The Office: Here Comes Treble, 9.05

67 comments

1. I really don’t understand what it is about Jim’s new job that Pam doesn’t like. I don’t think Jim should’ve gone ahead with accepting it after he and Pam discussed it (think this was mentioned at Roy’s wedding), but overall – she is downright not on board (yet). Wonder if he’d want to commute to Philly from Scranton, or if they would move closer.

   Dwight tracking down a madman ? LOL !

2. This one sounds promising. How can you go wrong with Stephen Colbert???

   Dwight tracks down a madman: Does anyone else sense a classic Jim prank???

3. I am really looking forward to this episode

4. @Pam, it’s a really big change for Pam. She has to leave her home, her job, her family and friends, move to a new city, find a new job, and plus, she won’t be working with Jim anymore, after years of working together. She’s supportive of Jim’s career, but she needs time to adjust, which is why Jim needed to discuss it with her and let her be a part of the decision-making process. I know this because a friend of mine is going through this exact thing – she wants to be supportive of her husband but she’s finding the upheaval to their lives very difficult. Maybe this fight they have after this meeting is because Jim makes another decision without her. It seems like it’s something to do with the meeting anyway, and not just Pam being generally unhappy about the new job.

5. I’m so looking forward to watch this episode, which is the final halloween episode of the show. I’m pretty sure we’ll find more drama inside the whole Jim/Pam story. And finally we’re gonna meet Andy’s former a cappella group, and his college friend Broccoli Rob who, at the end, might make enemies with the Nard Dog. Also, I think the only madman Dwight is tracking down is himself; unless some people think this could be a possibility of revealing the true identity of the Scranton Strangler.

6. “Evidence”… more like “one of Jim’s pranks”…

7. This is so cool. Maybe the show will get the Colbert bump!

8. Is Dwight about to find a clue to identify the Scranton strangler? It’s been left open and needs resolving plus we need closure with Gabe (we think it’s him or Robert).

9. But I don’t want a Jam fight…But I mean, Pam did say that she wanted Philly Jim (in season 5) right?

10. The scranton strangeler is Creed, and the documentary was a hoax to document his deeds.

11. I can’t tell if everyone is joking or if they are serious, but:

    The Scranton strangler CAN’T be anyone we are already familiar with. Toby was a juror on the case, so he would obviously relay that information if it was someone from the office in any capacity. And Meredith’s quote “Is he gorgeous? He looks gorgeous from the sketches” is also reason enough to believe it’s not someone they/we all know.

    Am I wrong in assuming this? Just wondering.

12. @Bill S, I think when Greg Daniels said that the identity of the Scranton Strangler would be revealed this season, lots of people assumed he was referring to Toby’s statement in ‘Michael’s Last Dundies’ in which he said he thought they’d put away the wrong man. So they’re not talking about the man who was on trial, but the real Scranton Strangler, if Toby was right. And the only way that would even be a story is if it was someone we’re already familiar with.

13. @Bill S.: All you’ve written about the trial of the Scranton Strangler is correct. Toby was on the jury, and the jury did convict the defendant that Meredith thought was gorgeous. However, during Michael’s last Dundees, Toby made the announcement that he now thinks that the wrong man was convicted. The other posters are assuming Toby is correct, and the Scranton Strangler’s real identity will be revealed this season.

14. @ Bill S: Agree 100% with Jessie and pgwodenhouse. And another fun topic on this site is who it will be, since the only reason it would be a story is if it’s someone we’ve seen.

    And it’s Gabe. I’m convinced, because no one else makes any bit of sense. Horror film freak, came to Scranton exactly when the murders started, is gone now and no more murders (some would presume because the guilty party is behind bars but no, he’s back in Tallahassee), he was late on the day of the car chase where “The Strangler” was captured etc.

    I’m not saying it’s a great idea for a story, or that I like the idea of a regular member turning out to be a serial killer. But Greg Daniels has said we will find out who The Strangler is, and there’s no other evidence for any other regular that makes as much sense as Gabe.

15. Hi Tanster, just wondering if there’s any way to clarify something? I remember an interview during Season 7 where Paul Lieberstein said that the Scranton Strangler doesn’t actually kill people, he just strangles them, which is what makes the story funny. But that was never mentioned in the show, and everyone on here talks about murders and him being a serial killer. Can we find out if we’re actually talking about a serial killer, or if it is the case that the Strangler hasn’t actually killed anyone? Thanks!

