From Wikipedia:

SECRET SANTA | 12.10.09

Michael is outraged when Jim allows Phyllis to be Santa at the office Christmas party. Jim and Dwight try to get everyone into the holiday spirit despite the uncertainty with Dunder Mifflin. Meanwhile, Oscar has a secret crush.

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It's Christmas time again, and the new season brings a new holiday themed episode.  I loved the original Christmas Party, enjoyed Benihana Christmas, and was pretty disappointed in Moroccan Christmas last year.  Hopefully Secret Santa can recapture some of that past magic.  I tend to be pretty split on many Mindy Kaling written episodes, so I guess we'll see how things turn out.

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

In the last two seasons, our hero Jim Halpert won the girl, got the big promotion and upgraded to a suit. These were all things fans were happy about. It was encouraging. But wanting romantic tension to be relieved is never as satisfying as the relief.

All of Jim and Pam's witty asides and eyerolls in response to their officemates' antics have stopped being expressions of untapped potential and started to look like passive-aggressive attempts to undermine their peers—who are the only people who will socialize with them.

Now Jim has developed into the most depressing archetype: a mediocre man who has already realized his full potential.

Gone is Jim's charming lack of enthusiasm for his job. Now he's proving exactly where a lack of drive is likely to lead you—to the mediocrity of middle management, where one is gripped by the fear of losing whatever corner of inanity you've carved for yourself in the workplace.

From Wikipedia:

SCOTT'S TOTS | 12.03.09

Written by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky. Directed by B. J. Novak.

Michael (Steve Carell) is forced to face the music after he realizes he can't keep a promise he made to a group of kids 10 years ago. Meanwhile, Jim (John Krasinski) starts an employee of the month program to increase employee morale.

Definitely curious to see what exactly this "promise" entails, although it sounds like this might be pretty heavy on the "awkward" humor that many people love (and I tend to not be too thrilled with).  Shall we assume Michael promised to pay these kids' way through college, or something equally ridiculous?  Michael always has loved making people happy and promising things.  It's that damn FOLLOW THROUGH that always seems to kick him in the butt...

Lee and Gene wrote this season's (arguably) best episode THE LOVER, and B. J. Novak is hot off his directorial work on SUBTLE SEXUALITY, so I hold out high hopes for tonight's installment.

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

From Wikipedia:

SHAREHOLDER MEETING | 11.19.09

Michael gets excited when he's invited by David Wallace to be honored on stage at the Dunder Mifflin shareholder meeting in New York, and he brings Andy, Dwight and Oscar along for the ride. Meanwhile, Jim has a hard time getting Ryan to do work.

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With the big bankruptcy bomb dropped last week, I'm curious as to what David Wallace thinks Michael can do for the failing Dunder Mifflin.  We enjoyed the Andy and Oscar action last season on BUSINESS TRIP, so hopefully we'll see some nice bonding moments this time as well.  As we mentioned in the last podcast, Ryan really put the screws to Jim in season four, so it would be interesting to see if Jim turns that around on him here.  He never really DID get his revenge, but Ryan has become such a different character since then that I'm not sure if it would still be a relevant thing to do.  I guess we shall see tonight.

I'm probably NOT going to be able to make it into the chatroom tonight, but don't let that stop you from talking to all the other TWSS listeners.  Kevin should be around during and after the Pacific time showing, though, if you Eastern/Central folks want to wait around.  As always, please leave your episode comments below.

Or should that be "muckduck"?

From Wikipedia:

MURDER | 11.12.09

Michael's world is rocked by troubling rumors about Dunder Mifflin. He forces the office into a day of strange diversions, upsetting Jim and leading others to wonder if Michael has gone insane. Meanwhile, Andy finds that his chief obstacle in courting Erin is his own awkwardness.

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This description is actually so baffling that I have abslutely no guess as to what could be going on with the Michael "A" plot.  Guess I'll just have to strap myself in and enjoy the ride.

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) are out of excuses so they have no choice but to go out with Michael (Steve Carell) and Helene (Linda Purl), Pam's mother. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is strangely doing nice things for everyone in the office.

As Kevin mentioned in the last podcast, the "Jim and Pam finally run out of excuses and have to go on a date" thing definitely smacks of DINNER PARTY from season four.  Don't get me wrong, I loved THE LOVER, but that was mostly an episode about the CONCEPT of Michael dating Pam's mom.  I hope when we get to see the "real thing" that it doesn't get too weird to take.  I enjoyed the last few episodes, though, so I am curious to see what they can pull off tonight.

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

From Wikipedia:

KOI POND | 10.29.09

It's Halloween and the Office plans a Haunted House for the kids in the community. At an important business meeting, Michael falls into a Koi Pond. Meanwhile, Pam and Andy go cold-calling to try to stir up some new business.

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I mentioned on the podcast how odd it struck me that Reggie Hudlin was tapped to direct this episode, as nothing in his past experience seems to scream "The Office."  Still, he worked on THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, and so did Paul Liberstein, so maybe that's the connection.  In any case, hopefully Hudlin will bring something new to the plate.

This is billed as a "Halloween" episode, but I'm guessing it's going to be EXACTLY like last season, with only the cold open having anything to do with the holiday.  Michael falling into a pond has the potential to be as ridiculous as the "driving into a lake" plot line from season four, and once again they'll have to walk a fine line to keep the episode from being TOO ridiculous.  Here's hoping. The Pam and Andy stuff has a great deal of potential.

Jim and Pam return from their honeymoon and are shocked when Michael reveals the identity of a woman he has been dating recently. Dwight makes a strange peace offering to Jim after years of torment.

This plot line has the potential to go horribly, horribly wrong if not handled correctly-- I almost wonder how they could possibly surprise us with the way this story will play out.  Can't we already imagine it? Pam (and Jim) are disgusted, Michael acts like Pam's father, etc., etc.  I hope writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky can wring something new out of a rather tired premise.  The Dwight plotline sounds interesting, and hopefully it connects back into the season long arc of "Dwight getting revenge on Jim" that they've ignored for the past few episodes.

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

Hey, NBC.com-- any time you want to update your "Next On" page, just let me know.

From Wikipedia:

MAFIA | 10.15.09

Michael meets with an insurance salesman and is convinced by Dwight and Andy that he is part of the mafia. Erin accidentally ruins Pam's painting.

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I'm still awash in thoughts of "Niagara," so I can barely think about this new episode.  From what I recall Paul Lieberstein saying before the season began, the events in "Mafia" come about due to Jim and Pam being on their honeymoon-- when the voices of reason are away, the idiots will play.  Hopefully things don't get too broad and ridiculous here, as the traditional "Sopranos/Mafia/Godfather" stuff has been mined so often in other media.  Can they find a fresh take on this? Let's hope so.

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

NBC.com STILL hasn't bothered to update their "next on" page since "The Meeting," so once again this comes from Wikipedia:


NIAGARA | 10.08.09 | 9/8c (one hour)

The Office travels to Niagara Falls to celebrate Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam's (Jenna Fischer) wedding. Michael (Steve Carell), Dwight (Rainn Wilson), and Andy (Ed Helms) all want to hook up with guests at the wedding and Michael and Dwight meet twins.

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So here we are-- the culmination of five years of Jim and Pam romance.  NBC is promoting this as "the happy ending," but that seems kind of bizarre to me since we still have twenty or so episodes left in the season, and who knows how many more after that.  Still, OK, I get it. We all have (or HAD) a big emotional investment in these characters, and this DOES seem like it should be a big deal, but part of me feels like I am just really over this whole thing.  I remember saying that at the end of season three, though, and "The Job" managed to win me back, so maybe tonight's hour long ep will make my grinchy heart grow ten sizes.

What do you guys think? Are you excited for this? Have you been looking forward to it, or is it just an hour of "been there, done that"?

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments section below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the show to share your thoughts (click on the green "chat" button in the right sidebar).

NBC.com hasn't bothered to update yet, so via Wikipedia:

THE PROMOTION | 10.01.09 | 9/8c

David Wallace breaks the bad news that not everyone will get a raise this year. Dwight reaches his breaking point with Jim and looks to the rest of the office for allies. Pam would like cash instead of wedding gifts.

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Kevin and I speculated on this episode in the last podcast, and I hope the writers really explore this "Dwight's revenge" angle to a satisfactory conclusion-- after all these years of Jim's shenanigans, it'd be nice to see the tables be turned and see how Halpert deals with jerky employees who don't want to do their jobs. Sweet, sweet karma, don't fail me now!

As always, join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom before and after the show (I'll be taking the Eastern and Central times, while Kevin will handle the Pacific). Just click on the GREEN button in the right side-bar, enter your nickname, and chat away. Hope to see you there.

TOBY AND DWIGHT GO UNDERCOVER FOLLOWING AN INCIDENT IN THE WAREHOUSE -- A request by Jim (John Krasinski) leaves Michael (Steve Carell) feeling insecure and defensive. Meanwhile, Pam (Jenna Fischer) deals with the guest list for the wedding, and Dwight convinces Toby (Paul Lieberstein) to investigate Darryl's (Craig Robinson) worker's comp claim. Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nuñez, Creed Bratton, Ellie Kemper, Andy Buckley also star.

Well, here we go again! Season six is upon us, and if you're like me, you've stayed away from ALL of the promo clips and other information on tonight's season premiere.

From NBC.com:

MICHAEL GETS CAUGHT UP IN OFFICE GOSSIP - Michael (Steve Carell) feels left out as the rest of the office gossips about the summer interns. While Michael searches for the next juicy rumor to share, Andy (Ed Helms) struggles with heterosexuality. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Brian Baumgartner, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nuñez, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein, B.J. Novak and Ellie Kemper also star.

--------------------

Both Kevin and I were pretty skeptical about this JAM-bino plot in the finale, so I am really curious to see how that whole thing plays out this season.  Is it too much to ask that the writers knock the first pitch of the season out of the park? 

As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.

Yes, we'd sure appreciate it if you'd order the season five DVD/blu-ray set through the TWSS Amazon link to your right, but we understand if you're one of those people looking to take advantage of the exclusives and extras the various big box stores throw your way.

Case in point-- Best Buy, after offering the "fun run" pack last year, is back with more Schrute Farms crap than you can shake a beet at:


Included in the pack is the DVD set, a beet shaped stress ball, a "do not disturb" door hanger, a mousepad, magnet, and t-shirt.  The set is available in limited quantities, and will be selling for $41.99 when it drops on Tuesday.

Target is offering their own exclusive, which includes Michael Scott Paper Company graphics, "a 45-minute interview with the writers, plus a script and inspirational cast magnets." Price is $39.99, and will also be dropping this Tuesday.

This also leads into a difficult decision for me-- now that I own a PS3, do I spend the extra $10 for the blu-ray versions? You don't get any of the fancy extra shirts or magnets, but you do get the wonderful HD picture for $41.99/42.99 at Best Buy/Target.

According to Jeremy Piven's Twitter feed, he and "The Goods" co-star Ed Helms are set to host Monday night's WWE Raw.

Technically, Piven didn't name names, but said "With me tomorrow night on Raw is a gentleman u know from 'The hangover' and he also has a day job." Seems like a pretty obvious hint.

I'm not a wrestling fan by any stretch of the imagination, but these two guys might be interesting enough to get me to tune in.

The 2009 Emmy Award nominees were released this week, and while there are plenty of old guard classics filling the lists, there are also a few surprises-- especially in the "Best Comedy Series" category, which sees its first animated program since 1961 with a nod to Family Guy.  Joining Seth McFarlane's controversial show on the "best" list are Entourage (great), Flight of the Conchords (great), Weeds (never seen it), How I Met Your Mother (don't find it funny), and of course 30 Rock (great) and THE OFFICE.

Steve Carell is once again nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, and Rainn Wilson gets another nod in the Best Supporting Actor category.  Unfortunately, Carell is up against fellow NBC powerhouse Alec Baldwin as well as Jemaine Clement from FOTC, Jim Parsons from The Big Bang Theory, Tony Shaloub from Monk, and Charlie Sheen for Two and a Half Men.  It's funny to see Clement nominated without Bret Mackenzie, since the show is such a duo.  Anyone who watches TBBT surely appreciates Parson's turn as "Sheldon," but is it enough to take the trophy? While Sheen's show grabs big numbers, it's surely scoffed at by most in the Hollywood comedy elite. Shaloub used to own this category, but momentum tells me Baldwin with continue to be the odds on favorite.

Rainn Wilson faces an equally tough crop, including Jon Cryer, from Two and a Half Men, Kevin Dillon from Entourage, Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother, and Jack McBrayer and Tracy Morgan from 30 Rock.  Jeremy Piven, the usual winner, wasn't even nominated this year, so the category is a bit more wide open than in the past-- I know the internet seems to lap up most anything NPH does, but I've just never found his horn-dog "Barney" character to be amusing in the least. As for Cryer, see Charlie Sheen in the above paragraph. Jack McBrayer is amusing as Kenneth, of course, but he's definitely a smaller part of 30 Rock's success. I love me some Johnny Drama, but I'd probably lay money on Tracy Morgan taking it home

So what do you guys think? Do the Office boys have a snowball's chance? Was season five of The Office funny enough to overthrow the competition?  Let us know.

For a full list of all the 2009 Emmy nominations, go HERE.

Let's Get Sexy with Craig Robinson from Craig Robinson

Here are the details of the forthcoming Season 5 DVD for The Office. The set will be released on September 8th.

5 discs, 606 minutes; $59.98 SRP; Anamorphic Widescreen; English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround; English and Spanish Subtitles

Bonus Material:

-Weight Loss Commentary with Randy Cordray, Michael Gallenberg, Brian Wittle, Nick Carbone, Ben Patrick, Alysia Raycraft, Kelly Cantley, and Jake Aust

-Business Ethics Commentary with BJ Novak, Peter & Vartan, and Sergio & Alan

-Employee Transfer Commentary with Dave Rogers, Anthony Farrell, Veda Semarne, Chuck Canzoneri, Kyle Alexander, and Phil Shea

-Customer Survey Commentary with Stephen Merchant, Paul Lieberstein and Mindy Kaling

-Moroccan Christmas Commentary with Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, and Brian Baumgartner

-The Duel Commentary with Rainn Wilson, Rusty Mahmood, Jennifer Celotta, and Dean Holland

-Dream Team Commentary with BJ Novak, Aaron Shure, Charlie Grandy, and Matt Sohn

-Michael Scott Paper Company Commentary with Jenna Fischer, Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg, and Justin Spitzer

-Casual Friday Commentary with Creed Bratton, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Brent Forrester, and Claire Scanlon

-Company Picnic Commentary with Paul Lieberstein, Ken Kwapis and Jennifer Cellota

Other stuff:

-Gag Reel
-Deleted Scenes on each disc
-Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Presents The Office
-Superbowl Ads
-Olympic Promos
-Webisodes

Please help support the podcast by pre-ordering the DVD set through our Amazon link (located to your right), or by clicking HERE.

We've been following "Away We Go" for many months now, and after a limited debut on June 5th, the film will start rolling out across the country very soon.


For those of you who have been living under a rock, rottentomatoes.com offers this summary:

Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple...  Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [The Office] and Maya Rudolph [Saturday Night Live), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover home on their own terms for the first time. The movie features the music of Alexi Murdoch.

So far, reviews have been mixed yet decidedly positive-- it's currently sitting at 65% "Fresh" on the RottenTomatoes page, and at a slightly more worrying 57% on Metacritic.

Critical icon Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5/4 stars in his Sun-Times review today, calling it:

"...a film for nice people to see. Nice people also go to “Terminator Salvation,” but it doesn’t make them any nicer. “Away We Go” opened last week in New York and Los Angeles, and now rolls out after lukewarm reviews accusing Verona and Burt of being smug, superior and condescending. These are not sins if you have something to be smug about and much reason to condescend [...] If their characters find they are superior to many people, well, maybe they are. “This movie does not like you,” sniffs Tony Scott of the New York Times. Perhaps with good reason."

I'm not going to get into my thoughts on the finale until we do the podcast, but I've seen this crop up in various blog postings and forums and thought it was worth asking:

Has THE OFFICE jumped the shark with the JAM plotline in the finale?

According to Wikipedia, "jumping the shark" is "a colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations. This usually corresponds to the point where a show with falling ratings apparently becomes more desperate to draw viewers in. In the process of undergoing these changes, the TV or movie series loses its original appeal. Shows that have "jumped the shark" are typically deemed to have passed their peak."

They did it, in which two main characters have sex, particularly if their sexual tension was deemed part of the show's appeal. (Ex: Who's The Boss? or I Dream of Jeannie)

But I think many people agree that the writers managed to keep the show afloat despite having JAM officially hook up.  CAN they do it again with this pregnancy plot?  Do you actually look forward to a Mini-Halpert on the show? How do you think this will play out? Will they dare pull a "miscarriage" plot of some sort?

Give us your opinions below and we'll definitely reference them in  TWSS #72!

SEASON FINALE - THE SCRANTON OFFICE REPRESENTS AT THE COMPANY PICNIC - OSCAR NOMINEE AMY RYAN ("Gone Baby Gone") AND IDRIS ELBA ("The Wire") GUEST STAR - It's the annual Dunder Mifflin company picnic and Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) and Holly (guest star Amy Ryan) are reunited, and Michael has some big plans for her. Meanwhile, the office competes in the picnic's volleyball tournament. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein and B.J. Novak also star.

Well, here were are once again for yet another season finale.  What a long, strange trip season five has been-- it feels like we've had about 4-5 "mini-arcs" worth of plot twists this year, and hopefully most of them will come together in COMPANY PICNIC.  The MSPC plotline really made me forget about Holly, so will the magic still be there tonight?  Will Charles Miner finally receive that karmic payback we never got during BROKE? Are they going to be able to tell a satisfying season finale story in a meager 21 minutes?

As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.

*BONUS FUN FACT: Did you know that some people believe the word "picnic" has a racist etymology, and have actually protested its use? Check out the entry at Snopes.com (it's not true) for the straight dope!

MICHAEL BRINGS COFFEE AND DANCING TO THE OFFICE - Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) gets into the café/disco scene. Meanwhile, Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinski) decide to take a secret trip. Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein and B.J. Novak also star.

As I mentioned in the last podcast, I can't think of a dumber sounding plot than Michael bringing coffee and "disco" to the office.  Still, from the humblest acorns, mighty oaks grow. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.  As for the "B" plot-- a huge thanks to NBC for spoiling that for me during LAW & ORDER last night.  Idiots. Of course, it COULD just be a fake-out, but either way, I feel extremely annoyed. Sigh.

As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.

NBC has Tina Fey-style plans for "The Office's" Mindy Kaling, signing the multihyphenate to an overall deal with the Peacock and Universal Media Studios.

Under terms of the two-year, seven-figure deal, Kaling will continue to write for and appear on "The Office" next season while simultaneously developing a comedy in which she would also star.

"This is my first step in a Transformers-style way to take over the whole world," Kaling quipped. "I've only ever worked for NBC, and I've felt an enormous amount of support from the executives there."

Much like "30 Rock" star-exec producer Fey, Kaling is known for both her writing and acting skills. Behind the scenes, Kaling is a co-exec producer on "The Office," having written notable episodes including "The Dundies," "Diwali" and this season's "Golden Ticket."

On camera, Kaling stars as Kelly Kapoor, the chatty customer service representative at paper company Dunder Mifflin.

NBC primetime entertainment prexy Angela Bromstad called Kaling "a rare and unique talent."

"Her comic sensibility is perfect for what we stand for in NBC comedy," Bromstad said.

Kaling, who notes that her time at "The Office" has been akin to going through "the Greg Daniels Graduate School of Writing," said her tastes now skew in the single-camera comedy direction -- but that she isn't opposed to writing a multicamera laffer.

In kicking around different development ideas, Kaling said she's drawn to workplace comedies but is also interested in buddy shows in the vein of "Flight of the Conchords."

"I've always wanted to do another show about women," said Kaling, whose past credits include writing the WB pilot "Mindy and Brenda," along with Brenda Withers, for Carsey-Werner and Steve Martin. That project was about two female best friends straight out of college.

Kaling has been with "The Office" since the show's launch. As an actress, she has appeared as Richard Lewis' assistant in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and on film in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Unaccompanied Minors" and "License to Wed."

Kaling is repped by UTA and 3 Arts.

MICHAEL IS TORN BETWEEN HIS TWO SALES GROUPS - Michael has to mediate a dispute within his new sales team. Meanwhile, trouble brews in the office when several employees take the term "casual" Fridays too loosely. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton, B.J. Novak and Paul Lieberstein also star.

As mentioned in yesterday's podcast, I can't help but think these last few episodes might be a bit of a let down after the thrilling rollercoaster ride that was the Michael Scott Paper Company plotline.  Can an episode about dressing too casually on a Friday REALLY stand up to our newly reborn expectations of excellence?  I will be hoping for the best, but writer Anthony Q. Farrell (who has written only one other episode, "Employee Transfer," and a few of the "Kevin's Loan" webisodes) has a LOT to live up to.

One hundred episodes? Not too shabby, "crappy" American spin-off that had nothing on the UK version. On a less sarcastic note, congrats to the cast and crew.  Looking forward to another hundred.

"Lights Out" centers on Patrick "Lights Out" Leary (McCallany), an aging former heavyweight boxing champion who struggles to find his identity and support his wife (Hardin), a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, and three daughters after his fighting days are over.

That leads him to take a job as a legbreaker, collecting on unpaid gambling debts. He is diagnosed with pugilistic dementia (a neurological disorder that affects boxers who receive multiple blows to the head), so he decides he'll need to make another big payday to support himself and his family before his brain turns to jelly.

