The Office: The Convict, 3.09

354 comments

1. The end was good, but overall I wasn’t impressed

2. Don’t drop the soap!
   Don’t drop the soap!

3. i hate so much about the things you choose to be

4. I can’t believe they’re really dating. I thought Jim was bluffing. Oh well, wait until Karen catches on to Jim and Pam’s relationship.

   Oh and loved Kevin’s comment about insider trading.

5. Another Person leaves. and JAM is looking good.

6. dementors dementors!! omg jim’s faces were priceless!! anybody up for a banjo song in pig latin??!!

7. omg, andy singing to pam. priceless.

   i kinda felt the episode was eh.
   i think everyone is going to quit one by one.
   hannah’s next…i hope she is.

8. That smirk at the end was the best. And a newer face then the usual “wow” face. Loved it. How did Jenna Fischer keep a straight face filming that final scene. Are people really surprised that Jim is seeing Karen? Didn’t the back rub give it away last week? Oh well.

9. i think jim will secretly date pam while dating karen

10. The Ending!!!! All of the Jim glances were soooo up to par!!!!

    I love how Jim and Pam still have their tension, it should be good…

11. Prison Mike=hilarious

    JAM Moments=Great

    Everything else=blah

12. yeah, Jim’s faces are great.
    ryan used to be the face guy, now he has some competition. haha.

13. It was all right … but locking the workers in the conference room was pretty good.

    And Michael+Toby?! Wow. That was pretty unexpected. (And worth it!)

    Lots of people seem to be quitting Dunder-Mifflin … first Tony, now Martin. Who will be next…? :(

    SIGH no more Office for two weeks!!! *groan*

14. Envy,envy! Im on the west coast. I can’t bear it!

15. ahh i loved it!
    i lovedddd the jam factor.. how jim wouldnt let karen in on his prank.
    perrrrrrrrrrfect!

16. Wow Toby and Michael has a bond there for a split second where they didn’t disagreen about anything! I laughed alot at this episode to be honest.
    Creed’s scene. Wow was it just me or did he look scary as hell!?!??
    When michael called toby a convicted rapist… rofl.
    When Jim said that guys name(I couldn’t catch it) then said justin timberlake.
    Why are they getting rid of all the stamford people, I think the only people going to end up staying is Andy and Karen.

    Even though Jim said he is dating Karen there is still that JAM feel to it especially since everyone thought it was lost last episode. I think Jim still likes Karen and the reason he didn’t want it to go around the office was because he didn’t want Pam to know!!

17. Liked it, except for the middle section w/the Prison Mike. It was cringe-worthy, but not funny-cringe worthy. The beginning 10 min. was fantastic, though.

18. I give the episode a 7/10. Lots of over the top jokes that just fell flat. The premise of the episode was good but I don’t feel it was done effectively. Not too much Dwight in this one either. Too bad. Hope the xmas episode makes up for this one.

19. A half hour of that show is too short. =( It wasn’t my favorite episode, but it was worth it just for the stuff between Andy and Pam.

20. Why is Martin leaving? I know why he’s leaving character wise

    but why I mean like I like the character =(

21. Oh Michael. Not much more you can say. LOL

    Jim was SO wrong for that HA HA Maybe that was the tension breaking moment we needed to get them ‘back on track’ so to speak. At least now they can be more like friends rather than the strangers they’ve felt like the last few epis.

    I have a feeling all the Stamford people will be gone by the end of the season (Don’t let the door hit you on the way out Karen ) Although, I really wouldnt mind Andy staying. He doesnt annoy me quite like Dwight. Dwights annoying makes him pathetic. Andy is just a version of Michael.

22. Loved the JAM and Jim/Karen moments…Jim’s faces were adorable. Didn’t make me laugh as much as other episodes…strangely, it didn’t feel like the British version at all…I guess it’s all in the interpretation.

    Loved Prison Mike and Martin telling them all how good prison was…

    All I have to say is that I’m just so glad things aren’t weird between Jim and Pam…although there is totally a feeling of Karen being a fill-in until Pam comes around…

23. JAM lives!!!!!!!

    I really thought the whole JAM dynamic was done so well…it made me feel really hopeful. I loved it that Jim didn’t “let” Karen in on the Andy/Pam joke all the way….it looks like he may be doing some juggling!

    And….I loved how kind of fake Jim sounded when he was doing his talking head about Karen….no sparks were flying in my opinion.

    It is just so great to have Jim back in the office.

    I disagree with some others…I thought this was a great episode. I almost spit out my drink when Michael called Angela a “bi-atch” and Dwight jumped up…classic!!!!

24. ok, do you guys get it

    “Pam loves pranks” says Jim, so he pulls a prank on Pam. it all makes sense if you just think about it

25. Yea afghanistani, Jim still has feelings for pam down there somewhere!

26. I liked the episode. i really liked the JAM moments as well. i think it’s obvious that that tension is still there. i thought jim was bluffing as well with the karen relationship, but i agree that he probably didn’t want pam to find out. he wanted to protect her from getting hurt i think…the banjo scene was classic though

27. AWESOME!!!
    1)Jim’s absoultly adorable face @ the end
    2)Andy w/the banjo. (I sang along w/him)
    3)Prision Mike
    4)Ricky and Stephen are so cool!

28. Jordan…

    the name Jim says first is “Jonas Salk”, then Justin Timberlake. I think Salk invented the Polio vaccine.

    My FAVORITE part by far (being a JAM lover) was when Jim slowly turned around in his chair to face Pam after Andy slapped him on the back. I felt as giddy as Pam in her talking head.

29. I say they put up a directors cut!!

30. afganistanani, good point! ahhh i just love JAM so much…i love to start my day off with a hearty bowl of [JAM]. :)

31. jam’s not back yet but this was certainly a good start. the road back to normalcy with them will be great to watch.
    and did anyone else thing jenna was about to break while filming the last scene? and jim’s face after that? oh my heart.

32. yes rita! i love that part. he slowy turns around and but doesn’t look at her until he’s all they way around. favourite Jam moment of this season.

33. i know! i felt so giddy when jim and pam exchanged that glance as well! awww…makes my little JAM heart very happy! i was kind of disappointed that there wasn’t another Great Scott video tonight though…maybe Prison Mike shows how DM isn’t a prison…don’t know

34. ahhh me thrice! haha

    i loveeed his eyes in that scene

35. i did not love this episode. i loved all of the british office but something didn’t translate here. where was dwight? andy and jim saved this for me but i doubt i’ll ever watch this episode again…this from a person who watches all the episodes 7 or 8 times.

36. I really thought I was ready for Jim dating Karen.

    But to hear him say it?

    Gah.

    It hurt.

    This episode, however, ROCKED. It just doesn’t get better than the Office.

37. I havent seen it yet. Does he seem into Karen?

38. Yeah, but it didn’t have the same energy/chemistry as Jim talking about Pam…..if you compare his two talking heads…I just think the one when he was talking about “knowing Pam well” was more telling than his crap about dating Karen. Just my .02

39. Dia- no jim didn’t seem as into Karen as he did pam in this episode

40. All I know is this. The Office + Scrubs = a very very good evening.

41. ****SPOILERS FOR YOU WEST COAST PEOPLE*******

    Dia

    Jim says in a talking head that he is seeing Karen but just doesn’t want anyone in the office to know because then they would “act weird” around them. But we all know he doesn’t want Pam to know ;)

42. Thank you. This is killing me!

43. Rita- I agree with you. Jim’s feelings for Pam are not going to go away so easily and i think that he is maybe starting to think that pam might possibly have some sort of feelings for him too. not too sure on that one though.

44. I LOVED it. Season 3 has finally been starting to feel like the office I know and love.

    I’m going to have to rewatch a few times before I make any more comments. Prison Mike was highly enjoyable though :)

45. Hopefully this isn’t just me but I am just sitting here refreshing this page every second just so I can talk about the office…

46. true dat Nathan, the two best Tv Shows Scrubs and Office a tv marriage.

47. Right on Jordan, I am refreshing this page too.

48. Brilliant episode brought to us by the British version guys…

    First rate…

    “The worst thing about prison was the Dementors…always flying around” – Prison Mike

    Just classic.

49. Don’t worry, your not as pathetic as me. Im here before i’ve seen the show.

50. I’m sorry, but I MUST say again. There is NO REAL chemistry between Jim & Karen/John & Rashiad. So glad she’s the transition girl and that he steared her away from getting in on the prank.

51. I wish office tally had a forum, the chatroom isn’t all that happening.

    Yea I agree with everyone on how Jim doesn’t seem totally into Karen but maybe everyone is just taking it that way because when he was talking about Pam he was thinking about pranking andy and how funny that would be.

52. I had really high expectations for this episode since Gervais & Merchant wrote it, and although it wasn’t at all what I expected, I thought it was hilarious. Although there was a lot of great stuff, my favorite moment was when Toby came and clued Michael in. It’ll be interesting to see if Michael takes it easy on him for awhile.

53. Re: Pam and Jim

    Pam deserves everything she gets…she was a total schnoob to Jim last season.

    C’mon, staying with Roy? Please.

    Not once but twice jim declared and not once but twice she shot him down.

    Little sympathy for Pam.

    I don’t hate her, she’s cute, perky, fun etc. But she’s clueless.

54. I’m here too, refreshing, and I’m a west-coaster so I don’t even get the episode for a few hours! :(

55. Ok I had to say that the props department did an awesome job on creating the fake slush, they had it everywhere I looked on the cars. Nice touch, I just kept thinking that it was 80 degrees out and they are pretending to be cold which made it funny.

56. jordan- are you saying jim didnt want pam to know because he didnt want things to be awkward around her and karen? becuase she knows he’s seeing someone.. she just doesnt know its karen.
    or he thinks she doesnt know.

57. Mike G- Pam doesn’t deserve what she gets. yes jim did declare his love to her twice, but also you have to put yourself in her shoes. here it was, just a few weeks before the wedding and here is her best friend telling her that he’s in love with her. she didn’t know how to act, and now that she’s had time, obviously she’s in love with him. yes, she has to make the move now, but after tonight’s episode it’s clear that jim still has feelings for her too

58. pam sooo knows it’s karen he’s seeing.

59. Jim, (as far as i can recall, and many of you are more familiar with “The Canon” than I am, so correct me if i am wrong) has never declared much for karen though she has admitted to being “into” him.

    Now obviously she’s attractive and Jim’s not atupid, but, well, you may be right re: Pam and destiny, etc.

60. Was that a reference to The Alliance when Andy asks Jim if he should ask Pam out and he says, “Absolutely you should.” That’s what I thought of right away…”Would you like to form an alliance with me?” “Absolutely I would.”

61. JimHalpertisLife-
    Yea, I meant it to mean he didn’t want pam to know it was karen because it would be weird in the office… like how it would have been if he stayed at Scranton.

62. I get that, lauren…

    Karen is just more exotic. Her dad must have been a GI.

63. The Alliance and Jim’s “Absolutely you should” was the first thing I thought of. Brilliant tie in.

    That was one of John’s favorite lines from the first season, if I’m remembering my S1 commentary correctly

64. That’s a good point. I never thought that those lines were similar, but yeah…that makes sense

65. The funniest part for me is when Dwight stuffed wads of money in his pocket and bent over next to Martin to see if he would steal it. He’s so obvious!!!

66. Anyone else glad we had a Roy-free episode!?!?!?!?

    I like Jim’s concern about them dating being out in the open. Too bad that heifer rubbed his back and gave him gum and Pam saw it and already knows. But thanks to this little prank, I think all may be alright in Jim & Pam’s world to some extent. Friends Always Friends. I’ll take it….for now.

67. Hmm, I’m new here.

    I seem to have stumbled into a Pro-Pam Zone.

68. Great episode. I think this one will get even better after a second viewing.

    “You’d be da belle of da ball!”

69. Wow…I’m ready for the normal writers…I really expected to laugh a lot tonight and I didn’t :(

    I did like Jim all this episode, though…Just his remarks and pranks remind me of the good old Jim…I definitely don’t think Jim and Karen will last long…he obviously isn’t in love with her like he’s in love with Pam, and I think he’s fallen in love with Pam all over again…Karen’s just another Katie at this point…

70. I still think the Dementors line was a hoot and a half.

71. New Here…love the office…what was the song that Andy sang at the end?? Hilarious!

72. What does everyone think about Jim not wanting Karen in on the prank? Was it just to keep Pam from figuring out that the girl he’s seeing is Karen or something else/more? Did Jim want to steal those glances with Pam without Karen being involved? Or is there some other reason? Hmmmmmmmmmm….

