Can you believe we’ve arrived at the season finale already?  It seems like only yesterday we were anxiously awaiting the season premier; wondering how the news of Pam’s pregnancy would be revealed to the office.  A lot has happened during this season including the JAM relationship coming full circle, as well as major changes to Dunder Mifflin as a company.  Which leads us to wonder what story there may be left to tell of our friends in The Office?  Sadly, the season finale left me underwhelmed.  The episode itself was just ok, not stellar, but not a complete dud either.  It just kind of ended with no major cliff hanger or twist that we’ve come to expect from a season finale.  This worries me because rumors have been circulating about this coming season becoming the last for the American version of The Office.  As a fan, I hate to see that happen; however I’d rather remember the show for the quality that we’ve come to know then have it continue at a sub-par level.

I will now step off my soap box and begin the recap:

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I’m not sure if this theory holds any water; in fact I just came up with it this very second, but it sounds good: My enjoyment of any particular “Office” episode is directly related to the quality of the “cold opening.” If the cold opening is a winner, then it sets a positive tone for the rest of the show. Hmm… Now, I suppose I’ll have to research that theory. I’ll go back and sift through episodes that I consider “classic,” and I’ll note whether they started with a boffo opening. Then, I’ll check out the few “Offices” that I feel were of inferior quality, and monitor those cold openings. Then, I’ll write up the thesis and report my scientific findings.  I encourage other LITO-ites to add their two cents’ worth to this body of evidence. We could be on to something… or not. Anyway, on to “The Cover-Up.” (more…)

Hello LITO-ites! Gosh, this season is flying by, isn’t it? I can’t believe “Body Language” is already the 21st episode of this season! Only three episodes left in season 6. But don’t fret friends, our favorite show has always been good about giving us new webisodes and other little tid-bits to tide us over until next season. Unfortunately, who knows what will happen to The Office after season 7? But for now, we here at LITO want to continue to focus on the positive (deep cleansing breaths everybody!). (more…)

It’s been a while since we had a new episode, so I for one am excited to get some new material. You might be curious about what my impression of Secretary’s Day was. Well, I thought it was a pretty impressionable episode about impressions, for one thing. It seems I’m not the only one making corny jokes. Gabe got some real face time in this episode, bringing this minor character to the foreground for some down home corn and awkward situations. We also get a closer look at psyche of Erin, who has quickly risen up in the ranks from a pretty minor character to an integral part of the office. Even though we have seen glimpses into her psyche before, this Erin-centric episode shows us just how strange she really is.

Being a former secretary myself as well as the mother of two very active toddlers, I’d have to say that overall I enjoyed the episode for two main reasons 1) recognizing secretaries, and 2) recognizing one of the most essential educational tools of our time: Sesame Street. That program where all the puppets live in the barrio. (more…)

My first impression of “New Leads” was not a good one. But I know from experience that a second viewing usually lets me get past the developments that I didn’t care for, and enjoy the sly humor that can be found in the shows’ nooks and crannies. So let’s give some real good looks into those nooks.

The cold opening was weak. The scene itself could have worked OK if it had been slipped into the middle of the show, because the unlikely “Johnny Depp,” and very likely “Roger Clemens” sightings were amusing. But the “cold opening” calls for more; the bar is set much higher for the opening act, and in my opinion this bit just wasn’t up to the task. We here at Life In The Office have been spoiled by LITO staff writer Kevin Greene’s Cold Openings. For those who are unfamiliar with Kevin’s fantastic fan-fiction, please check these stories out! (more…)

Top o’ the Mornin’ to ya, LITO readers! Sure and begorra, it’s St. Patrick’s Day in Scranton. Michael comes into the office and gleefully grabs some green M&M’s from Erin’s festive reception desk. He exclaims, “Green M&M’s?! Nature’s viagra!” Everyone seems to be a good mood. The camera pans around the office to show that mostly all (except Angela) are smiling and a wearin’ o’ the green. Kelly and Ryan walk by, they’re arguing about going to a St. Patrick’s day party after work. Meredith, looking so pretty in her green dress, interupts them and tells them to stop fighting. She says, “Don’t fight today. There is just one perfect day a year. There’s no hassles, no problems, no kids.” Ryan questions her, “Why no kids?” Kelly chimes in, “Yeah, where are your kids?!” Meredith gets upset, “Nope! Nuh-uh! Not TODAY!” and she stalks away. I guess in the world of an alcoholic (Meredith), there is no greater day than St. Patrick’s Day, where drunken debauchery is not only accepted but is encouraged? The only question is…what did she do with her kids?!

