NBC promos of ‘A Benihana Christmas’

SPOILER WARNING! Videos and subsequent comments will contain spoilers.

  • Promo 1: Shown last Thursday night after ‘My Name is Earl’ on NBC. Ouch. That one hit me where I live. ;)
  • Promo 2: This one focuses on Karen/Pam and Dwight.
    Tipster: carmensandeeago at the LiveJournal Office community.
  • Promo 3: Aired during Sunday night football, and includes quick shots of Angela by herself, and Michael/Jim. They go by pretty fast, so click the Pause button to catch them!

123 comments

  1. Funny bit with Michael’s Asian girlfriend….sad to hear that “time to put the past behind” line – wonder where that is going?
    If it gets any more tragic…..

  2. Hmm… that Jim line is sad, but it is a talking head, so who knows WHO he is talking about. The little spot in my heart reserved for Jim and Pam might get kicked in the face–but I have faith.

  3. I was LOL at the part about Michael’s new girlfriend!! Hilarious!!

    But unfortunately I was feeling a bit sad about Jim saying “time to put the past behind”. Darnit “JAM” … get your act together!!!!

  4. I am SO excited for this episode. It IS a Christmas Miracle! Question: Is it bad that I’m looking forward to this more than real Christmas?

  5. OHHHH NOOOOOOO!!!!! Ouch indeed, Jennie!! That might be the most inappropriate thing Michael has ever said. Yikes!!!

  6. Okay, Elisabeth, here you go:

    Announcer: Next Thurs, it’s an all new Office Christmas, at an early time: 8/7 Central

    Dwight: It’s an office miracle!

    Announcer: A one-hour episode critics say you won’t want to miss.

    Michael: Mmyeah!!!

    Announcer: A night…to put the past behind (as Jim and Karen hug)

    Jim: I feel like there’s a chance for me to start over.

    Announcer: A night where love begins.

    Michael: Meet my new girlfriend!

    Michael: Check her out! (pointing)

    Roy: Which one is she?

    Michael: It’s one of those two.

    Announcer: A one-hour Office at an early time: 8/7 Central

    Michael: You know how all waitresses look alike.

    Announcer: Next Thurs on NBC!

  7. I heard that Jim and Karen are still dating when the show starts in the begging of the year, so things are looking really bad for Jam.

  8. Does Michael say “waitresses?” I thought I heard “You know how all Asian women look alike…”??? (which is great, because it’s much more Michael)

  9. Things are looking great for JAM. ;) All this stuff is just reinforcing it. I like Karen, and I like Karen and Jim in the short-term (because I think it’ll help him seem less like a schmuck and Pam get a taste of her own medicine, deserved or not).

    But in case you haven’t noticed, it’s still all about JAM. Not the show, though…the show is all about Steve Carell’s brilliance. I bow to that man’s comic talents.

  10. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH This is not good!!!!!!!!!! I thought that the last two minutes are going to be “well worth the wait” for Jim and Pam. This is NOT good.!!! I can’t wait a whole week!!!!

  11. Know what I think? I think there’s gonna be a little bit of Roy and Pam in this episode…. if not Roy and Pam, maybe Roy and Angela…? Or MAYBE, Roy and one of the Asian chicks?!?!?!?! Because Roy was definitely at the Christmas party, and I surely wasn’t happy seeing Jim and Karen hug… what on earth could have been so exciting??

  12. Here’s a little synopsis of what I think is going to happen:
    Andy asks Pam to the Christmas party, but she declines saying she already has a date. But, since she really doesn’t have a date, I thinks she finds Roy and asks him to be her date to spite Jim, maybe??

    And also, it sure didn’t look like Jim was very enthusiastic about his “Chance to start over”, because he looked pretty sad and down when he said it. For those of you that read the spoilers, you probably know that he rejects Pam’s present, so maybe this was after he does that…

  13. YES!!!!! score a point for TEAM KAREN.
    a hug kinda sucks though. How bout a holiday kiss instead

  14. Thank you Gilly!!!

    I’m still hoping that Jim just rejects the ugly DM bathrobe that corporate gives everyone…handed to him by Pam….or something.

    Boo Team Karen.

  15. Yeah, I can’t imagine that he would reject a gift to purposely be hurtful. Sighh…. how many more days until Thursday?