Dream Team

The Michael Scott Paper Company

MICHAEL TAKES GOOFING OFF TO A NEW LEVEL - IDRIS ELBA ("The Wire") GUEST STARS - Michael's (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) relationship with the new vice president (guest star Idris Elba) becomes increasingly tense, as Michael finds an excuse to goof off even more than usual. Meanwhile, Pam (Jenna Fischer) faces the challenge of a new copier and Kelly (Mindy Kaling) develops a crush. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.

Well, LOTS of questions to be answered in tonight's episode-- what will Michael do now? How the reign of Charles Miner be overturned? What, exactly, will happen to all of those figs?  Can't wait to see how this all plays out.

As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.

There was big controversy in some fan forums this week as some suggested that Michael Scott didn't really "quit" in last week's episode, "New Boss." Instead, they surmised that he said "I acquit."  Matt and I discussed this on TWSS Podcast Episode #66 and indicated that we didn't think it was "acquit" and that moreover if that really was what Michael said it might be a "jump the shark" moment.

I'm pleased to report that The Office's cutest cast blogger has settled the controversy. Jenna Fischer writes in her MySpace blog:

Jenna there is crazy Controversy if Micheal said "I quit" or "I acquit".  Look at any message board, it's crazy.  Can you please set the record straight? – Erock from Fenton, MO

He said “I quit”.  And he meant it.  You will see how it all plays out this week on the show.

I'm sure we'll all the info we need on tonight's episode. But for those who really want to know, we can thank Jenna for being plugged into the concerns of the fans.

Also, with Brian Baumgartner and Melora Hardin joining Twitter in recent weeks, I predict Jenna Fischer will be Twittering by April 15th.

Michael Ausiello over at EW.com has posted yet another big spoiler regarding The Office.  I'm not going to say anything, other than to drop a hint that it concerns the hiring of a new character to replace one that is leaving in some way (and it's not Michael).

From Yahoo! TV (because NBC.com hasn't bothered to update):

Michael has big plans for his 15th anniversary party at Dunder Mifflin, but is in for a shock when the new, no-nonsense Vice President (THE WIRE's Idris Elba) has some ideas of his own. Meanwhile, Jim's prank on Dwight has some unexpected results.

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Well, we've been asking for it for months, and the time has finally come-- Michael has a new boss (if only for 6 episodes). Gotta say, the "wacky Michael must deal with a straight-laced superior" vibe seems like the same old thing we've had since season one.  I'm hoping that the writers will surprise me and use this new character to pump some life into the tired dynamic.  Despite what I said on the last podcast, this episode was written by the classic team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and is being directed by Mr. Freaks & Geeks himself, Paul Feig. With that combination, I'm hoping this episode can bring a smile to Thursday Matt's tired, bitter face.

As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during and after the episode airs.

As mentioned in Episode #65, here's the link to the LA Times article which suggested the only way to "save" the show is to give Michael Scott his walking papers.  Check it out HERE and let us know what you think.

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Also, the trailer for AWAY WE GO has hit the web.  For those who've forgotten, AWG is a comedy from director Sam Mendes starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as a set of newlyweds looking for the perfect place in America to raise their child. Be sure to check out Johnny K's funky-fresh beard and spectacles look!

As mentioned in TWSS #64, a new video is available that may be of interest to fans of The Office. In fact, it marks a major milestone in the popularity of the show. The Office is now the basis of a parody porno video.

Adult movie reviews won't be a regular feature on TWSS but for Office fans with a liberal views on such things, The Office: an XXX Parody from New Sensations may be a turn on. Written and directed by Lee Roy Myers, the 2.5 hour hardcore feature includes thinly veiled characatures of our Dunder Mifflin favorites in an office setting with which we are familiar. Instead of Michael Scott, the "World's Bust Boss" is Michelle Scott (star Ashlynn Brooke). The receptionist is named "Sam" and a salesman is named "Dwyane." Are you seeing a pattern?  Of course, Kevin is still Kevin and Jim is Jimmy, so the renaming thing only goes so far. And, unfortunately, there's no Stanley, Andy, Phyllis, Creed, or warehouse characters.  In this video Oscar is straight, which might be a plus or a minus depending on your tastes.

The film features a mix of humor with adult-oriented parody moments about The Office, including a hilarious and completely non-sexual scene between the faux Jim and faux Dwight. But much of the subject matter does quickly migrate into XXX territory. For example, Michelle calls everyone to the conference room for a hands-on sexual harassment seminar that features a stripper with very loose morals.

As for the adult content I wouldn't call myself an expert in this genre but I am thinking this isn't exactly hall of fame material. Probably the best mix of humor and titillation is provided in a scene where the faux Toby finally gets to "stick it to the boss," along with a faux Holly. And, of course, there are several versions of "that's what she said" in the video.

The DVD features menus and packaging very reminiscent of NBC's version, and there are bloopers and interviews along with an iPod-compatible version of the movie on the second disc. But, really, are DVD extras going to make a difference? Either you've decided you have to see this, or you're shaking your head in disgust.

Trailer, photos, and more info - not safe for work

From NBC.com:

MICHAEL'S 'GOLDEN TICKET' IDEA CAUSES QUITE A STIR - Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) causes a huge problem in the office when he comes up with the idea to put "golden tickets" into packages of paper for clients to redeem for discounts. Andy (Ed Helms), Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) give Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) differing advice on wooing a woman. Rainn Wilson, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.

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As always, leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS CHATROOM during and after the episode.

Also, NBC posted some all-new cast photos from season five. Check them out HERE.

After seeing Rainn Wilson's profile raised considerably by his popular Twitter account, Mindy Kaling (not Kelly fierce) is finally on Twitter.   The service allows big stars or actually anyone to send short but important messages.

Among Kaling's first posts: I am looking for hot, but practical underwear. The kind you reach for instinctively but also won't make my boyfriend throw up. Suggestions?

Yes, that's the kind of urgent and important information to be found on Twitter. Of course, you can follow Matt and myself if you so choose.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR...SORT OF - It's Valentine's Day at the office. Michael (Steve Carell) meets a mysterious woman at a Valentine's blood drive. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) pair up with single women at the office "Lonely Hearts Party." Meanwhile Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) are banished from the office for being too publicly affectionate, and have an awkward lunch with Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) and Bob (Robert Ray Shafer). Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Paul Lieberstein and Creed Bratton also star.

Ah, who DOESN'T love a good Valentine's Day story in March? Bizarre scheduling aside, I'm looking forward to tonight's episode as it seems rife with comedic possibilities (plus, this will be my first official episode of The Office on my new HDTV).

As always, post your comments below, and join us in the NEW and IMPROVED TWSS Chatroom after the show.

Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor on The Office) participated in an online chat with OfficeTally yesterday. Here are some of the more interesting details.

Lecture Circuit was originally envisioned as a regular one-part episode. When the first cut of the episode came in at 42 minutes, meaning it would be extremely difficult to cut down to 21 minutes for airing. Greg Daniels then went to the network to see about turning this into a two-part episode, and the network agreed.  As an outcome of the episode expansion, the Andy and Angela storylines were hastily added and shot the next week. All of which basically reinforces the observations on the last podcast that these two storylines seem shoehorned in. They were. Literally.

A reader asked about the twitter.com/iamkellyfiece account, assumed to be written by Kaling herself. However, Kaling noted that the posts are being written by two writers assistants. Kaling said she would reconsider twittering in the future.

Kaling confirmed we'll see more of Jan Levenson (Melora Hardin) in future episodes, and in a bombshell moment confirmed that Amy Ryan will return as Holly Flax! She wasn't sure for how many episodes, but noted she will appear in at least one this season. One wonders if the key part of that statement is "this season," leaving Holly fans everywhere thinking that more appearances next season are a possibility. I guess we'll see.

Lastly, Kaling mentioned that she loved Ed Helms' 1-2-3-4 song from Lecture Circuit like I did.  You can view the entire transcript at:

While you're waiting for the new episode of TWSS, why not enjoy the latest offering from PRI's THE SOUND OF YOUNG AMERICA?  Host Jesse Thorn always offers interesting interviews with various media personalities, and this week he is talking with Larry Wilmore.  Wilmore, the creator of THE PJ'S and THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, is perhaps best known to office nerds as "Mr. Brown" from season one's "Diversity Day" or as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on THE DAILY SHOW.

LECTURE CIRCUIT (Part 2) | 02.12.09 | 9/8c PT | TV-PG L

TOUR OF THE BRANCHES (PART TWO) - Michael (Steve Carell) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) continue their tour of the branches with Michael taking a lesson from their visit to Utica. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Jim (John Krasinski) struggle to fulfill their new party planning duties with a grumpy staff. Angela's (Angela Kinsey) new cat causes a stir. Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.

Hm.  Huge Holly fan that I am, I was initially thrilled by the cliffhanger ending last week.  Unfortunately, I am starting to think that the writers are going to pull something-- some "lesson" about how Holly left and won't be there or something along those lines-- that is going to leave me an unhappy camper.  I dearly hope I am wrong, but since we haven't gotten any leaks or announcements about Amy Ryan coming back to the show (think about how long in advance we knew that Karen would be back) I am fearing the worst.  Still, I enjoyed the "Jwight" dynamic last week immensely, and even if Holly is gone I hope those two knuckleheads will keep the smile on my face.

As always, join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chatroom during/after the show, and post your comments below.

For those wondering if B.J. Novak's absence from The Office of late will be worth it, you now have an opportunity to view the teaser trailer for Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. The WWII film tells the story of a group of eight Jewish soldiers, including Novak's character, who cross enemy lines and basically kick Nazi butt. Brad Pitt stars as the leader of the group and Novak appears briefly in the trailer sporting a period haircut.

The film will be released on August 21, 2009

We know some of you have enjoyed Twitter updates from Matt Sommer and myself. It's a great way to keep up to date with the recording schedule or anything going on in our personal lives. NBC has a Twitter feed for The Office as well and now Dwight Schrute himself, Rainn Wilson is on Twitter too.

Wilson started Twittering in the last week and among his posts he pimped his appearance on Jay Leno. And when you're a big celebrity like Wilson you get followers like crazy; in less than a week over 3000 people are following him. Who knows what Wilson will have to say next, but as he posted this week it is our duty "obey!"  Sir, yes, sir.

STRESSED OUT IN THE OFFICE - SPECIAL ONE HOUR POST SUPERBOWL EPISODE FEATURING GUEST STARS JACK BLACK ("SCHOOL OF ROCK"), JESSICA ALBA ("FANTASTIC FOUR") AND CLORIS LEACHMAN ("MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE") - After Dwight's (Rainn Wilson) fire safety seminar goes awry, he must make amends to the stressed-out office. Michael (Steve Carell) tries a number of ways to get his employees to relax before discovering that he is the number one stressor at work. So that people won't feel afraid of him, he insists on a no-holds-barred roast of himself. Also, while watching a pirated movie, Andy (Ed Helms) is convinced that Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) are film gurus. Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Paul Lieberstein and Melora Hardin also star.

Well, here we are, ready for the big super-show tonight. Lots of questions remain: will the "guest stars" fit into the show? Will the the episode be extra "wacky" to try and appeal to this massive mainstream audience that will theoretically be sticking around to watch? Will Michael's roast be as predictable as it sounds (Michael throws the roast, no one wants to insult him, he insists, they insult him, he feels bad, everyone has to cheer him up, etc.), or will the writers surprise me as they have done many times in the past? Here's hoping for the best.

Oh, and if you're not busy before the episode, there's apparently some football game or something going on.

FAMILY BUSINESS -- Michael and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) go undercover to do a bit of industrial espionage on a paper company competitor. Meanwhile, the rest of the office holds a debate to settle the question: is Hilary Swank hot? John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Phyllis Smith, Angela Kinsey, Ed Helms, Kate Flannery, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson also star.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, so to speak, but this episode description doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. The infiltration plot sounds like BRANCH WARS (will Michael and Dwight bust out the mustaches again?), and really, an entire subplot talking about Hillary Swank?  OK, Office crew, I'm trusting you to deliver a good episode despite the somewhat iffy plot summary.

No big shocker, but NBC officially announced yesterday that they are renewing THE OFFICE for the 2009-2010 season (along with 30 ROCK).

As for the still unnamed Amy Poehler non-spinoff show, TV Guide gives a few more details:

This much we know: NBC's new and as-yet-untitled comedy starring Saturday Night Live alumna Amy Poehler as the chairwoman of the Department of Parks and Recreation in a small Indiana town is not a spin-off of The Office — even though that is what Office exec producer Greg Daniels originally was asked by the network to explore.

According to the article, the show will use essentially the same "mockumentary" format used on THE OFFICE and will share much the same comic sensibility (Poehler's Leslie Knope is also a clueless boss with an exasperated staff). Thankfully, the two shows will never interact with one another:

"Actually, theoretically, we can't," Michael Schur, an exec producer on the new show, tells TVGuide.com, "because Rashida Jones is playing a different human being — unless [the new show's] Ann Logan and Karen Fillipelli are identical twins who don't know the other one exists." Are the new show's bosses at all bummed that these worlds can never collide? "The network might be more disappointed than I am," Daniels tells us, adding, "I've never been a huge fan of those kinds of stunts."

The article also confirms that Rashida Jones will reappear on THE OFFICE in an episode airing some time after February 1st. Poehler's new show is set to debut on April 9th.

Will there ever be a TRUE spinoff to the show? Greg Daniels had this to say to the folks over at EW:

"It's not possible, physically, for me to be involved in it right this second, but I'm talking to people over at The Office about another idea, and [The Office's British creator] Stephen Merchant came back and directed an episode of The Office so were were talking about the idea," Daniels told critics at NBC's annual Television Critics Tour on Thursday. "It's possible that some combination of other Office people could produce it without my giving blood for it."

Michael Ausiello over at EW.com is reporting on what he calls an "exclusive" -- Greg Daniels admitted that they want Amy Ryan to return to the show.

"She will come back," says Daniels. "We haven't written it yet, but we're discussing her coming back for the season finale. We're hoping she'll be available."

Daniels went on to say that he's "very open" to working out a more permanent Office arrangement with Ryan. "Because [Michael and Holly] have such a deep connection, I don't think she can blow in and out every so often," he explains. "It would be too hard for him as a human being. So, we're hoping to find some very significant things for them. And if we can get her to sign on for a really long period, we'll do it."

While this is good news, and I am all about Holly returning, IS this truly a confirmation of anything? They WANT Amy Ryan to return, and they're TALKING about it, but nothing has been officially decided.  I'll exude more geek-joy when something is down on paper.

For Hollywood funnyman Steve Carell, who spends his summers in Marshfield, the Marshfield Hills General Store was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"This is much more of an emotional investment than a business one," Carell said of his recent purchase of the store.

"I saw an opportunity to help to preserve a little piece of history," Carell said in an e-mail. "I also felt that places like the Marshfield Hills General Store represent a gathering place, and give people a sense of community. These spots are growing more and more scarce. I hope to keep this particular one alive and well."

Carell learned the store was up for sale in October, when his sister-in-law Tish Vivado went to California to visit Carell and her sister, actress Nancy Walls. According to Vivado, who lives in Marshfield, Carell had always been interested in being part of the community. Carell purchased the store in November and the ownership changed hands on New Year's Day.

The store now is being run by Vivado and staff of four people. But they could get some high-profile help in the summer, when Carell plans to take an active role in the day-to-day activities.

"I will be manning the cash register, and stocking the shelves as time permits!" wrote Carell, a Massachusetts native. "For the time being, however, I am looking to give the building a bit of TLC."

NBC sent out a press release announcing that actor Idris Elba (best known for playing Stringer Bell, everyone's favorite MBA-earning drug kingpin on HBO's THE WIRE) has been hired to appear in at least six episodes of THE OFFICE this season as a "new no-nonsense hire at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office that will throw Michael Scott (Steve Carell) into turmoil."


 Kevin and I have both been asking for a new character to step into the Jan/Ryan role, and this sounds like it could be just the thing to breathe yet a bit more new life into the show. One has to wonder, though, just how they will play this-- In any "real world" scenario, Michael would have been fired years ago. Since we need him to stick around, just how "no-nonsense" will this new boss be? Will he just be early "Jan" in male form? Or will Michael actually find himself in some serious trouble? Only time will tell, I suppose, but I'm really looking forward to how this plays out.

Read the entire press release HERE if you're so inclined.

A FIGHT TO THE FINISH - The office is on eggshells because Andy (Ed Helms) still hasn't found out about fiancee Angela's (Angela Kinsey) affair with Dwight (Rainn Wilson). When Michael spills the beans, Dwight and Andy take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, Michael is nervous about being called down to corporate for a meeting with Wallace (Andy Buckley). John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.

Well, Kevin and I both said we didn't want to see this drag out all season, so I am very excited to see this resolved so quickly and can't wait to see how they pull this off without Andy getting himself sent back to anger management.

As always, leave your comments below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat room after the show.

Well, we still have a few weeks before the next new episode of The Office airs on January 15th, so Kevin and I were thinking of trying to squeeze in a retro episode next week. The only problem is, we don't know which episode to do next!


Here's where you guys come in-- In the comments below (or by e-mail, if you'd prefer), tell us WHICH retro episode you'd like to see us do and explain WHY you'd like us to cover that particular episode.  It's just that easy.

You've got about a week to send in your reply, and the "winner" (aside from having Kevin and me review the episode of their choice) will receive major props on air, as well as a free copy of the book THE OFFICE AND PHILOSOPHY (a $17.95 value!).

Get your entries in ASAP.

Thanks to listener Melonie for pointing out that NBC has set up a bogus "Princess Unicorn" website in conjunction with this week's episode. 

Entertainment Weekly posted a slideshow of what they consider to be Jim Halpert's seventeen best pranks over the last four and a half seasons of The Office.

I'm on record as not being a fan of pranks that aren't "deserved" -- in other words, that Dwight (or whomever) needs to do something to deserve punishment.  With Dwight being a massive tool this season, I am completely DOWN with some righteous pranking-- and the cold open from Moroccan Christmas definitely goes down as one of my all time favorites.

A CHRISTMAS PARTY IN MOROCCO - Phyllis' (Phyllis Smith) Moroccan-themed holiday party goes up in flames when Meredith's (Kate Flannery) hair catches on fire and Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) is forced to deal with the accident. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) corners the market on the hottest toy of the Christmas season. John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Leslie David Baker, Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Oscar Nunez, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein and Craig Robinson also star.

Well, the Christmas episodes of The Office have always set the bar incredibly high... I hope this year's episode can live up to that legacy! Kind of sad/funny to think about how we never did get one last season.

As always, leave your comments below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat room after the show.

Blog poster "Funtivities" brought up an interesting dilemma that is all too familiar to many foreign residents-- Hulu.com, NBC's great streaming service, only works to those who live within the United States.  This blocking is accomplished by a simple check of your IP address-- if it's located in the US you're golden, and if not, NOT.

I ran across this on Digg.com a few days ago, and thought it might help-- full instructions on how anyone outside of the US can access Hulu.com.

Good luck!

We mentioned it quite a while ago, but NBC officially confirmed today that The Office will indeed air a special one hour episode immediately following the Super Bowl on February 1st.


Originally, the "Office Spinoff" was supposed to fill that second half hour slot, and then when THAT disappeared the Poehler show was supposed to find a home. Alas. With both shows MIA, it's up to The Office to fill the hour.

I brought this up a few months ago, but I think it'd be brilliant to see Jim throw a big Super Bowl party at his new house as part of the plot. Shades of "Email Surveillance" and "Dinner Party" perhaps, but it'd definitely be topical and would give us a glimpse of the cast in a new situation (Kevin with a huge bet riding on the game, Pam & Jim trying to entertain as a couple, etc.).

If any of the writing staff is looking for more ideas, you have my email address :)

EDIT:

Yes, I am aware that the details of the episode are already wandering around on the internets.  I just refuse to be spoiled-- so there! :) It's more fun my way.

From NBC.com:

SURPLUS SPENDING AT THE OFFICE - Oscar (Oscar Nunez) informs Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) that the office must spend a $4300 surplus or lose it in next year's budget. When Michael opens up the floor for suggestions, factions break out and officemates square off against one another in order to get what they want. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) takes Angela (Angela Kinsey) and Andy (Ed Helms) to Schrute Farms to work on their wedding plans. John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton and Paul Lieberstein also star.

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Post your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chatroom after the episode.

We've talked for a while about John Krasinski's directorial debut, his own adaptation of the late David Foster Wallace's BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN (plot: when her boyfriend leaves with little explanation, a doctoral candidate in anthropology tries to remedy her heartache by interviewing men about their behavior).  The film stars Krasinski, Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton, Dominic Cooper, Christopher Meloni, and Rashida Jones, and was set to be released sometime in the new year.

Well, some extremely good news came for Johnny K. today by way of Park City, Utah-- it seems that BRIEF has been selected as one of the 16 official entries in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival's U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION (selected from 1,026 submissions).

Nicely done. Buzz at Sundance can only help the film spread to a wider audience, and here's hoping that we'll actually get to see what John can do on the big screen (no offense to fans of period football flicks or cheesy rom-coms).

For a list of other films accepted into the festival, click HERE.

So PREGNANCY magazine had an interview in this month's issue with everyone's favorite Office related psycho, Jan Levinson. Yep, it's a magazine interviewing a fictional character (IN character) about her fictional pregnancy (which has been over for quite some time now).

To all our fellow American fans of The Office, we wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! 

