The Office: Costume Contest, 7.06

iTunes ‘Costume Contest’ Giveaway: October 28-29

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Just make sure to follow these rules:

  • Post a comment about the episode “Costume Contest” by Friday, October 29, 11pm PT.
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130 comments

  1. My favorite episode so far! The season has really done great this year! I’m glad we saw more of Darryl and Michael was great!
    Jim and Pam’s storyline was pretty funny and it was nice to see Todd Packer back! The costumes were great (especially both of Angela’s) and my favorite Cold Opening of the season! I really enjoyed this episode and I really hope that they keep going uphill from here!
    9.5/10

  2. Good episode except for one problem. Too much Andy; not enough Dwight. The pattern continues..

  3. Overall, I loved the episode. So many great moments. The Stanley cold open was good!

    Two things I don’t really like though:
    (1) The Pam/Jim thing with the new guy. It’s weird.
    (2) Darryl. I liked him in the warehouse, but I don’t want to see him as manager!

  4. Wow, was that Kevin crying scene dumb. And my was it over the top. I’m glad Jim and Pam were featured together, I loved the cold open, and I loved some of the jokes. Thank goodness they didn’t make Halloween just the cold open like in S5 in S6.

  5. LOVED IT! It was awesome. Jim coming in with Cece dressed as Popeye and Sweetpea made my heart melt. Sooo sweet!

    What was Kelly’s second costume?

  6. Great episode! Easily the best Halloween episode the office has ever had. It had a little bit of everything, Humor, darkness, JAM moments And Nurse Angela was hot among other things

  7. The first half of the episode left me feeling kind of cold, especially when it was trailing Community, which was mind-blowing. It just wasn’t very funny, but all the little character moments made it worthwhile.

    I *loved* Kelly calling Michael out, and the fact it seemed to get through to him, and Danny calling Pam “dorky” and Jim putting on the costume to make her feel better. And I did not see that coming with Angela, but it makes total sense for her, she’s ruthless. If we can’t have humor, I’ll totally take the character development.

    Also, I retract my hatred of Gabe, he was so great this episode.

  8. This was a nice episode. Jim’s little dance at the end with CeCe was very cute. The cold open was hilarious. Pam was not a dork in season 3 and she isn’t a dork now! So, boo to Danny:) I don’t know about Darryl moving to Michael’s position though. It would be a complete 180 from Michael.

    Overall, a good episode.

  9. Loved the cold open. Not so much the awkwardness with Jim/Pam/Danny but it played out nicely :) I also loved Gabe in this episode!

  10. This felt very old school Office to me. Loved the costumes, loved the cold open (reminded me of the bet about Creed eating the potato), classic Michael overreaction (based not in terms of business, but in terms of friendship), and just the right amount of JAM. Totally called that he’d put on the costume…great payoff, especially bringing in Cece. Oh, and I loved the flashbacks to his previous costumes! Wonderful episode!

  11. I love the part at the end when Jim comes in with Cece…so adorable! JAM forever! and lol Gabe’s costume was my favorite

  12. I thought the cold open reminded me too much of when everyone bet that Creed wouldn’t notice switching his apple with a potato…too similar.

  13. jenna said in her recent blog that there would be a jim halpert moment that would make the ladies swoon… didn’t quite swoon, but it did make me go “awwwwww!!!!!” loved that cece showed up! i was hoping she would!

    jim saying “who wouldn’t call a dork like that back?” made me go “aww” too.

  14. PACKER!!!!!!!

    “Has anyone called you Gabewad yet?” was the best line of the season thus far. And for real, Packer holding the Trouser Snake bag over his crotch was epic. I wish he’d had more lines.

    I also will love Jim Halpert forever. Like, for EVER. *swoon*

  15. This is the best episode so far. It had a little bit of everything and showcased everything great about the characters. The part at the end with Jim was just so cute!

  16. Tremendous episode!!!!! The cold open with Stanley was awesome, really freakin’ amazing. It’s also good to bring Cece to the office for the first time.

  17. Liked this a lot more than last week’s. I thought they handled the Jim/Pam/Danny stuff pretty well and moved along Michael’s story nicely. Kelly calling Michael out was a nice touch.

  18. Awesome! Cold opening was epic, but what happened to Jim’s line about being Popeye after he retired to a paper company or something?

  19. Loved it! And I didn’t expect to love it either, funny how the shows been like that lately. The Danny/Jim/Pam stuff got a little awkward in the middle but it ended off nicely. Overall, wonderful episode. I dislike Gabe a little less, only a true man could pull off that costume.