16. @15, are you using the third definition of strangle: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strangle?s=t ?

17. @16, I’m not using any definition, I’m just repeating what Paul Lieberstein said. I assume he means that the Strangler chokes people with his hands, but stops before they die? I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking if anyone can clarify this.

18. Jessie – I never thought of that. I can’t remember any place where they specifically say the Strangler is a “murderer” on the show, but I really never though it was a stretch to assume it’s implied in the word “strangle”. I feel like “strangled to death” is like saying “drowned to death”. Would be cool if Tanster could weigh in.

    We’ll find out soon enough though, I guess. I really would like this whole aspect better if it is as you suggest. It’s still creepy to think of someone randomly choking people then running away, but I guess better than serial murders. Also, I think that would fit Gabe’s personality better. Just sayin.

19. Finally – the episode I’ve been waiting for! Oh…but wait…apparently there’s an NFL game being televised on our local NBC affiliate tonight – and it’s snowing in Minnesota right now! Not a good day.

20. I vote that the Scranton Strangler is Creed. He has made so many remarks about running from the law. In one of the episodes, I think “Frame Toby,” the police enter the office, Creed becomes flustered and hides in the conference room. His talking head just says something like “Just pretend we’re talking until the cops leave.”

    Tanster – It would be awesome to have the fans speculate and vote who they think is the Scranton Strangler!

21. I always have trouble when big celebrities star on The Office (Will Ferrell, Colbert, Jack Black, etc) because in theory the workers being interviewed are not living under a rock, so wouldn’t they freak out if a celebrity suddenly appeared in their Scranton office? Just having trouble suspending disbelief I guess…

22. @20 (Koos) – Well how do you reconcile your issue with celebrities messing with your suspended disbelief given the fact that Rainn Wilson is very well known now? Or Steve Carrell who became a household face/name? The fact is that they are all somewhat well known in the real world.

    I think the problem is more that those celebrities appeared on the show for short periods of time, and the show marketed the fact that they were on it not by the character they were to portray but by their status as a celebrity. And they didn’t mesh with the Office characters that well.

23. This episode felt all over the place to me. Not sure what to think…

24. I really enjoyed this episode. I like the rising tension/current arguments between Jim and Pam. Gives us something to worry and feel excited about. I love Dwight in (almost) every episode, so I’m biased, but I did like him a lot in this episode. I felt really sad that the baby turned out not to be his (maybe….) but I feel like they might be headed towards a romance and/or friendship between Nellie and him, which I would enjoy, since I missed Dwangela. I like for all of my favorite characters to end up happy :)

    Also, I wish that Stephen Colbert had been physically present, but it was nice to see him anyhow, and he was funny.

    Creed, Toby, and Kevin all had great comedic moments.

    All in all, I would say a 7.5 out of 10.

25. This episode was pretty funny. I felt like they didn’t give enough time to the Jim and Pam story-line. Those two are my favorite characters along with dwight.

26. What have they done to Andy? I don’t mind a bit of the jerky Andy, but tonight I hated him. Jim and Pam made up for that though. Can’t wait to see how this plays out. Jim needs to man up though and quit being so meek and flustered when it comes to his career.

27. Disapppointed! Too much Andy and Erin. They never made me love TO, but Jim and Pam did.

28. Favorite part was Kevin’s talking head at the end. I could not stop laughing.

    I liked the ending. What did you all think of Toby? I think he might be gay.

29. I enjoyed this episode. Yeah it was a bit ‘out-there’ at times. I loved the Toby storyline (though small). Also, love JAM this season. I don’t get why people are upset about no ‘real-life’ Colbert, I mean he has a 4 day/week show, that is across the country from LA. Oh and one more thing; I love the Clark character.

30. Creed mouthing “that’s what she said” during the conference room scene killed me.

31. Stop bagging my head!
    Callback!

32. @31 Little worried about Creed being the Scranton Strangler now with all of that blood.

33. Good episode. Love the storylines. Toby has got to be the strangler and everything about Creed is amazing!!!

34. What was Oscar’s costume? I missed what he said.

35. Did Andy go to Asshole Camp last summer? Why are the writers making him into such a douche this year? It looks like a heavy-handed attempt to make us want Erin to get with Plop, but I’m not buying it. Plop/Fake Jim is a sad retread of Season 1 & 2 Jim Halpert. How original. Also, I’m not enjoying the squabbling Halperts this season. Give it a rest already.

