Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Office Reviews: 9.13 and 9.14, "Junior Salesman" and "Vandalism"

Be honest, NBC. You chose to burn both of these episodes on the same night because they're both big disappointments, right?

...

Yeah, that's what I thought. Okay, thanks. That's all I needed to know. alright. Buh-bye.

No, but I'll try my hardest to be sympathetic. I'm aware that wrestling the show into series finale-worthy submission requires grappling with an awkward assortment of plot points of various degrees of seriousness; there's the down-to-earth Jim/Pam-type stuff from the early seasons, and then there's the overt broadness from later seasons. Naturally, finding a balance between the two that isn't alienating either way is more difficult than it might sound at first. Could I do it? No, I admit that I would be hopelessly inept in such an endeavor. The problem is that this writing crew has already been able to prove that it's NOT earlier in the season, which makes it all the more depressing when they do fail. C'mon, guys! You were on the right track, in theory!

But, no. It's time to throw silly things like tonal consistency out the window, and careen drunkenly between various things they technically have to get done this season but don't really care all that much about. That's just as good, right?

(I should probably take this opportunity to throw in a spoiler warning for the stuff after the cut!)

First up to the plate was "Junior Salesman", which tackles the challenge of dueling tones by not even attempting to tackle the challenge of dueling tones. Perhaps that's unfair; I know there was originally a B-plot about Pete trying to help Erin find her birth parents, which at least sounds like it had the potential to be sweet, even if they clearly didn't succeed. (After all, it WAS a plot they felt they were able to cut without losing anything important!) Instead, the tone of the episode is given over almost entirely to rampant broadness, with only one plot to speak of.....one plot all about Dwight and his Dwightfriends being typically Dwighty. Oy.

Don't get me wrong here; I know I complain about Dwight a lot, but I don't hate Dwight the character. His staunch authoritarianism and general out-of-touchness have always worked great. It's the more cartoonishly weird traits he's picked up over the years that I have definite misgivings about. (Cat turd collector!) The majority of Dwight's friends exemplify this difference between being an odd human being and just being odd pretty damn well. Let's take Random Eric Wareheim Cameo's X-Men School? Really? This is a joke which exists within the Office universe now? (Meanwhile, though, I can at least always endorse an appearance from Cousin Mose, with his stiff-armed run and natural fear of paper products.)

Yes, of course I'm aware that the whole point of the storyline is Dwight coming to realize that he has outgrown his friends, respecting and perhaps even liking the non-weirdos he works with. There's way too much broadness counterbalancing it in this episode, but this itself isn't a bad story hook. Indeed, his (non-romantic) relationship with Clark continues to be one of the more interesting character dynamics this season, right up there with Dwight and Pam's weird friendship. (Dwight makes for some of the most interesting interactions with anyone, really, except for post-season three Angela of course.) Certainly more interesting than the Jim/Pam situation tonight, wherein he apparently thinks he can resolve the rift in their relationship by pulling a few strings to get her a somewhat less obnoxious deskmate; only time will tell, I suppose, if the writers realize how wrongheaded this is or not.

Actually, the Dwight/Pam/Clark desk clump is a potentially intriguing idea; despite the overly broad trek there, their first scene as a newly formed clump was so adorable that I really wanted to bump the grade up for that alone. Seriously, how awesome was Dwight's "Absolutely I do"? What a fantastic comeback coming at us, from practically out of nowhere! And then, during Jim's little speech, the pan to Brian. Really? This is how they're gonna do this? I don't mind the basic idea of Brian the Creepy Stalker Boom Guy or even Brian the Well-Intentioned Boom-Wielding Pseudo-Jim. I wouldn't even mind Brian the Cat Turd Collector. I do, however, very much mind Brian the Boom Guy With No Discernible Characteristics Besides The Expected Pam-Yearning. We know nothing about this man yet, so he definitely hasn't earned his final-shot-of-the-episode pathos yet. You gotta earn it, man!

