When will I learn to just sit back and trust The Office? After pouring over the "heartbreak" seasons (2 and 3) of Jim and Pam for the previous post, I started to worry about how huge the episode really was. I dove for the remote every time a commercial came on for it, not watching to spoil a single image. NBC's relentless promotion of the wedding episode ruined my attempts to stay unspoiled, and they added to my worry. I'm not a huge fan of "Stress Relief," the post-Super Bowl episode that NBC made a big deal about last year. It just seemed like a completely different show, and I worried that there was pressure to change since the spotlight would be so bright.
Here we were at the wedding that had been in the making since Jim's first lovelorn look at Pam, and I worried that the episode earned by the dedicated fans would be sold out to the larger audience that might be peeking in. Again, I just need to learn to trust The Office.
Play...
0:01 - I'm always amazed when I pause after the cold open and see that it's only been a minute. They're able to pack so much in. Anyway, THANK GOD FOR ANDY BERNARD! The "Pam throwing up making everyone else throw up," cold open would've had me hiding behind the couch in fear if not for his face when Pam threw up. I may be a comedy snob, but it reeked of the same over-the-top, broadened out un-Officeness that permeated "Stress Relief," starting with a ridiculous cold open with Dwight's fire-drill. This was probably just as obnoxious, but Andy's my favorite character, so I got through it. Plus, I've been close enough to it to believe in chain-reaction vomiting like that. Also, Creed happily eating his noodles made complete sense, since his reaction to the stench of feces in "The Carpet" was to cheerfully inquire if someone was making soup.
0:02 - It was very Michael that he decorated his own car with cans and window paint. I'm not going to get on him about saying it was a big day for him though. I named him the #1 person we forget to thank for this wedding, so I'm giving him a pretty long leash for stuff like that.
0:05 - "Search engined" is a very odd phrase, even for Dwight. I had never really thought about it before. Of course, it's still more reasonable than "Binged." It's nice to see that's still Dwight's first instinct when he encounters a new name though.
0:09 - One of the many advantages of having such a strong ensemble was on show in the scenes of people driving up and checking in. Another show would probably need a bunch of wacky events to befall everyone, here the interactions were all that was needed. I don't know why, but Dwight's narration on the seduction CD he wanted Michael to use gets creepier every time I listen to it. Also, Michael not reserving a room was perfect. People seem to think he got confused about the "block of rooms" set-up at weddings. I say he just simply didn't know. How often do people have reservations in the movies? How often do they get turned away? What does Michael Scott seem to think life is like? I rest my case. Dwight's "dungeon wisdom test" was so smart character-wise. You know Dwight would be THRILLED to spend the night with Michael, except the weekend has been turned into the plot of a teen-sex romp by Michael's expectations. Michael calls Dwight's loyalty and friendship into question, so Dwight gives Michael a final chance to prove himself. Michael is undone by his own selfishness, and Dwight adheres to his moral code. See? All totally within character. Is that so hard HEROES?
0:14 - Easily lost in Dwight's parable to the children about why he didn't get promoted instead of Jim is the fact that he's seated at the kid's table. Nice to see that with all the craziness of planning a wedding Jim and Pam remembered to play a prank on Dwight.
0:15 - I loved Kevin's pained, "Oscar, I would be proud to date you," after Oscar's intense reaction to Pam's sister assuming Kevin was his date. Shouldn't have expected too much from a charter member of the Finer Things Club.
0:15 - Also, this one was a HUGE surprise to me. I loved Meredith busting Ryan's chops as he used his past as the company's youngest VP to pick up women. It's not that I've disliked Meredith as a character, she just seemed flat most of the time. Bustin' chops though? That I can get behind.
0:15 - Poor Andy finding out that Kevin switched seats with Erin. Kind of nice that Jim and Pam would seat them next to each other though. Couldn't have been an oversight.
0:16 - Bah, I guess Dwight was seated at an adult table. Can we just pretend that he traded seats? I'd nominate Creed, that would make sense.
0:16 - And Jim's douchebag brothers make a return appearance! I love how when Michael gets mad and jealous he becomes extremely professional all of a sudden. Like how he found the brother's material "inappropriate" when he'd have probably said even worse.
0:17 - My favorite part of Michael's freestyle stand-up? The fact that he closed his eyes to focus on remembering it.
0:18 - I am going to jump in here for a second to comment on Jim's speech. I thought it was nice, and summed up the story arc of their relationship pretty well, and that it was probably the type of straightforward schmoltz that a lot of people were worried the episode would be...
0:20 - ...aaaaand welcome to The Office ladies and gentlemen. I cannot even describe how awkward this felt the first time I watched it. I was literally in the fetal position after Jim's awful attempt to cover up his slip of the tongue about Pam being pregnant, which meant there was nowhere left to go when Michael started talking. Absolute, organ crushing horror.
0:20 - But I loved how he still finished the toast, "to waiting." That would've been such a classically sappy moment, and I think it was wise to stomp all over it.
0:25 - "Can you believe it? He screwed up, not me." - Michael. One of my favorite things about Michael is that he doesn't think he can do no wrong, rather he believes that his mistakes are either fixed by his quick thinking or will be fondly remembered as lovable bloopers. Having Jim screw up wasn't a mere twist in the plot, it freed up Michael to find something else to screw up instead. Uh oh, Meemaw isn't coming to the wedding. UH OH Michael just realized that means a free room!
0:27 - Another thing about Michael is that sometimes, completely on accident, he says exactly what needed to be said. Everyone might have made sure to coddle Meemaw, but when she browbeat Pam who didn't want to say, "it's not 1890 anymore?" Of course, the fact that his inappropriateness can be completely appropriate only encourages him, and that's what is so great about the dilemma he creates. This wedding probably wouldn't be happening if he wasn't the way that he was, but it might end up ruined by the exact same forces of his personality.
0:28 - I hope the GLAAD Media Awards were taking note of Kevin and Oscar's storyline in this episode. How many times have we seen a sitcom where a woman repeatedly encounters a straight man at coincidental moments that make him seem gay? Well here's Oscar having his hair patted by Kevin as Pam's sister walks by, when he's desperately trying to make her understand that he would never date someone like Kevin. Yeah, it makes Oscar seem like kind of a jerk, but it's not even a flip-flop of that old "accidentally seen as gay" cliche. It's the "she's not my girlfriend/he's not my boyfriend" cliche based around a gay character. For a gay character to be normal enough to warrant that cliche on a network sitcom? It might not be overt, but that's what makes it seem so progressive to me.
0:34 - I'm probably alone, but this was one of my favorite jokes of the whole episode: [Michael checks his watch] "It's after midnight! You're married!"
0:35 - I'm just now realizing that, with Andy at the hospital/in Pam's room after his dancing injury, the honeymoon suite was open! Poor Michael, he picked the wrong weasely underling to cast his lot with.
0:38 - Ouch. To shack up with Dwight Schrute only to be called a bumpkin behind your back? By DWIGHT! Who owns a beet farm, uses an outhouse, and...well...does everything Dwight does? Another great thing about Michael Scott? Every weekend around women is supposedly like a National Lampoon movie (the horrible direct to DVD ones, which he probably has a full collection of), but every woman is a path to marriage and children. Hence his balking at Dwight considering his girl to be a one-night-stand.
0:43 - Loved Michael's reasoning that he didn't give them a cash gift (as they requested) because, as their boss, he gives them cash every week. Fits right in with his view of Dunder-Mifflin as a family that he sees paychecks as their allowance.
0:44 - My biggest problem with this episode was that Pam's Mom was played by a different actress than when we saw her first in "Sexual Harassment." Don't know if that speaks more to me being overly involved in this show, or how good this episode was. Probably a little bit of both.
0:44 - Is there a more underrated horrible feeling than accidentally tearing a piece of clothing on a splinter or a nail? I really felt for Pam accidentally tearing her veil while rushing to keep her friend away from Dwight. I tore my Seniors t-shirt from high school on a fence at work one day, still annoys me now as I'm typing it.
0:46 - Earlier I said that Jim's speech was very nice, but that's not what I think of when I think of The Office. This is a show of moments, not speeches. I think that was a tone set by the British version (huge spoilers, in case you ever plan on watching the British one), with characters' actions being so much more important than what they say. This was true of the sequence where Jim cuts half his tie off in solidarity with Pam's torn veil, and she responds by silently, but emotionally, taking one of the "mental pictures" a family member had encouraged she and Jim to take.
0:54 - I still can't get over how perfect the YouTube wedding entrance was. Part of me wonders what they would have done if that video had never existed, but the rest of me knows there was no other way it could've happened. These are the things that keep the universe in order.
0:56 - Again, that was 2 minutes and it was better than entire seasons of other shows that I still enjoy! I'm sitting here shaking my head with how perfect that ceremony was. Secrets are such a huge part of what makes Jim and Pam what they are: inside jokes, private moments, unshared feelings, and silence. Still, it would've been so wrong if they had simply eloped and left everyone else behind, because they're not anti-social. That's what made the flipping between their secret ceremony on the boat and the public one "ruined" by their co-workers' antics so perfect (I'm using that word a lot in this post, but perfect is the perfect word for so much of this episode). Like I said in the last post, they owe too much of their relationship to others in The Office to abandon them, but they were never a relationship built on publicity. They were each other's best friend, and that removed the typical exchanges of the "will they, won't they" TV relationship. There was no third-party best friend to confide in for either of them. They sometimes tried with various people, but they never completely opened up. So, there was no one left out in their "real" ceremony on the boat. It was Jim, Pam, and the camera; the only thing they ever confided in. Still, the "fake" ceremony had to happen, and it had to be as wacky as it turned out to be. Jim and Pam shaking their heads and exchanging knowing looks and smiles as the madness flowed, just as they had from their desks for all those years. As always, they were kept sane by their secret relationship; in this case, the fact that they were already married.
0:57 - I'll let Jim sum this one up: "I bought those boat tickets the day I saw that YouTube video. I knew we needed a back-up plan. The boat was actually plan C. The Church was plan B. And plan A was...marrying her a long, long time ago. Pretty much the day I met her."
So, Jim and Pam are married. I have three final favorite bits from this episode that I'm going to count as personal, even though I'm sure they're personal to lots of other people.
First, Jim and Pam get married by a captain on a boat. You might have been able to tell from my "6 people we forget to thank" post that "Booze Cruise" is my favorite Office episode ever. I can't even remember how many times I've watched it. People have certain movies they watch when they're sad, but for me it's that episode. There's always something so crushing and terrifying about the way Captain Jack suggests, after Roy has finally set a date for the wedding, that he should marry Roy and Pam right then and there as captain of the ship. It takes this terrible moment that could happen some day, and moves it to right this minute. Luckily, Pam says no because she wants her father to give her away. It just creates such a wonderful symmetry, that their most triumphant moment would occur the same way their most dire almost did.
Second, Michael's smile at the end of the symmetry. None of the bombastic "look at me" yelling of Phyllis's wedding, no stone-faced jealousy, no tears (in his eyes certainly, but not steaming down his face). Like I've said, without Michael that wedding doesn't happen. I'm sure he agrees, even though he might have the reasons all wrong. Still, sometimes Michael is accidentally correct, and his reaction to the ceremony was just so privately joyful. Not joy for himself, but joy for them.
Finally, the final shot (I know there's the stinger with Kevin icing his feet and Michael going back to Pam's Mom's room, but still) of Jim and Pam on the back of the boat with Pam's head on Jim's shoulder. I would consider (and I doubt I'm alone) "Diversity Day" to be the first true episode of the American version of The Office, since the pilot was basically a British script with a few words changed (and was really terrible as a result). In that episode, Jim misses out on a commission he counts on annually because Michael keeps interrupting the procedural sales call. As he sits in YET ANOTHER conference room disaster, Pam rests her head on his shoulder and falls asleep. The meeting ends, everyone can go home, and when the room is finally clear Jim, with some trepidation, wakes Pam up, and she takes her head off his shoulder. Finally, in a "talking head," Jim remarks to the camera: "uh...not a bad day," and smiles. He milked that moment for all it was worth, because who knows if he'd ever get anything like it ever again. Now, standing on the back of that boat, he smiles into the camera; content in the fact that he got that moment back, and doesn't have to ever worry about losing it.
Status: Save until I delete. 100%.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The 6 People We Forget to Thank for Jim & Pam
Well, it's finally here! Jim and Pam's wedding is tonight, and I wanted to do something special for it. So, over the past few days I've re-watched all the episodes leading up to this one in the hopes of creating a list of Jim and Pam's best moments.
Two things struck me when I was compiling the list. #1 EVERYONE will be making the same exact list, and #2 I had a lot of unlikely people to think for my favorite moments. Now, I will say that a lot of this list is probably fueled by my hunger pangs for LOST and its constant questions of the sources of current events, but I'm okay with it.
So here we go, the 6 people we (or, at least, I forget) to thank for Jim & Pam, in order of importance.
#6: Steve
The "jinx" single-handedly makes "Drug Testing" one of my favorite episodes ever because it's such an undramatic show of devotion between Jim and Pam. While Pam playfully taunts Jim throughout the day, one of my all-time favorite moments comes when she accidentally hits a very real nerve and unknowingly lays out the undercurrent of their relationship:
Another win for Steve? In a deleted scene, Pam transfers a call from Brenda, who was returning a voicemail of Jim asking her out, and Jim sticks with the game and remains silent, giving up another available girl for Pam. If that vending machine is fully stocked with Coke, then maybe Jim takes that call, and who knows what happens then?
