"These are not my shoes."
The Office 3.06 - "Diwali"
Oh, Michael Scott, before I met you, I did not know it was possible for someone to break my heart and creep me the hell out so simultanously. Apparently, Pam feels the same way I do.
* Ryan's wounded-animal-caught-in-a-bear-trap expression through the entire process of being the good boyfriend, putting on the kurta pyjama, and subjecting himself to the scrutiny of Kelly's family was perfect. Ryan's relationship with Kelly is so much like his relationship with Dunder Mifflin--he fell into it, he doesn't have anything better to do, and for whatever reason, he's not willing to actually take any action to change the situation, so he does what's expected. Most of the more normal employees--Pam, Jim, Ryan--seem to be stuck in the office because of passivity.
* Michael worrying that the other people in the office will embarrass him with their cultural insensitivity is the best indication ever of his inherent cluelessness. It is interesting, though, to contrast his stereotyping, which he at least realizes is a problem and attempts to counter through a trainwrecky program of educating himself and others and pointing out, in his incredibly hamfisted way, the positive aspects of what he thinks of as Indian culture (Kevin: "This is the best meeting we've ever had.") with Angela's stereotyping, which comes from a place of real distrust and negativity.
* Michael's long-running grudge against the entirely blameless Toby is so great. It's another example of how Michael simply cannot deal with things on anything other than a deeply personal level. Poor Toby's always trying to restrain his inappropriate business behavior so that the company doesn't get sued, and Michael always takes it as a judgment on him as a person and a malicious thwarting of his attempts to bring some life into the office. It's great.
* One of the things that has always been fun about Kelly is that her Indianness is such a small part of her identity compared to her Kellyness, and it's not even noticeable until Michael makes it an issue. For Kelly, Diwali is a fun chance to dress up and celebrate; she can't even explain the festival. (But Dwight can. Dwight constantly delights me by knowing freaky things he shouldn't know, and in this case, by also apparently owning a kurta. He's so thorough. Nothing that catches his interest stands a chance. Including Jan's shopping habits.)
* Oh, Michael. He so badly wants the kind of family closeness he saw on display at the Diwali celebration, and of course he has to have a hyperemotional overreaction and propose to Carol in public and put her on the spot. From the looks Carol was giving him earlier, I gather that she finds herself often in the same struggle we the viewers face--having to balance Michael's often appalling behavior with his oddly infectious sweetness and enthusiasm. She was giving him a very throughtful look when he was dancing and joining in the celebration. But he forced the issue, and she did the smart thing and ran far, far away, and really, who can blame her.
* This episode made me adore Pam more, because she came to hang out after Michael after his rejection, and when he made that creepy and horrifically clumsy pass at her (because of course he can't just have a close moment with someone without screwing it up, or at least not with anyone else but Jim), she STILL gives him a ride home. But she makes him sit in the back seat, because she is smart and has boundaries. Hee.
* Karen came across as somewhat unpleasantly devious in this episode. I'm not sure what to make of that. Andy, on the other hand, just keeps getting better and better. (Singing an Indigo Girls song from his spot on the floor! And Jim joins him, because he is such a girl!) The cutaways to Stamford have started really clicking, because it's just an alternate universe of dysfunction over there.
* One of the really strong aspects of the romance arc between Jim and Pam is that it plays out within the scale of the show, which is a deliberately low-key window into ordinary (though strange) people negotiating the tasks and routines of daily life. And in that scale, little things like a secret santa gift take on huge meaning, and the really big dramatic moments--the kiss, the confession--feel epic. So the missed text message has weight--missed by random accident, due to the uniquely messed-up dynamics of the Stamford office, but Pam reached out to Jim to share Michael's wackiness, and Jim would have appreciated it, and then Karen was there to give Jim a ride home (Jim's attempt at drunk biking--ADORABLE), and Pam was more devastated than she would have thought that he didn't answer.
Last night, Terry Gross interviewed Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling on Fresh Air--you can listen to the program here. They talked about the show in general and last night's episode in specific, since Kaling wrote it.
Also, How ITunes Saved the Office. Since I came onboard recently, I hadn't realized the show was in that much danger of cancellation at one point. The article offers some interesting perspective on the way things like downloads and DVD sales are beginning to make a dent in the Nielsens deadlock on network decisionmaking. It was also interesting to read that the writers take into account the fact that the audience rewatches episodes.
Veronica Mars 3.05 - "President Evil"
vonnie_k already ably articulated in her episode review why this episode felt like a return to the noir sensibilities that made the show so interesting in the first two seasons, with the father without a heart of gold and the university president willing to use his privilege and resources to take what he needs, and with the return of Veronica's anger. I commented in her post that I felt the return of the town of Neptune as a presence was another good thing about the episode, and I've been thinking more about Veronica's relationship with Weevil and the fact that she could bring him into her college class to talk because she has that connection with the underside of the town. Going to college hasn't changed where she's from, and when the writers connect her up with it again (in her history with Lamb, Cliff's irrepressable presence, her ability to pump information from the pizza worker because of their shared high school experience), it makes the show snap and crackle in a way it doesn't when an episode is set exclusively on campus amidst college students. And the end was a very welcome if typical Veronica Mars twist--there is no black and white on this show, the line between victim and criminal can be blurry, even people who have suffered terrible things can lie and have secret lives. I'm hoping this episode marked a return to the noir that continues from here on out.
I also have brief thoughts on this week's Jericho.
The arrrrgh: Of course the town patriarch wasn't going to die, and of course Jake could make peace with the criminal elements in their midst and give them a connection to the community. And, seriously, they're pausing in the middle of all of the nuclear destruction to celebrate Halloween?!?
The good: The Hawkins family just gets more and more interesting. Heather is spunky and capable, the writers aren't using tired female rivalry cliches in the love triangle and are actually giving her a positive relationship with Emily. I was, however, very sad that her solid, workmanlike truck lost out to Emily's faster, flashier Mustang in the contest for what Jake got to ride (in). No symbolism there, no sirree. Also, while I hold out very little hope that there are actually giant, irradiated ants stalking the Midwest (boo!), we appear to be heading for some nice, dark societal breakdown and chaos next week (yay!).
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I had six hours of meetings yesterday--including one where lunch was supposed to be served but wasn't, because the meeting organizers decided to push through with the presentations and serve lunch when the meeting ended, and it ran late and we didn't get lunch until 1:30--and then sat in traffic for an hour and a half on the way home. That sucked. But I met M. and Mrs. M. at The Last Supper Club for dinner and had the crispy dumplings of tagliatelli stuffed with prosciutto, mozzarella, and peas on a spicy tomato sauce, and then I came home and watched The Office, and that was a very good way indeed to end an otherwise lousy day.
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I don't normally do meme quizzes, much less post results, but I thought my results for the accent quiz were interesting considering I haven't lived in the South for almost 18 years.
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The South
That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Midland
The Northeast
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have?
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I really can't wait until the election is over. The barrage of misleading, pat advertising from both sides of the ballot initiatives is just depressing, and I will be really happy if I never see another ad in which the candidate for Insurance Commissioner makes the case that he's qualified for office because he lost a bunch of weight. (No, really, not kidding about that. It's bizarre.) The Democratic candidate for governor is a tool who makes Gray Davis look charismatic and ethical and I'm actually considering voting for Ahnuld despite his inability to deal with intractable fiscal problems. Bleah.