the best but still left me smiling. I think Karen and Pam still have some more to talk about, but Karen is a nut if she didn’t pick up the oh-so-obvious signals Pam was sending in the break room.
     But yey for Phyllis! I can’t wait for the wedding. I keep tearing apart the NBC website for the “invitations” they mentioned. And now I have to stop haunting this message board, though it’s very fun!

138. this was the funniest show of the season@@@!!!1

139. Congratulations to Meredith on her two lines. Weird episode. Didn’t care for Pam at all. I agree, not having Oscar was very strange since he just returned! Maybe he’s in the deleted scenes!

140. Agreed with the comment about Karen. Actually, I used to really dig her character–starting in Branch Closing, probably (was that the drinking game ep?), and when she admitted to the camera she liked Jim, I found her refreshing, original, straightforward, and pretty likeable. Now, she seems possesive and clingy, not to mention highly insecure.

     Actually, I used to really love Jim and Pam (separately and together) too, and now their scenes are my least favorite. I especially loved Fancy New Beesly, but I couldn’t find her in this episode. Mindy, where has FNB gone?

141. Toby was missing too it seemed.

     Meredith’s first line made the whole episode for me.

     “Shut up, Angela!”

142. Sorry to say, it was the lamest show of the entire series. I guess they can’t all be gems.

143. how did so many of you not like it?? i thought it was hilarious!! there were so many ridiculous things going on the whole way through–and that’s the office we know and love. by the way, i think it was incredibly refreshing to not have Andy there. i’m not happy that he’s a regular :(
     but, AWESOME EPISODE!!!!

144. If you were Karen, wouldn’t you be clingy and insecure too?

     She moved to be with Jim, and then finds out they are working with Jim’s old crush that he still has feelings for? This, on the heels of Jim not even wanting her to move into a house that was DOWN THE STREET from him?

     I would think that might make most people a little insecure or clingy.

145. Karen is using sex to lure Jim away from Pam. Jim looked like a very pleased frat boy during the “we talked” talking head. Thats when Pam started to lose it when Jim mentioned all the late-night talking

146. Why do soo many people think this episode was weird?!! That’s blowing my mind!! I think it was the most normal episode in long time. It reminded me a lot of Season Two!

147. Great Episode :) I like one scene with Dwight in a bra and it was so funny.

     here’s a quote from Meredith- (to Angela) shut up, Angela! lol

     by the way, #23 (Tommy) Ben Franklin/Gordon was played by Andrew Daly from MADtv.

148. 154. I got a different impression of that scene, I thought it seemed like he was kinda starting to lose his mind

149. Oh my gosh…A lot of it was funny…I’m not a fan of raunchiness, so I could’ve done without the stripper. But Pam was sure in rare form. I’m not sure what’s going on with her other than serious hurt and a little bitterness, even. All I can do is wait.

150. My two cents on the hair color scene. Jim probably has a suspicion about Dwangela, so he said “blonde” because he knew Dwight would find that appealing. Notice how Dwight smiled and said something like “Interesting!” after that.

151. I feel as though this episode was more of a plot mover rather than trying to be funny. Sort of like a middle movie in a series of three, it won’t always be an excellent movie, but it’s necessary to keep the storyline rolling. Pam seems frustrated with herself, I think, as well as Jim’s appearance of lack of interest. I think she was really embarassed after the sleep conversation. Interesting episode, not bad.

152. Not very happy with this episode either. I liked that Pam said she’s ready to be hooked up with one of Ryan’s business school friends. Pam also should of said something more to Karen who is wearin’ on my nerves!!

153. Woah Pam in this episode was sooo weird! She seemed so out of it. This was like Pam’s breakdown episode. Oh wait, she already had one of those. haha oh man.

     Maybe I’m going nuts, but didn’t her eyes look red at times? And Karen looked SO tired. I guess they were going for that?

     I loved this episode, though! I agree, it reminded me a lot of the greatness in Season 2. Kind of like a Boys & Girls Part II.

154. Did anybody get the impression Pam was embarrassed when she was flirting with Jim in the break room? At the end I think I heard a “Oh My God” as she turned back toward the snack machine.

     Anybody?

155. It was okay. But is definitely not the best episode and wasn’t all that amazing. I think the focus on Jim and Pam needs to go way down. Last week was funny because they were cute and did a prank on Andy. But when it’s them being all sad and mopey, I get sick of it.

156. I loved Meredith’s line also. I am ready for Jim to give some sort of hint to Pam, no matter how small, that he is still into her.

157. I was pretty much disappointed with this week’s show. A real let down from last week. I’m afraid I’m starting not to even care about Jim and Pam. I never thought I’d say that. I think there is a point when you can drag things out too long, and people are going to start to lose interest.

158. 163–yes, you heard correctly

159. GOD-
     Jenna Fischer was really sick with a cold during the taping of this episode.

     (i think i read that on her myspace or something?)

160. I’ll watch Deleted Scenes, but I’m going to try not to watch Previews anymore! Those 4 previews captured pretty much all that happened on the ep tonight. If I hadn’t seen them, I think I might have enjoyed it more.

     Not one of my favorites. But there were some good parts. Angela was funny at the shower… spitting out in her glass when Pam told her it was champagne and not sparkling cider. And then when all the ladies were thinking this guy was going to strip, Angela was sitting there just listening to his speech–glad he WASN’T stripping. (“There will be no male strippers in the office!”)

     I also thought it was hilarious when Michael was grilling the steaks on his tiny little George Foreman, and Ryan asks if that wasn’t the grill Michael grilled his foot on. No. Yes. But I got all the foot off! And Ryan’s reaction!

     My take on JAM is that Jim and Karen probably really have only been talking lately. That’s why Karen would say something like she did to Packer. If she’s really tight with Jim, she probably wouldn’t come out and say it. Though you’ve just got to hit Packer with something like that when he gets going the way he was! The hug she gave Jim, and his reaction to it, seemed to me like the action of someone who is really more hopeful that things can pick up in a relationship that is starting to sour than someone blissfully happy with the way things are. I do foresee JAM coming together soon. But only the writers know for sure! :-)

     Can’t wait for next week! But I will NOT be tempted by any previews. I want to enjoy it fresh while I’m watching it next time!

161. I agree with Carly. I like the Jim and Pam interaction, but not the mopey, boo-hoo kind of scenes. That prank on Andy was awesome.

162. It’s really interesting what appeals to people about the show. I fully expected hopping on here and finding that everyone disliked it as much as I did. It’s surprising to me that so many of you enjoyed it. I thought:
     -More set up was needed for the Dwight BF exchange, deleted scene where Jim tells Dwight he’s the REAL Ben Franklin?
     -Convoluted dialogue with Jim and Pam, didn’t care for it at all. In fact, I’m tired of the “awkwardness”. You can only ride that horse for so long (that’s what….)
     -Karen’s little hug of Jim made no sense at all, is she letting Pam know that he’s “all hers”?
     -The usually amusing Todd Packer didn’t amuse me at all.
     BUT, I will probably buy it on itunes and enjoy it more later!

163. pam needs to get over herself and make a move. her inertia is really testing my patience. i think it’s gonna take a few drinks to get her to say anything to jim about her feelings. she deserves her misery and lonliness.

164. I thought the episode was great! a lot of funny scenes. Was it just me or did Pam look really tired and sound like she had a cold?

165. Thanks for posting where Andy went. I actually did watch the producers version but I totally forgot about it.

166. Matt, you’re making a lot of sense. I also am getting tired of the “awkwardness”.

167. Jenna did have a cold that week of taping.

168. Allan,
     You are correct. You got the whole episode from the preview scenes. And seeing the Foreman grill was great, then everybody EATING THE MAN MEAT! Except for Stanley, whose fork broke. Maybe pretzel day is coming soon for him. He can eat then.
     No Oscar is a real problem for me, makes no sense at all.

169. It’s interesting how many people thought the “late night talks” were code for sex. Jim really seemed annoyed and worn down by the fact that they were having to rehash the whole Pam thing while Karen, on the other hand, commented in her talking head that they were stronger than ever after these discussions. I may be naive but I think they really have been talking.
     But I do think Jim purposely wasn’t clear about what was going on when he spoke to Pam about it.

170. i agree with you matt(#171)…i was hoping packer (pac-man, wacky pac) would be a scream in this episode. no such luck.

171. Yeah guys, the late night TALKING really is talking! Otherwise Jim wouldn’t have been so annoyed by it. No guy is pissed off when his girlfriend wants to have sex every night!

172. Ditto Lazy Scranton

173. Ok…No one seems to be picking up on a subtlety that I noticed.
     Roy is a big party boy, as we all saw during Booze Cruise. So when he sat there said “I don’t find strippers sexy” Could there not be another subtext at work there? He is clearly trying to win back Pam, but he may have a few of his own skeletons in the closet. Did anyone notice how he got up from the table and walked away when the stripper came in? Almost as if he were trying to not be recognized by her? Not to mention, where was he in a big hurry to go to on casino night…I’ve always wondered if he left Pam there to go off and pursue other interests…

     While losing Pam may have refocused him a little bit, don’t be surprised if someday Roy’s past catches up to him

174. I feel like it’s much easier to say Pam needs to just come out and tell Jim how she feels than actually doing it. Remember, Pam is a fairly quiet keep to herself kind of person, most of the time. The only time she ever expressed any kind of verbal feelings towards Jim was after they kissed. I feel like we should just be patient and enjoy the show, rather than wanting to rush rush rush and have them get together because I’m sure the writers will throw in some interesting twists.

175. Did anyone understand what Ryan said to Kelly in the break room? I rewound it three times and still can’t get it. Maybe he was just mumbling?

176. i have to agree with threec on the late night talks. jim seemed more annoyed than pleased. i totally missed the line where pam told angela that the ‘sparkling cider’ was champagne. and the line where michael said that he got all the foot off his george foreman grill. gonna have to go back and watch it again

177. I agree. They were up all night talking. Just. Talking.

178. Man, I must have an innocent mind. I really thought the “late night talking” was about Jim and Karen fighting all night. Like, Jim reassuring Karen that he likes her. I can see the other ways now though. I just originally didn’t think that.

     I have mixed feelings about the episode. I really need something to happen between Jim and Pam soon. The awkward moments between them almost killed me. It’s making me feel like something bad might happen…like Roy might move in on Pam.

     I thought the episode was pretty funny though. Michael and Dwight in the beginning with the bra made me laugh so much. I didnt like the stripper scene though. Awkward scene with my boyfriend, ha.

179. I don’t think I can read the spoilers anymore. I get my hopes up from watch with Kristin for JAM action for sweeps…only to be deflated with tonight’s ep and even more with “Roy could quite possibly come back into the Pam picture at Phyllis’ wedding.” But Karen lifting her leg on Jim tonight may bode well for the Crazy Karen scenario. At the very least, we saw some fire from Pam asking to be set up…

180. I walked away from that ep. without the warm fuzzy inside of me that I usually have. In fact, I left with pretty much an empty feeling. I was really disappointed with this one. I tried to give Karen a chance….I really did. It’s not the fact she’s Jim’s new girl, it’s just because she’s getting really annoying. Remember how fun she was?? She’s not fun anymore.
     This episode was lacking in funny. Everyone was taking themselves way too seriously….even Ben Franklin.

181. I can guarantee one thing: Roy is full of it. He finds Pam’s art sexy? What is that? This is the same guy who cheered Michael for hitting the corporate booty? I don’t get it.

182. Kelly: I don’t even think the stripper was that hot. Do you guys … (looking at Ryan) think … she was hot?
     Ryan: Kelly, don’t do this.
     Kelly: Do what? I just asked you a question.
     Ryan: You know what you’re doing.

183. Ok, I’m new to this posting thing and I love it. Sorry if I’m overdoing it.

     I agree that Roy is full of it. I also usually have a warm and fuzzy feeling at the end of the show, but, not tonight. I can’t wait till next week though.