#5 Josh Porter
#4 Toby Flenderson
Let's get the obvious one out of the way: Toby kept all of Dwight's complaints against Jim in a box under his desk, which probably prevented Jim from being fired.
Now, far less obvious? Toby had Angela for Secret Santa. How about this for an unforeseen progression:
#3 Phyllis Lapin
Phyllis does two major things to help Jim and Pam become a couple. The most obvious is her remark to Karen on their sales call:
Oh! Plus Roy attacking Jim can be traced back to Phyllis meeting Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration. Phyllis admitted that she never thought she'd get married before meeting Bob, and living vicariously through Pam's wedding gave her the insight to steal every last idea for her own big day. That depressed Pam enough to get back with Roy long enough to tell him about kissing Jim, which lead to Roy's freak-out, the final nail in the coffin for "RAM," and Roy's attempt to attack Jim.
Sweet, innocent Phyllis Lapin is essentially responsible for the destruction of BOTH Jim and Pam's romantic rivals. No wonder she was able to backstab her way to the top of the Party Planning Committee.
#2 Andy Bernard
Yes, Dwight was the focus of the pranks that allowed for so much of Jim and Pam's friendship, but the cell phone prank on Andy proved to be one of their most important. It was really their first return to form since Jim's return to Scranton. Sure, there was Pam's Christmas present for Jim of the CIA prank on Dwight, but that was conceived and executed by Pam alone. Taking Andy's cell phone, hiding it in the ceiling, and calling it all day was a team effort that brought Jim and Pam back to their glory days, and threatened Karen in a whole new way.
Even more important, believe it or not, was Andy's intense desire to replace Dwight as Michael's #2. This led to his pitch to Michael that the salesmen should team up for a day of sales calls so he could bond with Michael and deploy some anti-Dwight propaganda. Phyllis's revelations to Karen came about because of their being teamed up, and Dwight was forced to quit thanks to Andy's meddling. Andy took over Dwight's desk, annoyed Jim with his ringtone, and became the architect of his own, rage-induced, destruction (and Jim and Pam's reunion).
#1 Michael Gary Scott
Yes, Michael's "friendship" with cool Jim kept the disruptive slacker from being fired, and his affection for hot Pam prevented her from being replaced with a modern phone system, but it goes deeper than that.
I was originally going to write a post dedicated to Michael Scott's role in Jim and Pam's relationship, because I think it's wildly overlooked. Let's start with the small stuff.
Michael's 05/05/05 party used up their one party for the year, leaving no budget for The Dundies. Everyone has to pay for their own drinks and food, Darryl and Roy leave leading him to argue with Pam, she returns to the party, gets drunk, and kisses Jim. (Sidenote: Jenna Fischer busts out possibly the most incredible performance of a drunk person in television history. Her excitement over the ice in her glass melting to create a "second drink," over-the-top laughing, and the nodding right before she falls down. I'm sorry, I had to point it out.)
His friendship with Todd Packer leads to his carpet being ruined in "The Carpet." Michael takes Jim's desk, and Jim is exiled to the annex leading to the moment that made me a fan of The Office.
Disclaimer: I was one of the people who ate up the British version and HATED the American pilot. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this sorry rip-off, and openly wondered why, if they were going to basically read the scripts verbatim, they didn't just put on the British version. In my defense, I thought Coupling was a great show and NBC had created an AWFUL remake of that too.
My partner on this blog (my Tivo) obviously knew something I didn't when it recorded The Office, obviously based on the three thumbs up rating I had given the British one. So, I watched "The Carpet" and was able to follow along with my basic understanding of Michael/David, Dwight/Gareth, Pam/Dawn, and Jim/Tim. Of course, due to Jim being in the annex there's little to no Jim-Pam interaction until the verrrry end. Jim, after feeling neglected and forgotten all day, checks his voicemail before heading home, and:
It was so perfectly heartbreaking and heartwarming that I instantly knew that Greg Daniels and his team completely understood the British version. I soon learned that the pilot was an executive-induced disaster, and fell in love with everything afterward. Michael Scott is the reason a lot of people watch The Office, but he's indirectly the reason I got into it. So, while the voicemails may not be a major part of the Jim and Pam story, I still consider them to be one of the show's finest moments.
Corporate gave Michael a big Christmas bonus for firing Devon, what did he spend it on? A video iPod for Ryan, completely blowing the ceiling off the Secret Santa spending limit and off his own expectations of what to receive as a gift. Phyllis's appropriate gift of a homemade oven mitt send him over the edge; Secret Santa dissolves into Yankee Swap, Pam ends up with the iPod and Dwight gets Pam's gift from Jim. This leads to another great Office moment, when Pam trades Dwight for the teapot and Jim reveals all the inside jokes he had placed within. More importantly? The delay gives Jim a chance to pocket the card that was included; the card that supposedly revealed how he felt. You might say then that Yankee Swap impeded Jim and Pam's relationship, but remember that this was before she even found out Jim had a crush on her. If expressing his feelings on Casino Night didn't work out, do you think it would've gone much better at Christmas? Especially when he didn't have his Stamford escape plan in place.
That was the small stuff, I'm serious. There are two big moments and they are going to blow your mind. I'm so sure of that, I'm just going to go right ahead and tell you the two most important moments in Jim and Pam's relationship. Michael chooses "leaderSHIP" as the metaphor for his motivational speech, and Michael moves he and Jan's meeting with Lackawanna County from the Radisson to Chili's. Don't believe me? Well, here we go.
First, Michael chooses to base his motivational speech in "Booze Cruise" around the the word ship being "hidden" inside the word leadership. As Oscar points out, last year's speech was "BOWL over the competition!" which meant a trip to a bowling alley. This year they're on a boat for an episode I have watched...around 20 times. Maybe that has caused me to dig too deeply into this episode, but bear with me.
The location leads to Roy, Darryl, and Katy's increasing intoxication and yelling which drives Jim and Pam up to the deck for the famous "28 seconds of silence." Being on the boat also introduces Captain Jack into the fray, giving him the opportunity to inspire Roy to set a date for the wedding. STILL, the most important part is that Michael's boat metaphor leads to his speech being about the metaphorical boat sinking, which causes a panic, and lands him in "the brig" aka being zip-tied to a railing out front. This is where Jim retreats after Pam and Roy's good news, giving him the opportunity to have the most underrated exchange in Jim and Pam's relationship:
But wait! Here is, for me, the craziest one out of all of these scenarios of serendipity: Michael moves the Lackawanna County meeting from the Radisson to Chili's.
Directly, this move causes the meeting to run very long. When they're leaving the office, Jan says she doesn't expect the meeting to take more than an hour but Michael expects it to take all night. Michael proves to be correct, as his joke-telling, baby-back ribs ordering, and generally unconventional salesmanship turn the sales-pitch from straightforward to endless (but effective). This allows time for Jim and Pam's first "date" on the roof after the employee performance of Threat Level Midnight, the screenplay that Pam found in Michael's desk. Indirectly, this move leads to Jim and Pam becoming man and wife (assuming that's what happens tonight, but I doubt they'd pull something like that....right? Did I just jinx it?).
The meeting runs long, Jan gets drunk, Michael pulls off the sale and saves the branch. He also earns Jan's misplaced affections. He may not be the only part of her downfall, but he's certainly a MAJOR part of it. In the end, the slide that began at Chili's ends with David Wallace searching for her replacement. This is the job that Jim, Karen, and Michael all end up interviewing for in "The Job."
Ready for this? Josh forces Jim back to Scranton after Toby provided an avenue for him to leave. Then, a combination of Phyllis's revelations and Andy's antics leads Karen to snidely ask Pam to make a dozen copies of her and Jim's sales reports for an interview for the position opened by Michael's actions. Jim opens his sales reports to find a gold medal from "Office Olympics" and a note: "Jim, don't forget us when you're famous. - Pam." Jim drives back to Scranton, asks Pam out on a date, and here we are getting ready to watch their wedding.
Maybe I'm crazy, but there they are! The 6 people (or 5 and Steve to be quite honest) we forget to thank for Jim & Pam. Enjoy the wedding!
Two things struck me when I was compiling the list. #1 EVERYONE will be making the same exact list, and #2 I had a lot of unlikely people to think for my favorite moments. Now, I will say that a lot of this list is probably fueled by my hunger pangs for LOST and its constant questions of the sources of current events, but I'm okay with it.
So here we go, the 6 people we (or, at least, I forget) to thank for Jim & Pam, in order of importance.
#6: Steve
Dwight: Yeah, well, I'm not paying for my own stuff, okay? I know you did this, because you're friends with the vending machine guy.Steve the vending machine guy provided a classic prank and I'm giving him credit for one of my favorite moments in The Office. First was the "hey, let's put all Dwight's stuff in the vending machine and have him buy it back with nickels" prank that we all know and love. I am also going to give him credit for the soda machine being out of Coke when Pam called "jinx" on Jim, preventing him from saying a word for the rest of the day.
Jim: Who, Steve?
Dwight: Yeah, Steve, whatever his name is.
The "jinx" single-handedly makes "Drug Testing" one of my favorite episodes ever because it's such an undramatic show of devotion between Jim and Pam. While Pam playfully taunts Jim throughout the day, one of my all-time favorite moments comes when she accidentally hits a very real nerve and unknowingly lays out the undercurrent of their relationship:
Pam: What? [Jim shakes his head] Did you want to tell me something? You look like you want to tell me something. [Jim shakes his head no] You look like you have something really important to say and you just can't for some reason. [Jim smiles] Come on, you can tell me. Jim, you can tell me anything. [Jim stops smiling and looks down. Pam wonders what that means]
Another win for Steve? In a deleted scene, Pam transfers a call from Brenda, who was returning a voicemail of Jim asking her out, and Jim sticks with the game and remains silent, giving up another available girl for Pam. If that vending machine is fully stocked with Coke, then maybe Jim takes that call, and who knows what happens then?
#5 Josh Porter
Jim: Say what you will about Michael Scott...but he would never do that.This one is simple. The Scranton branch is going to be closed, and even Stamford absorbs them there won't be room for another receptionist. Enter Josh Porter and his slimy move to get a senior position at Staples due to his offer from Dunder-Mifflin. With Josh gone, Jan focuses on keeping Jim, Scranton absorbs Stamford, and Jim goes back to being a few feet from Pam. The rest was just academic from there.
#4 Toby Flenderson
Let's get the obvious one out of the way: Toby kept all of Dwight's complaints against Jim in a box under his desk, which probably prevented Jim from being fired.
Now, far less obvious? Toby had Angela for Secret Santa. How about this for an unforeseen progression:
- Toby gets Angela for Secret Santa and gives her a poster of babies playing musical instruments in "Christmas Party," because she loves those posters.
- In "Conflict Resolution" Oscar complains to Toby that the poster completely freaks him out, Michael overhears and takes it upon himself to solve this and all other office conflicts in one day.
- This leads to Dwight finding out that his weekly reports on Jim's "malfeasance" aren't being sent to corporate and he decides he can no longer work with Jim.
- Dwight researches other jobs, finds the opening in Stamford and suggests it to Jim since he expects Michael to side with him and fire Jim.
- Jim is able to escape his situation with Pam without leaving the company, which leads to his return to Scranton.
#3 Phyllis Lapin
Phyllis does two major things to help Jim and Pam become a couple. The most obvious is her remark to Karen on their sales call:
Phyllis: I'm so glad you're with Jim. He was hung up on Pam for such a long time. Never thought he would get over her.Remember, Karen and Pam were kind of friends at this point. In "Back from Vacation" she even thanks Pam for intervening in her and Jim's relationship:
Karen: I think I owe you one.Well that all stops the moment she finds out about Jim's history with Pam, and we start to see jealous, paranoid Karen emerge. The five nights of long talks that Karen later says Jim may have hated even more than Roy attacking him? They all came right after this moment.
Pam: Sorry?
Karen: For talking sense into Halpert. The Day's Inn room 228 was starting to get really depressing.
Pam: Oh, yeah, no. Don't worry about it. I mean, he was being ridiculous.
Karen: Yeah, but... thanks. Seriously.
Pam: Sure.
Oh! Plus Roy attacking Jim can be traced back to Phyllis meeting Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration. Phyllis admitted that she never thought she'd get married before meeting Bob, and living vicariously through Pam's wedding gave her the insight to steal every last idea for her own big day. That depressed Pam enough to get back with Roy long enough to tell him about kissing Jim, which lead to Roy's freak-out, the final nail in the coffin for "RAM," and Roy's attempt to attack Jim.
Sweet, innocent Phyllis Lapin is essentially responsible for the destruction of BOTH Jim and Pam's romantic rivals. No wonder she was able to backstab her way to the top of the Party Planning Committee.
#2 Andy Bernard
Yes, Dwight was the focus of the pranks that allowed for so much of Jim and Pam's friendship, but the cell phone prank on Andy proved to be one of their most important. It was really their first return to form since Jim's return to Scranton. Sure, there was Pam's Christmas present for Jim of the CIA prank on Dwight, but that was conceived and executed by Pam alone. Taking Andy's cell phone, hiding it in the ceiling, and calling it all day was a team effort that brought Jim and Pam back to their glory days, and threatened Karen in a whole new way.