  20. I agree, it was one of the best! I could have watched Jim in that costume for the full 22 minutes. Gabewad!

  21. The cold opening was awesome!!
    i felt so bad for pam when danny told her she was a dork, but jim and cece at the end was adorable…a really good episode, best halloween episode!!!

  22. Loved the episode, but who were Ryan and Kelly supposed to be? Couldn’t figure those out.

  23. I laughed especially hard at Angela changing costumes because she yelled at Kelly for doing it… LOL.

    We loved this episode at our house! Still don’t know how we feel about Darryl taking Michael’s spot… and we recognize that this could totally be a red herring, and that’s not what they’re going to do at all. The writers are keeping us on our toes as usual, just the way we like it. :-D

  24. Jim in his full Popeye costume with Cece? Yup, that about did it for me. Couldn’t stop smiling. And definitely swoon worthy. Jim/Pam were adorable! Also, can Jim wear his Popeye outfit everyday?

    This was the perfect Halloween episode. They’ve outdone themselves this time. It did feel old school. And i got all nostalgic at all the Jim costume flashbacks.

  25. This episode had the best cold open of this season so far, hands down. In fact just overall one of the best cold opens ever.

  26. Darryl is a great character, but I hope he doesn’t become the new regional manager. Also, the Jim/Pam/Danny stuff was okay, but it was like all of it was done just to wring out a forced “JAM” moment. I dunno, I felt like there was so much hype for it–“ooh, Timothy Olyphant dated Pam, look out for awkward tension”–and nothing really came out of it. All three of them pretty much got along, no big deal. And yes, Pam is a total dork…that’s what makes her so darn cute.

    All that said, AWESOME episode tonight. It reminded me of the classic Secret Santa/Christmas Party episode a lot…everyone gets festive, Michael ruins it, but in the end everyone has fun anyway. The whole cast had a chance to shine, especially Kevin! From dressing up like Phyllis to crying over Michael, Kevin was absolute gold every second he was on screen.

    So far, season seven has been excellent…it’s just too bad that the looming departure of Michael Scott makes it all bittersweet.

  27. Really loved this episode. There were some really sweet moments and some laugh out loud moments. Kevin could cry every week and it would crack me up. Darryl also never ceases to amaze.

  28. The return of Packer!! I really hope we’ll get to see more of him this season. His pregnant nun costume, along with Michael’s MacGruber & Kevin’s Michael Moore, were my favorite costumes.

    Other favorite moments:
    -flashback of Jim’s “costumes”
    -cold open, especially Kevin dressed as Phyllis
    -Kelly calling out Michael
    -Kevin on the verge of tears
    -Creed’s Edward James Olmos line

    I’m intrigued at the thought of Kevin knowing so many Lady Gaga dance moves.

  29. Office is on a roll this year! One of the best cold opens I’ve ever seen–great use of Stanley.

  30. Loved the episode!I think Ryan was supposed to be Justin Bieber and Kelly’s second costume is Nicki Minaj?

  31. COSTUME CONTEST is so much better than last week’s THE STING. Timothy Olyphant’s appearance was really superfluous. THE OFFICE is at its best when it sticks to the core group, which includes Packer! Solid script, great zingers and major props to the wardrobe department. I’m a huge TRUE BLOOD fan so I loved seeing Andy as Bill (or as I call him “Beel”) Compton and Meredith, who didn’t have any lines tonight, as Sookie (“Sookeh”) Stackhouse. I lost it when Kelly first appeared as that idiot Snooki from JERSEY SHORE. And I’m now intrigued at the possibility of Darryl succeeding Michael – both went to the school of hard knocks (not Cornell!) and it could be a new funny dynamic were Darryl to rise through the ranks. Finally, Jim grew up and put on that Popeye costume to make Pam happy. That really was a nice scene with the Halperts. Hands down, my favorite episode thus far of Season 7 followed closely by ANDY’S PLAY. Great stuff!

  32. High points:

    Angela as hot nurse! really hot!

    Jim finally with a costume

    Gabe as Lady Gaga

    The cold open, one of the best ones in many seasons.

    Jim Pam and Danny issue finally solved.

    Darryl, not a good prospect for a future regional manager.

    Great episode I watched it 3 times in a row.

  33. So many great one liners…I couldn’t keep up. My wife had on “Bleep my Dad says” just before the show. Really reminded me how great the writing and actor timing is on the Office. Such a great festive episode.