73. I think the Scranton office, for Jim, is a place where he and Pam play.

    To play with Karen, as he would with Pam seems odd to him…uncomfortable, etc.

74. Soo glad Ed Helms is a regular part of the show now…every sitcom really needs a banjo player who sings falsetto

75. Jim made alot of classic faces tonight. That one where he swiveled around in the chair and his eyes slowly panned over to Pam was priceless. Although I think it was a little bit of overkill that after every one liner, they went to a shot of Jim making a funny face. There were a few looks that I found unnecessary.
    Andy is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I think seeing him put on this fascade (sp?) is giving Ed Helms some good comedic material that we didn’t see much of in Stamford.

76. He did the same thing when he was faxing Dwight from the future. It just shows there not that close. I’m sure he wants to keep Karen and Pam as seperated as possible.

77. how can you guys not have laughed at that episode. My goodness. “you know where milk comes from? Breasts.” One of the funniest cold opens yet.

    the dementors? cmon that was gold. Apollo creed being more trsutworthy than Jesus. you guys that was comedic gold.

78. Mike G — Yeah, I agree except he had his little JAMlike adventures in Stamford (like with the squeaky chair and chips, etc)…so now what? One week a prank with Pam, the next a prank with Karen? I think that’s an interesting dynamic.

79. I agree with Becky a bit…although I loved all the Jim expressions…there were a few to many of them perhaps? I really liked the Jim/Pam/Andy bits of the episode. I thought Kevin was funny. But I found the prison storyline sort of blah…and I felt Michael was a little over the top with the prison Mike thing. I really liked seeing a Toby/Michael bonding moment, however.

80. I think pranks are his thing with Pam. Its something only they share.

    He never really pranked with Karen. They went on a hunt for chips and they played video games – but all Jim’s pranks from Stamford were done solo. The jell-o. The Gaydar. The fax from the future. And now with Pam.

81. fleece,

    You’re right. Don’t mind the haters…this episode was a classic.

    ^5 on the Dementors line…brilliant.

    Steve just ad libs most of that stuff doesn’t he?

    More proof he’s the Funniest Man in America.

82. Yeah,

    I wonder if there is going to be a Toby/Michael thaw.

    They have much to learn from one another.

83. More like Michael has alot to learn from Toby. Don’t get me wrong, I love the conflict but seriosly there is no denying that Michael is really, really dumb.

84. Jim and Pam were never “best friends.” I know they’ve been described as such repeatedly, but it’s a completely false description, I think. They weren’t open about their feelings, she never talked to him about her wedding plans (wedding = pivotal event in a woman’s life), and they rarely hung out together outside of work. They were co-workers who shared in practical jokes and pranks and had fun at work. Period. In love secretly and in big denial, yes. Close friends…no.

85. In short, that was my favorite episode all season. By far.
    In long, click on my name to go to the mini-recap at my new blog “The Dundies”. More recap to come over the weekend.
    J

86. I for one thought that the writing was kinda off, maybe because the regular writers are in more of a groove and really know the characters better. I thought that Michael’s line about not missing Martin because he was black was a bit clumsy…and more importantly not that funny, like the whole “black convict” theme in general. Almost like the usual uncomfortable racial humor we know and love took a step backwards…maybe because American writers have a deeper sense of history and knowledge about race relations here?

87. I dont think there is a textbook definition of friendship. It means different things to different people. They have both said they are each other’s best friend. That’s all the definition needed.

88. Loved the end with Andy singing Rainbow Connection while playing the banjo!! How did Jenna keep a straight face? Especially when he pig-latined the words. I love that guy!

    Also loved Jim playing a prank on Pam. To me, it shows how strong their relationship will always be despite any temporary glitches (or Karens or Roys) that stand in their way.

    And, Lauren, I so agree with you in reference to your post in support of Pam.

89. Tuna,

    Do you remember early this season when Toby wanted to ask Pam out?

    That is what he needs to learn from Michael, that seat of your pants confidence.

    With Michael it manifests itself, um…oddly, but with Toby it could be

    Just

    The

    Thing

90. “They have both said they are each other’s best friend.”

    I know they’ve both said it. And I think both of them were lying to mask much deeper feelings, and the catchall of “friendship” just worked in that regard. It was a great form of denial, for themselves, for each other, and for the cameras. Even if people define friendship differently, it seems that most people have a deeper meaning of “friendship” than “my pal at work.”

91. More on the Toby/Michael thing:

    Michael has no “filter” and Toby has too much…

    A balance would be good for Toby.

    And yes, Michael could learn how to behave like a normal human being from Toby.

    But let’s hope he doesn’t.

    It would ruin the show.

    I wish Michael Scott were my boss.

92. Oh wow oh wow oh wow. That was pretty great. Wish it stayed forty minutes, though.

    As to Jim and Pam and Karen, maybe he’s afraid Karen won’t know how to do it without being actually mean? Like, she’d tell Andy that Pam actually liked her or something like that…

93. Yes,

    It’s true.

    Compared with Jim and Pam, Karen could only be a Padawan Learner.

94. one of the worst eps iv seen

95. The episode needed more Dwight.
    The UK writers did a great job on the UK version.. but the US version is a completely different show. I say let the US writers do their thing for the rest of the season.

    Good episode nonetheless.
    Prison Mike is a classic!

96. Ed Helms was basically Kermit. Awesome

97. The first act was great, the second wasent that good and the third was good. Overall, pretty good episode.

98. I laughed so hard at the dementor reference (yeah, I’m a Harry Potter nerd) :0)

    Definitely one of my favorite episodes yet of this season.

99. Yeah, the Harry Potter reference really did it for me!

100. Yes I loved the HP refrence too! Two of my favorite things together at last haha.

101. Good episdoe, not the best, but not the worst.

     When Jim and Karen were flirting a little at the copier with Pam watching, I was afraid my JAM heart was going to get trampled on more (still hasn’t quite recovered from “the merger”) but the rest gave me some hope for Jim and Pam yet, not that I’ve ever given up hope.

     Gilly: I was really struck by Jim trying to keep Karen out of the prank too, but mostly I was surprised at how Karen really wanted to prank Pam, since she’s been so reluctant to involve herself with Jim’s jokes.

102. you guys are all hung up on the JAM thing…the highest rated episodes on this site are the episodes where JAM have big moments. if that is all you want then watch soap operas…

103. It’s true. Nothing could be better than both The Office and Harry Potter together!

     But seriously, I liked the fact that Jim didn’t want Karen in on the prank. It is like one of those things Jim and Pam share and Karen wouldn’t have fit in with it.

104. oh, frank, just let us have our fun

105. Frank: You’ve obviously need to talk to the writers and not us. We’re only in to what THEY are writing and pushing while promoting the show.

106. Okay, forget not letting Karen in on it…he also lied about what it was. “I’m getting Andy to go after all the women in the office”. Huh? Hmm…REALLY, are you?

     You don’t lie unless you’ve got something to hide, baby. ;)

107. frank has a point.

     I wouldn’t be so cut and dried about it though. The Jim/Pam/Karen thing is a huge part of the show but it’s not the whole show…

108. Frank-

     I could not agree more!!!!!! I mean the show is called “The Office”, not ” The Tales of Jim and Pam”, i’m so sick of this Jam stuff!

109. Ugh, I thought this was a terrible episode. As someone commented already, the jokes just fell flat. Especially Prison Mike, which to me was an absolute car wreck. And honestly… the racial humor is getting really old. Okay, we get it, Michael is complete doofus about anybody who’s not white. They’re beating a dead horse here.

     Very disappointing effort by Gervais/Merchant. I get the feeling that they were basically trying to fall in line and mimic the American writing patterns of this show, and it just didn’t work in my opinion.

     The only halfway redeeming elements of the episode were the Jim/Andy/Pam scenes. That prank was GOOD, and then it was nice to see Jim and Pam being friendly again.

     Here’s hoping for a MUCH better x-mas special…

110. I think many are hung up on Jim/Pam and their relationship because the show features them as a main aspect of the show.

     They promo their phone call. They promo their reunion. They end the show on them and their moments.

     They aren’t the whole show, no. I wouldn’t want them to be. The Office is a fabulous show as is, and it has the perfect balance between all stories.

     But they are a main part, one that many care about and like to discuss.

111. i actually loved this episode. i think it was the best in weeks. creed’s line about “oh that’s okay, i have plenty more” was hilarious. and michael’s whole conference room speech was great. oh yeah, and when dwight had the cash in his pocket and leaned over by martin!! probably an 8.5 for me. RG and SM did not let us down.

112. Very true E, very true. I have a feeling that if Karen was let in she would have been kind of mean about it too. She seemed a little to eager to go after Pam.

113. lauren-totally agree about my jam heart. my stomach suck when they were at the copier and i really couldn’t imagine living through more jam heartache. thank goodness it didn’t happen again

114. Oh yeahh the piglatin was just…incredible–there are no words. This episode was great.

     I really find it amazing how people have such different reactions to these episodes. I think this was one of the best this season and I totally didn’t notice any difference in writing.

     The Pam and Jim being best friends thing is interesting…I guess I always considered them to be, but then there’s the fact that they never do anything outside of work. But, I feel like that might be because Pam felt Roy wouldn’t trust her/be suspicious/whatever.

115. I thought this episode really pushed the boundaries a bit. And I thought Diversity Day was politically incorrect! Tonight’s episode was a bit… offensive. Especially the end; it really put me in a downer mood. I felt bad for Martin.
     Maybe Merchant and Gervais are used to more uninhibited HBO material? Generally though, anywhere overseas is more liberal than America. Everyone here doesn’t want to say anything for fear of offending someone or stepping on someone’s toes. Maybe that’s why I found this a bit rough. It’s just not something I see alot on television.
     But this is The Office we’re talking about, so I’m not too shocked that it was politically incorrect.

116. Why are people saying that Jim was pulling a prank on Pam? The real object of the prank was Andy, and Pam was ultimately in on it (and playing along once she figured out what was going on). I loved that whole part of the episode the best, especially Pam looking at Jim and realizing what was happening.

117. you guys cant disagree that the top 5 episodes rated on this site are the top 5 JAM related episodes.

     theres so much more to the show than just those two…anyone else pissed that dwight has had minor roles over the last few episodes?

118. E- i agree with you. i have to say that i think that karen might have been eager to go after Pam. she senses that she has competition and well, who knows what she might do to stake her ‘claim’ on Jim

119. Very funny show. This is the first time that I really enjoyed watching Andy. {It was because of the “prank”}. I could’t believe it when Dwight had all that money sticking out of his pocket and Martin just looks like “what is up with this guy?” So funny! But I felt bad when Martin left. He should have stayed. I liked the looks on the faces when Michael left them out of the room. Especially Stanley, when we are expecting one of his great looks, and he is just doing his word find or whatever. Next show will be great too. I think that Pam and Jim won’t be keeping us guessing much longer!!! I LOVE THE OFFICE!!!!!

120. I don’t think Karen has a clue about Jim loving Pam. Once that does come out, it will be an entire episode and there will be no mistaking. That will also be shortly before she exits the show. WOOHOO!!

121. I agree that Karen doesn’t know anything about Jim and Pam. I think thats why she seemed too eager; she didn’t realize their relationship and that Pam isn’t just another co-worker to Jim.

122. Frank — yes, Dwight is a huge part of the show (and a huge part of what makes the show unique) and while I think he was maybe beginning to take up a little TOO much time in earlier episodes, I’m starting to miss his craziness in some of these recent eps.

     While I agree there’s more to the show than JAM, I think the JAM (and Andy) part of this episode was the only part worth watching tonight!

123. The face that Jim made when Pam realized he was pulling a prank on her was absolutely priceless. I love my JAM stuff, but the pranks make the show (US and UK versions).

     Also to see Jim and Pam finally have each other to look at when Michael was being stupid was great! I couldn’t take them looking at empty chairs for another second.

124. I thought this was one of the funniest episodes in the season, and that Gervais and Merchant captured the tone of the American show perfectly, with a few self-conscious nods to the UK Office and David Brent (but that’s something the American writers also do on occasion).

125. People are forgetting about some of the fantastic lines that Kevin had in this one. Something to the effect of

     “I asked Martin to explain to me three times what he did wrong, because I’m pretty sure I do something like that here.”

     I lol’ed.

126. This episode was okay. I laughed. See, I’m the kind of person where I HAVE to watch it at least 5 or 6 times to get into it. It was the same way with ‘Gay Witch Hunt’. Now, I did cry my eyes out [laughter] with Andy singing ‘Rainbow Connection’ in PIG LATIN!!! :]
     ahh, i loved it!!

