Last week, I caved and watched the video preview that NBC released of Jim being “Dwight.” I immediately regretted it. I was positive I had spoiled myself for the funniest Office moment ever.
I was wrong.
Jim being “Dwight,” while brilliant, was totally trumped by Dwight (or Rainn) being “Jim.” Excellent.
As you can probably tell, I enjoyed this week’s episode much more than last. Good thing too, because my hiney has finally healed after the spanking I got from last week’s review. I kid. Mostly. Kinda.
This week profiled two huge disasters at Dunder Mifflin — a duck and mouse caught being “more than that,” and Andy’s realization that his girlfriend needed him to get into R-rated movies.
So how did duck and mouse wind up doing what dogs do? Here is my theory: someone at the paper mill found out their fiancé kissed someone in the mill office three weeks before their wedding. Pissed. Unfortunately, with no Dwight to intervene, animal humping slipped through the cracks. (NO time!)
While the cartoon sex storyline, of course, circled around Michael, I really felt the secondary characters beamed in this episode.
Creed is such a fantastic lunatic. The man couldn’t tell the difference between an apple and a potato, yet he devised a plan to throw someone under the bus for his mistake in less than 30 seconds. Impressive.
It was also great to see Kelly outside of a Kelly/Ryan storyline. We usually only see the air-headed side of Kelly, because it is the only side, but her bubbly personality makes her very good at her job. Kelly is great with customer service, but not so good at teaching it. Much like how Angela is great with numbers, but not so good being at being human. The more we learn about her, the more I wonder if someone should rescue her cats.
The great thing about the secondary characters on The Office is they are such whole characters. When Creed, Meredith, or Angela has a moment to stand in front, or be the “money beet,” it is like seeing an old friend. A strange old friend, who you don’t see because you no longer return their phone calls, or lost touch when they became homeless, but still — someone you know well.
Andy’s storyline this week was the one I hoped for last week. We got a small glimpse into his sad world when he realized a girl he was totally into still needed to take her SATs. Thank goodness he only believes in mailbox baseball on the first date, and not more. I am not sure I like Andy Bernard yet, but I also don’t want to see him as a registered sex offender.
While I am not sure about Andy, Ed Helms has captured me. If anyone else played Andy, I would not like the character, but Ed has a way of giving me hope there is a decent guy in there. It is almost as if he is the product of a Michael and Dwight mating. Such an oddball.
No JAM interaction this week, but some great Jim time. I really see why Pam is attracted to him. Jim is a great guy. He knows what to do in crisis, and he knows what to say when someone needs to be lifted up. He has his jerk moments, but he is a friend, even to those he doesn’t quite understand. I can see why they became friends. Now we just need to hope for a small push to, “more than that.”
No, not that.
Well. Maybe.
—
Tori Weber is a Web Producer and writer for a television news station in Orlando, FL. Writing keeps her sane, and ice cream makes her happy. Dogs are good too. Visit her here.
What an excellent review! I’ve always enjoyed them and this episode was definitely outstanding!
“…the product of a Michael and Dwight mating.”
Perfect observation.
Tori-
I agreed with your opinions of “Safety Training” and I agree with you again this week.
Some great moments, like Creed taking donations for Debbie Brown. We all knew where THAT was going.
The weirdness of Michael’s “Apology” video. “Cut!”.
Andy wanting to take out a full-page ad in the high school yearbook. Two words (not “Good luck”).
The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Oscar and Kevin’s no-touch high fives.
Dwight saying “sexual intercourse”.
It’s all good, and The Office is on track for a great end of season.
I love it when the re-caps make me giggle as much as the episodes. And yours never fail to do that for me, Tori. Even when you don’t like the episode. You rock. Thanks for another great re-cap!
Aqua Net! How could you forget Dwight spraying at least a full can of hairspray on Michael! No wonder he couldn’t manage to get that apology video right (and how disturbing is it that Pam is all too familiar with this ritual?). No doubt he was high on hairspray fumes. For me, the most endearing moment was Jim getting Andy to sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. It was a kind gesture, and it’s why we love this character. Like you said; he’s a friend even to those he does not understand.
The paper mill is different from the warehouse…so I don’t think it was Roy who threw in the obscene watermark.
Hey I liked Jim for the first time in months.
this episode put this season officially over the hump. If there wasn’t another JAM moment I’d still be as satisfied and smiling as season 2. Great review Tori as always. And I liked your review last week as well. A critical eye is def needed for all of us who are too in love to see any flaws… By getting people riled up you must be doing something right.
Love the review!
One point though…could it really have been Roy (or was that a subtle joke I missed?)? Roy doesn’t work in the paper mill so I don’t think it could have been.
Spot on, as always! You covered all my favorite points of the episode and I loved Kelly and Kevin speaking to each other in their respective accents. When Kevin said the “dingo baby” thing I just lost it. It still makes me giggle right now. I didn’t even mind that this episode was JAM-light – I know that time is coming. Maybe not the best episode “evar” in my opinion, but certainly a solid one. Thanks, Tori!
money beet – nice!
Im just curious as to what Jim’s bobblehead was. I almost peed myself when he pulled that out of the briefcase.
I also thought Tori’s review of Safety Training was spot on. I found ST so disappointing that I was afraid my TO crush was over. I watched Product Recall with so much apprehension that I couldn’t enjoy it.
Happily, my second viewing was pure joy. TO is back and I’m still in love. Kevin is my new favorite character. “Ally-gators, dingo babies.” LOL!!!
Thanks, Tori!
You’ve done it again! Another great review.
BTW, I forgot to leave a comment on last week’s review of ST. You “nailed” it again! It was very disappointing, but THE OFFICE is back on track again with “Product Recall.”
Did anyone notice that Jim’s “Dwight” ensemble cost $4.00 for the glasses and $7.00 for the clothing? Later, Angela asked Kevin about his error in addition… $4 plus $7. What’s up with that?? Did Jim put that on his expense report?
As always, well done!! And considering I have not even had a chance to see the episode yet (gasp!) this review made my day. Thanks for picking up the slack on these reviews…looks like it’s Tori’s Take from now on at this point. As it should be! :-)
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Awesome ep :)
Thank you all for the comments!
I didn’t mean to suggest that Roy drew the picture. It was just a joke about a similar situation in the paper mill leading to the disgruntled employee.
19 | Bears. Beats. Battlestar Gallactica.
The biggest Jim ‘jerk moment’ for me was how he dumped Katy on the booze cruise. I understand that he was upset, but it wasn’t her fault and she had no idea what she had gotten herself into.