Grid Effect

We have three series’ to recap, a nightly preview that we need to get too and a whole set of news items that we’re behind on. Not to mention we’re jam packed with an excessive amount of work at the day job, that really goes beyond our paygrade.

But we’ll start with the most pertinent of items. That is, The Office Super Bowl episode. Some expressed concern that the focus on loading the episode with A-list celebrity cameos might result in something of a letdown. As it turned out, and we probably should have been enlightened enough to realize, those cameos were nothing more than a marketing tool to attract potential new viewers. If I was one of the people that didn’t regularly watch the show, but tuned in because I heard Jessica Alba was going to be in it, I would have been severly pissed off.

Stuck with the regulars last night.

For the rest of us Office faithful, it didn’t deter from office antics and if anything, the pirated movie subplot was forced into the script by the producers (or so it seems). There was a real focus on physical comedy last night and it was executed perfectly. The cold open with the escalating panic to a fire in the office and Dwight’s monologue beforehand (”today, smoking is going to save lives” and later in the scramble, “have you ever seen a burn victim?” and the bags of stolen chips Kevin took out of the vending machine that fall out of his pockets when he assists Jim in pulling Michael off Stanley) is already beig lauded as one of the best this series has produced.

But for us, the CPR segment that goes  awry was infinitely funnier. Between Andy’s acapella rendition of “Staying Alive”, Dwight’s Buffalo Bill-ing of the CPR dummy and Michael’s “No arms or legs is basically how you exist right now Kevin, you don’t do anything” and “No, Karen, they’re not breathing, nor do they have any limbs. Where are they?”, Michael referring to the Red Cross as a racket, Kevin proclaiming “Call it” when he was tired of mimicking CPR, of  I actually doubled over laughing.

The episode stood on its own, so this episode does appeal to those unfamiliar with it if they enjoy this brand of humor (even if they were disappointed by the lack of Alba, Black of Leechman) but manage to keep all the pathos that make up these characters and how they function. Nothing was compromised in their attempt to lasso in any viewers, and instead of altering what the series is really about, they just enhanced what they already excel in. That is, among other things, displaying Michael Scott’s insecurities.

Though the roast went predictably with people unleashing various degrees of venom and Michael being unable to cope with the backlash that he asked for, it didn’t make it any less in tune with the character. Throughout the series Michael has always said he views the workplace as a family in an effort to compensate for the family he lacks in his personal life, so the plan was defunct from the beginning. But his reaction to it and the following delayed retort roasting kind of summed up his slow realization that while he does cares deeply about the people who work for him, that the feeling isn’t necessarily mutual. The majority of the office doesn’t wish him any ill-will, but if they didn’t have to see Michael on a daily basis then they most definitely wouldn’t.

Pam’s parents getting a divorce rounded out the series hitting on all its strong points, as that obviously has a built in demographic for it (read: lots and lots of women). We thought the whole thing was set up nicely even though I can’t think of any two guys I know who would have exchanges like Jim and Pam’s father had off camera, but it closed on one of those melodramatic notes that might seem to be happening in abundance this season. For a previous example, see Jim buying his parents old house from them and the unveiling of it to Pam.

Other notes:

-The two scenes at corporate with David Wallace, and Dwight’s under-selling the significance of starting a fire, his explanation for why he carved the face off the CPR dummy and Michael’s cinematic long gaze out the window with him muttering “the city” under his breath was one of those moments for those who are familiar with the characters.

“I could not because I did not feel it…Yeah, right. I filled with full of butter and sugar and forced him not to excercise for thirty years” -Dwight, explaining why he couldn’t memorize his succinct apology and innoculating himself of any culpability for Stanley’s heart attack.

-Leslie David Baker was given more camera time than any of the other bit players, and he used it successfully. We loved the coffin line and the conclusion that he is going to die because he can’t relax around the people he works with.

This was probably the best episode of the season, which is ideal (just ask the NFL about how great it is to have your best show of the year on Super Bowl Sunday). Occasionally the hour long episodes can drone on and be loaded with filler, last night they utilized every last second of their run time and set aside the ploy to attract viewers with the pirated movie, this was a flawless episode.

Nightly preview later today.