  16. between the promo and the preview videos, I’m going crazy waiting for this episode. Thanks for posting the promo btw. I love how Michael started making a comment about all asians looking the same but changed it to waitresses (at least from what I heard) reminds me of the slave comment from The Merger, michael at his inappropriate best!

  17. well then…
    i still have hope for JAM. the writers, as well as the actors, know how much of a hit JAM is… why disapoint us in the end? that would be a cruel thing to do to their fans. so i will and still will have hope for them, karen is there just to a)drive us JAM fans with worry b) bring JAM closer in the end. i like her though, but i think she might go to nyc.

    i love michael. he is just classic. i can’t wait till next week!

  18. That would be a fun topic, Tanster! If you had a walk on part which role would you play?

    I would play the part of the girl that Jim falls madly in love with and Karen/Pam see that we’re so perfect together that they are very understanding about the whole thing and wish us well. Ha Ha, right…. :)

  19. everyone is going nuts! we have to wait 6 more days to see “a Benihana Xmas”! how are we going to make it through the summer without The Office?

  20. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the summer!! You know they’re going to leave us with a huge cliffhanger just like last season, and I’m not sure if I can handle that again!!

  21. During the summer we’ll just have to watch our DVD’s! It’s hard though, the cliffhangers kill me.

  22. Didn’t Lieberstein say something about more webisodes? It’s a summer Office tradition!

    Or will be.

    Because one year does not a tradition make.

    I’m done now.

  23. the DVD for season 3 should be released during the summer. Hopefully it will be packed with extra footage & bloopers like season 2 was. that should help ease the pain a bit.

    also, it looks like some of the cast members are going to be starring in movies. that should be pretty cool

  24. Dec 21 = rerun
    Dec 28 = rerun (the Convention was the worst episode of the season so far)

    why God????? WHY!? What have I done to deserve this?
    AAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

  25. The Convention, seriously? I thought The Initiation was the only sub-par episode thus far this season.

    I mean, how can you go wrong with:
    “Ain’t no party like a Scranton party, ’cause a Scranton party don’t stop!”

    People at work were quoting that for *days* after that episode aired.

  26. I loved the outtakes from the season 2 DVD. I was pleased that there were so many. I’m sure that the Christmas episode will leave us all wanting more.

    Oh! I love the idea of a pilgrimage to Scranton!

  27. There are things in every episode of the show that make me laugh out loud and I can’t say that for most 30 minute comedies on television right now. In my opinion there are no bad episodes of The Office.

  28. you have a good point Jimsgirl81
    a sub par episode of the office is better then anything else on TV
    even the worst episode of the office is still worth at least a 7 ranking

  29. I for one will enjoy catching The Convention on TV whilst draped in my Dunder-Mifflin polo.

  30. I liked The Convention and am please that will be rerun soon, one of the good episodes this season. The other good ones being in order, The Convict, Branch Closing, and 90% of the Merger, not counting the scenes where Jim acts like an aloof jerk.

  31. I liked The Convention, It was the first episode i got on my Laptop for season 3. I did infact dislike Initiation since the only good part was the JAM call.

  32. does anyone know for certain that there’s going to be a fourth season? i might cry for days if this is the last one.

  33. I really liked the Convention, too. I can honestly say that I haven’t hated or even disliked a single episode in all three seasons. I have my favorites and I have my not-so-favorites, but every last one of ’em is enjoyable as hell.

  34. 2nd promo: Does it look like Karen will upstage Pam? I’m interested to see how this relationship plays out. Pam is likely to reach out for various reasons, I’m guessing.
    I’m really wondering what is going on in the minds of the writers and how they envision resolving the Jim-Pam-Karen triangle in the time they have left (how many more seasons?). I think (as the New Yorker article touched on), that the success of Jim-Pam represents something big: hope in the midst of hopelessness. .. While we aren’t meant to hate Karen exactly, she is a tiny bit calculating, and we haven’t seen any evidence of spark or real connection between her & Jim. Jim at least so far seems to be going through the motions rather than whole-heartedly embracing a new love. If he’s really our hero, how could that happen so soon after after his tearful declaration of love to Pam? That “I think I have a chance to start over” talking-head looked more like an announcement of defeat. And what kind of character is Karen? Does Karen have aspirations beyond the office? Does she dream of being an artist? Does she dream of anything?