127. I think that JAM is a big part of the show but not in an overwhelming way. I mean, I understand that it is a big story line and a big part of the plot; but…take it from me…half the reason I watch the office is waiting for Jim/Pam moments. I thought tonights episode was great. It really reminded me of Season 2 with the pranks.

128. A couple of things to keep in mind before I give my impressions on this ep.

     1) I usually watch the office downloaded on my computer with no commercials. Since I’m usually busy on Thursday nights, I usually don’t find the time to watch tv, which is a shame since IMHO its the best night on tv. However, tonight by circumstance I was able to see it.

     2) I usually have a better impression of the episodes after I see them a second or third time.

     My thoughts on the ep, or should I say my first impressions:

     The convict hit some things right over the head and some jokes worked really well. But overall I just didn’t think it was that good. I think this episode goes right along with the initiation episode and diwali in that it was an awesome premise that somehow fell flat. Michael’s conference room scene while very funny at times felt forced and too over the top.

     Some other random thoughts:

     – Wow, the new people are dropping like flies. It might only be Karen and Andy pretty soon. Which is fine by me.

     – Jim’s situation totally reminds of me something that happened to me in the past. I was basically using a woman to make up for or fill the void for an unrequited love I felt for another woman. Now Jim sort of did this before, to me it seems like he is doing this again with Karen this time. I sort of feel bad for Karen. I hope she doesn’t get hurt bad.

     – It sort of bothered me Martin quit. It’s weird but I just like the characters on the show so much that I have a hard time seeing why someone wouldn’t want to work in that office or with Michael as their boss. I’m sure a lot of us would agree that as bad as Michael is he’s still better than most bosses we’ve had. But I guess if someone wouldn’t stick around enough they wouldn’t realize that.

129. Great episode as usual. Laugh out loud hysterical. Gervais and Merchant are comic geniuses and blended in perfectly with the american Office. Just amazing. I loved everything about this epsisode.

130. I agree. As much as I love Andy, he is making me miss Dwight.

131. Apollo creed!!! Wow, that made me spit out a little soda.

132. I thought this episode was awesome,though there is not one episode that I don’t love…Prison Mike cracked me, especially with the flying dementors! ~haha…priceless. I thought the highlight of the episode, and it was something I’m surprised nobody mentioned was the short scene between Michael and Toby. YOu always got the feeling that despite the hell that Michael puts Toby through, Tody is always nice and tries to be helpful towards him, though tonight it seemed that Toby reached out a little more so than usually, and Michael actually seemed appreciative towards it…I wonder if thier relationship will change in anyway or if it was just a werid freaky one time thing! ~haha

     All the Jim and Pam moments were very interesting. I loved how when Karen wanted in on the pranks, how Jim sorta said the was going to “give her a break” as to hide his feelings towards Pam to Karen. I don’t think she has any idea on thier past relationship…but when she does all hell will break loose!…only time will tell…also where did Roy go?>…he seemed to drop off the face of the earth…I think somebody needs to sent out a search party!…NOT!!! :)

133. i misspelled excited. i am ashamed.

134. Sorry to sound like a downer because I love the office, but I keep waiting for this season to reach the consistency of seasons 1 and 2, and it’s not there. All season long, people say, “Have faith in the writers and hang in there; they’re going somewhere great with all of this,” and I’m tired of waiting. I think it’s time people admit that, while it’s still funny (and probably the funniest show on tv), it’s not as good as it was last season. Tonight’s episode was too hit-you-over-the head (did they ever do anything silly and obvious like say “biatch” for humor value in season 2?!?), just like a lot of the rest of the season. It felt flat, and I’m just plain tired of waiting for the writers to get their stuff together and get back on track. I think it has nothing to do with setting up plot lines that take time to resolve, and nothing to do with purposely trying to give the show a “downer” feel because of the Jim/Pam uncertainty, I think they may have just succumbed to easy, obvious humor to string along with a really obvious Ross-and-Rachel plot line. I know I’m getting flamed for this comment, but I can’t watch my favorite show spiral down any more without saying something!!

135. oh yes! the scene between michael and toby was amazing…oprah moment for sure.

136. “It was funny then and it’s still funny when he says it now.”

     Sorry, I just don’t agree. It seems stupid and forced to me.

137. when can you order the episode on itunes??

138. To each his own…..but I thought it was funny! As was Dwight’s reaction.

139. I loved the required creepy Creed moment of the show:

     Karen: “You can’t give a baby paperclips, he could swallow them.”

     Creed: “Its okay, I have more.”

     Gotta love Creed. :)

140. Not the best episode, but still decent.

     I strongly disagree with the Ross/Rachel comparison. Ross/Rachel did not have the depth nor those little moments that made up their story. There was no tension.
     I like where the writers have been taking Jim and Pam. And I think Karen added to the mix will be interesting. I liked that part in the episode where Karen tried to get in on the Pam prank. Jim is conflicted and he isn’t willing to give up these pranks with Pam.

141. I can’t believe no one’s mentioned Andy calling Jim on the phone to tell him that he’s horny! I almost died.

     This episode was ok, not my favorite. It needed more Dwight, and dare I say it – less JAM. I feel like it’s reaching the soap opera level. Don’t get me wrong- I love me some JAM. But I loved it more when it was a more understated.

142. Oh my God…that episode has INSTANTLY become one of my favorites.

     Michael: “And YOU! (points to Ryan) You’d be DA BELLE OF DA BALL MY FRIEND, DA BELLE OF DA BALL! You’d be somebody’s BITCH!”
     Ryan: Michael…please…

     And the Harry Potter reference was even funnier considering who wrote the episode…

143. i’ll take all the jam i can get. :) although i do still like t

144. It is nice to see that the new members of the office are slowly leaving with each episode. As interesting as it was to have the Jim at the Stamford branch and the new Karen-Pam issue, there isn’t enough time in an episode to see all the regular, core cast members. This episode had no real scenes with Dwight, Angela, Phylis, etc. I want to see Oscar back and what is with there not being any warehouse scenes anymore? only the occasional bone is thrown our way with the warehouse crew. I love ed helms, and rashida jones has done well, but we need the old dynamic back. (Jim and Pam were good tonight with Andy hitting on Pam, but something is still a little off)

     We’ve had our shake up but the cast was large enough as it was, so I hope they refocus on them.

     My bet is on the Crazy baby/breast-feeding woman being the most likely to go next.

145. i think the final scene last week with andy and dwight was one of my favorites..i knew when andy and dwight got together it would be gold….they bring out the best in each other….i personally think that the last 3 episodes have been a return to form for the show….sure it could be better, but it could be a lot worse too(3 and a half men anyone?)

     and i still say i laughed out loud at tonights episode more than any other this season….apollo creed…..and swallowing paper clips….

     and side note-i am finding amongst my friends that the office is a love it or leave it show–theres not alot of middle ground….i go to grad schoola nd watch it in the common room of my dorm and usually i am the only one laughing while other people dont pay attention…tongiht everyone was laughing….

146. I loved this episode. Prison Mike and Andy’s move on Pam was classic! It was also nice to have a tiny dose of JAM in their too.

147. so….catch 22….

148. I feel like every reaction shot in this episode was given to Jim. The lack of focus on the other characters is really starting to let me down.
     Still a great show.

149. Well this first “normal” episode of Season 3 pretty much cements my impressions of the season: it is VASTLY worse in quality than the first two seasons.

     I’m not one of these people that obsesses over “JAM,” so that’s not even a consideration.

     What is truly out of whack this season is the writing. It is so wacky and over the top that the show has completely lost the appeal that it had the first two seasons. Each character has become a parody of their original character, and each situation more and more outrageous.

     Even worse is Steve Carell’s performance this season. The last two seasons Michael was completely perfect: mean, awkward, arrogant, and juvenille at once. This season he merely seems pathetic: his character seems to have completely lost its edge, and he seems to have cartoonish emotional breakdowns every episode.

     Season 3 is still fairly funny, but nowhere close to the first two seasons. I, for one, am pretty dissapointed.

150. Jim did have all the reaction shots.. strange

     it was good to see Jim’s not completely sold on Karen and was touchy about Pam.. although do you think thats just cause he embarrassed himself when he confessed his love and he just doesnt want Karen to know? I mean he obviously doesn’t want her to know, but the big question is whether he just wants to leave the mess behind him or if he still loves her.

151. I really enjoyed this episode, for sure. Andy was absolutely hysterical!

     For those questioning Jim and Pam’s friendship, I think it’s important to remember that the show is supposed to be a documentary–you won’t see everything happen on-screen. Remember “The Carpet” episode? Pam left messages on Jim’s voicemail referring to some of their little jokes that we never saw take place. I think they really are best friends..just my opinion.

     Um, on another note, the Toby/Michael moment was very unexpected–but great nonetheless!

152. OMG, that was horrible!!!! We waited two weeks for that?

153. “he embarrassed himself when he confessed his love”-Scott…are you referring to the last episode when jim told pam he was seeing someone? or did i miss something?

154. On second thought, there were some good scenes, like Andy and Jim’s phone call and the end scene with Andy. I like how Toby understood and helped Michael feel better. And I am officially in love with Stanley this year!

     I was surprised that Pam wasn’t mad when she noticed that Jim was having Andy hit on her, especially knowing he’s “seeing someone else”. Also I was surprised that Karen would want to be involved. They seem to be making her into a second rate Pam now.

     I don’t think Jim and Pam are anything like Ross and Rachel. I am thinking they’ll be more like Caroline and Richard on Caroline in the City – they keep dating other people and finally get together in the end.

155. 2 Deleted scenes up as of… now. Oh and the two-minute replay. We see ubber cute Jim face!!! Squee!

     http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/

156. I thought it was good. Not amazing, but still great. It is consistent with many of the first 5 episodes of Season 3. I’ve never been a huge fan of Gervais…he always seems to be producing low-brow comedy to me. Besides season 2 set the bar so high, we’ll always be comparing it to it’s earliest times. Think about this though…compared to other shows on TV, even Season 3 is far better than your average show.

     Besides, I have no doubt in my mind that the hour long Christmas special may very well be the best episode of the Office ever.

157. oh! one more thing! did anyone notice pam’s hair this week??? super cute and curled with a little clip holding it back! could this be a new-found confidence? i think so!

158. I think the show’s awesome, but it seems that the writers don’t want anybody to drive the action except Michael. What’s the point of having all the different characters if the plot’s always going to be “Something happens, Michael tries to react properly, messes it up, spends the rest of the episode fixing what he messed up and being hilariously inept?”

     I also think they need to let the characters grow a bit more. Let Ryan be the big seller or something, maybe let Dwight pull a sweet prank on Jim, and maybe let Toby get the nerve to ask out Pam.

     Anyway, just a couple random thoughts…

159. a butter sandwich? yikes

160. I think that everyone is blowing things out of proportion. In order to keep the show going for more than three seasons the writers have to go off on tangents in order to create story lines for farther down the road. They are slowly beginning to get back to the basic elements of the show. One of the reasons that the “JAM” element is coming through so strongly is because it is a documentary and the camera guys are playing Survivor with it. They have found their gold and are getting all that they can. People forget it is a documentary, and as far as the progression of their relationship it is very real, which is why you can’t compare their relationship to any others that have been on tv thus far. All I gotta say is don’t check out now. Livestrong.

161. As some have already said, this episode was OK. I kind of enjoyed the Jim pranking Pam thing, makes you see that they are still friends, but he still really likes her.

     I missed Dwight in this episode. And is someone going to leave every episode until we are down to a smaller office? It was unexpected to say the least. Also, when Michael became prison Mike, I felt a mention of dementors coming. I even said it a loud that Michael was going to say prison sucked because of the demnetors waiting to suck out his soul and he said it! Ha!

162. I thought this episode was a little heavy on Michael and did not have enough of other regulars as well, but that might be because of the guest writers who haven’t written for them before…? And, although I, too, love Jim, the reaction shots were gratuituous. Yeah for Dec. 14th!

163. I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but the scene where Toby tells Michael that everyone is just teasing him, and that the office is clearly better than prison was one of the sweetest moments I’ve ever seen on tv. Michael was so obviously touched by it, and I just wanted to give Toby a hug for being so great.

     And I totally agree, I almost fell off of my couch I laughed so hard at the dementor thing. Jim’s face after he said it killed me.

164. There were funny parts, but this episode just didn’t do it for me. I’m still going to watch it three or four times when I download it on iTunes, though.

