The Office 903 Review - You're Not Jim!

When I first saw the cold open as a promo for "Andy's Ancestry," I laughed my face off. When I saw it again, it was still hilarious. By the time this episode of The Office aired, the joke had lost most of its punch, but that doesn't mean it wasn't one of the best openings we've seen in a long, long time.

What a prank! Jim and Pam took some pretty great strides to get Dwight's goat with this one. Between informing their actor friend on the ins and outs of Jim's job, getting him Jim's voicemail password, Pam kissing him straight on the mouth and taking the time to shoot a brand new family portrait, I'd say this one might have taken the most planning ever.

Once the heart of the episode began there were a number of plots going on at once. The one that worked best was Nellie and Pam's bonding intertwining with Jim and Darryl's bonding. I know readers have taken issue with Nellie in the past, but I continue to enjoy her style of comedy. Her being a terrible driver...not funny. Nellie taking joy in lying to Andy...very funny.

To read the rest of my review of this week's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 902 Review - Ready For My Close-up

Good for Roy! I'm not sure why The Office decided that he needed such a happy send off, but "Roy's Wedding" was indeed that.

Not only did he get married to a seemingly great girl, but he's also well off, and more importantly, he's making an effort to do special things for his now wife. He's grown up.

The way the sitcom worked Roy's surprise for his bride into the story - so that Jim and Pam could take issue with the fact that they had absolutely no secrets between them - was perfect. Sure, it didn't create many laughs, but watching Jim squirm about his giant secret was fun enough on its own.

Back at Dunder Mifflin, things started to get a bit crazy. After Nellie's charity bit pushed Dwight into agreeing to live under Taliban law, she had the brilliant idea to steal something, which would require Dwight to cut her hand off.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 901 Review - Is There a Belt Above Black?

The Office will go down as one of the best comedies ever to grace our television screens. Just because it hasn't been the same since Steve Carrell left, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be just as interested in how this all-time classic will end.

That's right, "New Guys" kicked off the final season of The Office, and there were some serious changes around the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton branch. Kelly's gone, Ryan's gone and a couple of young new guys are hanging around making our old favorites act a little crazy.

I enjoyed Clark Duke and Jake Lacy in Greek and Better With You, respectively, so I'm holding out hope that each brings something to the table in this final season. For now their characters of Dwight Jr. and New Jim simply helped propel some story lines.

Yeah, we know Dwight is always crazy, but between giving Dwight Jr. a noogie when he starts to think of him as a son, and everything that happens after the kid does well on the slack line, this may have been a new level of insanity. What on earth was he thinking with that bike-on-a-wire bit?

To read the rest of my review of last night's season premiere of The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Lily Finnerty Award- Worst in Comedy

Named For: Lily Finnerty (Grounded For Life)
Awarded To: The character you most love to hate in a comedy series
2009 Winner: Toby Flenderson (The Office)
2010 Winner: Susie Greene (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
2011 Winner: Gabe Lewis (The Office)

10. Freddie Benson (iCarly) 0 points

9. Eve Baxter (Last Man Standing) 5 points
2nd by Jack

8. Louie (Louie) 6 points
1st by Rizzo

7. Noah Werner (Suburgatory) 6 points
2nd by T-time, 4th by Me

6. Hazel Wassername (30 Rock) 11 points
1st by Bonz, 5th by Me

5. Stevie Janowski (Eastbound and Down) 11 points
2nd by Cecil, 3rd by Me

4. Robert California (The Office) 14 points
1st by Tyson

3. Rodney Ruxin (The League) 14 points
1st by Cecil and Jack

2. Ben Wyatt (Parks and Rec) 19 points
1st by Jaydon, 1st by Me

and the Poolie goes to...

1. Andy Bernard (The Office) 20 points
1st by T-time, Larry, and Matt, 2nd by Me

This is Andy Bernard's first nomination and win for the comedy character you most love to hate. Back in 2009, Andy was nominated for and lost by only one point in the best supporting character award.  Here to discuss how Andy Bernard went wrong is Poolie voter, T-time.

