The Office: The Farm, 9.17

120 comments

1. I bet it’s Mose’s funeral.

2. could it be the senator?!?!? is that why oscar is going…him and dwight are close but not that close.

3. I’m torn: part of me thinks it’s Mose, because it was mentioned he’d be on the first episode of “The Farm” series, but not after. But because of Oscar’s involvment, and the fact that they mentioned tweaking the episode since it didn’t go to series, I wonder if it might not be the Senator, so Angela and Dwight can end up together. Glad we don’t have to wait a month to find out!

4. Interestingly short summary. There’s clearly gonna be something else they are keeping secret.

5. Maybe it is the senator’s funeral and he and Dwight are secretly related. Maybe they are brothers and the senator was sent off to be adopted. They only find out after the death, when he requests to be buried with his biological family. It would explain why the baby is so Schrute-like.

6. It’s definitely the Senator.

   After some time, Dwight is going to find out that Phillip is actually his son. He and Angela finally get married, and that’ll be the end of their long journey as Dwangela.

7. But, wait, errr…. why would a U.S. senator, within any realm of feasibility, be honored in death on Dwight’s farm? I’m saying it’s either Mose or Dwight’s old babysitter.

8. Guys, it’s Aunt Shirley…

9. Oh no! The death of Mose?!?!?! But… why is Oscar there??? Aunt Shirley wouldn’t be shocking, she is old and we barely know her.

10. Could be gill, him Oscar and Dwight did have a movie night when we discovered Oscar was gay but Dwight was too naive to tell

11. I seem to remember dwight saying people got married in their graves in the schrute family but maybe I’m wrong

12. it does not make sense to be the senator. Why would his funeral be at Schrute farms? My guess is Mose or Aunt Shirley

13. It can’t be Mose’s funeral, since we see him in the graveyard in the promo clip posted recently. I don’t have any guesses who it is, though. Aunt Shirley seems too obvious.

14. Could it be one of Angela’s cats? They are her children and with Oscar trying to make amends to her I could see her making him attend. I know I would have a nice funeral for one of my cats if they passed away.

15. I am also thinking it’s the senator. Oscar would obviously go since he loves him. Dwight would go to support Angela. She may love Dwight but she clearly did have feelings for the senator as well. :)

16. So at least now we know that it’s Aunt Shirley (as per the sneak peek). I suspect Mose will somehow still play into the plot though.

17. Hmm…really stoked about tomorrow’s episode! The fact that they don’t mention Angela attending makes me wonder if the senator really is the one that passed away. Yet, if Mose is in the promo, who could it be? And yes, I believe Aunt Shirley would be too obvious.

18. [from tanster: see the promo here.]

19. Let’s see if Packer really deserves forgiveness from his Scranton frenemies, because 2 years ago he didn’t, and the next year, he got fired. I couldn’t hate him, but he should become a real good guy, I hope he does.

20. What if Dwight talks to Oscar about getting the senator to end things with Angela so she can be with Dwight? Does that sound crazy?

21. [from tanster: @17 watch a sneak peek here for whose funeral it is…]

22. thanks so much tanster

23. Make up? Yeah. Right. The day Todd Packer isn’t crude is the day I stop reading! *prepares to delete comment the next day if my statement is wrong*

24. Anyone else notice how Jim was at his old desk during the cold opening, and then Clark was sitting there for the rest?

25. That shotgun scene was horrifically difficult to watch. The office is better than that kind of shock humor.

26. This is the worst episode ever! Embarrassing, awkward.

27. Given that episodes that lead into spin-offs for other series have traditionally sucked, I went into this episode expecting the worst. This one was no exception. The Packer storyline made the episode barely tolerable.

28. hahahah what a great sendoff for the worst human being on The Office
    #packersrevenge

29. The Packer/office stuff….eh. The farm…awesome, saved the episode. A little sad we won’t see more of The Farm. Jim’s absence is probably due to having to add scenes to The Farm pilot?

30. That was one of the most bizarre eps ever.

    I don’t understand how only Oscar was invited to go to Aunt Shirley’s funeral. Angela cleaned her up for god sake !

    Where was Pete ?

    Damn. No more Meredith wigs. : (

31. Without exaggeration, that was one of the worst episodes of television I have ever seen.

32. You could definitely tell how strangely this episode was cut together. The Farm stuff felt much different than the rest of the episode, but I really liked it. Wasn’t what I expected the spin off would be like at all. Wish they were going forward with it. I would have liked to seen it given a chance.

