35 replies to this topic

[whywatch]

Andy crashes a fundraiser and ends up adopting 12 dogs; Dwight learns that an auction winner loses money; Nellie learns how to eat a taco.

[CWBorne]

Pretty sad when a 30 second appearance by David Wallace is the highlight of an episode, but there you go. That said, I did enjoy some things. Dwight delivered as usual, Ryan's doucheiness in the cold open is always good for a laugh, and the slight subversion of Kevin's stupidity in the closing tag was a bit amusing.

But the Senator plot was a retread of what we've already seen, Andy's bit is clearly filler before his comeback, and despite what the writers may apparently think Nellie not knowing about a taco is not in fact comedy gold. The show's flaws are bad enough are their own, but on a night when all the other three shows (Community with the L&O homage, 30 Rock with the live episode, Parks & Rec with the debate) hit it out of the park, the shark jump quality of the Office is so apparent.

Edited by CWBorne, Apr 26, 2012 @ 9:44 PM.

[JodithGrace]

I know..this show was like a black hole in the evening, especially after the hilarious 30 Rock. It makes me want to cry..which really isn't the desired effect of a supposed comedy.

[BoogieBurns]

I'm sticking with it to the end. However, I'm also hoping the end is near.

[CChambers]

I'm sticking with it to the end. However, I'm also hoping the end is near.

As am I, on both counts. This was the first Nellie as boss episode that I watched to end without fast forwarding.

[chocolatine]

Pretty sad when a 30 second appearance by David Wallace is the highlight of an episode, but there you go.

For me, the highlight was the Downton Abbey reference, which is also pretty sad.

[whywatch]

That wasn't horrible, but it's time to euthanize the show. It's going to be too late to have death with dignity soon (or is it already?). This really was the weak link in tonight's line up. I will try to hang in there until the end, but I am the only one I know still watching.

[PJWatcher]

Compared to other shows last night, it really wasn't the best, but it was better than the past few have been.

Loved seeing David Wallace again, thought Robert California and Nellie being more subdued than normal was actually an improvement, liked Nellie trying to bond with Darryl (and I am so NOT a Nellie fan), was glad to see the normally-clueless Kevin and Erin each show some common sense and liked Ryan falling for an internet hoax and being called on his toolness by Pam.

[miclogger]

This episode was so far advanced compared to the last few, that I wanted to throw a party over it. Plots made sense (both in terms of mentally making sense, and in terms of how the whole story wound together), people that are generally likeable remained likeable, people that are typically written in a way that makes you wonder how they're not in a mental hospital were written with enough intelligence that you trusted them to their own devices. Dig it!

I guess the gay senator plot line is going to become the new Scranton strangler thing - something we talk about but never see to an eventual conclusion. Which is fine with me, a running gag never hurt anything. I just kind of wish it wasn't a gag that was eventually going to really hurt somebody, even as much as I love to hate Angela. :/

Edited by miclogger, Apr 27, 2012 @ 8:00 AM.

[Sunshine55]

it's time to euthanize the show

I agree with this 1,000 percent. It's just painful to watch (although this episode not nearly as much as last week's). I was thrilled to see David Wallace, but why didn't we get more than 10 seconds with him?

[lz1982]

I agree with the David Wallace cameo being a highlight. I'm happy he didn't end up as a hobo. But didn't he live in NY? Why was he at a fundraiser in Scranton?

I was so relieved at the end to learn Kevin's dog wasn't actually dead.

[WAnglais1]

Nellie learns how to eat a taco.

Really, show? I know she's British, but damn...there are places to get a taco in the UK.

There were some funny parts, Dwight acting like a silent auction was a Dutch version of "The Price Is Right," David Wallace (although why was he there?), and the Smokey Robinson opening.

However, the show really pissed me off a long time ago with the death of Angela's cat. And if it had gone to the same well with Kevin's dog, I would have been done.

It pains me to say this, but NBC, do not bring it back. Let them have half a season to wrap it up (as Toby has said, they have an ending) and then let it die. Going out with dignity (like "The MTM Show") isn't going to happen here.