165. Agree with everything Nick in comment 172 said. I was very disappointed with the initiation episode and where the show seemed to be headed. This episode, while upon first viewing didn’t crack me up, is much better 2nd time around. Posters have said the best lines/scenes so I’ll just reference the Creed line and the Belle of da Ball as two of my favorites. From a guy who was scared SH**less the first time seeing “Scared Straight” I cracked up at the whole routine, especially when Prison Mike went after Angela and Dwight started to defend her. Brilliant.

166. Great show and the Harry Potter reference made my day!

167. Same here! I screamed out loud when he said dementors. Then I had to explain to everyone just what a dementor was… which was fun.

168. My fiance plays disc golf…when Andy talked about frolfing I almost fell off of the couch!!

169. Very good episode. I thought Gervais and Merchant did an awesome job. I suspect they had to work within the general arc of the season that the original writers wanted to follow. If you didn’t already know that they were different writers, there’s no way you would notice anything different.

170. I honestly thought that this was the best episode of season 3- I’m surprised how many people didn’t like it!

     Andy is such a great addition to the office- I hope that they never get rid of him. I was dying at the end when he was singing Rainbow Connection in pig latin. Kevin and Creed had great moments as well. I thought the writing was fabulous- so many funny subtle things hiding under the over the top stuff.

     In reading the comments, I have noticed that a few people mentioned that the Michael dynamic is not as fresh as it used to be. Well, we have been watching his antics now for about 35-40 episodes so it’s just not going to be as shocking as it used to be. I don’t think that Michael has changed or grown as a character since the beginning so it makes sense. I think that watching the other cast’s reactions to his antics is the most entertaining for me. I also think that it’s perfect to see the new people leaving as a result of his behavior- because it always seemed so unrealistic to me that people would tolerate him. It just goes to show that the Scranton folks are just desensitized to him- sorta like we are as viewers.

     I am also a total HP dork so I was dying at the dementor line- I’m very excited to see that there are so many other people who love Harry Potter and the Office! Now if the seventh book would hurry up and come out my life would be complete!

171. I haven’t bothered to go back and read every single post since last night, so don’t jump all over me if what I say has already been addressed.

     This episode was absolutley necessary to show that while the Jim / Pam relationship has changed, everything will be okay in the end. Pam’s reaction Jim’s “prank” was priceless–not to mention the first real smile I think we’ve seen from her this season. Well, I guess the only other time she smiled that big was when Jim called.

     Yeah, Jim may be “seeing” Karen, but I think it’s pretty obvious his heart isn’t totally in it.

172. Opinions are like you know what, everyones got one. So heres mine.

     This episode was not very funny. I watch this show for only one reason and that is to laugh. No other tv show comes close to this level of humor.

     Dwight barely got any lines in this episode. He was like one of the sweathogs in the back of the classroom who is an extra.

     I like Andy. I think if they could involve him more with Dwight and Michael they may create a great comedy trio.

     Jim is the gatemaster of this show. Hes the most normal one we relate with, because he looks at us in every episode. Im glad to see him back at Scranton.

     Favorite moment:
     I loved it when Dwight stuffed bills in his back pocket.

173. Some people are disapointed that Dwight only has a few lines. It was only one show! I think when they are trying to introduce a new character like Andy they can’t always include everyone. It gets too overwhelming kinda like the Initation. Im sure they have brewed up some great scenes with Dwight in episodes to come.

174. I didn’t really think that there was a lack of Dwight in this episode- he had the funniest talking head, and the scene with the dollar bills sticking out of his pocket was great!

175. “I don’t even know, I’m a baby! Hey, Mom, I’m thirsty! I’m thirsty, Mama! I want some milk. And you know where milk comes from! Breasts.”

     I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time. This episode was just so ridiculous, but great.

     Oh and the Frisbee Golf was histerical especially if you know somebody who does.

176. I missed Andy’s rainbow connection. The last I saw was him getting his banjo. Did anyone see that on the west coast?

177. Pam’s smile to Jim when he was on the phone with Andy gave me chills. There were 100 different emotions in that one smile. Jenna is amazing. So consistent and always right on.

178. I guess Krasinski wasn’t lieing when he said in some E! interviews that they were casting babies..

179. I like this episode.

     (quick question – what was Kevin saying at the beginning right when they found out who the convict was?)

     I thought it was a good mix of characters. I don’t like Hannah (the one with the baby). “His favorite color is pink.” You gotta be kidding me. I don’t think I would enjoy working with her – I bet she’ll be leaving within the next episode or two. They look like they are slowing weeding down the cast back to a “managable” size of characters.

     Best moments from the episode:
     Creed playing with the baby with the paperclips (“It’s ok I’ve got plenty”)
     Toby talking to Michael after getting a call from Pam. “Michael, you know they’re just teasing you right?” (great moment)
     Kevin had a great episode. “Michael why don’t we get outdoors time”
     And you gotta love the way Jim still shows he has feelings for Pam while talking to Karen.
     Andy’s whole interaction with Pam was great. A good episode with a lot of good stuff.

180. Angela fears for her life.

     Hhahaha oh man
     I love this show.

181. I am new to The Office fanclub. I’ve just recently gotten into it this season so of course I had to go back and watch season 1 and 2 just to catch up but I am sad that I missed them season 2 was great and you really got to know the characters. Last night episode only reinstated why I’ve come to like The Office for my favorite show right now on television. I think what I like most about the show is the realness brought to it I’m sure we all have had a “Dwight” that we’ve worked with and a “Michael” for a boss. Its a show people can relate to and last night episode was hilarious my favorite part was the whole money sticking out of the pocket scene with Dwight and Martin. I still laugh when I think about. Funny stuff

182. Dia: I’m in CA; yes, the serenade was after commercials.

     I absolutely loved this episode. Bring back the Brits, I say.

183. So many story lines, just wanted to mention Michael’s comment to Jan after she explained the money the company receives for hiring an ex-con.

     “Hey Jan, speaking of Stamford, Hannah brought in her baby”

     How badly Michael wants to have a family, if possible with Jan in his wildest dreams. Maybe some “Man” progress in the Christmas episode?

184. This episode was awesome! There were so many great moments. The episodes get better and better.

185. The fact that some people really like this episode and some people, not so much, just shows how widespread the appeal for this show is. Obviously, there will be episodes that knock everyone’s socks off, but this show appeals to different shared experiences in different people. With some people, its hit or miss, but always quality to me.

186. About the baby wearing pink: People traditionally dressed little girls in pink because boys like the color. It attracts the eye.

187. Re: Jim and Pam being best friends (comment #86)

     I do think that they are best friends, or, at the very least, that Jim is Pam’s best friend.

     I believe this because Pam leads a very lonely life. You never hear her mention any friends (who did she call after Jim declared his feelings for her? Her mother). She apparently has no social life outside of work (recall her talking head about her new clothes: “It’ll just be nice to have some after work clothes that aren’t pajamas”). Her life pre-breakup-with-Roy consisted of work and hanging out with Roy. And she can’t share her “thoughts and feelings” with Roy (remember the breakroom scene with Pam and Jim, she doesn’t like to bother Roy with those things). Who DOES she share her thoughts and feelings with? Jim. And about her not discussing her wedding plans with Jim, don’t forget that they reviewed the wedding band videos together (Scrantonicity rocks!).

     Now, about Pam being Jim’s best friend? Probably, but Jim has more of an “outside” life than Pam. He has a roommate and poker buddies. This fact, however, does not provide indisputable proof that Pam isn’t his best friend. He probably spends more time with her than with any of his other friends, which confers on Pam a special status. And if you asked him if he’d rather spend an evening with Pam or one of his male friends, my guess is he’d pick Pam, even if he knew their was no chance of anything romantic happening. They just get along that well.

     (I just have to mention this, a little off topic: as I’m writing this, there is a story on the news about how snowed in St. Louis is. If you don’t understand the significance of this, make sure to read Jenna’s latest blog).

     Anyway, just my opinion about the best friends thing.

188. Just had a thought as I re-read my comment:

     Jim had a roommate before he moved to Stamford. Did he move back in with him, is he living alone, or (horror of horrors) is he shacked up with Karen?

189. Just have to say I thought Barryman’s comment (157) was right on the money. I think season 3 has had some major fluctuations in quality. I’ve loved some episodes, and really, really disliked some others, and I never felt that way about seasons 1 & 2.

     It does seem like the writers (no matter who they are) are starting to grasp at straws in some ways, and as a result the characters come off as characatures at times. I mean, Michael throwing a fit and locking everyone in the conference room? Part of the appeal of The Office is sophisticated, subtle humor, and it’s silly things like that that really drag it down. That, and the constant re-hashing of the same old jokes (ie the racial insensitivity).

     But whatever, it’s what I’ve come to expect this season. And when the Office lets me down, now I’ve got Scrubs and 30 Rock to make up for it!

190. Well-said, Kim. I get so weary of people extolling the virtues of every single episode, using words like “stellar” and “genius” and “extraordinary,” and making it sound like people who don’t like certain episodes just don’t GET IT. What if we “get it” and just don’t think it’s very funny sometimes? The quality has varied from episode to episode, and none of them have been of the quality of Season 2 or even Season 1.

     Prison Mike was not funny. It was over-the-top UNfunny, like the conference room scene in “Gay Witch Hunt,” and, like Kim said, the racism bit has been done before, even on this show. They had an entire episode about it. Let it rest.

191. I don’t think the show was necessarily all about racism. In thebeginning it may have seemed that way but as the episode progressed they strayed from that fact on concentrated more on the prison aspect as opposed to the race one.

192. You’re right, Catherine, but racism played a huge role, too. Especially with Michael’s “close your eyes…it’s a white woman” thing, and him accusing Kevin of being a racist, among other jokes. It was just stale, because “Diversity Day” was so good with it.

193. RE: m3k1′ s well written comment (#197)

     You hit the nail on the head. This is why it was so nice to see Pam actually smile in this episode. I know she’s smiled before this season, but let’s face it: they have been few and far between, and the really, truly happy smiles have all revolved around Jim in some way. For instance:

     Jim’s phone call from Stamford.
     Jim comes back in “The Merger.”
     Jim’s prank with sabotaging Andy.

     I have felt bad for Pam this season for the same reasons you elucidated earlier. She doesn’t have anyone else in her life, and while its killing her to see Jim and Karen (c’mon…Pam’s not stupid–she knows what’s gonig on), Jim still makes her the happiest.

194. Yeah, I find it hard to believe how anyone could see this episode as ‘brilliant’, but hey, if it’s rocking other people’s worlds, that’s great.

     Ultimately I think the US series has certainly had its ‘brilliant’ moments, and seasons 1 and 2 were consistently funny and entertaining, but I think I would reserve the term ‘genius’ for the UK series (sorry I know that’s going to offend some).

     I don’t mean to be a downer, really I just think there’s a lot to analyze about this show, good AND bad.

195. Heres a pitch for an episode.

     Michael has a party at his house. Andy gets drunk and gets fresh with Angela. Dwight fights Andy to defend her honor. Pam walks in on Jim and Karen kissing. Kevins band plays live. Ryan and Kelly break up. Michael and Jan wake up naked in bed together.

     What do you think?

196. LOL… I’d call that “As the Office Turns”… good one.

197. I defense of this episode, since it was written by the British creators, I wasn’t expecting any character breakthroughs. I don’t think that the racism was overdone, it is just typical Michael trying to prove he’s not racist by unintentionally being more racist. I thought it was hilarious when he locked everyone in the conference room- and it led to a great moment with Toby.

     Like everyone has said, different people like different eps for different reasons. I will also continue to throw around words like “stellar” and “genius” and “extraordinary” for every episode because I can find things I enjoy in every episode- even in the ones I don’t particularly like. I don’t, however, accuse anyone else of “not getting it”, that’s just my opinion. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, even a subpar episode of The Office is better to me than anything else on TV right now.

198. I usually reserve judgement until a couple viewings, but I liked most parts of it. I had tears in my eyes during “The Rainbow Connection.” Wow.

     Personally, I feel the show is at its best when they’re dealiing with more mundane office stuff. Diversity Day, the basketball game, the Dundies, the Client, Take Your Daughter to Work… That framework gives them the opportunity to stretch reality without going over the top. For me, the more silly the premise for the episode, the more the writers get away from a realistic style. That’s why I haven’t been nuts about this season, which has often dealt with more craziness (Initiation, Diwali, Grief Counsiling…). And so far this season we’ve had 2 characters “outed” by people totally unlikely to out them (Toby and Jan).

     I guess I’m getting picky, but when a show is this awesome, I’m really just nitpicking between a 7/10 and a 10/10!

