Michael's sweaty face during and after giving his impromptu "speech" was also pretty funny. I can imagine his speeches in '96 and '97 went just as well.

"...and I will travel... to New Zealand. And walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor, and I will hike Mount Doom."

I guess Michael's the guy behind the guy behind the guy.

Not as good as their "A game" episodes, but still the funniest show on TV right now.
Did anybody else catch this:



check the inside of the left hand door.

Thought it was one of their weaker efforts. Ep didn't take off until Dwight's speech, which killed. Too much of the stuff early on was just too over the top (Dwight's viscious tackle of Ryan, a few other things) for this show; the thermostat running gag was weak (I realize, stuff like that really does happen in the work place). Vacation suggestions were fun, especially Kevin's Hedoninsm. I expected Michael to kill when he went up to the podium, ala closing the deal with the county and saving Jan's ass in NYC, so it was funny/humbling/sadly uncomfortable to see him fall on his face in his milieu (sp?).

Still funnier than most anything else on TV, just not up to their usual very high standards....

EDIT: Oh yeah, Dwight's get-their-attention announcement about the pile-up on 84 was was nice; Pam: "Did we know anyone that was IN the accident......?"

The second segment of Michael speech was difficult to watch. He was pouring sweet and the jokes ... WoW. You got to give the character credit though. He took one for Dwight, although I am sure he had alterior motives for going up there. Michael wants the spotlight and attention.

The vacation bit and thermostat wars was weak.

Kevin is funny. I expect he has bodies buried in his back yard.

Episode Grade C+

Yeah, a pretty weak episode compared to normal Office standards, but Dwight stole the show.

I wonder if some of the people who thought the thermostat wars was weak don't work in an office environment. The reason I ask is because it is so timely and spot on for those who do work in such an environment. My office place is always having thermostat wars, it goes from really hot, to okay, to really cold, back to really hot depending on who gets their mitts on the thermostat control. That's I was laughing at all the "subtle" attempts to adjust the thermostat by the office workers in this episode.

I have worked in that environment. The bit was nothing more than an anectdote. Good for a smile. I expect more from The Office. This belonged on Barney Miller.

What next? Somebody took my parking spot!!! Parking Space Wars.

Who drank the last cup of coffee without making a fresh pot?

Who farted in the hallway?

Ok, The last one could be funny ;-P

The thermostats in our office are nothing more than meant for "show". We all learned early on that they don't actually do anything and the temp is really controlled by a couple people downstairs. Depending on where you are or what floor you're on, it can range from tropical to fairly arctic.

I liked how Michael only asked Ryan if he was ok, even though Dwight knocked down like three other people in the opening scene. Dwight with his taking the same journey as the hobbits and hiking Mt. Doom was great.

Just last night at a business dinner, one of the guys commented on how someone, 2 days in a row, was becoming the Jackson Pollock of Porcelain Art in stall #2 in the main men's bathroom. That was good for some laughs, but it was also quite disturbing if you had seen it while in the bathroom. This shit really happens.

Who'd win:

Dwigt Schrute or Terry Tate for the title of Office Linebacker?

I thought that was an outstanding episode, like so many of them. The speech was incredible and the dynamic between Jim and Pam was great. Heartbreaking stuff.

Loved Kevin's "69" thermostat setting. And the football stuff at the beginning was great - their "brainstorming" was so stupid, yet they acted like they were coming up with these great ideas while tossing a football around.

My company does corporate meeting production and stagings, so seeing Dwight up at the podium, complete with slightly delayed IMAG screens was hilarious as well.

I liked Dwigt's speach. After getting advice from the other guys what does he do. he goes up there and rewords and gives a Hitler speach ( at least it seemed to me that it was a reworded Hitler speach ).

It was a Mussolini speech.

Two of our desks were near the bathrooms

We played a game called ....

Guess what Maryann had for lunch.

I can't stand the way the Jim/Pam dynamic is playing out right now. Is she really supposed to not know? That's ridiculous with as obvious as they're making it.

I worked in a place that had so many thermostat battles that facilities put locked boxes over them and if you wanted to move the temperature up or down you had to meet with the facilities manager to justify it. This leads me to believe that we haven't seen the last of the thermostat bit.

The nice touch on that was that Jim volunteered to take the invites with him to mail out, which is still more than Pam's fiancee has done!

Little touches make the show great.

And, yes, I laughed out loud a few times as well. I just thought Michael wasn't really bringing the funny this week. Dwight really took over the laugh load.

ps. Any word on that translation?

She does know. Jim told her straight-up in "The Secret". He also did tell her that he was over it, so that might factor in too. And given their dynamic the last few weeks, including the confrontation they had in "Boys & Girls", everything they've portrayed seems pretty accurate to me.

Agreed. It's the whole "if I don't think about it or I'm reminded about it, everything cool" - but as soon as Jim has to think about Pam getting hitched, he can't deal.

BLOOD ALONE MOVES THE WHEELS OF HISTORY!

Have you ever asked yourself in an hour of meditation which everyone finds during the day, how long we have been striving for greatness? Not only the years we’ve been at war... the war of work.

But from the moment, as a child, when we realized that the world could be conquered, it has been a lifetime struggle. A never ending fight, I say to you, and you will understand, that IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO FIGHT!

WE ARE WARRIORS.

SALESMEN OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, I ASK YOU ONCE MORE RISE AND BE WORTHY OF THIS HISTORICAL HOUR!

<evil laugh> Yes, yes!

No revolution is worth anything unless it can defend itself!! Some people will tell you salesman is a bad word. They’ll conjure up images of used car dealers, and door to door charlatans.

This is our duty to change their perception. I say salesmen … and women, of the world UNITE. WE MUST NEVER ACQUIESCE FOR IT IS TOGETHER, TOGETHER THAT WE PREVAIL. WE MUST NEVER CEDE CONTROL OF THE MOTHERLAND, for it is <crowd> TOGETHER THAT WE PREVAIL!!