184. Couldn’t they talk and then have sex? I’m sure Jim was rewarded for listening and talking and talking and listening…he should have just lied to her when she asked him about Pam…then there would be no talking.

185. I’m glad you’re not one of the writers of the show Christine.

186. LOL

187. Allan,

     That was the conversation I got from the break room between Ryan and Kelly. Watch again and see if that’s what you hear…

188. Re: 108…Queen Phyllis, not everyone who works in warehouses likes strippers. That’s unfair of you to suggest that. I speak from personal experiences because I **AM** a warehouse man, and I don’t like strippers.

     Blah episode this week.

189. Perhaps you like art work…and good for you if you do.

190. Does anyone really get why Ryan is still with Kelly?? I mean it’s awesome for the show and I love to watch the interaction. But, I just kind of feel sorry for them both.

191. 7 more days untill next thursday…

192. Not one of my favorite episodes either, but Steve and Rainn never fail to make me laugh however much JAM and other awkwardness there is.

     I am surprised how many of you think that Jim and Karen were doing more than talking. I thought it was pretty obvious that Jim was seriously tired out of talking. The whole point was that Pam thinks that they are doing more than just talking.

     I think this episode was a good set up for Karen getting overbearing and Jim getting fed up with it. )I am ever the optimist).

     And to change pace, I thought BJ shone in this episode. He was very subtle but always there in the background. I think he’s very very very slowly giving ryan slightly more depth. Angela also had some small, but gorgeous moments – that moment where she realizes she has something in common with a stripper. Genius.

193. Kelly & Ryan make my life.

     Roy seems confuzzled.

     And Ben Franklin is the greatest thing ever.

194. I thought this was probably the least fun to watch episode since Season 1. I’ve watched it 3 times now to try to make sense of it, but I can’t. There were some funny parts, but it was completely disjointed, like they took a bunch of leftover ideas and tried to make an episode out of them. After watching it the first time I thought maybe it was from a new writer or something, so I was very surprised to see it was written by Mindy Kaling, who’s written some of the funniest episodes of the series. With this being February sweeps and the time shows are supposed to bring out their best, I really hope the next few episodes are a whole lot better (I can’t imagine them being any worse).

195. #192: he likes the ‘junk in her trunk’…said so himself. Diwali was his best episode. So funny.

196. Makes you wonder why Jim and Karen are still together…we know Jim can break up with anyone in a heartbeat. I’m guessing he was trying a different tactic and it backfired on him.
     Ugh…now I really am annoyed with Karen

197. Oh – can anyone fill in the question marks on the Jim/Dwight stripper conversation for me?

     Dwight: I said no Tats, not no…
     Jim: that’s enough (or something to that effect)
     Dwight: You pick the male stipper
     Jim: Fine
     Dwitght: That’s right Nancy Boy
     Jim: ????

     Does Jim respond “Sally”??

198. I love when Dwight says he’s 99% sure that he’s not Ben Franklin. He has just a little bit of doubt. Like when Jim “moved” the coat rack. Dwight was so baffled by that. Dwight is so awesome.

     I may be new to this comment posting, but, some of you need to be nice.

199. I mentioned this before, but it was more of a plot mover, it’s hard to make an episode really funny and also make a serious statement about what’s going on dramatically in the show.

200. Here is why I don’t buy Karen and Jim: it really seems like Jim dislikes Karen. The scenes in Connecticut showed them having fun, but in Scranton he just seems to hate her. I guess it is supposed to have something to do with Pam, but he DID tell Karen to come to Scranton.

     The writers could have made it more believeable that Karen would stick it out this long with him by having them actually have a good time together in some scenes. It’s just a mess.

     I am also sick of the awkwardness. Maybe it was spread out more last season and there were more jokes? Even the Pam/Jim drama was funny.

     This seems to be a transitional season. I guess it’s just all one big plot-mover until something happens for season 4.

201. Sun Princess, I agree, I think it did backfire on him. Hopefully Pam will stake her claim.

202. Jenny, yes he responded Sally. I think Packer called him Nancy, if I’m not mistaken? So Jim was being cute and changed it to Sally. I like how Jim kept Dwight in line during that conversation…though he did pick blonde.

203. Hmmm, I too felt a little let down by this episode. Usually I have a little something to hang onto, a little thread to keep me going until next week. But this ep just left me feeling sad! Sigh. I understand why it all had to happen. Pam is totally breaking and I have completely been in her situation before. The awkward moments. She is just fed up with everything. She really just needs to say something. I think she is starting to feel hopeless. I hope that the hopelessness doesn’t make her go back to Roy. I think Roy’s comment might be a foreshadow of things to come. Gah! It makes me cringe. Although, it things were going to keep going with Rashida, i think she would already be signed as permanent, so we know that is going to end. Hopefully. Oh, I really hope that Pam doesn’t use Roy to make Jim jelous. She just needs to tell him.

204. Thanks “Not Karen”

     I meant to type that I think Dwight originally called Jim “Man-cy”

     But maybe that was just my imagination and the fact that I am inexplicably amused by words like “Manny” “Manpris” and “Manbag”

205. But let me add this: I am laughing a lot and the jokes are excellent. I just want more jokes and less drama.

     I didn’t mean to leave such a negative post.

     Forgive me. :)

206. Andy, I know it’s probably a plot thing. I can even deal with the disorganization with the ep. if they are trying to pull the plot in a certain direction. But, they usually manage to keep in funny. Most of the funny was missing.

     God, I wish I had better things to do with my life than sit in the dark, eating ice cream and posting about a TV show. I’m sure my mother is proud.

207. The fact that this episode had Roy’s comment (which was pretty random if you ask me) makes me think that definitely something more will happen in regards to his attempt to win Pam back. Ugh.

208. Can I just tell you all that I am so psyched that I am not the only office fan out there. Some people really don’t get why I like this show so much. I just return the dumbfounded gaze they give me right back. This show really is brilliant. Thank god for Thursday nights!

209. You know, I think Jim is still with Karen because he’s really just a regular guy.

     And regular guys

     a) hate breaking up with their girlfriends. In fact, they try to avoid it all costs and see if they can get the girlfriends to break up with them.

     OR

     b) qon’t put in the effort to break up if they’re still getting sex and don’t have any alternative immediate prospects for sex.

     Note: Purely subjective data based on personal experience and by having three brothers, but I think most guys who stay with girls that they don’t seem to be much into fall into one of these two categories.

210. Sun Princess, yes, but I mean when they consistently come out with very funny episodes, you have to forgive them for a few funny episodes. Look at it this way, the lack of funny in this episode will make you appreciate the hilarity in the next episode or the next, etc.

211. I thought Pam’s face looked fat when she was talking to Jim in the breakroom… it makes me mad when camera people (or makeup or lighting, or whatever) make cute people look unattractive! :(

212. it’s funny. because all i have to do to show people why i’m an office fanatic is make them watch one episode. that’s all it takes for them to understand.

213. When Pam was having that super-awkward conversation with Jim about R.E.M. sleep nonsense, did anyone else want to see her bang her fists into the vending machine and yell to herself, “I’m such a dork!” ??

     Cause I did.

214. Sun Princess, yes, the funny was missing. Perfect way of putting it.

     And your mother is proud :)

215. I’m forgiving. I totally am….there were a few eps this season I wasn’t thrilled with, yet I continue to watch. I guess I had such high hopes after the end of the Return. I will never hope again….hahaha, that way I can’t be disappointed.

216. Spud, I totally missed that.

     I also thought Pam’s face looked fat. I thought it was just me.

217. My sister mentioned that Pam’s cheeks looked a little chubbier during the scene too. Between that and the mysterious bulge in her GG dress, is there a chance that Jenna Fischer is pregnant?

218. ohkraskinski…it didn’t actually happen. I just wished it did. And yeah her face looked a little fat.

219. Yes Christine, your mother is proud. It’s important to remember that we are who we are and we ROCK!

220. Nope, ’twas fat.

221. Pam suddenly deciding to date one of Ryan’s friends = Jim suddenly deciding to date Katy

     This was the first time that Pam was more awkward than Michael in an episode. But it was still awesome.

     and “Do you wear boxers, briefs, or pantaloons?” is the best line ever.

222. She had a bulge? I didn’t notice….

223. I noticed Jenna’s face also. This must have been the episode where she was sick during the shooting. I wondered if her glands were swollen so much it made her face look a little puffy.

224. Spud, I wish it had happened too. Because she needs to stop being a “dork” and let him know what the “dealio” is.

225. I love when we start analyzing men on this blog! The women love Jim so much they can’t stand the thought of him sleeping with Karen. I’m too tired to read the other posts to see what the men think. But I agree with Jenny, Jim’s a “regular guy”…a regular hot, witty guy with a big heart. Sigh.

226. When people say they’ve watched it again.. is it online? or did everyone just tape it?

227. i think the chubbiness might have had something to do with Jenna’s cold that week. She mentioned something about the makeup department having quite the time that week.

228. Spud, yeah Pam looked back at the end and said “Oh My God” to the vending machine. I replayed it and turned the volume all the way. Yeah I know I’m a dork, ha.

229. OK, my fav line was when Dwight told the stripper to answer the phone because they were paying her for 3 hours of work…and Angela’s reaction (priceless)

230. Weird? Yes it was. Strange? Yes it was. But when Michael said about Ben Franklin being president, that was really funny!! Also, I think the Ben Franklin looked alot like Ed what’s his name. Some strange pam and karen talking, and pam saying that she needs a boyfriend. Won’t be too much longer until JAM will be rockin’. Looking forward to Phyllis’ wedding. Maybe at the reception JAM will hook up. Here’s hoping!!!

231. Why is everyone so obsessed with the fact that her face seemed “fat”??
     I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate those kind of comments, neither would any of you.
     Just ‘cuz she’s an actress doesn’t mean she has to fit in a size 2. I appreciate the fact that she actually looks normal and not annorexic.
     I don’t meant to yell, but come on.

232. Dean, thanks for being a “dork”. At least I know now that I’m not the only one. :-)

233. Pam’s not fat…..she could be a stripper, you know

234. I’m sorry, but sadly, I missed all but the last 5 minutes of the ep tonight. Where can I find it online, or will some kind soul give me a recap? I can’t wait until the iTunes version tomorrow…

235. Cool, thanks Dean! And you’re not a dork, I would have done the same. =)

236. Hey 240, it’s just, that is not how she normally looks. But I do agree that she wouldn’t appreciate those comments. She is so lovely.

237. ouch, mozart….you mean you were doing something more important than watching TV? Didn’t miss much

238. If you recall, Pam’s likes “2nd drinks”. A wedding reception is the perfect place for Pam to get that liquid courage.

239. I think we all understand that she’s not fat, she just looked it in that scene and that’s too bad b/c she’s cute.

240. Ok, I’ll cave. I love Jim. I have to believe he doesn’t really like Karen and explain why he’s staying with her.

     But I hope no one takes offense – I didn’t mean to generalize to all men, just, my experience of the thought process behind those men who seem to stay with women they are uninterested in. Of course…there are always complex reasons in relationships.

     But. Dammit. It’s a TV show. And I adore Jim Halpert. He can do no wrong – just a bit slow to pick up on emotions and hints sometimes.

241. I don’t think anyone was putting down Jenna’s looks, because I think we all agree that she is completely gorgeous. But I think she did look not like herself this week, which definitely was related to how sick she was when she came back for shooting this episode after break.

242. Question: What was up with Jim wanting a blonde stripper when Dwight asked him to choose between brunette and redhead?

     My friends insist that it’s because Karen is a brunette and Pam is a redhead, so he chose the other option. Pam is NOT a redhead. Her hair’s not even auburn, right? Am I crazy to think that Karen and Pam both have brown hair?

243. We already discussed the hair question earlier and have yet to come up with an answer. In my opinion, Pam’s hair is reddish/brown, but some think it’s blonde. I guess the world will never know.