199. I’ve read many of the comments and people are trying to identify what was missing from this episode and maybe some of the others of the season. I’d say most of the episodes this season have been really great. It seems that what was missing in The Convict, (not that I didn’t like it still) was some of the timing and the tension. When Michael feels there is something wrong in the office and decides to take the initiative to deal with it, he usually takes a serious “I’m the dad here and need to step in and teach these kids how things are supposed to be.” Of course, his ideas are always ridiculous and there’s the comedy. But his outrage over the possibility of people judging Martin differently for being a convict, especially because he’s a man of color when straight to basic outrage and scolding. You need more of a build up to that. I think that may be the unintended side effect of so many characters at this time in the show. Some of the build up and tension is missing. I’m confident they’ll weed out several more characters from Stamford with the exception of Andy and Karen. Of course, ultimately Karen has to go, but I think she’ll have a longer story line. Probably at least til the end of this season. I predict we’ll get some kind of moment of truth between Pam and Jim in the last episode of the season, where if Pam doesn’t declare her love for Jim, she’ll at least explain why she turned him away last season and maybe even talk about how hard it’s been to see him connecting with Karen.

200. It’s a slow day at work, so I’ll monopolize the board. One thing I would LOVE to see is something the British show did a little more of in its second season. Now that Jim has been promoted, I would like to see him take some more responsibility. After all, he is over EVERYONE in the office besides Michael (and Toby, I guess, but he’s not really part of anyone’s family…). The British show was good at making things awkward with Tim having to pull rank at times, creating some really awkward dynamics. But I guess that speaks to my preference for things to remain more office-work-related, huh?

201. Kim, I’ve only seen the British version briefly, so I really can’t comment on it being more “genius” than the US version.

     I will say this, however. When the US version came about everyone had very low expectations because everyone assumed that it wasn’t going to be better than the UK version. I won’t say it’s better, but I think that it has successfully managed to become its own entity, instead of just a poor imitation.

     The genius in this show for me are the great writers and actors who have made me care about this show like I’ve never done with any other TV show, ever. That’s genius to me.

202. Great episode, IMHO. And I have no problem using superlatives like “genius,” “brilliant,” “stellar,” etc. to describe the show — just compare it with what ELSE is on TV these days (especially what passes for comedy) and The Office earns its place in the pantheon of all-time great TV series, alongside Seinfeld, The Simpsons & Arrested Development.

203. Ah, yes, the elitest original Office fan saying that show is more “superior”. You may be right because it was the original but I believe the american version is genius as well. They are two different beasts. Ricky Gervais portrayed a British office setting while this version is more like what it’s like in America. I never really watched the British version but I absolutely love this version.

204. If practically any other show on TV did what they did on “The Office” last night, and did it in exactly the same way, it would not be described as being “genius,” “brilliant” or any other over-used superlative. Words like “lame,” “cheesy” and “stupid” would probably be flung around freely the day after it aired. Seasons 1 and 2 of “The Office” do belong in the category of One of the Best Comedies of All-Time. In the first two seasons, we had a more-endearing Michael Scott, we had JAM, and we had writers who managed to find funny in the mundane ridiculousness of office life. Season 3…no. There’s been none of that.

     I’m not grading “The Office” on a curve, and I’m not willing to say that it’s a superb show just because there’s a lot of sub-par shows on TV right now (besides the fact that there’s a lot of GREAT TV on right now). Much of this season has just been plain unfunny to me.

205. Bob Vance, I think JK’s point was more about when people single out every little thing as being brilliant like “Oh, Michael trips over a chair, that was brilliant!” Yes, overall the show has been fantastic, but as a lot of us have been saying, it’s been a little dodgy this season, and for some of us the jokes are wearing thin rather than retaining that punch they had in previous episodes.

     I think I would agree that the CONCEPT of the show in general is brilliant (and as we all know, that concept comes from Gervais/Merchant originally), but I would say that the executation, as of late, has been a little sloppy.

206. I really don’t get it. I don’t see how seasons one or two were better than this season. I have been a loyal watcher since the pilot, and honestly I don’t think that I have missed a single episode.

     Can someone please explain to me what is so wrong with season 3? I have favorite episodes from every season. I see no difference quality-wise from this season to last. Are people really so swayed by the lack of JAM?

     My only theory is that maybe with all the preview clips and spoilers out there people are now seeing way to much of the episodes before they air.

207. One of, if not the best, episodes of the year. For the most part Season 3 has not lived up to the quality of episodes during Season 2. This one did IMO.

     The Convict had so many LOL moments. Loved Prison Mike, Andy hitting on Pam, Apollo Creed being the black equivalent to Jesus Christ, and …

     Andy: I am so horny.
     Jim: Okay, I can’t help you with that.

     Here’s hoping that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant get to write more upcoming episodes.

208. Anti-soccermom,

     Here’s what I think: Michael is unfunny and unsympathetic this year; most of the scenarios have been larger-than-life setups for comedy, not real-life office situations; they’ve been trying too hard to make Creed funny; and I’m just fed up with the whole JAM thing, especially Pam. I think it was a huge mistake to have Jim be out of the office for the first several episodes of the season; even non-JAM fans can relate to him as an average guy, and without him around, there was just TOO much unbelievability in the Scranton office. The Stamford storyline went nowhere and seemed like a huge waste of time. It’s getting harder and harder to believe that someone like Michael would not be fired by now. It might be all or none of these. But I don’t have the Office-love I had going a few months ago, that’s for sure. It just feels different. And I, honestly and truly, don’t care at all about JAM anymore, so I don’t think that’s it, either. I used to genuinely care about these characters, too. Now…I don’t. And I’m not normally a fickle person, so I don’t know how to explain it.

209. “And so far this season we’ve had 2 characters “outed” by people totally unlikely to out them (Toby and Jan).”

     You’re right, and although this struck me as odd at the time, reading your comment made me remember it. Jan is such a stickler for rules and office protocol, yet someone asks her who the ex-con is and she puts him on hold so she can look up the information and tell him? One a CONFERENCE call with other people in the room, no less? Wouldn’t this be confidential information, and wouldn’t Jan know that? I really, really expected her to say, “You know I can’t share that with you,” and the rest of the episode would be spent with everyone trying to figure out who the convict was. Totally unlike her character.

210. Agree with JK. For me, it’s not the uneven handling of the JAM situation so much as it is just the over-the-top cartoonishness, as Barryman said way back, of so many of the situations. The ridiculous, childlike reactions from Michael, the rehashing of some of the jokes (racist/sexist things, his mispronunciation of words, things like that). Some of it is just getting old. I mean, I know it’s really challenging to be hilarious in every episode, especially since there are so many to create, but to me it all looks like the writers are running a little low on creativity, and trying to overcompensate with outlandish, ill-conceived scenarios.

211. Re: Karen/Jim/Pam. I just think that, when I watch it, I find Jim and Karen forced. I can’t understand people that say they are a ‘natural’ progression. Karen is trying too hard to fit in with Jim’s sense of humor (chip search, pranking Andy) when I don’t think that’s necessarily who she is, and Jim seems like he’s phoning it in alot of the time when he talks to/teases Karen.

     That’s what I always loved so much about Pam/Jim…it seemed like genuine happiness and enjoyment of each other. This episode brought that home to me very strongly…and they never spoke a word to each other.

212. Loved the swing in the chair from Jim towards Pam, then a shift of the eyes at the last minute. Perfect! And I was one of those who thought Jim and Karen would be good together, and that after Pam rejected him he deserved to move on to someone that would appreciate him. After the connection though in this episode, I’m rethinking my thoughts. I remember now why I rooted so heavily for Jim and Pam from the beginning. Good thing I’m already married, or I’d be buying a poster of Jim to put on my bedroom wall. Swoon.

213. Again, Anti-Soccermom, even though on the surface we seem to disagree, I can see your point and even agree with a lot of what you’re saying :-). I have definitely enjoyed the last two episodes the most this season (and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they both took place totally inside the office, on a plain old work day), so maybe things really will pick up post-merger. I see your point, too, about Jim being out of the office to make a point, but if that’s what they were going for, I think they stretched it out way too far. I honestly got to the point where things just started feeling so consistently off and dark that I just thought, “Who cares?”

     Michael had some really sympathetic moments last season (I’m thinking of “Halloween” and “Take Your Daughter to Work Day”) that made his antics at other times easier to swallow. Now, he’s just a buffoon. Sometimes I have to sit on the TiVo remote just so I don’t fast-forward through his scenes, because they always make me cringe, and not in a good way.

     I think the writers took a big gamble in “Casino Night” by letting Jim and Pam come together briefly then; they lost on that gamble big-time when they didn’t KEEP them together. I am tired of hearing about how realistic this show is by keeping Jim and Pam apart. In reality, Michael Scott would have been fired a LONG time ago, so it’s not “realistic” that he’s still employed at DM. If they’re willing to overlook that unrealistic plot point, why not do the same with Jim and Pam? I say either excise them completely from the storyline so it stops overshadowing everything else, or bring them together, for the same reason. Some of Pam’s actions (and inactions) are still baffling to me. Maybe in reality she would act this way; however, in “reality” I do lots of things (feed the dogs, mop the kitchen, etc.) that wouldn’t make for compelling TV. Sometimes too much reality is not a good thing.

     I am hoping to re-kindle my “Office” romance this season. I really am.

214. I thought it was a funny episode. One of the best this season.

     They didn’t have to go off-site, or have a major plot-point that would change the whole show to make it funny. It was just great humor with exaggerated personalities pulling it off.

     Great stuff.

215. Okay, sorry to dwell on this, but here goes:

     Michael has always been offensive (Hello? Christmas episode and the whole oven mit thing). He is childish, selfish, ignorant, and mean, with occasional flashes of pathetic-ness. That has always been his character. He would be out of character if he didn’t act that way. Yes it’s been done. It’s going to be repetitive. It is far fetched that he wouldn’t get fired for outing a gay employee and a convict but it has been established again and again that Dunder Mifflin is not the best run company. Just looking at the way the branch closing went down is proof of that. This show thrives on being a bit on the ridiculous side. Not everyone is going to find it funny, I get that. But you can’t criticize the writers for not having Michael grow as a character. Someone like him just wouldn’t.

216. What does it mean if a comment is “awaiting moderation”?

217. Just an FYI, iTunes has the episode up. :)

218. Oh, and I liked that Pam goes “They have art classes?” When is Jim going to hear that she’s in art school, or for that matter when will it affect her in The Office (Has to leave early for a class or becomes a nude model or something)?

219. RE: Seasons 1 and 2 Versus Season 3.

     I personally found the earlier episodes much funnier. Until “The Merger” I was really forcing myself to enjoy this show this year. I knew it would get good again, so I watched it. I didn’t think this past episode was up to the earlier standards but this year has been pretty bad so far. I think they’ve been really exaggerating the characters this year: does Michael have to be so over the top and *so* mean to Dwight? does everyone else have to be a stereotype? Maybe in the past it was because it was a new show, I don’t know, but my favorite episodes are from Season 2 and not this year predominately.

     I hope they get back to the funny good natured humor they had in the past. This year many things seem more mean spirited than they have in the past, and Michael seems to be just that much more clueless and offensive.

     I find it strange that this past episode was written by the British Office team. That show seemed to be much less offensive (of course being American maybe I just missed some of the offensive stuff or it didn’t offend me at all), and David Brent was just more self centered or egotistical, not mean. I think this year Michael has gone from wanting everyone to like him to trying to be the best boss or something, and it just doesn’t work for me.

     I’ll still watch, though, it’s still the best comedy on TV! (Although I am enjoying The Class and My Boys as well.)

220. It’s hard to walk that thin line with the Michael character. When the stuff works with Michael it is extremely funny but when it doesn’t it falls flat and is just ridiculous. I think “the convict,” was hit and miss. Season 2 was pretty much pure gold in terms of how they handled Michael.

     To the writer’s credit throughout the history of the show they have managed for the most part to do a good job with Michael. However there have been some low points. Several in season one and several in this season as well.

     To me the most cringeworthy Michael lowpoint this season was “Diwali.” I thought the way he handled the situation with Carol and his attempt to kiss Pam were just creepy.

221. Can I make a suggestion? At the beginning of the season I was reading every spoiler and watching every preview clip I could find for upcoming episodes. And I became critical and dissatisfied of those episodes. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago, when I decided to NOT watch any preview clips (like the ones available on Yahoo), that I realized I had been dimishing my experience by watching too much of the show, all chopped up, before hand.

