109 replies to this topic

[2MuchTV]

"VANDALISM"

01/31/2013 (09:31PM - 10:01PM) (Thursday) : PAM’S WAREHOUSE MURAL IS DEFACED – When Pam (Jenna Fischer) asks the office to help her track down the vandal who defaced her mural, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Nellie (Catherine Tate) spring to action. Darryl (Craig Robinson) has difficulty dealing with the cleanliness habits of Jim (John Krasinski) in their shared Philly apartment. Meanwhile, Angela (Angela Kinsey) grudgingly allows Oscar (Oscar Nunez) and Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) to attend her son’s first birthday party. Ellie Kemper, Clark Duke, Phyllis Smith, Leslie David Baker, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Creed Bratton, and Jake Lacy also star.

[lottiedottie]

Well done, Kevin!

I hate what they are doing with Pam and Brian. Can't the show just go out on a high note and be funny? Apparently not.

[OhhhCocoa]

Kevin made me smile, yes.

I am a pile of rage over this whole Brian thing. This is not needed.

[Saffron]

They've still got almost a half season to go, so we do need some storyline from now until the finale, but the Brian thing does seem rushed and heavy handed. I'm sure it's going to wind up being no more than a close call for Pam though.

That was a really nice moment for Kevin. I hope he gets a few more before the end.

[queenelvis]

Once again, Kevin surprises everyone by being the smartest guy in the room. I'm not exactly sorry for Oscar though. Angela is in the worst situation, being married to a guy who's only using you as a beard.

And even though I hate what they're doing with the Brian thing, damn if I didn't cheer when he smacked the warehouse guy in the face with the boom. What a jerk. But I'm also a little miffed that some nobody warehouse guy defaced Pam's mural. Have we even seen him before? I was hoping it would be someone of value.

Sorry, but I'd be pissed too if Jim were using my coffee mug/container. I have a problem with mouth germs, so I totally sympathized with Darryl on that one.

[CookieChica]

Ditto for the Kevin love.

I also liked Creed's "It's still a good time, less mileage."

[miclogger]

Brian is going to be the thing that's going to get Pam to realize that Philly isn't that bad, and that she needs to stand up and put her family back together. She was all scared to go to Philly, because Scranton is so amazing. So Jim's gone to Philly, and she's stuck in Scranton. She and Brian will get too close (a kind of awkward kiss maybe), and that'll be the a-ha moment for Pam, and she'll scoop up the kids and run to Philly, and scene(!) for Pam and Jim. I have faith. Because working for the better part of the run of the show to get them together, only to unravel it in the last few minutes is nonsensical, even for these guys.

And Kevin? Who knew!

[WAnglais1]

So, the crew would just stand there and watch a stereotype beat up Pam?

Yeah. And I hate the whole Brian idea.

I may be wrong in my label for Greg Daniels. He may not be a genius after all.

Edited by WAnglais1, Jan 31, 2013 @ 10:16 PM.

[reggiejax]

So, the crew would just stand there and watch a stereotype beat up Pam?

While I am sure the general rule is that the crew is not to interfere with the action, I doubt they are expected to simply stand by in a case such as this one. On the other hand, I imagine they are also not expected to physically assault anyone, no matter how deserving. So Brian getting the ax is no shock.


I can't say I think much of the Brian subplot, but at least they cast the talented and underrated Chris Diamantopoulos in the role. I thought that was him last week, but I did not see his name in the credits. Perhaps I simply missed it, but tonight's episodes left no doubt. Hopefully he can bring some dimension to the part to make the whole thing less annoying.

Edited by reggiejax, Jan 31, 2013 @ 10:31 PM.

[InsertWordHere]

Everything was good until the Brian stuff. I loved Kevin for his no-nonsense truth-telling and I liked the Dwight and Pam bits, but I did not like the sudden insertion of angry warehouse guy. All of the other moments of violence and craziness (Andy's anger, Dwight bicycling on a tightrope, tons of Michael antics) we've seen during this show and this is the moment that forced one of the camera crew to interfere? Such a forced situation. Of course Dwight had already left and angry warehouse guy who has never been shown to be violent before (or shown at all that I can recall) all of a sudden wants to physically attack Pam and she needs to be saved. I was initially excited to get a peek behind the camera but this is not what I had in mind at all.

Edited because peek and peak mean different things.

Edited by InsertWordHere, Jan 31, 2013 @ 10:40 PM.

[Sister Magpie]

Wow. I stand corrected. I thought surely they weren't going there with Brian, and if they did it certainly wouldn't be...what we just got. That was awful. If Pam and Jim's fight last week came across as at all contrived, this was beyond contrived. Random guy in the warehouse suddenly decides to deface a wall, be rude to Pam and then physically attack her on camera so Brian can stop him like a white knight? How convenient!

I assume that the earlier reference to a girl maybe means that Brian's just recently broken up with his own wife/girlfriend and the Pam thing is a reaction to that, but it's still incredibly tedious. It almost does imply that just being in close proximity to Pam for too long makes you fall in love with her. Though you'd think they could keep Brian on since the doc crew already saw he was part of the story now with the cuts to him to illustrate Jim's thing about the people you look at all day.

