So after finding out that My Own Worst Enemy was canned after just nine episodes, I finally decided to watch that series premiere that had I had gotten through a thoroughly legal means. It wasn’t all that bad, but I can see why NBC made their decision.
Season 5 episode 6. Wow, it has been a long time since my last episode recap. But I am back in (small) force with one of the best scenes of the series. Here, we see Michael helping Jim and Dwight improve their sales pitches to their clients after they receive poor customer reviews.
Remember my Nuttin’ But Stringz post way back when? They made it top the Top 5 acts of America's Got Talent! Unfortunately, they landed in third place while Neal “Meatball” Boyd landed in first.
Unbelievable! No one sings like that anymore. I think this Jerry-Kramer conversation from the episode "The Opera" sums it up pretty well:
KRAMER: So, what do you think?
JERRY: About what?
KRAMER: About the opera.
JERRY: Nah, I don’t wanna go.
KRAMER: You gotta go.
JERRY: I-I-I don’t like the opera. What are they singing for? Who sings? You got something to say, say it!
KRAMER: Jerry, you don’t understand, that’s the way they talk in Italy. They sing to one another. (Kramer starts to sing in bad Italian.)
JERRY: All right, all right.
KRAMER: That’s the way it was, you know. You listen to the language, its got that sing songy quality. It’s the language Jerry, the language.
JERRY: So why don’t they talk like that now?
KRAMER: Well its, uh, well its too hard to keep up, you know. They were tired.
Season 3 episode 7. Jan delivers bad news to Michael that the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin is slated for closure. This leads Michael on a quest to keep up the staff’s spirits up. Meanwhile, everyone tries to imagine what their lives will be like in the wake of the close.
Before we get into the main plot, the cold open involves another Jim prank…and it’s an awesome one. He tricks Dwight into thinking a fax is coming from his future self (maybe Dwight teams up with Hiro from Heroes in the future). Future Dwight tells Present Dwight that the coffee is poisoned. Guess what happens? Look at the above picture. I love the look on Stanley’s face…the “I’d smack you if I wasn’t just about to start my crossword puzzle” look.
As stated above, Jan tells Michael that the Scranton branch will be shutting down. The news spreads quickly throughout the Stamford branch as well. The Stamford-ites seem to take it quite well, with the exception of Jim. And, of course, Andy takes extreme pride in the Scranton-ites’ misfortune. “In your face. Suckaaaas!”
“I have a plan, and I am going to save our jobs.” Michael goes to New York try to convince the CFO to keep the Scranton branch. It’s too bad that it wouldn’t have worked if the CFO was there.
Michael and Dwight’s waiting activities include practicing what to say (”AH!”), sharing a one liter bottle of Gatorade, looking through the trash, reclining in a car filled with Funyons, and just walking/sitting around doing nothing.
And then…the twist! It turns out Josh, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Stamford, has accepted a senior management position at Staples! Jan goes into overdrive and suddenly Stamford is to be absorbed by Scranton instead of the other way around. IN YOUR FACE, ANDY. Hopefully Andy and Karen will bring Call of Duty with them. I think Creed would be good at FPS’s. Jan offers Jim the second highest position at the new Dunder Mifflin Northeast. But I thought Dwight had that spot. I guess Dwight will be pushed to number three. I’d like to see his reaction to that!
Let’s take a look at character reactions to the news of the branch closing and then “re-opening”:
One of the funniest parts of the episode is the ending with Michael and Dwight hearing of the good news. They think that they were the reason why Scranton was saved. Take a look at their celebration in front of the CFO’s empty house in the picture above. “Yeah, baby! We did it! How did we do it?” “I don’t know.”
Next episode: Dwight vs. Andy! Sounds like Hobbit trouble to me. “Right now, the title of Michael’s book is, Something Weird is Going On. Colon, What Did Jan Say? The Michael Scott Story. By Michael Scott…With Dwight Schrute.”
Season 3 episode 6. It’s Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. Michael encourages the entire Scranton branch to support Kelly and attend a local celebration of Diwali. Meanwhile Ryan faces Kelly’s family at the event. In Stamford, Jim and his two buddies get drunk on what looks like Diet Coke.
“Nice dress Ryan.” Kelly has invited the entire branch to her Indian community Diwali (aka “Hindu Halloween) celebration. Just like all the other episodes dealing with ethnicity, Michael goes over-the-top in his need to recognize racial differences, calling Kelly one of his “most ethnic” employees. It’s pretty funny that Michael goes out of his way to create special occasions out of very ordinary situations (remember when he mentions “05-05-05″ party that happens every billion years?).
The first part of the episode is very reminiscent of “Diversity Day.” We hear a few black jokes directed at Stanley:
Michael: You know what, Stanley? Come Kwanzaa time, I have got you covered, baby. Stanley: I don’t celebrate Kwanzaa. Michael: Wha-really? You should. It’s fun.
I’d like to know where Michael got all of his Indian posters for his “Indian Culture Seminar.” Maybe he got Dwight to go to a ethnic supermarket or something. And I loved Michael’s slide show of famous Indians: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Apu, M. Night Shyamalan, and Michael kissing Carol (wait, that doesn’t sound very Indian). So what do we learn from Michael’s seminar? Three things: There are billions of people just like Kelly, there are at least three famous Indians, and Diwali is just like the Lord of the Rings.
Is it just me or does Andy look like he’s doing a move in the Thriller music video? That’s all I have to say about the Stamford drunkards.
I found Kelly’s sisters really funny for some reason. There’s something hilarious about little kids making fun of a full grown man who has no control over anything in his life (both at Dunder Mifflin and with Kelly). I do like how he is saving his money to travel and to buy an Xbox. It’d better be an Xbox 360 or he would have to save up that much. Michael spitting up all the Indian food all the time and pretending that it was spicy was funny too.
The next episode is supposedly a doozy in terms of plot development. Until then… “TUNA?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