  34. Is anyone else worried about that pony Dwight brought into the office in the cold open? We know what kind of meat Dwight likes in his sandwiches from Casual Friday… fox meat too…

  35. Also, was that Bob Vance as Jack Nicholson in some of the background scenes of the costume runway?

  36. Classic cold open, great episode! I loved how everyone had a moment instead of it being so overly Andy-centric like the last few episodes have been. As soon as the whole “Pam is kinda dorky” came out, I knew Jim would end up in that costume, but seeing him bring in Cece dressed as Sweetpea – that was just “awwwsome”.

    Add me to the list of people who just aren’t buying the whole idea of Darryl as Michael’s replacement.

  37. Agent Scarn – Kelly and Ryan were suppose to be Snooki and I guess The Situation from the Jersey Shore. Her second costume was I believe Katy Perry from the California Gurls video.

  38. Loved this episode, favorite so far. Jim was so cute! When he brought in Cece *swoon*.

    For those asking Ryan was Justin Beiber and Kelly started out as Snooki from Jersey Shore and then just dressed up in a clown outfit.

  39. Very good episode; beats last week by a long shot. Packer is great – I love when he shows up!
    I DO NOT want Darryl in charge. It doesn’t make sense that he is ambitious; he didn’t even want to take advantage of the minority executive training a couple months ago.

  40. I loved this episode from beginning to end. Nearly everyone had a great line, the costumes were fabulous, and Jim’s comment about not understanding why someone wouldn’t call that dork for another date…so sweet.

    My favorite of the season, by far, and possibly lands a spot in my top 10 of all time.

  41. I’m pretty sure I answered this in another post, but Ryan was dressed as Justin Bieber

  42. Best parts by far:
    1. Dwight telling Michael talking about Kevin and Gabe. The extremes of the human body.
    2. Andy and Kevin going over party guest and Andy getting excited about Creed going.

  43. I love Darryl and Andy together. . .It’s like the kid brother who admires his older brother and soaks in every word he says and the older brother just makes crap up to see how much he can get away with. LOVE the two of them together.

  44. Hilarious episode. Every character who was featured had some great lines. I’ve been waiting years to see the cast wear Halloween costumes for the entire episode instead of just the cold open. Also, I normally don’t comment on stuff like this, but Angela looked so hot!

  45. Does anyone mind listing off who was what? I was so confused lol. What were Ellie, Meredith, Andy, Oscar (the first costume), Todd, Ryan, and etc…?

  46. I was honestly DYING during the cold open. Amazing episode all-around. This show makes me happy : )

  47. Right up there with Andy’s play for best of the season. The tag was incredible. Oh, and by the way, Kevin’s Michael Moore costume was phenomenal!

  48. Loved it – and I don’t mind the idea of Darryl as boss (he does, in fact, have management experience from running the warehouse) – love his little chats with Andy in the last two episodes. Great cold open – want one of those laptop covers for myself!

  49. Everyone’s laughing at Packer saying, “Has anyone started calling you Gabe-wad yet”, but the best part was actually Gabe’s answer: “Not here.” Ha! Loved it.

  50. i thought it was a very sweet thing that Jim did to get out of his comfort zone to make Pam happy by being Popeye :)

  51. My favorite cold open of the season. I really enjoyed this episode. Many fun parts and I liked seeing everyone dressed up. The part when Michael called Darryl on the speaker phone to come out of his office and Darryl said something about putting his shoes back on made me giggle. My favorite Halloween episode!

  52. I thought this episode was the best! Definitely my favorite of this season so far. The cold opening was hilarious! And I love that Jim dressed up just for Pam. So cute! And the whole comment with him talking about Pam being a dork…awwwwww. haha.

  53. What costume was Andy? I want to say it was Edward Cullen, but I wasn’t sure…

    [from tanster: see the list at the top of this post!]

  54. Forgot to ask/mention and didn’t notice anyone else. So at the end of this episode Danny was still an employee of Dunder Mifflin. Does that mean we are to assume he still works there and may pop up again sometime?

  55. Oh my goodness! My heart melted when Jim finally put his costume on and brought the baby to work for Pam! His little dance and Pam’s saying of “Ohh, my hero!” was definitely the highlight of the episode for me. They’re such a cute dorky couple! :)

  56. And they do it again! Another GREAT Halloween episode, and Jim with Cece? Well..that was pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

    Loved it. Love love love.

  57. I actually really enjoyed this episode! It seems like the Office is gradually going back to the way it used to be with the believable office antics and situations. I loved all the costumes and Cece was ADORABLE!

  58. Thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Glad to have a Jim/Pam storyline – reminded me of the golden days of TO. And of course, Jim and his SweetPea – so sweet.