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Remember when we loved The Office? It seems so long ago. But it was only twelve months ago that Poolie voters judged it to be the best comedy on television. Of course that was when Steve Carell still graced the program with his unique blend of humor and heart. We knew it would not be as good after Michael Scott got on that plane to Colorado, but we couldn’t have imagined it would fall apart completely.

The program’s fall from grace was quick and severe but it didn’t have to be. There was still a stable of talent in the cast. All they needed to do was spread the load. Go back to classic Jim/Dwight pranks. Give more screen time to Kevin and Ryan. This should have worked. It’s not what they did. The Office instead attempted to force the load once carried by Steve Carell onto one man. Bad idea. That one man was Ed Helms. Worse idea.

It’s safe to say that Andy Bernard, as portrayed by Helms, has destroyed this show. This is in large part because HE IS NOT FUNNY.  It’s also because he thinks that he is. He overdoes every bit. A perfect example can be found in the finale. Andy as the down-on-his-luck janitor had some inherit comedy. But Andy doesn’t know when to stop, pushing every bit until the viewer is just annoyed. STOP TRYING SO HARD. If he had just played that bit to its logical conclusion, it might have been good, but he can’t help himself. Frustratingly, that was one of Andy’s better moments this year.

The sadder part is that Erin, a formerly fun character was dragged down into the morass with him. They keep pushing this Andy-Erin relationship on us like it is something we should care about. For an audience to have a stake in a TV relationship, they need to feel for one of the characters. We never cared about Andy finding love. That was never part of his appeal(when he had any). They were matched up at first because of the jokes and then later it was just assumed we would care. This is the Parks and Rec approach. That’s not the way that The Office built Michael-Holly or Jim-Pam. It is the way that they ruined the affection we formerly had for Erin Hannon.

In the end, this is a comedy. All Andy Bernard needs to do is be funny. There was a time when he was. The Stamford version of the character was amusing in small doses. That time is long past. The Andy Bernard of the past few years was a tolerable annoyance. This year, his step into the bright lights has ruined a once beloved franchise.

by Tim Forcella

The Office 824 Review- You Down With M-O-P?

Phyllis- "What's he doing?"

Dwight- "He's searching out younger gays."

"Free Family Portrait Studio" was the last episode of The Office this season. It was the final half hour with James Spader in the cast. It might have been the last we see of Kelly Kapoor and Dwight Schrute. Heck, it might be the last episode ever.

With all of those factors on the table, I couldn't help but be disappointed. This wasn't one of the show's worst efforts of the year, albeit that is a difficult feat to achieve, but nothing about it felt like a finale.

Was that supposed to be a send off for Robert California? I know he was only here for one full season, but it sure felt abrupt. He's getting paid by David to travel the world with hot gymnasts? It's strange.

When it comes to Andy Bernard, I have had more quarrels with the character lately than can be imagined, but I was enjoying what B.J. Novak for Ed Helms to start the episode. The fake, down-on-his-luck, drunken janitor bit was kind of working for him.

To read the rest of my review of last night's season finale of The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 824 - "Free Family Portrait Studio"
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The Office 823 Review- Dwight-namic Duo

Gabe- "Sometimes I wonder if I have ovaries in my scrotum, because I am great at girl talk."

"Turf War," by playing up the dynamic duo of Dwight and Jim - while reducing Andy's role to cooking cherries jubilee and making one pitch to a client - gave The Office some promise heading into next week's season finale... and then what will be an interesting offseason for the NBC hit.

With rumblings of spin-offs and departures, The Office needed all the positivity it could get, if indeed everyone involved wants it to stay on the air. As the back half of this season has gone on, I haven't been so sure that I would even want this incarnation of the show to continue for another year.