244. Jenny, Jim KNOWS how to break up….he had the best break up scene in history with Katy. Guess since he actually has to work with Karen, it’s a little more difficult. But still….he can do it

245. I think his response to that question because it was neither of the options. He didn’t really want to answer that question, he might as well have said purple hair.

246. Ping has restored my hope…second drinks at the wedding may give Pam some courage. The way Jim and Pam communicated tonite, I think Phyllis may have to be the catalyst. I think she’s been rooting for them the whole time, even going back to “email surveillance” and “conflict resolution”, not to mention she was the one to drop the JAM bomb on Karen.

247. The first time I noticed a reddish tint to Pam’s hair was during Jim’s party in Email Surveillance. Dont know why, maybe its the way it looked with pam dressed in normal clothes…

248. I will say that there have been times I’ve noticed blonde streaks in Pam’s hair, but I thought they were highlights and not natural. Overall, it seems brown with a hint of red.

     but yeah, I would love to see Pam get drunk at the wedding as long as it doesn’t put her in the arms of Roy.

249. I’m telling you, Pam’s hair is way more red than it is blonde. Just watch Valentine’s Day and tell me that it’s not.

250. Too true, Sun Princess. I stand corrected.

     God that was such a funny moment where she’s all “Aww. Do you think we’ll ever be like that?” and he flat out goes “no.”

251. Where do I begin?

     1) I think Karen is a jealous girlfriend. Jim mentioned how he was up for at least three nights (or more) with hardly any sleep. Karen is obsessing over the Jim/Pam thing.

     2) The jokes with all the men things were hilarious.. “one hour shower with men.” or “who wants some man meat?”

     3) Jim looked kind of upset when Pam said she was ready to date “anyone”. Of course, because he still has feelings for her. He admitted it, we know it.

252. Kind of an off episode. It had it’s funny moments for sure (my favorite bit was Dwight telling the stripper to sit and answer the phones. “We hired you for three hours work. We are going to get it.” And then Kevin’s gaze just pushed it to the top.), but coming from the high of the two parter and “Back From Vacation” (particularily the Pam crying scene), it seems kind of like “Let’s concerve our creative powers for Phylis’s wedding and the Whedon/Abrams combo”. This is probably the weakest episode of the season, and possibly the series.

     But the rest of the month should be kick-ass.

253. Was not all that thrilled w/ the episode.It was funny as always,but the Jim/Pam/Karen/Roy thing is getting old.I need to see romance and I’m not.There’s nothing wrong w/getting a couple together in the middle of a series.You can still come up w/good storyline,first time,first fight,etc.You can break them up for awhile and have suspense that way.Grey’s Anatomy does this well.It’s gotten to the point that I just don’t like this storyline.The flirtations between Pam and Jim are almost nil.I’m going to watch,but something is missing w/out the usual Pam/Jim chemistry.

254. I agree. I have seen better in the series and I don’t think it was there A game. But that might just be because the past few have set the bad so high

255. Haha…that’s right Jenny. “Let’s break up”….how awesome was that?? Thanks for restoring the warm fuzzy…..

256. That’s Fun For Him:
     Yes, I think you got Ryan’s lines right. Thanks!

     Andy:
     Some probably have DVR’s (Tivo etc.), but I just have an old VCR that does my capturing for me. That way, if a phone call comes in during the episode, I can rewind as soon as it’s over and see what I missed. (I don’t think the version on iTunes comes up until later tonight.)

     Oscar’s absence was indeed a mystery tonight. If he had been there, I wonder if Angela would have asked for his help with the ladies’ shower since he’s not a member of the Party Planning Committee. :-)

257. why would they hire the stipper for three hours work in the first place? wasn’t the party for like 45 minutes anyway? maybe i missed something…

     hmmm

258. I don’t think you can pay a stripper for only 45 minutes. I’m sure there is a minimum time. Maybe it was a bargain stripper. Like, buy 2 hours, get one free.

     *Not that I know about ANY of this….just a guess

259. Jenna does not look fat. The thought is totally riduculous and rude.

260. Red hair. http://www.betterthanfudge.com/img/pam.png
     Red hair. http://film.onet.pl/_i/news/duze/j/jenna_fischer_1.jpg
     RED HAIR. http://www.flickr.com/photos/61744952@N00/377132648/

     I mean it’s not Meredith red but it’s definitely not dirty blonde.

261. No one said Jenna looked fat…I think they said her face looked full. Might have been the way her hair was pulled back.

262. Jim’s gettin’ it regular.

263. well Oscar is known using up and going over his number of personal days…but yeah, since he just got back I was surprised by his absence.

264. I agree that Pam was re-staking her ground. She’s going in for a fight I think. Otherwise, she would have told Ryan she was ready for a date regardless of whether Jim was there. That was expressly for Jim’s benefit. As was the poor flirting.
     I liked how they showed the two sides of the Jim/Karen “talks.” Jim saw them as repetitive and Karen saw them as helpful.

     The whole brunette vs redhead thing was about choosing neither Pam nor Karen. I know Pam doesn’t have “red” hair but it’s closer to that, than blond or brunette. So when he was asked to “choose” between the two, he chose a third option. I think this was obvious. And whether Pam’s hair is reddish brown or dirty blond or soft auburn, doesn’t matter. She obviously was the “redhead”, and Karen the brunette. Otherwise the whole bit would not make any sense at all. By the way, check out the first season. Much more red than it is now. It’s actually a bit of a shock if you haven’t seen it in a while. One thing is for sure, she’s not brown or blond.

     Also I think Karen showed her “true color” (hee, hee) when she became a bit obsessive about Jim’s confession. Yeah, I know she has a right to know where she stands and should talk it out, but five nights in a row?

     It was kind of funny the way “Ben” was hanging around the rest of the day. Did they pay him for those hours as well?

     Also, who wants to bet Angela will get rid of her poster now that the stripper said she liked it?

265. Not loving this show at all!

     I thought the script was so lame…especially Ben Franklin at the bridal shower. What was that all about. It just didn’t make any sense or add anything to the show.

     I guess I’ve come to expect more from The Office and this show just didn’t deliver. I’m very disappointed and not at all happy about the direction of Jam’s relationship.

     Hopefully the writers will redeem themselves in the upcoming episodes.

266. I loved this episode. The best of the season, if you ask me.

267. teresa: Right! Angela will definitely take down her beloved poster now that a stripper likes it! :-)

268. I find it facinating the varying opinions on the quality of this episode, some love it, some hate it. It seems to happen with every episode. If I may offer something. I think I enjoy EVERY episode because I don’t see each one as an individual piece. I see them as a whole collecion, and just like scenes in a movie, some are better than others. This was just one scene. I wish it wouldn’t bring down people’s opinions of the show, making them “hope for a better one next week.”

269. Explain Adriana…

270. The first deleted scene is up at NBC.com.

271. After reading some comments, I have a completely different take on the scene when Pam says Jim looks “tired.” I don’t think Pam was trying to “flirt” with Jim. She was trying to figure out what was going on between Jim and Karen. She could tell something was up because of the awkward glances and Karen’s hug from out of nowhere. When Jim said he had been up for a few nights, there was no way Pam could know that he was up *talking* to Karen about how he feels for Pam. I don’t think they’ve been having sex and, if they have, that’s not what Jim was trying to communicate at the beginning of the episode. Jim was saying they’ve had some very long talks about what he confessed in the last episode.

272. Ah, so that’s why Toby wasn’t at the warehouse shower! I’m looking forward to more deleted scenes…

273. Andy – I thought this episode was hilarious and awkward. During most episodes I don’t laugh out loud upon the first viewing. I usually enjoy the show internally. With this episode, though, I couldn’t stop laughing through the entire thing. Some of it was just so absurd and outlandish. I guess that’s my sense of humor because I really, really liked this one.

274. I for one thought it was great! I had a LOT of laugh out loud moments.

     I hate that Karen and Jim are still together, but I love Jim’s reaction to the “talks” and how Pam picks up on the fact that something is off. I love her line, “I’ve gotten really good at reading the back of Jim’s neck.” Anyway, I also LOVED Jim and Pam’s talk in the break room. It was sooo awkward the things that Pam was saying, but I don’t know it just felt so realistic to me at that point. It made it feel so unscripted and natural and real, even though it was weird and slightly embarrassing.

     Todd Packer was great, especially when he freaked out at Karen for being Jim’s girlfriend. Jim and Dwight in the parking lot waiting for the stripper: Jim: “Have you ever seen a stripper?” Dwight: “Jennifer Garnier on Alias, it was one of her aliases.” Jim: “Yeah, me neither.”

     Also, Ryan and Kelly in the breakroom where Kelly asks Ryan about the stripper and he’s like “Don’t do that.” also made their relationship seem so real. (Finally.)

     Anyway, those are just a few of the moments that I thought made this week’s episode fantastic. Oh, and Dwight and the Ben Franklin scenes. Pam and Ben Franklin. Every Ben Franklin scene.

275. Elena — you’re definitely right about the Pam and Jim interaction in the break room. We’ve all had those experiences where we want to talk about something interesting, or whatever and it comes out sort of boring or sounding strange and we continue to talk about even though the topic should have just been dropped. She showed her frustration with herself when she turned to the vending machine and mumbled whatever she mumbled. I can definitely sympathize.

276. tmdunderhead, you are right.

277. I’m glad you enjoyed this episode, Elena. Unfortunately it receives two thumbs DOWN from me!

     It’s fascinating how different our views have been. Love it or hate it seems to apply here.

     I recorded it, so I’ll watch it again. Maybe… just maybe I’ll find “something” to laugh at, or at least smile.

278. This episode made me very upset in a sad way due to the jam situation. why can’t they get back together?? i know that everyone thinks that karen is awesome but he belongs with pam. i guess that if pam and jim get together then there wouldn’t be a huge storyline to go on…maybe they’ll finally get together at the end of the year…let’s hope!

279. I thought this episode was by far the worst of the season. The Jam relationship went no where. It wasn’t funny at all. The Ben Franklin idea was great, but was not executed well. Dwight was practically nonexistent. It seemed like all the characters were muted except Michael. Once again, this show has lost all of its comedy to develop the romantic plots (which in this show went no where). What a disappointment. I hope the upcoming episodes are better.

280. the ben frankin scenes were some of the lamest scenes of the entire season.

281. I thought this episode was hilarious… partly because I think Creed and Packer are the two funniest characters on the show.

     “Either that chick’s a dude or Halpert has been scared straight.”

     Ben Franklin was also very funny… “Hi, I’m Gordon.”

282. Seems to me that most people rate an episode up or down depending on the advancement of “JAM.” (I hate that acronym, by the way. So cutesy.) Jim/Pam progress can make an otherwise mediocre episode decent, but I don’t think the absence or decline of Jim/Pam progress detracts from an episode at all.

     “Ben Franklin” wasn’t as plot-driven and formulaic as some of the others this season. A lot of things weren’t fully explained, which is probably why there’s so much confusion on this board about exactly what happened. I liked the awkwardness, the absurdity, and the unexplained. I found the actors’ character portrayals to be more realistic in that sense. Great episode, one of my all-time favorites.

283. so after this episode and all the questions raised (at least in my opinon) I have to ask, what are the chances of a supersized Phyllis wedding????

     probably zilch, but i thought i’d ask anyway.

284. man, we waited two weeks for THAT?!?! Sorry, just disappointed in this ep. Ugh. Not much felt right. It almost seemed as if there was a “missing” ep between The Return and this one. Oscar’s gone again? What was with all the weirdness? Doubt I’ll ever watch this one again, and this is coming from a girl who has watched the series from beginning to end about 10 times.

     There were a couple good moments though. The Ben Franklin quiz was clever, and I got a kick out of the few moments Packer was around. Oh, and even though Meredith has had only this ONE line in the past several eps, it was a good one.