  35. Don’t worry Catherine Zeta, I am also looking forward to Benihana Christmas almost as much as my own Christmas!
    What is the present that Jim rejects from Pam? (Watch with Kristen spoilers) I am going to be so mad! Maybe she gives him a an invitation to go to dinner to catch up “as friends”?

  36. I have really missed Darrel from the warehouse – amazing actor. Anyone know if he’s coming back for xmas? He and Creed – devastatingly funny…love them & would love to see much, much more of them.

  37. I meant Packer, don’t know why I spelt it that way. We haven’t seen him since last Christmas.

  38. LOL!

    Karen (with Pam sitting next to her): “Are we taking this too far?”

    Pause

    Karen (Pam still sitting next to her): “I don’t think we’re taking this far enough!”

    LOL! I am loving Karen right here (not that it’s enough to make me switch from Team Pam or anything)!

  39. I have a feeling Jim will be just a bit freaked out to see the his current g/f and the love of his life bonding … LOL!! It’ll be hilarious!!

  40. I’m beginning to warm to the idea of Karen and Pam is really funny, so two girlfriends in cahoots is fine with me! I haven’t heard about this being the last season. That would be just SILLY for NBC to do, especially since they’re struggling so bad. I didn’t hear about any extra spoilers either. I keep up with all Office news from here, so anything extra slips past me. Is it on Watch With Kristen? I’m gonna go check it out!

  41. have you noticed that there is a lot of orange at the Pam/Karen Party? The streamers, napkins and cups. Ha.

  42. that was so cool that michael and andy come strolling in with some Asian waitresses. Im sure it was all Andy’s handy dandy work picking them up. Kinda like that time that Michael and packard met those twins and they took them back to the hotel and packard did it with both of them.

  43. oh, i just realized, the reruns start the day i go on vacation! yay for good timing!
    and 4 days till the office!

  44. That preview gave me “GooseBumps” hahahaha..OMG..I might be liking the Pam/Karent thing too…

  45. Even if Jim (or Pam) is honest with Karen at this point, it’s going to suck for her. Imagine your new boyfriend telling you that he was madly in love with your new work friend for years…but don’t worry, that was six months ago, and I’m so over it.

    Yeah, right. If I were Karen, I’d be gone from that situation so fast you’d see the smoke clouds kicking up behind me. ;)

  46. Pam should invite Karen to live with her to save rent money. I’d love to see Jim’s face at that news.

  47. mappy – I read in a Jenna interview (or maybe on her myspace blog) that all the actors have long term contracts. so they should be coming back for at least another season. also I think I heard that the ratings have been good this season. so there should be no reason for NBC to shut it down. if for some reason this was the last season, you and I can lead the strike. We’ll make picket signs and everything

    rachel (2) – “we haven’t seen any real evidence of a spark or connection” really?? cause that scene in “the Coup” where Jim throws the grenade to Karen, and she throws the paperclips in the air looked like a spark to me. Jenna even mentioned that the Pam in her was a bit heart broken during that scene. And as far as Karen’s dreams… I’d have to say that Karen’s dream is Jim. That’s what she really wants. I know there are allot of Karen haters out there, but its nice to see someone adore Jim

  48. This is NBC’s highest rated comedy, it’s not going anywhere other than on to more seasons.

  49. Samantha -54: Packer… We haven’t seen him since last Christmas.

    David Koechner does not have Benihana Christmas listed on imdb, I don’t think he’s in the episode.

  50. Yes, but Oscar is still listed as being in each episode although he hasn’t been in one since Gay Witch Hunt. We know he’s not gone for good, but he definitely hasn’t been IN the episodes, so maybe they aren’t naming everyone that’s in each episode, although my guess is that Packer probably isn’t in this one.

  51. in the first promo it shows Pam at her desk and someone is passed out on the floor (their legs are sticking out from behind the desk).

    any guess’s to who that might be??

  52. I can see it maybe being Roy too. like maybe he gets hammered and hangs out near Pam’s desk (cause he misses her). then ends up passing out on the floor.