After a couple of unsurprisingly solid supporting performances by B.J. Novak and Brian Baumgartner, and then this week's improving half hour, The Office might be putting out just enough good moments to earn another season, which will then inevitably disappoint us yet again.

Even though I couldn't stand a second of time James Spader spent on screen, let's take a look at the funny and/or heartwarming moments that made "Turf Wars" one of the better Office outings as of late.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 823 - "Turf War"
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The Office 822 Review- Guess That Price

Oscar- "If you would have seen the look he gave me, he wanted to rock more than just my vote."

It has been four episodes now since the super team returned from Florida, and The Office still hasn't found its footing back in Scranton. "Fundraiser" featured some humorous moments, sure, but it was another continuation of the less-than-spectacular installments we have witnessed as of late.

There were highlights - such as Ryan's opening rant about Smokey Robinson, Dwight's efforts to win the silent auction or Kevin's straight forward attitude towards Andy - but even these pleasant sequences failed to make me laugh out loud. Not every comedy needs to have that skill all the time, but it definitely helps.

In the cold open, Ryan was just being Ryan. He always has an agenda, and he usually doesn't have any idea what he's talking about. That's what makes him such a great character. Whether it is professing his love for a girl he will most likely cheat on, or pretending to have loved Smokey Robinson, Ryan will always be a douchebag.

I'm not sure which was funnier, Dwight's arrogance as he quietly outbid everyone at the silent auction by thousands of dollars, or his ridiculous celebrations after finding out he won every prize.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 822 - "Fundraiser"
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The Office 821 Review- Just Say No

Ryan- "I'd rather she be alone than with somebody. Is that love?"

The main premise of "Angry Andy" was a smart, if extremely late, idea. Get rid of the Andy Bernard we have been forced to watch in this season of The Office. He has been lame and has never very funny.

Bringing back his anger management issue was a pleasant change of pace for a character that desperately needed something different. Will this be a permanent fix for the character and/or the series? Probably not, but it worked for this half hour.

Andy from the rest of this season would have taken the beating from the conference room impotence meeting, letting it roll off his back. That wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining as watching him yell and scream, throw things and finally punish the wall in the exact same spot he did back before his first stint in anger management.

I'm not saying this was comedy gold, it was just an upgrade from the disasterous arc Andy and Erin were going through up to this point in the season.

To read the rest of my review of this week's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 821 - "Angry Andy"
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The Office 820 Review- There's Magic Out There

Dwight- "I wonder if king size sheets are called presidential sized in England. I really should have a tweeter account."

It had been almost a month since the last episode of The Office aired, and its return confirmed the sad truth: this show has become a mediocre comedy this season.

"Welcome Party" was filled with a few heartwarming moments, and a couple of laugh out loud scenes here and there, but every new installment seems to make it more and more obvious that The Office is a shell of what it used to be.

Catherine Tate was pretty polarizing in her first few performances, but at least she was giving audiences an opinion. Here, her Nellie Bertram was neither hilarious nor detestable, and instead was used as a sympathetic character taking on the mean-spirited words of her coworkers. Whether Nellie deserved the hate from the office, or the love from Jim's defense, it didn't have much of an effect on our viewing pleasure.

The fake party for Nellie did bring about two of the funniest moments from the episode, though. There was this classic "Kevin is fat" hilarity...

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 820 - "Welcome Party"
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The Office 819 Review- Flowers Arranging Themselves

Jim- "The raise isn't real."

Dwight- "Money isn't real ever since we got off the gold standard."

If we were conducting Catherine Tate's The Office performance review like Nellie Bertram did of her employees at Dunder Mifflin Scranton - that is, on first impressions - she would also be receiving a raise.

Tate's first appearance last season was intriguing, and her stint as head honcho down in Florida was entertaining, but in "Get the Girl" it became obvious that Nellie Bertram as branch manager could be exactly what The Office needs to stay afloat.

