Chew

Nesbit

We're going to see the beet farm?!?!

lordwow

The promo for this week shows

HE Pennypacker

Now, this looks like a promising episode.

SuperBatMan

Oh man. Now this looks like another classic.

I just hope I don't get my hopes up too high.

SuperBatMan

'What is the DHARMA Initiative?'

PopcornTreeCt

This season is so bad compared to last. They need to tone down Dwight's character. It's just NOT funny anymore. They need to bring out the minor characters more and less Michael and Dwight.

lordwow

This episode started off slowly. The Beet farm wasn't as good as I thought it would be. But the "Lovefool" part had me on the floor.

And the Pam/Jim phone conversation was the best part of the episode.

dick_grayson

anyone recognize the music in Dwight's car?

CloverClover

yeah I am finding dwight to be getting too over-the-top

Also kind of getting sick of the characters looking into the camera with sarcastic expressions.

And the squeeky chair girl always makes random facial expressions!

but I laughed some good stuff in this... 28 days later with sandra bullock was cute

HE Pennypacker

Ah, this episode made up for the craptastic one last week. The best parts of the eppy were Stanley and the Dwigt/Ryan scenes. Especially the former since we now know what the one thing that puts a smile on Stanley's face is.

I liked the ending, but felt frustrated by Pam's inability to properly explain to Jim that she was saying bye to Ryan and not him. Why did she even have to acknowledge Ryan anyway? It's not like he was covered in beet juice or anything.

Doughboy

I thought it was a really good episode. The Dwight/Ryan stuff was the weakest part, but there were some great character moments. Michael with another big sale. Jan continuing to act like a jilted lover. Stanley finally happy about something(and ganging up with Michael to boo Phyllis to the back of the line). The "Lovefool" scene. And of course, the phone conversation at the end.

Interesting bit of trivia. The brain teaser that Dwight tells Ryan at the beginning of the episode about the guy and his son in the car accident was the same thing David Brent, Gareth, and Tim were talking about in The Office BBC Christmas Special as Dawn walked in at the end.

brkhrt7

"River Runs Red" by Life of Agony. Kinda sad that, between this and Motley Crue, I have the same musical taste as Dwight.

HE Pennypacker

That is very interesting indeed. I'll have to check that out now. I never paid attention to that conversation because I was waiting for the inevitable meeting between

dpz301

i thought the episode was pretty funny. the dwight/ryan thing at the farm was funny (maybe because i'm in a fraternity and i laughed at all parts that people always talk about happening but don't). the free salted pretzel scenes were funny too as stanley ran down and was happy, not to mention micheal getting the sugar high from all the toppings.

really liked that pam and jim finally talked for more than an awkward 2 seconds.

Jcheckel

I really liked this one, and we get to see Michael again being somewhat competent, even though Jan thinks he's once again just goofing off. For most people the big dealhe landed would be the highlight of their day, but just like Pam said he really is like a five year old, his highlight was the pretzel.

MrX

The Stanley/Michael high five was great

Didn't care for the Dwight/Ryan scenes, except the question about the DHARMA Initiative

FinkPish

I actually liked Dwight in this episode. His initiation thing was over the top, but the parts with him and Ryan after the sales call throwing eggs and at the bar made him seem a bit more normal and likeable (read: human). It was really nice to finally have some new Jim/Pam interaction too; I think they waited just the right amount of time for them to settle into their new lives before thinking about each other again.

Patman

Michael's sugar rush, and the aftermath of Dwigt and Temp/Ryan's bonding, and Pam/Jim's phone were the highlights. The half hour didn't quite fly by, but the last half of the episode was stronger than the first half.

GreenVulture

Wow, I'm surprised Jim and Karen would switch chairs with Andy, considering his previous freakout over the "stapler in the Jell-O" prank.

Overall, this episode felt too over-the-top in regards to Dwight and Ryan's trip, but it was redeemed in the end with them unexpectedly bonding. I'd also like to add that they screwed up Mose; he was only mentioned a few times in the past, but I felt he had this almost mythic aspect to him--seeing him in the flesh was a letdown. Better they should have left it to the imagination, a la Kramer and Bob Sacamano.

Drawn-out romances almost always wind up sucking the life out of shows, and I'm hoping that the writers will go against the expected action and instead make Jim and Pam friends, living their own seperate lives. I liked the end conversation, but at the same time it was not an encouraging sign.

By the way, is it even remotely possible to cram like twenty or so different toppings onto one pretzel? That's quite impressive if they can.

cungar

The things that made the British version of the show great - the mundaneness of an Office and impossibly uncomfortable situations are slipping away from this show. It's turning into just another wacky personalities show like My Name is Earl. The dual office thing isn't working and is taking too long to resolve. And the Jim - Pam romance is just dragging. I can now see the wisdom of Ricky Gervais limiting the original show to 14 episodes.

Gdrlv

I thought it was a pretty good episode. The outdoor scenes looked nothing like eastern Pennsylvania though. Easy to tell it was filmed in Cali.

cdollaz

This was my least favorite episode so far this year. I didn't really laugh at the Ryan/Dwight stuff but the rest was pretty good. Unfortunately the Ryan/Dwight stuff dominated the episode. Dwight is much funnier when he is sucking up to/defending/playing off of Michael.

Sex Fiend

I hate to say it because I've been an ardent supporter of this show from the first ep on, but I completely agree. They have WAY overdone it with Michael and Dwight. Their goofiness works much better in small doses, and especially when contrasted with the ordinariness of the other cast members, and not when it is the primary focus of the show.

Also, the Jim in Stamford thing isn't working either. The Stamford people really quite frankly aren't funny or all that interesting. What made the show so great was keeping its universe intimate, and the interplay between the basic cast in the Scranton environment. No doubt the best part of this ep was the Jim/Pam phone conversation for that very reason. At least that seemed grounded in the non-sit-com 'reality' the show had so carefully constructed before this season.

It really seems to me that the show is displaying signs of network meddling. The over-emphasis on the 'zaniness' of Michael and Dwight, the expanding of the cast and settings, the shrinking of the roles of the more mundane characters - all of those strike me as 'input' by NBC execs to expand the shows popularity among that part of the audience that they think won't get a non-traditional sit-com. Heck, they're just one step short of adding a laugh track.

Perhaps it's probably too early to say that success has gone to heads of the shows producers, and the show has jumped the shark. I hope it can get back on track, perhaps if Jim is brought back to Scranton soon (although I suspect they will drag that out for the whole season). His character's interactions with the Scranton folks is an integral part of the show's chemistry, and without him to provide a sane POV, Michael and Dwight just come off as obnoxious and annoying.

WallyOPD

I love the show but it has always seemed as over the top as it is now. Michael and Dwight have been caricatures since the beginning of the show.