33. The Office storyline wasn’t good. The farm was cool, though. It had that nice vibe The Office had in its earlier seasons.

34. What song are they singing on the porch in tonight’s episode (3/14/13)? Is it the same one we hear at the end of the show?

35. Dang. This episode killed any chance The Office had of going out with an Outstanding Comedy Series nomination at the Emmys.

36. Patsy – Sons and Daughters by my favorite band, The Decemberists

37. shouldn’t be any surprises now as to why the plug was pulled on that idea. too strange of a “situation” to create a sitcom around.

    though i think the hardest i laughed all year was dwight with the shotgun.

38. Wow, disappointing and boring for a countdown to the finale! I was not interested at all in meeting Dwight’s family. I want to be sad to see the office go, but with episodes like this I would gladly watch something else on Thursday nights

39. Horrible episode. I watched it all because I am a big fan. Although, 20 minutes in to the show it was boring.
    Anyone notice in the office the phone never rings in the background anymore?

40. I enjoyed watching the episode, but they needed to film it as either a pilot of a new show or an episode of ‘The Office’. This was both at once.

    I like the idea of ‘The Farm’ as a show. It even could have made a good episode, were it filmed as an episode.

41. Not very good for the most part. But loved the Andy/Kevin flashback. One of my favorite scenes of the season. Nice to see a segment with Andy where we can enjoy him and not hate him. Felt like old times.

42. I loved this episode. And I am sorry that we won’t be having a schrute spinoff. The packer situation was hilarious and I loved Clark’s line about caroling in march. Wonder if he got to see his old Greek costar? As for the Schrutes, I love them, I wish Dwight was real because I think we would be friends. And holy revelations! Dwight has siblings? Amazing. I have love this show from the beginning and will always!!

43. Ugh worst episode in a long, long time.

44. Worst episode I’ve ever seen. They are forgetting what made the office so funny in the first place. It used to be so genuine, now it is just so forced. Dwight is a weak character. Should have ended it at season 8

45. What a nightmare of an episode! Good God! I cannot believe they almost launched this series. Good thing NBC came to their senses and buried it. It’s a shame they had to cram this thing into the last ten episodes of the series. In my opinion, worst episode ever and it’s not close.

46. Not a worst episode ever IMHO. Not a good episode. I think we have to assume the episode exists in a world of its own. So Meredith’s wigs might not be gone. Dwight may not abandon pursuit of Angela for some relative of his. Until we see the events here acknowledged again we can pretend they never happened. Which I get the feeling will be just fine for most fans. Proud of Pam for not eating the cupcake. Hopefully she told Jim and that he told Darryl before Packer got there.

47. I wish we could have seen the intended pilot of The Farm in its entirety – I have a feeling it would have been really good! I hope it is included in the DVD set.

48. Fan of The Office from the beginning. Loved every episode. This was just not good at all. Not impressed at all. Packer saved me from turning this off. Never felt that way about my favorite show before.

49. I’m a little confused by the continuity in this episode. I was under the impression that Dwight was the youngest and that he had more brothers (he mentioned that he, the young, had raised them since he was a baby in “Viewing Party”). Maybe they just weren’t mentioned but this episode still doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the season. It’s a little disappointing considering how few episodes we have left.

50. While I won’t be as harsh as some commenters, I didn’t enjoy this episode much. The spin of Todd Packer actually acting relatively normal was funny, and I didn’t hate the Farm stuff, but I don’t think I would have watched The Farm based on only this episode.

    Also, I think we have to remember that this episode was filmed long ago. I don’t think Meredith’s wigs are done.

51. Creed’s “accountant” moment made me laugh. So far, this episode ranks at a C. Video will? C+. Funny.

52. In Dwight’s brother’s talking head, the green screen is annoyingly obvious.

53. Ah-ha! I was right!

54. Okay, final comment. The episode could have been better, though I enjoyed the shotgun scene. I can’t wait for the “Finale”, because it’s going to be good! The descriptions of what everyone did while “laxatized” made me laugh, especially Andy and Kevin’s stories. Was he doing the Gangnam Style at one point?

55. I laughed at Andy and Kevin, but not much else. At least there wasn’t a tiger in the office when they came to.

56. I may be in the minority here, but I really wish the Schrute Farm pilot did get picked up after seeing this episode. I think it would have been cool to watch.