Onto the second episode: "Vandalism" continues down the road of non-antagonistic Pam/Dwight interaction. ("If there's anything I hate worse than art, it's crime.") This is always potentially entertaining, I thought, but then I actually watched the episode, and realized they were less interested in exploring that relationship than in having a bunch of grown adults saying the word "butt", repeatedly (save for Nellie and her rogue "bottom"). Now, I hate to be that guy, but I do not for a minute believe that the more gruff and violent warehouse workers would settle for anything less than "ass" coming out of their filthy potty mouths. Then again, I don't for a minute believe that a gruff, violent warehouse worker would opt to paint cartoon buttocks instead of, say, a penis, like real vandals do. Even Dwight and Pam know that! Basically, this butt-heavy story made me yearn for the days of season two, where "Drug Testing" committed to drown us in (uses of the word) "urine", and somehow it felt natural.

Once again, Brian interferes for Pam's sake, this time by showing off some mad boom mic beatin' skillz that he has, presumably, practiced on transient hookers in the past. Once again, Brian gets in trouble with his superiors for interfering, because they would apparently rather watch Jenna Fischer get beaten to a bloody pulp. (Just like a transient hooker!) And once again, we feel no sympathy for him, because we know nothing about him. Jim's pining for Pam back in the day was genuinely emotional because he was an actual character, with actual character development. We got to know him, and understand him, a courtesy we frankly have too little time to really experience with Brian, not that they're even trying here. Yearning and mic-violence alone do not a compelling character make, dudes. If this really is your big, final arc, you'd better get your shit together, and fast.

Meanwhile, Jim's back in Philly, having apparently no contact with his wife anymore, because who can be bothered - they're starring in different plots tonight! He's already busy with his other marital spat with Darryl! Jim's messy, but Darryl's clean; hilarity ensues! *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

Consequently, the most significant storyline tonight is actually the accountants' trip to Angela's spawn's birthday. Yeah, because it involves (State) Senator Robert Lipton, it's pretty heavy-handed stuff. He makes his race-based votemongering as blatantly obvious as possible, then throws in the blackest servant he could find on such short notice, just to make sure we wouldn't mistake it for subtle or anything. Hey, The Office: you air alongside Parks & Rec each week. You don't have to do political. They've got that covered. The sole bright spot of this story, the sole thing making it feel significant, is Kevin finishing off the night with a simplistic, choppy, but definitely blunt-in-a-very-Kevin-way takedown when no one else would speak up: "Thank you for the food. And also, you suck. You are, like, a terrible person. These guys care about you, and you're just using them! Again, the food was very good." The extra half a point is for you, my friend!

Junior Salesman: 5.5/10
Vandalism: 4.5/10

Trivial Observations and Assorted Sundries:
  • This week, in Unravelling the Mystery of How Athlead Works: They will be attending the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which is actually an unusually specific detail for one that still doesn't explain anything. (Also, if you were wondering, yes, it still involves investors, investin'.)
  • At least it was a good week for cold opens. I actually liked the one in "Junior Salesman" both for the unconventional camera angle, and for Meredith being Meredith: "Hey, boom guy. When are you gonna boom me?" (It's the closest he comes to being involved in an actual joke, too!) Meanwhile, "Vandalism" gets points for allowing adorable sneaky-sneak Erin to introduce the best new character of the season: "Darryl, meat Bearyl!"
  • Clark totally deserved his promotion, you guys. "I've been working here for twelve weeks. That's a whole season of Homeland!"
  • Can you believe the shit Dwight has to put up with? "It's like, really, Jim, you don't understand the difference between a slaughterhouse and a rendering plant? Uhhhh, remind me not to lend you any dead cows or horses!"
  • How would you respond if Jim suddenly asked you to breathe in his face? Weirded out, maybe a little turned on? Yeah, that's about what I thought.
  • Dwight gets the only two uses of "butt" that actually work this week: "Also, sign them. My fetish is signed drawings of butts." "Frank draws a butt on your mural, I'm drawing your mural on Frank's truck's butt. Eye for an eye, Mamacita!"
  • Brian Baumgartner mentioned in a recent interview that if things went the way he thinks they're going to go for Kevin, he'll be "very pleased". Here, he actually earns a smile from Angela. Will they be doing the nasty by the end of the season? Can you even fathom how that would work? It's not quite a Skitty/Wailord situation, but it's the closest The Office could feasibly muster. (Unless they brought back the super fat guy from Stamford, I guess. I know how much everyone has been clamoring for THAT.)

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