36. I glanced away for a moment toward the end of tonight’s episode and when I looked up, Toby was smashing the bouquet I’d last seen him offer to Nellie. What happened??

37. Uhhh.. Andy with a beard, biker jacket and tight pants… Yummy! Especially the booty shake!!!!!! Have mercy..

38. Toby said they did reenact the stranglings during his jury duty for the case… would be another answer as to why Michael hated him so much.

    All in all this episode left me a little confused. Maybe the next few episodes will answer some of my questions.

39. A British person writes: Catherine Tate infamously met her former boyfriend, Take That singer Jason Orange, when she pretended to be him in a comedy music video for charity. It’s a really well-known piece of trivia in the UK and I was all kinds of amazed to see it being replayed (kind of) with Toby on The Office tonight. Look for “Fake That” on YouTube if you want to see the resulting video.

    I enjoyed Andy’s George Michael bum shake much more than I care to admit, it has to be said. A-hem. #BonerChamp

40. Very poor writing on this episode, very much all over the place, it felt like last season. I think much could have been improved if they wouldn’t have had the Cornell/a capella storyline.

    Also, the lunch meeting didn’t really make sense. It was as though Jim wasn’t yet part of the team, even though in previous episodes he seemed very busy in his new venture.

41. I am in the minority here — but I like douchebag Andy. Finally he has an authentic personality. I never liked “Andy trying to be nice.” He always came across confused and pathetic. Now he is who he is….like it or not. All in all it was an uneven episode for me.

42. Excellent halloween episode!!!!! I enjoyed every moment. Very dramatic, and with more a cappella. It’s amazing to see Pam and Jim having a fight for the first time in their lives; Pam was pretty upset. But the one who’s more upset is Andy, all because of Broccoli “the scumbag” Rob. Both Andy and Pam looked really pissed off. And Dwight was pretty stupid by tracking down the “madman”. The Oscar/Senator Lipton sequence was pretty funny. Awesome!!!!!

43. I think Pam and the audience don’t know the full story of how much money Jim actually put into the new business. Judging by the looks on the faces of the men he met with, they seemed to think his contribution of $10,000 was small peanuts. It’s possible Jim wiped out their entire savings in order to look like a team player.

    Ha! Of course, the opposite could be just as accurate if I misread their facial expressions. Maybe the other partners put in much less cash so Jim winds up as the biggest investor and possibly the biggest winner by the time episode 22 rolls around.

44. The man at the lunch table with Jim was Ben Silverman, the former chairman of NBC and executive producer of “The Office”.

45. I couldn’t get over how ridiculously hilarious Dwight looked in the cold open LOL

    What was Meredith’s costume? Was she Black Widow from the Avengers?

46. Great storylines going on in this episode and so many laughs! Can’t wait to see what happens from here. Dwight’s pumpkin head killed me. Andy’s snowman story has got to be the grossest, most awkward breakroom scene of all time. I agree with the poster who said the other investors in Jim’s new business had the small peanuts look when Jim offered 10K. Aww, I can’t stand passive aggressive, sarcastic Pam, though. Dwight broke my heart a little in the last two episodes. I am looking forward to getting a peek at his stressful home life in the upcoming farm related episode.

47. I actually enjoyed Andy this episode, giving him something fresh to throw a fit about is nice. People should let JAM fight it out. It shows that no couple is perfect. It’s good to see Erin not hanging with “New Jim”. I hope it stays that way. i hate seeing people play musical partners and JAM being the only couple that last more than a season. Anyway great episode :)

48. I agree with @27. Jim and Andy need to man up. Nellie did – with her costume. Creed wins best costume. Dwight bagging Meredith’s like the bat scene in Season 3. Very funny. Then, Oscar and the gay Senator. Gay love and mental illness taken head on in this episode – what gutsy writing for television. It reminds me why I became a fan of The Office in the first place!

49. I agree that at the lunch meeting, Jim didn’t seem like part of the team yet and that his investment was not a big deal. I just hope that it doesn’t blow up in his face. I would love for Jim to succeed and move beyond DM.

    The snowman thing and Toby getting hot and bothered over Sexy Toby was just weird.