285. when are the episodes posted online? on either itunes or nbc?

286. First deleted scene is up

287. This was kind of a tale of two episodes for me …. the first half was really good and i laughed out loud when

     Michael was talking about GAI haha
     and Tod Packer

     but then once the strippers arrived , it was bland !!

288. oo and

     and why didnt they mention where Andy went ? not everyone watches the producers cut

     and it felt kinda empty without Andy lol im not his biggest fan but didnt u guys feel something was missing

     and i didnt get wut Ryan meant by “You know wut ur doing” to kelly ? r they still goin out

289. So I think that the Jim, Karen, Pam situation is like the song “The First Cut Is the Deepest.” I’m not a big fan of that song but it shuffled on my iTunes tonight and it reminded me of that situation.

     Here’s the lyrics for those who aren’t that familiar.
     (sheryl crow states to the man in the song that she’s still hurting over her last lover, but willing to try to move on)

290. Ryan was just talking about how that’s a tough spot to be in… when your girlfriend is asking you if another girl is good-looking, which is what Kelly was doing to Ryan. That’s what Ryan meant when he said that.

291. This was probably the funniest episode ever. Who cares about jim and pam. It’s not a drama or a romance. It’s a comedy, and this episode was hilarious.

     “Is this the same grill that you cooked your foot on?”
     “No… uhh yeah, but I cleaned most of the foot off.”

     “Man meat! Who wants some man meat?”
     “I want some man meat!”
     “Well if my man meat is what you want, my man meat is what you will get.”

292. i also just read about about how jim should break up with pam.

     jim doesn’t like girls who crave attention in my opinion. katy was very uhhh loud.

     karen has been sorta quiet but i’ve heard in the next episode she gets on stage and sings??

     that’s definitely craving some attention..maybe then he’ll dump her:)

293. @296: ditto. First half was fine, but something went wrong.

294. And stop being so critical. They only had like 21 minutes or something. Not enough time to put every little detail in. I’d rather laugh then worry about where Andy went or if jim and pam get together. This episode was really funny, and that’s the point of the show. It’s not the real world or some stupid reality dating show.

295. So, I guess Andy quit in between this episode and The Return.

296. PAM sneezing in the background scenes of tonight’s episodes were the best!

297. Karen will never replace Pam. Jim will always have a burning desire for Pam in his heart and possibley loins for the rest of his life.

298. Maybe like how oscar went on gay-cation, andy went on anger-cation??? hahaha sorry i have no other way to say that.

299. How can you not find an episode funny where Michael gets a female stripper and a Ben Franklin impersonator who he thinks is a stripper to come into a corporate workplace? Without even watching the episode, I would think that might be one of the funniest shows ever.

300. good ep

301. Poor Jenna, she was sick throughout this whole episode, but she still did a great job!!

302. I could give or take JAM. I know they’ll get together in the end and I’m along for the whole ride. The show is so much more to me than just the relationship between these two.

     With that said, this ep was still lacking. Badly. The cold open was not funny, and actually made me groan when they put Dwight in the bra. That screamed “trying to hard!” for me (and that is NOT something this show needs to do). The stripper fell flat. Roy’s comments about Pam’s art were just uncomfortable. And Pam? WTF? When did she get so darm weird?

     I did enjoy some things though, as I mentioned in an earlier post. And it looks like Krazy Karen is on the horizon, and THAT is something I’m excited to see!

303. I agree with Aram in 297 – the first half was great, the second…not so much. I’m really trying to not over-analyze the episode. It felt like there was a big build-up to the “guests” and then not a lot happened. And too much focus on JAM – I like it in smaller doses.

     I have way too much to say, but I’m going to say it anyways.

     First – one of my favorite lines from tonight – when Michael says “What’s up spinsters?” to his party planning beyotches. :)

     Second, I’m having trouble making out one part – when Michael is on the phone with Jan he says “That’s sweet. Your such an ________ girlfriend.” What was that word?

     And, lastly, I am SO afraid that Pam and Roy are going to get back together. Couldn’t we just have both Pam and Jim not with anybody but being friends again? It seems like their friendship is gone now, with all the weird interactions. In the last episdoe, they seemed to be back to normal…but now we have the awkwardness again. I don’t need JAM together…I just need them to be friends….and for Pam to not be with Roy. (aren’t I demanding?)

     *crosses fingers* Here’s to Phyllis’ wedding!!

304. “I haven’t locked the next episode, and we’re debating whether we need to answer the question,” Daniels said earlier this week. “It’d be the first time we said the online version is answering a question that the (on-air) viewer is curious to know about.

     “I’m kind of tempted to do that because next episode is really tight also, and I want it to be the best episode for (its own sake).”Eventually, the producer’s cuts will be the versions sold on iTunes and time-capsuled for DVD posterity, meaning that the original version of the episode seen on broadcast won’t go down in history as the de facto official version.

     “Maybe, eventually, the online version will just be the true version, and the on-air version will be the promo for the online,” Daniels said. “I do know that the show feels better with two or three more minutes.”

305. i completely agree with raven. they have said everything i want to say. take away the jim pam situation. i LIVE for them. lol

306. Am I the only one who thought that Pam was being kinda sarcastic when she was telling Ryan to hook her up with someone from business school? I dunno, I got the feeling that she was a little pissed that she was surrounded by people in relationships telling her that she needs to hook up with someone. Kelly has already tried to match her up with the cartoonist, Roy is always hanging around trying to get back with her, Michael tried to kiss her, Andy tried to get with her, Karen told her that she should date Roy, the guy that she’s really in love with (Jim obviously) is dating someone else and to top it off, Kelly and Jim are (jokingly) suggesting she go out with Ben Franklin! Don’t you think she might get a little fed up with all the romance talk, especially since all she really wants is Jim, the one person she seemingly can’t have? Maybe it’s just me…hey, if you all can over-analyze Pam’s hair color I can over-analyze her last two sentences of dialogue!

     Anyway, I thought it was a good episode…it just had the usual problem of being over far too quickly.

307. Don’t forget Toby also had a thing for Pam. So I can see your reasoning there.

308. I hope no one who has any say in the making of this show reads this, because it seems like only the people who didn’t like the episode are posting, which I guess makes sense. I came on to find quotes for away messages because the episode was so hilarious that i forgot a lot of them. I guess the only reason most people post is because they were upset with jim and pam. who cares about them? the main characters are michael and dwight, and they were both hilarious. Don’t turn it into some stupid romance drama.

309. To me, some of the lines fell flat, and overall it was one of the lesser episodes of the season, but it was still great.

310. I thought this episode was decent. It wasn’t my favorite, but I by no means disliked it. And honestly, I love my Jam moments and even though there weren’t any “good” ones, the Jim/Pam interaction didn’t bother me. It seemed realistic and I actually enjoyed frustrated Pam or whatever that was. It was nice to see a different side of her since she usually is so composed. I also laughed out loud many times throughout the episode, so I have no complaints.

311. I completely agree, Barbaro. I loved this episode. It was nonstop funny to me. And yeah I don’t worry or fret over the relationships. I just let it go with the flow

312. I’m not sure if anyone’s mentioned it already…but did anyone notice that Jan’s voice on the speaker-phone at the end *wasn’t* Melora Hardin’s?

     Someone play it again and tell me if I’m wrong. I swear, she has a very distinct voice, and it wasn’t hers.

     I mean, this was the first episode they filmed after the New Year (after a 2-month-or-so hiatus), and there were a lot of things different with people…Mindy got a haircut, Jenna was sick, Oscar was missing, Ed was written out of a few episodes…

     Maybe that explains why Melora couldn’t do the scene? Or am I just crazy…

313. How long will it take them to acknowledge Andy went to Anger Management?

     And where was Oscar?

314. I think you’ll always get people who complain, some people post just to complain. If everything is 100% like they like it or like they want, they will complain. It stinks, but whatever, as long as they keep watching right?

315. was it just me or did anyone get the impression that angela might be pregnant when she spit out the champagne? there’s been alcohol at the other office parties and while she’s initially protested the alcohol, i feel like they’ve shown her drinking before on the show. just the thought of dwangela having a child cracks me up

     also, i remember jenna saying in an interview that jennifer garner and ben affleck came up to the cast at the golden globes and told them what big fans they were of the show… i wondered if the jennifer garner/alias reference was added for that reason

316. Pam is such a playa.

     Tell me you don’t see the wheel’s working in her mind when she’s talking to Ryan in front of Jim at the end.

317. Did anyone catch the historical reference in Franklin’s “gray area” remark? (Sorry, I’m not going to read all 17 pages of comments to find out.) During his younger years in France, he had a lot of affairs with older women. When questioned on his taste in paramours, he is said to have responded, “At night, all cats are gray.”

318. Katy was a redhead, NOT Pam. Pam is a brunette.

319. I really loved this episode. I think awkward-attempting to flirt Pam is a good thing. :)

320. Ahahah I loved the Plessy v. Ferguson reference:

     “Separate but equal.”
     “So that’s what that means.”

     I laughed a lot (the G.A.I., the hour-long guy shower, the man meat), and I thought it was a good ep. Not the best of the season, but enjoyable nonetheless and not without its share of interesting love triangle happenings.

321. I completely agree with ed3 now that I look back on it. I mean the way she said: “Wow, I need a boyfriend” was really strange for how and full of sarcasm I guess.

     Also, jbug, I don’t think the Jennifer Garnier comment was thrown in there just because she likes the show. Dwight has mentioned Alias as one of the shows that he watches sometime back in season 2 or 1, so it’s no surprise that he would reference back to it in this situation, since it is the only stripper he has seen, and he constantly refers to his favorite tv shows. (“Remember on Lost, when they met the others?”)

322. Jeez, people! What’s wrong with a little constructive criticism?

     I am “new” here and unfortunately my first post had to come after a very flat and unbelievable episode… painful even. It just didn’t meet the usual high standards I’ve come to expect from the writing. The acting is always great… even when the scripting is less than it could or should be.

     I thought some recent episodes… Traveling Salesmen, The Return, Back from Vacation were absolutely incredible!!! I’d love to see more episodes of that quality.

     I guess they can’t all be winners. Glad some of you enjoyed this one.

323. I’ve read a bunch of the comments here, and after giving some thought to the show, here’s my humble ramblings. Take ’em or leave ’em.

     First of all, I think the episode should have been called “Uncomfortable,” because that’s basically what it was an exploration of–most characters being in an uncomfortable place in their lives at the same time. For example:

     Karen and Jim. Karen has become clingy and needy and jealous. Not a good thing, and Jim knows it. Result? Uncomfortable moments.

     Pam and Jim. Pam is frustrated on one level and pissed off on another. She’s sick of how things are working out, and is beginning to take some action. Problem? She’s not good at it. Result? Uncomfortable moments. VERY uncomfortable moments.

     Pam and Karen. I knew Pam would cave when cornered–what else could she have said, given her current mindset? Uncomfortable moment.

     Michael and Ryan in the sex shop. Need I say more?

     Michael and the stripper-actually, the whole stripper scene. The only one who would have been comfortable there was Packer, and he wasn’t. Maybe Kevin, but probably not. Also Roy, but he was pretending to be uncomfortable to the cameras.

     Ryan & Kelly & Pam & Jim. Again, what you have here is a frustrated Pam trying to “give the finger” to Jim and make him jealous. Since she’s no good at that sort of thing, it comes across as wierd and clumsy. (I, for one, was proud of Pam during the episode for at least TRYING to rattle Jim’s marbles out of Karen’s purse…)

     Finally, this episode could have been subtitled “LIES & DELUSIONS,” because everyone was doing it: Jim about his happiness over Karen’s talks, Karen over how much stronger her relationship with Jim is, Roy and Pam’s art vs strippers, Pam to Karen about her feelings for Jim. It was all so transparent to the viewer, thus creating uncomfortable moments for us to watch as we scream at the TV during those scenes.

