Since “Turf War” will be the next-to-last Scrantonicity, it felt very good to find the first local reference in the very first second of the episode. Literally, the clock read 0:01, and there was a coffee mug emblazoned with “Coney Island Texas Lunch.” Back when I was going to college in Scranton, my friends and I rented out an art studio on Lackawanna Avenue, where the Steamtown Mall is today. We used to walk two blocks down the street to eat at Coney Island Texas Lunch a lot; and it never once occurred to me that there was anything odd about that name; Brooklyn, New York’s “Coney Island” and the state of “Texas” just felt like they belonged together. There was no need for a “turf war.” Read on »
Posts by Bob
As luck would have it, I was in line to write the LITO episode recap for “Fundraiser,” which was scheduled for April 26th. Ahem, April 26th happens to be my birthday. And since I am also responsible (or if you prefer, “to blame” ) for this “Scrantonicity” stuff, then that saddled me with double duty work for today, April 27th. A day that was originally scheduled for my, uh… birthday celebration recovery! Well, here we are, I managed to make the recappin’ happen, and wouldn’t you know it? “The Office” managed to make this “Scrantonicity” easy, by providing me with an episode that had enough material to work with. So, it’s just like the writers said “Happy Birthday, Bob. We don’t want you to strain yourself today.” Oooo-kay… 
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As Season Eight of The Office winds down, fans of the show seem restless. On the ‘net, they are hotly debating the validity of the various story arcs. They’re not shy about expressing their feelings toward the newer characters; I’m hearing a lot of “Negative Nellies” out there. And they are wondering about the direction of Season Nine, or if there should even be a Season Nine. Well, all I know is that this will be my last episode recap of the season, and all I was concerned with as the show unfolded was this: Did they put the “fun” in “Fundraiser?” Read on »
When I first saw the title of the upcoming Office episode “Angry Andy,” I took it as a good sign, Scrantonicity-istically speaking. (Whew!) Because when I was growing up in the Scranton area, there was a hardware store in Green Ridge, not too far from my house in Dunmore. That hardware store was called “Handy Andy.” So, naturally, when I heard the mellifluous, alliterative phrase “Angry Andy,” I was immediately reminded of the hardware store shimmering in the misty memories of my childhood. True story. That’s a good sign, isn’t it? Read on »
Welcome to your new home, Nellie Bertram. As Robert California says at the beginning of the episode, ”Let’s show her some of that warm Scranton hospitality.” Well, Nellie, we’ll pretend that you didn’t list those nasty first impressions of your new “city” in the latest Dunder-Mifflin newsletter. For instance, you “laughing” at the local ski resort, because the slopes are barely 1,000 feet in elevation. (That would be Snö Mountain in Moosic Pa, and no, I never get tired of typing that umlaut.) Or your description of the local Steamtown National Historic railroad train site as a bunch of “decaying locomotives.” (A wooden souvenir Steamtown train whistle sits on the filing cabinet in accounting. I don’t suspect Nellie will be blowing it anytime soon.) And we won’t even mention the fact that you described your new location as a “dreadful, backwater, God-knows-where, suburb of a suburb.” OK then… let’s get this party started. Because as Michael Scott would surely say if he was still around: “Ain’t no welcome party like a Scranton welcome party”… Read on »
At the end of “Get The Girl,” Nellie Bertram is all alone, puttering around the office, and muttering to herself. She is honestly assessing her modest “talents,” saying things like “I don’t work particularly hard; most of my ideas are unoriginal or total crap. Yet, I walked right into a job…” Hey, that sounds like me, talking to myself while I’m writing “Scrantonicity.” Well, that’s the American dream right there, isn’t it? It may be totally random, but here goes: Scrantonicity-istically speaking, what is there to get about “Get The Girl?” Read on »
For many Office episodes, I’ve joked that I needed a fine-tooth comb to find any “Scrantonicity.” Well, for “Last Day In Florida,” I’ve had to dust off my electron microscope to search for signs of Scranton. Luckily, the prop department did include some Tallahassee-centric product placements, which are worthy of mention. And, as usual, I have a personal observation or two that may be of interest to somebody. So… what about that “Last Day In Florida?” Read on »
As I’ve mentioned before, I have this theory about “The Office”: the quality of the “cold opening” sets the tone for the rest of the episode. A great show usually follows a great cold opening. A weak cold opening very often predisposes me to be, uh… “unreceptive” to that show’s charms. The “Last Day In Florida” is a perfect example of this theory. The cold opening involves the workers in the Dunder-Mifflin office deciding whether or not they want to open Dwight’s “treasure” box; a box he specifically told them not to open in his absence. Finally, Creed (foolishly/naively) opens the treasure box, and discovers only an innocuous group photo… which makes everyone sigh in relief… until the Indiana-Jones-ish trap detonates, and a poison dart just misses Creed’s head. Ooo-kay. 
There is a scene in this show where Gabe comments on Dwight and Nellie’s presentation by gushing “I’m not just saying this, but that’s the best thing I ever saw.” Well… I’m not just saying this, but that’s the worst cold opening in the history of “The Office.” This was not a good omen for the episode. Read on »
“The Office” is smack dab in the middle of a story arc that features significant action taking place in Tallahassee, Florida. So, I knew darn well that episodes like “Test The Store” were going to, uh… test my mettle when it comes to sniffing out any Scrantonicity. Of course, I’ve also been on the lookout for signs of “Tallahassee-icity,” and I’ve had some luck finding those. (Thanks to LITO reader “Tallahassee Matt” for your observations.) So, my mettle having been tested, let’s get right to it; because, as the Sabre store slogan cryptically states: “The Infinite Future Is Now.” Read on »