  53. I saw a brief promo this afternoon with Andy and Big Tuna discussing something about men wearing tights in the middle ages. Anyone else catch this one?

  54. Back to the leg thing. I believe it may very well be Jim. The legs are too skinny to be Roy’s, plus Roy is wearing black pants, and the guy laying down has dark grey. So just look to see who has dark grey pants on. Jim, Michael?, Toby. Wow, I am looking to much into that.

  55. They had some extra footage that aired during the football game

    Michael and Phyllis were singing/gesturing with some star looking things

    Angela looking pissed (or normal, depending on your view lol)

    Pam hugs Roy (I think its Roy)

    Jim turning away (that may or may not happen directly after Pam hugs Roy, but the way the promo aired, it seemed like it was in direct relation to it.) He’s sitting down in a chair and kind of looks away from whatever he’s seeing, presumably Pam and Roy hugging

  56. OMG! I think those are Jim’s legs…he is wearing gray pants! What if he is passed out and murmurs how much he still loves PAM and Pam hears? That could be what was meant that the last 2 minutes of the show are so worth it! GO TEAM PAM!

  57. I’m not a huge Dwight fan, but when he says “It’s a Christmas Miracle” with such sincerity…over a dead goose…he can be quite endearing.

  58. Oh my god, that image of Michael and Jim laughing on the couch maybe the cutest thing I have ever seen.

    I’m so damn excited, the Season 2 Christmas episode was probably my favorite.

  59. And I agree, those legs do look like Jim’s. a) his pants, b) his chicken legs.

    But I somehow doubt he’ll be murmering admissions of love. I think that the last two minutes will be him letting down his defenses and sharing a nice moment with her.

  60. That party looks like fun, again for everybody except Angela… remember last crhistmas? she ended up kicking and crushing the ball ornaments while everybody got drunk. Good times!

  61. It’s so funny to read all of the postings and see that I’m not the only one dying for Thursday to get here. You all are like my Office support group! :)

  62. Ahh… the preview clips go by so fast, you can barely catch anything. I just hope those last two minutes really ARE “worth the wait”… Team Pam.

  63. I’m sure that the last two mintues will leave us all hanging and waiting with anticipation for the Jaunuary episodes. AH!

  64. i’m crossing my fingers that the last two minutes with have pam revealing why she really called off the wedding to jim. i think it’s her turn to step up.

  65. It should be interesting, that’s for sure. I just hope that it’s a positive ending and not one that leaves me feeling sad/frustrated.

  66. Roy is supposed to be in this episode… so this is my theory on what I think will happen. Jim will see Roy hanging around Pam and will assume they are getting back together. He will then get more into the idea of he and Karen, hense the “I’m finally able to start over” Then the last two minutes it will be just the two of them (Jim and Pam) preparing to leave and Jim will casually mention this to Pam (her getting back together with Roy) and she will say something along the lines of “I’m not back with Roy, don’t you get it? you’re the reason I called off the wedding” But then before they can get into any deep discussion about it, Karen will come back up looking for Jim saying “are you ready to go?” and he’ll say yeah, but he and Pam will be locked in a gaze and he will really want to stay to find out more about her feelings, but he’ll have to go with Karen. Yeah now that I’ve typed all that out and re-read it, it seems kind of far fetched… but oh well. haha.

  67. I could see something along those lines happening. You just know that it’s going to be one of those awkward but sweet encounters between the two of them at the end. I agree that Jim will probably see Pam w/ Roy and start clinging to Karen or vice versa. Hopefully there will be some clarification at the end of the episode.

  68. All I care is that it is positive whatever it is… and not like the feeling you had at the end of the merger… that was not a good feeling.

  69. yes – I’m hoping that they leave this episode with a positive vibe. It would suck for us to be depressed till they come back in Jan

  70. It will probably be one of those open to interpretation endings and we will all end up on here trying to make sense of it!

  71. I think I know how its going to end. since Pam and Karen join forces to crush Angela. They end up liking each other and both end up back at Jim’s place. The last scene will show Jim hooking up with Karen and Pam at the same time..

    well.. if I was the writer, that’s how I would end it =)

  72. Yeah it was really hard to watch. fingers crossed for a positive ending… I guess in a sense, whatever they have planned can’t be too major in moving the Jim and Pam plot along because we’ve already heard about Karen and Jim still being together in January AND no exit date set as of yet for Rashinda Jones.