     The writers did a good job. They sucked me right in. What more can I ask for? I thought it was a great episode, when seen from the right perspective.

324. Lies and Delusions?

     I love it! Much more fitting than the original title, “Ben Franklin.”

325. I haven’t read through all of the coments but I did read some of them. It seems many people disliked this episode, and I must say that for me it was definitely weird. I don’t know just generally weird, but I did enjoy it… I haven’t met any office episode I didn’t like!

     So I need to watch it again tonight, but a few things that stuck out for me were:

     Karen walking up to Jim hugging him, just to show Pam that he was hers, totally awkward and inappropriate! Jim looked a little annoyed.

     Ben Franklin… hahaha! at what point did the ladies realize he was not going to strip?

     Dwight, “I want your man meat!”

     When Pam said “yeah totally” !!!!! I actually thought she was going to fess up, but no… Karen’s wording to the question confused her… haha. But by her strange responses during that whole exchange, it should be clear to Karen, and all of us, that she’s still into him.

     OH YEAH, AND when Karen said “you’re not still into him are you?” I was very confused by this statement. How would Karen have have found this out from hers and Jim’s long late night talks because, as far as Jim knows, Pam has never been interested…

     Any thoughts?

326. Is the episode online anywhere? I looked on youtube but couldnt find it, Thanks.

327. The Jim and Pam thing has gone on too long. I’m losing interest at a fast rate. I think the writers are worrying too much about that and it’s taking the quality away from the rest of the show.

328. Great episode. Meredith’s “Shut up Angela!” was the funniest thing all week. Michaels G-A-I rant was also hilarious. Definitely agree that it was all about uncomfortable situations which isn’t really something new to the show but maybe to some of the other characters that normally dont find themselves in awkward situations. A little Creed always is good for the soul…would like a little more please!

329. Wow, this episode was very uncomfortable for me. I was literally trying to crawl up the side of my couch and away from the tv. It was that cringe worthy. Honestly this was one one of the very few episodes that i did not enjoy. When i watch it again tonight maybe i’ll feel better about it, somehow i don’t think so. I noticed this episode was written by Mindy and the first thing that popped into my mind when i saw that in the opening credits, was that i don’t ususally like her episodes as much. Oh well, i’ll give it another shot tonight.

330. I agree term. Pam and Jim shouldn’t be the focus of an entire episode. It used to be subtle and coy, and now it’s in our faces and full of people moping instead of making us laugh.

331. Oooooh, very weird episode. Agreed on it being cringe worthy. I don’t know what to think…

332. Did anyone feel extremely sad and awkward during this episode? I felt like I wanted to either shout at the TV or cry. Anywho, I dont know what to say. They just need to resolve this JAM stuff before too long…its gone on long enough.

     A good, but awkward episode.

333. Wasn’t that good. A little more dirty than usual. The stripper plot felt horribly out of place. I just felt that the whole episode’s plot was kind of stupid. It felt like a “filler” episode. I have high hopes for next week’s episode. 30 Rock and Scrubs’ episodes were far more entertaining last night.

334. Ugh, no offense to those who liked it (which, given the responses so far, not many did), but this one was not good. Very muddled and bizarre. I hope this isn’t the shark circling…

335. Ya know, I stopped reading the comments about 150 or so, but I just have to pop in here and say that I thought this episode was good. Someone said they didn’t think it advanced the storyline at all, but I think it did. Look at the Pam/Karen and Pam/Jim interactions. Someone used “transparent” to describe Pam this week, and I agree.

     My vote on the hair color thing: while Pam’s not a true redhead, I think Jim did see it as a choice between Karen and Pam. He’s not about to reveal his true feelings, so he said blonde.

     Also, I do think that Jim and Karen were up talking all those nights. I didn’t get the sex thing at all. I think PAM might have THOUGHT they were “going at it”, but they were really just talking. Wouldn’t Karen have been a little happier and more secure in her relationship with Jim if he had been with her for 5 nights in a row? Jim didn’t seem at all happy about those nights, either. I don’t see Jim as the type who would advance a relationship to that level if he really knew deep down that he didn’t truly care about her.

     And don’t know if this has been mentioned but Angela spitting the champagne back into the glass reminded me of Rachel (on Friends, please no one flame me for this!) spitting the champagne back into her glass at Monica’s wedding because she was pregnant. Now, I know how Angela feels about alcohol, so I realize that the chances of her being pregnant are about 1 in a million, but still…

336. Tanster, it is “prima nocta”, “primae noctis” is genitive, so it means “of first night”. When you say “Ius Primae Noctis” it means “Right of the first night”. But when you don’t say ius/right you need to say it in nominative, so it’s “prima nocta (first night)”
     Finally my 4 years of latin were usefull!

337. The “uncomfortable” factor was so high last night, and the JAMARENOY love parallelogram has become so sad, bleak, and pesimissitic, that it–dare I say it?–reminded me of the British show.

338. I think people are worrying too much about the “Brunette vs. Redhead” thing. Obviously, it was an analogy to the whole Karen/Jim/Pam situation…I don’t think he was testing Dwight or anything, but Dwight’s reaction was a bonus! I don’t think anyone else in the office knows about their relationship and I even doubt Angela has told him that Pam knows.

     I thought the episode was pretty funny, and in my opinion they’ve set up Krazy Karen rather nicely with the 5 nights of talking, the random hug, and then the look that she *may have* shot Pam when she sat back down. She could have been looking at Jim and maybe I have to watch it again, but it definitely looked to me like she was looking over his shoulder.

     The scenes with the stripper were awful, but I thought the ones with the girls asking Ben Franklin questions were pretty funny. I had no idea that everyone in that office knew so much about Ben Franklin…well, I wasn’t surprised by Dwight. :) And how lame is Roy now? Ugh! I understand he wants Pam back, but there’s no need to turn into a complete sissy over it.

     All in all, I thought it was pretty good. Bring on the wedding!

339. Who wants some man meat?

340. Secrets Secrets are no fun….
     Secrets Secrets hurt someone

     did anyone else think that meant the stripper was advising Michael NOT to tell Jan? I assumed that Michael, being Michael, misinterpreted her advice not to hurt his girlfriend by telling. thoughts?

341. No.. she was advising him TO tell Jan.
     “Secrets hurt someone”
     So if you keep a secret, they’re going to eventually get hurt when they find out.
     So it’s better to have no secrets and be honest, see?

     Anyway, loved the episode.. as usual, but god i’m really wanting us to start a campaign to FULLY SuperSize the Office every week.

     Who’s with me?
     We got one episode SuperSized before, let’s do it again with the whole series. That’ll be the first time any show has gone from half an hour to an hour in length.
     It won’t happen but.. I’m selfish, I need all the Office i can get

342. Also everyone read Cousin Mose’s opinion of this episode because its the most sensible and awesome perspective ever:

     https://www.officetally.com/?p=803&cp=18#comment-73294

343. also, Tide Detergent, i would have to agree with your assessment of Pam’s behavior in this ep. hopefully her frustration will help her DO SOMETHING.

344. m3k1, I really don’t think she is pregnant. Later in the episode where Ben Franklin is talking about his kite you can see her drinking more champaign.

345. That’s assuming you don’t already kind of think the show is watered down.

     Sounds like the general consensus is last night’s episode was bad. Not the worst thing on TV bad, but one of the worse Office episodes bad. I’m getting kind of afraid for the future of the show.

346. Someone may have already mentioned this, but do you think when Jim paused in his talking head about the previous nights, do you think he was actually wanting to say that they had a long “fight” but softened it to “talk”? So not code for sex for code for fight?

347. I loved last night’s episode. There. I said it. I really did. I’m not just parroting the same thing I say every week.

     I can understand why some people didn’t like it- because it wasn’t so much about laugh out loud funny-ness as it was about awkwardness. There was a lot of character development in this episode, and it seems to me that it is a set up for next week.

348. The episode is up on iTunes :)

349. I loved it too, I hate it when people jump to very irrational conclusions about a series from one episode. Writers have things called narrative arcs, and each season has many narrative arcs. So in a well written show such as this, most of the time the episodes have a natural ebb and flow admist each other.
     This did have more awkwardness than we’ve been privvy to the last couple of weeks, but social awkardness is one of The Office’s core strengths, both in the original version and in this version.
     There, now I’ve said it TOO :-)

350. Question about the quote at the end with Michael and Jan

     I thought he said “You are the best GD girlfriend in the world” not cheated girlfriend

     Does anyone have closed captioning and can figure that out?

351. It really wasn’t a bad episode, it’s just that the last three have been SUPERB.
     I also expect that this one will turn out to be sort of a preamble to the wedding ep. Chins up, proletariat!

352. I believe that the Alias Jennifer Gardiner reference was related to Jenna actually trying out for that part. When she tried out they said the liked her acting, but she just wasn’t hot enough.

353. Well, it’s official! Michael’s head is back where it belongs – up his rear. “Stripper? Could I ask you a question”?!?! I totally felt squicky about that. But, LOVED him having an “epiphery”. Sheesh

354. You Smell Like Tide:
     I agree with you; I thought he said GD girlfriend as well.

355. Tide Detergent:: I’m pretty sure he said “GD girlfriend.” My friends and I were rolling laughing after he said it…

356. I haven’t read through all 350+ comments, but does anyone know who played Ben Franklin? The actor looked vaguely familiar but the wig threw me off. Any help appreciated!

357. I think hes peter hammell from snl….

358. just maybe…

359. I personally love the episode, and thought there were a lot of funny bits in it. However, just like to say a bit thanks to Jay C, for linking Cousin Mose’s opinion on the episode, and for Cousin Mose for his take on the events that happened in it. Being the obtuse person that I am, I didn’t get a lot of the Jim-Pam stuff that occurred. But after reading Cousin Mose’s take, a lot of it made sense to me. Many thanks again!

360. #360- Thats exactly what I thought. I think he was just hinting that they have been fighting. He seemed really frustrated…I think he’d look happier if he was having sex. Right?

361. quick question – my phone rang at the beginning of the pam/karen break room scene and all i caught was pam apologizing to karen. i’m confused – what did they say?

362. #370 – someone said he was from Madtv I think. I had to stop reading through the comments…takes too much time :)

     I’m going to go with the people that didn’t really care for this episode. It had funny parts and what not, but as a whole it just wasn’t what I expected : /

363. I was frustrated after the episode…I know a lot of people have said this, but it felt way too short. As far as Roy’s little rant…wtf was that about? I think the writers are just trying to confuse us.

364. Oh also sad Oscar wasn’t there…it would have been hilarious if he’d been with the ladies watching the male “stripper.”

365. its on itunes

366. this episode was horrible. I couldn’t even watch it a second time. I don’t need more awkwardness in my life, and it seemed like they were going for that. The only scene worth watching was when Jim told Pam he had “picked the right guy” for her when he ordered Ben Franklin as a “stripper”. That whole thing pissed me off because he wasn’t really playing a joke on Michael as much as forcing the women to sit through some historical reenactment, and in my view, ruining their party. However, he got his when Pam told Ryan to set her up. I hope he does!

     And what was up with that Roy comment? Why is Roy even around anymore? Unless they are going to get him together with Karen – she did tell Pam he was cute.

     Worst. episode. ever.

367. OMG, someone said Jenna wasn’t as “hot” as Jennifer Garner? They seem equal to me. That is, I don’t think of “hot” when I think of Jennifer Garner. I think of a Hollywood version of a “girl next door”, that is much better looking than a girl next door to me, but not as attractive as someone who is known for being “hot”.

368. BTW, I have captioning, and the captioning said “cheated girlfriend”. That’s what I heard too.

369. I took the Roy comment as him trying too hard to be the guy Pam would want/need. The guy he isn’t and therefore lost her because of it.

     I don’t think he really believes art is sexy, but I think he wants to believe that because then he’d be the right guy for Pam.

     If they ever did get back together, Roy is still going to be the same guy. They would fall right back into the same patterns.

