Episode 3: Andy's Play
Cold Intro
Leave it to Andy to break out into song and dance for this week's cold intro. This is the second musical sequence we've seen so far as an opener, and it's only the third episode! Being a music lover, though, I'm kinda digging this new trend. Let's hope they keep it up :)
I just love the way Andy and his theater troupe burst into the office in full costume while everyone else is in the middle of work. And Michael asking about his non-existent part in the play was just the icing on the cake.
Plot
In an attempt to win back Erin's heart, Andy invites the entire office to the last night of his troupe's production of Sweeney Todd. Erin, being the airhead that she is though, decides to babysit for Jim and Pam instead of attending Andy's play. Andy is visibly upset, but that doesn't stop him from constantly checking his cellphone (and interrupting the performance) for any last minute messages from Erin. Everything pays off in the end, however, when Erin sneaks into the theater while carrying Cece in her arms.
Andy is such a hopeless romantic. Erin has obviously moved on, but Andy couldn't help but to hold out hope for their relationship. There was something really cute about seeing a grown man act all lovey dovey over a girl, but I don't think the main plot itself was strong enough to carry the episode. In fact, it was actually the side stories that really stole the show for me.
Subplots
Michael finds out that he has not been cast into the production of Sweeney Todd, despite having performed an entire episode of Law and Order for his audition. Michael then finds out that Darrel's plumber has been cast as the lead, even though he didn't even audition. Of course, Michael had to be the star of the show even when he wasn't a part of the play. Not only does he bring a bottle of wine with him into the theater, when he finishes drinking it, it ends up rolling down the aisles causing a big distraction.
Highlights
1. The Sweeney Todd cold intro.
2. Michael's Law and Order audition
3. Creed's scathing review of the play.
4. Andy's rendition of "I try" by Macy Gray
Best Quotes of the Episode
1. "Women cannot resist a man singing show tunes. It's so powerful, even a lot of men can't resist a man singing show tunes." -Andy
2. "The last time I went to a theater, a man dressed as a cat sat on my lap." -Dwight
Final Verdict
Overall, a pretty decent episode.
7.5/10
Episode 2: Counseling
Cold Intro
Who wouldn't love to send their kids to a daycare run by Dwight Schrute? I sure as hell would if I ever have kids. A dark, dingy room full of plastic forks and knives, and buckets set aside as toilets and feeding troughs, all the amenities I wish I had as a child. As the new owner of the building, this is exactly what Dwight did for the cold intro of the second episode.
Oh, and Dwight's cousin Mose also makes a special appearance.
Mose has got some serious style. I mean, painting in the dark and carrying around a plastic baby? Wow.
Plot
As you can probably tell from the title, Michael has chosen to receive the six hours of counseling from Toby instead of termination (thank god). As Toby tries to penetrate the complexities of Michael's psyche, Michael, not surprisingly, reverts back to his childish ways and plays dumb. Toby finally makes a breakthrough midway through the episode, but his attempts were ultimately futile as Michael quickly realizes what Toby was trying to do.
It was nice to see Michael and Toby square off in what was supposed to be an epic showdown, but the writers ultimately turned an idea with a lot of potential into something of a disappointment; you can only cram so many "I hate you, Toby"'s into one episode before it gets old.
Subplots
Dwight returns to the office after being snubbed by a store selling "fancy things." With the help of his coworkers, Dwight decides to "pretty woman" the snobs by returning to the store as a rich, polite gentleman. The item in question, it turns out, was a statue of a wizard (of course), and the only reason Dwight wasn't allowed into the store was because of his "blood-stained" hands.
Meanwhile, Pam realizes her ineptitude as a saleswoman and decides to create a new title for herself as office administrator. She manages to convince everyone around the office of her new position, including Gabe who later accuses her of lying. Gabe, however, is unable to make a definitive statement about the matter, and Pam uses this to her advantage to maintain her new role.
Highlights
1. Dwight's daycare
2. Dwight as Pretty Woman: hearing Dwight say "please" and "thank-you" made me feel all warm and tingly on the inside
3. Pam's attempt to become office administrator.
Lowlights
1. Michael and Toby's counseling session.
2. Where's Creed?
3. Ryan at the end: I didn't think his little words of wisdom were all that funny.
Best Quotes of the Episode
1. "But there was this one thing, it was in a fancy store and it caught the corner of my eye when I took Mose down to the mall to get his blood pressure at the Rite Aid." -Dwight
2. "Disposable cameras are fun, although it does seem wasteful, and you never get to see your pictures." -Erin
Final Verdict
This episode, like last week's premier, seems to be lacking some substance. The gags just didn't make me laugh that hard, and the story overall was kind of forgettable.