Even more important, believe it or not, was Andy's intense desire to replace Dwight as Michael's #2. This led to his pitch to Michael that the salesmen should team up for a day of sales calls so he could bond with Michael and deploy some anti-Dwight propaganda. Phyllis's revelations to Karen came about because of their being teamed up, and Dwight was forced to quit thanks to Andy's meddling. Andy took over Dwight's desk, annoyed Jim with his ringtone, and became the architect of his own, rage-induced, destruction (and Jim and Pam's reunion).
#1 Michael Gary Scott
Yes, Michael's "friendship" with cool Jim kept the disruptive slacker from being fired, and his affection for hot Pam prevented her from being replaced with a modern phone system, but it goes deeper than that.
I was originally going to write a post dedicated to Michael Scott's role in Jim and Pam's relationship, because I think it's wildly overlooked. Let's start with the small stuff.
Michael's 05/05/05 party used up their one party for the year, leaving no budget for The Dundies. Everyone has to pay for their own drinks and food, Darryl and Roy leave leading him to argue with Pam, she returns to the party, gets drunk, and kisses Jim. (Sidenote: Jenna Fischer busts out possibly the most incredible performance of a drunk person in television history. Her excitement over the ice in her glass melting to create a "second drink," over-the-top laughing, and the nodding right before she falls down. I'm sorry, I had to point it out.)
His friendship with Todd Packer leads to his carpet being ruined in "The Carpet." Michael takes Jim's desk, and Jim is exiled to the annex leading to the moment that made me a fan of The Office.
Disclaimer: I was one of the people who ate up the British version and HATED the American pilot. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this sorry rip-off, and openly wondered why, if they were going to basically read the scripts verbatim, they didn't just put on the British version. In my defense, I thought Coupling was a great show and NBC had created an AWFUL remake of that too.
My partner on this blog (my Tivo) obviously knew something I didn't when it recorded The Office, obviously based on the three thumbs up rating I had given the British one. So, I watched "The Carpet" and was able to follow along with my basic understanding of Michael/David, Dwight/Gareth, Pam/Dawn, and Jim/Tim. Of course, due to Jim being in the annex there's little to no Jim-Pam interaction until the verrrry end. Jim, after feeling neglected and forgotten all day, checks his voicemail before heading home, and:
I think everyone can identify with Jim's loneliness in the episode. Glances that go unnoticed, waves that aren't returned, all the incomplete interactions that somehow make you feel even more forgotten and lonely than if you had no chance for contact at all. Then, at the very end, he finds out that she's been thinking about him the entire time, and missing him.Jim's voicemail: You have seven unheard messages.
Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] Hey, Jim. It's Pam. I keep looking up to say something to you and then Michael's there and it's horrible. Anyway, I'm bored. Come back!
Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] Hey, guess what? I moved my computer so I can't see Michael's head. It's working. I think I can have a career as a very specific type of decorator.
Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] Sudoku. Level moderate. 18 minutes. Suck on that, Halpert.Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] I'll transfer you. Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam. Hold, please. Dunder Mifflin, this is ... okay, sorry. Michael was standing at my desk, and I needed to be busy or who knows what would've happened, so thank you.
Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] Hey, what's that word we made up when you have a thing stuck in your shoe? Anyway, I have a thing stuck in my shoe.Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] Hey, I have a chance to sneak out of here early, and I'm not messing this up, so I'll see you tomorrow.Pam: [voicemail message for Jim] Calling from my cell phone. I don't know if you guys figured out who did that to Michael's carpet yet, but I have a theory that involves an inter-departmental conspiracy. Everybody in the office. We need to talk.
It was so perfectly heartbreaking and heartwarming that I instantly knew that Greg Daniels and his team completely understood the British version. I soon learned that the pilot was an executive-induced disaster, and fell in love with everything afterward. Michael Scott is the reason a lot of people watch The Office, but he's indirectly the reason I got into it. So, while the voicemails may not be a major part of the Jim and Pam story, I still consider them to be one of the show's finest moments.
Corporate gave Michael a big Christmas bonus for firing Devon, what did he spend it on? A video iPod for Ryan, completely blowing the ceiling off the Secret Santa spending limit and off his own expectations of what to receive as a gift. Phyllis's appropriate gift of a homemade oven mitt send him over the edge; Secret Santa dissolves into Yankee Swap, Pam ends up with the iPod and Dwight gets Pam's gift from Jim. This leads to another great Office moment, when Pam trades Dwight for the teapot and Jim reveals all the inside jokes he had placed within. More importantly? The delay gives Jim a chance to pocket the card that was included; the card that supposedly revealed how he felt. You might say then that Yankee Swap impeded Jim and Pam's relationship, but remember that this was before she even found out Jim had a crush on her. If expressing his feelings on Casino Night didn't work out, do you think it would've gone much better at Christmas? Especially when he didn't have his Stamford escape plan in place.
That was the small stuff, I'm serious. There are two big moments and they are going to blow your mind. I'm so sure of that, I'm just going to go right ahead and tell you the two most important moments in Jim and Pam's relationship. Michael chooses "leaderSHIP" as the metaphor for his motivational speech, and Michael moves he and Jan's meeting with Lackawanna County from the Radisson to Chili's. Don't believe me? Well, here we go.
First, Michael chooses to base his motivational speech in "Booze Cruise" around the the word ship being "hidden" inside the word leadership. As Oscar points out, last year's speech was "BOWL over the competition!" which meant a trip to a bowling alley. This year they're on a boat for an episode I have watched...around 20 times. Maybe that has caused me to dig too deeply into this episode, but bear with me.
The location leads to Roy, Darryl, and Katy's increasing intoxication and yelling which drives Jim and Pam up to the deck for the famous "28 seconds of silence." Being on the boat also introduces Captain Jack into the fray, giving him the opportunity to inspire Roy to set a date for the wedding. STILL, the most important part is that Michael's boat metaphor leads to his speech being about the metaphorical boat sinking, which causes a panic, and lands him in "the brig" aka being zip-tied to a railing out front. This is where Jim retreats after Pam and Roy's good news, giving him the opportunity to have the most underrated exchange in Jim and Pam's relationship:
Jim: What a night.It's an episode that exposes Michael's complete lack of motivational skills...until the very end, when he inspired Jim to stick with his impossible dream. Really, it might be the only situation where Michael is qualified to give advice. Hopeless, brainless, shameless romanticism is the essence of Michael Scott, and it was that push that kept Jim going to Casino Night, which started Pam on the path to "Beach Day," and finally to their wedding tonight.
Michael: Well, it's nice for you. Your friend got engaged.
Jim: She was always engaged.
Michael: Roy said the first one didn't count.
Jim: That's... great. You know, to tell the truth, I used to have a big thing for Pam, so...
Michael: Really? You're kidding me. You and Pam? Wow. I would have never have put you two together. You really hid it well. God! I usually have a radar for stuff like that. You know, I made out with Jan...
Jim: Yeah, I know.
Michael: Yeah? Yep. Well, Pam is cute.
Jim: Yeah. She's really funny, and she's warm. And she's just... well, anyway.
Michael: Well, if you like her so much, don't give up.
Jim: She's engaged.
Michael: BFD. Engaged ain't married.
Jim: Huh.
Michael: Never, ever, ever give up.
But wait! Here is, for me, the craziest one out of all of these scenarios of serendipity: Michael moves the Lackawanna County meeting from the Radisson to Chili's.
Directly, this move causes the meeting to run very long. When they're leaving the office, Jan says she doesn't expect the meeting to take more than an hour but Michael expects it to take all night. Michael proves to be correct, as his joke-telling, baby-back ribs ordering, and generally unconventional salesmanship turn the sales-pitch from straightforward to endless (but effective). This allows time for Jim and Pam's first "date" on the roof after the employee performance of Threat Level Midnight, the screenplay that Pam found in Michael's desk. Indirectly, this move leads to Jim and Pam becoming man and wife (assuming that's what happens tonight, but I doubt they'd pull something like that....right? Did I just jinx it?).
The meeting runs long, Jan gets drunk, Michael pulls off the sale and saves the branch. He also earns Jan's misplaced affections. He may not be the only part of her downfall, but he's certainly a MAJOR part of it. In the end, the slide that began at Chili's ends with David Wallace searching for her replacement. This is the job that Jim, Karen, and Michael all end up interviewing for in "The Job."
Ready for this? Josh forces Jim back to Scranton after Toby provided an avenue for him to leave. Then, a combination of Phyllis's revelations and Andy's antics leads Karen to snidely ask Pam to make a dozen copies of her and Jim's sales reports for an interview for the position opened by Michael's actions. Jim opens his sales reports to find a gold medal from "Office Olympics" and a note: "Jim, don't forget us when you're famous. - Pam." Jim drives back to Scranton, asks Pam out on a date, and here we are getting ready to watch their wedding.
Maybe I'm crazy, but there they are! The 6 people (or 5 and Steve to be quite honest) we forget to thank for Jim & Pam. Enjoy the wedding!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Life imitating art
Apparently Kanye West just ran on stage at the Video Music Awards to interrupt Taylor Swift's acceptance speech, and complain that Beyonce should've gotten the award.
First of all, they still make music videos?! Where can I see them? Are they just giving awards to old videos that didn't win the first time around? Why is the awards show for them on MTV? That's like having the ESPYs on Food Network.
Secondly, and most importantly. I laughed and laughed when I read that story, because all I could think of was this:
First of all, they still make music videos?! Where can I see them? Are they just giving awards to old videos that didn't win the first time around? Why is the awards show for them on MTV? That's like having the ESPYs on Food Network.
Secondly, and most importantly. I laughed and laughed when I read that story, because all I could think of was this:
Monday, July 13, 2009
TiVo Roster's Pre-Season Workout: Entourage's Recent Struggles
How frustrated have I been with Entourage? Apparently frustrated enough to delete my season pass. Oops. I was going to write a review, but that'll have to wait for tomorrow. Still, I have a lot to say about the show, so I might as well get the griping out of my system now so I can start the review fresh. I really was looking forward to watching this episode though, and I still am, because I'm just so desperate for something new to happen.
While the repetition can get a little old, there is one problem that has been dragging the show down since the end of Season 1.
Who thought it was a good idea to give Vince artistic integrity?
He gets offered the big budget, superstar-making action movie and turns it down to run off to New York to do some shoestring indie because he wants to be seen as a great actor. The audience is supposed to be on-board with this? Umm, I'm alone in my living room, I don't need to pretend I wouldn't IMMEDIATELY sell out if I became famous. In fact, I'll say it right now to the whole internet: For lots of money, I would star in a Jonas Brothers movie where they die in a pony explosion on Hannah Montana's Ranch, and their ghosts have to make 100 plain girls feel special at the fall pumpkin dance in order to get into Rock n' Roll Heaven, which is then populated only with artists deemed appropriate by the Disney corporation (so, none of the good ones).
These aspirations wouldn't have been so terrible if the show was about a talented young actor trying to be taken seriously, but it was a show about a guy who just happened to be good looking and parlayed that into lots of money, nice cars, a huge house, and dinner with Scarlett Johansson (yep, that's season 1 in a nutshell). It also didn't help that Vince is played by Adrian Grenier, the male Andie MacDowell, who seemed to be having trouble acting out one-note Vince, nevermind pulling off some complex character that Vince was supposed to be playing. From that point on, the show became about Vince's talent not being recognized and everyone reassuring him about how fantastic he was. Then the audience would be treated to a scene with him performing, and were reminded that the guy couldn't actually act his way out of a paper bag.
It was the same problem Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip had. Well, that show had a few problems, but I think it shared a major one with Entourage. Studio 60 was supposed to be Saturday Night Live, meaning it was a popular and legendary comedy show. All episode long we would be reminded of this, and how talented the cast was, and then they would show the cast performing a sketch and it was...terrible. It was like the "satire" that the vegan in your creative writing class would write, a whiffleball bat filled with heavy-handed rhetoric that they would gladly bash you over the head with. Yet the audience would laugh, and during a walk-and-talk a character would gush about how wonderful it felt to pull off a genius, groundbreaking sketch that the audience was obviously in love with. It's the "Emperor's New Clothes" situation; you're naked, and we know it, so stop telling us how nice your outfit is and put some pants on like we want you to.
One of my favorite Entourage moments of all time was when Vince straight up asked Ari if he was a good actor, and Ari responded that it was yet to be seen. THANK YOU! That acknowledgment was enough to get me back for this season, and I just hope the show is back on track. Much like Heroes, I stick with Entourage because the concept is so good that I just want to see it done right. With Entourage though, I have faith that things are going to turn around in a hurry. Go-Go Season 6!
While the repetition can get a little old, there is one problem that has been dragging the show down since the end of Season 1.
Who thought it was a good idea to give Vince artistic integrity?
