S07E02 - Counseling

[jossifer]

30 SEP 2010 - After an incident with his nephew, Michael has to accept counseling from Toby.

[Bob]

I always get such a rush of power whenever I unlock a topic, as I just did with this one. It's like I've got a big set of keys, and as some famous janitor once said "The bigger the keychain, the more powerful the man."

Now that I've unlocked the thread, I'll collect my thoughts about tonight's Office; I'll sleep on it, and report back in the morning.

[kgreene]

This was an ok episode. Not fantastic by any stretch but not bad. The A, B and C storylines varied in quality. Pam's slickly played move to become an office administrator without anyone actually being aware of it was probably intended to be sort of the "C" story but I liked it the most. First of all, it's Pam and I love Pam. Second, she did a humping motion for Meredith, which I could watch Jenna Fischer do all day but third, and obviously most importantly, it was just a nicely done arc. Pam seizing an opportunity and then manipulating everyone into believing she is (and has been for several months) the office administrator is the kind of Office story I like: Everyday workplace toil turned funny. She reflected everyones personalities when she needed the signatures and she stared down Gabe ( I thought for a second she would cave but you can see her gain strength just by watching her face) and got the job. I like Gabe more and more each week. He has become a welcome addition to the office and he is unlike any other character on the show. Gabe knows he doesn't have the balls but he really tries to sell it (failing mostly). The Pam showdown played to both of their strengths (and weaknesses) so well. My favorite part of the show.

The Michael/Toby storyline scared me for a moment. I thought for a second that they were going to reveal why Michael doesn't like Toby and I would've flat out hated the episode if they had. Bob and I have different viewpoints on this but I just don't see why it would be necessary. Nothing Michael could say would be funny enough to justify 7 seasons of pure hate. It's funnier not knowing something particular. Toby kills Michael's fun and he hates him. Toby actually screwed up here by asking one question too many. He had Michael but he goofed it up. But it ended nicely with the two having to fake their way through another session. Still, it's interesting that they went this way. It almost seems like something that we'll revisit later on when Michael Scott reaches the end of his Office tenure.

The Dwight, Jim and Andy storyline, which I guess was the B story was very up and down for me. First of all, it petered out for Jim. If this were season 2, Jim would've went along with it just to manipulate the whole thing into an expansive prank at the end. Why else would he go? I just didn't understand his motivation in this. Why should Jim care? Didn't make sense to me.

The two best parts of that story was Dwight punching Angela's ticket for an evening rendezvous and Dwight, angered at finding out why he wasn't let in but still trying to be polite (He yells "Good morning!" at the guy while trying to berate him, which made me laugh). Other than that, I didn't find the whole thing very interesting.

Overall, I give the episode a B-. Up and down. If it wasn't for Pam I would've been completely disappointed.

Oh, and the Cold Opening was hilarious. The return of Cousin Mose, Dwight stupidity and a JAM prank to close it. Perfect.
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[Bob]

OK, I've slept on it. And, I also thought a lot about The Office. Almost everybody over at Office Tally loved this episode. While I didn't dislike it, I just didn't think it was very consistently funny.

The cold opening was good, but I found the subplot with Pam was off-putting. I get that the company is poorly run, with little communication and a high turnover in the head office. And I get that Gabe is a spineless jellyfish. And I get that Pam is uncomfortable in the sales world, and would prefer "administrative" duties, which sounds a lot like her old job. I guess I just don't get Pam's casual attitude towards lying and ripping off the company.

Also, I had higher hopes for the exchanges between Michael and Toby. The scenes seem underwritten. Maybe I have to watch them again. That's a plan; I have to watch the whole episode again.

[kgreene]

[Bob]

OK, I rewatched the episode on Hulu, and here are some of my second impressions: the counseling sessions are better written that I first thought. The humor is very subtle and subdued. I still think Michael's white-hot hatred of Toby should be addressed, and I guess I thought this was gonna be the flashpoint that revealed the simmering grudge.
Michael Toby

This time around, I did catch Pam shmoozing the various department heads, mimicking their personalities in an effort to soften them up to sign their names. That was funny, and it didn't sink in at first. Now, I want to see a deleted scene with Pam somehow "mirroring" Creed to get his signature. Maybe she'll be playing "air bass" to Creed's "air guitar."

[Bob]

[kgreene]

[Bob]

[Bob]

[kgreene]

[Bob]

[Donna]

[Donna]

Ok, I know my recap is riddled with spelling errors. I write directly on LITO's blog site and there isn't spell check. With two kids sick at home I rushed through to just get it posted. But while reading my comments I found this Freudian spelling error

[Bob]

[Iquit]

[Donna]

[Bob]

[Donna]