370. I have to agree that this episode seemed way too short. I know, they all seem too short, but this one in particular. Probably because of all of the drama.

     And, I have to agree with Tide Detergent. I was really starting to like Karen. I was loving the friendship that seemed to be happening between her and Pam. But after last night, bleh. Which is disappointing. When her and Pam do pranks together, it’s really funny.

     I’m fearful that they’re going to drag JAM out so long, that by the time they finally do get together, it won’t feel right. I’m sure they have it all figured out, but I’m getting really restless. Especially when we only get, like, 20 minutes a week.

371. Did anyone else notice that the main opening credits with the theme song was shorter than normal? Either an attempt to give more commercial time or more plot time, i’d guess.

372. I can’t download it on iTunes yet! I bought a subscription but I haven’t received my email yet and iTunes hasn’t downloaded it yet. How come subscribers don’t get notified first? I’m so bummed!

373. The actor who played ben franklin is andrew daly. From madtv’s middle-ish seasons.

374. season pass my butt!! Why do we always get the shaft when it comes to downloading the episodes!!!!

375. I liked this episode…it was pretty good. Although, for the past 3 episodes, I’ve noticed they’ve cut the theme song down. That’s kind of disappointing because I like the theme and it sort of takes away from the happiness of the episode. Whatever, I’m being nitpicky.

     This episode was good.

376. Did they write Andy out of the show? I hope so, he was starting to get on my nerves…

377. It never ceases to amaze me just how many episode haters can come out of the woodwork after a good installment of the show.

     Frankly, this episode was not that “awkward”. Pam and Jim’s conversation in the break room was awkward – as it was supposed to be – but that doesn’t make the whole episode strange. My only beef with it is that we’ve been having way too many parties lately. They need to get back into that office drudgery a bit more.

     Anyway, there was a ton of great, great stuff in this episode:

     * Kelly trying ot bait Ryan by asking him if he thought the stripper was hot. “I know what you’re doing.”

     * Creed chowing on that steak. In fact, the whole steaks thing was outstanding.

     * Jim: “Have you ever seen a stripper?” Dwight replies with his Jennifer Garner bit. Jim: “Yeah, me neither.”

     And another thing, when did everyone start using the word “priceless”? God, I hate seeing people use that word, especially when it comes to this show. This isn’t a Mastercard commercial.

378. I think there’s a mistake under the quotes for this past Ep.

     When Michael is talking to Jan he says “You’re the best GD Girlfriend…” GD as in “god damn.” not, “you’re the best cheated girlfriend…”

     To me, that makes it hilarious – in the same vein as Michael having “my humps” as his ringtone.

379. I have to say that I was not a big fan of this episode. I think a producer’s cut would have answered a lot of random story lines. If this was how Mindy Kaling wrote the episode, then I’m disappointed cuz I usually love her episodes.

     Pam seemed very awkward and nervous about what I don’t know. Was it because of the Karen/jim hug?? I think Jim should have hired Spongebob over Franklin though, it may have been funnier. This episode had a lot of potential but it seemed to fall flat. They can’t all be winners though, right?

     Cutting down the theme song is driving me nuts, I love the theme song in its whole form, it always makes me happy.

     Well when I get home from work I can download this episode and watch it again, maybe I’ll enjoy it more the second time around. But it was not a fave of mine, ranks at the bottom with The Convention and Grief Counseling for this season. But the past 2 new episodes had set the bar kind of high.

     Dear Oscar,
     Stop coming back and leaving again. I love you on the show, and having u in last night’s epsiode would have been great. Please set aside whatever other projects you are doing on the side and stay on the cast of this show, cuz the odds of you being more successful elsewhere are slim, while this is a sure thing for years to come. Thank you.

     Sincerely,
     Gil the 2nd

380. I’ve got one question I haven’t seen anyone else raise yet, so I’ll ask it: WHY did Ryan and Michael go to the sex shop? Dwight already ordered the stripper on the phone. Did they think they needed some kind of paraphernalia to watch a striptease or something?! The party was only supposed to be 45 minutes long so they wouldn’t have time to watch a porn movie or anything. I don’t see why they went to all that trouble to do a location shoot to just show them standing in the aisle sort of scratching their heads. (It was funny how they went to all the trouble to pixellate every single movie cover though, wasn’t it!)

381. sorry if this has been mentioned–
     I use to think that Pam had the lowest self-esteem. But now, there’s Karen. Why on earth would she stay with Jim? I haven’t been the biggest fan of hers, but now my pity for her is making me kind of like her. Thoughts?

382. Constructive critiscm is a GOOD thing people. Nothing’s perfect, and yes, that includes “The Office”. This episode was a big misstep in my opinion and, apparently, also that of quite a few people posting here as well. I am true fan of the show through and through, and just because I actually dispised this episode does not mean I’m going to stop watching or start spreading the hate about the show. I hope the writers or someone involved in the production reads these posts. Learn from mistakes and move on.

     Oh, and my dislike for this ep has nothing to do with Jim and Pam. It has everything to do with the cast as a whole. Too much was out of place. Roy’s comments about Pam’s art were pathetic. Oscar was missing. Jim was a jerk by ordering Ben Franklin instead of a stripper for the ladies, and Pam was way to immature. And why the heck was Packer not part of the stripper dance? I know they wrote it so he wouldn’t be there, but why not? That could have been hilarious!

383. Okay… so I’ve read a lot of the comments so far, and I think Cousin Mose really summed it up best.

     https://www.officetally.com/?p=803&cp=18#comment-73294

     I know so many of you disliked the episode, and I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree there.

384. Steph C, I feel sort of the opposite. I’m liking Karen less now because I can’t understand how she could stay with Jim. Unless he outright lied and told her the kiss meant nothing, it was just a crush, etc… And even then she seems too weak to take him back wholeheartedly. He did lie, after all, by not telling her about Pam before the move.

     The more Karen gives in to the relationship, the less I like her. But the less I like Jim too…

385. people are complaining about the awkwardness of this episode, yet the awkward moments are what made “The Office” funny to begin with. This episode was one of the best this season, if not the best. it was hilariously awkward. that is what this show is about. jim and pam are great and all, and this season has done a great job of running them into the ground, but this show was built on awkwardness and this episode came back to that and it was awesome

386. I haven’t seen the episode yet but I’ve read speculation Roy’s TH may suggest he slept with the stripper on his stag night and thats why Pam called off the wedding.I hope this isn’t the case!Any thoughts?

387. Lola (#394):

     “season pass my butt!! Why do we always get the shaft when it comes to downloading the episodes!!!!”

     Thanks for saying that. I thought I was the only one frustrated by that. The last few episodes weren’t available to season pass holders until late Friday evening/early Saturday morning. It kind of blows.

388. wtf! i missed the ep last night, but its still not up on dailymotion, youtube, and even ITUNES!!!my last resort.

     i need some man meat!!!! hahahah

389. It’s up on iTunes. I just downloaded it.

390. Yea it’s up on iTunes but season pass people aren’t getting the download yet unless they want to pay for it again. This stinks.

391. SCULLY – Where did you hear this? That would be a wild and unexpected twist, whoever thought this one up is pretty clever. The only problem I see with that is Pam would not be as nice to Roy as she is being if he had slept with a stripper. Maybe it all went down like you say, except without Pam finding out about it.

392. My feelings about this episode: meh.

     I thought Karen had more of an independent, strong girl streak in her. Assuming that the conversations that went for hours on end were about Pam, it seems a little self destructive.

     Karen, hon, he’s just not that into you.

393. Scully: I hope that’s not the case, because that would mean that Pam’s decision to dump Roy was not her own, but rather motivated by his actions. To me, that would mean that if Roy hadn’t done that, Pam would have been content to go through with the marriage and settle for Roy.

     That kind of plot twist would kind of take the power away from Pam’s decision, you know? I thought she dumped him because she was unhappy and wanted to change her life.

394. About the length of last night’s episode… it was about the same as other weeks: just over 20 minutes long. The only episode that has been REALLY short was The Initiation (the 5th ep this season). It was only a bit over 16 minutes. I never heard any reason why that one was four whole minutes shorter than others. Does anyone remember hearing anything about that before? I didn’t see anything in the conversation about that one on OT.

395. The Office had awkwardness and cringe-worthiness down to an artform in this episode. I was so uncomfortable and embarrassed (albeit laughing very hard) while watching much of it…And that’s a good thing. This episode keeps growing on me…Today I find myself giggling as I recall so many little gems of moments. Oh my God, Pam in the breakroom trying to “flirt” with Jim….I’ve been there too Pam, I’m sad to say. So awful, so spot on.

396. Yeah I completely agree “Stephanie C.” – it really shows you how insecure and desperate Karen can be. I mean, she’s with a guy who just told her he has feelings for someone else! That’s basically like telling her he’s not into her. Yikes.

     On the akwardness subject – I love those akward scenes the Office does so well, but some in this episode were so much worse than usual! Like when Pam was talking to Jim-it just made me cringe-not laugh.

397. There has been a lot of discussion on here about Pam trying to make Jim jealous with the whole “set me up” comment to Ryan…but, I totally didn’t take it that way. I thought that she was honestly really feeling bad about herself – she’d had that awkward flirting thing with Jim, Jim’s with Karen, Ryan and Kelly are together…and then Kelly totally makes her feel like an idiot AGAIN in front of Jim by saying that she was flirting with Ben Franklin. I thought the “set me up” line was more of a face-saver to say that she wasn’t so pathetic as to need to flirt (badly) with Jim and Ben Franklin on the same day.

     Maybe I mis-interpreted… ???

     Also – I still like Karen. I think she and Pam are really fun together (when they are not talking about Jim, of course). I think they have the same sense of humor. I just think that Karen is super-insecure right now. Maybe a little too clingy, but I think that is typical.

398. Oh, and one other thing I am confused about…and someone else mentioned it earlier…

     Why did Karen phrase it as “you’re not STILL interested in him, are you?” When did Karen ever think that Pam was interested?

399. Well if you share a kiss with someone, you probably have some sort of interest in that person.

400. yes im finally gonna get to see it. its strange coz when i search for it on itunes it doesnt show up. good thing the link here works = )

401. Allan- The Initiation was the same length as the other episodes- around twenty minutes (that’s how long the one I got from ITunes is).

     Where did you hear the 16 minutes thing?

402. I think Jim called Scholastic or something on purpose … thats why he wasnt a stripper

     thats wut my cousin said

403. Jim: Michael referred me to a male strip club called Banana Slings. Instead, I called the Scholastic Speakers of Pennsylvania.

     Jim knew Ben wasn’t a stripper.

404. why have peekvid taken down the office episodes … and dailymotion have “ben franklin” !! usually they have it , first thing the next morning !!

405. Upon further perusal, anyone else find it interesting that Michael was able to refer Jim to a male strip club by name? He certainly didn’t seem to know much when talking to Packer.

     (I realize he probably just looked it up…but it still makes me laugh to think about it and his man-crush on Ryan.)

     And Mike D – I know they shared a kiss…but we all know that Jim initiated that kiss and then Pam quickly said she wasn’t interested. I was just wondering what reactions others had to that line.

406. Thnxx threec

407. no tats-

     I’m guessing that since Karen has been grilling Jim for 5 days, and she was able to get out of him that they kissed, she probably has a lot more insight into the relationship than we realize… It does seem strange, though, that Jim wouldn’t tell her that Pam was engaged… but maybe he wouldn’t say that because it would make both himself and Pam look bad…

     I’m going to assume that even though Karen thinks that she knows everything (and may have drawn her own conclusions), Jim probabaly told her as little as possible… I am really interested to see how things play out next week!

408. Meredith already holding dollar bills when Ben Franklin comes in… priceless.

409. I’m sorry to bring up the whole hair color thing again, but I just took some screen caps from Ben Franklin, and there is just no way anyone can call Pam a redhead. If anything she has *blonde* highlights.