  59. Terrific episode and great cold open. I have the worst cold, and laughed so much I sounded like a seal. But it was worth it!

  60. Now that is the show I know and love. Brilliant from start to finish. Maybe Justin Spitzer should write more often. He seems to have a great grasp on the characters and the show. :)

  61. That was a fun show to watch. Lots of funny and the much needed sweetness of Jim and Pam to balance out the crazy. That’s the kind of show that proves this show to be the best on tv.

  62. I thought it was a great episode. The costumes were pretty cool, although Gabe’s was a little weird.

  63. Words can’t describe my reaction to Angela in a nurse outfit. Except for: DAMN.
    I’m loving the dynamic Danny brings. And Gabe is growing on me as well. This is certainly one of the strongest and most enduring shows of the past decade.

  64. Poor Kevin! That crying was so intense. The “f*** you, Gabe” was a nice finish though. :)

  65. This was the first episode I’ve gotten to see when it actually aired since “Counseling.” Boy, what a great one to come back to. My thoughts:

    -Any episode David Koechner (Packer) is in is an automatic win for me.

    -Good Lord, was Angela ever gorgeous in that nurse outfit.

    -Wasn’t feeling the scene with Kevin crying.

    -I’m a guy, but Jim’s scenes softened even my heart.

    -The writers are having Michael take a lot of bumps this season. I think they are trying to ease us into the idea of his leaving. I like this.

    -I expect to see this episode in the top five of the Season 7 Survivor Poll.

  66. i had a bit of a rant/lament at the quality of the show a couple of weeks back, but now after this episode i’m much happier :)

    it was by no means perfect but it got the fundamentals right. people watch the office to see a satirical/realistic portrayal of office life. the cold open was fantastic, spun from an average situation we’ve all encountered. the relationships between characters were a bit too dramatic but at least they weren’t all chummy, and the pam/jim/danny thing was great.

    definitely DEFINITELY on the right track. michael and dwight were back! the whole cast was great! ahh i’m pleased and excited, hopefully they continue the trend

    fave costume : oscar w/ afro

  67. Great episode! Loved the cold open, very funny.

    My favorite line of the show was Stanley’s response to Andy’s costume…’how many vampires am I suppose to care about now?’ I hate the whole vampire craze right now so I could totally relate to Stanley on that. LOL

    I still don’t like Gabe…I don’t see the point of Danny…and I’d hate for Darryl to be the boss. I don’t find him or the actor who plays him funny at all.

  68. I’m completely with Stanley. There are too many vampires to care about. Time for a new trend.

    Gabe made a great Lady Gaga.

    Totally thought Dwight would want to redeem a punch after seeing Angela in the nurse’s outfit. Looked like she borrowed it from Elizabeth. ;)

  69. The cold open made me laugh out loud several times. While I enjoy the show immensely, I rarely laugh out loud when watching it, so that was kind of epic for me.

    Don’t forget about Phyllis in the costume list! She was a judge! Maybe Judge Judy??

    [from tanster: oops, i knew i was forgetting someone. thanks!]

  70. I love a good holiday Office episode, and so far they’ve all been great. I couldn’t figure out all the costumes, but that was part of the fun. Also, not such a big fan of Pam’s ex and that whole storyline.

  71. GREAT SHOW!!! This is turning out to be a fantastic season for a lot of reasons but I’m glad the writers realised that they could include a little dose of the jim/pam sweetness factor every week without it becoming the jim & pam show, it was missing that for a while. Kevin, Andy, Dwight, Oscar, Daryl, Kelly – loved how EVERYONE had a few great lines this week!

  72. I think this is my favorite episode so far for the season. There were so many parts that I laughed out loud. The opening was my favorite part.

  73. I think this had to be the best episode of Season 7 so far!!! It was amazing! I loved the story line and The Jim and Pam part at the end when Jim put on his costume and brought cece in was soo cute!! I am kinda getting tired of Andy though.. I wanna see more of dwight! But anyways I think that this episode had a little bit of every character.

  74. This was maybe the first time I kind of liked Gabe. His character has been pretty blah for me, but he was fairly good in this one. He also pulled off “drag” pretty well, maybe as good or better than Dave in Newsradio’s Halloween ep.

    Kevin crying was cute/funny, but I don’t know I “buy” it because as sensitive as he can be I never got the sense he just starts crying when yelled at. Kelly was great, at times I think she “plays dumb” because her observations in this ep were spot on, so far this seems to be “her season” for me.