She is very strange, but not in a way that is too similar to Michael Scott or Andy Bernard, nor in a way that is just too slow and boring most of the time like Robert California. Nellie proved she was upbeat, off the walls and that she can create a lot of weird situations for our favorite paper suppliers.

The way that she took charge and took over Andy's office was great. The meeting she ran, in which she used some weird voices and gave Kevin an awful nickname, was funny. Giving every one there a raise even though she had no authority might have been the best of all.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 819 - "Get the Girl"
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The Office 818 Review- Saving Schrute

Nellie- "You may not cancel his soul."

Robert- "That was never on the table."

There are few things better than when a couple of rivals put their differences aside, even if just for a moment. Since the feud between Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute is one of the most iconic rivalries on television, their momentary truce in "Last Day in Florida," was especially enjoyable.

It took a while for Dwight to get to that moment, but once he did, his outstretched arm to help Jim up off the floor might have been the most human we have seen out of the beet farmer in the history of The Office.

It helped that we witnessed Jim trying, trying and trying again to help Dwight out in the situation. He mentioned earlier that it was not bittersweet but sweet that Dwight was staying in Florida for good, but when Jim realized his rival was going to get fired for no good reason, he had to save Dwight. It was great to see.

The enjoyment of these two getting along wasn't the only positive to come out of this storyline. We also got the hilarity of Dwight revving his engine by sliding his feet on the rug, jumping off the wall while screaming "Jackie Chan," and smacking Jim's present off of a tee like it was a golf ball.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 818 - "Last Day in Florida"
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The Office 817 Review- Pyramid Scheme

Dwight- "Okay, okay. I will be the first to admit it. We could have integrated more Chuck into the presentation."

Sometimes, the little moments in life are what make it grand, and sometimes the little moments in an episode of The Office are also what make it come together in the end.

That was true of "Test the Store," as Jim's heartfelt act of helping Dwight out with the presentation more than made up for the fact that the cold open and first act went laugh-less.

Thankfully things started to pick up in the second act, beginning with Creed's flawless execution of Toby's Strike, Scream, Run plan. Slapping Meredith upside the head, letting out a big "yaaap" and running out of the conference room might have been the best Creed moment of the season.

We also benefited from the good Andy Bernard this week. You know the one, the guy that isn't ridiculously irritating. Yeah, we don't see him very often, but he was back, and him trying to get details out of Toby on how to defend yourself against a fifth grade girl was hilarious.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 817 - "Test the Store"
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Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

I am so sick right now that I can't move, but the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Power Rankings wait for no man's health.  So without further ado, here are March's Honorable Mentions.

Show (Last Time) red=moving down, green=moving up

Alcatraz (-) Mondays on FOX
I'm a few episodes behind on Alcatraz, which probably isn't a good sign.  They have yet to really grab me, but I'm hoping things pick up before the end of season one.

Hart of Dixie (-) Mondays on The CW
Summer Roberts and company have me enjoying myself every Monday in Bluebell.  It's really not all that exciting, but it's fun.

House of Lies (-) Sundays on Showtime
I still don't know what to think about the Don Cheadle dramedy.  It's really not all that funny, and the drama is not anything special.

Luck (-) Sundays on HBO
I am really enjoying Luck thus far. Nothing has been as good as the premiere, but it's all solid.

The Office (19) Thursdays on NBC
It hasn't been as bad as of late, thanks to the super group down in Tallahassee, but it's still a shell of its former self with Andy Bernard at the helm.

One Tree Hill (-) Wednesdays on The CW
They were having the best season since the fourth before the past few episodes basically stood still.  The return of Chad Michael Murray could have been so much more than it was.

Revenge (18) Wednesdays on ABC
These guys really lost me with that complete fake out with Daniel a couple weeks ago.  It's one thing to surprise the audience, and it is a whole other to do it the way they did.