He gets offered the big budget, superstar-making action movie and turns it down to run off to New York to do some shoestring indie because he wants to be seen as a great actor. The audience is supposed to be on-board with this? Umm, I'm alone in my living room, I don't need to pretend I wouldn't IMMEDIATELY sell out if I became famous. In fact, I'll say it right now to the whole internet: For lots of money, I would star in a Jonas Brothers movie where they die in a pony explosion on Hannah Montana's Ranch, and their ghosts have to make 100 plain girls feel special at the fall pumpkin dance in order to get into Rock n' Roll Heaven, which is then populated only with artists deemed appropriate by the Disney corporation (so, none of the good ones).
These aspirations wouldn't have been so terrible if the show was about a talented young actor trying to be taken seriously, but it was a show about a guy who just happened to be good looking and parlayed that into lots of money, nice cars, a huge house, and dinner with Scarlett Johansson (yep, that's season 1 in a nutshell). It also didn't help that Vince is played by Adrian Grenier, the male Andie MacDowell, who seemed to be having trouble acting out one-note Vince, nevermind pulling off some complex character that Vince was supposed to be playing. From that point on, the show became about Vince's talent not being recognized and everyone reassuring him about how fantastic he was. Then the audience would be treated to a scene with him performing, and were reminded that the guy couldn't actually act his way out of a paper bag.
It was the same problem Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip had. Well, that show had a few problems, but I think it shared a major one with Entourage. Studio 60 was supposed to be Saturday Night Live, meaning it was a popular and legendary comedy show. All episode long we would be reminded of this, and how talented the cast was, and then they would show the cast performing a sketch and it was...terrible. It was like the "satire" that the vegan in your creative writing class would write, a whiffleball bat filled with heavy-handed rhetoric that they would gladly bash you over the head with. Yet the audience would laugh, and during a walk-and-talk a character would gush about how wonderful it felt to pull off a genius, groundbreaking sketch that the audience was obviously in love with. It's the "Emperor's New Clothes" situation; you're naked, and we know it, so stop telling us how nice your outfit is and put some pants on like we want you to.
One of my favorite Entourage moments of all time was when Vince straight up asked Ari if he was a good actor, and Ari responded that it was yet to be seen. THANK YOU! That acknowledgment was enough to get me back for this season, and I just hope the show is back on track. Much like Heroes, I stick with Entourage because the concept is so good that I just want to see it done right. With Entourage though, I have faith that things are going to turn around in a hurry. Go-Go Season 6!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Lost: The Incident Pt. 2 (Season Finale)
And now, FINALLY, part 2 of the Lost season finale. (now that Doc Jensen has finally filed a new column I figured I'd better post this)
Play...
1:03 - Okay, I am officially going crazy. Either that or it was providence that it's taken me forever to re-watch the second half of this episode (for the fourth time, actually, but the first in weeks). Right after Richard tells Locke that the foot of the statue is where Jacob lives, there is a shot from behind Richard, Sun, and Locke. Above Locke's head there is either a wisp of black smoke, or it's a wave breaking on the rocks in the background. After a few views I'm pretty certain it's a wave, but there have been plenty of misidentifications in Lost, I'm kinda glad I got to see one. It's like seeing a strange light in the sky, even if it's not a UFO it's exciting for the few moments when you're not sure.
1:07 - I'm really glad we got to see the moment Jack refers to in the pilot, when he made a mistake during surgery and counted to five to calm down. Of course, when Jack tells the story he leaves out the part about how it was his father who ordered him to count to five and calm down, and that he got all whiney about being embarrassed by it. He also left out the part about Jacob touching his hand while handing him a candy bar, but he can be excused for that one (7 for 7).
1:12 - I've been trying to figure out for weeks now why Jack would claim that he wants to reset things for a second chance at Kate, and it's been a sticking point for a lot of people. Watching the scene again, I don't think he meant a word he said. Well, he meant the part about Locke's claims about destiny, because he has seemed convinced of that since the original "flash forward" when he yelled to Kate that they had to return to the island. Sawyer rolls his eyes at this idea, and remarks that he, "don't speak destiny." Jack thinks for a moment, and then spits out this drivel about having Kate, losing her, and wanting her back. What is possibly the only common ground between Sawyer and Jack all the seasons prior to this one? Kate. So Jack tries that, hopefully getting Sawyer off his back so he can resume his plan. The trouble is, Sawyer has changed. Like I said in part 1, lots of people expected Kate's return to cause Sawyer and Juliet's relationship to fall apart due to his romantic feelings...but they weren't there anymore. At least not to the extent that he would ruin his Dharma gig or blow up a bomb. So Jack was barking up the wrong tree, and he got punched in the face for it, repeatedly. Then Juliet, obviously less confident in Sawyer getting over Kate than I am, shows up to say that she's changed her mind, and Jack should be allowed to blow up Jughead and change the past. I'll get to the why of that later.
1:16 - Little Juliet learns her parents are getting divorced, she runs from the house crying, stating she doesn't want to understand why two people in love sometimes aren't meant to be together. No sign of Jacob, so no touch.
1:18 - Immediately we see that she has begun to understand this event, possibly too much. Seeing the way Sawyer looked at Kate earlier in the episode shattered her confidence in the relationship, and so she is onboard for erasing him from her life, so she never has to feel the pain of losing him. Apparently The Others never saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but you have to think that it was a fear she has had since that turning point in her childhood, and so it was just a matter of time until something set it off. For me, this begins the true tragedy of Sawyer's story. Have you ever made an assertion, then changed, but still have that outdated assertion define you? Happens all the time with older relatives, like if when you were seven you said you wanted to be a fireman, and then when you're an adult they keep bringing it up, because to them you're still seven. Sawyer is still seven to those around him, and they still remember him jumping out of the helicopter to save Kate, and they still define him by the feelings that must have made him do that. I would contend that those feelings are gone, or at least seriously diminished, but when you do something as flashy as jump out of a helicopter to save a girl, people remember that. So now the 3 years he has spent living a normal life with Juliet, which has clearly had a major effect on him, can't compare to his flashy show of affection for Kate, even if it's no longer valid.
1:21 - Jack's reasoning goes much better with Kate, as she reveals she's back to find Claire to reunite her with Aaron and Jack points out that will happen automatically if the bomb works. We've got alarms, we've got steam, we've got an incident coming right up.
1:28 - Hurley is released from jail (thanks to Ben's lawyer) and he shares a cab with Jacob, who tells him he's blessed not cursed, and he is definitely not crazy. Jacob then gives him the guitar case he's see with at the airport, and tells him which flight to be on. After touching him on the chest, of course (8 for 8).
1:34 - When Locke reveals that Ben is coming in with him to see Jacob, Richard throws a bit of a fit. "Only our leader can request an audience with Jacob, and there can only be one leader on the island at a time," he exclaims. Locke asks if these rules are real, or if he just makes them up as he goes along, and reasserts that Ben is going with him. More on this in a minute, but what about Ellie and Charles? Weren't they co-leaders back in the Dharma days?
1:39 - Nice of Miles to point out the big question. Is the electromagnetism the incident, and Jughead will prevent it? Or, is Jughead the incident, and Jack will cause it? That's one of the things I love about this show. As though trying to blow up a nuclear bomb to alter history isn't enough, it gets wrapped in a little mystery that can't just be figured out. They have to choose an option and hope it's the right one, cause both acting and hesitating could be the worst mistake they ever made.
1:43 - Jack drops the bomb aaaannnnddd.....nothing. As Sawyer says, "this don't look like LAX." Then, the electromagnetic craziness starts.
1:44 - Barrels start flying, the drilling equipment is pulled into the hole, Jack is knocked out by a toolkit, Phil is killed by some metal bars, Dr. Chang's hand is crushed, but worst of all a set of chains wrap around Juliet's waist and pull her towards the hole.
1:45 - I referred to Sawyer's story as a tragedy, because it becomes almost like a Greek tragedy. I said earlier about how he jumped out the helicopter to save Kate, and ended up falling in love with Juliet instead. Now, as Juliet is being dragged down into the pit, he hangs onto her, desperate to save her, but can't. As she looks up she sees the beam supporting him is starting to split, and so she makes a similar decision to the one he made on the helicopter. He realized the helicopter wouldn't make it with all the weight, so they'd all die if someone didn't jump. Juliet realized if she didn't let go, she was going to drag Sawyer right down with her. So she let herself fall, sacrificing herself for him in a far more definite way then he did for Kate.
1:52 - How old is Richard Alpert? Ilana knows him as Ricardus, and he speaks Latin. I'm guessing he's pretty old. "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" she asks. "He who will save us all," Richard answers, in Latin. Pleased that he has passed the test, they show him what's in the crate they've been lugging around. It's John Locke, in his suit, just as he was when he was put in the coffin where they found him. So who the hell asked to meet Jacob?
1:57 - Oooookay, we're back in the room where Jacob was weaving back at the very beginning, and we have a scene just as cryptic and fascinating. So let's take it from the top. Ben and Locke wander around the room, with Ben paying particular attention to the tapestry that Jacob was weaving wayyyy back. Suddenly we realize Jacob is sitting in a far corner of the room, and asks if Ben likes the tapestry before talking about how long it takes when you have to make the thread, but how that seems to be the point. Maybe he's talking about the tapestry, maybe he's talking about the show's characters. "I did it myself," he says. The man in black on the beach accused him of bringing outsiders to the island, and we have since seen his involvement in the lives of various characters who ended up there. I imagine it does take a long time to create the overlapping situations of the characters' lives, especially if you have to form the "threads" that seem to run through their lives yourself. Fake Locke says hello, and Jacob remarks that Fake Locke has found his loophole. So it seems that Fake Locke is the man in black from the beach, and he needs Ben to kill Jacob not as retribution for what Ben has been through, but because he cannot do it himself. The Man in black orders Ben to do what he asked, and kill Jacob. Jacob tells Ben he has a choice, to do as he has been asked, or he can leave him and the man in black to work things out alone.
What follows is possibly my favorite Ben moment of the entire series, making it one of my favorite moments overall:
2:00 - And cut to...white? Well, the Man in black did promise that things would be different after Jacob was gone, I just didn't know he was talking about the title card being inverted. The episode ended with Kate and Jack pulling Sawyer off the remnants of the crane just before it was pulled into the hole behind Juliet. Speaking of her, she awoke on the floor of the hole, and she wasn't alone. Jughead was lying next to her, and after 8 (there's that number again) whacks with a rock it finally exploded...depending on who you talk to.
What really happened? What does it mean? We'll find out in 2010. Annoying, yes, but at least Lost has a big, smart, and creative fanbase who will surely fill that time with plenty of crazy, awesome, and crazy awesome theories. Can't wait!
Status: Save until I delete!
Play...
1:03 - Okay, I am officially going crazy. Either that or it was providence that it's taken me forever to re-watch the second half of this episode (for the fourth time, actually, but the first in weeks). Right after Richard tells Locke that the foot of the statue is where Jacob lives, there is a shot from behind Richard, Sun, and Locke. Above Locke's head there is either a wisp of black smoke, or it's a wave breaking on the rocks in the background. After a few views I'm pretty certain it's a wave, but there have been plenty of misidentifications in Lost, I'm kinda glad I got to see one. It's like seeing a strange light in the sky, even if it's not a UFO it's exciting for the few moments when you're not sure.
1:07 - I'm really glad we got to see the moment Jack refers to in the pilot, when he made a mistake during surgery and counted to five to calm down. Of course, when Jack tells the story he leaves out the part about how it was his father who ordered him to count to five and calm down, and that he got all whiney about being embarrassed by it. He also left out the part about Jacob touching his hand while handing him a candy bar, but he can be excused for that one (7 for 7).
1:12 - I've been trying to figure out for weeks now why Jack would claim that he wants to reset things for a second chance at Kate, and it's been a sticking point for a lot of people. Watching the scene again, I don't think he meant a word he said. Well, he meant the part about Locke's claims about destiny, because he has seemed convinced of that since the original "flash forward" when he yelled to Kate that they had to return to the island. Sawyer rolls his eyes at this idea, and remarks that he, "don't speak destiny." Jack thinks for a moment, and then spits out this drivel about having Kate, losing her, and wanting her back. What is possibly the only common ground between Sawyer and Jack all the seasons prior to this one? Kate. So Jack tries that, hopefully getting Sawyer off his back so he can resume his plan. The trouble is, Sawyer has changed. Like I said in part 1, lots of people expected Kate's return to cause Sawyer and Juliet's relationship to fall apart due to his romantic feelings...but they weren't there anymore. At least not to the extent that he would ruin his Dharma gig or blow up a bomb. So Jack was barking up the wrong tree, and he got punched in the face for it, repeatedly. Then Juliet, obviously less confident in Sawyer getting over Kate than I am, shows up to say that she's changed her mind, and Jack should be allowed to blow up Jughead and change the past. I'll get to the why of that later.
1:16 - Little Juliet learns her parents are getting divorced, she runs from the house crying, stating she doesn't want to understand why two people in love sometimes aren't meant to be together. No sign of Jacob, so no touch.
