"And thus, Michael Scott sealed his own destiny."
"Because big daddy needs some new yarn." YES. Yarn is like crack, and Emerson knows it.
The Office 4.05 - "Local Ad"
Overall, I welcome the return of the half-hour format; that was a tight episode.
It strikes me that Dwight and Michael are both negotiating breakups--Dwight with Angela, Michael with Ryan. Except that Angela still likes Dwight--as we find out in that wonderful scene by the vending machine, where Andy, wanting to torment Dwight further, ends up revealing Angela's secret, that she moans "Oh D" while he kisses her neck. (The levels of disturbing and hilarious in that scene were so intense and tightly related that I can't separate one from the other.) Ryan, on the other hand, is still just not that into Michael, but it feels like Michael has finally stopped being clueless about that and started using his obnoxious personality for good, as it were, by being pushy as hell. I particularly liked the way he gave Ryan's assistant a fake name, and the way he dismissed Ryan's "I told you not to call me about the little stuff" with a blithe and only slightly bitter reminder that Ryan has also told him not to call him about the big stuff.
And oh Dwight, whose Second Life is exactly like his first life, except that he can fly. And Jim, who of course only has a Second Life to support Dwight, but whose avatar has somehow managed to play guitar and have a cooler job. Both of those avatars are such lovely little peeks at their hopes and dreams: Dwight's of superpowers, because his imagination is tied to comic books and hero stories, and because that imagination is wedded to an enormous self-satisfied streak; Jim's of more creative outlets, a less stifling environment.
The best part, though, was Pam pulling an all-nighter--with DWIGHT AND MICHAEL--to produce an ad that was never going to see the light of day, because in their own ways, Pam and Michael both want to be creative, and working on creative projects fulfills a deep longing, and trying is better than not trying. (And Jim's attitude toward Pam wanting to stay late at work to work on a pointless creative project was a marked contrast to Roy's, even though it meant getting a ride home with Meredith; I loved that little sign that he understands what's important to her, that he would never smother her like that.) And then the ad, oh the ad. It was so weird, and so great, so horribleriffic, so fabuterrible, so something, with the strange scenarios and the clever structure, the passing of the paper from one hand to the other, the connectedness.
* * * * *
molly_may recently wrote a lengthy synopsis and review of Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN by Susannah Daniels and Cynthia Littleton, focusing on Buffy's role in the WB's development as a network. Part 1, part 2.
And because it's Friday, and because I hate seeing lost pet posters and what they represent, this binary opposite of a lost pet poster made me smile. (Via Boing Boing) My favorite part is probably the expression on the dog's face, which seems to say, "Why yes, I am clearly that awesome."
The Office 4.05 - "Local Ad"
Overall, I welcome the return of the half-hour format; that was a tight episode.
It strikes me that Dwight and Michael are both negotiating breakups--Dwight with Angela, Michael with Ryan. Except that Angela still likes Dwight--as we find out in that wonderful scene by the vending machine, where Andy, wanting to torment Dwight further, ends up revealing Angela's secret, that she moans "Oh D" while he kisses her neck. (The levels of disturbing and hilarious in that scene were so intense and tightly related that I can't separate one from the other.) Ryan, on the other hand, is still just not that into Michael, but it feels like Michael has finally stopped being clueless about that and started using his obnoxious personality for good, as it were, by being pushy as hell. I particularly liked the way he gave Ryan's assistant a fake name, and the way he dismissed Ryan's "I told you not to call me about the little stuff" with a blithe and only slightly bitter reminder that Ryan has also told him not to call him about the big stuff.
And oh Dwight, whose Second Life is exactly like his first life, except that he can fly. And Jim, who of course only has a Second Life to support Dwight, but whose avatar has somehow managed to play guitar and have a cooler job. Both of those avatars are such lovely little peeks at their hopes and dreams: Dwight's of superpowers, because his imagination is tied to comic books and hero stories, and because that imagination is wedded to an enormous self-satisfied streak; Jim's of more creative outlets, a less stifling environment.
The best part, though, was Pam pulling an all-nighter--with DWIGHT AND MICHAEL--to produce an ad that was never going to see the light of day, because in their own ways, Pam and Michael both want to be creative, and working on creative projects fulfills a deep longing, and trying is better than not trying. (And Jim's attitude toward Pam wanting to stay late at work to work on a pointless creative project was a marked contrast to Roy's, even though it meant getting a ride home with Meredith; I loved that little sign that he understands what's important to her, that he would never smother her like that.) And then the ad, oh the ad. It was so weird, and so great, so horribleriffic, so fabuterrible, so something, with the strange scenarios and the clever structure, the passing of the paper from one hand to the other, the connectedness.
* * * * *
molly_may recently wrote a lengthy synopsis and review of Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN by Susannah Daniels and Cynthia Littleton, focusing on Buffy's role in the WB's development as a network. Part 1, part 2.
And because it's Friday, and because I hate seeing lost pet posters and what they represent, this binary opposite of a lost pet poster made me smile. (Via Boing Boing) My favorite part is probably the expression on the dog's face, which seems to say, "Why yes, I am clearly that awesome."