The stapler in the Jello was definitely in the British original. (And, BTW, there’s an article on Slate.com today about the French and German versions of the show, which includes some video clips, including a version of the stapler-in-the-Jello entirely in French. I was amused that I could follow the entire exchange even though I don’t speak French.)
I thought the closing was absolutely perfect, with Pam laughing at the gaydar but at the same time sad because it reminded her of how much she missed Jim.
I also loved the reaction shots during the kiss, particularly Kelly giggling and clapping.
Brilliant episode.
Also, “maybe Oscar and Angela are having a gay love affair”.
Creed’s bit made me laugh out loud.
Roy’s drunk driving mugshot was hilarious.
Dwights smile when Michael said “Can you imagine her (Angela) with another woman?” also great.
I actually didn’t like the Jim in the Stamford bits except for the Helm’s freak out. The thing I liked best about the UK version’s other office when we met them at the start of the second season was that they seemed really normal. This Stamford office all seem like over professional dicks. They don’t seem real.
The stapler (actually, calculator) in the jello wasn’t a reference to the British version, but a reference back to the first episode of the American version (which was, of course, copied from the British version). It’s a subtle but important distinction. They were showing how Jim was trying to fit himself into the new situation, but obviously it didn’t work very well.
As for the hot but crazy line, I don’t remember that from the UK version at all.
Something tells me a line similar to that was in Coupling, was it not?
Brilliant season-opener! I couldn’t stop laughing out loud, I’m sure I missed some jokes. I’ll have to play it back again tonight. Just classically brilliant!
Jim’s messing with Michael & Dwigt from Stamford was great! Ryan not quite getting Pam’s “look”!
Pam looked great! Heck, a lot of the cast looked great. Stanley looks like he’s lost a few pounds as have some others.
I love that Pam & Roy still had to pay for the food from the wedding, so they froze it. They’re stuck eatnig leftovers from their cancelled wedding. That is so sad & funny at the same time.
Was the “Michael” in Stamford played by Chip (I forget the last name) who used to show up on Whose Line is it Anyway?
The duy who Phyllis is marrying: is that someone we know? The name didn’t seem familiar to me.
A great episode. Michael kissing Oscar was excrutiatingly funny. As was Ryan saying, “Now at my high school reunion, it won’t say that Ryan is a temp. It will say Ryan is a junior paper salesman at a failing paper distributor in Scranton. That’ll show them.” But the writers need to get Jim back ASAP. It’s not the same without him.
Maybe I’m on crack but I thought I saw the whole thing, but I must have missed the parts about Roy. So Pam tells Jim she’s still going to marry Roy, but Roy is arrested and she calls off the wedding?? How did I miss all that :smack:
Don’t know how you missed it but Pam had gotten cold feet and called off the wedding before Roy got arrested. His arrest was a result of his letting himself go (note the added weight of the mug shot) and hitting rock bottom.
Don’t know why, but I loved Stanley bitching about having 2 toasters.
And that Kevin cracks me up. I KNEW he was going to handle the outing maturely!
No, you weren’t. I was cringing, it was almost unwatchable for the uncomfortable situation Michael created, and it kept escalating.
Poor Pam, it’s obvious how much she misses Jim. She’s adorable.
He owns a heating and refrigeration business. He showed up in a couple of eps last season. In the Casino Night episode, he donated the mini-fridge prize won by Creed.
Poor, confused Dwight now claims that he can tell “a gay” by sight, even though he spent an evening at Oscar and Gil’s house, and still didn’t catch on.
Roy was arrested after she called off the wedding. Roy has a talking head segment where he says that he basically got depressed and “stopped taking care of himself” after Pam dumped him. He then says he got arrested for a DUI and they show the mug shot (where Roy looks like hell).
Well, they weren’t wearing dresses…
I hope we can trust the writers not to turn Roy into a stalker, although the “I’m going to win her back” line is a little worrying.
I wonder how they’ll get Jim back to Scranton? There’s no opening there now that Ryan was promoted into Jim’s old spot. Plus, that would be a demotion anyway for Jim, so what’s the plan? I know it’s just a TV show, but it’s real to me dammit! 
She should have used his full name: “Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration”.
My guess is the show will somewhat follow season two of the BBC series: the Stamford office will close, and Jim and the interesting characters (Ed Helms, Chip Esten, maybe the hot-but-crazy girl) will get absorbed back into the Scranton office. That way Jim can return, there can be the awkwardness of a new attractive female employee, and the boss (the Chip Esten character) might get promoted to Michael’s boss for even more awkwardness, like the Neil character in the BBC series.
OK, I switched back just in time to hear the tail end of that and I thought it had something to do with the gay story line.
must remember not to channel-surf during The Office commercial breaks!!
I thought the conference room scene was definitely over the top. I hated how Oscar finally told Michael how he really is and then immediately breaks and takes it back.
I liked how Jim’s group had to have more sensitivity training because of “more incidents at the Scranton branch”.
He just said in his world-weary manner:
I bought them a toaster.
Then they called the wedding off and gave me back the toaster.
The store wouldn’t take it back because they no longer sold that model.
So now my house has two toasters.
Not sure why, but it cracked me up. Something so petty, self-centered, the-whole-world-is-against-me about it…
And Kevin’s giggling!