1:18 - Immediately we see that she has begun to understand this event, possibly too much. Seeing the way Sawyer looked at Kate earlier in the episode shattered her confidence in the relationship, and so she is onboard for erasing him from her life, so she never has to feel the pain of losing him. Apparently The Others never saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but you have to think that it was a fear she has had since that turning point in her childhood, and so it was just a matter of time until something set it off. For me, this begins the true tragedy of Sawyer's story. Have you ever made an assertion, then changed, but still have that outdated assertion define you? Happens all the time with older relatives, like if when you were seven you said you wanted to be a fireman, and then when you're an adult they keep bringing it up, because to them you're still seven. Sawyer is still seven to those around him, and they still remember him jumping out of the helicopter to save Kate, and they still define him by the feelings that must have made him do that. I would contend that those feelings are gone, or at least seriously diminished, but when you do something as flashy as jump out of a helicopter to save a girl, people remember that. So now the 3 years he has spent living a normal life with Juliet, which has clearly had a major effect on him, can't compare to his flashy show of affection for Kate, even if it's no longer valid.
1:21 - Jack's reasoning goes much better with Kate, as she reveals she's back to find Claire to reunite her with Aaron and Jack points out that will happen automatically if the bomb works. We've got alarms, we've got steam, we've got an incident coming right up.
1:28 - Hurley is released from jail (thanks to Ben's lawyer) and he shares a cab with Jacob, who tells him he's blessed not cursed, and he is definitely not crazy. Jacob then gives him the guitar case he's see with at the airport, and tells him which flight to be on. After touching him on the chest, of course (8 for 8).
1:34 - When Locke reveals that Ben is coming in with him to see Jacob, Richard throws a bit of a fit. "Only our leader can request an audience with Jacob, and there can only be one leader on the island at a time," he exclaims. Locke asks if these rules are real, or if he just makes them up as he goes along, and reasserts that Ben is going with him. More on this in a minute, but what about Ellie and Charles? Weren't they co-leaders back in the Dharma days?
1:39 - Nice of Miles to point out the big question. Is the electromagnetism the incident, and Jughead will prevent it? Or, is Jughead the incident, and Jack will cause it? That's one of the things I love about this show. As though trying to blow up a nuclear bomb to alter history isn't enough, it gets wrapped in a little mystery that can't just be figured out. They have to choose an option and hope it's the right one, cause both acting and hesitating could be the worst mistake they ever made.
1:43 - Jack drops the bomb aaaannnnddd.....nothing. As Sawyer says, "this don't look like LAX." Then, the electromagnetic craziness starts.
1:44 - Barrels start flying, the drilling equipment is pulled into the hole, Jack is knocked out by a toolkit, Phil is killed by some metal bars, Dr. Chang's hand is crushed, but worst of all a set of chains wrap around Juliet's waist and pull her towards the hole.
1:45 - I referred to Sawyer's story as a tragedy, because it becomes almost like a Greek tragedy. I said earlier about how he jumped out the helicopter to save Kate, and ended up falling in love with Juliet instead. Now, as Juliet is being dragged down into the pit, he hangs onto her, desperate to save her, but can't. As she looks up she sees the beam supporting him is starting to split, and so she makes a similar decision to the one he made on the helicopter. He realized the helicopter wouldn't make it with all the weight, so they'd all die if someone didn't jump. Juliet realized if she didn't let go, she was going to drag Sawyer right down with her. So she let herself fall, sacrificing herself for him in a far more definite way then he did for Kate.
1:52 - How old is Richard Alpert? Ilana knows him as Ricardus, and he speaks Latin. I'm guessing he's pretty old. "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" she asks. "He who will save us all," Richard answers, in Latin. Pleased that he has passed the test, they show him what's in the crate they've been lugging around. It's John Locke, in his suit, just as he was when he was put in the coffin where they found him. So who the hell asked to meet Jacob?
1:57 - Oooookay, we're back in the room where Jacob was weaving back at the very beginning, and we have a scene just as cryptic and fascinating. So let's take it from the top. Ben and Locke wander around the room, with Ben paying particular attention to the tapestry that Jacob was weaving wayyyy back. Suddenly we realize Jacob is sitting in a far corner of the room, and asks if Ben likes the tapestry before talking about how long it takes when you have to make the thread, but how that seems to be the point. Maybe he's talking about the tapestry, maybe he's talking about the show's characters. "I did it myself," he says. The man in black on the beach accused him of bringing outsiders to the island, and we have since seen his involvement in the lives of various characters who ended up there. I imagine it does take a long time to create the overlapping situations of the characters' lives, especially if you have to form the "threads" that seem to run through their lives yourself. Fake Locke says hello, and Jacob remarks that Fake Locke has found his loophole. So it seems that Fake Locke is the man in black from the beach, and he needs Ben to kill Jacob not as retribution for what Ben has been through, but because he cannot do it himself. The Man in black orders Ben to do what he asked, and kill Jacob. Jacob tells Ben he has a choice, to do as he has been asked, or he can leave him and the man in black to work things out alone.
What follows is possibly my favorite Ben moment of the entire series, making it one of my favorite moments overall:
Ben: Oh, so now after all this time, you've decided to stop ignoring me. 35 years I lived on this island, and all I ever heard was your name over and over. Richard would bring me your instructions; all those slips of paper, all those lists. And I never questioned anything. I did as I was told. But when I dared to ask to see you myself, I was told, "you have to wait, you have to be patient." But when he asked to see you, he gets marched straight up here as if he was Moses. So, why him? Hmm? What was it that was so wrong with me? What about me?!Of course, this response does not sit well with Ben, a man who has wanted nothing more than to be special and has worked his whole life toward that end. So he stabs Jacob, who stumbles forward to be stabbed again, before collapsing against Ben and sliding down to the ground. Once there he manages to cough out, "they're coming," to the Man in black. He doesn't seem too happy about this, and he kicks Jacob into the fire pit in the middle of the room, where he and Ben watch Jacob burn. A lot has been made of who Jacob was talking about, and much of that seems to revolve around the eight characters he touched, but I believe he is talking about Ilana and Bram, "the good guys" who seem to be the only people who know what's going on. Ben has never met Jacob, Richard knows what lies in the shadow of the statue but seems oblivious to whatever is pretending to be Locke, yet Bram and Ilana knew things before they were even on the island. In fact, in her flashback it's shown that Ilana has been working for Jacob, knowingly and directly, or quite a while. I don't think we're done with the Losties just yet, but I think Jacob is still the only one who knows the role they are yet to play.
Jacob: What about you?
2:00 - And cut to...white? Well, the Man in black did promise that things would be different after Jacob was gone, I just didn't know he was talking about the title card being inverted. The episode ended with Kate and Jack pulling Sawyer off the remnants of the crane just before it was pulled into the hole behind Juliet. Speaking of her, she awoke on the floor of the hole, and she wasn't alone. Jughead was lying next to her, and after 8 (there's that number again) whacks with a rock it finally exploded...depending on who you talk to.
What really happened? What does it mean? We'll find out in 2010. Annoying, yes, but at least Lost has a big, smart, and creative fanbase who will surely fill that time with plenty of crazy, awesome, and crazy awesome theories. Can't wait!
Status: Save until I delete!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Conan's first Tonight Show
I was nervous for him, and I'm sure I wasn't alone. Personally, part of what draws me to Conan is the feeling that he really shouldn't be on television. I don't mean that in a "OMG he's such a trainwreck that it's awesome" kind of way, I mean it in an "Arrested Development got three seasons, According to Jim got eight" way. As amazing as I think Conan is, I always worried about him trying for something beyond Late Night. Not because I didn't think he'd be up to the standard, but because I feared what the crushing pressure to be bland and generic would do to him.
Leno was king of the least objectionable. He practically made a career out of mocking the OJ Simpson trial with dancers dressed as Judge Ito. Not terribly funny, but also unlikely to get the angry mail that legitimately funny things get. Contrast that to Conan's running bits, ESPECIALLY the masturbating bear. They're wacky, they're extremely funny, and are practically guaranteed to anger someone. The bear was wisely retired during one of the final episodes of Late Night, but that doesn't mean he was suddenly safe. He can't be safe, because then he ceases to be Conan O'Brien. So I was worried we were in a lose/lose situation. Either he would stay Conan and be rejected by the mainstream audience, or he would play to them and cease to be the host we loved.
I'm happy to report it wasn't the latter, he was Conan all the way. Now we get to find out what everyone else thinks. I'm just hoping they liked what they saw anywhere near as much as I did.
Just a few quick notes:
- I was focusing so much on Andy's introductions that I completely missed the fact that the theme was the same as the one on Late Night. I thought it was playing in my head to be honest, cause I thought I'd never hear it again after he left Late Night.
- Great idea to have the Universal Studio's tram segment on the first show. These "Conan out in the world" segments have always been fantastic, and they're a good way for the new audience to get an accessible taste of Conan's comedy.
- It felt strange only having Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam on, as it made the show feel empty only having two guests instead of three. I mean, it was great to get extra Conan, but it still felt odd. Even if it had been two sit-down guests it probably wouldn't have seemed as strange. I know why they did it, I'm just surprised how bizarre any change to that format can seem.
- I couldn't get over how much bigger the studio audience is in the new studio. I'd say the days of the audience becoming a character of their own is gone, but you never know. Sorry, I'm still getting used to not worrying about this change. I just need to trust that quality will win out in the end.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lost: The Incident Pt. 1 (Season Finale)
Here Lost comes, and there Lost goes. A season of destiny, time travel, and beige jumpsuits has come to a bitter-sweet end. Bitter because it means Lost is over, sweet because that's what Lost season finales tend to be! This beast was two hours, so let's get to it.
Play...
0:03 - Lost's cryptic opening scenes might be my favorite things on television. They progress so slowly and smoothly, like a great magic trick, even when the fans are chomping at the bit for things to get moving. Here we get a man spinning thread and weaving a tapestry, then retrieving a fish from a trap and eating it on the beach. Could be anyone, at any time. Then we see the ship, sailing along the horizon; the Black Rock? Another man joins him and we see a familiar mountain in the background. This is our island, and the man is Jacob. A million theories about him just went up in smoke, but it doesn't matter when the mystery seems so much greater than the theories. What is he weaving? Who is the other man? Why does he want to kill Jacob? Why can't he? The first thing that struck me about this scene (other than the fact that the statue has a crocodile's face) was the mystery man's warning to Jacob that bringing the boat to the island would bring death and destruction, just like Locke said the freighter would when Jack wanted it to come.
0:07 - Long ago Jacob saved Kate as a child from being busted for stealing a lunch-box. Thanks buddy, without you she may never have turned to a life of crime, been caught by a federal marshal, or crashed on the island to become one of the most irritating characters in television history...okay, I'm calming down. He also gave her a playful tap on the nose (it's important).
0:11 - I love how the "trekking across the island" theme music has suddenly returned in the past two episodes as Locke leads the Others to meet Jacob. While I'm talking about that I guess I should mention what else just happened. Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate are all on the sub together, and typical annoying Kate is shocked, SHOCKED that Sawyer doesn't want to overthrow the sub crew to try and return to the island to stop Jack just because she wants to. I've read a lot of opinions over te past week about the Kate-Sawyer interactions in this episode and I think they're completely overlooking something. Sawyer wanted to stay on the island originally because he was somebody on the island, and Kate was part of that feeling for him. When he got zapped back to 1977 everything upgraded for him. He was THE MAN amongst the Dharma Initiative on the island. When Horace, the official leader, almost has his marriage fall apart he has enough respect for Sawyer to confide in him and ask his advice. He has a stable, happy relationship with Juliet, who is not annoying. Earlier in the season, it seemed obvious that Kate and Sawyer's romantic chemistry would ruin Sawyer's idyllic life. Instead it's Kate's sudden, inexplicable devotion to saving Ben that leads to the end of LaFleur, and Sawyer and Juliet on the sub having to start all over. So to me it's not that much of a shock that he doesn't want to go back, things are as over for him back there as they were off-island when we first met him.
0:21 - Jacob visits Sawyer as a kid, handing him a pen to finish his letter to the real Sawyer. Jacobs fingers graze Sawyer's as he exchanges the pen (trust me).
0:23 - I just figured out why Kate freaking out about the nuke annoys me so much. First of all, it's Kate, officially alone as my least favorite character now that Michael is dead. In order for me to support her I have to believe that Daniel Faraday, one of the most interesting and sympathetic characters on the show and a genius, is completely wrong that destroying the energy pocket prior to the "incident" will rewrite history allowing them to safely land at LAX. Alternatively, what if she KNOWS the plan will work, and is merely trying to scare people into helping her prevent a rewrite? Since flight 815 landing successfully means she's going to jail, as originally planned. What if she's selling out everyone else, ESPECIALLY the dead people, just to keep her freedom? Man I hate Kate! Anyway, she got Juliet on her side, which got Sawyer on her side. Why Juliet? Well, if Jack's bomb works it only affects the people who arrived on 815. They land in Los Angeles, but she'll still be stuck on the island, attempting to avoid the romantic advances of Ben. If she stays on that sub she still risks losing everyone, and being condemned to the island, so she has to try to stop it. In "Follow the Leader" Jack mentioned about how enough of their experience was bad to justify an attempt to reboot. Most of the good that happened to Juliet came from that plane crash, so why wouldn't she want to make sure it doesn't get erased from history?
0:30 - Jacob stops Sayid to ask for directions, causing Nadia to be killed in the hit and run that eventually lead to Sayid working for Ben. But at least he touched Sayid on the shoulder while showing him the map (3 for 3).