6/10
Episode 1: Nepotism
Cold Intro
Leave it to Andy to break out into song and dance for this week's cold intro. This is the second musical sequence we've seen so far as an opener, and it's only the third episode! Being a music lover, though, I'm kinda digging this new trend. Let's hope they keep it up :)
I just love the way Andy and his theater troupe burst into the office in full costume while everyone else is in the middle of work. And Michael asking about his non-existent part in the play was just the icing on the cake.
Plot
In an attempt to win back Erin's heart, Andy invites the entire office to the last night of his troupe's production of Sweeney Todd. Erin, being the airhead that she is though, decides to babysit for Jim and Pam instead of attending Andy's play. Andy is visibly upset, but that doesn't stop him from constantly checking his cellphone (and interrupting the performance) for any last minute messages from Erin. Everything pays off in the end, however, when Erin sneaks into the theater while carrying Cece in her arms.
Andy is such a hopeless romantic. Erin has obviously moved on, but Andy couldn't help but to hold out hope for their relationship. There was something really cute about seeing a grown man act all lovey dovey over a girl, but I don't think the main plot itself was strong enough to carry the episode. In fact, it was actually the side stories that really stole the show for me.
Subplots
Michael finds out that he has not been cast into the production of Sweeney Todd, despite having performed an entire episode of Law and Order for his audition. Michael then finds out that Darrel's plumber has been cast as the lead, even though he didn't even audition. Of course, Michael had to be the star of the show even when he wasn't a part of the play. Not only does he bring a bottle of wine with him into the theater, when he finishes drinking it, it ends up rolling down the aisles causing a big distraction.
Meanwhile, Angela and Dwight are still at it with their contractual obligation to fornicate. Angela, however, seems to be less interested in the sex and more interested in getting Dwight to fall back in lover with her (just like Andy!) Not sure if this is the best way of going about it, though...
Highlights
1. The Sweeney Todd cold intro.
2. Michael's Law and Order audition
3. Creed's scathing review of the play.
4. Andy's rendition of "I try" by Macy Gray
Best Quotes of the Episode
1. "Women cannot resist a man singing show tunes. It's so powerful, even a lot of men can't resist a man singing show tunes." -Andy
2. "The last time I went to a theater, a man dressed as a cat sat on my lap." -Dwight
Final Verdict
Overall, a pretty decent episode.
7.5/10
Episode 2: Counseling
Who wouldn't love to send their kids to a daycare run by Dwight Schrute? I sure as hell would if I ever have kids. A dark, dingy room full of plastic forks and knives, and buckets set aside as toilets and feeding troughs, all the amenities I wish I had as a child. As the new owner of the building, this is exactly what Dwight did for the cold intro of the second episode.
Oh, and Dwight's cousin Mose also makes a special appearance.
Mose has got some serious style. I mean, painting in the dark and carrying around a plastic baby? Wow.
Plot
As you can probably tell from the title, Michael has chosen to receive the six hours of counseling from Toby instead of termination (thank god). As Toby tries to penetrate the complexities of Michael's psyche, Michael, not surprisingly, reverts back to his childish ways and plays dumb. Toby finally makes a breakthrough midway through the episode, but his attempts were ultimately futile as Michael quickly realizes what Toby was trying to do.
It was nice to see Michael and Toby square off in what was supposed to be an epic showdown, but the writers ultimately turned an idea with a lot of potential into something of a disappointment; you can only cram so many "I hate you, Toby"'s into one episode before it gets old.
Subplots
Dwight returns to the office after being snubbed by a store selling "fancy things." With the help of his coworkers, Dwight decides to "pretty woman" the snobs by returning to the store as a rich, polite gentleman. The item in question, it turns out, was a statue of a wizard (of course), and the only reason Dwight wasn't allowed into the store was because of his "blood-stained" hands.
Meanwhile, Pam realizes her ineptitude as a saleswoman and decides to create a new title for herself as office administrator. She manages to convince everyone around the office of her new position, including Gabe who later accuses her of lying. Gabe, however, is unable to make a definitive statement about the matter, and Pam uses this to her advantage to maintain her new role.