Kevin and the missus are off debauching themselves in Las Vegas, but you can rest assured that I'll be spending a wholesome family Thanksgiving day at my parents' house, stuffing my face with an assortment of traditional holiday fare (hopefully followed by some fearsome rounds of Rock Band 2 and Ticket To Ride).

Hope everyone else has a great day, wherever (or HOWever) you choose to celebrate.

See you in the chatroom next Thursday!

It's about four minutes longer than the original cut, and as I thought they (for the most part) simply wove the footage from the already aired deleted scenes back into the episode.  There were a few new bits (Angela's wedding dress, Phyllis talking about her house, etc.), but most of them weren't too essential.

Kevin might be happy, as this new cut definitely fleshed out the microwave plotline-- the escalating notes definitely rang true to me (and the "I'll knock your teeth out" line will be worthy of speculation). A big "boo" to Hulu for blacking out the penises on the notes, though--took a bit of humor out of that deleted scene.

I honestly think this cut DOES make FRAME TOBY a better episode than the original cut, although that might be faint praise for some.  What did you guys think? Did this change your mind at all, or was it just more of the same?

by Kevin Crossman

Apple released operating system version 2.2 yesterday for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Notable among the new features is the ability to download podcasts over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. Which means that That's What She Said listeners can listen anytime, anywhere.







It's great to be able download podcasts away from the computer. And thanks for all those great reviews for That's What She Said - 4.5 stars is nothing to sneeze at!  If you haven't reviewed and rated the show in iTunes, please do so today!

They haven't done this since season three, but NBC is planning to offer a streaming "producer's cut" version of FRAME TOBY on Tuesday, November 25.

Perhaps the extra content will appease many of the blog posters who seemed to really dislike this week's episode?

From TVGuide.com (because NBC.com didn't bother to update their "next on" page):

Dirt is dished over a dirty dish: Tension boils over when a mysterious someone leaves a culinary mess in the office microwave. Meanwhile, Michael has trouble accepting that personnel changes were made without his knowledge.

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FLEEEEEEENDERSOOOOOOON!

As always, leave your comments below and join Kevin and Me in the TWSS chat room after the show.

Big news today about the still unnamed Amy Poehler sitcom set to debut in 2009--

Despite the earlier news denying involvement, Rashida Jones has indeed joined the cast. According to VARIETY, Jones will play "Ann Logan, a nurse whose boyfriend has a strange injury. It's that injury that leads Jones' character into the world populated by Poehler and Aziz Ansari."

Writer Mike Schur, one of the show's creators, called Jones "funny, talented and beautiful... She is perfect for this new show, which -- just to remind everyone -- is not a spinoff of 'The Office,' It is a spinoff of 'MASH' called 'Seinfeld II.' "

According to the article, Jones is also set to appear at least once this season on THE OFFICE.

Kevin and I already told you a while ago about BJ Novak signing on for a part in Quentin Tarantino's WWII movie "Inglorious Basterds" [sic]. Michael Ausiello is reporting this week that Novak HAS asked for time off from NBC to film the role, and that it has been granted.  How long he'll be gone, exactly, is still a matter for speculation.


This isn't really new-- As you recall, Oscar Nunez took a similar leave back in season three, to return a few months later.  This might be the same with Novak, although Ausiello is claiming that an "insider" had this to say:

 Kevin's been ragging on Novak this season, and I haven't been a big fan of his cartoonish "villainy," but I don't think either of us would like to see him leave. 

Thoughts?

Steve Carell and Friends Signed for New 3D Animated Film

Steve Carell will voice the title character in Despicable Me, a new 3D animated film from Universal Pictures-based family film unit Illumination Entertainment. Horton Hears a Who's Chris Meledandri is producing from a script from Horton writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin are directing.

Joining Steve are the voices of Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, Jack McBrayer, along with Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords") and Julie Andrews. The film will be released in 2010.

According to Variety, "Carell's title character is a deplorable man known as Groo who masterminds the mother of all heists when he plots to steal the moon. Egged on by an evil mother (Andrews), Groo finds one obstacle in his way: a trio of orphan girls who temporarily come under his care and won't leave."

For more info from Variety, CLICK HERE.

From NBC.com:

CANADA BOUND - Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) is ecstatic when David Wallace (Andy Buckley) decides to send him on a business trip to Canada. Andy (Ed Helms) and Oscar (Oscar Nunez) become unlikely friends when Michael decides to bring them along on the trip. Meanwhile, Jim (John Krasinski) is counting down the days until Pam (Jenna Fischer) gets back from art school. Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith and Creed Bratton also star.

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Andy and Oscar, huh? An unlikely pairing, especially given their obvious animosity during the whole "Finer Things Club" fiasco. Will our favorite gay accountant stop worrying and learn to love the Nard-dog? Only time will tell.

As always, leave your comments below and Join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat room after the show.

It doesn't happen very often, but occasionally the real world conflicts with my ability to produce That's What She said.  For me, this week is the end of the first quarter and that means I've got to enter report cards and finish grades before Tuesday morning.

Normally I edit the show and post it to the servers by Monday night, but this week it's just not going to happen.  I should be able to have the episode posted on TUESDAY night, though.

Thanks for your understanding.

Ricky Gervais was at the Paley Center this past week to promote his new HBO production "Ricky Gervais: Out Of England -- The Stand-up Special." When asked by the intrepid TV Guide reporter if Gervais would like to make a guest appearance on the US version of THE OFFICE, Gervais had this to say:

Gervais even has an idea for how he could appear: as himself, playing struggling actor Andy Melman on HBO's Extras.

"I'd quite like them to maybe be watching an episode of Extras, and Michael Scott comes along and goes, 'This guy is no good. If they ever do a remake, I think I should do that part."

Personally, I think Gervais shouldn't come within a country mile of the US Office.  Sure, he can write another episode (he still owes us for "Prison Mike," after all) or direct, but to have him appear as David Brent would be incredibly silly (and having him appear AT ALL would be a major distraction).

30 ROCK has really been milking the celebrity cameo this season, and I can see the temptation of getting Gervais to appear.  Still, I think once we go down that road there will really be no coming back.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT - Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Jim (John Krasinski) are shocked when they get the results of the annual customer survey report. Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim decide they want to spend every minute together using their bluetooth phones. Meanwhile, Angela (Angela Kinsey) and Andy (Ed Helms) pick an unusual location for their wedding. Steve Carell, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez and Creed Bratton also star.

Based on the way things have been going, I'm not sure how anyone would be surprised by a POOR survey of customer satisfaction. Guess we'll just have to see what the fuss is all about... hey, maybe they're surprised because people actually LIKE their company?

As always, leave comments below and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat room after the show.

Someone jokingly brought this up in the chatroom last night, but it turns out that YES, NBC is indeed selling those MUGS at the NBCU store as of today.  You can buy them separately for $12 each, or get all 10 for $90.  If you order before next Monday, you can get 15% off your order using the code OFFICEFAN.

LOVE ALWAYS GETS IN THE WAY - OSCAR NOMINEE AMY RYAN ("GONE BABY GONE") GUEST STARS - Pam (Jenna Fischer) is embarrassed when she is the only person at corporate wearing a costume on Halloween. Holly (guest star Amy Ryan) and Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) take the long trip to Nashua after they get some shocking news from corporate. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) torments Andy (Ed Helms) and tries to get under his skin. John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson also star.

Lots of stuff going on here-- are we saying our final farewell to dear Holly Flax? Another Halloween episode, which is a plus. Pam in corporate... more than 30 seconds of air this week?

Leave your comments below, and don't forget to join us in the TWSS chat room after the show.

Jennifer Godwin, writing for the "Watch With Kristin" column over at Eonline.com, posted some news from The Office writers' appearance at The Paley Center on October 14th.

Most specifically, news about the non-spinoff starring the newly post-pregnant Amy Poehler.

Here are a few tidbits from Mike Schur:

In other words, we still don't know much more than we did five months ago. As I've said before, I'm not a huge Poehler fan and still resent the fact that Schur and Daniels are being taken away from The Office in order to produce this new show. Still, I guess we'll see sometime next spring whether it was worth it.  And hey, worst case scenerio the show tanks and they'll be back writing The Office in season six :)

BTW, click on THIS LINK for several pictures of the writing/producing staff taken at the event.

DUNDER MIFFLIN FIGHTS CRIME - OSCAR NOMINEE AMY RYAN ("GONE BABY GONE") GUEST STARS - Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) helps Pam (Jenna Fischer) get a part time job at corporate so she can afford to go to art school. Michael and Holly (guest star Amy Ryan) get an early start at the office on their date night. After the office gets robbed, Michael decides to hold an auction to raise money for all the items lost. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson also star.

As always, leave your comments below and join Kevin & me in the TWSS chat room during and after the episode.

In today's "Ask Ausiello" column over at EW.com, someone asked the spoiler-man a question that's been in ALL of our hearts:

It's only been two weeks, but it surely feels much longer than that since "Weight Loss" aired.

From TV Guide:

BUSINESS ETHICS | 10.09.2008 | 9/8c TV-PG

Holly presides over a business-ethics meeting in the wake of Ryan's corporate scandal, but the seminar breaks into chaos when Michael allows the staffers to opine openly about workplace malfeasance. Elsewhere, Jim coerces Dwight to adhere to Dunder Mifflin's "time theft" policy.

by Kevin Crossman

According to this week's Entertainment Weekly, The Office is the top-rated comedy series on Marketing Evaluations Inc emotional attachment list, a measure of commitment that key viewers have with TV shows returning in Fall 2008.

Survivor tops the list with a rating of 177, followed by serial dramas Heroes, House, CSI, and Grey's Anatomy. The Office's ranking of 123 is 17th on the list and the only comedy in the top 20. This means that The Office tops other comedies like Two and A Half Men that regularly score much higher ratings. All of which indicates that my recent declaration of a man-crush on Jim Halpert shows that I'm a typical Office watcher with a high emotional attachment.

Check out the original article HERE.

The new episode should be posted late PM Wednesday.

This is another "epic" length episode, and since there's no Office this week, I'm hoping you guys can survive the wait. :)

Thanks,

Very, very long article in the New York Times today about Paul Feig (pronounced FEEG), creator of "Freaks and Geeks" and current co-executive producer of "The Office."

For the first time, we see what happens over eight weeks of the summer, as a Dunder Mifflin weight loss initiative causes the branch to diet and become obsessed with their weight. Michael (Steve Carell) pursues a friendship with his new HR rep, Holly (Oscar nominee Amy Ryan). Jim (John Krasinski) misses Pam (Jenna Fischer) who attends art school in New York. Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Andy (Ed Helms) and Angela (Angela Kinsey) attend to unfinished business. B.J. Novak, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Oscar Nuñez, Brian Baumgartner, Leslie David Baker, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson also star.

As I mentioned in episode #48, I will be unable to view the premiere "live" tonight as I am forced to attend my school's "open house" night. Don't let that stop you from joining the "chatroom" to discuss the episode with other TWSS fans.  Kevin should be around for the west coast showing.

Man, I can't believe it's finally here.

EDIT:

Almost forgot -- NBC is helping to arrange various "premiere parties" for the show tonight in a number of cities across the US.  Check this THREAD to see if anything is going on in your area.

EDIT 2:

Click HERE for a large downloadable copy of Pam's ASCII portrait of Dwight (warning-- link is to a PDF file).

Also, go HERE to see Andy & Angela's wedding website.

by Kevin Crossman

The Emmy Awards were held tonight and The Office had eight nominations... but received zero awards.

Thank you, good night!

Yes, thanks to stellar showing by NBC stablemate 30 Rock, The Office won no Emmys this year. There were two Office related moments of note though. The show's opening montage included TV personalities delivering catch-phrases of yesteryear. The Office's John Krasinski channeled Joey from Friends for "How you doing?" and Rainn Wilson also appeared though his quote escapes me.

More entertaining was British Office star Ricky Gervais who came out to tell the winners how to accept an Emmy. This seqeued into a reminder that Gervais was not present for winning last year, and that presenters Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had given the award to Steve Carell. Carell was positioned in the front row and sat stonefaced while Gervais mock-insulted him with lines like "I made you what you are and I get nothing back" and "I don't think that's an Emmy, it's actually a shoddy remake."  Gervais eventually ran into the audience to obtain his Emmy. It was a wonderful bit that reminded audience viewers of Gervais' role in creating The Office and why he and Carell are so funny.

Kevin and I are going to be recording a mini "pre-season" preview episode of the podcast tomorrow night, consisting of our hopes and fears for season five, some season four "Dundee" awards, news, feedback and more.

If you'd like to get your comment read "on air," please post your predictions for season five (no spoilers, please... just honest speculation) in the space below, or send an email to TWSSpodcast@gmail.com before 7 PM Eastern tomorrow night.

George Clooney’s Leatherheads is at once a throwback sports movie about the early days of professional football but also a throwback to the era’s screwball comedies. Clooney directed the movie written by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, and also stars alongside Renee Zellweger. The Office’s John Krasinski stretches his acting chops with an effective performance in a tricky role.

Leatherheads tells of the story of Dodge Connolly (Clooney), an aging football hero in the days when “professional” football was closer to rugby or even organized street fighting. But Connolly sees a way to save his sport by attempting to recruit handsome, glamorous college football star Carter Rutherford (Krasinski). Meanwhile, Lexie Littleton is a star newspaper reporter sent to dig up dirt on Rutherford who is a war hero and product pitchman in addition to the star of the Princeton gridiron.

For the first two acts, Clooney deftly directs a tale that respects and celebrates the subject matter and the type of filmmaking present in those days of yore. He has several effective scenes of snappy dialogue with Zellweger who is brilliant at playing the smart and sexy reporter. Clooney is underrated as a physical comedian and plays many scenes for laughs in the early part of the film that will keep you laughing and smiling throughout.

During the last act, the film takes a distinct dramatic turn as the story heads towards its climax. Will Rutherford’s slimy agent (Jonathan Pryce) find a way to keep him in the spotlight or will his secret ruin his career? There is true dramatic tension and while it is distinct in tone it is not lacking in effectiveness or in pleasure for the audience. Additionally, as a sports movie the climax provides a true twist unlike any I’ve ever seen in the genre. The twist is among the many well-crafted aspects of this movie that is great fun.

Office fans should take note that Krasinski isn’t phoning in the performance as Jim Halpert circa 1925. Instead, Krasinski plays the role with equal parts likable all-star and haunted melancholy. He’s extremely effective in a trio that involves two Oscar winners, and his role is the most nuanced and well rounded in the film. Krasinski proves he has the acting chops to form a healthy career.

The DVD extras are interesting but Office fans should not feature very little Krasinski material.

   - Deleted Scenes
   - Football’s Beginnings – an inside look at the making of the film with brief interviews with the stars
   - Visual Effects – an interesting side by side look at the scenes before and after the special effects were added to recreate football scenes from 1925
   - No Pads, No Fear – Preparation for the film’s football scenes
   - George Clooney – A Leatherheaded Prankster
   - Feature commentary with George Clooney and Producer/Actor Grant Heslov
   – An unfortunate extra that features little of the charm and prankish fun that we usually see from Clooney.

Overall, Leatherheads is a film that is fun for men and women of all ages. Office fans should immediately head to the DVD store to pick up the film and root for their favorite salesman in a different kind of uniform.

Kevin obviously liked this movie much more than *I* did.  See my original review HERE.

Just got word from NBC Universal that Melora Hardin will be doing a signing from 12-1 pm at the NBC EXPERIENCE STORE in New York City on September 24th.

If you're a local, this isn't a bad way to usher in the premier next week (speaking from personal experience, she is definitely worth seeing live).

Nothing spoilery or shocking to be found, but the piece on Ed Helms in this week's NEW YORK MAGAZINE is worth a quick read.

From the article:

Ed Helms wasn’t always a jackass. For a while, he was an aspiring filmmaker in New York. He worked for a postproduction house, loved the job, and even now talks of it wistfully. “I was and still am very infatuated with filmmaking,” he says, before describing his editing duties in all earnestness as “sexy and fun.” While training as an editor, he laid down a few rough-cut voice-over “scratch tracks.” From there, he landed some real voice-over gigs. From there, he got an agent. Finally, he realized he could quit his job and pursue stand-up comedy full-time, because, as he says, “I was finding this thing that I love, which is acting like a jackass professionally.”


Read the rest of the article HERE.

NBC has been running two new teaser trailers this week to help hype the season premier of THE OFFICE.

The first one focuses on the Michael/Jan/Holly triangle:

The second uses much of the same footage as the first, but we DO get to see Pam's replacement, as well as Michael Scott in a fat suit:

EDIT: listener Jorgen Petersson (a resident of Sweden) let me know that people outside the US can't view Hulu videos. Never fear, Jorgen! Here are the links to view the trailers on YouTube:

I found this article on The Hudson Hub-Times website and thought it was worth a quick read.

In the article, actor Stefan Kumor gives a brief summary of his experiences with filming as a background student in scenes showing Pam's college classes. Nothing really "spoiler-ish" here, but he does give an alternative view to the "John Krasinski is a horrible diva" rumors that were flying around a few weeks ago.

During Apple's big iTunes/iPod focused media event today, Steve Jobs let the audience know that Apple and NBC have buried the hatchet, and that  our favorite NBC shows would be once again available through the iTunes store (in full HD).

Great news!

More details HERE.

NBC set up a conference call today with Paul Lieberstein and Amy Ryan.

No, I wasn't invited.

Thank goodness for E!'s Kristin (and the other people who actually DID get to sit in on the call).

The comments get a lot more "spoilery" than usual, so I won't quote anything here.  If you're curious about the fate of Mr. Flenderson, however, I highly recommend clicking THIS link (also HERE and HERE).

The most disturbing thing mentioned, at least for me, was the revelation that Greg Daniels is splitting his time and Mike Schur has TOTALLY left the show in order to work full time on the "Unnamed Amy Poehler spinoff show." Schur wrote many of my favorite OFFICE episodes over the last 4 years, and the thought of him NOT being a part of the creative staff for season 5 has me more than a little pissed.  Do you see what you've wrought, Mr. Silverman?

FOR SHAME.

Listener Kath informed me via email today that TWSS has been nominated for a pair of "Blogger's Choice" awards! Imagine my surprise.

We've been nominated for BEST PODCAST BLOG as well as BEST ENTERTAINMENT BLOG. So far, we're getting our asses kicked by just about everyone, but if you'd like to send a few votes our way, please check out the links below.

by Kevin Crossman

Coming to stores on September 2nd is the DVD release of Season 4 of The Office. The four-disc set contains all 14 episodes and a host of extras. The entire set comprises over 400 minutes of content.

The Episodes

Each episode is presented in pristine widescreen format and looks sharp on DVD. Season 4 saw many of the office relationships take on new roles and challenges and once again a season collection like this is a great way to revisit the story arcs and go back to earlier episodes for hints of what is to come later. In particular, the character of Ryan (B.J. Novak) is a completely new role and by season's end is in a very, very different place than when the season starts. His "transformation" is fun to watch over the course of a season.

The packaging of episodes is pretty much what you'd expect. The episodes are shown in entirety, with Deleted Scenes for each episode easy to get to after playing the episode. Unfortunately, the Deleted Scenes are presented as one large clip, unlike the Deleted Scenes on The Office website where you can pick and choose which scene to watch. But it is hard to complain about the amount of deleted scenes, which run from over five minutes for the regular 21 minute episodes to over twelve minutes for some of the "hour long" episodes like "Fun Run" and "Dunder Mifflin Infinity."

One of the interesting and unusual episodes this season was "Did I Stutter?" In addition to taking the episode name from a line of dialogue, the episode was unusual in that it featured the character of Stanley (Leslie David Baker) in a major role. Thankfully, Baker's performance is one of the strongest from any actor in any episode in the entire set. "Did I Stutter?" also features a interesting and informative commentary from Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Justin Spitzer, Brent Forrester, Gene Stupnitsky, and Randall Einhorn.

Fans of Jim and Pam are not left out in Season 4, as our favorite TV couple actually get to be a couple. This puts the characters in new situations, such as their overnight stay at Schrute Farm in "Money" and their cringe-worthy visit to Michael and Jan's condo in "Dinner Party." The engagement storyline is another season-long story arc, though as fans of the show know it did not quite conclude in the season finale, "Goodbye Toby."

Speaking of the season finale, "Goobye Toby" features one of the best performances in the entire series by Steve Carell. Carell masterfully communicates his joy at saying goodbye to his HR nemesis, and the excitement of meeting a new "love of his life" in the character of Holly (Amy Ryan).

The Bonus Materials

A complete list of bonus features is shown below. "Unique to the DVD" items include the hilarious 22-minute blooper reel that every fan of The Office should watch again and again. The complete Michael Scott Dunder Mifflin Ad is the kind of extra that makes sense for the DVD and is a welcome addition. Similarly, the Summer Vacation Promo features some unique content and is a good piece to play prior to watching the season opener, "Fun Run." Unfortunately, the Summer Vacation Promo is available on Disc 4, rather than on Disc 1 where it would have fit chronologically.

Last season, I complained about episode commentaries with too many participants. This year, the number of participants has not been reduced, but the overall effectiveness has improved as there is less "talking over" and everyone trying to get a word in edgewise (this is also attributed to a couple "quiet" writers on some of the commentaries). Only Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer participate of the "Big Four" but their presence is most welcome on three of the four commentaries, even if we do miss Steve Carell and John Krasinski. B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, and Paul Liberstein all provide insights to their characters and the process of creating the show. The commentaries are very entertaining, though some fans may wish for a more-mellow Melora Hardin in next-year's collection.

