Modest Improvements
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As most of you probably already know, NBC won’t be airing a new episode of The Office this week. This gives me a bit of time to work on making some improvements to the site. In addition to tidying up the layout of the comments column on each page, I’ve improved the format of the episode recaps.
E-mail Surveillance
- Season 2 : Episode 9
- First aired on November 22, 2005
- Written by Jennifer Celotta / Directed by Paul Feig
- Recap by James Fan
- Discuss this episode at The Watercooler, and remember to submit your vote at OfficeTally.
See what everyone is like outside of the office. An e-mail surveillance campaign leads to some unwelcome discoveries for Michael, including his absence from the guest list to Jim’s barbecue. All signs point to a budding office romance between Dwight and Angela. Pam enlists the camera crew in her for pursuit of the truth, but drops the investigation when her own implication is brought to light, and a fiery doom is narrowly averted when Kevin steps between Ryan and the grill.
People Magazine
There aren’t many things in this world that could possess me to walk through a checkout line holding a magazine with the words “Sexiest Man Alive” plastered across the front cover. Fortunately, for the fairer half of you, this show just happens to be one of them.
So, how about Steve’s shirt? You know you’ve hit the big time when you can pull off a look like that.
From the iTunes Music Store
It turns out there are all sorts of Office-related goodies to check out at the iTunes Music Store. Obviously, you’ll need iTunes installed on your computer in order to enjoy these finds. These links should fire up iTunes automatically, though you may have to click through a couple dialog windows depending on what browser you’re using.
Performance Review
- Season 2 : Episode 8
- First aired on November 15, 2005
- Written by Larry Wilmore / Directed by Paul Feig
- Recap by James Fan
- Discuss this episode at The Watercooler, and remember to submit your vote at OfficeTally.
Job performance is anything but the topic of review during performance review day. Michael uses the evaluations as an excuse to wring dating advice from his employees, but things come to a head during the first ever suggestion box meeting. Dwight prepares for his own review by rocking out, while Jim and Pam delight in toying with his perfect attendance. Plus, Angela dresses to kill, and Phyllis reminds us that sometimes a bullet to the head is the only escape.
Holy Cow!
I am proud to say that Northern Attack has been mentioned by none other than Jenna Fischer herself! I promise that this will be the only time that you ever catch me gloating about this site — I know you all have far more important things to do with your lives, but I just couldn’t help myself this time. I am literally glowing right now as I type this out. Thank you to the cast and crew of The Office for giving me something to look forward to every Tuesday night, and to the readership of this blog for being a wonderful audience. Words cannot express how much I appreciate all of you.
Turning Back the Clock
Thanks for all of the compliments on the site — I’m glad you all are enjoying the blog. I’ve added recaps for Pilot and Diversity Day. I’m filing the recaps for old episodes under their original airdates, so you won’t see them at the top of the main page where you would normally see new posts — however, they will always be available through the Episodes link on the sidebar. I’ll also try to post an announcement on the front page when I add a recap for an old episode.
Stuff Magazine
For those of you who haven’t heard, the latest issue of Stuff magazine (December 2005, Mila Kunis shown on the cover) contains a nice photo shoot featuring the cast of The Office dressed in some very swanky apparel. Check out the following scans, and then head out and pick up your own copy to add to your collection of Office-related paraphernalia.
So, how do you spell Pam’s last name? That’s the second time I’ve seen it spelled as “Beesly”, although Jenna spells it as “Beesley” on her blog. I’m inclined to go with Jenna on this one because, well, she probably knows what she’s talking about. All in all, a nice opportunity to see the gang strut their stuff.
The Client
- Season 2 : Episode 7
- First aired on November 8, 2005
- Written by Paul Lieberstein / Directed by Greg Daniels
- Recap by James Fan
- Discuss this episode at The Watercooler, and remember to submit your vote at OfficeTally.
A meeting with a potential client leads to some unexpected sparks between Michael and Jan. Back at the office, Pam unearths a screenplay written by Michael. Jim rounds up the rest of the office employees for an improptu table reading, but a botched search-and-replace leads to some hurt feelings and an abrupt end to the proceedings, which frees up just enough time for a nice, candlelit dinner on the rooftop.
Shifty Business
UPDATE : I’ve added a gallery section to the episode recaps. Check out the updated recaps for Halloween and The Fight (you’ll need JavaScript enabled in order to properly view the galleries).
I just wanted to warn you all that I’m still in the process of ironing out a few details regarding Northern Attack. There are several layout tweaks that I’m pitching around, plus I’m still finalizing the episode recap pages (galleries are a possibility, keep your fingers crossed). In the meantime, don’t be alarmed if you see things moving about a bit.
Also, note the Episodes section on the sidebar of the home page: episode recaps will always be accessible from that location. The list is rigged to only display the five most recent recaps, so check the More link if you don’t see the episode that you’re looking for. If the episode’s not there, then that means I haven’t gotten around to writing a recap for it. I do plan on writing entries for the earlier episodes, so keep checking back to see if the recap you’re looking for has been posted.
The Fight
- Season 2 : Episode 6
- First aired on November 1, 2005
- Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky / Directed by Ken Kwapis
- Recap by James Fan
- Discuss this episode at The Watercooler, and remember to submit your vote at OfficeTally.
The gloves are off after Dwight delivers a devastating one-two punch to Michael’s gut for the entire office to see. Dwight channels Ralph Macchio in the ensuing brawl, but not very well. Progress on the Jim/Pam front hits a roadblock when Jim gets too close for her comfort, and Ryan staves off Michael’s advances after making the mistake of giving him his cell phone number.