musick

"Ryan used me as an object" (best line of the night)
"Women be shoppin'"
"I don't have monkey problems"
"I didn't say it I declared it"
"I wouldn't wish that upon my own worst enemy and that includes you"

some great lines/moments from tonight but overall I thought it was the weakest episode of the season ... dragged down by a slow first 1/2 hr
I really am not a huge fan of taking the office out of the office for extended periods of time

B.A.

Jan was great, particularly towards the end when she was complaining about her implants.

WallyOPD

That was a great little bit at the end.

musick

that's what she said

BlackCapTen

Loved the episodes this week. I laughed for a good 5 minutes when Michael was in awe with the laptop and his name on top of the powerpoint slide.

Jimmy James

I'm a bit puzzled that this episode didn't seem like two loosely connected episodes with an obvious syndication break, but I liked the episode. It moved a little slowly, but it felt like it moved our characters forward while giving us some good lines here and there. It's my second favorite of the hour long episodes.

Anubis2005X

I thought this episode was actually pretty depressing. They all need to cheer up.

GoldenJCJ

My favorite episode of the season so far. For the first time the hour seemed to be cohesive and not 2 half hours back-to-back.

While there weren't a lot of laugh out loud moments everything seemed to work just right.
Pam and Jim's first getaway.
Jim's heart to heart with Dwight in the stairwell.
Michael and Ryan butting heads again.
Andy and Angela.
The whoever/whomever debate

I though it was all fantastic.



The one with Matthew Broderick made me laugh. "Jerry, I was going to take my kids to this movie."

Al Padrino

I had the same problem, maingon. I knew I was in trouble when they pre-empted Earl to show us the Doppler Radar for an hour. Thankfully we only missed the opening and about five minutes in the middle, but between that and the constant weather graphics, it was hard to get in the groove.

Anyway, this was more dramatic than previous episodes, although they seem to be going with more of that this season. I don't have a problem with that. It keeps the characters growing and as long as the storytelling remains solid, I have no problems with the dramatics spliced with the humor.

CloverClover

Definitely the best episode of the season so far, maybe even of last too... it was fresh, they finally didn't structure an episode around some kind of plot / gimmick and just let the characters interact. Hope Toby wrote some other episodes.

lordwow

The arguement in the meeting room over word usage was one of the funniest bits the cast has ever done. Everyone played their role perfectly.

Sex Fiend

I more or less agree with you. It definitely helped not having a 'way over-the-top' Michael moment in this one. Some parts definitely had the feel of the classic Office of old to me - Jim and Dwight in the stairwell, Michael clowning around with his co-workers at his second job. And a few low-key humorous bits, like the Oscar and Michael bankruptcy conversation. Those are all small moments that worked, like the better shows of the older seasons were built around.

That is all probably a result of having Paul Lieberstein write this episode, with his long time close familiarity with the show. I honestly don't know if the show has been using the same writers over the better part of the last season plus this year, but for the most part I haven't been too keen on the quality of some of the writing, plot directions, character development, etc. versus that in the first couple of seasons. Lately, it has often felt to me like the tone of the writing has been off quite a bit.

Matt

Bolting for a train in order to escape his problems and become a hobo. . . does that count?

---

Man, just when I was starting to actively hate these hour-long episodes, they go and do this one, and now it's back to thirty-minute shows. Easily the best episode of the year so far.

PowerPoint meeting was the highlight, by a mile. Liked the PB&J/Dwight stuff, too.

invisiblegt

Yes. For this viewer, at least.

lordwow

What I really love is the way they show Michael outside the workplace. In opposition to David Brent, he's likable, friendly, and just one of those guys who knows a lot about everything. One of the saddest moments in the episode is when the other manager hung up on Michael's call on him. You could just tell he was on the verge of making a sale like he's done so many times before (ala "The Client").

I think it really helps us understand Michael as a character who's been promoted one step too far, and he's really out of his element as a manager, but he's not a crummy person, and in fact is a pretty interesting and cool person to hang around with, but he's not the person you want running your company.

Sex Fiend

Yeah, that was a bit silly, but since it wasn't so wildly outlandish as some of the other recent Michael moments, I guess I was a little more willing to overlook it.

Arpeggi

That's what she said.

Nefarious

The best bit was Kelly talking about how complicated Daryl was because nobody says exactly what they are thinking.

FinkPish

Wow, I was really impressed by this episode. I could definitely see this one being up for an Emmy. They did something that they couldn't have done in the British series: have the characters evolve and interact in ways that you can only do after you've known them for several years. I loved Michael being the bad boy at his other job and the stuff between him and Jan at the end on the train was just great. I was so worried that they were going to make her into some unlikeable bitch.

Arpeggi

That's what she said.

tofu

That was a great bit and I don't know why but Michael actually pointing during "Powerpoint" had me in stiches.

WallyOPD

There was still a fairly strong break halfway through. The first half was mainly about Michaels second job and Pam and Jim out at the beet farm. The second half had Michael's bankruptcy and Andy's wooing of Angela. I imagine the syndication break would come right after Michael walked out of the call center after quitting.

JetSter735180

Finally, a great episode. Nothing was bad in it, every part was just fantastic....this is the best so far in the season.

And I think it has the best ending in the whole series.

but I'm sad, I kind got used too the 1 hour episodes.......but no more.

Brian Gentz

When Dwight pulled out the ruler and pushed Jim's suff aside, I let out a nice "DWIGHT'S BACK!!!"

Boba Fett

Poor Toby again; trying to be helpful only to be told by Michael to stick a letter opener in his skull.