Available in some packages and probably the best overall extra is the table draft script of "Dinner Party." For those who are unfamiliar with script formats, this is a great way to see what the writers produce prior to filming an episode (in a year that featured the writers' strike, this is even more appropriate). It's lots of fun to read the script and watch the episode at the same time. For example, the video camera in the bedroom and the scene with Angela and Andy eating ice cream were not in the original script. The script also features of scene where Michael prank-calls Toby, sitting alone at home watching Las Vegas by himself.

Finally, The Office Convention Writers' Block is another good "behind the scenes" piece that provides real insight to the show (unlike the recent writer panel at Comic-Con). The camera work is a little shaky, but at least we get to see the writers answer their questions in a way that does make this piece a little more engaging compared to a pure audio version featured on podcasts like That's What She Said. (If you missed our coverage of the OTHER panels at last year's Office convention, follow the links tn the sidebar to your right -Matt).

The Packaging

The "office" theme is presented well in the packaging. The photos and post-it notes once again make references to events of the season. In addition, the inside fold of the DVD pakage features Dwight's org chart from "Did I Stutter?"

The DVD menus are animated and well-done. There are visuals and audio that are pertinent to the episodes on each disc, and they provide a wonderfully immersive experience.

Overall

Due to the writer's strike, the season was shortened to only 14 episodes spanning 19 half-hour segments. Unfortunately, the reduction in number of episodes did not translate into a lower retail price for the collection, compared to previous seasons. As with Season 3, the extras are reduced again this year. Worse, many of the extras are already available on the NBC.com website. Still, it's nice to have all the content in one place.

If you're a hardcore fan of The Office, there's no question this is a must-own item. Casual fans will be well-served by this set as well, since the immersive experience can help you understand and appreciate the show's humor and sensibility. However, the middling bonus features and lesser overall value do present flaws to be aware of.

Bonus Materials

Bloopers, photos, and more at the official The Office DVD site.

Disc 1

1. Deleted Scenes
2. Rabies: The More You Know

Disc 2

1. Deleted Scenes
2. Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Ad
3. "Money" Commentary - Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, Brian Baumgartner, Paul Lieberstein, Michael Schur, and Jennifer Celotta.
4. "Local Ad" Commentary - B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Jason Reitman, and Anthony Ferrell.

Disc 3

Deleted Scenes

1. "The Deposition" Commentary - Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, Brian Baumgartner, Ed Helms, Lee Eisenberg, Lester Lewis, and Ryan Koh.

Disc 4

1. Deleted Scenes
2. Blooper Reel
3. The Office Convention Writers' Block
4. Summer Vacation Promo
5. "Did I Stutter?" Commentary - Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Justin Spitzer, Brent Forrester, Gene Stupnitsky, and Randall Einhorn.

And so does the latest issue of WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY:

"Contrary to popular belief, Oscar recognition is not necessarily a ticket to stardom. And so, despite having scored a nomination at last year’s Academy Awards for her part in “Gone Baby Gone,” Amy Ryan insists she is still “pretty anonymous.”

That status may change, however, when the new season of “The Office” premieres on NBC on Sept. 25. In the finale in May, Ryan joined the show as Holly, a human resources executive who catches the eye of awkward boss Michael, played by Steve Carell. Fortunately for the actress, it was more than just a flirtatious tease: She is set to appear in a six-episode arc, in which her greatest challenge might just be maintaining her composure among her castmates.

“You are guaranteed at least three hysterical fits of laughter between takes,” Ryan says. “It makes it easier to keep a straight face while filming, although it’s still extremely hard. You’re drumming up every dead puppy story you can imagine.”'


For the rest of the article, click HERE.

For the Comedy and Drama Emmy Awards, nominated series submit six episodes to be judged. The six episodes are divided into three pairs that are randomly distributed to voters who view two episodes from each nominated series. The Office is competing against 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Entourage.

Here are the Season 4 episodes submitted for The Office:
"Local Ad"
"Dinner Party"
"Chair Model"
"Did I Stutter?"
"Goodbye, Toby (Parts 1 & 2)"

These episodes are the most emotionally charged of the entire season, especially for longtime viewers with an investment in the couples' relationships. "Chair Model" not only features the uncomfortable humor the show is famous for, but also features the start of the "engagement storyline" that went through to the season finale, "Goobye Toby."  Of course, "Dinner Party" is another emotional and chance-taking episode that may reasonate with literate Emmy voters who see references to films like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." "Did I Stuffer" features tension-filled moments on par with any episode of "Law and Order."

So, will Season 4 be judged by these moments that transcent mere "comedy" but cross over to real emotional connection to the show's characters? Or, will Emmy voters be turned off by the sight of Dwight's Second Life avatar? We'll find out on September 21st, when ABC broadcasts the Emmy Awards.

Learn more at The Envelope.

The season four DVD is getting ready to hit stores on September 2nd, and as usual, Best Buy is offering a special gift pack.  This season, the "swag" includes a "Fun Run" T-Shirt, wristband, and water bottle, which certainly seems like a good deal for the $33.74 asking price. Supply will surely be limited, however, so get your orders in as soon as possible.

Target and other big box stores usually offer their own specials, but so far I haven't seen or heard anything-- but check the Labor Day circulars this weekend for more information.

I certainly don't blame anyone for choosing to buy one of these sets instead of ordering through the Amazon link.  If you HAVE ordered through Amazon, feel free to cancel your order if you so wish.

EDIT: The Target set will apparently come with "60 minutes of bonus cast footage and a notepad." No idea what that footage will be. ($36.99)

EDIT 2: Circuit City will be offering a "Free The Office Stapler in Gelatin Mold Keychain with purchase." ($32.99)

IGN.com has posted a small interview with Melora Hardin today. Nothing much in the way of actual season information (you know the drill by now), but it's worth a quick read.


The article ALSO links to several promo photos that NBC has released for the season five premier.

Good old Kristin over at E! did a set visit, and posted a few clips.  Neither Kevin or I were too amused with Rainn's "hold Jenna hostage until THE ROCKER does well" plot, and according to John Krasinski the whole thing has gone horribly, horribly wrong:



There's another video with Rainn, and a bit more information, if you follow the LINK.

According to TMZ, Craig Robinson entered a "tentative guilty" plea to possession of ecstasy (a felony)... this ignores the meth that was found in his possession as well as the cocaine and amphetamines found in his system at the time of his arrest.

The plea agreement requires Robinson to attend a "drug treatment" program for 18 months.  If he successfully completes the program, he will have the charge expunged from his record.

Now, I have nothing against Robinson (despite my dislike for Darryl, in general), and I am glad that he's getting the help he needs.  But I can't help but wonder about the ridiculous double standard that exists in the Hollywood justice system.  If you, or I, or an actual warehouse worker in Scranton, PA was found with ecstasy or meth, you can bet damn well that we wouldn't get off with 18 months of treatment.  I hope he realizes and appreciates the breaks he has been given.

Listener Kevin Murphy tipped me off to this interview that Rainn Wilson did with The Onion AV Club to pimp "The Rocker." He ends up spending MUCH more time talking about The Office, though.

AV CLUB: Was it difficult to not be influenced by the actor who played the equivalent to your role?

Rainn Wilson: I get asked that question a lot, no offense, but the situation was—the guy playing Gareth is very distinct. He looks like a whippet, he's 97 pounds and has very intense eyes and demeanor, and I knew I'd never be able to copy him. We have totally different energies and are very different as actors. He's just absolutely brilliant for what he did. I knew for the American show, what we were going for was Seinfeld-like success. People who compare the English and American Offices—there's so much ignorance in that comparison, because the English Office made 13 episodes. We make that many episodes in three months. We've made 89 episodes at this point. Their show is more like a miniseries, and our show is like an American TV show, because the demands of the market are so different.

It's like comparing a book and a movie. Gone With The Wind the movie and Gone With The Wind the book, it's difficult to compare them, because they're different forms. So I knew that ours needed to sustain, but I also knew that the Dwight needed to play a similar role, and I knew that [Steve Carell's] Michael Scott needed an acolyte and a foil, and I knew that Jim [Halpert, John Krasinski's character] needed someone to butt heads against. I knew that the office needed someone who was a real stickler for rules, and at the same time was a nerd and had weird, oddly obsessive-compulsive ideas about the military and gaming and fantasy worlds, but also needed to be a real in to the hierarchies of office life. I also didn't want him to be—one thing I really appreciated about the character of Gareth was that he wasn't a loser. The guy had a lot of friends, he could go to bars, he could get girls. He wasn't like the office nerd that we've seen so many times before, so I knew that—this is a very long-winded answer—I knew there were certain needs that needed to be fulfilled. I wanted to find my own way of doing that. I wanted to find my own bad haircut, my own way of kissing the boss' ass, my own way of butting heads with Jim, and so I tried to forget Gareth as much as I could.


Check out the full article HERE.

From the AP news wire:

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors have filed felony drug charges against Craig Phillip Robinson, an actor best known for his role as Darryl Philbin on NBC's "The Office."

According to documents released Friday, police in Culver City arrested Robinson on June 29 on suspicion of possessing MDMA, also known as ecstasy, and methamphetamine. He was released the same day after posting bail, jail records show.

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Robinson with two felony counts of drug possession and one count of being under the influence of illegal drugs.

Robinson's publicist declined comment Friday. The 36-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on August 21.

He is familiar to television audiences for his portrayal of Philbin, a warehouse foreman on "The Office." He also recently appeared in the comedy film "Pineapple Express."

I'd like to thank everyone who has pre-ordered the season four DVDs through the site.  If you haven't done so yet, please consider ordering through our associates link to your right... every little bit helps.

One thing I've discovered is that if you get to Amazon through the link on our site, we get a little piece of EVERYTHING you buy, not just the season four DVD set.  So even if you're not going to buy the DVD online, you can still make a big difference.

Thanks in advance,

-Matt-

E!'s Kristin is digging up more dirt on the season premier with TWO more "spoilers" today.  One of them seems to deal with our favorite creepy fence-hopping HR rep, and the other talks about what role Mad Men's Rich Sommer will be playing on the show.

So what happens when you tell the world you're going to debut an Office spinoff show after the Superbowl, but you don't actually MAKE an Office spinoff show?

Well, if you're NBC, you change your mind and run a special hour-long episode of THE OFFICE instead.  Entertainment Weekly confirmed this yesterday, noting that this special episode will be prepped and ready for the post-Superbowl slot on February 1st.

All things considered, I won't complain.  In fact, this could make for an awesome episode where the gang from The Office attend a Superbowl party (perhaps at Jim & Pam's new place?).  Just think, more gags with Kevin's betting, more drunken shenanigans, more party awkwardness... it practically writes itself.

E!'s "Watch With Kristin" has posted a few minor spoilers about the season five premier.

The summary?  They've been filming on location this past week at the University of Southern California, which is serving as a stand-in for Pam's NYC art school (The Pratt Institute).  Apparently, they shot scenes of Jenna Fischer sitting in two different classrooms, with two different professors. 

Based on past experiences, I'm guessing these might be part of a flashback montage, showing us what Pam was up to over the Summer (seems doubtful they'll start with her still actually being in the program, seeing as they've never done that before... but who can say?).

An "Inglorious Bastard," anyway.

From Reuters:

"B.J. Novak could soon be going from pushing paper to fighting Nazis.

The co-star of NBC's "The Office" is in talks to play one of the soldiers in "Inglorious Bastards," Quentin Tarantino's long-gestating film about a band of Jewish resistance fighters in Vichy-era France.

Novak is expected to play Private Utivich, described as a soldier of slight build who comes from New York.

Novak is best known for his role as Ryan, the temp-turned-crooked manager on NBC's "The Office." He also has served as a writer and producer.

On the big screen, Novak has had small parts in the September 11 drama "Reign Over Me" and Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up."

Casting is being finalized on "Bastards," which is expected to shoot in the fall in Europe and wrap in time for a potential Cannes debut in May. Brad Pitt is in talks to play the leader of the band of fighters."

His biggest war-crime was the beard.

EW's Michael Ausiello gave a bit more information on yesterday's announcement of Rich Sommer's guest appearance on THE OFFICE:

"Thanks to Monday's Aus Files scoop, you already know that Mad Men's Rich Sommer is guest starring in the Sept. 25 season premiere. Well, what you don't know is that if it weren't for the writers strike, it probably never would have happened! Sommer says the idea for his Office visit first came up when he met producer/star Mindy Kaling last winter on the picket line. "Mindy is a big fan of Mad Men and she knew that I was a big fan of The Office," he explains, "so we mused about finding some way to get me over there." Sommer insists he's been "sworn to secrecy" about the specifics of his guest stint, although he does admit that he's playing a "very different character" from Harry Crane, the 1960s ad exec he portrays on Mad Men. "When you see it," he adds, "you'll understand why I can't say anything." And when you pick up this week's issue of EW and turn to page 54, you'll understand why I had to."

He also had this to say about the season premier:

"Based on what I'm hearing about the premiere, it's either going to go down as the funniest Office episode ever or NBC's most blatant piece of cross-promotion yet. Or some combination of both."

I'm a little concerned about that last part... what does that mean? Is Michael Scott going to be making an appearance on "America's Got Talent" or something similar? Why am I suddenly feeling so nervous?

Michael Ausiello, at EW.com, is reporting that actor Rich Sommer (no relation) from AMC's MAD MEN will be making a quest appearance on The Office.


Says Ausiello:

What twist are we dealing with here? Jan's pregnancy? Something to do with Holly? The mind boggles.  Sommer does a decent job on MAD MEN, although his role so far has been pretty minor.

For those who don't know, MAD MEN was one of last year's hot new shows. From one of the writers of THE SOPRANOS, the series is about the life and loves of a group of advertising men (and their families) circa 1960. I missed all of the hype when it was actually airing, but AMC put all 13 episodes "on demand" last weekend, and I got a chance for a little marathon. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not sure if I love it yet, but I'm definitely "in like," and it's now a part of my weekly TV queue.

(You can watch the first episode of season two of MAD MEN here)

If anyone is interested, I have recently joined the wonderful world of Twitter (essentially a social forum for "micro-blogging").  Just FYI-- this is my own personal account, NOT a TWSS-related account.  That mean's you'll just have to read my regular ramblings instead of news or other The Office related stuff.

That said, if you're still interested, check me out HERE.

We mentioned on the last podcast that the writers of THE OFFICE (along with Rainn Wilson) were going to be talking to the fans at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA.

Here's the full panel, courtesy of NBC.com:



Mahalodaily.com has posted several videos of the panel. This first one is short, about 1.5 minutes, which consists of the Mahalodaily reporter trying to get some season 6 details out of Rainn and Greg Daniels (to absolutely no avail). The second clip is an interview with Paul Feig.

As if this whole Office spinoff mess wasn't convoluted enough...

At the TCA Awards this week, NBC honcho (and the guy behind bringing the OFFICE to the US) Ben Silverman told everyone that the show created by Mike Schurr and Greg Daniels starring Amy Poehler that's going to air AFTER The Office and debut after the Superbowl, isn't, in fact, The Office spinoff show.  To top that off, because of Poehler's pregnancy and SNL commitments, the actual show ISN'T going to be debuting after the Superbowl anyway.

But, says Silverman, there *IS* an Office spinoff that exists... it's just not THIS show, and they have no idea when it's going to air or who it's going to star.  Here's the quote, from The Washington Post:

"Well, fortunately for Amy and [her husband], she's pregnant right now. So the target was to have it be ready after the Super Bowl. . . . So the timing will be tough to be able to turn that show around to fit into the post-Super Bowl slot. It's much more likely we're going to have to launch that in March. What happened was ['The Office' show runners Greg Daniels and Mike Schur] came up with two ideas. One of which is totally a spinoff, which they're pursuing and [is] planted inside 'The Office' and maybe would involve characters who are already on 'The Office' who would then migrate to a new show. And then they developed a different parallel, which was kind of set stylistically and formed by 'The Office' but not characters based in 'The Office,' or storylines based in 'The Office.'

"And, as they pursued both, we decided to put all our energy to get Amy locked in, and she agreed, and then we started a negotiation with her and also focused on making sure that Mike and Greg's creative was something that she really was going to respond to. And that kind of took position A in what Greg and Mike were going to focus on right now. So that's kind of where the process went.

"We're still pursuing the spinoff, but when you get a talent like Amy Poehler at the top of her game coming off what easily could have been a decision to become a full-time movie star, this was a great chance for us to land her, and Mike and Greg and everybody at NBC think she's just the ideal talent to fill out what they're working on."

Once again, Steve Carell was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (for the episode "Goobye Toby"). The Office received a total eight nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series ("Local Ad") and Rainn Wilson for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ("Money"), along with additional nominations for directing, writing, editing, and sound mixing.

And, it should be noted, Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski also picked up something. Big ol' snubs! While both were in the listing of "Top 10 finalists" for their respective supporting categories, neither was in the final list (Fischer was nominated last year). And while we certainly appreciate Rainn Wilson's work, I can't help but wonder if Wilson's over-the-top character is a reason why he received a nomination over Krasinski's more subdued performance.  The fact that Emmy voters officially cast votes on a single episode from an entire season also penalizes actors who transform over a season (see also: Lost).

Outstanding Comedy Series: The Office ("Local Ad")

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series : Steve Carell ("Goodbye, Toby")

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Rainn Wilson ("Money")

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series: Paul Lieberstein ("Money")

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series: Paul Feig ("Goodbye, Toby")

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series: Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky ("Dinner Party")

Outstanding Picture Editing For A Comedy Series: Dave Rogers and Dean Holland ("Goodbye, Toby")

Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series: Ben Patrick, John W. Cook II, Peter J. Nusbaum ("Local Ad)

Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are saying that SNL and UCB alum Amy Poehler is in "final negotiations" to headline the still unnamed Office spinoff show set to debut after the Superbowl in early 2009. Apparently "Baby Mama" was enough of a success that negotiations began sometime in late June.


So much for Ausielo's "guaranteed" Amanda Peet prediction.

In any case, the deal is not yet officially confirmed, and both articles mention that Poehler's pregnancy (she is due this fall) could also affect or delay the production of the new series.

I still need some time to process this news, but my initial reaction is that Poehler is too "over the top" as a comedian to fit into an "Office"-like show.  Maybe it's having seen her mugging into the camera so often on SNL that's put this thought in my mind... I dunno.  As it stands, I am very glad that the "spinoff" seems to NOT be a spinoff after all-- I will be much more charitable towards a completely NEW show than if I am worrying about how this new show "tarnishes" the original (or not).

So what do you guys think? Great choice, or reason for concern? Can the fabric of the universe survive when both Poehler AND Fey have sitcoms on the same network on the same night? Will Poehler being hired also earn us some juicy Will "GOB" Arnett cameos? Only time will tell.

Talking to the AP about her SNL Emmy nomination, Poehler basically confirmed that her participation in the new show is a done deal (although she says she doesn't know what she'll be doing, exactly).

I must be living under a rock since going on Summer vacation.  I just this minute read an article in TV Guide about Mindy Kaling going back to Scranton, PA on July 19th for "The Office Games"

To quote the article:

"Scranton, besides hosting a day of events inspired by the show including a 2K race, a trivia challenge and beet eating contest, will also be the first city to offer the new The Office DVD Board Game and a separate The Office Trivia Game" (the first 125 people to buy a game from Boscov's in Steamtown Mall will get an autugraph from Mindy).

Our very own Kevin Crossman just spent some time in Scranton last week, so I guess the lure of the "Electric City" is still holding strong for many an Office fan.  I think I'll be sitting this next one out, though.

Anyone planning on attending the event?

EDIT:

Go HERE to sign up.  All proceeds will be donated to the United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Watch the episode NOW:



------------------------------------------------
One hundred people surveyed, top five answers on the board-- Name a great way for an Office fan to deal with Summer withdrawal.

Number one answer?  Watch CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD tonight at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central as our beloved cast takes on (believe it or not) the American Gladiators.  Al Roker, everyone's favorite portly African-American weatherman, does the hosting duties (he's no Richard Dawkins, but I suppose he'll do in a pinch).

Friend of the show Laura H. attended the taping, and filed this report:

"I had heard that there were going to be two Office-related shows at IO West in Hollywood in early June on the same night. One was Kate Flannery's "Lampshades" show and the other was an improv show featuring Angela, Oscar and Creed.  I had some credit with NWA which I had to use soon. I also had enough credit card points for a free hotel stay. So I thought "What the hell." I made my bookings and then sent both Angela and Kate short MySpace messages telling them I was coming out. (Not like we're "tight" or anything - but I had met both of them on a few different occasions over the past couple of years). Kate sent me a message back saying that some of them were going to be filming "Celebrity Family Feud" on the day I was coming into town. She asked if she should try to get me a ticket. Obviously, I said "Yes, please!" A couple of days later she sent me all the info I needed.

Since she had put my name on the list as her guest, I was sort of treated like a rock star - well, at least for a couple of hours at a game show taping, that is. I got to park my little rental car by the limos, I was escorted into the bldg through the back stage door and was shown where craft services was. It was pretty cool. The person taking me in said "You're a guest of Kate's? Did you want to go to the trailers?" I didn't want to push my luck, so I declined. I did happen to see the Office-mates walk past, however, and Kate said that she was happy I made it.