The River (-) Tuesdays on ABC
I'm digging The River so far, and Joe Alexander is getting way too criticized, but it's not a blockbuster.  I like that they're only doing an eight-episode first season, because it won't allow them to get boring with their stories.

Smash (-) Mondays on NBC
Bringing Little Nicky Jonas on your show is only going to make it better.  For them it's just a shame he isn't a main character.  I've been liking Smash so far, but some of the dialogue is on a level with Terra Nova.

The Walking Dead (20) Sundays on AMC
While things have gotten a bit better over the past couple weeks, this has still been an extremely boring second season.

The Office 816 Review- She's Bugging Me

Jim- "How many buttons do you have?"

Dwight- "40...always."

"After Hours" was a perfect example of the positives and negatives that arise by The Office's decision to split the cast into two for at least a few episodes in the middle of season eight.

Essentially, a super group has been formed in Tallahassee, joining together for some of the best characters on the show. Dwight, Pam-less Jim, new and improved Stanley, Ryan, Dwight, a surprisingly funny Gabe, and the better of the guest stars from last season's finale in Catherine Tate, are here in one place, and it made for some darn hilarious escapades this week.

While I'm not sure how to react to the idea that Pam's Replacement wants to hook up with Jim, I do know that everyone's reactions to it have been hilarious. Jim acting awkward around her, Stanley turning the other cheek and Dwight all but expediting the process was great.

Nothing was better, though, than when Jim tried to get out of it by telling Dwight he had bed bugs. Whether it was asking Jim about the bug's mood, spraying Pam's Replacement with chemicals or jumping under the covers in his underwear to catch the bugs, Dwight was on fire in Jim's hotel room.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 816 - "After Hours"
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The Office 815 Review- I'm Not Bored. I'm A Pirate

Erin- "Ryan switched his name tag to his pants, so now it's like if you wear yours on your shirt you're a total dip, but if you switch you're a copy cat."

"Tallahassee" had all the pieces to come together as one of the best Office episodes of the season, but the driving force behind it - Dwight's battle to become the Special Projects Vice President while dealing with a big of appendicitis - was not funny.

They were able to play humor off of Dwight's pain - like him continuously thinking he was poisoned thanks to the return of pranking Jim or leaving a message to his infant son telling him to kill Mose in order to keep the beet farm to himself - but much of the back half of the episode was Dwight's struggle between pain and drive... and it was kind of boring.

What wasn't boring, though, was that cold open. How great were Dwight's wake-up calls? Screaming in Pam's Replacement's ear, suffocating Stanley and having Erin seduce Ryan were all great, but the best was the fact that Jim was ready for Dwight with a prank.

This was an old school, well thought it, motivated Jim prank. He ransacked the room, left a briefcase full of money, got fake blood to spell out "It was Dwight," and fell out of the closet like a corpse. Classic Jim. I love this Jim.

To read the rest of my review of this week's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 815 - "Tallahassee"
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The Office 814 Review- He's A Man On A Mission

Kevin- "I do deserve a vacation. Sometimes Batman's gotta take off his cape."

Like most of The Office's eighth season, "Special Project" wasn't all that hilarious. Unlike most of The Office's eighth season, though, it showed some purpose, which kept things interesting.

Said purpose begins and ends with the titular project and what it did to focus Dwight Kurt Schrute. The beet farmer has been funny all year long, but it wasn't until he took the reins of this project, and got his team into the conference room, that things really started to fall into place.

It was just fun. It was fun watching Dwight finally managing. And not only managing, but managing a team that took him seriously as their leader. Even Jim, who didn't fail to mess with Dwight about showering together in Florida earlier in the episode, couldn't help but jump on board the Dwight train once the former Assistant to the Regional Manager started appreciating his team's ideas.

