Randy Miller III

After a month or three of lagging momentum, The Office lurches forward with...that failed pilot for Dwight's spin-off, The Farm.
Can't imagine how this one will advance the "farewell season" plot along any further, but we'll see.

resinrats

Well in a way, I'm glad they are using the pilot as an episode. There are tons of pilots we hear about but then never see unless someone posts it online or is included in a DVD set.

RUSF18

I predict...not good.

Geofferson

My expectations are lowered, but I am a little curious.

JTH182

I might as well just go suck some balls right now to get used to the taste in my mouth.

starseed1981

I'm excited for this.....but if it wasn't picked up the pilot prolly wasn't that good

CPA-ESQ.

All right - I was in a focus group when I went down to Universal Orlando last October and I watched this episode. They paid me $20 to watch this, gave me 2 buttons (red and green). I had to hold down the green button every time I liked something and red if I disliked.

After - I provided feedback. I'm curious to see if they changed anything about this episode, took out some gross parts, or changed casting.

I won't spoil anything until the episode airs.

Deftones

it already feels like we got this episode when Dwigt and Angela went to deal with his aunt and get her cleaned up.

madcougar

I guess I'll volunteer mine if you're needing a pair of fairly large ones.

My Other Self

FYI -- This isn't the same episode that was shot for the pilot. Certain scenes are, yes, but they had to rewrite and shoot a new subplot when NBC passed.

I also thought the Angela/Dwight bathing his aunt episode was "The Farm". I had to look on Wiki to see it wasn't. Do we need two farm episodes in a season?

SpanishTechno

So the spin-off is officially dead?

Adam Tyner

Yup.

Double_Oh_7

So which button did you hold down more, red or green?

dex14

Looks like Nora Kirkpatrick is going to be on the for the rest of the season as Esther. Nora plays accordian in Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Beautiful girl.

Nice Decemberists cover.

Thank god this spin off didn't happen.

Osiris3657

What is the name of the actor who plays Dwight's younger brother? Where have I seen him before?

My Other Self

That was an awful episode, and this is coming from someone who hasn't had as much of a problem with the current incarnation of the show.

The only bit I enjoyed was Andy and Kevin swapping clothes. To me, the episode didn't tie together with the Packer subplot. It still felt like half a pilot, given how they introduced all of these new characters and ended it the way they did.

It's no wonder NBC passed on this, though. It would've have lasted.

dex14

Thomas Middleditch
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3042755/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Osiris3657

I just remembered! He's the guy in this College Humor sketch (embedding disabled)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQnIJ-ljctk

thanks dex

JuryDuty

Meh. I've loved the Office over the years, but I wouldn't watch this spin-off. The problem is, you can't take the quirkiest character from the Office and make him the lead in another show. He needs a lead to play off of (like Jim or Michael).

Geofferson

That was pretty bad. Glad to see NBC passed on it.

raven56706

yikes that was a steaming pile of shit

cleaver

I actually feel bad about myself for watching this show. It's so awful. Simpsons has been on 3 times as long and never hit this nadir.

CPA-ESQ.

Now that this episode has aired I can back up that this was NOT the full episode of the Farm that I watched.

Here's the breakdown from my perspective.

NBC was trying to create a kind of Kate and Ben meets the Office with the 'FARM'

The Introduction we saw last night was what I watched (throwing the dirt, introduction of the brother and the sister. Showing the 'rival' farm in the blue pickup truck with the hot blond daughter). I think they added in Dwight shooting the coffin with the shotgun.

After that we learned that the brother was doing very well for himself as a pot farmer in California, and the Sister with the kid had no real interest in returning home, she was from some other city and wanted to pursue her writing or some nonsense.

Last night the ending scene where they were on the top of the hill looking at all of the land. They inserted a voice over of Dwight saying "I'm going to mow it." Originally, after the funeral, the somber group walked up the hill looked at all of the land and the two siblings said this is too much to take on, they had successful lives back home, and they were going to let the land go. Dwight convinces them to stay the weekend at his bed and breakfast and think it over.

Back at the bed and breakfast, Oscar for some reason is staying there and helps by reacting to the camera when Dwight does anything inappropriate. Insert a black couple checks into the B&B - and Dwight has them under the name "Black" (or some tacky racial humor). Dwight would serve some sheep intestines for breakfast, or a ram's brains for dinner.

Throughout all of this nonsense, we got a healthy dose of the nephew and Dwight. With his little shirt and tie and his speech problem, he innocently absorbed the insults from Dwight. We learn the sister wants the best for her child and he needs a father figure.

The funniest moments were Dwight interacting with "Badger" (sorry don't know his name so I call him badger from breaking bad). Those two on the farm were really funny.

Now, we see the dad from the rival family is either going to buy the land, or gets the land, but his hot daughter comes with him and for some reason is just eying Dwight like he is the hottest guy on the planet. Dwight is interested in her as well, and we learn that they always had a crush on each other since they were younger, but like Romeo and Juliette it could never be - the 2 families would never allow it.

They had a whole scene where Dwight went to his slaughter house and was killing some sheep for mutton, I think the little kid went with him. It was gross and I held down that red button.

There were some bad religious jokes - maybe about crucifixion or smearing blood on doors.. can't recall, but definitely offensive.

I think there was a scene with a thunderstorm or some sort of power outage and Dwight with his brother and sister come together to get the cows into the barn, or work with the rival neighbor to complete some task. Anyway this helps bring everyone together.

Dwight continued to chastise the little kid and his sister for not knowing the Shrute man ways. The kid gets up early to spend time with Dwight / get him to like him and they go do morning chores. This is the scene that was shown last night with them milking the goat and getting eggs. I gave this a green - because if you watched the whole episode you felt so sorry for this doe eyed kid who absorbed all this hatred from Dwight, that it was nice to see them acting somewhat civilly.

Next thing you know the brother's pot farm was raided by the DEA - this was on the front page of the newspaper or they saw it on the news, and thus he had no place to go. The sister was the last piece of the puzzle and is about to leave, but then decides to stay. They all hug (bla bla bla)

The last scene was the one we saw last night with them all singing on the porch. The Shrutes are a family again and are staying to take care of the B&B and all the land. The rival family had mended fences with the Shrute clan and they are celebrating.. but wait... is that Dwight and the hot blond indicating that there will be an ongoing love interest... why yes - she stepped on the crows beaks.

My comments to NBC were that the Brother and Sister did not look like Shrutes, the kid was cute bad had to take it down a level. I did not like the introduction of the brother crashing his red convertible into the grave or the idea that he was a pot farmer. I didn't like the idea that all of a sudden he had a brother and sister who where so cosmopolitan - who we never heard about in the past. The sister was likable. I wanted them to have a show about Dwight, Moes, and Badger on the farm (if they were going to have any show). I was adamant that the girl was way to young and good looking to be a farm girl and have any interest in Dwight. Give me a break he goes from Angela to a smoking hot 20yr old blond, and she wants to be with him.

Now why the hell they left in that scene, and how they are going to cary Dwight and the blond over into the finale is anyone's guess.

Well that's my story - as best as I could remember. So overall the only scenes from the farm pilot were: throwing the dirt at co workers, the funeral, the hill top, milking the goat, and the 2 families celebrating. The rest of the episode was cutout and the Packer cupcake story inserted in its place.

windom

So was that supposed to be Meredith's real hair all grown back? It didn't look like a wig.

lordwow

Worst episode ever.