S07E01 - Nepotism

[jossifer]

The office returns from summer with a new office assistant Luke. However, it soon becomes clear that the assistant only goofs off, deliberately messes up food and coffee runs, and has a poor attitude. When Michael steps up to defend him, it is revealed that Luke is Micheal's nephew. The office suddenly turns on Michael and tries to convince him to fire him, to no avail. Later on in the day, the office employees discover the trunk of Luke's car filled with packages that he did not send. Since Luke is now costing the office customers, Gabe sends a heads up on the situation to CEO Jo Bennett. The breaking point for Michael is during a meeting where Luke continues to rebel and act out, so Michael spanks him in front of the entire office, leaving them satisfied. Gabe is forced to send Michael to anger counseling with Toby after his 'physical assault' of a fellow employee.

Erin starts dating Gabe and Andy tries to play it cool.

After messing up one of Jim's pranks on Dwight who now owns the building, Pam tries to make it up to him by making a prank of her own, which backfires on Pam.

[Iquit]

Hey everyone,

How was everyones summer. I thought that this was a good episode. I really liked the cold opening. It seems like this episode had a lot of the things I like, and the set up new conflicts like gabe/erin. I think it's going to be a good season.
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I don't spell too good, and my grammar is abysmal. What I will do is for every grammar or spelling error you catch I will give you 100 schrute bucks.

[kgreene]

This episode got better to me as it went on. The beginning was cute but way too elaborate for my tastes even though they tried to explain it as a Youtube thing. It was a nice way of getting every character into the cold opening but again, it was a little TOO much for me.

The Erin/Gabe revelation came out of left field and it felt a little forced. Maybe as it plays out it won't seem so jarring. I liked Jim's prank and how Pam messed it up. She's losing her prank skills a bit and I think it's kinda cool to touch on that (TWSS).

There are things that Office episodes can do that almost always work. A scene in the conference room is always good (Why were they in the one with the big table and not the other one? Did I miss something?) Michael goofing up something simple and being called on it (in this case a simple crossed circle graphic) is another good way. When Michael made a completely incomprehensible graphic and said "I can't make it any simpler than that." it made me laugh. And, of course, just about anytime an episode ends with a Michael voiceover with something either contrary to what he's saying going on or something funny that everyone is doing is another sure-fire charm for me. I love when episodes end like this. Dwight going crazy and freaking out Andy made me laugh out loud. It was just so stupidly awkward.

Pam's prank resolution wasn't as strong as I would've liked but it was ok. And Michael having to do counseling with Toby is a good touch (Foreshadowing? When Michael is told by Gabe that the only other option is termination he gives it a lot of thought. Will little clues to Michael's fate be dropped all season? This could be really interesting).

All in all, a good, not great episode. I'll say a B-.
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[kgreene]

[Bob]

[kgreene]

[Bob]

[Bob]

[kgreene]

[kgreene]

[kgreene]

Oh yeah, right below your recap Bob, I have a little story and link about upcoming eps and, if you want them, spoilers. INTERESTING.

http://www.lifeintheoffice.com/2010/09/24/whats-coming-up-on-the-office-episodes-and-spoilers/
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"You gotta get out there and EARN, son!"

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[Bob]

[Bob]

Deleted clip #2 is up: http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/nepotism---clip-two/1251076?__source=The_Office%7Chome%7Cvideos%7Crecent

This "fleshes" out more of Luke as a slacker screw-up. I felt the episode was a little light on Luke's goofiness, so this is a welcome addition. The scene ends with a classic Office-y moment, courtesy of Andy.

[Donna]

where to start?



Let me start with some positive stuff first.

Very good to see you around the boards IQuit. Glad you had a nice summer. My summer was nice too. Everyone in my family is happy
& healthy.

Now to the ep. *sigh*

I already mentioned in my comment on Bob's recap that the ep didn't do much for me. I did not like the c/o at all. I was underwhelmed with the slacker nephew Luke. And I thought the spanking was over-the-top even for The Office. it wasn't funny to me, just stupid.

I do like the new Ms. Kapoor. Jim's prank was cute, but felt a bit tired to me. I did like Pam's prank, but because I saw most of it already in previews, it didn't pack that umph. Michael was the same goofy guy we love, but nothing made me LOL in this ep.

btw - what the h*ll is Ryan still doing on the show? Other than wearing weird clothing, what is his contribution anymore?