0:32 - I want to talk about Richard Alpert for a second, since he just chickened out of helping Jack and Sayid deliver the bomb. I've always liked him as a character just because of the simple mystery of a man who doesn't age. This season though we've gotten to know him better, and it's become clear that he's not the man with all the answers that he seemed to be. Normally that would be annoying, but I think it's added so much drama to the events of this season. He has spent a good about of it shocked and exacerbated. As he says to Locke earlier in the episode, he's seen a lot of things on the island that he can't describe, but still events like realizing Sawyer is from the future in 1974, or realizing Locke has come back from the dead are capable of shaking him to his core. This is a guy who has seen it all, but he has never seen anything like this season.
0:43 - Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate run into Rose and Bernard only to find they've been hiding in the jungle in an attempt to get some peace and quiet. People have complained about the scene being a bit heavy handed, but it was worth it just to rose respond to Kate's whining about the bomb with, "it's always something with you people."
0:48 - It's amazing how Lost can have interesting scenes about totally mysterious people and places, while not having to rely on revelations all the time. For instance, Ilana and company arriving at Jacob's Cabin. We still don't know what's in the box, we don't know if Bram is being honest when he refers to them as "the good guys," we don't know the deal with the ash, why the break in it is important, and we don't learn anything about the cabin. Still, I could watch this scene repeatedly, knowing I won't learn anything new, and I'll still be intrigued and entertained.
0:52 - Locke's dad pushes him out of an 8th story window, and there's Jacob. A touch to Locke's shoulder, and he gasps to life (4 for 4).
0:56 - I have to say, Locke made a pretty convincing case for why Ben would want to kill Jacob himself (the cancer, his daughter being killed, his banishment). Here's the only problem. Christian SPECIFICALLY corrected Locke that HE was the one told to turn the donkey wheel, HE was the one meant to move the island, so HE was the one who was supposed to be banished, not Ben. It's been a week, I've watched this episode...4 times I think? That's the first time it's dawned on me.
0:58 - Jacob at Jin and Sun's wedding, speaking excellent Korean, and touching them both on the shoulder while giving his blessing (6 for 6).
0:59 - Why would Hurley stop the Dharma van with Sayid bleeding inside and the "incident" ready to happen in mere minutes? Sawyer with a rife, flanked by Kate and Juliet in the middle of the road. Yep, that'll do it.
Pause.
Okay, I get the feeling my wrap-up is going to be HUGE so let's split it up. End of Part 1.
Play...
0:03 - Lost's cryptic opening scenes might be my favorite things on television. They progress so slowly and smoothly, like a great magic trick, even when the fans are chomping at the bit for things to get moving. Here we get a man spinning thread and weaving a tapestry, then retrieving a fish from a trap and eating it on the beach. Could be anyone, at any time. Then we see the ship, sailing along the horizon; the Black Rock? Another man joins him and we see a familiar mountain in the background. This is our island, and the man is Jacob. A million theories about him just went up in smoke, but it doesn't matter when the mystery seems so much greater than the theories. What is he weaving? Who is the other man? Why does he want to kill Jacob? Why can't he? The first thing that struck me about this scene (other than the fact that the statue has a crocodile's face) was the mystery man's warning to Jacob that bringing the boat to the island would bring death and destruction, just like Locke said the freighter would when Jack wanted it to come.
0:07 - Long ago Jacob saved Kate as a child from being busted for stealing a lunch-box. Thanks buddy, without you she may never have turned to a life of crime, been caught by a federal marshal, or crashed on the island to become one of the most irritating characters in television history...okay, I'm calming down. He also gave her a playful tap on the nose (it's important).
0:11 - I love how the "trekking across the island" theme music has suddenly returned in the past two episodes as Locke leads the Others to meet Jacob. While I'm talking about that I guess I should mention what else just happened. Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate are all on the sub together, and typical annoying Kate is shocked, SHOCKED that Sawyer doesn't want to overthrow the sub crew to try and return to the island to stop Jack just because she wants to. I've read a lot of opinions over te past week about the Kate-Sawyer interactions in this episode and I think they're completely overlooking something. Sawyer wanted to stay on the island originally because he was somebody on the island, and Kate was part of that feeling for him. When he got zapped back to 1977 everything upgraded for him. He was THE MAN amongst the Dharma Initiative on the island. When Horace, the official leader, almost has his marriage fall apart he has enough respect for Sawyer to confide in him and ask his advice. He has a stable, happy relationship with Juliet, who is not annoying. Earlier in the season, it seemed obvious that Kate and Sawyer's romantic chemistry would ruin Sawyer's idyllic life. Instead it's Kate's sudden, inexplicable devotion to saving Ben that leads to the end of LaFleur, and Sawyer and Juliet on the sub having to start all over. So to me it's not that much of a shock that he doesn't want to go back, things are as over for him back there as they were off-island when we first met him.
0:21 - Jacob visits Sawyer as a kid, handing him a pen to finish his letter to the real Sawyer. Jacobs fingers graze Sawyer's as he exchanges the pen (trust me).
0:23 - I just figured out why Kate freaking out about the nuke annoys me so much. First of all, it's Kate, officially alone as my least favorite character now that Michael is dead. In order for me to support her I have to believe that Daniel Faraday, one of the most interesting and sympathetic characters on the show and a genius, is completely wrong that destroying the energy pocket prior to the "incident" will rewrite history allowing them to safely land at LAX. Alternatively, what if she KNOWS the plan will work, and is merely trying to scare people into helping her prevent a rewrite? Since flight 815 landing successfully means she's going to jail, as originally planned. What if she's selling out everyone else, ESPECIALLY the dead people, just to keep her freedom? Man I hate Kate! Anyway, she got Juliet on her side, which got Sawyer on her side. Why Juliet? Well, if Jack's bomb works it only affects the people who arrived on 815. They land in Los Angeles, but she'll still be stuck on the island, attempting to avoid the romantic advances of Ben. If she stays on that sub she still risks losing everyone, and being condemned to the island, so she has to try to stop it. In "Follow the Leader" Jack mentioned about how enough of their experience was bad to justify an attempt to reboot. Most of the good that happened to Juliet came from that plane crash, so why wouldn't she want to make sure it doesn't get erased from history?
0:30 - Jacob stops Sayid to ask for directions, causing Nadia to be killed in the hit and run that eventually lead to Sayid working for Ben. But at least he touched Sayid on the shoulder while showing him the map (3 for 3).
0:32 - I want to talk about Richard Alpert for a second, since he just chickened out of helping Jack and Sayid deliver the bomb. I've always liked him as a character just because of the simple mystery of a man who doesn't age. This season though we've gotten to know him better, and it's become clear that he's not the man with all the answers that he seemed to be. Normally that would be annoying, but I think it's added so much drama to the events of this season. He has spent a good about of it shocked and exacerbated. As he says to Locke earlier in the episode, he's seen a lot of things on the island that he can't describe, but still events like realizing Sawyer is from the future in 1974, or realizing Locke has come back from the dead are capable of shaking him to his core. This is a guy who has seen it all, but he has never seen anything like this season.
0:43 - Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate run into Rose and Bernard only to find they've been hiding in the jungle in an attempt to get some peace and quiet. People have complained about the scene being a bit heavy handed, but it was worth it just to rose respond to Kate's whining about the bomb with, "it's always something with you people."
0:48 - It's amazing how Lost can have interesting scenes about totally mysterious people and places, while not having to rely on revelations all the time. For instance, Ilana and company arriving at Jacob's Cabin. We still don't know what's in the box, we don't know if Bram is being honest when he refers to them as "the good guys," we don't know the deal with the ash, why the break in it is important, and we don't learn anything about the cabin. Still, I could watch this scene repeatedly, knowing I won't learn anything new, and I'll still be intrigued and entertained.
0:52 - Locke's dad pushes him out of an 8th story window, and there's Jacob. A touch to Locke's shoulder, and he gasps to life (4 for 4).
0:56 - I have to say, Locke made a pretty convincing case for why Ben would want to kill Jacob himself (the cancer, his daughter being killed, his banishment). Here's the only problem. Christian SPECIFICALLY corrected Locke that HE was the one told to turn the donkey wheel, HE was the one meant to move the island, so HE was the one who was supposed to be banished, not Ben. It's been a week, I've watched this episode...4 times I think? That's the first time it's dawned on me.
0:58 - Jacob at Jin and Sun's wedding, speaking excellent Korean, and touching them both on the shoulder while giving his blessing (6 for 6).
0:59 - Why would Hurley stop the Dharma van with Sayid bleeding inside and the "incident" ready to happen in mere minutes? Sawyer with a rife, flanked by Kate and Juliet in the middle of the road. Yep, that'll do it.
Pause.
Okay, I get the feeling my wrap-up is going to be HUGE so let's split it up. End of Part 1.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tivo Roster's Key Addition: Kelly Erin Hannon
Earlier this season on The Office, when Pam Beesly decided that learning the copier manual was a little too soul crushing, we were introduced to Erin Hannon (played by Ellie Kemper), the new face of Dunder-Mifflin, Scranton. A tepid start in “The Michael Scott Paper Company,” matched with the fact that Pam was sure to return, made it seem like Erin would be going the way of Ronnie. Instead, Pam's new job as a saleswoman means Erin is staying behind the famous reception desk. “Cafe Disco” was her time to step out of the background to start becoming a fully rounded character, and she ran with it. That's why she's the first Tivo Roster Key Addition.
Ironically, Erin's position on The Office was solidified by her being fired. The first episode of The Office ended with Michael fake firing Pam, which caused her to break down rather than appreciate his obvious hilarity. A similar rouse at the end of “Cafe Disco” marked Pam's transition from gopher to an official, lasting role as a saleswoman. Michael decides to immediately keep the good vibes going by trying the same joke on Erin, even having Pam go fetch her. So Pam gets her final humiliation before entering the grown up world of sales, and Erin replaces Pam as Michael's comedy crash-test dummy. The torch was passed, and for the first time I accepted Erin as a new member of the ensemble.
The reason I'm so excited about Erin is her innocent friendliness. It's a quality that has been beaten out of the other characters by now, and it was time for a fresh infusion of it. I loved “Cafe Disco” as an episode, and almost every event is made possible by Erin's unique attitude to Dunder-Mifflin. The very first moment of the episode has her team with Dwight to (unknowingly) play a prank on Jim and Pam. Dwight works best in a team, and it was getting old to constantly have him searching for an alliance only to always come up empty or be made a fool of. Erin is currently a perfect foil for Dwight, as evidenced by her honest apology for always asking how everyone was doing (which he took as a question rather than a casual greeting), and her immediate willingness to produce her birth certificate (from her handbag!). Dwight works well when he has a tiny bit of authority, which he imagines gives him an iron grip on the entire office. With no one to fear him he had no chance for authority, but now he has Erin, who is currently trying her best to figure Dunder-Mifflin out.
While bringing Dwight back to life would be big enough on its own, Erin's interactions with Michael really stood out for me. The moment that really got me started writing about her didn't even catch my eye until the second viewing:
Michael: Anybody want to go to lunch with me later on?By this point, we know how these interactions are going to go; Michael will invite people to things, Dwight will want to go, but Michael would much prefer Jim, Pam, or Ryan. Yes, he ends up singling out Pam (and by proxy Jim) and Ryan, but Erin's reaction introduces her as a wildcard. She doesn't venture to speak for the rest of the scene, instead her eyes dart around the room in an attempt to understand what's going on, but having someone in the room who might act differently added some excitement to an otherwise worn out situation.
Dwight: I do!
Michael: Okay...how about a woman? (Erin leans forward in the background and opens her mouth to speak) Pam?
Simply put, she doesn't know enough to see beyond how characters are presenting themselves. Dwight is an authority figure to be respected, Michael is cool and fun (and she likes wacky bad boys), and Kelly is Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls. I'm sure one day she'll learn the truth, but right now I'm enjoying having someone on The Office who isn't on “team crazy” (Michael, Dwight, Kelly, Andy, etc.) or “team sarcastic detachment” (Jim, Pam, Oscar, Stanley, etc.). Like Oscar said after finding out she invited a friend to the dance party, “you invited someone?!...I've been here eight years and I've never...” That's why she's a wildcard, and that's why she's a Tivo Roster Key Addition. (Now I just hope she doesn't get fired!)
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Office: Cafe Disco
Last week Michael tried to keep his tight-knit Michael Scott Paper Company clique together on their return to Dunder-Mifflin, but faced a mutiny from everyone else. In the end, Pam lost her clients, Ryan was demoted to temp, and Erin was subject to Michael's famous pretend firing. What's going to happen this week?
Play.
0:00 - That's right, not even a minute in and I need to comment. As much as I love Jim and Pam, I equally love how often Dwight is used to take them down a peg. Having the new secretary excitedly yell about winning an art contest already had me laugh. Then you add in Dwight's understated, yet maniacal, laughter and things get even better. Nice to see him pull off a successful, non-life threatening (see: raccoon in Holly's car) prank.
0:03 - Comfort in discomfort? After the awkwardness of Michael, Pam, and Ryan re-integrating into the branch, we have the awkwardness that has always come from Michael being there. This time though, he is armed with experiences rather than just expectations. He had lunch with the Michael Scott Paper Company employees, and he wants to keep that going at Dunder-Mifflin. Yeah it's uncomfortable, but in a comfortable way compared to any Charles-Jim interaction.
