The Office: Launch Party

When I blogged about the season premiere of The Office, I said I looked forward to seeing Jim and Pam play one of their pranks on Dwight. And the writers followed through, brilliantly, as we all knew they would.

In my opinion, Jim is the indisputable champ of office pranks. My all-time favorite is the episode in which he convinced Dwight that he’d been bitten by a bat and was turning into a vampire! If you’re a fan of The Office pranks, check out this blog.

But last week’s prank—Dwight vs. the computer—is right up there among the best.

Pam, sweetheart that she is, was reluctant to take part. Andy and the annoying bear horn gave her the push she needed. “What kind of prank are you thinking?” she asks Jim.

I love it when Jim and Pam put their heads together over the reception desk, and even Dwight, who’s been burned oh-so-many times, suspected something was up. But his initial suspicion that it might be Jim talking instead of the computer was allayed by Pam’s simple reply.

What is a Jim?

There were only a handful exchanges between Dwight and the computer, but they were so effective. As if I needed to be convinced that the writing on this show is clever, sharp and very tight. It’s a brilliant writer who makes every word count.

Dwight’s jubilation over out-selling the computer was short lived, though. His motivation had been to impress Angela, and she wasn’t. Poor Dwight. Usually I don’t mind seeing him squirm, but I was glad Pam let him off the hook.

You beat me. You are the superior being.

Ordinarily a phrase like that would have had Dwight lording it over everyone in the office, but he was too broken-hearted to care. I wonder if he’ll “get” that he shouldn’t have killed Angela’s cat?

There so much more to love about this episode. Michael referring to the new website as his brain-grandchild. That truly disgusting purple shirt! Driving to NYC for a chatroom party. Oh, Michael.

There was more spark between Jim and Pam in this episode, and I loved that.

One of the best scenes, for me, was Andy’s conference call rendition of ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me.” He didn’t see Angela’s little smile, but we did!

Till tomorrow,
Lee