57. It makes SO much sense that Dwight and his family would listen to The Decemberists. I always imagined them being one of his favorite bands. It just makes sense. lol

58. I liked this more than I expected. The sister was very well cast, whoever she was (anyone know?). I think I’d have watched this if it had been made into a series, I wasn’t so sure before.

59. Let’s please start a petition for Schrute Farms!!
    I personally thought this episode was awesome & I would have loved to see more of Dwight and his family on the farm! I’m gonna miss this show so much..

60. Continuity issues aside, like having Jim at the cold open in his desk in Scranton, I enjoyed this greatly.

    I for one, actually wished the farm was picked up, it felt like it could have potential, but as an office episode, it didn’t make too much sense.

    Either way, we’re down to the final stretch of the Office.

61. I really enjoyed this! I loved the laced cupcake aftermath (and footage of Andy and Kevin, especially)! It was great to meet Dwight’s family–his stoned brother, tuning the guitar through the entire song cracked me up. The funeral and attendees’ speeches and the shooting of the dead aunt was hilarious and so fitting when you consider Dwight (i.e., “It is your birhday.” ) Seeing how much work Dwight has to do before he goes into Scranton to sell paper was a cool glimpse into his weird character. I’m giving this episode the thumbs up!

62. To comment # 60: Tim

    There wasn’t a continuity issue with Jim sitting at the office in the cold open. You have to remember that Jim still works at DM part-time, so it makes sense to see him sitting in his old desk from time to time.

63. I could barely watch 20 minutes of that. I couldn’t imagine an entire season. They really should have either shown that early in the season or forgotten about it entirely.

64. The Decembrists? I thought Dwight was a metalhead. This episode was dull.

65. They need to make The farm an actual show I’d love to watch it every Thursday night!!

66. They were on a great roll and then this episode aired. I think they could have skipped this one and put in a re-run. Shooting into a coffin was gross to me.

67. #64 It’s not impossible for a person to like more than one genre of music..

68. Great episode, best one of the season so far. Writer: Paul Lieberstein is a genius

69. I’m sorry, can we talk about how great the cold open was though? Dwight and the dirtball?

70. Who played Dwight’s sister and brother? I can’t find the credits for the episode.

71. Dang, I don’t usually comment but I can’t believe people are saying they wanted to turn it off after 20 minutes! I thought this was one of the zaniest and funniest episodes ever. Just Dwight being over the top and outrageous with his family, mose singing a song at the beginning, ah it was fantastic

72. Tons of plot arcs, so little time, and we had to save this. I didn’t mind The Farm so much, but it was forced and had nothing to do with the rest of the show. Think they could have re-shot the whole, eliminating the obvious spin-off parts (so, yeah, most of it, but…).

73. I guess they cut Tom Bower’s character, huh?

74. I liked The Farm! It had a Northern Exposure kind of vibe. Quirky and earnest. Loved the music. Loved the cast. And I think Fanny’s kid would have eventually broken through Dwight’s hard shell and found the gooey center. He was adorable!

75. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I’m further convinced and horrified that we are going to get a very less than satisfying end to our beloved show. They are wasting precious episodes. It depresses me.

76. A small point, but something I noticed. Dwight said the funeral was on Saturday. On the day Packer re-appeared at the office, neither Dwight nor Oscar were there. It certainly seemed to me that this was meant to be what was happening back at Dunder Mifflin while Dwight was at the funeral. So Packer ostensibly gave out the cupcakes on the Saturday and the regretful aftermath was the on Sunday? How does that work then?

77. I’m so happy Mose didn’t die! And The Farm was actually quite enjoyable.

78. does any one know the song they all sang together at the end?

79. Shooting the dead body of a relative??? Way, WAY too much.

80. Probably because I am a crazy Office fan just as all of you, but I so want a download of that song they were singing.

81. Did the kid (Dwight’s sister’s kid) remind anyone else of Jim a bit? And the fact that he said he’s never met his dad. He’s old enough to have been born before Jim and Pam got together. Food for thought…

82. I thought it was pretty good. Would have been nice to see where everything was heading. Needed more Mose though…

83. I really enjoyed watching Dwight with his family. We were kind of shown that Dwight is probably the most respected of all his family members, and it was nice to see him genuinely on top. The nephew scene “Did you just ask me if this was a cow?” was hilarious. With Dwight being raised by his aunt/himself I liked the idea of him doing the same for his nephew. Spin-off or no, I’d be cool with Dwight going out like this, running a massive farm with family, getting to be a father figure, and having a hot, farm-friendly, blonde love interest.