Once I was seated, it was alot of fun actually. The announcer dude warmed up the crowd, and it was pretty hilarious because he made us "practice" our responses - all the "oooo's" & "ahhh's", clapping, etc. It all just made me laugh!  I learned that The Office was going to be playing the American Gladiators - and that made me laugh more! The Office cast was all dressed very nicely - and the Gladiators came in costume . . . stretchy, spandexy bulges. It felt wrong just looking at them. :) 

Al Roker was the celebrity host, and he did a really good job. It was evident that he is a fan of The Office and he had a great rapport with them - probably since he had met them in Scranton?   Anyway, I won't spoil anything, but it was a good show. At one point, Kate was at the podium and nearly didn't get her answer in time. I let out some kind of noise - which I hope they edited out! ;)

That night was the two shows at IO West. Even though I had seen the Lampshades previously, it was still hilarious. I got to talk to Kate for a little while afterwards, and she was nice enough to give me a CD of the show. She didn't stay too long, though, because she had the TV Land Awards and a breast cancer charity event the next day.  The Armando (improv) show was also fun. Creed was the "host" and took the opportunity to tell a few stories from "back in the day" involving using illegal substances, etc. Just what you'd expect from Creed! Oscar and Angela were part of the group of improvisors - and Angela (especially) is alway so funny! 

After the show, it was pretty late and loud and crowded. But Angela saw me and came over and gave me a hug and thanked me for coming. She apologized but said that she wouldn't be able to stay too long - which I fully understood. She really wanted to get home to Isabel, and she also had the TV Land Awards the next day. We chatted for just a few minutes - mostly about the baby - and she told me that she would be appearing in People magazine and how she had been apprehensive to do so, but the folks at People were really great to work with."

Awesome story, Laura.  I think you just made a lot of people REALLY jealous, though... including yours truly.

To all of out American listeners-- a happy 4th of July to you all.  Please, try not to overdo it on the hot dogs and potato salad this year.

Just a few news tidbits that I'm sure most of you already know:

1) Amy Ryan is committed to reprise her outstanding role as Holly Flax in at least FIVE episodes next season.  Kevin and I both loved her work in the season finale, so I am very excited to see her coming back for more. 

2) According to Ricky Gervais' official blog, Steve Carell has signed on for another three year commitment to THE OFFICE with his new contract.  While his movie track record has been somewhat spotty, he definitely doesn't NEED to come back to working those fabled 12 hour days on a TV show if he didn't want to.  Hats off to Steve for sticking with the show.

3) The first new "webisode" of the Summer is set to launch on July 10th! Less than a week away.  TWSS will have full coverage of all the webisodes, so never fear (although I'm still not sure if we'll discuss them individually or wait until they're all finished...).

4) We're right back where we were in November 2007, as the SCREEN ACTORS GUILD are in the middle of their own tense negotiations with the studios.  The final contract has been proferred, but we won't know the results until July 8th.  I haven't been following this as closely as I should have, but we're literally on the edge of another major Hollywood work stoppage if a strike is called (the existing contract expired on June 30th).  Hollywood is walking on eggshells right now, as are many other cities that do a lot of location shooting (like Vancouver, for example).  Many seem to think the strike won't happen so soon after the WGA strike, but you never know.  Keep watching the news.

5) I'm looking at releasing the new TWSS Retro episode sometime in the next week (if Kevin and I can work something out).  Although we still have two episodes left from season one, I think we're going to just jump right ahead into "The Dundees."  If you'd like to leave an email comment for the show, giving your opinions on the episode, favorite parts, etc., get them to me ASAP at TWSSpodcast@gmail.com.  If you'd like to leave an audio comment, feel free to use Kevin's hotline:


This is technically the phone number for Kevin's Frat Pack Podcast, but never fear-- your comments will be forwarded to the right place.

6) Also, if you haven't done so, PLEASE consider pre-ordering your season four DVD sets from Amazon.com through our associates link (located to your right).  A small percentage of your purchase price will be kicked back to TWSS to help defray some of the costs of production.  If Amazon's price goes down in the coming months, you'll be charged the lowest price, regardless of where it is currently.  If you know you're going to order the set, please order from us.  You'll be doing TWSS a major solid, yo.

In conjunction with their "The EW 1000" list, Entertainment Weekly has asked Rainn Wilson to portray "several" classic TV characters from the past 25 years. 

So, anyone going to see it?

It's not doing too well on RottenTomatoes right now-- it's sitting at 52%, which is considered "rotten-- but the tide might turn as more reviews come in tomorrow.

If you HAVE seen it, or plan to, give your comments below.

EDIT:

Roger Ebert liked the film, at least, giving it 3.5/4 stars.

Variety posted an article yesterday about the first official actor to be hired for the yet-unnamed OFFICE spinoff-- Aziz Ansari.  Ansari, a veteran of the MTV sketch comedy show HUMAN GIANT, is described in the article as:

A rising star on the standup circuit, Ansari has earned raves, including best standup at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, for his irony-laced takes on life. Ansari's targets include everything from the singing ice cream scoopers at Coldstone Creamery to racism and homophobia.


In addition to serving as a writer, exec producer and performer on "Human Giant," Ansari also guested as a racist fruit vendor on HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" -- and recently opened for the Conchords on a series of concert dates.

[The] Comedian, who's repped by 3 Arts and UTA, is currently in Albuquerque filming scenes for the upcoming Seth Rogen feature "Observe and Report." He'll also be seen alongside Paul Rudd and Jason Segel in "I Love You, Man."

Furthermore, the article goes on to say that Daniels and Schurr have yet to decide on a concept for the spinoff, although there are several in the running.  They have hired veteran writers from EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, SOUTH PARK, and LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN to join the scripting team, and are (in the words of Greg Daniels) "meeting with a lot of cool people... We're trying to see how the pieces all fit together."

Going along with the previous rumor, Rashida Jones's name popped up again in the article, as it mentions that a telent holding deal has been struck between her reps and NBC/Universal.  Whether she'll be appearing in the spinoff, THE OFFICE, or 'none of the above' is yet to be determined. As of now, the idea that any of the cast of the original show will be moving over to the new spinoff seems highly unlikely.

(so much for our Andy theory!)

On the homefront, the article also brings word that several new writers have been hired for the show including '"Freaks and Geeks" creator Paul Feig, "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "New Adventures of Old Christine" vet Aaron Shure and "Saturday Night Live" writer Charlie Grandy."'

Paul Lieberstein will also become an executive producer for season five.

Good old Kristin over at E! is claiming that a source is telling her that Rashida Jones is going to be involved in The Office spinoff.  Doesn't sound very solid, however, since no one else will confirm and Jones' people are denying that she's been approached.

Personally, I've never been a huge "Karen" fan (she never seemed to exist beyond being Jim's temporary "Pam replacement" in my eyes), but what the hell. I just hope (as I've said before) that the spinoff simply isn't "The Office Utica."

I missed the show tonight, but both Brian Baumgartner and Kate Flannery served as guest celebrity judges on NBC's "Last Comic Standing."  The episode was filmed in Minneapolis, and since Brian Baumgartner is a hometown boy, he sat down for a talk with a reporter from the Pioneer Press about his experiences with the show.

From the article:

On the folks who auditioned: "Generally, I was really impressed, but there were the wacky people. ... I remember very specifically this woman with a goose, I think she was trying to be Old Mother Hubbard, but she had a live goose and I couldn't stop laughing. She was trying to have it do tricks and flap its wings. There were people with takeoffs on the whole Ole and Lena stereotype thing."

It's a brief read, but you can check out the rest of the article HERE.

I'm planning to set up an Amazon.com associates account in the next few days, and I would really appreciate it if anyone interested in buying the DVD set could order through our Amazon link.  We currently don't have any advertising or any other way to make up for the operating costs incurred in making the podcast, so if you have enjoyed what we do on TWSS, please consider ordering through the site.

EDIT: The link is on the sidebar to your right.

THE OFFICE: SEASON FOUR

ARRIVES ON DVD SEPTEMBER 2, 2008
FROM UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT


The Office is back with even more inappropriate remarks, uncomfortable silences, and obnoxious behavior in the complete fourth season of the Primetime Emmy(R) Award-winning series! Steve Carell ("40 Year-Old-Virgin") is back in his Golden Globe(R)-winning role as Michael Scott, the clueless boss of the Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch who manages to create unending comical drama despite his best intentions. Trusty and loyal assistant-to-the-regional manager Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) continues to uphold the office honor as Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) find ways to meddle with him and encourage Michael's hysterics. Plus, see "wunder kid" Ryan (B.J. Novak) in his new role at corporate as he pushes the infinite limits of Dunder Mifflin, often pushing Michael to his limits as well.

BONUS CONTENT:

    * DELETED SCENES
    * GAG REEL
    * OUTTAKES
    * COMMENTARIES WITH CAST AND CREW:
          o MONEY COMMENTARY - Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, Brian Baumgartner, Paul Lieberstein, Michael Schur, and Jennifer Celotta.
          o LOCAL AD COMMENTARY - B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Jason Reitman, and Anthony Ferrell.
          o THE DEPOSITION - Commentary with Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Melora Hardin, Brian Baumgartner, Ed Helms, Lee Eisenberg, Lester Lewis, and Ryan Koh.
          o DID I STUTTER? - Commentary with Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Justin Spitzer, Brent Forrester, Gene Stupnitsky, and Randall Einhorn.
    * THE OFFICE CONVENTION - Writers' Block Panel Discussion
    * And more!

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Street Date: September 2, 2008
Price: $49.98 SRP
Running Time: 404 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen
Languages: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Listener Jasmine sent in this eye-witness report of Rainn Wilson's appearance at the University of California,

Jenna Fischer was "keeping it real" with Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air" yesterday.  From the NPR blurb:

"Jenna Fischer, who's perhaps best known as Pam the receptionist on NBC's The Office, stars in The Promotion, a new comedy about two midlevel supermarket employees bucking for a manager's job."


Click THE LINK to listen to the episode, or download it through iTunes.

Not really all that "office-y," but I thought this article was interesting.  Director Sam Mendes is currently filming his next feature FARLANDERS (John K. and Maya Rudolph star as an expectant couple on a cross-country road trip to find the "perfect" place to settle down), and is doing a lot of the location shooting in our old friend Stamford, CT. 

According to the article, various locations in Stamford have so far been used as a French-Canadian diner, a home in Colorado, and an Arizona bath/ whirlpool store.  The article provides a nice "peek behind the curtain" as it were on the hows and whys certain movies choose certain locations.

Kevin dropped me a line yesterday to point out that Rainn Wilson has supposedly been cast in TRANSFORMERS 2, as "some kind of a professor." 

I guess I'm glad to see him graduating from bit parts in indie films to bit parts in ridiculously overpriced blockbusters, but the original TRANSFORMERS was the mental equivalent of a prostate exam.  I *STILL* feel the pain. 

I think I'll pass on #2, but best of luck to Mr. Wilson.

I know many of us were impressed with Amy Ryan's turn as Holly Flax in the season finale.  The rapport and chemistry with Michael was one of the high points for me, and I was hoping for more of that next season.  Unfortunately, that might not be the case... at least according to TV Guide's Matt Roush--

As for Amy Ryan: Last time I checked this week, there was no news yet about her returning to the show. But it's hard to imagine she won't appear at least once more — unless Holly was so put off by Michael's arousal and later rejection that her absence is explained later in exposition. I hope we get to see her again — but yeah, don't count on her for the spin-off. This actress's career is just taking off, and this Office role is likely something of a fun lark.

That makes me incredibly sad, but then again, I won't start gnashing my teeth until we get some kind of confirmation from NBC.  I *DID* say that Toby could easily come back to the show after having found Costa Rica distasteful for some reason, so who knows.  All I can say is that I'll really miss her character... is it too soon to make my "Team Holly" shirt? (^_-)

NBC recently announced its Fall schedule, confirming that THE OFFICE will return on SEPTEMBER 25th for a one hour season premiere. MY NAME IS EARL also returns on the 25th, and 30 ROCK once again rears its head on October 30th.

Joining the Thursday night comedy block on October 9th is the retooled Austrailian import KATH & KIM.  NBC describes the show thusly:

For "Kath & Kim," they're the most dysfunctional duo in suburbia. Kath Day (Molly Shannon, NBC's "Saturday Night Live") is the mom, a foxy, 40-something divorcée who finally has time for herself and her valiant search for love. Kim Day (Selma Blair, "Hellboy," "Hellboy II") is the daughter, a self-absorbed princess recently separated from her husband who finds consolation in stuffing her face. When Kim decides to move back home, Kath reluctantly agrees -- but to Kim's chagrin, Kath is not about to cater to her every whim as she has in the past. Based on the most successful comedy in Australia of the same name, Kath and Kim are two brassy women who prefer the finer things in life like acrylic nails, big hair and faux diamond chips. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios and Reveille. The executive producer/writer is Michelle Nader ("The King of Queens") and the executive producer/director is Paul Feig ("Freaks and Geeks," "The Office"). Gina Riley, Jane Turner and Rick McKenna also are executive producers.

Only four months to go!

37 years ago today, my sainted mother pushed me forth into this cold, cruel world.  Well... I guess it hasn't been ALL bad-- I did enjoy a brief period back in the 80s... Oh, and THE OFFICE.  Definitely worth it.

Due to my schedule this week and the extra time involved with editing an episode of such extraordinary length, TWSS #45 will take a few extra days to produce.

Seeing as we have no other new OFFICE episodes to worry about, I figure you can cut us some slack :)

Keep checking your RSS feeds.

Despite what we all originally thought, Ricky Gervais did NOT come up with the idea for THE OFFICE on his own.  In fact, he was inspired by a little seen Japanese comedy.  Video of the original version surfaced on the web today, and it's definitely well worth a look!

I'm sort of torn on what to do with the comments section.  These "cut n paste" spam posts lately are really starting to annoy me, but I don't know if this is some kind of spambot (I don't see what monetary value can be gained from this, esp. since there are no links or ads) or just the work of someone with an axe to grind. 

I don't want to have to moderate comments because it really DOES make it less interesting to not see the posts immediately.  On the other hand, I'm tired of having to scroll through the entire pasted contents of my website every 5 messages. 

Let me know what YOU guys want.  Would you rather I just leave them open?

Friend of the show (and graphic designer) Gary sent me a picture of what our 2008 presidential "dream team"* might look like.  Thought I'd share.

Nice work, Gary.

EDIT:

Here's some love for the other side.



*This is in no way an endoresment of John McCain or the Republican party in general. 

Well, here we are folks... the end of the strike shortened fourth season.  We've had a lot of plot building this past month which all seems to be leading towards some big revelations/changes in tonight's episode.  Will Toby REALLY leave? Who is going to be getting engaged? Will JAM become "Philly JAM"? I guess we shall see soon enough.


From NBC.com:

IT'S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE - SPECIAL ONE HOUR SEASON FINALE - OSCAR NOMINEE AMY RYAN ("Gone Baby Gone") GUEST STARS - It's Toby's (Paul Lieberstein) goodbye party at Dunder Mifflin and Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) demands a huge celebration that matches the joy in his heart. Angela (Angela Kinsey), sick of Michael's unreasonable last minute demands, refuses, and Michael turns to Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) to take over the party planning committee. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Meredith (Kate Flannery) haze the new HR woman, Holly (Oscar Nominee Amy Ryan). John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, Melora Hardin, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Oscar Nunez, Mindy Kaling, Creed Bratton, and Craig Robinson also star.

As always, leave your comments below.  Join Kevin and me in the TWSS Chat room immediately following the conclusion of the episode.  If you'd like to leave an audio comment (which might end up on the next episode of the podcast) call 206-666-FRAT and leave a voicemail.

Oh, and don't forget that Paul Lieberstein will be doing a live blog over at NBC.com after the finale.  Hmmm... chat with us, watch the blog... decisions, decisions!

(The blog will always be there, if it helps to make your choice...)

In her "The Watcher" column in the Chicago Tribune, columnist Maureen Ryan has gone all "Comic Book Guy" and declaired JOB FAIR to be the "worst episode ever." of THE OFFICE.

Now, you've heard out take in the podcast.  I agree with a lot of what she says, but also think she's going a bit too far.  Still, to each their own.

Scroll down to the bottom of the article for a summary of Steve Carell's interview with PLAYBOY.

(Thanks to "SavannahMark" for the tip)

"The Bryant Park Project" aired an interview with BJ Novak yesterday.  It runs about 15 minutes (intermixed with audio clips from "Chair model") and apparently our dear intern/boss/half-beard gives his take on the whole "McCain watching THE OFFICE" question we mentioned in the last episode.

Well, looks like I owe John McCain a can of Duff... according to BJ Novak he IS a fan of the show (or at least knows the "Dinner Party" episode). Now the only burning question is "is OBAMA a fan"?  Maybe we'll see an OFFICE "quote-off" in November... extra bonus points to whichever candidate quotes from "Dwight's Speech" in their inaugural...

TWSS listener Greta pointed out that the folks over at TBPP have released an uncut version of the interview which runs about 40 minutes.  I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but we'll definitely share any useful information we find in the next episode of the podcast.

Looks like Libsyn is trying out a NEW spam-deterrent on the comments, so I'll take a leap of faith and open them back up again so that no moderation is required.

That doesn't mean you can be a jerk, though.  Remember-- comments are here to talk about THE TV EPISODE or THE PODCAST.  Please address the issues or statements made by the other posters, NOT the individual making the comments (ex. "I disagree with your comments about the ____, I found the show to be _____!" and NOT "You're stupid.").  Please do not post under someone else's name.  If you have a comment about THE PODCAST, try to keep it CONSTRUCTIVE (ex. "I thought Matt was way off base with his comments about ______, because..." and NOT "You're stupid.").

The biggest reason Kevin and I keep producing TWSS is for the interaction with and feedback from other THE OFFICE fans.  Let's keep things civil.

Thanks.

Something incredibly bizarre is going on with the comments this past week, so I have once again turned on comment filtering. That means that I will have to "approve" your comment for it to appear on the blogplage.  I know it kind of sucks and limits the back and forth discussion, but I don't know what else to do.  We're seeing tons of double and triple posts, giant random texts, and all sorts of other odd stuff.  When it gets sorted out, we can go back to normal.

This one sounds pretty promising-- Jim, Andy and Kevin on the links? A situation rife with comedic possibilities if I've ever heard one. 


From NBC.com:

Jim (John Krasinski) hits the links with Andy (Ed Helms) and Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) to try and land his biggest client ever. Meanwhile, Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) sets up a booth at a local job fair, which happens to be at Pam's (Jenna Fischer) alma mater, to find "the best and the brightest" for Dunder Mifflin's summer internship. Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Angela Kinsey, Creed Bratton, Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Phyllis Smith and Craig Robinson also star.

-----------

Leave your comments below, and join Kevin and me in the TWSS chat after the show.

The first trailer for THE ROCKER was just posted over at Yahoo! Movies, and it's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a glimpse of the "wilder" side of Dunder Mifflin's favorite beet farmer.

I dunno... looks like it could go either way, as the trailer seems heavy on "getting hit in the nuts" and "falling off stuff" jokes.  Not exactly subtle... but then, when is rock ever subtle? In the plus column, one of the writers is listed as Wallace Wolodarsky, a verteran writer on THE SIMPSONS (you know, from the GOOD seasons before it jumped the shark...?).

If you're unfamiliar with THE ROCKER, allow Yahoo! Movies to elucidate:

A failed drummer is given a second chance at fame. Robert "Fish" Fishman (Rainn Wilson) is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n' roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew's high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he's always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.

Friend of the show Brian Howard over at the Remote Access TV blog offers up yet another interview with a recent THE OFFICE guest star, this time talking to Five Families member Paul "Cool Guy Paul" Faust.

Head on over to Brian's blog for all the details.

Dwight buying and then flipping Andy's Nissan Xterra was one of the funniest bits to be found in DID I STUTTER? this past week.  Dwight's Jedi mind-trick sales techniques, the "three way bidding war"... pure comedy gold.

Inspired by the episode, the actual OWNER of said Xterra (one of the hairstylists on THE OFFICE) has put the car up on eBay as well. 

If you happen to be lucky enough (or foolish enough, given the current bid price) to purchase this vehicle, you'll also receive a copy of the DID I STUTTER script signed by the whole cast, the actual prop "for sale" sign used on the show, and a few other props that were used in filming (like a Cornell window sticker).

If you live int he Van Nuys, CA area and just HAVE to own a piece of OFFICE history to drive around in, this might be the chance you've been waiting for. 

Hurry... bidding closes on MAY 8th!

Strange title aside, I am curious to see how this clash of the titans plays out tonight.  Michael trying to give Stanley an attitude adjustment? After going through an entire BRANCH WAR to get him back? :)  There's no Stanley tree out there, people.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE NOW:

TAKING ON THE BOSS - When Stanley (Leslie David Baker) snaps at Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) during a meeting, Michael tries to give Stanley an attitude adjustment. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) decides to buy Andy's (Ed Helms) car. Meanwhile, Pam (Jenna Fischer) deals with an unexpected inconvenience after spending the night at Jim's (John Krasinski). Brian Baumgarter, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Craig Robinson and Creed Bratton also star.

As always, leave your comments below.

EDIT:

Here's a link to a large size picture of the organizational chart. Whose name is crossed off on the accountants side? And if Devon is here, where are the other Stamford people? :)

EDIT 2:

NBC has made a PDF file of the chart available for download. Click HERE to get the PDF of Dwight's "emergency" plan overlay.

Friend of the show Brian Howard, of the Remote Access TV Blog, posted the first part of a two part interview yesterday with Cassie Fliegel  AKA Tall Girl #1 AKA the hot chick that made out with Dwight during the NIGHT OUT episode.

Check out the interview HERE, and look for the second part to be posted sometime soon.

