# The Office 1/21/10 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945 "2010-01-22T02:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/21 "2010-01-22T18:43:04Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > _Seinfeld_ only did one clip show, and that was during the first hour of the series finale. Actually Seinfeld did a clip show for their 100th episode [The Highlights of 100 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Highlights_of_100). Still, last night’s Office sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/22 "2010-01-22T19:16:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Am I the only one who found many of the clips funny? I mean, I’ve watched every episode of the show, so I’ve seen all of these clips when they first aired, but it was still funny. > > (And it’s weird to imagine Michael Scott as the highest-ranking Dunder-Mifflin employee.) I really enjoyed the show. I haven’t always been a regular watcher and I don’t ever watch reruns so some of it was new to me. Other clips brought back memories from when the show was fresh. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/23 "2010-01-22T19:24:06Z")
if they had used it to showcase the web-only scenes it would have been worthwile… otherwise… kind of lame. The Computron parts were neat. Seeing Lazy Scranton again was also nice. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/24 "2010-01-22T20:13:55Z")
I like Michel’s last voice over, it sounds like they’re confident the show still has legs. I also thought it was funny that Computron was scared his plug was going to be plugged. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/25 "2010-01-22T21:29:46Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > The hysterectomy sequence was the least funny; I was waiting for anal fissures, hot dog fingers, and… and… some other funny ones that I can’t think of right now. Spontaneous dental hydroplosion? Government created nano-robot infection? (Kinda sad, I knew these without looking 'em up.) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/26 "2010-01-22T22:34:52Z")
The clip show was reaching out for moderate viewers, but it seems that in doing so, the show has angered its base. I’m willing to spot them a clip show at this point, and I confess that I thought the clips were funny. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/27 "2010-01-23T03:32:36Z")
I didn’t mind too much. I like the show still, but I’m not as emotionally vested in it, so it wasn’t a great disappointment. But was it just me that some of those clips looked unfamiliar? I recognized almost all of them, but there were a few jokes or looks or takes that I don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/28 "2010-01-23T06:24:27Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The clip from when Jim first asked Pam if she was free for dinner struck me as a little weird seeing it again. As far as Pam knew, Jim still had a live-in girlfriend, yet she instantly said yes without asking anything at all about Karen. How was that any different from instantly agreeing to date a married guy? Karen and Jim didn’t live together. That was kind of a big plot point – Karen wanted to move a few blocks away from Jim, and even _that_ was cutting things a bit too close for Jim’s comfort. Then Pam told him to get over it and he “allowed” Karen to move out of her hotel into a place ten minutes away from him. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/29 "2010-01-23T08:30:16Z")
Count me in as someone who was disappointed to see a clip show. Oh well. Long live Dunder-Mifflin! I wonder if Jim will remain as co-manager now that Michael is in charge of the entire company. God help Dunder-Mifflin. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/30 "2010-01-23T13:11:52Z")
> [@Ruby Sees](#): > > I didn’t mind too much. I like the show still, but I’m not as emotionally vested in it, so it wasn’t a great disappointment. > > But was it just me that some of those clips looked unfamiliar? I recognized almost all of them, but there were a few jokes or looks or takes that I don’t remember. I think some clips did come from deleted scenes. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/31 "2010-01-23T20:30:57Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Count me in as someone who was disappointed to see a clip show. Oh well. Long live Dunder-Mifflin! > > I wonder if Jim will remain as co-manager now that Michael is in charge of the entire company. God help Dunder-Mifflin. Michael is not in charge of the company, hes the highest ranking person left from before. Whoever bought Dundler-Mifflin is now in charge of the company. I liked the clip show, i thought i had seen every episode ever but there were some i could not place. I bet whether you liked this episode or not had a lot to do with whether you watch the show in syndication or don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/32 "2010-01-23T21:02:31Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Michael is not in charge of the company, hes the highest ranking person left from before. Whoever bought Dundler-Mifflin is now in charge of the company. I liked the clip show, i thought i had seen every episode ever but there were some i could not place. I bet whether you liked this episode or not had a lot to do with whether you watch the show in syndication or don’t. One reason I disliked the clip-show is because it completley defies this being a ‘documentary.’ It doesn’t make sense at all within the context of the show for this episode to exist. But then again, the show stopped taking itself seriously several seasons ago, so eh. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/33 "2010-01-23T21:12:22Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > One reason I disliked the clip-show is because it completley defies this being a ‘documentary.’ It doesn’t make sense at all within the context of the show for this episode to exist. But then again, the show stopped taking itself seriously several seasons ago, so eh. Documentary shows can’t show clips of previous episodes? I don’t really get your point Not that the documentary thing stands up to scrutiny very well, but I don’t see how having a clip show does anything more to invalidate it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/34 "2010-01-23T21:14:51Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Not that the documentary thing stands up to scrutiny very well, but I don’t see how having a clip show does anything more to invalidate it. Have you ever seen a documentary/clip-show tied into a narrative? It felt horribly contrived, undermining the show’s premise. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/35 "2010-01-23T21:14:56Z")