Highlights
1. Dwight's daycare
2. Dwight as Pretty Woman: hearing Dwight say "please" and "thank-you" made me feel all warm and tingly on the inside
3. Pam's attempt to become office administrator.
Lowlights
1. Michael and Toby's counseling session.
2. Where's Creed?
3. Ryan at the end: I didn't think his little words of wisdom were all that funny.
Best Quotes of the Episode
1. "But there was this one thing, it was in a fancy store and it caught the corner of my eye when I took Mose down to the mall to get his blood pressure at the Rite Aid." -Dwight
2. "Disposable cameras are fun, although it does seem wasteful, and you never get to see your pictures." -Erin
Final Verdict
This episode, like last week's premier, seems to be lacking some substance. The gags just didn't make me laugh that hard, and the story overall was kind of forgettable.
6/10
Episode 1: Nepotism
The seventh season of The Office started out with a bang by having the entire cast perform a lip dub version of the song "Nobody but Me" by The Human Beinz. As a cold intro, I thought the musical sequence was a fresh and creative way to start off the episode, and it was a nice departure from the usual pranks and jokes that we're used to seeing. Watching Erin dancing on her roller-skates, Meridith dancing on Kevin's back, and Michael performing his amateur magic tricks were definitely highlights of the intro, although Rainn Wilson's (Dwight's) part in the performance was a bit trite and overdone, in my opinion. It was also nice to see The Office pay homage to Creed's musical background during all the commotion, even if it only did last for a couple of seconds.
New scenes were also added to the opening credits, including a few from the Stress Relief episode (one of my personal favorites) and a couple from the current season that we haven't seen yet.
Check out the new intro here:
So apparently, a lot has happened over the summer in terms of character development: Erin is dating Gabe, Dwight is now the owner of the building, and Michael has hired a new assistant for the office. First off, why the hell is Erin dating Gabe? Gabe is the epitome of ick, and quite frankly, I can't stand looking at him or hearing him talk. Besides, Erin and Andy were so cute together, and it doesn't really make sense how she could just dump him over something so petty. I mean, everybody has exes, right? Although, I guess her anger was understandable (I would be pretty pissed too if I found out my boyfriend had dated Angela).
Dwight as the new owner of the building might actually turn into something interesting given his previous record as the owner of an agriculturally themed bed and breakfast. The subplot revolving around Pam's attempt to prank Dwight was amusing to watch, but it wasn't really all that funny. Pam and Dwight get stuck in an elevator after Pam switches all the buttons around, and Dwight suddenly has an urge to urinate not 5 seconds after the elevator stops. Eh.
Michael's new assistant, Luke, it turns out, is actually Michael's nephew who has been receiving special treatment from Michael, even though he's horrible at what he does. The entire office soon comes to hate the new assistant, ultimately leading to a classic scene involving Michael spanking Luke in front of everyone.
The episode ends with Gabe telling Michael that he needs 6 sessions of counseling for physically assaulting an employee. As soon as Michael finds out that the counseling will be done by Toby, however, he considers choosing the alternative, which is termination. This was probably the writers' way of alluding to Steve Carell's departure from the series, which was unexpected seeing how this was only the first episode of the season. This better not be the way Michael decides to leave; a great character deserves a great exit, and this simply doesn't cut it.
Highlights
1. The lip dub
2. Luke's spanking by Michael and the reenactment of Luke's spanking.
3. Meridith breaking into Luke's car- gotta love that Meridith.
4. The "don't bother Luke" drawing on the white board.
5. Jo's misunderstanding of Michael when said he loved the new assistant.
Lowlights
1. Creed's one-liners: Creed rarely speaks in the series, but when he does, his lines are gems. I just didn't feel that way with this episode, especially when he was talking about having a "front row seat" to the debate over nepotism.
2. Pam's prank
Best Quotes of the Episode
1. "I stepped on a piece of glass in the parking lot, which hurt. That got infected, even though I peed on it." -Michael
2. "I will cover his ass like moss on a Mississippi tree stump."- Michael
Final Verdict
Overall, the first episode of the season was a bit of a let down. The episode started out strong with the lip dub, but things sort of tapered down from there. There were a couple of funny scenes sprinkled throughout the episode that made me chuckle, but for a first episode, I expected better.
7/10