[Giggedy]

I knew there was going to be Brian trouble when my husband said during the opening scene (with no one's head in the shot), "Whoa, that dude is ripped."

[HickoryColt]

I hate the Brian storyline.

That senator is a real ass, glad Kevin said something

[desertflower]

I'm not that miffed about the Brian thing, I don't think it's going to go that far. They're just creating some tension so they can have a big Jim/Pam reunion moment later on.

But I'm with you all who hated the angry warehouse guy. He was really over the top mean and it didn't fit with the usual tone of the show. And I would've rather seen Dwight come to her defense with his pitchfork!

I'm surprised I'm saying this, but I'm actually warming up to Clark. I hated him at first but he was kind of funny in these episodes.

The senator can be gone anytime now. I hope they are quickly leading up to both Angela and Oscar coming to their senses and leaving that dude.

[Common]

I love the Brian story. But I think, and have pretty much always thought Jim is a douche and Pam is a doormat (even when they tried to make her more assertive).

I totally want her to call him.

[HickoryColt]

I'm not that miffed about the Brian thing, I don't think it's going to go that far. They're just creating some tension so they can have a big Jim/Pam reunion moment later on

Thats why I hate it, because it so obviously artificially thrown in here at the end of the last season when its obvious where everything is headed, meaning there is no real tension behind it. It just comes across as filler and a plot device to try and create a somehow more emotional Jim/Pam Philly move we all know is coming.

Brian is the Poochie of The Office. Almost literally, given the way he is suddenly introduced and we suddenly learn how close he feels to Pam after 9 years, even though its never been mentioned before.

[djhannu]

I really hate this Brian storyline. I hope this is the end of it.

And why does the documentary crew need a guy holding a boom microphone... it's been shown in the past that everyone wears wireless microphones.

[wingster55]

I actually think this Brian thing will transition to the people behind the documentary pulling the plug on it. Something about getting too attached etc. And the finale will be the final days.

[karra]

I imagine they use the boom when there is a lot of ambient noise (like when they're in the office, or the warehouse). Also, a boom operator is generally in charge of all sound equipment, including the placement of wireless mics.

[Bottle Rockets]

Putting Jim & Pam together at the end of season three and making them the smuggest couple in modern television history just killed this show. It has had it's moments since but it is of no coincidence that seasons two and three are regarded as the peak years.

While it is likely that Brian is just a ruse to upset those certain viewers and add drama to the finale, at least it's drawing some interest and finally making those two characters watchable. Especially Jim.

Edited by TWoP Tennison, Feb 1, 2013 @ 5:13 PM.
Boards on boards

[chadritt]

I think it's a dumb storyline. Brians been around them for 9 years without any mention of him and now suddenly hes shown up on camera 3 episodes in a row as a love interest. Its hard to care about his storyline when it's presented like that.

Edited by TWoP Tennison, Feb 1, 2013 @ 5:14 PM.
Punctuation

[NicoleMN6]

It's stupid, but perhaps the Brian thing will also be the catalyst for the documentary crew to finally shut down production?

[Bookface]

I don't really know anything about art, but did Pam's mural look kind of terrible to anyone else?

[stoogeswoman]

HickoryColt: Brian is the Poochie of The Office.

I've just watched both 30 Rock and The Office and yours is easily the funniest line I've heard all evening!

[skateCO]

It almost does imply that just being in close proximity to Pam for too long makes you fall in love with her.

Thisssssssss. HIMYM has been doing it forever with Robin. I abhor it when showrunners absolutely insist that a character is irresistible beyond all human comprehension. It was a great idea to bring in the crew, but doing it this way utterly wastes the concept.

Edited by skateCO, Feb 1, 2013 @ 1:38 AM.

[sunshine2288]

I don't really know anything about art, but did Pam's mural look kind of terrible to anyone else?

I thought the painting she did on the side of the jerk's pickup was better than the mural on the wall.

[Tandemonium]

I don't really know anything about art, but did Pam's mural look kind of terrible to anyone else?

It is. She was never that talented at all when it came to design/art. It's part of her character that she wants to think she's into something, committing to art being her thing in the office. It makes her happy, so that's what matters.

Edited by Tandemonium, Feb 1, 2013 @ 1:55 AM.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I don't really know anything about art, but did Pam's mural look kind of terrible to anyone else?

They should hire Jerry Gergich to do a murinal instead.

[niklj]

I love the Brian story. But I think, and have pretty much always thought Jim is a douche and Pam is a doormat (even when they tried to make her more assertive).

I agree. I was never into the Jim and Pam storyline (I too think that Jim can be such a douche), but maybe it's also my adoration for Chris Diamantopoulos coloring my views on that.

Also, it's just something different. I stopped watching awhile ago (around the time they mutilated Andy's character) but I laughed out loud several times on these two episodes tonight.

[Somebody]

The Brian stuff is terrible for all the reasons already stated, and it is also so predictable. I knew he'd protect Pam when the warehouse douche came charging. Just lame. I'd quit watching if the show wasn't ending. I hope it's the end of Brian but I bet it's not.