     May I suggest to those who watch all the previews and then claim the episode wasn’t funny that you stop spoiling your viewing experience? I have laughed more and appreciated the show more over the past few weeks as I’ve allowed myself to watch it as it is meant to be viewed.

     Just a thought.

222. Weak Arms, good thinking. Knowing what’s coming beforehand sort of ruins the surprise that makes “The Office” such a great show. It helps to watch/read as little as possible beforehand and appreciate the show all that much more when it airs.

223. Weak Arms, I saw absolutely no previews and heard no spoilers for “The Convict,” I promise, so my claim that the episode was not funny is not based on that.

224. I agree, Weak Arms! I have never watched the preview clips and I have stopped reading the spoilers. It ruins things when you see half the episode before it even airs!

225. I totally agree that Michael was over the top at Diwali. But I think he was worse last night with Prison Mike. He obviously knew nothing and it showed, and made him look stupid (more than usual). Although I thought the Dementors comment was hilarious!

     I don’t know if not watching the preview clips would help or not. It did help me skip the lame baby section with both the clothing and Michael, but I might have enjoyed Jim talking to Andy more.

     However, I didn’t watch any previews before the first three episodes this season (I only started watching previews for this one) and I still thought they weren’t very good. I guess it depends on how funny the show is as a whole, how much buildup it has (this one made us wait 2 weeks and I think that made it worse for me since it wasn’t worth the wait – I would have enjoyed it much better if it were on last week.), and if they pick the funniest clips for the previews.

     This episode, my favorite clips were actually not in the previews. I loved the “dementors” comment, Stanley’s look when they left “prison” (I love that he’s always doing crossword puzzles and rolling his eyes!), Jim and Andy discussing Pam (“Do you play the guitar?” “I play the banjo …”) and of course Andy’s rendition of The Rainbow Connection.

226. But even for those who do watch preview clips…should a 20 or 30-second preview clip ruin THAT much of the show? I mean, surely there should be enough funny jokes in a 22-minute program that seeing a couple of them in a preview clip should mean there are plenty of good things left over for the actual show, right?

227. Oh, this week’s ep was great! I love how not PC Michael is, how Jim and Pam are joking around again and the scene at the end with Toby and Michael. I generally really enjoy the hatred Michael has for Toby, but this was a nice change. Very sweet little moment.

228. I also love Andy, but I hate the Andy/Dwight rivalry. They’re much better when they’re separate and being ridiculed for their own personality traits, not fighting amongst themselves.

     So are they ever going to show us why Karen is on the show at all? If she’s going to be around I’d like to see Karen interacting more with the other characters, not just Jim. If it’s not public knowledge that she and Jim are dating, why isn’t Michael going after her? How about Toby or even Creed? She seems like she could hold her own with some Creed attention.

229. No, a 20-30 second clip should not ruin the show, but when there are 6-8 preview clips on Yahoo (like this week and last week) I think that’ll eat up a lot of funny. Just my opinion.

230. I don’t think Karen jumped on the idea to prank Pam because she senses something between Jim and Pam. I don’t think there would be anything to make her think that yet. Her reason for jumping on the prank: she wanted to do something with Jim. No further analyzation necessary.

231. I don’t watch them on Yahoo. The only things I see are the ones that pop up on NBC while I watching something else. They’ve been pretty harmless, so far (if misleading, at times).

232. That’s what she said made an excellent comment about Karen. The way they have handled her character she sort of comes off more like a plot device instead of a character. Outside of her brief interactions with Phyllis and Pam in “The Merger,” we really have not seen her interact that much. I like the Karen character so I hope things don’t remain that way.

233. Gotcha, JK. Those ones aren’t bad. More of a teaser really.

234. I give this episode aa 7.5, not as funny as the last couple but still very good.

235. I forgot to say that I agree with everyone who said Michael is over the top this year, as are some of the plots. The Office isn’t as based in reality as it used to be. They’re going for bigger comedy, rather than simple true to life things that the audience could relate to.

236. Yeah, Michael would really be fired (especially if they could get Jim to step up) if he showed them videos and had meetings every day just as a reason to show off.

237. Let me just say how much fun it is to visit this forum and hear everyone’s opinions on this show. And even though I whine from time to time about things, I still think it’s a great show, and I’m always lookg forward to where the writers are going. I have faith in them!

238. I tried to read through all the comments before I commented my own thoughts, but I just couldn’t, I feel like I have so much to say. First of all, I really enjoyed this episode. It seems like people are setting their expectations too high, and in return, they get let down. Personally, this season has been amazing, and I definitely re-watch these episodes over and over.

     I think my “awwwwwwww” moment was definitely the Michael/Toby moment. It -no lie- seriously made me go “awwwww” like three times! It’s just one more reason why this show is incredible. For all the hate that Michael has for Toby – and all the mean things he has said about him, this proves Toby’s character is more well-rounded than we think. I loved it.

     I have to say, that between the look Jim gave Pam immediately after Andy walked away from her desk and the look they shared in the conference room re Michael, that completely tied the show up for me. I went into this episode prepared for the worst, and was incredibly pleasantly surprised. I couldn’t have asked for more under the circumstances. Jim’s faces were the icing on the cake for me.

     Personally, I think it was quite clear that re: Jim’s talking head about Karen and Pam, and how he hesitated so much when Karen was trying to get “in” on the pranks, that it’s just absolutely set in stone that Karen is simply a filler – and even though I LOVE Jam, I still think the show is going absolutely perfect right now. I love the Karen angle! It brings out the true love. And not to mention that it’s also obvious that Scranton is simply Pam’s place with Jim, and Stamford was Karen’s. Especially the pranks aspect.

     The prank was not played on Pam, it was played on Andy because Jim knew that Pam would catch on – so either way it screwed Andy, not Pam at all. She’s playing along, and that’s what’s so brilliant.

     I think that in the Christmas episode, we might see Karen find out about JAM… and I’d LOVE for that to happen… especially since Jim will be away from the office – or so the description says.

     I love Andy. I like Dwight, but I think we’ve been seeing a good amount of him lately – too much is just too much, and there are more characters so we have to spread it out. Dwight’s lines do not “make” the show for me. The overall beauty is what does.

     Some people may complain that the show focuses too much on JAM, but I have to rebutt that with the statement: Jim and Pam have an extremely unique relationship, and are stuck in an awkward position with each other. The show is so much more real-life than ANY sitcom or soap opera you could ever find on TV. That’s why it’s such a sin to compare it to Friends or Cheers. It’s a show of it’s own, and every single bit of it surpasses anything that tries to match it’s brilliance.

     My apologies on the long comment. I just had a lot to say :)

239. Hi Meredith!

     I was wondering when you would pop in- we always seem to think alike. I loved this episode too!!!

240. “It seems like people are setting their expectations too high, and in return, they get let down.”

     If I have high expectations, it’s because the writers trained me, through last season, to have high expectations :-). It seems unfair to expect viewers to lower them now.

241. JK- Sorry to pick on you but I have to ask…

     Besides the Michael aspect of the episode (which you clearly didn’t like), can you see anything good about this episode at all? I mean the whole Andy/Pam thing was so freaking funny!!! Wasn’t there anything about this episode that you found funny? I hate to beat a dead horse here, but I guess that I am sort of in disbelief that you really found it that bad. Especially since I thought that this episode was the one of season three that was most similar to last season…

242. Hey anti-soccermom! Took me a while to get on here, I thought my computer had blocked OfficeTally!! Whew! Oh how i love to talk over these comments.

     Yes, JK, I see where you’re coming from, but in some respects, I do think people are riding too high on the expectations for this season because of the anticipation that built on the wait over the summer. I mean, they left us such a cliff-hanger, it was almost impossible to wait! But while I do think some episodes have been lower par than 2nd season, I think they are keeping the core of the show on track – and of course we can’t forget that we have new cast members, and that takes some getting used to. So far, I haven’t been let down, and it always takes any doubt away to re-watch the episodes afterwards!

243. “Took me a while to get on here, I thought my computer had blocked OfficeTally!!”

     AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Perish the thought!

244. Yeah – my work had some sort of block on it all day yesterday, I was close to tears!! To think that I could only get on here at night was almost too much to bear…

245. I think that this season has met any expectations that it should meet. Like last season, there were some great episodes, while the rest were still good. This season has had some standouts, and basically every other episode had some aspect that made it enjoyable.

246. Anti-soccermom – Oh, yeah, I really loved the Andy/Pam/Jim thing. It was hysterical, and I loved seeing Jim and Pam in a situation that wasn’t overtly JAM all over (“I’m so horny…” “Well, I can’t really help you there.”). And I love Andy overall. I didn’t HATE this episode (I hope I didn’t imply that anywhere). But in comparison to the way I felt about last season, or season one, my adoration has definitely waned. I used to LOVE it. Now I just like it. I guess part of it does come down to the fact that I really, really think they screwed up the Jim and Pam thing. How nice would it have been to see them forgo all conventional wisdom and actually have them BE together? Instead, it looks like they’ve subscribed to every romantic cliche (distance, jealously, misunderstanding, etc.). For such a “groundbreaking” show, that was disappointing (and I’ve explained how, even if this is “realistic” – and I’m not sure I think it is – it’s still not gripping TV). And that lack of Jim and Pam dynamic (be it romantic tension or otherwise) has really affected the rest of the show.

     Prison Mike took up a large part of the show, too, and that part was just horrible to me. Only slightly better than Michael’s antics in “Gay Witch Hunt.” They need to Michael a good person occasionally, I think, like they’ve done in the past, so we feel bad for him and don’t just abhor him.

247. At least it’s on iTunes now. Goodness gracious, though they still haven’t added it to my cart as part of my season pass. What is taking them so long?

248. JK-

     Good! Yay! No- you never said that you hated this episode- sorry if I made it sound that way. Seriously, though, I think that it’s uphill from here. I am so looking forward to the Christmas episode! I think that it’s going to be good things for Jim and Pam from here on out.

     I was also disappointed that Jim and Pam didn’t get together, but I think that being patient is going to pay off.

     Prison Mike- the reaction of the rest of the cast made me enjoy it- and the dementor thing. But, yes, Prison Mike on it’s own was just plain painful. haha

249. I’m sure any type of analysis of the episode has already been rehashed to death so I won’t clog up much space with that.

     I just wanted to add my $0.02…I loved the whole prank that Jim was pulling on Andy and the way Pam picked up on it and then they both had these really giddy smiles, made me so happy.

     and as someone who is in the process of becoming a certified personal trainer, Michael’s comment outside about “I’m not going for bulk, I’m going for tone,” was just too hilarious.

     and finally, Harry Potter reference…WOOHOO! I saw a clip from the 5th movie and I’m so excited!

250. (Brief off topic comment to Markus)

     Yes!!!! I saw the 5th trailer too and it looks sooo good!!! I am a HUGE Harry Potter dork.

     (You may return to discussing The Office)

251. Thanks to me re-watching the episode this morning before going to work I had Rainbow Connection in my head. ALL DAY LONG!

252. I’ve never heard that song – Rainbow Connection – where is it from?

253. The Muppet Movie- Kermit sang it.

     Also- a very popular selection for choral groups (like Here Comes Treble). LOL

254. I hate when my comments are awaiting moderation. Mur.

255. Rainbow Connection is sung by Kermit the Frog. I think it was in one of the Muppet movies.

256. As my comment is awaiting moderation I will try again… Yes, Kermit sang it, and it is a song also very frequently sung by high school and college choral groups (like Here Comes Treble). Too funny.

257. Weird… but I liked how it had a bit of pig-latin in there.

258. Meredith,

     Not sure why my comment won’t stick- that song is often sung by school groups- much like the Indigo Girls song in Diwali. Which makes it even funnier.

259. The Rainbow Connection was from THE Muppet Movie. The first one. One of the best songs ever sung by a frog.

     That, and “It’s not easy being green.”

260. I never liked the muppets, so I didn’t see any of them… I guess that’s why I didn’t recognize the song, but Andy did it lovely…

261. Rainn & Ed seem on the verge of bursting into laughter in that deleted scene.

262. anybody notice that not one single word was exchanged between pam and jim in the episode?

263. I saw Kermit sing that song in the THEATER when the film was first out…

     Oh, I’m so old…

264. when pam says, “that was …wow….that was…” is she talking about andy or jim’s glance in her direction? from the looks of her big smile i’d say that was all about jim.