  73. I watched Little Black Book on cable this weekend. Horrible movie, but Rashida Jones looked absolutely gorgeous in it.

  74. Yep, good point. I’m betting on another awkward moment.

    I wonder if John K. is seeing anyone right now. I hope that he dates either a nice, non-celeb or a likeable celeb. I would hate to see him w/a Britney/Paris type.

  75. “As of yet” being the operative words here… She (karen) WILL be leaving, and that’s keeping me going.

    I can somewhat see the writers leaving us totally baffled and confused (in turn, we’ll all be on here discussing at great lengths WHAT on earth they were thinking!) and then desperately longing for January.

    But then again – they left us with a sunken heart at the end of “The Merger”, but the next episode with “The Convict”, our hopes were sky-high again because of the subtle but hopeful interactions between Jim and Pam. So I have a feeling the next bunch of episodes are going to be up and down, up and down, in terms of Jim, Pam and Karen and us wondering.

  76. Yeah, I would like to see him with someone down to earth. Does anyone know when his movie w/ Mandy Moore comes out? I bet that they have good chemistry together.

  77. I’m with you guys about praying for an ending that doesn’t leave us feeling crushed. That’s what was so wonderful about the season 2 Christmas episode. It started out a little rough, but by the end I was smiling. I’m hoping this episode has the same joyful/’this-office-isn’t-so-bad’ kind of feel to it.

    Ps; TEAM PAM, FTW!

  78. speaking of last year’s christmas episode, wasn’t it supposed to play as a repeat last week when we had no new episode on?? I looked for it and could not find it.

  79. I watched the Christmas episode over the weekend and it cracked me up. I love when Kevin holds up the mini tree and smiles at the camera. It’s classic!

    Happy Birthday Jesus, sorry your party is so lame.

    HA!

  80. in the promo scene where Jim hugs Karen. It looks both Karen and Jim are holding DVDS. like they got each other the same gift or something….

  81. also it looks like there’s a scene where Dwight is on his knees holding the Kareoke mic up to Angela. She’s either singing, or refusing to sing…

    ah man…. is it Thurs yet? I can’t take this anymore!

  82. yes it does say that.
    I was talking about the gift that Jim and Karen give each other. It looks like their both holding DVDs (just before they hug)

    also.. Karen looks super excited to get a gift from Dwight.. that’s kinda strange

  83. I wonder if there is a secret santa or if its just a bunch of random gift buying.

  84. I wonder if it’s just random. If Pam got Jim in secret santa that would be funny since he got her last year. Excuse me…Yaaanke swap :)

  85. wow I wonder how they’re gonna fit everything in, even with it being a one hour special, based upon everything we’ve seen so far, plus I’m sure they’ve left some surprises.

  86. I wish that every week was a 60 minute episode. 30 minutes flies by and then I start thinking about the following Thursday.

  87. two words: TEAM PAM

    we will wait…it may be long and tough, but we will wait then be rewarded!

    : )

  88. Shelby – then you will wait forever, because Pam is not brave enough to go after what she wants. Just like Jim told her in the “Boys & Girls” episode last season…. “you have to take a chance on something, sometime”

    in Jenna’s ALIVE mag interview she said that the difference between her and Pam, is that she would prob already be married to Jim.

    GO TEAM KAREN!!!

  89. I’m sure that in the end Pam and Jim will end up together. I pray that this show has a very long run but when it’s all said and done I can’t imagine them not being together. That would let down thousands of fans that are waiting for them to finally come together. As much as I hate the hot and cold behavior if they had them come together now it would end one of the most intriguing storylines.

  90. One of the spoilers in one of the reviews that has been published (GMMR and the other one) was that Jim will talk to Michael about rebound relationships. I wonder, will he be resigned to the fact that he is in one, or will he say that he waited a while before getting involved with someone again in order to insure it wouldn’t be one (a rebound relationship).

    I’m really really antsy now… I don’t feel like I can wait any longer… I want it to be on tonight!

  91. Did you read the “Back from Vacation” description? I can’t wait for that! A fight w/ Pam in the middle…how juicy!

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