The Office: Season 8 - Page 10

sbh15 · 11-18-2011, 09:24 AM

i liked the parts in the office with robert california. him thinking kevin was a genius was great. the rest was pretty weak.

and i don't have very high standards for a good episode

Xiomera · 11-18-2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhaarat316

I only liked 25% of the episode. Dwight mostly, and finding out about his farm with Oscar made it even more hilarious.

I fell like they are leading up to firing Andy cause he sucks so much as a boss, and every week there is something about poor sales.

I thought this was a little too forced given that Oscar is ***. The show tries to hard to add unnecessary layers of irony. It just seems forced.

This isn't the case simply with this plot. The show tries too hard in general to construct stories instead of letting them present themselves more naturally and effortlessly. It ends up just being a string of telegraphed jokes where you can sense the punchline or payoff in advance.

In its prime, the show was not like this.

Xiomera · 12-01-2011, 11:20 PM

I definitely liked tonight's episode. It was very strange and did not fit the mold of any previous Office episode.

And god damn it, Creed, you sonofabitch, you're back!

yodapoop · 12-01-2011, 11:35 PM

See, we aren't asking for much when we demand Creed. He had one small, minor part that exsutes (spelling?) his personality perfectly. We aren't screaming for him to take over the show, we just need to see him goofing off once.

Splat · 12-03-2011, 07:01 PM

I just got around to watching this weeks and I thought it was pretty good.

ImBrotherCain · 12-09-2011, 09:10 AM

I thought the Christmas episode was pretty good. I feel like the last few episodes are at least moving in the right direction.

As I continue to watch the older episodes I just realized how dynamic Michael was. He may not have always been the funniest but his character could fit into any episode no matter the context.

It seems like they are having difficulty getting Andy into that role. I guess only time will tell.

Xiomera · 12-09-2011, 10:56 AM

Best episode of the season, probably.

Hurricanes25 · 12-09-2011, 11:08 AM

I thought it was the best episode of the season too. Classic Dwight/Jim and I actually enjoyed Erin for once.

Xiomera · 12-09-2011, 12:01 PM

The amount of Creed in this episode was excellent. He generates some of the funniest moments with the littlest screen time.

niel89 · 12-09-2011, 05:48 PM

Fantastic episode. I just liked it from top to bottom. I think the show can continue to succeed if they are around this quality. I think they just needed to use some episodes to develop Andy more because he is going to be a major character going forward.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImBrotherCain

As I continue to watch the older episodes I just realized how dynamic Michael was. He may not have always been the funniest but his character could fit into any episode no matter the context.

I watched a couple old episodes and I could not agree more. Michael Scott was the straw that stirred the drink. So plots were Michael doing something and the rest of the office having to react to it. He made the show the majority of the time.

Xiomera · 01-20-2012, 11:54 PM

Reviving this thread:

Despite obvious problems, I didn't dislike this week's "Pool Party" episode.

The writing is still lazy, shallow and poorly structured, but I still find enough to laugh at every week.

I pray they just reboot next season without James Spader (and Jim in charge) and just forget this season ever occurred.

Giantsfan1080 · 01-20-2012, 11:57 PM

I didn't mind most of the episode besides the Ryan/Gabe part. I also didn't like how the temp likes Jim a lot now also.

Xiomera · 01-21-2012, 12:08 AM

The fact that the temp likes Jim (or so it's presented out of the blue) COULD be made into a profoundly interesting story, but the writers won't do it.

Season 1 and 2 Jim used to follow after Pam despite her being with Roy. It'd actually be quality character development for Jim if temp girl did that to him, only for him to realize (as Pam did) what was happening. Being on the other end of the situation.

But that's too much to ask for a writing staff that no longer understands those sorts of nuances. The writers don't care about actually achieving interesting character moments.

Xiomera · 01-21-2012, 12:11 AM

This show just misses so many god damn opportunities to turn a bunch of randomness into meaning. It really wouldn't be difficult. They need to let me be a writer for this show to handle the plotting. Let someone funny write the jokes, but find someone capable of getting characters from Point A to Point B in an interesting and plausible fashion. Instead, they just go from Point A to Point A again in circular fashion.

Giantsfan1080 · 01-21-2012, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xiomera

The fact that the temp likes Jim (or so it's presented out of the blue) COULD be made into a profoundly interesting story, but the writers won't do it.

Season 1 and 2 Jim used to follow after Pam despite her being with Roy. It'd actually be quality character development for Jim if temp girl did that to him, only for him to realize (as Pam did) what was happening. Being on the other end of the situation.

But that's too much to ask for a writing staff that no longer understands those sorts of nuances. The writers don't care about actually achieving interesting character moments.

Yeah I agree it would be a nice turn around at this point but they are certainly not playing that angle. Also it just came out of no where that the temp liked Jim even though it does make sense. If Jim ever gave a second though to anyone other than Pam then I would never watch.

Xiomera · 01-21-2012, 12:29 AM

Jim would never do anything to Pam.

But would it kill the writers to give him SOMETHING to do? John Krasinski has to be pretty annoyed with the show. I'm surprised there isn't talk of him leaving.

This is why I wanted him as boss. The old plots about Jim not handling management very well were an interesting new dynamic for him. And in last year's finale when he was in charge of the search committee, I loved that it appeared he recognized the need for HIM to take charge ... And then he still didn't want to be the boss (or rather, the writers didn't).

This all annoys me. I watch this show every week, and it makes me laugh, but it has a complete lack of direction and all of the characters are now cartoonish versions of their former selves. They need to identify what motivates the characters, and then consistently have them exhibit those motivations and behave accordingly.

Ugh.

Docta · 01-21-2012, 04:24 AM

He's not complaining, because there's nothing to complain about. They aren't gonna pay him more if they make him the boss.

Xiomera · 01-21-2012, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docta

He's not complaining, because there's nothing to complain about. They aren't gonna pay him more if they make him the boss.

Yeah, that is nowhere near the point I was making ...

Jim has been the biggest one-note character since the wedding. His biggest character arc is "Dwight pranks," which isn't an arc at all. He doesn't have to be the boss to be given something to do from time to time.

vidae · 01-21-2012, 12:09 PM

I just can't get into this show anymore. It's a shadow of what it used to be and that is pretty sad.

Xiomera · 01-21-2012, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vidae

I just can't get into this show anymore. It's a shadow of what it used to be and that is pretty sad.

Suck it up and watch. It's still funny. It just isn't good.

jrdrylie · 01-24-2012, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xiomera

I pray they just reboot next season without James Spader (and Jim in charge) and just forget this season ever occurred.

I agree with a lot of the things you said. I think the temp developing a crush on Jim would be a great storyline. And I do think Jim should be in charge. They made a huge mistake promoting Andy instead of Jim. They had been building to Jim being the manager for seven years and then BOOM! He doesn't get it.

I disagree about James Spader to a degree. I like his character but I think he should be much less prevalent. His character should be kind of like Creed. A funny line or two every episode and then maybe one or two episodes a season with a much more expanded role. Unfortunately, Spader is too big an actor to have such a small role.