  75. Great Halloween episode! I’m glad that the entire episode was based on Halloween, not just the cold open.

  76. Well, I rewatched the episode and I found it much funnier the second time. Some classic Stanley moments.

  77. Is it just me, or would Andy make a superb Glenn Beck? He has the same head shape and hair, it woulda been a sweet ‘stume

  78. Best. Episode. Yet. I really loved all the bantering back and forth between the various characters. Did anybody else think that Dwight kind of resembled the Hamburgler? And, seriously, how hot was Angela?

  79. A rather good episode with a great opening compared to the previous episodes. However, I have to say having Danny guest star is such a small role doesn’t make sense for him to be there.

  80. Terrific episode with too many great moments to list. Of course Pam is kind of dorky, but she’s pretty and sweet and landed the cool guy, Jim. Thought the whole mini story with Danny said it all. The Popeye family scene at the end made me melt. Love how Michael is back to being insecure and cluelessly obnoxious. Darryl is a breath of fresh air out of the warehouse, and this was the first time I really liked Gabe. Kelly calling out Michael and Angela’s nurse outfit were a bit out of character but they worked! We need more from this writer.

  81. BLACKULA!

    I died laughing at that line. So brilliant and totally something Michael would say.

  82. Upon multiple more viewings, really just 2 things:

    1. Damn you Office writers for making me adore Jim Halpert even more, didn’t think it was possible. *sigh* Clearly I should have known better.

    2. A bit less Andy, much more Dwight!

  83. Tanster, I notice you have Oscar listed as “’70s pimp.” I was thinking he was Lionel Richie. Just a thought.

  84. Probably my favorite so far this season after re-watching it. I feel like this episode, Sex Ed, and Andy’s Play have all been great, and the others mediocre. The cold open was just so good, and Michael was so funny in it. Sprinkle on some cute-but-felt-puton-a-bit JAM dialogue and you have a good episode. 9.5/10

  85. This one is up there with Andy’s Play. Loved the cold open and Kevin crying! Very good episode and season 7 has been spectacular so far.

  86. A good episode. A little too fast-paced for my taste, but plenty of good moments. I thought Jim’s moment at the end was really touching – which is the first time I’ve been emotionally moved by the Jim-Pam thing in a long time. Looks like Darryl will have a part to play in the exit of Michael based on his last line…

  87. Loved this episode. Many times I am not thrilled with larger roles by some of the minor characters but I thought everyone was fantastic in this one.
    Maybe I need to stay totally spoiler free as I was a little disappointed at first at the faux Danny/Pam/Jim tension. After I thought about it, however, I think this was played about right: in general, all 3 are cordial with each other; Pam rightly wants to know why Danny did not call back; Jim rightly wonders how could Danny not call back this woman he loves; Danny doesn’t want to share that he just wasn’t that into Pam; and everyone in the office is making a big deal out of nothing.
    The Pam/Jim relationship is so chaste I often forget why they love each other and this episode helped me remember. The show downplays sexual relationships, which I appreciate, but I am curious if it’s the writers’ decision to keep Jim/Pam so chaste or the actors’ decision. We have now seen Angela in her naughty nurse outfit and make out with Dwight far more than anything that risque from Pam and Jim.

  88. Just melted at the end when Jim came in. And dressed as Gaga, it made me realize what a pretty girl Gabe makes. Love his costume! Creed’s last line though – sealed the deal. Amazing episode!

  89. I loved the “Who doesn’t call a dork like that back?” comment. I wish they would have let the camera stay on Jim for just a few seconds longer in that scene. It reminded me of season 4: Jim gushing about Pam. This episode seemed very fast-paced.

  90. Great episode!

    Is it just me or does Jenna Fischer look like someone familiar with all that make up, who does she look like is what I want to know. And I don’t mean Olive Oyl.

  91. Vintage Office. Vintage Jam. Vintage belly laughs.
    Vintage warm fuzzy feelings.

    Thank you writers for giving us this “Office Renaissance” in season 7. Just when I had counted you out, you pulled me back in.

  92. I thought Oscar was Mr. Kotter…from Welcome Back Kotter…at one point he made some type of ‘teacher’ reference…I have to go back and watch it again. Anybody else think that? Freakin’ hilarious episode. THANK YOU for coming back to us!!

  93. I loved this episode, but I was very disappointed in Pam. I understand why should would want to know about the whole Danny situation, but I felt as though she was a bit over dramatic. And that’s not how Pam usually is! It just bothered me a bit. Hopefully now that that tension has gone away, there’s no awkwardness between Danny/Jim/Pam.

  94. Hey, what’s with blaming Romania’s horrible economy on the Euro? They’re not in the European Union. Hilarious episode.

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