[Blaze Domingo]

It pains me to say this, but NBC, do not bring it back. Let them have half a season to wrap it up (as Toby has said, they have an ending) and then let it die. Going out with dignity (like "The MTM Show") isn't going to happen here.

I concur. I don't think I could sit through another full season. In fact, if "Parks & Rec" and "Community" weren't on Thursday, I doubt I'd even watch The Office anymore.

[joanne3482]

I just kind of wish it wasn't a gag that was eventually going to really hurt somebody, even as much as I love to hate Angela. :/

And their baby (who may or may not be a Schrute). I know it is just a baby and plenty of kids' parents get divorced over the sexual orientation of their parent and I know I'm thinking way too much about a fictional baby Philip, but I just feel badly for that kid. You know Angela won't make it easy for him if she and the Senator do get divorced.

Cold open was fabulous! I love how they sometimes nail Ryan like that. I love how able he is to be "THAT" guy.

I liked the little throw away about the therapy dog who sensed Andy was in emotional turmoil. I thought that was cute, but I don't know why someone would get rid of a therapy dog and why someone else wouldn't snap it up pretty quickly. The dog who just got the muzzle off a week ago, that I can sort of see, but it seems like a good therapy dog is extremely valuable, unless they meant guide dog who got too old.

[ReadIshmael]

The cold open was great (I saw a tweet last night that said if they strung together all the cold opens from this season, they'd have two really great, funny episodes), and I thought the stuff surrounding Angela's husband was pretty funny (although I don't understand why they're just making it a running joke instead of an actual subplot; it's more interesting than a lot of the subplots they've actually developed this year), and I liked some of Kevin's lines, but otherwise this was a mess.

Edited by ReadIshmael, Apr 27, 2012 @ 9:27 AM.

[lilshilo]

I am ready for Nellie to be killed off, she adds nothing and sucks the life out of every scene for me. It is very hard for me to believe that everyone other than Darryl has just accepted her as the new boss.

[futurechemist]

It's nice to see that people were sticking up for Andy this episode, and disliking how he was treated. It's just a shame that his coworkers only supported him after he was fired and not when his job was stolen.

Seeing David Wallace was a highlight for me too. Never mind why the military would pay him millions for his toy thing, I was just happy to be reminded of a more competent era.

[karra]

Seeing David Wallace was a highlight for me too. Never mind why the military would pay him millions for his toy thing, I was just happy to be reminded of a more competent era.

Depends on how powerful the suck is, maybe.

The end tag was just...creepy.

[Shanna Marie]

I actually rather enjoyed this one, but probably because I've been in situations that were startlingly similar. Not so much the co-worker married to a secretly gay (state) senator, but definitely the forced attendance at a non-work event that was a boss's pet cause and even the co-worker whose date was an ex co-worker who left with some animosity. I loved using Downton Abbey to justify the idea that there's meaning behind every glance. And as a Texan who has had to explain to foreigners just what, exactly, you're supposed to do with fajitas, I totally cracked up with the taco scene. Tacos really are hard to eat. Darryl just seems to be the guy that bosses want to bond with and learn cool from, and I love his deadpan way of playing along. Nellie's definitely growing on me. She seemed less abrasive here. We're seeing more of the weaknesses behind her bluster. She's actually a lot like Michael in being an insecure person who tries to hide that behind a lot of bravado but who is utterly clueless in how that's received.

[mansfolly]

I actually rather enjoyed this one

Same here, Shanna Marie.

I will have to rewatch. Some of the dialogue was really quite funny. Love Oscar's TH's very funny ("I still got it."). And Dwight's lame speech. I actually think C Tate is funny -- just depends on your sense of humor. David Wallace! Yay!! I also wish they would pull back on the Kevin stupidity... he was not that stupid in earlier seasons. He was actually snarky. It was a good episode.

[Jporr0121]

They still can dish out funny dialogue from time to time, but they have so many storylines that don't get resolved. Not necessarily in this episode, but it almost seems like they are just desperately trying anything for a laugh. Like what happened to Dwight thinking Angela's baby was his? I just don't understand how a show that is so intensely popular and well known could have such sloppy writing. My only hope is that they somehow plan on cleaning up the storyline.

