The Office

It’s back, and the new season begins with a bang. Poor Meredith.

Michael is rationalizing his return to the office with pure Michael Scott logic. Which makes a better boss—a dog or a fish? Always an interesting question, but since he’s run down one of his employees in the parking lot, he has much bigger issues to deal with. Like how to make it seem as though the accident wasn’t his fault or, even better, that it was actually a good thing, not just for Meredith, for the entire world. Ah, Michael.

Dwight, by contrast, feels no need to rationalize his behavior. From the moment he returned from Angela’s apartment and reported that the ailing and aging cat was dead, we knew he had a hand in it. Like Michael, he’s convinced he did the right thing. He just doesn’t need to justify it.

The similarities and differences between these two characters are brilliantly crafted, in my opinion, and skillfully interwoven into each episode. It’s because its done so well that the writers get away with being as outrageous as they are.

PB & J . . . so adorable together, just as we knew they would be. By the second half of the hour-long premiere I was already starting to want more from Pam and Jim, and I’m confident these writers will give it to us. Now that they’re truly a team, I’m looking forward to seeing them play some great practical jokes on Dwight. Can they top last season’s episode in which Jim convinces Dwight he’s been bitten by a vampire bat? Oh, I think so.

I’ll wrap by saying that I think the dialogue is as brilliant as every other aspect of the show. Even if you’re not into off-the-wall comedy, studying a script would be like a master class in dialogue. And I get the sense that the writers are constantly trying to outdo themselves by coming up with over-the-top lines for Steve Carell’s character, and then waiting to hear him deliver them. Imagine how much fun that must be.

“I’m not superstitious . . . but I’m a little stitious.”

Way to write, guys. Keep it coming.

Back tomorrow.

Lee