     Look: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a217/shan21non/ScreenShot.jpg
     http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a217/shan21non/ScreenShot1.jpg

     Honestly, how can anyone think that is red or even auburn? (Especially in the shot in which she’s near the *blonde* stripper)

     And if this is the case, then maybe that’s why the blonde comment really got Pam and Karen’s attention. (although to be honest, I’d still call Pam a brunette)

410. Packer and Michael botching “seperate but equal” probably the funniest line for two reasons:

     1) obviously, because neither is aware of what it means and
     2) they think it still exists

411. This one does a lot better on the second viewing. Two things I missed earlier…

     When Dwight is ordering the stripper, he tells Jim to get the male stripper and calls him “Nancy,” to which Jim _immediately_ corrects him with, “Sally.”

     In the sex shop, Ryan notes, “He hasn’t said anything yet. Just giggling.” Great one liner from Ryan.

412. I thought it sounded like karen was blaming the whole kiss thing on pam. It was jim who kissed her.
     He havent said a word yet just giggled.
     and the whole ben franklin flirting with pam.
     imao so funny

413. Okay i’m a dork…..what does “February Sweeps” mean that everyone is talking about???

414. I hope they’ll give us some kind of hope for Jim/Pam…I’ts getting awkward, and without seeing them interact much,you forget why they *belong* together. I don’t want them to wait so long that I’ve lost interest. Just throw me a bone here, people.

415. In response to 415…I hadn’t thought about that, but who knows what jim told Karen. Something he said made Karen think Pam was interested at some point. on a different note, the look on Jim’s face when Pam told Ryan to set her up w/business school guys….Priceless.

416. wtf? what is with everyone disliking this episode?! it was hilarious, and it shows “the office” is back to what it does best–witty writing and uncomparable acting. especially after the past two or so dark, unsatisfying episodes, this was so great. the show is back in true form.

417. Hopefully this hasn’t been covered…I was disappointed in this episode because the entire time watching the show, I could tell Mindy wrote it (not knowing ahead of time). It had a wayyy too feminine undertone.

     Guys don’t act like they did last night. I know where they were trying to go with the storyline, but from Roy’s preference for Pam’s art to Michael feeling like he cheated on Jan for having a stripper sit on his lap was too much.

     Part of the show’s success is that it’s like everyday office life sometimes taken to the extreme, the behavior by the men last night was too unbelievable to be like everyday life.

418. Um…weird episode, great episode.

     There were definitely some very funny moments. The Ryan and Michael interactions in particular. The grilled foot grill, the giggling. I loved the brief Dwight and Jim interactions. (An Alias shoutout no less.) Their “friendship” is one of the best parts of the show. And Man Meat, which although very funny, seemed a little too obvious.

     Jim and Karen…when a couple has less chemistry than Kelly and Ryan, they are going nowhere. The hug? Ick. The late night talks? I won’t spoil the summary of Cocktails, but I hope KaJim the Sparkless Wonder is heading to a conclusion.

     And then there was JAM. The eight hours of sleep conversation sounded incredibly familiar…I think I had one exactly like it when I was fifteen. In front of my crush. Come on Pam, have you forgotten how to flirt??

     417 I think I agree that it was more saving face in front of Jim about the setting up.

     Am I crazy or was Roy just adorable? Jammer all the way, and I know he was probably hoping to look good in front of the camera, but I like that he’s trying.

     Pam loves Jim, Jim loves Pam…it’s just something I know.

419. Angela is a blonde. Pam is not a blonde. Meredith is more of a redhead. Still, Jim chose the blonde because neither Karen nor Pam are blonde.

420. in response to karly j (433), it’s my understanding that february sweeps is sort of a big ratings deal, where shows and networks try to get bigger ratings so they can get more money from advertisers. there’s also november sweeps. I’m sure someone knows better than me but I know it has to do with ratings.

     As far as the episode is concerned, it’s taken a while to weigh in and after some conversations with friends and family who also watch the show, I have to say I did like last night’s ep. It wasn’t the best ever but there were definitely some moments where I laughed out loud, especially the way Ben Franklin got creepier and creepier and his whole “I sense some electricity” thing with Pam. But the overall feel and mood of the episode was different from many of them. It felt…awkward, would be the best word I could use to describe it. There were so many moments where I could just cringe for how the characters must be feeling: Jim and Pam, the stripper/Dwight/Jim/Michael, and so on. There were more of those awkward moments in this ep than recent ones, or any in my memory. And so it felt different, weird, but still good. So while it’s not my favorite, i have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

     sorry for the novel

421. I LOVED the fact that the stripper/dancers’s name was Elisabeth. I decided she spells it with an S.

422. CindyO (#421):

     I got Ep 3×15 from pampong.com and that’s the length it is there. I can’t tell what’s missing from that version, but now I guess I need to buy iTunes’ copy and see how much longer it is. I just assumed I was watching the same one as on iTunes, but that may not be the case. Pampong does have problems with some other downloads, so this one may not be quite right. Thanks for asking so I can check this out!

423. Great episode. Funnier than hell. I think that they need to stop dragging the Jim and Pam thing out though, lest people stop caring.

424. Hurry over to Yahoo-they have about 4 minutes of Phyliss’s wedding up!

425. I actually didn’t like Pam and Karen together. In all of these scenes, the meanness comes out in Karen where Pam seems more like just playfulness and more inventive. Karen is definitely not used to the Scranton ways of dealing with other people.

     I agree that it was weird that Karen mentioned to Pam “are you still interested in him” since it was never mentioned that she was interested in him. In fact, the office joke has been that Jim was into Pam, and the other way around hasn’t been directly mentioned ever, I don’t think.

426. Re: 442

     I was wrong about the length of an earlier episode. It’s about the same length as all the rest of the normal shows. (I just checked on iTunes.) Thanks again for pointing that out, CindyO!

427. For me this episode felt almost out of control, but in a good way. Reminded me a bit of the way I felt after watching “Conflict Resolution” in Season 2, where everyone was a bit on edge…and remember, that was followed by “Casino Night.”

     Pam has a right to be angry and confused and talking to herself. It’s not clear to her what Jim means when he says he’s not getting any sleep. It could conjure up all sorts of things in her hurt and confused (and jealous) mind. Jenna played it really well, but not in a conventional sit-com way, but instead on the edge of crazy. For me it had the feel of the British Office, as someone else said.

     Jim’s slightly-off prank of hiring Ben Franklin for a bachelorette party shows his brain is frazzled also. And Karen is getting into a borderline-crazy area with her hug/clinginess.

     On completely different note, did you all see this EW article:
     http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20010594,00.html ? Looks like Andy will be back and sticking around.

428. I have another thought to toss into the whole redhead vs. brunette debate…

     Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be a Pam/Karen decision at all…maybe they were just interested in his reaction to see if he cared about seeing the stripper. I felt like if Jim said anything other than “I will not be a part of this decision.”, then that meant that he actually did kind of (just a little) want to see the stripper. So, then he says “blonde” and it shows that he is maybe (a little) into it. (sadness!)

     I can admit it – I’m a girl, and I totally didn’t want Jim to want to see a stripper. My love for him grew when he told Dwight “me neither”. (Okay, let the judgment begin :)

429. Ever think Jim said “blonde” ‘ciz he knows about Dwight and Angela?

430. “I’m a girl, and I totally didn’t want Jim to want to see a stripper. My love for him grew when he told Dwight “me neither”. (448)

     This is exactly the point I was going for (437). Mindy Kaling’s writing had almost all of the guys indifferent & stone-faced toward the stripper. I’m not a stripper kind of guy, I normally sit back & watch the other guys (or bachelor) get embarrassed, but that’s the point missing here: VERY FEW guys will walk away from a bachelor party or have stone faces, they either partake in the action or laugh at the fact that your buddy (or co-worker) is getting embarrassed.

     While the writing endeared Jim even more to the women, it almost made him less likeable/believable as a character to men. ESPECIALLY Roy. The comment about Pam’s art being sexy was completely out of character for a warehouse guy who hangs out with a guy like Darryl.

431. *411/*413,Don,t worry this wasn’t a spoiler but just an idea suggested on a message board.Even if it were true it wouldn’t alter the fact that Pam’s feelings for Jim are finally slipping out albeit VERY SLOWLY!

432. I felt like Karen was all over the place in the episode. Did anyone see the look she gave Pam after hugging Jim? And the horrible look she gave Pam after Jim chose a blond stripper? She looked like she wanted to cut Pam’s head off. Then, she’s all laughing and giggling with Pam about Ben Franklin. It’s like she can’t decide whether to love or hate Pam.

433. Btw, the stripper is quoting a bubblegum teen dance group called “No Secrets”. Which is kind of sad…

434. Here’s the rest of the lyrics, to fulfill your morbid curiousity:

435. I think the writers are doing a good job of making me ok with Karen one minute, and the next minute I can’t stand her. And now Roy comes swirling back into the picture…but I think whatever does or doesn’t happen with Pam & Roy, it will be brief. Pam finally admitted to herself that she wants to have Jim’s babies, & will *hopefully* send Karen on her merry way (and learn how to flirt).

436. Just thinking about Karen’s “still interested” question. Since Karen knew about the kiss, maybe she thought Pam initiated it (as tesslovestheoffice suggested). Or maybe Jim told her that Pam kissed him back, which is true. When Jim said “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that”, Pam responded with, “Me too”. I don’t think Jim would tell Karen that Pam kissed him, because that doesn’t jive with the rest of the story, and it would lead him into a “tangled web”. So, I’m thinking Karen assumed from the story Jim told her that Pam was into him.

     Which brings up the whole idea of Jim thinking that Pam isn’t into him. Here she responded to his kiss, said she had wanted to kiss him, too, then broke off her wedding. Doesn’t he even think, for a minute, that maybe her leaving Roy has something to do with him? Or is he just shoving those hopes aside in fear of not being hurt again? Sure, she did hurt him by saying she was still going to marry Roy, but then she didn’t! HUGE CLUE, buddy! Maybe he is very well aware of Pam’s feelings. Maybe he discussed it with Karen. Or maybe he’s just clueless and Karen was bright enough to figure it out, but didn’t dare say anything to Jim for fear of losing him if he knew Pam had feelings for him.

     Am I too into this show?

437. The Saboteur (450)

     We’re not supposed to think that Roy really finds Pam’s art more sexy than the stripper. He’s just completely desperate and grasping at straws–anything that might get back to Pam and make her want him again. We’re not supposed to take it so literally.

     As for Michael, his reaction was entirely believable. He has next to no experience with women and he’s been shown to be juvenile in his relationships from the start. Totally in character there.

438. My opinion: Jim knows that Pam has more than friendly feelings for him, I think he’s known for a long time.But you can only wait around so long if the other person won’t admit to anything. When Pam called off the wedding, she didn’t run & tell Jim she wanted him, he found out through the grapevine. It’s implied they didn’t speak for months after it was called off. So even if Jim thinks he had something to do with the wedding being called off, Pam never came out & told him. She likes to take baby steps. I realize the lameness of spending my weekend analyzing fictional characters. :(

439. I thought when Michael was on the phone w/ Jan, he said “You are the best GD girlfriend in the world”… short for ‘gosh darn’, or something a little less clean perhaps… Michael is known for shortening a lot of his swear words…

     Either way, it’s pretty funny…

440. I thought it was ‘cheated’…but know that I think about it, ‘best GD girlfriend’ sounds more like Michael.

441. I just don’t understand how Jim got out of admitting his feelings for Pam last week. I mean, he said still has feelings for her! How did he get out of that one? How is Karen ok with that? No amount late night talking can undo that one, unless Jim pleaded temporary insanity. Or maybe he pulled a Pam. Karen: “What are you sorry for?” Pam: “What? Um, I was thinking of something else.” Right.