Agree that it was nice to see David Wallace, although I don't understand why he was there. I miss that level-headed bastard.

[Lola82]

My favorite part of the weak episode was seeing P&R's Champion as one of the dogs.

[whywatch]

Okay, Lola82, you've given me a reason to rewatch! I also missed the tag--my mother tells me that people are more important than tv so I allowed myself to be interrupted. Maybe watching it apart from the surrounding awesomeness that was the rest of the Thursday lineup, I'll like it better.

[Mr Pants]

Nellie was less hateful in this episode, although I didn't really enjoy watching Andy circle the drain. I think I'd be able to accept her as manager if it hadn't been introduced in a ridiculous way that involved shoving one of my favorite characters out of the job. Like, if we'd just started the season with her as the new manager, and gone on from there. Of course, who knows where this is all going to lead. Robert California is still useless. Even Gabe is funnier.

The cold opening continues to be the best part of the show, but I did like the joke at the end with Kevin's dog, because at least he's not THAT stupid. (I guess they only dialed it up to a 10 this episode, instead of 11.) I miss the old smarter Kevin, though. Dwight bidding on every item was pretty great.

[Cerpintaxt815]

This has been bugging me: shouldn't Nellie be in the opening credit sequence as manager for these episodes instead of Andy?

[reggiejax]

Bad enough last week's episode was Ryan heavy (granted I consider an episode where Ryan simply appears in the credits to be a "Ryan heavy" episode), but then they go and open this weeks episode with Ryan. I get that he is supposed to be that guy, but the problem here is that BJ Novak simply does not have the comedic chops to be that guy. He is no Aziz Ansari, definitely not a Chevy Chase. Every time Ryan is on screen I keep waiting for one of the other characters to openly ask "what does that asshole do here again?". Seriously, if there is a supporting character on an NBC sitcom who needed to die last night, it should have been Ryan.

I loved seeing David Wallace, and I can only imagine the uses the military has for the Suck It, but I too wonder state of New York resident David Wallace was doing at a fundraiser thrown by a state senator from Pennsylvania. My best guess is Angela invited him. Though considering the entire Scranton branch was there, it seemed a waste to just use him in a small scene with Andy of all people. He was closest to Jim after all.

Though I do like Andy, I simply don't like him enough to suffer through his emotional and mental breakdown. The Nard dog is best kept at arms length in all situations.

And I definitely agree that the (state) senator's orientation is this years Scranton Strangler. Unfortunately I believe it will be about as satisfying a subplot.

Edited by reggiejax, Apr 27, 2012 @ 4:32 PM.

[CChambers]

This has been bugging me: shouldn't Nellie be in the opening credit sequence as manager for these episodes instead of Andy?

I'm guessing that's a combination of SAG rules, being too expensive, and not being worth the time to change. I don't recall them switching when Charles took over for Michael.

[ikar]

This has been bugging me: shouldn't Nellie be in the opening credit sequence as manager for these episodes instead of Andy?

You're right Cerpintaxt815. Even Creed had his, in the one episode where he was manager (due to seniority.) But that would mean commitment to the idea, and continuity, two things this show sorely lacks now.

Edited by ikar, Apr 27, 2012 @ 9:24 PM.

[HyeChaps]

Even if Angela found out her husband is gay (for all we know, she is aware), I wonder if she would divorce him. She's got a sweet deal going with social prominence. And she isn't above cheating to satisfy her carnal desires.

[Cerpintaxt815]

I'm guessing that's a combination of SAG rules, being too expensive, and not being worth the time to change. I don't recall them switching when Charles took over for Michael.

That's true I did forget about Charles Miner. But that was back in season 5; in season 7 they made a new opening sequence for Deangelo, Dwight, and Creed for each of their very brief tenures as manager. And I liked them, I thought they were fun, and while I'm not a fan of Nellie (is ANYONE?) she should have her own sequence while she is manager

ETA: I just remembered, when Michael was doing Michael Scott Paper Company, they did have a new intro sequence in their new "office"

Edited by Cerpintaxt815, Apr 28, 2012 @ 1:59 PM.