Talk about taking the longest, most circuitous route from point “A” to point “A.” With the season more than halfway through, and tanking fast, The Office took the opportunity of a new corporate parent to right an egregious wrong committed earlier this season: the co-manager position.
I admit that I was onboard when the office upheaval occurred, and I still believe that at its core the idea was a solid one. But as it manifested itself on the show? With Jim becoming one of the more boring characters on the series? A change was definitely called for.
But then there are corporate best interests, and there are our best interests. So which was served last night?
I’d say ours. Jim’s never proved himself a strong boss, but Michael has long been acknowledged as a killer salesman. Jim’s mediocre at best. If the bottom line is all about sales, wouldn’t it make the most sense to make the better salesman the salesman in this manager/salesman break? What kind of CEO is Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates)?
Because as a character and a guest star she sucked. Granted you have to have expectations to be disappointed, but Bates might have just disproved that theory by disappointing the inherent expectations that come with a really famous and successful actress appearing on one of your favorite shows. I can’t blame her for how dumb the whole Sabre thing is, but her own failure rests squarely on her shoulders.
I think we all must be feeling some frustration at Andy for how pathetic he’s been in the face of his feelings for Erin. Forget for a minute that he managed to pursue Angela enthusiastically, so if the writers are claiming that this shyness is part of his personality they’re making an easily disprovable mistake.
No, for me it’s that I’m beginning to wonder if the Erin/Andy courtship isn’t an attempt to try and recapture the magic of the Pam/Jim romance, with the awkwardness, molasses-like momentum, will they/won’t they, and whatever else, all updated to reflect the (supposed) personalities of the current participants. Anyone else starting to get that feeling? Because nothing else would explain why Andy hasn’t asked her out yet. Even when he was competing with Dwight for her attention he was being more proactive than he is now, so clearly he both has it in him and it’s not her. So what’s going on?
While I leave you with that thought, I’ll leave you with another. Is Jim back? Because I got a hint of the old magic when he dunked Dwight’s tie in his coffee. The truth is we haven’t seen Jim in his natural habitat basically all season long. The few episodes that he hasn’t been manager he was preparing for a wedding. So might that tie dunking be his return?
And before the quotes, good choice cancelling your Vancouver reservations Michael. It’s bad enough that the Olympics are invading our TV for the next few weeks.
“These sure are pretty dogs.” – Andy
“They love a good crotch.” – Jo
“Yeah, they sure do.” – Andy
“You should take that as a compliment.” – Jo
“Oh, I do.” – Andy, followed by Erin smiling her encouragement/agreement?
“Oh, a bird and a dog.” – Erin
“Yeah, well it’s Snoopy and Woodstock.” – Andy
“You named them?” – Erin
“Ah, Charles Schulz did.” – Andy
“Camel cigarettes did the same thing with Joe Camel by making him look like a penis. I can’t even go near a cigarette now without thinking of a penis. And vice versa.” – Michael, on saying the word “manager” a lot to Jo
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 12, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
Wow. Totally disagree today.
“I’d say ours. Jim’s never proved himself a strong boss, but Michael has long been acknowledged as a killer salesman. Jim’s mediocre at best. If the bottom line is all about sales, wouldn’t it make the most sense to make the better salesman the salesman in this manager/salesman break? What kind of CEO is Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates)?”
IMHO – The best salesperson should direct sales, that means Michael. Also, he has the proven track record of directing higher sales volume. Jim in unproven.
“Because as a character and a guest star she sucked. Granted you have to have expectations to be disappointed, but Bates might have just disproved that theory by disappointing the inherent expectations that come with a really famous and successful actress appearing on one of your favorite shows. I can’t blame her for how dumb the whole Sabre thing is, but her own failure rests squarely on her shoulders.”
I thought Bates was brilliant. I watched her opening scenes a couple of times. I like the Sabre buyout story.
But I will say that I think the tie in coffee signaled Jim’s return to funny.
Great episode for me.
*POST AUTHOR*
It makes me sad when you’re so wrong…. :)
You’re totally right, but does Michael direct sales as a manager? Not that he would have in a different position, but if “Head of Sales” wasn’t just something he made up I’d say it would have better positioned him to do what you’re suggesting than manager. Jim’s unproven, but Michael’s proven to be sub-par.
I was actually more surprised that Michael was prepared to give up the manager position for anything, even money. His character would actually scream that he’d never do that. That was the weirdest part for me in the whole thing.
I don’t know, Kathy Bates gave me nothing. It sounded like all she did was slap on a fake accent and then barrel through her scenes. I’d be happy to never see her back.
Michael manages the office, he’s in charge of the production of the office. The numbers mean his head if they are low. He’s not effective in a direct way, but the proof is in the numbers (or pudding). Sorry, I don’t make the rules. If the head of sales/production spends all his/her time planning his/her constant self promotion, dates, wedding, vacations, dinner parties, and the office is still producing pleasing numbers to the powers that be, trust me no one will care how unjust the situation is.
I do see how Michael wanting out of his position, even lured by money is a bit odd, but one could say that it is just more impulsive behaviour.
*POST AUTHOR*
I suppose it’s all speculation, but I wonder if Michael really does manage the office. Accounting seems to steer the ship on budgeting, and the sales staff pretty much operates as mini-fiefdoms, as they often do. Whereas I’d expect to see Michael involved in certain things on a regular basis — larger accounts, forecasting numbers for corporate, strategizing on growing the office’s market-share, actively managing his employees — we’ve gotten one-off episodes where he mingles in those areas for laughs. I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed his giving gift baskets to 10 big clients, his video presentation to corporate, or whatever else, but he’s failed miserably as a boss.