I did like that Toby will be Michael's counselor. I hope they show us some of those sessions in a future ep!

Even with all my b**ching, it really was nice to see the old gang. I'd be very happy if next week I saw them, and laughed. Here's hoping!
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"Sandals Jamaica Mon"

[Bob]

[jossifer]

[Bob]

[HotDogFingers]

Hey guys, sorry I'm coming so late to the party, the holidays are throwing off my whole equilibrium these days. Luckily, we only have one more set to go and then were done for a while.

Anyway, I think you're all missing the irony of the whole cold open. Everyone knows that Michael Scott is a YouTube aficionado; but he's always a few steps behind the latest trend. He did the Par Kor thing a few years after it peaked and the wedding video was pretty old by the time Jim and Pam got married, but he went for it anyway. Even Jim knew that he had to come up with a "Plan B", once he saw the YouTube video for himself, knowing Michael the way he does; hence the Maid of the Mist tickets.

So I think the c/o just falls into step with the other times Michael had lame ideas inspired by YouTube and this time he includes the entire office in his creative quest; and for some reason they all seem to be down with it (except for Angela, which is not at all surprising). I don't know, I can't really complain about a scene that includes the entire cast; so I'll have to say that I liked the c/o if for nothing other than the intentional cheesiness that we've come to know and love. It sort of felt like the end of Cafe Disco, cheesy; but fun and sweet and the same time.

As for the rest of the episode, did I find it stellar and epic? No, of course not. But did it make me laugh? I'll have answer in the affirmative to that because there were many parts that I felt were classic office, and I most definitely enjoyed it. Such as Kevin checking out the ‘circus board’, Michael ordering pants from Talbots and Jo asking Gabe to lower himself because she doesn’t want to have a conversation with his crotch.

Luke, with his oversized clothing and attitude, was truly annoying and got what he had coming to him. I didn't think that it was over the top for Michael to think that he could spank his own nephew. He's quite oblivious to social and professional etiquette, so why not?

The key prank was classic Jim, but with a new twist in that his well thought out plan was thwarted by none other than his usual partner in crime, Pam. I do think they could have spiced it up a bit when it came to her trying to redeem herself. It looks as though their relationship has gone as stale as the bag of chips Pam tried to buy for Jim to make it up to him. Hello, this is the couple who spent 3 years pinning for each other and lamenting over the fact that the object of their affection is with someone else before they finally got it together. Just because they’re married with a baby now doesn’t mean the passion has to be gone. They should have taken a lesson from the Bob and Phyllis Vance Valentine’s Day lunch or even Dwight and Angela and made some good use of the room down in the warehouse with the sliding door (That’s right, we know JAM was up there trying to nap on the shelves when Dwight was fulfilling his contractual obligation to Angela, so they know about that room and what it’s used for). Would it have been too much to ask for the camera to catch them coming out with their clothes all disheveled and their hair messed up? But no, they’re right; getting stuck in the elevator with Dwight and having him urinate on the floor, was just so much more satisfying. Forgive me for my mind being in the gutter, but this is The Office; somebody (besides for Gabe) ought to be getting some; and I’m not talking about Chinese food for dinner.

Anyway, enough of my ranting, it was still more JAM than we got in the entire second half of last season so who am I to complain?

I was not expecting Erin and Gabe to start dating and it will be interesting to see if the ‘Nard Dog will step up to the plate and fight for his lady. This is shaping up to be a deliciously awkward love triangle. Can’t wait to see where they go with it.

I’m glad the show is back and I’m hoping it will be a memorable season for Steve Carrell’s final one. Maybe this will be the year he finally takes home a long overdue Emmy award. It seems to just get away from him every year. Let’s try to send positive vibes their way and hopefully be rewarded with a great season.

And for the record Bob, I really like Glee. I love music and I think it’s a really good show with a lot to offer. I don’t begrudge it exposure at the expense of The Office. There’s room in the media for all the shows and actors on TV. Shows usually do get the most exposure it their early years and the fact that The Office is now in its 7th season is a testament to its quality and contributions as well. Glee has only just started it's second season, so the hubbub is sure to die down soon enough and move on to the next big new thing; it's just the way things go. TV viewers all have ADD these days and can't stick to one show or concept for too long. If a show generates enough interest to make it past two seasons, it's considered successful and I think that's something that both of these shows have accomplished, so kudos to both.

[Bob]

[kgreene]