> [@25.1327\_Octopi](#): > > Nice to see another alumnus from _The Wire_, though. Hah! I wondered where I knew that guy from. Then it hit me: Doug from Flight of the Conchords. I just watched season 5 of the Wire 3 weeks ago and didn’t realize that was the same guy. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/36 "2010-01-23T21:34:10Z")
What’s wrong with a clip show? Did someone tinkle in everyone’s corn flakes or something? Geez. It was funny. I’m willing to let a show that’s been on for a few years to have a clip show or two to recap what’s been going on in the show up until then and to remind us of the funny things that have happened. In theory, a clip show give everyone a bit of a break because they’ve been working so much on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/37 "2010-01-23T21:58:03Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > One reason I disliked the clip-show is because it completley defies this being a ‘documentary.’ It doesn’t make sense at all within the context of the show for this episode to exist. But then again, the show stopped taking itself seriously several seasons ago, so eh. I don’t see the problem with a documentary recycling old footage. If this were really a documentary, whoever was editing it (and _The Office_ is obviously edited, not raw footage in real-time) could have gone back and pulled examples of for instance sexual harassment incidents and put them in when the subject of sexual harassment came up. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen reality TV shows do this kind of thing, so there’s no reason why _The Office_ shouldn’t. If it had been one of those “Hey, remember when that thing happened?” clip shows then that would have strained the documentary framework a bit more, but it still wouldn’t be impossible for a documentary editor to replace footage of people telling a story with previously filmed footage of the actual incident. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/38 "2010-01-23T22:05:10Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > If it had been one of those “Hey, remember when that thing happened?” clip shows then that would have strained the documentary framework a bit more, but it still wouldn’t be impossible for a documentary editor to replace footage of people telling a story with previously filmed footage of the actual incident. But this was pretty much what that was–horribly contrived and seemingly lazy. I’ve never seen a documentary show have a clip-show framed within the context of an actual episode–‘reality shows’ (the contest kind), sure. But ones that purport to show an actual process–no. It bothered me, but the show as a whole has been for a while at any rate. Just another week of that, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/39 "2010-01-23T22:47:46Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > But this was pretty much what that was–horribly contrived and seemingly lazy. The characters were not actually sitting around and saying “Hey, remember when…” I have seen clip shows that did that, but this wasn’t one of them. The clips were obviously not meant to be Toby’s memories either, as they depicted events that Toby did not witness. > [@](#): > > \*I’ve never seen a documentary show have a clip-show framed within the context of an actual episode–‘reality shows’ (the contest kind), sure. But ones that purport to show an actual process–no. \*I’m pretty sure I remember MTV’s _The Real World_ doing things like showing Person A complain about how Person B was a jerk, and then show clips of Person B being a jerk. If _The Office_ were actually being filmed at a real paper company it would be a lot closer to something like _The Real World_ than a documentary “show[ing] an actual process” – it’s obviously not meant to be educational. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945/40 "2010-01-23T23:20:46Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > The characters were not actually sitting around and saying “Hey, remember when…” I have seen clip shows that did that, but this wasn’t one of them. The clips were obviously not meant to be Toby’s memories either, as they depicted events that Toby did not witness. Yes, I know. My point was this seemed almost as contrived. > [@Lamia](#): > > I’m pretty sure I remember MTV’s _The Real World_ doing things like showing Person A complain about how Person B was a jerk, and then show clips of Person B being a jerk. If _The Office_ were actually being filmed at a real paper company it would be a lot closer to something like _The Real World_ than a documentary “show[ing] an actual process” – it’s obviously not meant to be educational. I’ve never watched the real world, but from what I understand, that’s pretty much a misnomer. The people were brought together because of the show, more similar (imo) to the ‘contest reality’ shows I referenced earlier, instead of the job-based documentaries I’ve seen, such as American Casino or World’s Deadliest Catch, or American Choppers. Plus that situation you describe is a bit different–it sounds like those clips were being used in isolated moments for context, not having an entire episode based around them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-21-10/525945.md?page=3)