And don’t forget that for most of the run of the series, branch closings have been a major cloud hanging over the office’s head, starting from the pilot. Michael has not been the great producer for very long.
Jim sucks as a manager so far … I’m just saying of the two things he’s bad at, he’s proved himself worse at sales, simply because he was mediocre at it for longer.
And in the grand scheme of things, I realize this is all just played for our enjoyment. I’m just saying, were this a real corporate environment…. :)
Well, then, rejoice, because she’s absolutely right.
I do wonder if the writers sketch out the high points they want to hit for each season, or if they just make it up from episode to episode as they go along. Your opening paragraph seems to suggest it’s the latter, but I’ve always felt this was the way they intended to go from the beginning with the co-managers, and not that they had to suddenly course-correct. Jim’s been a terrible boss throughout, and no one had any illusions about him replacing Michael permanently. They milked that for the comedy as long as they could (or longer), then had to find a way to demote him without making it seem like a step backward, as we knew they weren’t going to send either Michael or Jim to another office a second time.
I think the most refreshing quality of Erin’s is the way she supports/enables/cheerleads Michael no matter how ludicrous his actions, in direct contrast to the maternal and reproaching way Pam treated him when she was the receptionist. She’s a very good assistant to him, has adapted to and anticipates his quirks, and continues to believe that he has wisdom to impart to her, which might be the funniest part of all.
*POST AUTHOR*
I think the writers absolutely sketch out major plot points for a season, but I think this reverse of direction was not intentional. I believe they altered their course based on where they found themselves in terms of the show’s dynamics, as well as the reaction from the audience. Because whereas the Michael Scott Paper Company had a point — Pam’s promotion and the return of Ryan — what’s the gain here? I don’t think they would have just done it for half a season’s worth of laughs.
I guess your reasons for liking her might also be why I dislike Erin, because honestly I find her enabling of Michael to be extremely disingenuous, wreaking of kissing up to the boss. She’s also not solely his assistant … she’s the office receptionist. Pam may have played the straight man, but she balanced her two responsibilities better. That’s on the writers, but Erin seems to have just been installed to do Michael’s bidding, which is annoying.
I read the episodes as them writing up to this, but you could be right about the writers changing their collective mind. Perhaps this will be illuminated in a future episode commentary. I do think they would certainly do it just for half a season’s worth of laughs, because it’s something different than merely treading water. Additionally, we did get some insight into Jim, who wanted and lobbied for the position, tried his best, and was horrible at it; the others ate him alive.
I don’t think you’re wrong, but I don’t find it disingenuous in the slightest because Erin’s simply that dumb, which is kind of adorable in a fictional character. She’s not just doing it to kiss up or fit in, but seems honestly excited just to work there. She looks up to people like Kelly and Michael as role models. Andy is the most interesting man she’s ever met. From what little we’ve seen, Erin does her job for the rest of the office just fine, so I don’t think she can be criticized there.
I think the recurring gag in the Sabre episode best illustrated the character dynamics at play here. Michael tells Erin to throw him some scissors, which she, as the little sister, does with gusto. The camera swings directly to Pam, the mother, looking aghast. This is repeated again later in the episode, and you know Pam was just dreading Michael invitably slashing/impaling himself. I really like the change in the Regional Manager/Receptionist relationship that we’ve gotten because of Erin.
*POST AUTHOR*
True, it did show us some new sides of Jim. I’d just wonder two things if this was meant to be temporary: 1) How will they use this new side of Jim going forward? And 2) I thought it would result in Michael growing and going into something else, like Jan’s old job from Scranton, or whatever. I just thought it was a more permanent way to shake things up. Either way, things are as they are now.
I definitely see what you’re seeing in Erin. Maybe I just prefer Pam and Michael, so Erin bugs me. I don’t know.
Even if someone dislikes Erin, the beauty of the situation is she’s not a total replacement for Pam, who is still ten feet away from the front desk, desperately trying to rein in Michael’s more nonsensical impulses, so we get to enjoy both reactions. And now Pam has greater freedom to simply say “no” to him, a tendency she’d been forced to repress as an assistant.
Of course, it seems she’s still a sucky sales rep, so two steps forward, one step back.
Regarding Erin/Andy as the new Pam/Jim – yes, I got that impression a long time ago. As soon as Andy started to pursue Erin, I felt that they were the new Pam and Jim. For me, it’s working, because I love Andy, and Erin is so odd and cute. I think they’re adorable, and that scene with the drummers was a special moment. But I acknowledge that the whole thing feels like a blatant attempt to recreate the old Jam spark with a new couple. I also agree with you that Andy is acting out of character – I can only guess that he’s trying too hard not to mess up. Erin, on the other hand, is staying in character. We’ve seen that she never takes the lead in any situation but always follows the other person’s lead.
*POST AUTHOR*
Unfortunately for me I’m not a fan of Erin’s. I believe it has to do with her relationship with Kelly, either that they’re friends or that she looks up to her somehow, but that connection destroys Erin for me. For me Kelly is just shy of winning the race of worst character with Ryan.
Did anyone else notice that Marc Webb directed last nights episode? Director of 500 Days Of Summer? I though him and Mindy Kaling’s excellent script made last nights episode the best of the season.