I still cannot comprehend how the image below could ever come to pass, but I suppose I have only mere hours to wait for an explanation.


From NBC.com:

Michael (Steve Carell) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) decide to surprise Ryan (B.J. Novak) in New York for a night of clubbing and meet his friends. Meanwhile, the Scranton branch is upset when they find out they have to come in on a Saturday for Ryan's website project. Jim's plan to save them has unexpected results. Brian Baumgartner, Ed Helms, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Leslie David Baker, Kate Flannery, Craig Robinson and Creed Bratton also star.

-----------------

Leave your comments below, and look for Kevin and me in the TWSS CHATROOM after the show airs (Kevin's got the Pacific shift).

**WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD**

I know we just complained about spoilers in episode #41, but since most of this info is spoiler-y without being specific, I figure it's OK.  In the latest "Ask Ausiello" column, we get three new (sort of) tidbits of information:

SPOILERS ARE IN WHITE TEXT IN THE SPACE BELOW.  TO SEE THEM, CLICK AND HOLD THE LEFT MOUSE BUTTON WHILE DRAGGING DOWNWARD.

1) One couple is getting engaged in the finale

Seems too obvious that it'd be Jim and Pam.  My money is on Dwangela, mostly because it'd make me cry if Michael and Jan got back together.

2) One cast member is leaving the show

Nothing new there, really.  We've known this since Silverman's big announcement of the spinoff.

3) When asked if Amanda Peet would be the new "boss" on the spinoff show (not sure where that rumor floated from), Ausiello replied "Y*s! C*ng*at*lati*ns!" (whatever the hell THAT means). 

So is he agreeing? Is it some secret code?  Is NBC ready to have Peet as the boss of yet another failed show on their network?

In other spoiler news, E!'s "Watch with Kristin" said that Pam was going to be revealing some "secret" before the end of the season.  I figured that it would have something to do with why she couldn't agree to the engagement (that she'd taken another job-- the DM art internship-- perhaps?).  Might tie in with the "one cast member is leaving" (sort of) cliffhanger for the season finale. 

Yes, it's true... I am indeed SICK again.  I felt perfectly fine last Wednesday until I had to pick my parents up from the airport.  One hour later, BAM.  Sore throat, congestion, the whole nine yards. 

Kevin and I recorded the show last night, so all that remains is the editing.  As I said, HOPEFULLY that means it will be online sometime tonight.

Thanks for your patience.

In conjunction with the May release of GET SMART, the most recent issue of WIRED magazine explores ways to "improve your brainpower."  Steve Carell not only appears on the magazine's cover, but he also provides several rather tongue-in-cheek suggestions of his own on how to gently tease the old grey matter onward to new heights of excellence. 


One tidbit:

Act "Human"
When I go to parties, people often look stunned at how smart I am. But nobody wants to talk about astrophysics at a dinner party. Hey, when I want to talk like that, I head to the lab! Instead, I talk about "human" things they enjoy and understand: midrange wines, movie trivia, and mundane subjects like family and emotional fulfillment. I like to end my conversations with a quote, usually something in French, like "c'est la vie," which means "down the hatch!" But don't overdo it: Nobody likes a show-off.

Check newsstands now, or head over to WIRED.com for the article.

A month has passed since the ill-fated dinner party... can't wait to see what we'll get in the first "post-strike" written episode.  *IS* this episode the introduction of the spinoff characters? Will Michael find a new "special someone"? I guess only time will tell.

Michael's (Steve Carell) fascination with a woman modeling a chair in an office supply catalog makes him feel things he hasn't felt in a while. With Michael distracted, Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Andy (Ed Helms) team up to win back Dunder Mifflin's stolen parking spaces, forcing them into a showdown with the bosses of the five businesses of the office park. Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Phyllis Smith, Mindy Kaling, Leslie David Baker, Melora Hardin, Kate Flannery and Creed Bratton also star.

So I'm editing the "Dinner Party" episode of TWSS right now and watching the MY NAME IS EARL episode "Stole P's HD Cart" on TBS.  What do I see in the background but the very burger joint that Pam & Jim hit at the end of the episode?

The image is kind of small, but you can make it out:



It's a "Winky Dinky Dog" franchise in MNIE.  Not sure what it is in the universe of THE OFFICE. 

Best damn cheeseburgers in town, though.

Man o man, this is getting ridiculous: The NBC Universal store is now offering "Serenity by Jan" candle sets.  There are three different sets, each with 4 different candles.  I'm not sure how "bonfire" ends up smelling like hazelnut, but you can't expect a TRUE Jan original for only $15.

With the return of our favorite show tomorrow, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello dove into a triumvirate of The Office "spoilers" in today's column. 

I won't spoil the "JAM" stuff he mentions, but I definitely want to discuss the following in light of our "the spinoff is a horrible idea" stance:

Question: What do you know about the Office spin-off? — J.R.

Ausiello: I know that, contrary to speculation, it will not revolve around Dwight. According to an insider, the Michael-Dwight dynamic is "too integral to the show." The likelier scenario, according to a Peacock insider, has Ed Helms' Andy headlining Office 2.0. "That idea was batted around prior to the strike," whispers my source, "and NBC seemed interested."

Despite my initial "no way!" reaction, this sort of makes sense.  Ed Helms is definitely a "bigger name" than some of the other actors on the show, and while I've enjoyed him in season 4, both Ian and I always felt that the Andy character was a bit too redundant (half Michael/half Dwight).  If anyone were to leave the current show, I think I'd miss Andy the least.

The only problem I have with this is that it seems to imply a "more of the same" kind of sequel show.  As I said in episode # 39, I do NOT want to see "The Office 2.0" in the spinoff.  If they can take the Andy character and put him in an environment that's different enough from the Dunder Mifflin digs, it just might work.  Until we see more concrete plans, however, I'm going to reserve any more judgement.

(BTW, Ausiello also makes it clear in this column that Greg Daniels and NBC would be "insane" to not consider ex-Gilmore Girl Lauren Graham for the "new Michael" role in the spinoff.  This just in: Ausiello smokes crack.  News at 11...)

Disclaimer: AFAIK, Michael Ausiello does not smoke crack.

Thanks to Ian for the tip.
 

Timed to both promote "Leatherheads" AND the return of THE OFFICE this week, The Onion AV Club ran a rather lengthy interview with everyone's favorite football phenom/Office hearth-throb Johnny K.

Most of the interview focusses on "Leatherheads," but it eventually shifts over to THE OFFICE towards the end. 

One quote on how the writer's strike affected the show:

AVClub: How did the strike affect the show? The Office can do standalone episodes as well, but it also has plot developments. What happens when the strike blows a hole through the season? How do you recover from that and make a complete season out of it?

John Krasinski: I didn't know how they were going to do it. But I think they've done a great job of sort of picking up and creating these little mini-arcs, and just planting seeds. But yeah, the strike definitely devastated any chances of long lead arcs or very intricate arcs. I was really interested to see where it's going to go, but it didn't affect the tone of the show. Some of our funniest episodes are coming up now. And every episode relies at least a little on having some prior knowledge of the show. For instance, on our first episode back, Pam and I finally go to dinner with Michael and Jan, which has been in the works for a long, long time.

I always wonder how these reporters/writers convince their bosses to let them tie their favorite TV show into their job somehow (kind of like those people you read about who write their masters dissertation on "Lost").  Call me cynical, but I imagine lots of "expensed" DVD sets and many a working hour "taking notes" while the aforementioned DVDs play happily in the background. 

U.S. News & World Report is the latest in a long line of periodicals that have attempted to find some deeper meaning in the world of Dunder Mifflin.  Check out their article on "7 Career Lessons From NBC's THE OFFICE."

Now if only I could figure out some way to design a few lesson plan units around the show... hmmm...

Now that the file finally posted, I guess I'll change this "Libsyn stinks" post into a "please leave your comments about episode # 39" post (since comments seem to be AWOL on the real post above).

Funny thing is, I've seen at least two "screwball" comedies from the 1930s in the last month and a half-- "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town," and "It Happened One Night." George Clooney's "Leatherheads" takes a generous helping of inspiration from BOTH of these classic films, and while it gets some of the tone and trappings right, it just can't seem to find the HEART.

John Krasinski, as many of you know, plays and "up and coming" college phenom nick-named "The Bullet." He's an all-American guy, great football player and a war hero to boot.  He's got endorsements up the wazoo, and a promising law career ahead of him after he graduates.  Clooney plays the sort of manager, sort of press agent, sort of "star" of a rag-tag bunch of losers collectively known as the Duluth Bulldogs.  Professional football is still a joke, and the Bulldogs succumb to low ticket sales and general disinterest.  Rather than find other work, Clooney comes up with a plan-- do whatever it takes to make sure Krasinski plays for HIS team. 

Back in Chicago, Renee Zellweger plays a "gal reporter with moxie," who, much like Jean Arthur's character in "Mr. Deeds...," is charged with getting close to and then getting the DIRT on "The Bullet," who seems too good to be true.  Just like Claudette Colbert's character in "It Happened...," Zellweger ALSO starts falling more and more for Clooney's "Clark Gable-esque" rascally ways as they spend more and more time together. To make it a classic triangle, she ALSO seems to be falling for Krasinski, and he definitely seems to be falling for her-- so much so that he lets her in on a rather damning secret which may or may not end his career or damage his good name (it's never really clear WHAT will happen as a result of this information leaking out, actually).

This is essentially where the movie lost me.  The antics showing the early days of football were mostly amusing and interesting, and if the film would have STUCK with that angle, it might have been more entertaining in the long run.  Instead, it focusses on the love triangle.  No big deal, right? Colbert had to throw off her drip of a fiance in order to be with Gable.  Surely, like Arthur's character, Zellweger will suffer a crisis of conscience, repent of her evil, deceptive ways, beg forgiveness of the man she's double-crossed, and ultimately come to his defense... right?  WRONG. 

Bafflingly, the movie wants to set up Krasinski as the "villain" to Clooney's hero, but it just doesn't work.  We LIKE "The Bullet," we know his war story wasn't really his fault, and we never see him acting like a jerk or using his fame to manipulate people or do anything worse than take a swing at a man who has stolen his girl.  Zellweger, far from having to search her soul about what to do with the hot story, sells him out in a heartbeat... and the movie wants the audience to be on HER side when she's then threatened with being fired.  Frank Capra would have known that for the audience to be on her side we need Krasinski to be a total douche, twisting his mustache and threatening to "ruin her" or something.  But Krasinski, as I said, is a NICE guy.  I don't want to see him ruined, and I certainly wasn't on the side of a woman who'd romance a secret out of a guy and use it to crucify him (the scene Clooney orchestrates to humiliate him into confessing is also rather painful).

As if that wasn't enough, the film sends Krasinski's character to the arch-rival Chicago Buffalos team mere days before the Bulldogs are set to play them.  I guess this was also supposed to get us to see Krasinski as a bad guy or a traitor, but it still doesn't work: there are absolutely no stakes in the final game, I didn't really care if the Bulldogs won or not, and I still wasn't quite sure why Clooney-- and the audience-- was supposed to be rooting against Krasinski's character.

In the end, The Bulldogs win, Krasinski promisses to "fess up," Clooney gets the girl, and they ride off into the sunset towards connubial bliss. 

As the credits began to roll, I realized a few things: one, that the movie was an interesting attempt to recreate a certain long-lost film style, and two, I simply couldn't have cared less that Clooney and Zellweger got together. 

After further review, though, maybe they deserved each other after all.

Did you know that WWI (a.k.a. "the great war") ended in 1918? Given the year "Leatherheads" takes place (1925), and the fact that Carter seems to imply that he is 24 years old, he would have been all of 17 years old (maximum) when the "incident" took place. 

Aside from Steve Carell's role in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, I haven't seen any of films starring the various Office cast members (MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND? Looked dumb... WALK HARD? Killed by bad reviews... LICENSE TO WED? Do I really have to have a reason? HORTON and EVAN? No thanks). 


I am kind of curious to see LEATHERHEADS, though.  Maybe it's because I used to play football, or because I enjoy a "screwball" comedy, or maybe just because the cast looks solid.  The reviews, however, haven't been very kind (currently earning a whipping 55% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes).

Still, 96% of critics drooled over JUNO, so what the hell do they know, right? (-_^)

Anyone see the film?  What did you think?

So... Anyone watching MY NAME IS EARL?  Note to Jeff Zucker-- You're not funny (neither is this episode of Earl, really, but at least it's NEW).

I don't think I'm going to sit through the two hour marathon just for the John Krasinski bits (that's why god invented the DVR, after all), but feel free to make any comments about his appearance below.

Just saw the preview for DINNER PARTY... gotta say, Andy Bernard is one snappy dresser (Note to self: more over-the-shoulder sweater ensembles). The episode has been described as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" meets... well... THE OFFICE.  A crying Dwight, Michael discussing his three vasectomies... who could ask for anything more?

Well, NBC has been busy unveiling its 2008-2009 prime time schedule today, which includes some rather baffling (but not unexpected) news -- "THE OFFICE SPINOFF" will debut in January 2009.  A regular episode of THE OFFICE will air in the coveted post-Super Bowl slot, followed by the pilot episode of the unnamed (I can only pray it's not named "The Office Spinoff"...) spinoff.

The ORIGINAL show will return in September, once again, with hour long episodes.  E! is also reporting that the episode order for 2008-2009 is "28 half hour episodes" (not sure how those hour longs fit into that).

I got a chuckle out of some of the comments in the NYT article-- since the show was unnamed, the author asked, what names would its readers suggest for the show?

Reader Jaimie quipped: 'I think they should name it something like “Creative Oversight�? or “Gigantic Error.�?'

Damn right, Jaimie.

Can anyone REALLY see it as a good idea to split the attention of THE OFFICE's writing staff? A good idea to take characters from one of the most beloved and talented ensembles ever assembled and shuffle some of them off to another show?  THE OFFICE is amazing BECAUSE it has such a huge cast of characters... it's a TEAM effort, through and through. 

Sure, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW gave birth to RHODA, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW begat MAYBERRY RFD, ALL IN THE FAMILY spawned THE JEFFERSONS (and MAUDE), and DOCTOR WHO led into TORCHWOOD.  I GET the concept.  I know it's worked in the past, but it just makes me incredibly sad to think that one of the best shows on TV is going to screwed with in this way. 

For those people who say "But everyone said an AMERICAN remake of THE OFFICE would suck, and look how it turned out," I say "Bah."  The situations aren't analgous in the least.  The UK show was over, the American version took the pilot idea and ran with it, quickly making the show a very distinct beast.  None of the UK cast came to America, the UK audience didn't have to watch David Brent or Tim suddenly relocate to Scranton, PA, being replaced by some new "nobodies" (or even worse, not replaced at all).

Will I watch the new show? Of course.  Maybe I'll even love it.  But right now, it just worries me more than anything else.

Moviefone.com just posted a lengthy "Unscripted" episode featuring John Krasinski and George Clooney.  For those of you that DON'T know, the "Unscripted" segments are essentially the two stars alone on a stage, interviewing each other (using questions submitted by readers of the site).

They're both pretty amusing and charming, and John dishes about the future for Jim and Pam-- "Babies. Pam and Jim have Babies. Sextuplets."

Click the video above for a brief sample, and click on the Moviefone link at the top of the post for the entire segment.

With LEATHERHEADS only a week away, the hype-machine is in full effect.  USA Today joined the John Krasinski love-fest today with an article talking about his experiences on the set, how he thought Clooney was "pranking" him by saying he got the role, and much more.

Krasinski seems so squeaky-clean that the article's author asked Steve Carell if there wasn't a "dark side" hidden somewhere.

"You can dig for it, but I don't know that you're going to find it," Carell says. "What's not to like? Plus, he smells really good, like fresh-baked cookies."

Read the full article HERE.

EDIT:

Parade magazine also had an interview/write-up on John today. Aside from the interview, ladies (and men secure in their heterosexuality) can enjoy some rather "hawt" web exclusive photos.

I know that with the strike in full effect, many of us were shunning any Office episodes that were being offered over the web.  With the new contract in place, it's time to check out the HULU video-on-demand service if you haven't already done so.



Currently, the service is offering NINE full episodes of The Office, with over 100 "clips" from the series.  In addition, dozens upon dozens of OTHER shows are also available.  Click HERE for a full alphabetical list of programs.

The Hollywood Reporter covered the Hollywood Radio & Television Society's Newsmaker Luncheon on Tuesday-- and event that gave the media access to various studio heads and other "big wigs" in the TV business.  The number one question on everyone's mind was "when do things get back to normal?" No one had much of an answer.  Another question asked who the winners and losers in the strike, prompting this response:

[there were no winners,] But there were losers, said Richard Weitz, partner and head of the TV packaging department at Endeavor, pointing out the financial impact of the strike.

"I don't think anybody will be able to break even or make up that money and time that was lost," he said, citing such shows as NBC's "Chuck" and ABC's "Pushing Daisies" that saw shortened first seasons because of the strike. "Those back-nine episodes that were lost won't be able to be made up in the future."

Greg Daniels was also in attendance, and gave a few tidbits of information regarding The Office:

In a new book published by Wiley-Blackwell, “The Office and Philosophy:Scenes From The Unexamined Life�?, Editor and contributor Jeremy Wisnewski has assembled an impressive team of fellow philosophers who take a good look at the popular NBC Television program, “The Office�?.

Originally a BBC creation, the hugely popular show has spawned not just the multi-award winning American version, but French, German, and Canadian versions as well. Each plays to their individual cultures. This speaks volumes about the depth and insight of The Office.

According to the editor, Professor J. Jeremy Wisnewski, “This show is hilarious, but it has something to say. Our book was written by fans for fans – every day folks who appreciate the show and who are a little more like Michael Scott than Socrates. We grouped the sections like office memos; each one reveals something new about The Office. It raises issues and lets us enjoy ourselves at the same time.�?

Readers will identify with the topics the book raises in chapters such as “Laughter Between Distraction and Awakening: Marxist Themes in The Office,�? and “Attacking with the North: Affirmative Action and The Office.�? The authors cite the perception of class and race differences in the office environment, as well as the differences between the British and American versions of the program. The Office and Philosophy examines the close and personal connection that viewers feel towards a fictional interpretation of a collective and common reality.

The book works to further break down the “4th wall�? of the show’s audience. The author contemplates why viewers are fascinated by a world where it is acceptable to make outrageous statements and voice beliefs not normally appropriate in a workplace. “The program offers insight into social expectations and plays with the boundaries of behavior and social mores.�? [VF1]

The manner in which the characters resolve and cope with these remarkable circumstances allow the audience to identify with how they may be able to resolve their own issues. The book delves into the process of self-discovery and self-deception. “We can see bit of ourselves in each character�?, says Wisnewski. “We’re the analyst and the analyzed at the same time.�?

Political correctness, sexual harassment, business ethics, office flirtation, and humiliation are hot button points that show up in this snapshot of life. Even as it captures something of the human condition, The Office put the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional. “This is philosophy that is meant to introduce you to, and help you understand, issues in a way that is as enjoyable as the show itself.�?

Are you going through Krasinski-withdrawl, like Michelle in Chicago? Fear not, true believer!  According to E! Online's "Watch With Kristin," Johnny K. will be hosting a mini-marathon of Office episodes on April 3rd.

Says Kristin:

...you'll get your John Krasinski fix April 3 when he hosts NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup. They're going to replay the last four episodes of The Office, and J.K. will be previewing scenes from his upcoming movie, Leatherheads, with Mr. George Clooney. Very fancy, our little Halpert has gotten, no?!

The New York Times published an article today looking at the ups, downs, joys and shame of belonging to an a cappella group. From the article:

Whenever a cappella is mentioned in pop culture (see the comedy “The Break-Up,�? in which Vince Vaughn is beaten up by an a cappella group; the bio for Stephen Colbert’s broadcast persona, which claims that he performed a cappella in a Dartmouth group called the Sing Dynasty; or the recent dismissal from “American Idol�? of Luke Menard, who also sang a cappella), it is almost always a shorthand for rampant geekiness. On the NBC sitcom “The Office,�? the grating Andy Bernard, a character played by Ed Helms, often reminds co-workers that he once performed with a Cornell group called Here Comes Treble.

Mr. Helms said the show’s satire of a cappella was all in good fun, though he still bears the scars of his own brief encounter with the art form: in 1993, he said, he quit the Oberlin Obertones after one semester because of a personality clash with the group’s music director. “I decided smoking pot was more important than extracurricular activities,�? he said.

That's about it for OFFICE related content, but check out the rest of the article HERE if you're so inclined.

The website "Monsters and Critics" posted a rather lengthy chat with Rainn Wilson and Greg Daniels today.  The questions were kind of all over the map, but there were a few gems including the following:

Greg, can you give clues to anything that’s coming up in the upcoming 'Office' episodes going forward?

Greg Daniels: Well I mean, that’s a very - kind of a charged situation where Michael has been asking Pam and Jim to come have dinner with him and Jan over and over, and over again.

And he finally manages this - through this kind of scam, to destroy all their excuses. And it just happens to be after the previous episode which is when he went to New York to try and help Jan with her deposition and he kind of blew her sort of wrongful termination lawsuit.

There’s a lot of tension between them in that episode. And then coming up we have some episodes that follow off on that.

Some of them involve the character of Ryan whose website initiative started the season off and is kind of crumbling underneath him and has gotten - for some reason has become like infested with sexual predators.