50. I liked Here Comes Treble, Creed’s that what she said, and Erin being assertive and normal for a brief moment. Nellie remains the most extraneous character ever on the show. It’s also pretty obvious that they’re trying Jim and Pam 2.0 with Erin as Pam and Andy as Roy, but isn’t it a problem that a weekly viewer like myself can’t name the new Jim character?

51. As much as I like James Spader as an actor, I never felt he meshed well with The Office and thus with the departure of Steve Carell I really had a hard time feeling anything for The Office last season. This season though is not the case. I love Nellie and the way she interacts with the others in the office … the new guys too. They’ve pumped some new blood into this show. Honestly, if this is how the show continues I could have watched it for at least one more season.

    As far as this episode goes. I loved the Dwight almost becoming human storyline. You can only play a caricature for so long before it just becomes stale. Let us see into Dwight. His storyline with Nellie was funny and touching, but as always Creed steals the episode with just one scene.

52. @36 Oscar was the Electoral College.
    @43 Jim & Pam were drowned out by the acapella group but I re-watched and was able to identify all of what they said. Basically the 10k was most of their savings and she was upset that Jim went all in to look like a “team player”.

53. I think Toby simply took Nellie’s costume as a sign of affection towards him and he’s obviously very lonely. I don’t think it’s anything weird, he just figured that she was dressing up like him because she had feelings for him.

54. In my opinion, this was actually a very good episode. I really liked the moment where Andy just walked out of the break room because of one of the “Here Comes Treble” members thinking Broccoli Rob had Andy’s nickname.

    Some people think that the writers should stop making Andy look like a person with anger problems again; I disagree. He’s always felt like one of those people that shouldn’t really be the nicest person on the show or whatever. That said, I have to admit I was kind of sad about the argument between Jim and Pam.

55. adda — The senator said to Oscar “So you’re a dinosaur?” Oscar replied, “No, I’m the electoral college.” In other words, the electoral college is a political dinosaur. Do you know why Toby went from offering Nellie flowers to smashing them? I missed a minute or 2 there.

56. Too much Andy. We’re barely seeing the other characters at all.

57. We better see Toby and Nellie get together before the end of the series. Think about it. Both being so dejected and hated by Andy, they have a lot to bond over.

    Toby has a daughter and Nellie wants to be a mother so badly.

    Plus, they’ve taken so much abuse, especially Toby. They deserve to have some happiness.

    [ from tanster: interesting idea! ]

58. Given that Kelly is no longer on the show, I wonder if Erin would go back to being called by her first name.

59. This is the third episode in a row in which The Office is blatantly trying to get us to sympathize with Nellie. Hello writers: it’s obvious, and it’s not working. First: Ohh, Andy’s so mean to her for no reason! No reason at all! Second: aww, she’s barren, and bonds with Erin over the adoption! (Something similar already happened with both Michael and Phyllis.) And now she’s riddled with anxiety and helps Dwight, who was always more than in control and calm/confident regarding his life and workplace.
    It doesn’t make sense. They introduced a much different character last season, realized everyone hated it, and now it’s like they’re in contract with her no matter what. It’s so frustrating.

60. Andy’s character now is different. Most of us don’t like it. But hey, that’s how Michael behaves when he was in charge. The Office seems a bit different with the absence of Kelly & Ryan. They were not the main characters, but they had been in the show since the first season.

61. May not have been the funniest episode this season, but I’m a sucker for solid a cappella and Karma Chameleon, so 9/10!!

62. A bit disappointed. I like Spooked better.

63. Anything’s better than the god-awful Spooked and Costume Party, right?

    also, was Dwight wearing the pig nose cause he’s sensitive about his tiny nose? lolololol

64. Loved the reference to the bat scene from season 3!

    Did anyone else notice the bat decoration hanging in the corner?
    http://i.imgur.com/v5FGX.jpg

65. I didn’t like this one that much. Didn’t really enjoy the Here Comes Treble story at all, and for the most part it wasn’t that funny and it was FULL of really weird stuff – Toby, Dwight wanting pills, Oscar reacting very strangely around his secret lover, Jim and Pam arguing in front of everybody. Once again, Creed and Kevin to the rescue with a few good moments. Overall, meh.

66. According to NBC’s the Office website, Creed was Dexter.

67. Probably the weakest episide so far this season, but still way better than anything with RC in it. Loved Oscar’s electoral college costume// loved Erin telling the Treble guys to learn the song// loved Creed’s good timing line. The cold open felt a little silly though.