442. Bean, I agree with you. My only guess is that he said something like “i still have feelings, but not like I did before. Pam made it clear that she doesn’t like me, and I’m through wasting my time. I’m ready to move on & I’m happy I’m with you” although, even if a guy fed me that I wouldn’t buy it. Maybe Karen is just overlooking it because she wants Jim/a boyfriend – she did move out of state for Jim, and I think we’ve yet to see her inner freakdom emerge…who knows what is going on in her mind.

443. I’ve thought about the whole Jim/Pam relationship quite a bit… Sure I want them to get together. I’m sick of waiting of course but what would happen to the suspense of waiting for something to happen between them? If they became a happy couple where would the show go – everyone happily in love and cracking jokes? I really do hope someday they do get together but I don’t know if the creators of the show are going to let the audience have their ending that soon.

     Who knows… I know I’m still on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen.

444. I just re-watched the episode last night. Did anyone else notice that Phyllis didn’t have a single line, even though it was her bridal shower?

445. I guess I’m in the minority here. I thought the episode was really good…not the best ever (right now that would be Traveling Salesman), but definitely not as bad as most people here are saying. Yes, there were many awkward moments, but jeez…do you people even know this show? This show is FULL of awkward moments. Every episode has them. I’m really confused as to why so many people really disliked this episode. Even with all the awkwardness, there were MANY funny moments. My favorites:

     Dwight: I don’t care what Jim says…that is NOT the real Benjamin Franklin. I am 99% sure.

     Meredith: SHUT UP, ANGELA!

     Ryan: Is this the same grill you grilled your foot on?
     Michael: No. Yes.
     Ryan: Oh, gross.
     Michael: But I got all the foot off.

     I thought Jenna did an EXCELLENT job of acting in both the scene with Jim in the break room and then the scene with Karen. And kudos to her for sucking it up while being sick.

     Speaking of Jenna, I saw several comments about her looking fat. I really hope she doesn’t read these comments (and there’s a good chance she does because I know she knows about this website – Tanster’s even in Jenna’s top friends on her myspace page), because no woman would want to see that people are saying she looked fat.

446. Threec: Totally noticed that too. I’m sure Phyllis will have her day next week!

447. Dwight: Are you nearsighted for farsighted?

     Ben Franklin: Both. That’s why I invented bifocals.

     Dwight: AAAAHHHHH!

448. [From tanster: removed because of spoilers. Please post spoilers here. Thanks!]

449. Even though I thought the show was really funny I thought dwights comment about Ben franklin was very un-dwight like.

450. where was andy in this episode? did they even give a reason why he wasnt there?

451. This episode was not that great. It ended the streak of really good episodes. I felt it should have been much funnier given the premise, and not enough TP.

     I don’t really consider myself a JAMMER but I felt like one watching this episode. I felt like throwing a telephone book at Karen, Pam, and Jim. Doesn’t Karen realized Jim is not really that into her. Doesn’t Pam see that? Why couldn’t Pam be honest with herself for once? And Jim stop what you are doing dude, it is so f***ed up. Stop using Karen as some sort of emotional crutch.

452. I find it funny people are saying Pam doesn’t know how to flirt. What about the countless times she did it wih Jim in Seasons 1 and 2.

     She’s just really rusty. She hasn’t gone on any dates (except the cartoonist guy) and she hasn’t flirted with anyone in the office in ages. Hence the incredibly awkward convo with Jim. This ep was still frustrating because it just felt awkward from start to finish.

453. Megan, I’m totally with you on that one. I really thought Michael said “You’re the best GD girlfriend” Anyone else agree?

454. People really didn’t like this episode? I thought it was one of the funniest yet this season..Ben Franklin, the return of the foot grill, manmeat, G.A.I., you smell like Tide…LOVE THIS SHOW.

455. In addition 475-

     I think that when Pam flirted with Jim in the past, she didn’t have so much on the line. She was engaged and she could believe the flirting was more “innocent.”
     Now she is single and she could get rejected by Jim, so the flirting carries more weight in her mind, which could make her more nervous.

456. Did anyone elso notice that Angela might be pregnet as evidence of her spitting out the alcohol?

457. I think Angela just desn’t drink, period. There’s been rumors of an upcoming office pregnancy, but I don’t know if they were validated. Can you imagine a Dwangela offspring? Yikes.

458. I think Angela would be acting a lot more suspicious if she were pregnant. However, I could be wrong. This show never fails to surprise me.

459. Hahah guys, Angela is NOT pregnant. She’s just Angela!

460. It’s implied she’s on the pill, so I don’t think we have any little Dwide’s in the near future. If anyone’s getting preggo it’s Kelly…she does accidentally/on purpose forget to take her pill sometimes.

461. Did andy get fired??? or am i just missing something? my favorite part of the episode was when the stripper looked over at kevin and he looked all depressed… and she just gave him a sympathetic look back.

462. Andy didn’t get fired. In the producer’s cut of the episode before this, he goes to (Anger) Management Training.

463. There’s now a 3rd deleted scene.

464. Just curious, when was it implied that Angela was on the pill? I thought it had been implied that she wasn’t; in Drug Testing, Angela tells Dwight that she doesn’t take any prescription drugs:

     Dwight: Kevin, what prescription drugs are you taking besides Rogaine?
     Kevin: I’m not taking Rogaine.
     Dwight: Angela, what about you?
     Angela: I don’t take any prescription drugs.
     Dwight: You’re not on … anything? (Angela gives him the look.) Good. (Oscar and Kevin both look at Dwight, then look at Angela.)

     I always took that at face value, that she was telling him that she wasn’t on the pill, and she gave him that look because she didn’t want Dwight exposing their relationship.

     Even though I proposed the remote possibility of Angela being pregnant (#347), I am pretty convinced it was just a matter of Angela being morally opposed to drinking. Although, after reading Malevolence’s comment about Angela drinking later in the party (#360), I’m a little confused. Was this just a mistake, or did she find some sparkling cider? I don’t believe after the purposeful spit that she would just start downing the champagne.

465. Okay, I just laughed out loud! Angela’s expression, like “Ohhh, I get it now, that makes sense”, after Ben’s lame explantion was priceless!

     And, there she is drinking again! Maybe we are to just assume it’s an editing issue with the folks making the documentary; in real-time maybe Ben’s presentation came before Angela’s spit.

466. “explanation”

467. Sorry to monopolize, but I’m laughing even harder now!!!!

     He said, she said promo? OMG!!!

     Hilarious!

     I need that on my ipod!

     Holy crap, I need that for my ringtone!

     Okay, I have to watch that again!

468. Angela can’t be pregnant before her and Dwight even get married. She’s a Christian wet blanket… sex before marriage is absurd! But who knows

469. Don’t put it past Angela! They were pretty hot ‘n heavy at Jim’s party, and Dwight is concerned with her choice of birth control. Plus, I think it was in the Drug Testing episode, as well, when Dwight was making the show of interrogating her, she had that mischevious little look on her face when he yelled the question, “Where were you yesterday after work?”

     I know the “NO COOKIE” comment is floating around out there, too, but that was one day.

470. I’m really sick of the office being so disjointed to those of us who can’t watch videos online.
     I’m stuck with dial-up so i can’t watch anything, i’m in the dark with what happened to Andy and anything else. When will all the injustice end?

471. That’s why NBC should just make The Office an hour long every week. All the plot holes would be filled, and no one would be left in the dark.

472. I agree it would be awesome if The Office was extended to an hour! But that probably won’t happen. So we have to make do with 30 min. (which is actually only 20 min. if you don’t count commercials).

     I think it was Greg Daniels who said recently that the broadcast episodes are really just ads for the DVD. When that comes out, then you’ll get all the extra stuff those with broadband access are seeing now. Kind of a bummer, but it does allow everyone to experience the shows so much more than in the “old” days 20 years ago when what you saw on the air was IT!

473. He did say GD girlfriend. No doubt.

474. m3k1,

     In Dwight and Angela’s conversation about whether she was taking any prescription drugs, I took her look to mean, “Duh, of course I’m on the pill.” I think Dwight even looks somewhat relieved after that, if I remember correctly.

475. Ok, i don’t know if someone said this or not already but here goes:

     Why was karen so confident that the kiss between Jim and Pam meant nothing. Especially since he told her that he still had feelings for Pam.
     Am i the only one that thought that was just a little bit weird?

476. Yeah I don’t understand Karen… Jim is obviously still in love with Pam so why would they still be together? If I were her I wouldn’t still be with him if he was openly in love with her. I like Karen and all, but I am honestly just waiting for her and Jim to split !

477. In response to the Dwangela pregnancy:

     Have you noticed that Dwight is maturing as the season moves along? Look at how he acted last season. He’s such a different person now. He acts more and more like an adult every episode now that he has found someone that he truly cares about. And Angela HAS been known to surprise us sometimes (such as LIKING Dwight in the first place, haha!), so a pregnancy is something I could DEFINITELY see in the near future.

478. Who Played Ben Franklin, it is driving me crazy, “Andy Rocking Robin” Crazy, I just want to punch a hole in a wall.

     WHO PLAYED HIM! TELL ME!

479. rar728,

     See, I interpreted that scene differently. I guess it could go either way. I’m sure Angela wouldn’t admit in front of her officemates that she was on the pill. But I could also see Dwight being happy that Angela wasn’t on the pill (he’s probably thinking “great, field hands for the beet farm!”).

     This is what I love about this show! It’s not all just fed to you with a spoon. Sometimes in life, people say things that you can’t quite figure out.

480. another reason angela could be pregnant is when dwight put the stripper and she fanned herself off and looked like she was going to be sick, if you remember earlier michael said the stripper smelled like tide, and when your pregnant can’t you sometimes smell things stronger, or things make you feel sick. but this could also be becasue she was a stripper and angela would just do that.

481. Anybody know the actress’ name who played Elisabeth the Stripper? I know I’ve seen her before, but I don’t know where. Thanks.

482. Did anyone else notice that when Pam was talking about sleep in the break room with Jim, there is a bag of chips behind her in the vending machine called ‘Specials’? Is it a hint ?!?!

     P.S. There were also Pork Rind chips too, so maybe it wasn’t an intentional nod to the whole JAM thing. Although Jim does love his Ham sandwiches.

     Pork? Ham? Anyone?

483. when i first heard about angela spitting out the champagne and pregnancy i just brushed it off like well she is hardcore religious and drinking isnt really shined upon but when the stripper commented on her “offensive” according to oscar poster and she looked at it and saw the babies it really makes you think

484. Marksiwel and Jonk:

     Andrew Daly (of MAD TV fame) played Ben Franklin. Here’s his IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0198408/

     Jackie Debatin (who has been on every TV show to man apparently; look at her IMDB page!) played Elisabeth. Here’s her IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213339/

     I had to do some research, too, because like Marksiwel said, I couldn’t place where I’d seen Ben Franklin before and it was driving me “Andy Rocking Robin” crazy! ;)

485. I like when Todd Packer is in the office with Michael and he breaks the pencil to show his anger…..haha love that packer!

486. good one, not my fav., liked the beginning with michael lol, Jim getting Ben Franklin lol, and the ending with Dwight testing ben franklin if it was really him..lol

487. The Ben Franklin episode is one my favorites! i laughed so hard at Jim talking about getting a stripper from “Banana Slings” and also Elizabeth the stripper on a very nervous and uncomfortable Michael’s lap–classic. Watching that epi hooked 2 of my friends on the show.

488. Ok, so help me out, what does G-D girlfriend mean? I hope this doesn’t make me feel stupid.

489. GD Girlfriend means “GOD DAMN” or perhaps “GOSH DARN” “You are the best ‘GOD DAMN’ girlfriend in the world”

490. This is a great episode, good job Mindy!

491. I used to be ambivalent about Ben Franklin, but I rewatched it recently and I absolutely love the BEn Franklin Character!

     Chocolate!! Where did you acquire it? That’s a delicacy in the Amazon!

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