84. Watcher since season one, 1st time commenter, I wish this episode had been shown in its original form. It think the problem with it not being one of the best episodes ever was simply that they had to change/shorten it after NBC passed on it. I thought the shooting in the coffin was hysterical! I also love the handshake at the end. I was a little sad to see Dwight’s interest in someone other than Angela, although the beak crushing was cute/romantic. Also NBC is a bunch of noodle noggins for not picking up The Farm, I think it would have been awesome as its own show!

85. I liked it – and I would have watched the spin-off. Enjoyed the new characters and the insight into Dwight’s life beyond the office. And the kid was just really adorable!

    And, honestly, it was a nice break to have an episode that wasn’t focused on Jim and Pam, much as I love them!

86. I loved the office scenes-Creed identifying himself as an accountant, Andy/Kevin, Pam Pam and her Pam Pams. I also loved the dramatic irony of Packer giving the cupcakes to Jim and Darryl while we know what’s going to happen!!

    Didn’t love the farm. Didn’t want to see Dwight with another woman, his relatives weren’t that funny, too touchy-feely. Coffin shooting/Oscar bailing cracked me up. This episode had great parts, but I didn’t like it as a whole. I was hoping they would reference Dwight’s quote at “Phyllis’s Wedding” where he says they marry in their own graves making the funerals very romantic and the weddings a bleak affair!

87. One more thing – Is Fanny’s child the little boy from the deleted scenes of Bridesmaids? If so, bravo!

88. This episode had potential but they blew it. The parts at the farm were obviously supposed to be their own series, so they just felt stuck on. If they had reworked the events to fit in with the rest of this season it would have been more enjoyable. Dwight should have invited Anjela because of her help with his aunt, and they should not have introduced a new love interest this late in the game. The concept of the farm was funny, and I liked his nephew and the quirky Dwight stuff, but it did not fit in with this season or any season and that really bothered me.

89. Does anyone know if Gabe is appearing in the next couple of episodes? I guess him and Pete didn’t show up because this one was filmed months ago right? I hope he’ll come back, I always enjoy his creepiness :P

90. I recognized Majandra Delfino from Roswell! Loved her on that show and I think she nailed this part as Dwight’s sister. I think The Farm could have been a really great show. Too bad we will never know. :(

91. @75 Keith – yeah they are wasting eps a bit. I hope you’re wrong though. We really need this wrapped up beautifully. 9 seasons is a huge investment so I’m still thinking positively. @88 Narddog – agreed. The Farm didn’t edit well into this episode. It may have been better as a stand alone, but I think Dwight was too normalized, too tame for the most part and lacked the roundness of the character that we’ve seen in the part. I also hated the casting of the brother and sister. Not a good fit. Glad they didn’t pick it up, it would have only further sullied something that was once much loved.

92. I’m pretty sure Angela wasn’t at the farm because she’s part of the “revised” Dwight plan. I’m sure both of their stories had different conclusions before The Farm wasn’t pick up. The new love interest will probably be forgotten about and Dwangela will get their happy ending. I hope!

93. 81 – I think NBC showed a lot of sense for not picking up this show. It would have been canceled after one season and deservedly so.

94. Enjoyed it but at the same time felt it was a waste of an episode. I’d like to have seen the farm in pilot form like many of you. Merging if with office scenes was just awkward feeling.

95. editing error on 0.48

96. I am also rooting for Dwangela and hope last night’s blonde was just a distraction. Although, when we last saw Dwangela together at his farm (cleaning Aunt Shirley), she was pretty clear nothing would happen between them. That, plus the fact that they did film this ep long ago -it still seemed to fit the storyline. It could almost look like after Angela’s refusal, Dwight is trying to move on.

    Still about 8 eps left, though. Here’s hoping for a miracle !

97. That. was. awful.
    Painfully so. Remember when The Office used to be funny and smart? It hasn’t been so in a few years. I’m not glad the show is ending but I wish the writers tried a little harder.