And - which is just one of the problems his website has. And we have episodes coming up where Dwight and Michael are going to have joined Ryan in some of his club-hopping New York partying and try to - I think get involved in his life a little bit more. But there’s some cool, weird things happening that I can’t talk about and, you know, you’ll just have to see it to truly enjoy all the twists and turns.

Head on over to the FULL ARTICLE for more.

Scranton held their big annual St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday, one of the "town defining" events which has never quite made it onto the show (blame it on the usual March hiatus). Dunder-Mifflin WAS represented this year, however, with the inclusion of CFO David (Andy Buckley) Wallace, who was apparently a big hit according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.  Apparently, some politician showed up as well... but who cares, next to a rising star like Wallace? (har)

Click on the link above to read more, and check out some videos of the festivities.

There was a lot of talk about Rashida Jones potentially returning to  The Office this season, but then her Fox pilot was picked up and next  thing you know Jim Halpert is driving home from NYC looking for  dinner with Pam.

Unhitched recently debuted, and is also available on iTunes. I had a  chance to sample the first episode last week when it was free on  iTunes. Rashida Jones must have landed a winner if she was willing to  leave a plum role on The Office, right? Wrong. Unhitched is awful.

As if the phallic promo photo wasn't bad enough, the show was boring,  trying-too-hard- but-not-hard-enough-to-be edgy, and most of all not  funny. Check it out on Fox... while it lasts.

Matt says:

I've seen the majority of the first two episodes, and I have to agree with Kevin for the most part.  The show desperately wants to be the new "Seinfeld" (and Fox's ads for the show certainly go out of their way to make the same connection), but so far it seems more on par with the "made for cable" sitcoms currently airing on TBS. 

Did I laugh at the "shrimp/angel wing/skin tag" plotline from this past week's episode?  Not really... it certainly WAS rather disturbing (which makes sense, seeing as the show is a product of the Farrelly brothers).  All told, though, I actually sort of liked the "B" story of the mild-mannered doctor friend "Freddy" (played by Shaun Majumder). As for Jones' story... pretty forgettable.

Have you ever seen the first NEW episode of FAMILY GUY after it returned from cancellation? The one where Peter reads off a list of about 50 cancelled Fox TV shows?  I have a feeling UNHITCHED will be joining that list sometime soon.  I predict a big return for Karen in season five.

Hey guys.

We've had the Valentine's Day podcast recorded since last week, but (like many times this year) I've come down with the flu these last few days and haven't been able to do much of anything beyond getting out of bed. 

As soon as I'm feeling better, I'll get back to editing.  Should be up sometime soon (I hope!).

Because of all the new spam lately, I have turned off unmoderated comments.  If you leave a comment, I will have to approve it in order for it to show up.  Hopefully we can figure out what is going on and get back to normal soon.

The New York Times published an article today about the future for Saturday Night Live post-strike.  Being a live show, with a quick production schedule, SNL will be returning much sooner than other scripted shows-- this weekend, in fact -- although the line-up of guests for the next few months is somewhat "murky."

One bright spot? Steve Carell is set to host in May to coincide with the release of his big budget remake of GET SMART.

Thanks to listener Joe Bidinger for tipping me off that today-- February 15th -- is "International 'That's What She Said!'" day.

Organized by Facebook, ITWSSD asks you to spend your time today trying your best to inject the famous TWSS! into any and all random conversations you may come across that require its insertion.

Try not to hurt yourselves.

A little more specific information on when THE OFFICE will return, and how many episodes we should expect.

From the New York Times article today:

Greg Daniels, executive producer of “The Office,�? said, “We’re going to do another six,�? though he added, “We might be able to squeeze in seven if NBC asks for them.�?

“The Office�? had a script ready to shoot the week the strike began, and that will be the first one the show produces. A second script was going to be the Christmas show. “We’re going to throw that one out,�? Mr. Daniels said. He added that the writing team would discuss this week how to advance the show’s story lines.

“I’m tempted to just leap ahead to where we would have been,�? Mr. Daniels said.


Well... not quite the ten episodes I was hoping for, but I suppose six (or hopefully seven) episodes are definitely better than nothing.  I know that it's not exactly "April" material, but I find it a crying shame that this year's Christmas show will just end up in the garbage bin. 

So let's assume that Daniels and the writers decide to incorporate the strike gap INTO the actual storyline... another 3 month "fast forward" like we usually get over the summer? That would definitely be kind of weird... man, I can just see it now-- we come back from break, and Pam and Jim are already broken up. 

They can't be THAT evil, would they?

EDIT:

The AP posted a brief comment from Rainn Wilson today, regarding the end of the strike:

Rainn Wilson, a Writers Guild member and co-star of "The Office," said he was hearing that everyone on the show will report back on March 10 to shoot six more episodes.

Early on, the strike was a hiatus from the daily grind for some. By Tuesday night's overwhelming vote to end the walkout, it was clear they were eager to get back to work.

"The break has been long enough," Wilson said. "Everyone slyly around December was like, 'Actually, this is kind of cool.' Then it was January, February, you know, so we're ready to get back."

Thanks to occasional co-host Drew for the link to TV Guide's Ausiello Report.  Not sure if there's a better or more comprehensive list out there somewhere, but click HERE to see a list of when our favorite shows will return and how many episodes we can expect to see once production resumes.

As for THE OFFICE:

The Office
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

I'm sure Office Tally will get more detailed information sometime soon.

I have to say that if  we DO get the max 10 more new episodes, the season won't have been a total waste (and besides, who wants to buy an 8 episode DVD of season 4? :))... that will put us at a respectable 18 episodes, with 4  hour shows thrown in... not too bad all told for a 3 month strike.

As expected, the contract was presented to the WGA at yesterday's meeting.  As of right now, there is a 48-hour vote taking place to lift the strike.  What that means is that if this passes, the writers could be back to work as early as WEDNESDAY.

This *ISN'T* a vote on the contract... just a vote to lift the strike.  The contract vote will have a 10 day voting window.  If they DON'T vote to lift the strike, the contract vote will still go forward... so essentially they could approve the contract, yet NOT lift the strike until it is approved.  This current vote seems to be just a show of good faith and a more or less "yes, we're going to agree to the contract" kind of thing.

The buzz was that the strike was winding down to a resolution, and it looks like it could indeed be the end of the writer's strike.

The studios and the WGA reached a tentative agreement late last night.  I'm assuming that the offer will be discussed at the WGA meeting scheduled for today, and could be ratified by the menbership in this very same meeting.  Everyone is eager to get back to work, so if the deal goes through, we could see our favorite shows go back into production as soon as possible.

Other information I read yesterday hinted that it would take at least a MONTH for shows to begin appearing on air once again, and there was some speculation if the studios would even bother for this season... if they'd just cut their losses and focus on 2008-2009.  Seeing as we still have the May sweeps period to contend with, I'd assume that they'd be wanting to capture as many eyes as possible, but then again, I'm no expert by any means.  Guess we'll just have to see what happens.

Remember, too, that The Office team had a script essentially ready to film (which Jenna Fischer called one of the "funniest ever") right before the strike happened.  We might see a new episode sooner than expected, if everything goes well.

See details on the tentative deal HERE (pdf document).

Check the unofficial WGA blog UNITEDHOLLYWOOD.

If you haven't checked this out yet, please do so-- it's so ridiculous it brought a smile to my face.  Hopefully the film won't be as campy/silly as this poster turned out to be.

(gotta love the little bulldog in a sweater... that's pure 1920's goodness :))

TV Guide is rather unfriendly when it comes to embedding their videos on your own site, but if you head on over to THIS link, you can see the handful of videos showing "Spoiler-Man" Ausiello interviewing Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, BJ Novak, Melora Hardin, and Leslie David Baker at this year's SAG Awards show (these are from 2008, I promise!).

BJ Novak will be performing his stand-up routine at the Lisner Auditorium (on the George Washington University campus in Washington DC) on February 8th.

According to The GW Hatchet student newspaper, "student tickets for the show will cost $12 and can be purchased at the GW Ticketmaster in the Marvin Center. A limited number of tickets for the general public are available for $20 and are being sold through the Lisner box office."

Well, I missed the show... but even a day late, the results are still just as sweet: our favorite cast took home the award for "Ensemble in a comedy series," beating out 30 ROCK, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, ENTOURAGE, and UGLY BETTY.

Forget about getting a straight answer from the cast of "The Office," winners of SAG's comedy series ensemble award. In fact, forget about staying more than five seconds on a topic with the way the actors cut up the back room. How hard is it to keep a straight face? "It's very hard to keep a straight face," castmember Brian Baumgartner said with a straight face. "I'm thinking they should have a trophy check," B.J. Novak interjected, "like a coat check, but for trophies." Getting back to the awards at hand, Novak joked about the cost of his SAG card: "I donated 25 bucks to KCRW, and six weeks later, my SAG card came in the mail." Saving management for last, a smirking Steve Carell joked that "Office" creator Ricky Gervais was jealous of the success of the American version of the series. "In fact, before the show, I was downstairs in the restroom, and he was there, and he leaned over the urinal, looked at me, and said, 'I knew it!' That's my Ricky Gervais story." Carell added that he couldn't wait to be on Gervais' HBO series "Extras." "I'll follow him wherever he goes," he said. Finally, a straight answer.

Apparently the TMZ guys were hanging around the courthouse in anticipation of some Britney Spears related shenanigans when someone recognizes our friend Steve Carell walking into the building.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid353549946/bctid1388771220

From the article:

"He's been selected to serve on the jury in a civil case over some type of employment dispute. Both sides are Korean and non-English speaking, and we're told an interpreter will be present for the duration of the trial. As a juror, he'll be paid $15.00 a day -- that's at least something during the strike! "

You just KNOW this is going to be made into an episode of THE OFFICE next season. 

Several listeners pointed me to Jenna Fischer's most recent blog post where she talks about the press and how wrong they can get things some times.  Case in point?

"Over Christmas, I saw a report in Star Magazine that I'm dating David Spade.  Imagine my surprise as… I'VE NEVER MET David Spade!  What a milestone!  My first TOTALLY 100% UNTRUE tabloid report!  I've always been very cynical when I hear celebrities say that a story is fake.  I figure SOME part of every story must be true right?  NO WAY!  I have no idea how they are allowed to get away with stuff like that!  My publicist said that no one ever called to check the facts of the David Spade story.  Which seems strange to me.  I have a minor in journalism and I was told to never run a story without 2 reliable sources to back it up.  But, while we are on the subject, some other people I've never met are: Orlando Bloom, Colin Farrell, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Brad Pitt.  Maybe I can fictionally date some of those guys too?"

Can I just be the first to say "whew"?  I KNEW that couldn't be true.

Sigh. 

I miss the show...

Kevin and I are trying to record THE ALLIANCE episode sometime soon.  I'm right in the middle of semester final exams, so I'm a bit swamped right now.  Look for an update in the next week or so.

I might be "discovering" something incredibly obvious here ("hey, look everyone! The sky is blue! Blue I say!), but the writer's strike and my ingrained resistance to going to bed before midnight has led me to appreciate what I'm calling "the Mac-man/Michael Scott" connection.

See, I knew that Larry Wilmore (Mr. Brown from "Diversity Day") created THE BERNIE MAC SHOW.  What I didn't know was that Paul Lieberstein was a writer/co-executive producer on the show, and Ken Kwapis was also a frequent director.

I guess I find this sort of interesting because the humor couldn't be MORE different than the kind of stuff they've done for THE OFFICE.  Quite the versatile group, huh?

(Why do I find the idea of Toby Flenderson writing "The Kings Of Comedy" material so amusing? Maybe this is the real life origin of the "Michael does Chris Rock" incident? :))

I'm neither a huge J. J. Abrams fan NOR a monster movie fan, so I doubt I'll be seeing this week's CLOVERFIELD.  That didn't stop our friend John Krasinski from hitting the big Hollywood premier event for the film this past Wednesday.

From VARIETY:

When an untitled trailer for "Cloverfield" debuted last summer attached to prints of Paramount's "Transformers," no one was quite sure what to make of it. Now everyone has an opinion.  Variety asked guests at the film's Hollywood premiere on Wednesday to weigh in with their reactions.

John Krasinski, star of NBC's "The Office": "I thought it was great! I didn't have any expectations so it shattered them. I think it's both an incredibly innovative script and idea to bring back the monster genre, but they also started breaking some boundaries in film. The night vision shot in the tunnel was wild. It was kind of like 'Blair Witch' on speed."

The Celebrity Baby Blog has an update on Angela Kinsey and her pregnancy (with pictures). 

According to the article, Angela and husband Warren Lieberstein already know that it's a girl, and the due date is May 9th.

Wilson's comments go back to what we mentioned before-- how would the writers have dealt with Angela's pregnancy IN SHOW? Lots of baggy clothes and hiding behind filing cabinets, or would it have been played as Dwight's love-child?  I can't imagine they'd have gone that route, since there isn't much deadlier to an ensemble comedy than adding an infant into the mix. I guess it will go down as one of those unanswered questions. 

'Office' relocates to Latin America -- BBC licenses comedy for Chilean remake

By BOBBIE WHITEMAN

BBC Worldwide Americas has licensed "The Office" for a local remake in Chile.

It's the first format deal in Latin America for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's comedy and the first Spanish-language version.

"We stopped making 'The Office' in 2003, but the rest of the world didn't," Gervais said. "I won't be happy until I see an Inuit doing the dance."

"The Office" airs in 90 countries, with remakes in the U.S., France and Germany.

The license covers season's one and two of the office-set spoof documentary plus end-of-season specials. Chilecorto and Canal 13-Chile, part of leading Chilean network UCTV, will begin production early this year; the show will air on Canal 13-Chile in May.

Chilean actor Luis Gnecco will play the role of the smug boss played by Gervais in the British version (and Steve Carell in the NBC remake), which has gone into syndication.

BBC Worldwide will advise on the production, and Duncan Cooper, BBC Worldwide's executive producer of formats and local production, will assist Chilecorto and Canal 13-Chile in the show's development.

Carmen Gloria Lopez, head of programming at Canal 13-Chile, said: "From watching 'The Office,' we realized very quickly that the working day in Chile is actually very similar to office life in the U.K. and America. Our production will show you we have more in common than you might think."

Vanessa Juarez of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY sat down to chat with Rainn Wilson for their "Q&A" column this week.  Rainn is still getting attention for his micro-cameo in JUNO, and is also slated to host the FILM INDEPENDENT'S SPIRIT AWARDS in February.  Lots of the other questions in the interview covered these spots.  Still, this is an OFFICE blog/podcast, so what did he have to say about our favorite show?

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How are you and your Office castmates doing? Are they experiencing strike fatigue?

RAINN WILSON: Yeah, it was a really lovely break, and it's just turned into a living hell. I just spoke to Jenna [Fischer, who plays Pam on The Office] the other day and we are so ready to go back to work. I feel bad because they had so many amazing things planned for season 4 with Dwight and Angela, and I was so excited to film those. And we may not have a season 4! Period. That may be it. It's a very real possibility.

Have you been out to the picket lines?

Oh yeah, I've been out three or four times. The Office writers are very active in the strike. I hope the people hold strong.

What's everybody from The Office doing for entertainment? Have they become Netflix addicts, or engaged in other hobbies like competitive eating?

Well, I think Leslie [David Baker], who plays Stanley, has taken up rock climbing and Meredith is actually a prostitute now. Steve Carell is a pool shark. And John Krasinski has gone into international diplomacy. So people have stayed very active and are doing a lot of very interesting stuff. I've taken up spelunking.

So there you go... right from Rainn's own mouth.  Hmm.  I wonder if he could possibly be... kidding?

Nahhhhhh.

Speaking of THE OFFICE popping up nearly EVERYwhere these days, online retailing giant Amazon.com has teamed with NBC and TurboTax in asking the question "what kind of filer are you?"

Are you a Pam (an "E-Z Breezy filer")? Or a Jim (a "procrastinator")? How about a Dwight (otherwise known as a "fancy filer")? Clicking on a profile will help narrow down which of the two hundred thirty seven versions of TurboTax may be right for you. 

From the Dwight "fancy filer" Schrute profile:

Fact: You’ve got a full-time job and an inherited family business and a burgeoning side project in the agritourism field (permits are pending). Fact: You're going to need to account for your extra income or losses (because your cousin Mose can't possibly guarantee the beet farm will turn a profit). Fact: The right tax software will help you get through even the most intricate tax return--alone and on your own time over a bowl of Count Chocula--without ever having to divulge private information.

As a bonus, Amazon will also suggest character appropriate ways for you to spend your refund (assorted teas and a foot massager for Pam, a recorder and a home hair-cutting kit for Dwight).

Head on over to Amazon to check out the other profiles (and buy some tax prep software, if need be).

(What, no Michael Scott "I declare BANKRUPTCY!" profile? What a rip!)

Just saw this over on TheVegasEye.com-- looks like our boy Johnny K. was doing a little partying in "the LV" this past weekend. Apparently, he was in town for a friend's bachelor party at the Hard Rock.


Check out that scruff. Letterman, O'Brien... Krasinski? A sign of writer solidarity, or a simple fashion statement? Only his barber knows for sure...

Kevin passed this along to me today, and it might come as vindication for the office writers!  See, people ARE that stupid...

D'oh! Man follows GPS onto train tracks -- when train coming

BEDFORD HILLS, New York (AP)  -- A Global Positioning System can tell a driver a lot of things -- but apparently not when a train is coming.

Just FYI: CBS will be airing the 2007 KENNEDY CENTER HONORS tonight at 9 pm Eastern/ 8 pm Central. 

The honors are essentially a "lifetime achievement awards" for people in the arts.  This year will see the induction of musician Leon Fleisher, comedian Steve Martin, filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and musicians Diana Ross and Brian Wilson. 

Steve Carell will be doing the introductory speech for fellow comedian Martin. 

EDIT:

The video...

A goofy video entitled "Backlash" popped up this week which features our man Darryl Philbin, the "Mac" guy (Justin Long), the fat kid from SUPERBAD (Jonah Hill), and the hen-pecked husband from KNOCKED UP (Paul Rudd) sitting around playing some ROCK BAND and chatting about Judd Apatow's latest film (and complete box office bomb) WALK HARD.

Let's just say that Craig isn't "that lovable guy from THE OFFICE" in this clip.

Just FYI: the video gets a little "blue." Definitely not safe for work (or around young, impressionable ears).

The Hollywood Reporter/Reuters is reporting that SCRUBS star Zach Braff is hoping to direct and executive produce a new drama pilot at Fox.

Titled "Saint of Circumstance," the pilot follows the story of an office drone (THE OFFICE's David "Roy" Denman) who quits his dead-end job to become a night shift paramedic. 

The pilot will be put into production when (if?) the writers' strike is resolved.

The strike is definitely taking its toll... not only has our favorite show been shut down for weeks, but too much free time has apparently allowed Jenna Fischer to "hook up" with David Spade (at least according to Star Magazine).

Not sure WHY, exactly, but that makes me kind of sad.

If you're really desperate for some Jenna Fischer action, both she and WALK HARD co-star John C. Reilly will be showing clips of the film during the hour of THE OFFICE episodes on TBS tomorrow night (10 pm eastern/ 9 pm central, Tuesday, December 18th, 2007). 

Scroll down a bit for Kevin's early review of WALK HARD.

by Kevin Crossman

With Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, filmmakers Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow have created one of the most unique movie experiences in years. The film works equally as a musical parody for fans in the know, but also as standard farce for less-knowledgable moviegoers. Plus, it's an outstanding story that provides genuine emotional appeal with a surprisingly engaging story about redemption and family. It also happens to be one of the funniest films of the year and the best "mockumentary" since This is Spinal Tap.

In a ten-minute prologue, we learn about Dewey Cox, a fun-loving country kid who accidentally kills his overachieving golden child of a brother with a machete. Scorned at home by his father (Raymond J. Berry) who constantly reminds him "the wrong kid died," Dewey soon sets off on his own as a fourteen year-old with the twelve year-old bride Edith (Kristen Wiig). Dewey struggles with his musical career but soon finds fame with his signature song "Walk Hard." As Dewey's fame rises, he deals with drugs, infidelity, and a beautiful backup singer named Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer) who he falls in love with.

As the 60s arrive, Dewey finds himself in prison and later rehab. He achieves a career renaissance until The Beatles introduce him to LSD in an especially effective scene that features hilarious cameos by Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long, and Jason Schwartzmann as the Fab Four. As the sixties end, Dewey's life is in another dark place. His career rebounds in the 70s as CBS green lights "The Dewey Cox Variety Show" for television. But, sadly, Dewey's life apart from Darlene is empty and unfulfilled.

The last act provides true drama to this otherwise silly movie. This is where John C. Reilly's acting chops really come in handy. He's hilarious throughout and his singing is outstanding. But the dramatic material really needed an actor to pull off properly and Reilly is "guilty as charged." The last scene might even bring a tear to your eye, like it did for me.


Walk Hard features an incredible soundtrack that features a myriad of musical styles from the past fifty years. Though the title song will remind you of Johnny Cash, this is not a parody of Walk the Line. That film's musical and thematic notes are present to be sure, but educated viewers will see similarities in the story and the music to Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and others. While not every song on the outstanding soundtrack is featured in the film, several songs shine in the movie. The title track receives the requisite montage treatment, complete with the familiar Billboard chart framing. "Guilty as Charged," "Let's Duet," and "Beautiful Ride" are just a few of the outstanding tunes in this parody that like This is Spinal Tap features true musical credibility.