0:04 - Jim and Pam tying the knot at the court house in Youngstown, Ohio on a whim? Nope, no way, not buying it. The producers might have been able to slip out of the Beesly-Anderson wedding, but it's not going to work this time. Classic authoritarian Dwight though, "I'll take your silence to mean that you are all hiding something."
0:05 - "When I was in charge, this place was like Dave & Buster's." Good to see Michael has graduated from Chuck E. Cheese ("The Injury"), might have had something to do with choosing "littlekidlover" as a username on dating sites.
0:07 - These are the scenes that make The Office what it is. A rapid fire "around the world" with a number of characters tossing ideas and lines to each other. First with Michael's "I'm your big daddy" comment, then with the description of Cafe Disco. Also, I was writing TONS about Erin, the new secretary, so I decided to name her a Tivo Roster Key Addition, earning her a post of her very own.
0:12 - Uh oh, speaking of secretaries, the one at Vance Refrigeration gives off a lot of Phyllis vibes. "Can I give him a message before he gets off?" Yikes.
0:13 - I love that Michael's only tandem dance move is to twirl his partner. It's perfect.
0:14 - Michael after Phyllis hurts her back in Cafe Disco: "We need to get her out of there, because no one is going to want to go in there with a woman writhing around on the floor...(notices camera)...wait, wait, but most importantly, we need to get her some medical attention ASAP. Stat!" I missed this vindictively friendly version of Michael Scott, I'm having "Michael's Birthday" flashbacks and I like it. Plus I'm referencing Season 2 a lot, no wonder I'm enjoying this so much!
0:16 - The extended cast strikes again. Michael forgot the golden rule of the dance party: guys go when there are girls. Kelly and Erin start dancing, enter the lustful employees of Vance Refrigeration, and I think we're snowballing towards a party.
0:16 - Michael is eating lunch alone in his office and we get an understated reminder of his loneliness. "Might as well be dinner," he says, before shoving his sandwich into his mouth. His post-Holly depression was set aside to make room for the Michael Scott Paper Company, but we shouldn't forget that was his whole reason for making the move. Forget the concierge in Canada, MSPC was his rebound after Holly. And as we know from "A Benihana Christmas":
Last week during "Casual Friday," we saw Michael try to keep that MSPC love going with Pam and Ryan only to lose everyone else in the process. Now he's trying to bring the same tight-knit attitude to the whole office, it's not working, and the loneliness is creeping in.
0:16 - Wow, this must be a crazy minute. Jim cutting a bouquet of flowers from the parking lot? This quickie wedding is doomed, DOOMED! It just felt so wrong and cheap rather than inventive and romantic.
0:17 - Creed was eating a chicken drumstick in the bathroom. It took me a second to realize how weird that is, that's how weird Creed is.
0:25 - What a great Dwight episode. He nails a prank in the cold open, gets to launch a mini-investigation into Jim and Pam's map to Youngstown, and now his Schrute family horse remedy is working on Phyllis. Also, why was it so difficult to see how perfect Andy and Kelly are for each other? I mean, probably not in a good way, but in a way that keeps them away from everyone else. Andy has shown he can handle high-maintenance from his time with Angela, and that was high maintenance matched with insanity! I see that dance-off being the beginnings of great things.
0:26 - Yes! Kevin! Turns out something good came from that valentine's day mixer.
0:27 - Boom! Called it on Jim and Pam. Don't think for a second that Phyllis and Bob is the only big wedding we're going to get. Just don't put Michael in your wedding party, the extra vacation time isn't worth it.
0:30 - Did I already mention the beginning of great things for Kelly and Andy? Cause that scene of her trying to pierce his ear WAS a great thing.
Okay, well I enjoyed my time at Cafe Disco, as everyone seemed to (even Angela, or at least the foot she was waving to the music). I've read some concerns about a "throwaway" episode right before the finale rather than one to ratchet the tension, but I still don't think people would be willing to go back in time to get rid of "Cafe Disco." Plus, there may not be a lot of overt tension, but things are bubbling under the surface. Michael's loneliness returned in a big way, only to be squashed by the miraculous success of Cafe Disco, but there's no way it'll keep up. You know tomorrow the clock will strike midnight and the disco will turn back into a closet.
Then there's Dunder-Mifflin, whose most successful branch just took half the day off to party. Michael used to be saved by his proven loyalty to the company, and the fact that David Wallace saw him as a good guy at heart. Now he has quit, stolen clients, and used the spectre of an upcoming shareholder's meeting to force David Wallace into letting him back into the company. This was a wonderful episode, and a cheerful one in the end, and I could easily see popping in the DVD after bad days in years to come. Still, just because they had a good day in Scranton doesn't mean the finale is set up to be dull. Things can't stay like this, so enjoy the good vibes while they last.
Status: "Ding, ding, ding." Three thumbs up.
Play.
0:00 - That's right, not even a minute in and I need to comment. As much as I love Jim and Pam, I equally love how often Dwight is used to take them down a peg. Having the new secretary excitedly yell about winning an art contest already had me laugh. Then you add in Dwight's understated, yet maniacal, laughter and things get even better. Nice to see him pull off a successful, non-life threatening (see: raccoon in Holly's car) prank.
0:03 - Comfort in discomfort? After the awkwardness of Michael, Pam, and Ryan re-integrating into the branch, we have the awkwardness that has always come from Michael being there. This time though, he is armed with experiences rather than just expectations. He had lunch with the Michael Scott Paper Company employees, and he wants to keep that going at Dunder-Mifflin. Yeah it's uncomfortable, but in a comfortable way compared to any Charles-Jim interaction.
0:04 - Jim and Pam tying the knot at the court house in Youngstown, Ohio on a whim? Nope, no way, not buying it. The producers might have been able to slip out of the Beesly-Anderson wedding, but it's not going to work this time. Classic authoritarian Dwight though, "I'll take your silence to mean that you are all hiding something."
0:05 - "When I was in charge, this place was like Dave & Buster's." Good to see Michael has graduated from Chuck E. Cheese ("The Injury"), might have had something to do with choosing "littlekidlover" as a username on dating sites.
0:07 - These are the scenes that make The Office what it is. A rapid fire "around the world" with a number of characters tossing ideas and lines to each other. First with Michael's "I'm your big daddy" comment, then with the description of Cafe Disco. Also, I was writing TONS about Erin, the new secretary, so I decided to name her a Tivo Roster Key Addition, earning her a post of her very own.
0:12 - Uh oh, speaking of secretaries, the one at Vance Refrigeration gives off a lot of Phyllis vibes. "Can I give him a message before he gets off?" Yikes.
0:13 - I love that Michael's only tandem dance move is to twirl his partner. It's perfect.
0:14 - Michael after Phyllis hurts her back in Cafe Disco: "We need to get her out of there, because no one is going to want to go in there with a woman writhing around on the floor...(notices camera)...wait, wait, but most importantly, we need to get her some medical attention ASAP. Stat!" I missed this vindictively friendly version of Michael Scott, I'm having "Michael's Birthday" flashbacks and I like it. Plus I'm referencing Season 2 a lot, no wonder I'm enjoying this so much!
0:16 - The extended cast strikes again. Michael forgot the golden rule of the dance party: guys go when there are girls. Kelly and Erin start dancing, enter the lustful employees of Vance Refrigeration, and I think we're snowballing towards a party.
0:16 - Michael is eating lunch alone in his office and we get an understated reminder of his loneliness. "Might as well be dinner," he says, before shoving his sandwich into his mouth. His post-Holly depression was set aside to make room for the Michael Scott Paper Company, but we shouldn't forget that was his whole reason for making the move. Forget the concierge in Canada, MSPC was his rebound after Holly. And as we know from "A Benihana Christmas":
Michael: Why do I feel like crap?
Jim: You just had a rebound.
Michael: I had a rebound.
Jim: Yeah. Which, don't get me wrong, can be a really fun distraction, but when it's over? You're left thinking about the girl you really like, the one that broke your heart.
0:16 - Wow, this must be a crazy minute. Jim cutting a bouquet of flowers from the parking lot? This quickie wedding is doomed, DOOMED! It just felt so wrong and cheap rather than inventive and romantic.
0:17 - Creed was eating a chicken drumstick in the bathroom. It took me a second to realize how weird that is, that's how weird Creed is.
0:25 - What a great Dwight episode. He nails a prank in the cold open, gets to launch a mini-investigation into Jim and Pam's map to Youngstown, and now his Schrute family horse remedy is working on Phyllis. Also, why was it so difficult to see how perfect Andy and Kelly are for each other? I mean, probably not in a good way, but in a way that keeps them away from everyone else. Andy has shown he can handle high-maintenance from his time with Angela, and that was high maintenance matched with insanity! I see that dance-off being the beginnings of great things.
0:26 - Yes! Kevin! Turns out something good came from that valentine's day mixer.
0:27 - Boom! Called it on Jim and Pam. Don't think for a second that Phyllis and Bob is the only big wedding we're going to get. Just don't put Michael in your wedding party, the extra vacation time isn't worth it.
0:30 - Did I already mention the beginning of great things for Kelly and Andy? Cause that scene of her trying to pierce his ear WAS a great thing.
Okay, well I enjoyed my time at Cafe Disco, as everyone seemed to (even Angela, or at least the foot she was waving to the music). I've read some concerns about a "throwaway" episode right before the finale rather than one to ratchet the tension, but I still don't think people would be willing to go back in time to get rid of "Cafe Disco." Plus, there may not be a lot of overt tension, but things are bubbling under the surface. Michael's loneliness returned in a big way, only to be squashed by the miraculous success of Cafe Disco, but there's no way it'll keep up. You know tomorrow the clock will strike midnight and the disco will turn back into a closet.
Then there's Dunder-Mifflin, whose most successful branch just took half the day off to party. Michael used to be saved by his proven loyalty to the company, and the fact that David Wallace saw him as a good guy at heart. Now he has quit, stolen clients, and used the spectre of an upcoming shareholder's meeting to force David Wallace into letting him back into the company. This was a wonderful episode, and a cheerful one in the end, and I could easily see popping in the DVD after bad days in years to come. Still, just because they had a good day in Scranton doesn't mean the finale is set up to be dull. Things can't stay like this, so enjoy the good vibes while they last.
Status: "Ding, ding, ding." Three thumbs up.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Scrubs: My Finale
I'll admit it, Scrubs lost me. I was an avid watcher right through last season when it was still on NBC. I remember thinking at the time that "My Princess" was an unworthy end for the show, but after a lacklustre season I wondered if that was the best Bill Lawrence could do. That was unfair of me, since it wasn't really meant as any kind of true finale, but it made the end easier to take.
I retreated to the reruns on Comedy Central, telling Tivo to hang on to three at a time. It was a perfect number, enough to binge if I was feeling nostalgic, but small enough to remind myself I was "done" with Scrubs. When the show was picked up by ABC I meant to add a new Season Pass, but I never did. Each week reviews of episodes would pop up on TV Squad, and I'd tell myself to add the Season Pass...every week.
Last week when it was announced ABC had gotten involved with Hulu I said, "great, I can finally catch up on Scrubs!" Then today, I saw a post on TV Squad about tonight's episode being the finale. Before doing anything else I grabbed my remote and told Tivo to record. It was time to see what Bill Lawrence could do with an actual finale. Sitting here typing I can say, for sure, that I am officially done with Scrubs. In a good way though!
Play...
0:00 - Zach Braff has a beard now? And who's he in bed with? Can you tell I haven't watched this show in a year?
0:02 - Classic Scrubs flashbacks to J.D.'s first day. Is this going to be a clip show? Now I'm worried. I'm glad they didn't save J.D. and Elliot finally getting together for the finale (she was the one in bed with him, if you were wondering too) as I can't think of anything more anti-climactic. I think I'll take this chance to get two complaints about Scrubs off my chest before getting to the lovefest this will be at the end:
1. It's hard to feel bad for J.D. when he seems to be able to get beautiful girls whenever he wants, but is still supposed to be a love-lorn nerd. When Elliot broke up with her boyfriend for him, and he freaked out, realizing he only wanted her because he couldn't have her, I was never able to feel bad for him again. Did the show rely on me feeling bad for him later? You bet it did.
2. The jokes seem to go on for one or two lines too long at times, but it almost wouldn't be Scrubs without it. Perfect example at the start of this episode. J.D. attempts to guilt Elliot into morning sex after feigning offense at her starting to move in without consulting him:
0:02 - Bob Kelso? Why is he back? He already had a great send off! Oh wait, they thought that was the last season at the time. I'll see where it goes. Unpause.
0:03 - See? Kelso zings Ted and they move right along without having to preen over it, not so hard righ...sorry. Unpause.
0:10 - Nice to see Dr. Cox's rants get wrapped up in such a nice package in J.D.'s handsome pleather-bound volume. Also, I really liked how they kind of covered the big three so early in the show. It's 10 minutes in and already Elliot has addressed the fact that she'll cry if she tries to say goodbye, Turk has given him a final "EAGLE!" spin and a big hug, and now Dr. Cox has belittled his show of affection. Turk might have been worried about his goodbye peaking too early, but I like the idea a lot. We knew these three interactions were coming, so now that they're out of the way we're in uncharted waters. Anything can happen now, and that's unusual for 10 minutes in a finale.