265. Me too, Mose. Don’t feel bad.

266. I think Pam was pleasantly surprised when Jim subtly played the prank with her.

267. they’re starting to make michael a little too outrageous

268. What no one has mentioned yet – at least that I have seen, so I’m sorry if I’m acting like I’m sooo original when I’m not haha – is the potential for one of the co-workers to reveal to Karen that Jim was in love with Pam. I can totally see Kelly spilling the beans on that one. Can’t you picture it? Karen and Kelly chatting in the kitchen and Kelly says something along the lines of “You do know that Jim was in love with Pam, right?” Such a revelation could certainly produce more plot developments (i.e. Karen suddenly becoming bitter or mean towards Pam; Karen becoming more aggressive within her relationship with Jim (i.e. PDA! Haha)…which of course would have Pam watching from the sidelines with a broken heart, YET the aggression might serve to freak Jim out, especially if he’s not into Karen as much as she is into him. Of course, any rudeness Karen might show towards Pam that Jim may witness might set Jim off a la him snapping at Karen or getting turned off due to her behavior…Oh man, I should be one of the writers! Hahahaha. I wouldn’t be surprised if that would happen since A) it would stay in line with character (Kelly being the gossip, Karen having a rough edge to her, Pam being all sad and not being able to say anything). B) It also would add some *drama* if you will to the love triangle, considering I doubt the writers will just have Pam and Jim sharing a prank every episode with no development in their dynamic whatsoever. At least I hope not. We’ll see I suppose…hehe

269. i thought prison mike was pretty funny

270. Did anyone notice how Michael’s accent of “Prison Mike” change throughout the speech? It was hilarious, he was like a gangster, a Bostonian Newsie, and an Italian Mobster all in one.

     Aaron.

271. I think Pam was mostly surprised of how Jim got Andy to hit on her the way that he did. She had to know that Andy came up with his lines because of Jim’s influence. During the banjo scene, I think she smiles towards Jim, because she knows that Andy decided to sing and play banjo because Jim convinced him it was a good idea. She’s prob just as amused at Jim as she is at what Andy is doing

272. yeahyeah, I did think of that angle of the show possibly happening during the Christmas episode – but while you thought it would be Kelly, I thought it would be Phyllis, because Kelly seems too dim to recognize it, and Phyllis has made reference to it several times like in “Email Surveillance”, and “Branch Closing”, when she tells Pam that she heard Jim was coming back. It was subtle, but it was there, and I hope that Phyllis breaks the news to Karen because she didn’t like Karen at the beginning. Either way, I think somehow Karen will find out, and that will be the entertaining part. Hopefully next ep.

273. I gave it a 9. Favorite moments:

     Andy – “I’m so horny”
     Jim – “OK, I can’t help you with that”
     Andy – “Oh,I think you can, Big Tuna.”

     Kevin’s childlike reactions throughout the episode, especially to Martin’s descriptions of prison life.

     Angela’s sarcastic remarks re: having a convict in the office, and Michael being completely oblivious to it.

     Dwight’s increasing tendency to defend… anything (Angela’s honor, the office from criminals, etc.)

     Pam’s talking head after realizing that Jim pulled a prank on her via Andy.

     Kelly’s expression when she was talking to Ryan.

     Pam’s awkward smile to Jim when Jim was on the phone with Andy.

     Like others, I thought it was a bit odd that Martin quit at the end of the day. Maybe the deleted scenes will fill in the blanks for us? (Kind of like the Merger when “Creed’s buying shots” — didn’t make sense unless you saw the producer’s cut showing Creed selling off everything for cash).

274. My reaction to the “Season 3 is worse” and “Too much JAM” discussions… I think all sides are making good points.

     I watch every episode at least 2-3 times and sometimes I have the same reactions/frustrations, and then other times I’ll watch the same scene and it’s ROFLMAO-time.

     I guess that’s part of the reason why I love the show so much… it makes me think and it makes me laugh every time, and it rewards me for digging deeper into the nuances of the characters and their interactions. I don’t mean to come across as “you either get it or you don’t”, or as “well every show can’t be a 10″… (although those are valid points as well) What I mean is that what makes this show great to me, personally, is also what makes this show incapable of becoming a “Friends” or a “Seinfeld”… maybe like “The Simpsons”, though I hope it doesn’t get cartoonish or take 15 years for Jim and Pam to finally get together.

     Michael’s “Scared Straight” diatribe was a perfect example of this. It was painful, uncomfortable, cringe-ful, made me come close to changing the channel, but then I also laughed out loud, both at some of his lines and the reactions. No other show takes me on such a rollercoaster.

275. Oh, and re: JAM… I love any episode that gives a subtle reminder that, no matter what else is swirling around them, that Jim and Pam are soulmates. I don’t care when, or even if, they end up together… it’s just nice to see that two people are capable having that deep of a connection in a world (both the real world and the “TV world”) where relationships can feel so shallow and superficial. If that makes me a cheeseball, so be it.

276. I don’t know if this has already been said because there are so many postings but I think that Jim wants to keep his relationship with Karen on the down low because once word gets out it’s almost like it becomes official that they are together. As long as it’s a secret it’s almost like it isn’t for real.

     I think that Pam can see that there’s something going on between the two of them so when someone does spill the beans it will come as no big surprise.

     Karen bothers me by the way, she always has such an unpleasant look on her face. She seems like she would be hard to please.

     Jim’s expressions yesterday were the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I love that man. :)

     Oh….Andy singing cracks me up everytime! Sing on!

277. Meredith,

     It’s funny you mention Phyllis, because she was one of the faces that popped into my head when I thought about WHO would reveal to Karen – on purpose or not on purpose – that Jim was (is) in love with Pam. It might be funny if Kelly unintentionally did it though, cause it’s always funny to hear her rambling away a mile a minute with no self-awareness about how she sounds or whether the person she’s talking to cares (remember when Jim came back to Scranton and asked her what was new, and she starts talking about celebrities? classic! hahaha)

278. Just got done downloading itunes so i only have one viewing. One thing I noticed was Karens excessive makeup. It might take more than one week to see if they actually changed her or if she was just having a bad day. I might have a few more comments when I watch itunes.

     In Apollo Creed we trust.

279. why do people think that there would be nothing to look forward to if Pam and Jim finally get together? People talk like it would be the death of the show Wouldn’t it still be entertaining to see them deal with everyday issues that couples have to go though?

     also.. some JAM PDA wouldn’t be so bad

280. yeahyeah,

     you’re right, I can also see Kelly spilling the beans unintentionally – because she supposedly heard Michael accidentally spilling the beans about Jim and Pam first in “The Secret”, so it’s possible.

281. Some things I liked about this episode:

     1. Karen picks right up on teasing Michael. “Jesus?”

     2. Michael’s “thought experiment”: “Picture a convict. What’s *he* wearing…wrong, that was a white woman.”

     3. Dwight demonstrating is “coolness” by shaking it out.

     4. Andy has his banjo with him at all times. Just like Dwight always carries his recorder with him. Adds to the rivalry I think.

     5. Dwight jumping to Angela’s defense when Michael calls her a bee-yotch.

     6. Pam’s tone when she asks Prison Mike a question starting with “Prison Mike,…” Spot on.

     And most of all…

     7. Pam and Jim “teaming up” again…and Jim refusing to let Karen join them. I’m not necessarily falling in line with all these “JAM” supporters coming out of the woodwork. But I have to agree with them that Jim’s admission of dating Karen felt forced and artificial compared to his fond description of Pam. Jim’s not announcing the Karen news because he doesn’t want Pam to know…but on the other hand, he also wants to keep Karen out of his thing with Pam, whatever thing that may be. I think this juggling two worlds is going to come to a head sometime in the near future. Maybe next episode?

282. Anti-soccermom – I’m looking forward to the Christmas episode, too. I’m trying to keep my expectations in check, but I loved last year’s Christmas episode, and I’m a sucker for most things Christmas, anyway, so I have very high hopes :-). It’s also usually a time for people to take emotional risks/wear their hearts on their sleeves, and you know what THAT means ;-).

283. I liked this episode but I still feel like I should just buy the dvd when it comes out because this show is to hard to handle 1/2 hour at a time. I always get left unsatisfied! Like Jim and Karen- ELABORATE PLEASE! and Dwight- WHERE WAS HE? What happened to the Dwight/Andy feud? and PAM- WHAT is she DOING with her HAIR?? phew.

284. I also noticed that Dwight was not seen much in this epsiode. I don’t need Dwight in every scene, but he was in only a few scenes in general. Though it was quite funny when he had the dollar bills sticking out of his pants and he was bending over in front of Martin to see if he’d steal the money.

285. the jam shipper in me has hope again!

286. RE: comment #203

     Thanks Cousin Mose! When Pam smiled in this episode during her talking head, her giddiness practically oozed right out of my tv! I could just feel the hope rising inside of her heart (and my own, if truth be told).

     I can relate to this comment of yours:

     “I have felt bad for Pam this season for the same reasons you elucidated earlier. She doesn’t have anyone else in her life, and while its killing her to see Jim and Karen (c’mon…Pam’s not stupid–she knows what’s gonig on), Jim still makes her the happiest.”

     True story: I once met a guy in a college English class. We sat next to each other and were in the same discussion group. He always made me laugh and we got along really well. After a couple of months, I asked him out; he said maybe. When I pressed him for an answer, turns out a much more aggresive girl in the class had made a play for him and he told me he was going out with her (and following the logic, NOT me). However, even when he was telling me this, he still managed to make me laugh, and I told him that I’d never had a better time being rejected! It was hard to watch him interacting with this girl during class (and especially during breaks, as I now found myself walking alone to the vending machines for a coke). We stayed friendly (no real harm done, after all, it wasn’t like we had a history or any real emotional attachment), and just a short while later he broke up with the girl and asked me to meet him for coffee. I said yes. We’ve been married for 10 years and have two wonderful children together!

     Not exactly Jim and Pam, but there are definitely moments I can relate to (as well as having a jerky boyfriend like Roy, but that’s a whole ‘nother story).

287. i thought this episode was okay. this season just isn’t doing it for me. i liked the jim teasing pam with andy, but really, that was the highlight of the episode for me. although i did like prison mike. but seriously, is the whole scranton crew going to end up quiting, minus karen and andy? i think the writers need to go back to the formula they used in the second season.

     oh, and stop making michael look so dumb. it’s like he’s reverted back to his first season ways.

288. Yay! Deleted scenes on NBC.

289. i’m convinced some dark skeleton will come out of karen’s closet, pam will find out, and then pam will have to figure out if she can tell jim without seeming vindictive. or, at least i think that would be a great plot line. and get that karen chick out of the way…

290. Love, love, love this episode! I am laughing just thinking about it!

291. i loved jim’s prank because it was like he was saying to pam “see? i still remember you, i still know you well enough to pull off things like this”

     it reminded me of him naming her favorite flavor of yogurt. “he’s onto me”

     also, toby’s character is just great.

292. Responding to comments 286+ :

     I think they purposely make Karen’s makeup make her look bad. They think she’ll look more realistic if they make her look pasty.

     And also watching the clips before the show: The Dwight clip was so hilarious in the previews, and I didn’t like it as much the second time around. But there were much funnier scenes that weren’t in the previews.

     I was also heartened by the Pam smile towards Jim when Andy was singing to her. I don’t think it will be the end of the show when they get together. They could get them together tomorrow and there would still be tons of things to talk about that would be hilarious. I don’t watch the show just for JAM (but it helps …)

     2 more weeks :(

293. Re: Karen
     maybe shes as nasty as all those fanfics say?

294. I think that the end of The Merger when JAM were in the parking lot & Jim said he was dating someone, I’m about 100% sure he was not with Karen yet & just wanted to see what Pam would do. The response he got certainly helped him decide to try it out w/ Karen. And yet, he still isn’t really into her in The Convict…& when she finds out about Pam from Kelly (hopefully) she will be seriously ticked. I think he told her to move to Scranton so he would have a backup girlfriend & wouldn’t have to be single and uncomfortable. He knew Karen liked him all along.

295. meredith,
     i too air on the side of pam being pleasantly surprised with jim playing the prank with her. i also like that jim didn’t let karen in on it. like it is a thing solely between he and pam. it will be interesting to see how long the writers have the relationship between jim and karen last. someone will eventually reveal that jim has a thing for pam and either jim will break up with karen the way he did with katy or karen will break up with jim. i like karen, i think she’s sassy but eventually the show will have to give us the pam/jim combination that we’ve been pining for.

     cousin mose,
     i would also like to throw in that movin’ right along is one of the best songs ever sung by a frog albeit a frog, bear duet.

296. Does anyone know who directed this episode?

297. It was directed by Jeffrey Blitz, who according to imdb is the director of the recent acclaimed documentary Spellbound. I noticed the direction being by far the best this season.