Film buffs who like cameos will love Walk Hard. The film features a veritable cornucopia of gag casting, featuring numerous performers from past Apatow productions. In addition to the aforementioned Beatles casting, the film also features Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly and musician Jack White as Elvis. Other cameos are so delightful they won't be spoiled here, but let's just say that you won't be disappointed unless you're a fan of Will Ferrell (who doesn't appear) or Patrick Duffy (who's cameo from the trailer didn't make the final cut).

Fans of The Office will be very interested in the movie. Jenna Fischer may not win an Oscar like her counterpart Reese Witherspoon but she does bring the requisite comedic heft during her overly emotional scenes opposite Reilly. She delivers ridiculous lines like "they say the 60's are an important time" like a pro. That's not Fischer's voice during one of the film's signature scenes, "Let's Duet", however.  Craig Robinson does get to sing however, playing an early R&B singer who's illness provides a springboard to the young Dewey Cox. His song "Jump Little Children" is also featured on the Deluxe Exclusive version of the soundtrack available at iTunes. Ed Helms has a brief role as a stage manager and gets off a couple funny lines.


The film isn't perfect. There are big jumps in time that aren't handled very well, and at times the cameos draw attention away from both the drama and even some of the jokes. Also, our favorite song from the Deluxe Exclusive version of the soundtrack, the emotionally wrenching "Weeping on the Inside," was played for laughs rather than drama as it probably deserved.

Minor quibbles aside, Walk Hard is a revelation. Who gives a damn about this being a comedy, give Reilly another Oscar nomination says we! With powerful songs, hilarious dialogue and performances, and more Cox than you can shake a stick at, this is truly an outstanding film.

More photos and links:
http://www.the-frat-pack.com/reviews/walkhard.html

About six or seven months ago, TWSS was sort of forced into a shut-down because of a pretty nasty bout of walking pneumonia I contracted.  I don't know if things are that serious THIS time around, but in the last few days I've felt like utter crap (and my voice is gone, to boot).

Long story short, not sure when the new episode will be up.  Sorry for the delays, and thanks for your patience and understanding.

1) In strike news -- Things are NOT looking good.  The latest round of negotiations have broken down, and both sides are pretty much back where they started from (i.e. the studios say the WGA is being ridiculous, the WGA says the opposite, and the head of the "below the line" workers union slams the WGA).  Read more HERE, and go HERE for the WGA side of the story.

Apparently, according to the WGA and other Hollywood insiders, the studios never had any intention of making a deal and have, in fact, hired a high priced PR attack firm (known in political circles as "the masters of disaster") that has "a reputation for hardball tactics in damage control and inflicting damage on opponents." Supposedly these guys cost $100,000 a month.  Asks the WGA: why hire a PR firm if you actually plan on making a deal?  Good question.

2) According to UK gossip site Showbiz Spy, Ricky Gervais is ready and willing to do a cameo on the US version of THE OFFICE.

3) The Hollywood Reporter also gave some juicy details about Judd Apatow's next film project, YEAR ONE (a comedy set in biblical times).  The cast includes Jack Black, Michael Cera, Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse, Oliver Platt, and David Cross, with Harold Ramis slated to direct.

The connection to THE OFFICE?  The script was penned by Office writers (and Vance Refrigeration employees) Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky.  Filming is set to begin in January.

4) Jenna Fischer is looking to go "indy" -- while talking to MTV, Jenna said: “I’m developing a film. I guess this is what actors do, right? You go and you get a writing partner and you produce your own film, so that’s what I’m doing ... I have a writer who’s working with me, and we’re writing a little indie comedy — a real ensemble comedy.�?

5) Oh yeah... the next episode of TWSS will be up next week.  We were going to record this weekend, but I've got  a lot to work to do and since Kevin will be attending a special screening of "Walk Hard," I figured we might as well wait for his review. 

Look for the retro episode of season one's "Health Care" on WEDNESDAY next week.

Everyone's favorite Sunday newspaper pack-in PARADE MAGAZINE did an "In Step With..." interview with Jenna Fischer this week (dated 12/9/07).


Not much here, although she does talk about her new home and says that getting back together with her ex-husband would be "the best!"  In addition to the interview, there's also a nice selection of new pictures taken specifically for the article.

I'm assuming that everyone who frequents the TWSS blog already owns all the seasons of THE OFFICE, but if you're STILL waiting... or if you'd like to convert some friends or relatives to the show this holiday, Target has a few deals for you:

Right now, they're selling SEASON ONE for $9.99, and SEASON TWO for $12.99 each.  Not sure if these prices are available IN STORE, but it's worth a look.

(If you're looking for some other TV viewing, they're also selling seasons one and two of HOUSE for $12.99 each, season five of 24 for $14.99, and the first five seasons of SMALLVILLE for $14.99)

As That's What She Said reported on back in August , NBC Universal  and Apple were not able to reach a renewal deal for the TV shows  available in the iTunes Store. The previous agreement ended on  December 1st, and sooner than you can say "try my googi googi" Apple  has pulled the NBC shows from the store and associated websites. Thus  apparently ends this sad chapter of internet commerce.

It's an especially bitter pill for The Office fans to swallow, since  many attributed the show's availability in the iTunes Store as once of the key factors in it's rise from cult curiosity to demographic ratings hit for NBC.  In addition, The Office was frequently featured during CEO Steve Jobs' product keynotes for Apple Inc. As noted several months ago, Apple refused to provide pricing flexibility to NBC since they claimed that it would result in higher prices for some shows.

The Office will continue to be available on the NBC.com website (well, when new shows start to air once the Writers Strike ends…). The Hulu.com service from NBC and Fox continues in private beta, leaving many Office fans desperate for Hulu’s by-invitation-only pass codes. Of course, Hulu.com won't help everyone desperate for online TV shows. It requires Internet Explorer, the NBC Direct Player, and the latest .Net framework (all Windows only)

Hulu does have some nice web-only features though. You can watch episodes online and even embed clips or entire episodes to your blog (complete with ads, however). As an example, check one of the highlights of Season Four.



Amazon’s Unbox service is another outlet selling The Office episodes for as little as $1.89 with subscription. While Unbox has similar  Windows-centric system requirements as Hulu, there are some more  liberal use rights, including transfer to TiVo devices and some portable video players.

With Christmas coming in about three weeks, it’s sad that many future  iPod or iTunes Gift Card owners will be unable to catch up on  episodes of The Office. And in this writers opinion, it’s unlikely they’ll discover the show on those other services. Instead, they might just check out what the talk is all about on that other buzz-worthy Thursday show: “I hear that Ugly Betty is pretty good, let’s check it out.�?

I was a huge fan of THE X-FILES back in the day, and enjoyed the first 4 seasons of BUFFY:TVS, so I'm not sure why I never gave CW's SUPERNATURAL a shot.  Maybe because it WAS on the "CW," home of schlocky pre-teen soaps and fashion model contests.  Regardless, about a year ago I bought the first season on DVD from my local Goodwill store and It's been sitting on my shelf ever since.  Being a teacher, I have my Summers free, and even THAT wasn't enough to get me to watch the show before now.

Oh, you crazy writers strike! See what you make me do?


SUPERNATURAL is the story of two brothers whose mother was murdered twenty-two years ago by supernatural means.  Their father sort of snaps, I guess, and spends the ensuing twenty-two years training his sons to hunt and eliminate supernatural beasties while on a quest to find the THING responsible for mom's death. As the series opens, their father has gone missing, and it's up to the two brothers to FIND him as well as take over the "family business" for him while he's away. Lots of chaos ensues.

Now, I realize this show is currently in its third season, so I'm really behind the times, but I just watched the first four episodes in a row and I'm digging it.  It's definitely MOTW (monster of the week) material, but it's creepy enough and cool enough (so far) to hold my interest.  One of the things I like about it is that it is a rare show that features two MALES in the leads.  Think about it... when was the last time you've seen a show with two men as partners? LAW & ORDER started that way, but now, every single L&O has the same M/F partnerships (hell, even X-FILES did).  Looking at their webpage, I see there are two "hot chicks" now on the team, so that might be out the window, but I guess I'll deal with that when I come to it.

Highly recommended if you've ever been a fan of those shows mentioned in the first paragraph.

With the strike in full effect, I've been rather desperate for alternatives (see thread below).  This weekend, I finally fired up all the MY NAME IS EARL episodes I've had sitting on my DVR since the new season began.

As I've said before, I was a fan of MY NAME IS EARL before I started watching THE OFFICE.  In fact, the only reason I started watching season two of THE OFFICE was because it came on right after MNIE, and I was too lazy to change the channel ("The Dundies" did the rest).

I started losing interest in season two of MNIE because they went with a season-long plot arc where Earl's ex-wife Joy was arrested for committing a kidnapping/ robbery and was looking at being sent to prison.  I thought the Joy stuff was boring, felt the show had lost the edge it had in season one, and didn't bother to see the last half of the episodes last year. 


Season three started with another gimmick -- Earl is now in jail, serving the time for his ex-wife.  Seemed lame, but now that I've caught up with all the third season episodes, I admit the error of my ways.  The prison thing adds a whole new level to the show's insanity, and I find myself remembering why I liked the show in the first place.

NBC's Video Rewind has the last 6 episodes online.

Variety is reporting that despite rumors to the contrary, the WGA has "blasted" the studios' latest proposals, which the studios themselves describe as "groundbreaking."

Currently, the negotiations are on "pause" while the WGA presents the offer to its members, but things definitely aren't looking good for a quick return to work.

From the article:

The WGA also released details of the moguls' new proposal, delivered after three days of glacially paced talks that yielded little more than a restatement of previous positions. The three key areas:

* For streaming television episodes, the companies proposed a residual structure of a single fixed payment, based on 1.2% of producers' receipts after a six-week promo window, amounting about $250 for a year's reuse of an hour-long program.

* For made-for-Internet material, they offered minimums starting at $800 for five minutes up to $1,300 for 15 minutes and granted jurisdiction on derivative material.

* No change in the Internet download formula, currently paid at the DVD rate.

If the sides do not make progress next week, it's most likely that the AMPTP would opt for launching negotiations with the Directors Guild of America. The DGA's contract expires June 30, and the directors have indicated they're ready to start talks even if the WGA hasn't made a deal -- a move that could undermine the WGA's leverage.

Speculation has also emerged that the WGA could call off the strike and tell writers to return to work, leaving open the possibility that the strike could resume at any time. Meanwhile, the guild's continued to mount an active campaign of picketing and rallies to keep the public pressure on the companies to make a deal.


I'm no economics expert, but $250 for a show to be streamed for a YEAR seems pretty lame to me-- I can understand why they'd be annoyed by this latest offer.  If that last part is true about the writers returning to work, it certainly seems to weaken their position even further in my mind.  We already know that actors/SAG members have supported the writers in this strike, so will the DIRECTOR'S "queer the deal," as it were? Will the actors walk in June as well? The mind boggles.

It's clear the studios are making money.  It's clear they can afford this.  As an average TV viewer, the longer the strike lasts, the more I'll look for something ELSE to do with my time.  Prolonging the strike seems to be to the advantage of no one. 

Just a few other little stories today:

1) Netflix and NBC have struck a deal to allow Netflix subscribers to have online access to HEROES episodes the day after they air.  Subscribers can also access previous seasons of THE OFFICE, 30 ROCK, or FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS either online or with traditional DVDs.

2) Pete Mongillio of the Austin American-Statesman offers up several "emergency viewing" suggestions for those of us missing THE OFFICE.

3) Kate Flannery appeared on LOVELINE last night (11/28).  Hit the LINK to listen to the show.

The LA Times did a cover story today on where to celebrate Christmas in the Los Angeles area, and they asked Jenna Fischer for some ideas.

From the article:

YOU can imagine the poor schlubs from "The Office" throwing their annual office party.

"If Pam was planning it," says Jenna Fischer, imagining her role as the receptionist on the popular television series, "she'd probably book it at Poor Richard's. Poor Richard's is a real place in Scranton, and it also has a bowling alley attached. So it would actually be ideal because everyone from the office could eat and then bowl together."

It might get a lot of laughs, and surely it would turn out badly, as things invariably do on the beloved sitcom.

But it's much more festive to imagine Fischer, the ascendant actress, feting and feeding her family and friends from the Midwest in the warm confines of Vitello's Italian Restaurant in Studio City, as she has in years past. It's likely to remind her of the family eateries in her adopted hometown of St. Louis -- and "great, because you can be loud in their private area upstairs," she says.

Indeed, the holiday season is upon us, and with it the desire to make merry outside the home . . . in a manner that doesn't involve days of preparation or hours of cleanup. But how to do so without subjecting the general populace to your obnoxious co-worker Michael's bad Santa jokes? You can reserve a private room at any number of Los Angeles bars or restaurants and party like a star, or at least a Midwesterner-made-good.



Read the rest of the article HERE.

Well, it's Thursday again... and no new OFFICE to help brighten the dreary autumn days.  While pondering this tragedy, I started to wonder what YOU guys were doing to fill your TV watching time.

Me?  Not watching much TV at all anymore.  I'm hoarding all my HEROES episodes from this season until episode #11 airs (the mid-season finale), since I think the show plays much better in one long viewing. 

Despite really hating the guy on Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" show, I have sort of become addicted to watching Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" shows (both the US edition on Fox, and the UK version on BBCAmerica).  The US version really amps up the conflict, but I'm still enjoying watching old Gordon raise hell in these failing restaurants (the UK version IS much more enjoyable, though).

Other than that... not much.  Lots of Simpsons and Family Guy reruns.

So again, what about you guys?  Have you switched to DVDs? Are you watching lots of reality shows? foregoing TV entirely? Are you actually -- gasp! -- reading?  Inquiring minds want to know.

I found this article on Dose.ca today, talking about the increasing link between product placements and our favorite prime-time shows.  Sure, we've made fun of and pointed out the obvious ones (like the Staples Shredder or the Blackberry) and the not so obvious (like the bailer from "Safety Training"), but I was staggered to read this paragraph:

So far this season, the Hollywood Reporter says there have been 142 product placements on 30 Rock and 381 on The Office - but NBC says it has always included these promos to up the funny, and Office showrunner Greg Daniels has said his show will no longer do these deals because he "found it pretty impossible to balance the desires of the ad agencies and their clients with the needs of the show."

THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE product placements JUST THIS SEASON? Really? That blew my mind.  Wow.  In this age of TiVo and skippable commercials, I guess this is the next logical step in the evolution of TV advertising... but yeesh!

As sort of disgusted as I am by that number, I'm also surprised and intrigued by the comment that Greg Daniels is no longer allowing these deals on THE OFFICE.  I'm surprised that he can say "no," frankly, especially since new chief Ben Silverman has been a pioneer in the product placement realm.  Whatever the reality may be, I applaud Daniels for putting the needs of the show over the needs of the sales department. 

As you may recall, negotiations between the WGA and the studio heads resumed officially on November 26th.  Apparently, word has leaked that negotiations are "done," and that a deal is already in place between both sides. From Nikki Finke's DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD blog:

a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides [...] my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas.  Look, I don't want to raise false hope here. But this source has been very accurate in the past.

John over at UnitedHollywood.com isn't too optimistic, however:

What if this round of negotiations falls apart? Personally, I didn't think it would come to a strike in the first place. It seemed inconceivable that the conglomerates would stand by a platform that was so -- no other word for it -- evil. But they did. And we went on strike. Had the AMPTP proposal been only 60% evil, who knows what would have happened [...] am I optimistic we'll have a fair deal by the end of the week? Nope. I'd love one. But I'm afraid after how the companies have behaved so far, I'll feel enthusiastic when there's a joint announcement about a deal and not a moment sooner.

There's still a media blackout over the negotiations, so for now we'll just have to rely on blind faith, hope and scuttlebutt to get us through the cold, looming months ahead.

WGA and studios -- It almost physically pains me to type this -- just "get-r-done."

Paul, an assistant Sunday editor for the Boston Globe, sent in these links for a "tour of Scranton" piece that they did with Mindy Kaling back during the convention.

Says Paul:

"At the recent Office Convention, we got Mindy Kaling to show us Scranton -- the only thing is she'd never been there before. It's so funny. Here are the links. Both the story and slide show (which is partly narrated by Mindy) are so fun. We get all her first takes on the Radisson, Steamstown Mall, Poor Richard's ("a bitchin' bar''), Cooper's, and a bunch of other places (Alfredo's Pizza Cafe, University of Scranton etc etc). We also get the lowdown on the local urban legend of where the "real' Dunder Mifflin is.

Here's the LINK to the story, and to the AUDIO SLIDE SHOW (the stuff at Poor Richard's is the best, and you'll never listen to John Mellencamp the same way again)"


Thanks for the links, Paul! The weird thing is, I was IN the food court of the Steamtown Mall when Mindy walked in-- I looked over and did a double-take as she was suddenly a few feet from me, posing next to the Scranton sign.

As confirmed with US magazine this past week, Angela Kinsey's "people" have revealed that the actress is indeed pregnant.  Due in May, Kinsey and husband Warren Lieberstein have apparently been "trying for some time."

Congratulations to one of the nicest people in television.

That aside, this also brings up a lot of possibilities as to what would have happened during the season to cover up or explain her real-life pregnancy.  Would they have just dressed her in bulky sweaters and had her carry a lot of boxes in front of herself, or would they have written it into the show somehow? Would this have brought Angela and "D" back together?  Somehow, I just can't imagine Dwight spawning.  But I suppose stranger things have happened...

Looking to make it a "Dunder Mifflin" Christmas this year?  Perhaps a fluffy robe, a fun run wristband, a Michael Scott bobblehead, or a warehouse shirt will make your Hanukkah happier? Maybe a set of DM golfballs will help make it a crazy Kwanzaa?

Regardless of what holiday you celebrate, the NBC/Universal store is now offering free shipping for orders over $50 from now until November 30th.

Enter code BLACKFRI at check-out.

The NBC auctions site went live yesterday, and some of the items are already through the roof (as predicted, the paintings from HEROES are currently fetching several thousand dollars, with two weeks left to run).

Most of the THE OFFICE items are more reasonable than that, but they're still in the $150-250 range.  I guess if you really want to own Roy's warehouse shirt, this is your big chance.

1. Rainn Wilson performed a charity one man show in Longview, WA last Saturday.  There's a WRITE UP here.

2. Why can't NBC simply show older episodes of THE OFFICE during the strike? The Star-Ledger explains.

3. What's going to fill THE OFFICE's time slot now that all the new episodes have been exhausted?  Celebrity Apprentice.  Sigh.

4. The NEW YORK TIMES has an interesting article about how ABC and the producers of LOST have already made deals for internet material similar to the terms the WGA is currently fighting for. 

5. The cast of SNL put on a live benefit performance this past weekend at the UPRIGHT CITIZENS BRIGADE theater in NYC.  Hosted by Michael Cera, and featuring a mix of old and "un-airable" sketches, all money raised went to support the "below the line" staff that had been let go (the $20 tickets were reportedly going for as much as $300 each).  According to the New York Times, Johnny K. was in the audience.

A live performance of a 30 ROCK episode was scheduled for last night in the same theater.

Sort of old news, I guess, but the cast of THE OFFICE was informed Thursday that their contracts would be suspended (under the terms of the SAG contract) for five weeks.  During these five weeks, they'll be receiving 50% of their normal salary.

During a work stoppage, the studio has a contractual right to either suspend with full pay, suspend with half pay, or release the actors from their contracts so they can seek other employment (with the understanding that they will all be rehired after the stoppage ends).  Obviously, the studios don't want to release the actors completely, and I'm sure most (if not all) of the actors don't want to leave. 

Hopefully all of this will help put pressure on the two sides to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

As most of our favorite shows have shut down or WILL be shutting down very soon, things are beginning to look rather bleak.  Last week, rhetoric was flying on both sides of the picket lines: reports came out saying the negotiations were further apart than ever, the IATSE (the union for the "below the line" workers in the industry) started blaming the WGA for their putting people out of work, cats and dogs were living together... it was mass hysteria.

Breaking through those dark clouds is one bit of hope-- the WGA and the studios have agreed to come back to the negotiating table on November 26th.  Originally, the studios were refusing to resume talks unless the strike was called off, but they've since relented.  Two surveys conducted last week showed that more than 60% of those surveyed supported the WGA, while less than 10% supported the studios' position.  Do the studios care? Probably not, but as we like to say around here, every little bit helps.

Let's hope for the best.  See Variety for full article details.

Looks like NBC is jumping on the eBay wagon: Starting November 19th, they will begin auctioning off various items and props as seen on your favorite NBC shows (including THE OFFICE).  Apparently each auction will last for two weeks, with new items being added for each new round.


What's up this time?

"Get your time card out and punch into The Office. If you've been admiring Michael's Timex watch or those stylish warehouse shirts, now's your chance to bid on items used by your favorite Office workers."

Another item for an upcoming auction? Michael's "lucky tie."

I doubt most of us will be able to afford these things, but keep in mind that a portion of the auction's proceeds will benefit the United Way and its various partner organizations.

It's with a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat that I post this description for tonight's season finale (??) "The Deposition." Sounds like it's ripe for many uncomfortable moments, and Jan & Michael surely have much dirty laundry that will be aired (JamaicaJanSunPrincess anyone?).

SUE CRAZY IN THE OFFICE--Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) finds himself between a rock and a hard place when Jan (Melora Hardin) sues Dunder Mifflin and Michael is deposed as a witness. Meanwhile, Kelly (Mindy Kaling) trash-talks Pam (Jenna Fischer) after Darryl (Craig Robinson) beats Jim (John Krasinski) at ping-pong. Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Ed Helms, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Paul Lieberstein, and Creed Bratton also star.