Michael explains this St. Patrick’s Day fevor in a talking head. “Here in Scranton, St. Patrick’s Day is a huge, big deal. It’s the closest the Irish will ever get to Christmas.” Huh? Well, there’s some typical Michael Scott logic for ya! Still you get his meaning. St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal where he comes from.

Camera pans to the door and in comes our favorite new dad, Jim Halpert. His co-workers greet him warmly. Then Jim sees his desk. Or actually, Dwights “Mega-Desk”. In Jim’s paternity leave absence, Dwight has taken over Jim’s desk and added it to his own, “for surveillance, gaming and business”. Jim takes all of two seconds to pull the desks apart.

Dwight is not happy! He acknowledges that he shouldn’t have gotten hooked on Mega-Desk, but now that he has, he’s unrepentant. He explains, “All I care about is Mega-Desk”. (more…)

It’s been 19 hours since they arrived at the hospital. Jim tells the camera that Pam is fully effaced and 10 inches–he means centimeters, dilated. Even though he has no idea what any of that means, he knows the baby is close. I guess Pam really could have waited until midnight. He is informed by the nurse that Pam is ready to push, so he goes into the room to assist her. Meanwhile, Michael comes in with a huge pink balloon bouquet and quickly enters Pam’s room without warning or knocking. We hear Pam screaming and Michael promptly leaves the room, turning a little white and horrified at what he has seen. I imagine it must have been a bit like the birthing scene in Knocked Up, when Seth Rogen’s friend goes in to see if he can help and the baby is crowning. I suppose that would have been a bit too graphic for network TV. He promptly reports to the camera that he has to go wash his eyes. (more…)

“Robert’s Recap” has a nice alliterative “ring” to it, don’t you think? Also, I figured it sounded really good, almost a rhyming phrase, as “Sabre” ~ Robert’s Recap… until I found out the name was pronounced “SAY-br,” not “SAH-brah.” That kind of threw me off my game for a little while. But as a professional recapper with a responsibility to our LITO constituents, I decided to get right back up on the horse and ride this recap home. (more…)

Hmmm… “The Banker”, where to begin? I hadn’t read anything on this new episode before viewing it, so I took a moment right before it started to at least see what the caption was. Here it is, in case you missed it:

“When a potential buyer arrives at Dunder Mifflin, Michael, Dwight, Andy & Pam team up to win his favor by highlighting their top-drawer contacts. Meanwhile, Michael reflects on memorable moments at the office.”

Now, it’s the last sentence of the above caption that is important here. When I read this, it didn’t dawn on me that they were talking about an old-fashioned clip show! (more…)

Good evening fellow LITO-ites! As I prepare to write the recap for last night’s episode, “Murder” on this unlucky Friday the 13th my Jersey shore town is being deluged with tidal flooding and blown-away with gale force winds. Things are so bad here that they closed the local schools for the day! Crazy. Lucky for me, we live in a high-ground area of the city. Unlucky for me, my three young children are running around my house like looney-toons driving me up a wall. Oh well. Hopefully this Friday the 13th finds you all in a luckier situation than I am. Or if not, feel free to share your tale of woe in the comments section. Onto last nights episode, “Murder”.

The Cold-Open shows Dwight demonstrating his martial arts skills in the office. Why? Once a year they allow Dwight to hold a seminar to explain the latest changes and techniques in martial arts to the staff. Again…why?! As Jim explains it with his trademark sarcasm, “the one thing that 1000 year old martial arts are known to do is…change“. (more…)