298. I was pleasantly surprised how this episode was able to start turning me off to the Jim/Karen relationship without making me like Karen any less. Letting us dislike her would be too easy for the writers. Of course we would root for Jim and Pam. But I think they’re doing it with just enough tact so that, even if we think Karen is a great girl and maybe even good for Jim, we don’t want them to succeed together.

299. Thanks for that, Drunkbiking.
     I loved Spellbound – & “Convict,” as someone else here mentioned, finally reverted to the documentary feel, which I was glad to see. Recent episodes kind of got away from that. I love the mockumentary concept – I heard that “Spinal Tap” was the inspiration for “The Office.”
     I think I read a comment from Greg Daniels somewhere, in which he alluded to the “documentary” conceit eventually running dry, if it (the “documentary”)never airs on television (within the story). This is what happened in the original Ricky Gervais/Stephen Merchant series. It just doesn’t make sense that the idea would hold up indefinitely. Why is this office being filmed? Will the film be shown on television or in a theater?
     I’m hoping it goes in a different direction, but since popular TV series in the US are expected to play forever, it’s not realistic that we will see a conclusion similar to the UK “Office.” This one may go on for years until the concept is diluted and the cast changes over several times.
     I lived overseas for most of the 1980s and 90s, and I never saw “Seinfled” until last year, when I made an effort to see what it was all about. After 9 years’ worth of videos, the actors started looking tired and drawn. 9 years. That’s a long time for nothing to happen.

300. Drew, You put that very well. I definitely agree that the writers did an amazing job with letting us realize we don’t like Karen and Jim together, and that Pam is the real woman he wants. I still like Karen being in the office, but I can see how they are definitely not connecting anywhere near to how well Jim and Pam connect.

301. ’cause one day we’ll find it; the ainbowray onnectioncay. the lovers, the dreamers, and me.

302. i loved prison mike and dementors plus there seems to be hope for JAM

303. It was pretty good. I wish there had been a little more Jam though.

304. I think that this was my favorite episode this season. Thanks Ricky Gervais!

     The Creed moments are what i live for.

305. Overall I was very pleased with this episode. It seems like the show is hitting stride during Christmas time like it did last year.

     Obviously, I was very happy to see Jam make a comeback. But, Pam has been almost annoyingly giddy this year after Jim talks to her (ie after Andy makes a play for her the first time she just laughs and says “that was so great”)Pam’s smile at the end was nice, though.

306. Up to his interaction with Andy, Dwight had not been funny this season. It seems like the writers were forcing it; we knew he was weird and it was getting old.

     Even though his “halfsy” bit wasn’t funny, the money hanging out of the pocket was classic and totally made up for it.

     But, the star of this episode was Kevin!

     Kevin got a lot of lines this week and all of them were funny. He’s one of my favs!

307. LOVED this ep! i thought it was pretty telling that jim wouldn’t talk to the camera about his relationship with karen but willingly told them, “i know pam pretty well…” other high points: every one of jim’s mugs, especially during “prison mike”s speech and after michael told the office martin was in prison. also loved when jim said jonas salk and then quickly switched to justin timberlake- its like jim knows michael so well, and knows the way to humiliate him without him knowing it. oh and ryan being michael’s beeyotch? PRICELESS!

308. I think that something big will happen… or almost happen…as it is the final episode until january… and nbc will want to retain all the viewers into the new year.. so a cliff hanger like in casino, though on a smaller scale, would be my guess. Maybe the two will break up and pam takes the opportunity….

309. i think that there will be a toby-pam thing (even if very briefly) before pam and jim finally get together. jam’s not gonna happen anytime soon anyway and i’m kinda glad. i mean, don’t get me wrong, i love jam but the show isn’t about them and how long can that really go on before it gets boring? there will probably be a whole lot of instances of them just missing each other; pam being ready but jim being in a relationship or misunderstandings, all that stuff that drives us crazy. convict was a good episode. not one of my favs, but still entertaining.

310. As to “when is this documentary being shown?”, I always assumed it was being shown at 8:30 on NBC thursdays;-)

     I never thought the show was supposed to be about a documentary crew making a documentary, I thought we were supposed to be watching the documentary itself, like Real World or Wife Swap or something. And just as those shows have obviously staged scenes, forced confrontations, and occasional trips outside, so does the office. Am I weird for not having a problem with this?

     And am I weird for thinking Dwight is as funny as ever? I must have missed something, ’cause folks keep complaining about Dwight not being in the show enough and stuff, and I have enjoyed Dwight more this season than season 2! “The Initiation” anyone? “The Convention”? The best parts of “Merger”?

     Of course, my name is HinduHalloween, so I probably am weird. But I’m not complaining…

311. If you look at the synopsis for the Beninhana Christmas episode, it says that there is tension and two competing christmas parties. i think it’s very likely that karen is going to find out that there is something between jim and pam in this episode and something big is going to happen.

312. I think the Toby crush on Pam was a one-shot, one-time thing for a couple minutes in one episode. I’d be surprised if we saw it again. I just can’t imagine Pam going for someone like Toby, even if she was doing it just to keep her mind off of Jim. There’s nothing wrong with Toby, I just never felt like Pam acknowledged him at all. Plus, he’s kind of a depressing downer (in a funny way, but morose, nonetheless).

313. Does anyone else want to take bets and say Michael’s the one who spills the beans to Karen? I have this feeling it’ll be Michael. He seems to be Jim’s go-to secret keeper. Of course, we all know Michael never keeps those secrets.

     Although Jim is trying to keep the Karen relationship on the DL for right now, it’ll eventually become common Office knowledge. And when Michael finds out, he’ll make some kind of comment, like “Oh, I guess you got over Pam…” or something to that effect.

     Or maybe Kelly will just spill it. Who knows.

314. And one more thing, I kinda hope they don’t make Karen this one-dimensional character. I know everybody is hoping she’s this nasty chick underneath it all, but to me, that’s too easy. As much as I want Jim and Pam together, I don’t want it to be really easy.

315. First,I agree w/you Callan that Michael would spill the beans to Karen about Jim/Pam.That would be a classic Michael scene.Definitely a great episode.Mom and I both agree.I believe Jim’s prank on Andy is two-fold.He does enjoy pranks,that is true.But,it also shows he still has feelings for Pam,and can’t see her w/anyone else,even though he himself is involved.By her being single,it gives him hope,even though he is trying to get on w/his life without her.I was sorry to see Martin leave,I thought he was a doll.I do think it’s funny that as each new character leaves,it’s directly because of Michael.I hope the next character to leave is Hannah.She is too wierd.Dressing her son in pink because it’s his favorite color? How can she tell what is favorite color is? He’s like what-5 months? Come on!

316. JK, i agree that toby isn’t exactly pam’s type, but i still have a feeling something might happen. Probably something like toby planting a kiss on her unexpectedly, most likely with jim catching a glance of it. it just seems to something that could happen to further delay jim and pam from getting together.

317. Pam is purposely encouraging Andy because Jim is playing a Prank on him, and she of course wants in on it – and she does her best to keep it up. They work well together, Jim and Pam, and since she wants Jim, she’s going to try to win him back… therefore she joins in on the pranking to bond with Jim.

318. there are two more deleted scenes

319. Great episode indeed.

320. Anyone else notice when Michael tells Dwight about Martin being a convict that when Dwight goes to run after him they switch spots, like when they are talking Michael is on the left and Dwight is on the right then when he goes after martin, Michael catches Dwight on the right and Dwight is on the left.

     Was watching the episode right now and I noticed that, I saw it in on thursday also but wasn’t sure… kinda weird.

321. Couple questions:

     What does Stanley mumble when he walks past Hannah in the opening scene? I can’t understand him.

     Also, what does Prison Mike mean when he said he got his material from the internet and prison, “50/50…bullets.” What does he mean by bullets?

322. If the baby died, I think they would suspect Creed

323. Pam was so nice to sit and listen to Andy. I hope that doesn’t encourage him!

324. Goody, we get some more Dwight scenes!

     “Is the pope German?”

     “Constitutions are made to be broken.”

     LOL

325. I cracked up laughing when Prison Mike told Ryan that he would be the “Belle of the Ball.” I can’t get it out of my head and I can’t stop repeating it. I think I’m driving my husband crazy. I loved his accent in that scene.

326. frolfer, he doesn’t say bullets- he says “both” but it sounds like “boat” cuz he’s using a prison accent

327. There is a 3rd deleted scene up at NBC.com

328. yeiah

329. the 3rd deleted scene is awesome just for the last line…

330. ok, i’m only halfway through the episode (had to work last thursday! yuck!), but when i saw jim’s “innocent” face… wow. i’ve still got chills.

331. and i officially love toby. ^_^

332. That 3rd deleted scene was amazing. Just the Dwight infusion we needed and missed this episode. Rainn Willson really has some brilliant moments. “How do we know he won’t kill again?”

333. ahh man my arms are sore… from karate.

     I think Dwight has been training twice as hard since “Prison Mike” taught him that lesson last season.

334. hahahahah

     I’m going to punch you!.. in the tooth!

335. Ok now, after reading much of the Convict comments I must share my revelation regarding JAM/Karen. I think that the reason why he didn’t let Karen in on the Pam prank is that he probably didn’t want her to find out exactly how much he knows about Pam and her likes and dislikes. His deep knowledge of Pam is what made the prank work. How could he explain that to Karen without her realizing how much feelings he must have for Pam.

336. Wow, I really love that sixth deleted scene!! It’s hilarious! Haha…
     Dwight: “He caught me.”
     Angela: “I saw”

337. oh my god that 6th scene was hilarious.
     “Goodbye meredith” ahhaa
     and dwight started to write the Michael scott book, by michael scott.

     with dwight schrute.

338. I really hope that we can watch these scenes where they we intended to go on the dvd, I really think more Dwight would have improved this episode. All these Dwight scenes are great especially the one with Dwight and Angela!

339. Looky at all the snow! John the prop guy & his team did an awesome job. Wow. Shame it didn’t air.

340. So what did they take all the Dwight scenes and just throw them in the trash? What the dealio? Those are some quality bits!!

341. Newbie,I totally agree w/you.If he didn’t have feelings for Pam,he of course would have let Karen in on the prank.

342. And yet another deleted scene is now available! And again it is Dwight-centric. I didn’t quite understand watching the episode last week why Martin quit. Now seeing the deleted scenes with all the abuse he got from Dwight, I can see why he turned in his resignation.

343. No office this week, and I went without power for over a week from the ice storm (hey, let’s move to St. Louis, the weather’s great!). So, I’m just now getting around to my thoughts:

     1.) Love the JAM moments. (and that’s what they were, like it or not!). One so easily forgets the chemistry John and Jenna have until they share a scene.

     2.) Don’t like Michael right now. Up to this point, I could always just think he was sort of goofy or innocent, but after what he did to Martin, I just don’t like him very much.

     3.) Ed Helms is not God. He’s close. Sort of up there with Chuck Norris. Just never thought I would see a guy who could steal a scene better than Rainn.

344. you know whats not cute?
     kelly forgets to take her birth control pills on purpose.

     ahaha

345. OMG what if Kelly and Ryan had a baby. OMG funniest thing ever! She’d probably want a name like Shiloh Suri in honor of Brad and Angelina and Tom and Katie.

     lol.

     “You know whats NOT funny…”

346. what? Birth control pills? Eww Ryan and Kelly are having sex? Man ryan, ur a shallow man.

347. haha jim, ryan’s talking head…so funny!

348. How could they leave the Ryan scene out!?

     That was great!

349. i just laughed for like, half an hour. and then i got detention. kids, don’t watch the office in school.

350. Scene 8: Love to witness Michael getting short with Dwight …Michael’s chastising, no matter how blunt, always seems to go right over Dwight’s head.
     Scene 9: Funny!! Pure chemistry.
     A shame these were cut…

351. I loved the Ryan cut scene. But I don’t get why Ryan doesn’t just break up with her, especially if she’s doing stuff like not taking birth control pills. Scary!

352. I love love the Ryan/Kelly deleted scene. I’d love it if Kelly got pregnant, and I wouldn’t have any sympathy for Ryan about it. If he knows Kelly isn’t being responsible about birth control- he should do it.

     I wish that was in the episode!

353. Those deleted scenes are great…just another reason why the show needs to be one hour! Keep them in!

354. Totally missed the best quote from the deleted scenes:

     Jim: “Nice job, Beesley”
     Pam: “Effay Offay.”

     I LOL’d so hard I snorted, and then had to watch it a few more times.