So now the group will be split, with Dwight and his minions enjoying the fun and the sun of Florida, while the rest of the crew stays in chilly Scranton, Pennsylvania. Seriously, though, with Dwight, Jim, Stanley, Erin and Ryan away from the office, I can foresee a problem.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 814 - "Special Project"
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Quiet Poolcast- Fringe and Justified

In hopes of turning this into a weekly thing over at TV Fanatic, I got together with T-Time to practice a podcast this weekend. We discussed the recent happenings on Fringe and Justified, before delving into a few other shows with The Name Game and The Power Rankings.

Here's a timeline of the podcast so that you can skip by shows you don't watch.

Fringe: 0:00 - 12:00
Justified: 12:10 - 20:30
The Name Game
Chuck: 21:20 - 22:50
Suburgatory: 22:50 - 24:30
Once Upon a Time: 24:35 - 25:45
Treme: 25:45 - 27:10
The Office: 27:15 - 28:00
The Power Rankings
Game of Thrones: 29:20 - 31:05

Listen Here

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The Office 813 Review- Call Of Fatherly Duty

Dwight- "That baby is a Schrute, and unless somebody taught Mose sex, that baby is mine."

The eighth season of The Office has had a difficult time telling funny stories. The humoursly awkward moments we used to get from Steve Carrell have turned into boring awkward moments with Ed Helms.

Thankfully, the show has survived on a few hilarious characters - notably Kevin and Dwight - garnering laughs simply based on their hilarious personalities.

That was no different in "Jury Duty," as Kevin was on fire with his disturbing accounting family tree, calling the baby fat and "Little Kevin," and buying the kid Call of Duty.

While Kevin rarely has much more than a few lines of dialogue per episode, Dwight continues to be a leading player... until he possibly spins off his own series next year.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 813 - "Jury Duty"
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The Office 812 Review- Nobody Calls Me Chicken Fight

Val- "Does Daryl not swim?"

Kevin- "That's racist!"

There were bits and pieces of each story that worked in "Pool Party," but neither Robert's stroll through parties never had, nor Erin's endeavor to make Andy jealous, came together to make completely funny or interesting tales.

What we were left with was yet another decent episode of The Office in which there were a number on things to laugh at... in which one couldn't help but feel it lacked th humor and creativity of what the series used to be.

The one piece to the puzzle that worked really well was Dwight and Erin completely getting after it in their attempt to make Andy jealous. The receptionist going 110% in the final game of chicken, squeezing Dwight's neck until he became unconscious and in danger of drowning, might have been what the writers thought would be the icing on the cake.

Instead, it served as a letdown, an unfunny ending to an otherwise hilarious pairing I never would have imagined. When Dwight puts his mind to something that is outside his normal range of actions, it's usually comical. In this case, him flirting with Erin - whether it be sexy eating, telling Andy he's gonna go crazy on her with sex, or saying to Erin "I could just bang you right now" in hopes of Andy hearing him - was easily the best part of the episode.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 812 - "Pool Party"
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The Office 811 Review- What Is SEE-attle?

Dwight- "You're a perfectly fine toilet. I'm just an extraordinary piece of crap."

Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. In The Office's first episode of 2012, the titular storyline of the gang playing "Trivia" in Philadelphia worked really well, but the forced trio in Florida definitely did not.

That's not to say that there was nothing to laugh at, as Dwight stormed Sabre headquarters to get a managerial position with Dunder Mifflin's parent company. Mr. Schrute's jumping fist pump as he walked the hall to Robert's office was among the best moments.

Gabe comparing himself to a toilet was also one of the more clever lines of the night, but the entire situation just felt forced. We've seen Dwight act like this before... and then he always just returns to being a great salesman.

I'm not one to complain about lack of growth in a sitcom character, but if the repetitive nature of said character's actions reduces the hilarity of our beloved Dwight Schrute, it's not a good thing. Combine that tiresome activity with an individual who has yet to find his footing in Robert California, and we were left with a "B" story that didn't quite work.

To read the rest of my review of last night's The Office, head over to TV Fanatic.

The Office 611 - "Trivia"
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