0:14 - Also great to see that J.D. has a final patient! Shows get so obsessed with wrapping things up in the finale they completely abandon the usual events that make up episodes. If Seinfeld was guilty of anything, it was guilty of this. So I was expecting an hour of goodbye after goodbye, creating an episode with no resemblance to the ones that kept fans coming back. Not the case, we have a patient, we have a patient's family member, this feels like Scrubs.
0:16 - Ah yes, J.D.'s original sin against the janitor; the penny that jammed the door on his first day. They could have gone with some extravagant prank by the janitor in an attempt to end it with a bang, but I love this idea so much more. Possibly the most persistent thread in this show has been the janitor's hatred for J.D. flowing from that single moment when he allegedly jammed a penny in the door, and that shall be their final battle. Game on!
0:24 - See? This is the comedy I love from Scrubs. J.D. alone with a patient, getting lost in a voice-over while still trying to do his job, and eventually messing up without any stupid manufactured drama or anger. Almost like a little sketch within the show.
0:26 - Welcome to the moment I fully relaxed and fell in love with this episode. The speculation before a show's finale is almost never, "what's going to happen," but usually, "how memorable will it be?" It's like Series Finale is the name of a show, and finales are merely episodes in one giant season, all judged by the same criteria regardless of what the show had been. Whether comedy or drama there MUST be big huge moments and it MUST be emotional. 26 minutes in, Bill Lawrence has said, "I'm not going to play your game!"
Here he calls out the expectations, revealing that the staff care more for Kelso's anti-climactic exit ("But you left a year ago. You got cake. He got cake!") than J.D.'s fresh one. Greatest is the moment when Bob asks J.D. what the thought the end would be like, and he responds: "I don't know, I guess I thought there'd be a lot of heartfelt goodbyes, and when I was finally ready to leave it'd be like one of those great old sitcom finales." Cue the overly melodramatic piano music that used to accompany every big emotional revelation in the show (which the show itself made fun of in recent years) and J.D. hitting a lightswitch, causing the entire hospital to lose power as patients code and the staff panics.
After that we get another powerfully understated goodbye from Kelso and you realize there's half the episode to go and the show has officially thrown off the chains of outside expectations. This is not a sitcom finale, this is the Scrubs finale.
0:32 - Carla and J.D. say goodbye, again they let the history of the characters make the moment, rather than trying to have the moment make history. J.D. is Bambi one last time, and it feels momentous.
0:34 - Another finale mistake is cooking up big reveals for the sake of revelations. One of the biggest reveals I've heard in a long time (keeping in mind I watched Lost before this); it really was J.D. who jammed the door with a penny on his first day! And the janitor knew! You know how when Lost has a big reveal it makes you want to re-watch the whole show to see how it affects things? Well now I want to watch every J.D.-Janitor interaction again. All the times J.D. laments the Janitor's crazy obsession with him, and now that we know it was valid. At least it was more valid than we thought. Huge!
0:43 - Janitor revelations part II: J.D. has never asked the Janitor's name. The likelihood of me re-watching every episode of Scrubs just increased. Also the Janitor pulls the old Joker switcheroo, is his real name Glen or Tommy? Is it something completely different? You decide.
0:45 - A series of heartfelt compliments from Dr. Cox? Sitcom finale expectations. Having him be tricked into giving those same compliments while J.D. hides in the background? Very clever. Now we've reached the final voice-over, the big finale of the big finale.
0:46 - Is it the character talking, or is it the cast and the crew?:
0:48 - J.D.'s walk down the corridor as he leaves was like the Seinfeld finale condensed into two minutes, instead of dragged out over a whole episode. We got to see way more characters than I ever expected we would, and it just felt so natural. Those who had special catchphrases and moments got one last shot at them, while others only needed a smile and a nod. It reminded me of what actually happens when you leave something big like that. While you might be trying to reminisce all day, it's usually only on your final steps out of the door that things from long ago come flooding back. It's not your life flashing before your eyes, it's just that segment of it. Most important though, Bill Lawrence wasn't able to make me cry! Take that! Woo hoo! Hang on. Peter Gabriel? I don't like the look of this. Unpause.
0:52 - Damn you Bill Lawrence! *sniff*
Also, an extremely classy move to have the behind the scenes footage at the end. This was always a cast and crew with a special love for their fans, and I think it was fantastic to let everyone experience their personal goodbyes. The episode let us say goodbye to the characters, but showing the actors finish their final scenes let us say goodbye to them too.
So ends Scrubs...probably, definitely for me. I don't need anything more from this show. I gave up on it, forgot about it, and nostalgia sucked me back in just long enough to be fully satisfied. No point in tempting fate.
Status: Save Until I Delete
I retreated to the reruns on Comedy Central, telling Tivo to hang on to three at a time. It was a perfect number, enough to binge if I was feeling nostalgic, but small enough to remind myself I was "done" with Scrubs. When the show was picked up by ABC I meant to add a new Season Pass, but I never did. Each week reviews of episodes would pop up on TV Squad, and I'd tell myself to add the Season Pass...every week.
Last week when it was announced ABC had gotten involved with Hulu I said, "great, I can finally catch up on Scrubs!" Then today, I saw a post on TV Squad about tonight's episode being the finale. Before doing anything else I grabbed my remote and told Tivo to record. It was time to see what Bill Lawrence could do with an actual finale. Sitting here typing I can say, for sure, that I am officially done with Scrubs. In a good way though!
Play...
0:00 - Zach Braff has a beard now? And who's he in bed with? Can you tell I haven't watched this show in a year?
0:02 - Classic Scrubs flashbacks to J.D.'s first day. Is this going to be a clip show? Now I'm worried. I'm glad they didn't save J.D. and Elliot finally getting together for the finale (she was the one in bed with him, if you were wondering too) as I can't think of anything more anti-climactic. I think I'll take this chance to get two complaints about Scrubs off my chest before getting to the lovefest this will be at the end:
1. It's hard to feel bad for J.D. when he seems to be able to get beautiful girls whenever he wants, but is still supposed to be a love-lorn nerd. When Elliot broke up with her boyfriend for him, and he freaked out, realizing he only wanted her because he couldn't have her, I was never able to feel bad for him again. Did the show rely on me feeling bad for him later? You bet it did.
2. The jokes seem to go on for one or two lines too long at times, but it almost wouldn't be Scrubs without it. Perfect example at the start of this episode. J.D. attempts to guilt Elliot into morning sex after feigning offense at her starting to move in without consulting him:
Elliot: Are you seriously upset?Yes I realize this is a successful and beloved comedy show, but the lovefest comes later. Right now could be my last chance to point out how in the past few seasons the writers seem to add useless lines to pad jokes, only serving to suck the funny out of them by doing victory laps around throwaway lines. Think I'm overreacting? Watch for how often characters say things like "niiice!" after other people's one-liners...sorry, I may have just ruined Scrubs for you. Okay, back to the episode at hand.
J.D.: I'm very upset, I don't think even morning sex could fix it...although it might
Elliot: Fine, do I have to move a lot?
J.D.: You never do anyway.
[There, you're good, joke launched and landed and...]
Elliot: True.
[Nooooo! You were so close!]
0:02 - Bob Kelso? Why is he back? He already had a great send off! Oh wait, they thought that was the last season at the time. I'll see where it goes. Unpause.
0:03 - See? Kelso zings Ted and they move right along without having to preen over it, not so hard righ...sorry. Unpause.
0:10 - Nice to see Dr. Cox's rants get wrapped up in such a nice package in J.D.'s handsome pleather-bound volume. Also, I really liked how they kind of covered the big three so early in the show. It's 10 minutes in and already Elliot has addressed the fact that she'll cry if she tries to say goodbye, Turk has given him a final "EAGLE!" spin and a big hug, and now Dr. Cox has belittled his show of affection. Turk might have been worried about his goodbye peaking too early, but I like the idea a lot. We knew these three interactions were coming, so now that they're out of the way we're in uncharted waters. Anything can happen now, and that's unusual for 10 minutes in a finale.
0:14 - Also great to see that J.D. has a final patient! Shows get so obsessed with wrapping things up in the finale they completely abandon the usual events that make up episodes. If Seinfeld was guilty of anything, it was guilty of this. So I was expecting an hour of goodbye after goodbye, creating an episode with no resemblance to the ones that kept fans coming back. Not the case, we have a patient, we have a patient's family member, this feels like Scrubs.
0:16 - Ah yes, J.D.'s original sin against the janitor; the penny that jammed the door on his first day. They could have gone with some extravagant prank by the janitor in an attempt to end it with a bang, but I love this idea so much more. Possibly the most persistent thread in this show has been the janitor's hatred for J.D. flowing from that single moment when he allegedly jammed a penny in the door, and that shall be their final battle. Game on!
0:24 - See? This is the comedy I love from Scrubs. J.D. alone with a patient, getting lost in a voice-over while still trying to do his job, and eventually messing up without any stupid manufactured drama or anger. Almost like a little sketch within the show.
0:26 - Welcome to the moment I fully relaxed and fell in love with this episode. The speculation before a show's finale is almost never, "what's going to happen," but usually, "how memorable will it be?" It's like Series Finale is the name of a show, and finales are merely episodes in one giant season, all judged by the same criteria regardless of what the show had been. Whether comedy or drama there MUST be big huge moments and it MUST be emotional. 26 minutes in, Bill Lawrence has said, "I'm not going to play your game!"
Here he calls out the expectations, revealing that the staff care more for Kelso's anti-climactic exit ("But you left a year ago. You got cake. He got cake!") than J.D.'s fresh one. Greatest is the moment when Bob asks J.D. what the thought the end would be like, and he responds: "I don't know, I guess I thought there'd be a lot of heartfelt goodbyes, and when I was finally ready to leave it'd be like one of those great old sitcom finales." Cue the overly melodramatic piano music that used to accompany every big emotional revelation in the show (which the show itself made fun of in recent years) and J.D. hitting a lightswitch, causing the entire hospital to lose power as patients code and the staff panics.
After that we get another powerfully understated goodbye from Kelso and you realize there's half the episode to go and the show has officially thrown off the chains of outside expectations. This is not a sitcom finale, this is the Scrubs finale.
0:32 - Carla and J.D. say goodbye, again they let the history of the characters make the moment, rather than trying to have the moment make history. J.D. is Bambi one last time, and it feels momentous.
0:34 - Another finale mistake is cooking up big reveals for the sake of revelations. One of the biggest reveals I've heard in a long time (keeping in mind I watched Lost before this); it really was J.D. who jammed the door with a penny on his first day! And the janitor knew! You know how when Lost has a big reveal it makes you want to re-watch the whole show to see how it affects things? Well now I want to watch every J.D.-Janitor interaction again. All the times J.D. laments the Janitor's crazy obsession with him, and now that we know it was valid. At least it was more valid than we thought. Huge!
0:43 - Janitor revelations part II: J.D. has never asked the Janitor's name. The likelihood of me re-watching every episode of Scrubs just increased. Also the Janitor pulls the old Joker switcheroo, is his real name Glen or Tommy? Is it something completely different? You decide.
0:45 - A series of heartfelt compliments from Dr. Cox? Sitcom finale expectations. Having him be tricked into giving those same compliments while J.D. hides in the background? Very clever. Now we've reached the final voice-over, the big finale of the big finale.
0:46 - Is it the character talking, or is it the cast and the crew?:
"Endings are never easy. I always build them up so much in my head that they can't possibly live up to my expectations and I just end up disappointed. I'm not even sure why it matters to me so much how things end here. I guess it's because we all want to believe that what we do is very important. That people hang onto our every word. That they care what we think. The truth is you should consider yourself lucky if you even occasionally get to make someone, anyone, feel a little better."How perfect is this? It shows gratitude to the fans, and gives us a little insight into how everyone involved with the show is feeling. It recognizes our worry over the quality of the finale we're going to be getting, and assures us one last time that they know we repeatedly tuned in for the joy it brought us, not in the hopes that a big, random statement be made in the final episode. We tuned in, they made us feel happy, and sad, and lots of things inbetween. Now let's all just ride the wave out together.
0:48 - J.D.'s walk down the corridor as he leaves was like the Seinfeld finale condensed into two minutes, instead of dragged out over a whole episode. We got to see way more characters than I ever expected we would, and it just felt so natural. Those who had special catchphrases and moments got one last shot at them, while others only needed a smile and a nod. It reminded me of what actually happens when you leave something big like that. While you might be trying to reminisce all day, it's usually only on your final steps out of the door that things from long ago come flooding back. It's not your life flashing before your eyes, it's just that segment of it. Most important though, Bill Lawrence wasn't able to make me cry! Take that! Woo hoo! Hang on. Peter Gabriel? I don't like the look of this. Unpause.
0:52 - Damn you Bill Lawrence! *sniff*
Also, an extremely classy move to have the behind the scenes footage at the end. This was always a cast and crew with a special love for their fans, and I think it was fantastic to let everyone experience their personal goodbyes. The episode let us say goodbye to the characters, but showing the actors finish their final scenes let us say goodbye to them too.
So ends Scrubs...probably, definitely for me. I don't need anything more from this show. I gave up on it, forgot about it, and nostalgia sucked me back in just long enough to be fully satisfied. No point in tempting fate.
Status: Save Until I Delete
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