98. For everyone saying he should have invited Angela, this was shot before Moving On happened! If The Farm had been picked up, the dwangela plot line in Moving On wouldn’t have happened anyway.
    I loved the cleaner style of The Farm, but I would rather have Dwangela than a spin-off with some new girl.

99. Wait, no, my mistake. He was that truck driver who gave the speech about Shirley’s land size.

100. @75 Keith Well-said.

101. That was NOT the Schrute Farms I know and love!!! Dwight’s sister is a normal attractive blonde??? What a let down. Only good part was Mose’s singing

102. The reason I dislike many of the season 9 episodes is because of the lack of classic Jim. In this show there was barely any of him at all. The funniest character interactions to me were always the Dwight-Jim feuds and we just haven’t seen them with Jim in Philly.

103. That was the worst episode ever. What has happened to my beloved show and my two favorite characters, Jim and Pam?

104. Did I miss something? I don’t remember Packer being in Florida because of a prank and wasn’t it Robert who fired him, not Nellie?

105. [200-word limit]

106. The only clever scene was the obvious reference to The Hangover with Andy eating the cupcake.

107. Despite what some people said about this episode, I really liked it. The episode was all for (and about) Dwight and his relatives. The Packer storyline was awesome, with the way he was “making amends” with the Scranton guys; when everyone from the office ate Packer’s drug-impregnated cupcakes (except Pam, who tried to talk them out of it, and including Andy and Kevin, who were playing and messing with each other after being stoned), it was all a revenge against them for tricking him by sending him to Florida, and then letting him take the fall for the Sabre store failure so he can be fired. What can I say? When it comes to the Pack-man, paybacks are a bitch.

108. Wasn’t there a continuity error? I recall an episode in which Dwight mentions marrying in graves and the funerals being like weddings. I mean, there are loopholes and small fudge-ups in any series, but that’s a biggin.’ That’s why having a core creative team and not a series of guest writers is crucial: consistency. Quite frankly, the divided focus by the creative staff and ensemble cast since they made their fame has affected the quality and integrity of the show. It started in season 5, but became a real problem since season 6.

109. #46- Yeah, that green screen was rough. Almost as bad as the green screen with Erin when she opted to stay in Florida and stood on the “lawn” of her new home.

110. Re-watched with my boyfriend and he echoed my sentiments exactly. As the 3 siblings were walking off he said, “Man, that could have been a cool show. Now we’ll never know.”

     It was an interesting dynamic. Looked kinda quirky. I’m really bummed it wasn’t picked up.

     :(

111. After all Packer has done to them over the years, he should have been hit with Dwight’s throwing stars the minute he walked in. He doesn’t belong there now after being fired and without Michael to protect him.

112. I watched it twice; it was filled with fascinating details that made it worth it. I think it took two runs though; the first time I watched I was unsatisfied; the second very much so.

113. It was not my favorite episode, but I’m still an Office fan no matter what. I’m guessing NBC invested money securing the sets for Schrute Farms used throughout The Office, so why not give the pilot a try? I think it was a smart move to pass.

114. Just watched a deleted scene from the episode on NBC.com. Turns out that Bower guy wasn’t the neighboring farmer who pulled up to the funeral in a truck.

     I probably wouldn’t have this problem if I was a fan of Die Hard.

115. Loved the Schrute’s cover of The Decemberists’ “Sons and Daughters”

116. Thought it was an interesting concept, but I never believed it could have worked as a TV series. Probably would have been better as the show’s last batch of webisodes. Your thoughts on that, Tanster?

117. I’d really like to see a video of the entire Schrute family version of “Sons and Daughters”. Hopefully something like this will be included as a DVD extra.

118. @Warren – I’d have to respectfully disagree. I think this could have worked as a TV series, if the emphasis had been in the right place. Had “The Farm”‘s emphasis been on “new beginnings” and “family” – two of elements essential to Dwight as a character – this could have taken off as a cross between a comedy and a slightly dramatic show.

     It would have been a really wholesome show – a welcome presence in today’s world of reality junk, constant crime dramas, and off-color or goofy comedies. Many would have been loyal viewers; too bad we didn’t get the chance.

119. Go back and watch WUPHF.com; I’m 90% sure that the little boy Dwight talks to in the hay ride is the boy who plays Dwight’s nephew here :O

120. @35 – the outstanding comedy series Emmy is based on one episode that producers submit for nomination, so unless they submit this episode, it will have no affect on weather or not it’s nominated in that category.