# The Office - 1/31 - "Junior Salesman" & "Vandalism" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000 "2013-02-01T03:33:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/41 "2013-02-02T18:19:29Z")
Oh, wait. After the fifteenth episode of the seventh season (the episode of February 4, 2011), he also promised to stop watching the show. Tell me, **koufax** , is someone holding a gun to your head on Thursday evenings? > [@The Office: 04 Feb 2011](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-04-feb-2011/570122/16): > > That is the last time i will watch this insulting waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/42 "2013-02-02T19:44:11Z")
Well, after the upcoming series finale he can say it again and _really mean it!_ (but he’ll probably still watch it in reruns) ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/43 "2013-02-02T22:10:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Oh, wait. After the fifteenth episode of the seventh season (the episode of February 4, 2011), he also promised to stop watching the show. Tell me, **koufax** , is someone holding a gun to your head on Thursday evenings? I don’t even own a TV. I watch it on Hulu free along with 30 Rock and Parks and Recreations, two very funny and well written shows. The Office used to be very good, now it is, as I wrote before, an insult to the viewers intelligence. I actually DID quit watching for a while . Where did that British woman come from? Another talented actor being wasted by this amateurish trash. ps I actually purchased the original British version on CD because I thought it was so good. Now look what it has become. Even Ed Helms flew the coup before it completely destroyed his promising career. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/44 "2013-02-02T22:45:29Z")
Again, if it’s so bad, you feel they’re insulting you, why watch it? Again, it’s not like you have it on in the background and it’s just _on_ or it’s on between two other shows you watch, you’re watching it on Hulu, which means you have to go out of your way to watch it. You’re insulting yourself. I think you actually do like it. You go out of your way to watch it, you come and participate in these threads. It’s like being mean to the girl you like in grade school. There’s shows that I think are awful…I don’t watch them. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/45 "2013-02-02T22:46:34Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Even Ed Helms flew the coup before it completely destroyed his promising career. You basically made this same idiotic statement a couple of weeks ago and it was explained to you then that this wasn’t true and why it wasn’t true. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/46 "2013-02-02T23:00:49Z")
\*Coop. As in chicken coop. Fleeing the coop an in chickens leaving before they’re killed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/47 "2013-02-02T23:04:13Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Again, if it’s so bad, you feel they’re insulting you, why watch it? Again, it’s not like you have it on in the background and it’s just _on_ or it’s on between two other shows you watch, you’re watching it on Hulu, which means you have to go out of your way to watch it. You’re insulting yourself. I think you actually do like it. You go out of your way to watch it, you come and participate in these threads. It’s like being mean to the girl you like in grade school. No, that’s not it. I think he’s a deeply closeted masochist and finds that watching a show that he hates satisfies his impulses. If that’s the case, there are people you can hire to help out. Or you could watch _Here Comes Honey Boo Boo_. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/48 "2013-02-03T19:31:17Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > \*Coop. > > As in chicken coop. Fleeing the coop an in chickens leaving before they’re killed. No, I meant coup, because for a show that used to be very good, and is now this bad, there had to be some kind of coup by the “producers”. And I notice now that they have given “producer” credits to Jim, Pam and Dwight. Why would you want to be thought of as a “producer” of this crap? And what exactly do they do as producers? Seriously, I like the talented cast (except Darryl, who isn’t much of an actor) and I am curious as to how bad this atrocity can actually become before it is put out of it’s misery. This guy agrees with me and this was written almost a year ago. And since he wrote this, it has even gotten worse. > **[A Mini-Rant: What the Hell Happened to ‘The Office’?](http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/04/what-the-hell-happened-to-the-office/)** > > Visit the post for more. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/49 "2013-02-03T20:08:29Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Ricky Gervais made fun of it once that I recal. Can you provide a site where he says how “dumb we Americans are for keeping crap like this on the air for years?” > > If you watch it to see how insulting it is to it’s audience… then you are a fool. Well, for an executive producer of a show that he created and is making him a lot of money, to make fun of it at all is a bit interesting, don’t you think? And I really do want to see just how much I can be insulted by this horrific pile of poo without cracking. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to push myself to the limit for once in my life and I think that I have found the perfect way to do this. Some people climb Mt Everest, I’ll continue to watch this “comedy”. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/50 "2013-02-03T20:11:31Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Well, for an executive producer of a show that he created and is making him a lot of money, to make fun of it at all is a bit interesting, don’t you think? > > And I really do want to see just how much I can be insulted by this horrific pile of poo without cracking. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to push myself to the limit for once in my life and I think that I have found the perfect way to do this. > > Some people climb Mt Everest, I’ll continue to watch this “comedy”. Whatever dude. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/51 "2013-02-03T20:11:42Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > You basically made this same idiotic statement a couple of weeks ago and it was explained to you then that this wasn’t true and why it wasn’t true. Oh right, he is off filming “The Hangover 3 or 4” or whatever number they are on now. And this isn’t The Pit, so I am entitled to my opinion and my half baked ideas without being called “idiotic” Cmon Hajario, you know this show stinks. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/52 "2013-02-03T20:44:05Z")
You know what stinks? When a poster continually, week-after-week, comes in to threads for a show that the poster claims not to like and just starts flingin’ poo. That’s jerky behavior. Yes, some of us still enjoy the show. And we may criticize it and long for the days when it was better. But we can also point out the things we like about it and have a balanced discussion, instead of just barging in and crapping all over everything and contributing nothing more than “This show sucks. Still! Just like I said last week. And the week before that! And I’m never watching again! What’s that? I said that before? Okay, I’m going to keep watching so I can keep coming in here and telling you all that it sucks! Because I just want to see if I can do it!” ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/53 "2013-02-03T21:04:52Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Well, for an executive producer of a show that he created and is making him a lot of money, to make fun of it at all is a bit interesting, don’t you think? > > And I really do want to see just how much I can be insulted by this horrific pile of poo without cracking. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to push myself to the limit for once in my life and I think that I have found the perfect way to do this. > > Some people climb Mt Everest, I’ll continue to watch this “comedy”. If that was true you would be watching Whitney instead. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/54 "2013-02-03T22:06:35Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Oh right, he is off filming “The Hangover 3 or 4” or whatever number they are on now. Right. This is factual. Not an opinion. > [@](#): > > And this isn’t The Pit, so I am entitled to my opinion and my half baked ideas without being called “idiotic” I said that your statement is idiotic and it is. It’s also factually incorrect. > [@](#): > > Cmon Hajario, you know this show stinks. As I have said many times, it’s a shadow of its former self. I also think that the last three episodes have been the best for a while. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/55 "2013-02-04T04:34:41Z")
Nitpick: The inclusion of the documentary crew or any other past acknowledgements of the filming crew doesn’t constitute a breaking of the fourth wall. A crew isn’t the audience of the show they’re filming, we out here in TV land are. No one has addressed the _audience_ yet, though, but since the pretense of _The Office_ is that it’s a documentary and that the people being documented _know_ they’re being filmed for a documentary that will presumably be watched by an audience, even a direct address wouldn’t be breaking the fourth wall. For that to happen, Jenna Fischer (for example), would have to address the audience, not Pam Halpert. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/56 "2013-02-04T04:36:04Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > You know what stinks? When a poster continually, week-after-week, comes in to threads for a show that the poster claims not to like and just starts flingin’ poo. That’s jerky behavior. > > Yes, some of us still enjoy the show. And we may criticize it and long for the days when it was better. But we can also point out the things we like about it and have a balanced discussion, instead of just barging in and crapping all over everything and contributing nothing more than “This show sucks. Still! Just like I said last week. And the week before that! And I’m never watching again! What’s that? I said that before? Okay, I’m going to keep watching so I can keep coming in here and telling you all that it sucks! Because I just want to see if I can do it!” I have stated over and over that it has an excellent cast, all very talented (except Darryl) and their talents are now going to waste because of bad writing. I also stated that the one where Dwight was hiring was very funny because the applicants were VERY funny. So I don’t completely attack the show. ---
**Author:** ![ptr2void](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ptr2void/32/3406_2.png) [@ptr2void](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ptr2void)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/57 "2013-02-04T11:36:08Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > I love Pam. I’m a lot like Pam. But women like me and Pam? We don’t really have men fight over us. Not multiple times either. I’m sure it’s not unheard of in the entire history of the world, but it stretches my suspension of disbelief. And yeah, the camera guy wasn’t fighting for her, necessarily. He might have done that no matter who was going to be on the receiving end of the crazed warehouse guy, but the pining over her for years and years? I just have a hard time thinking so many guys did (Jim, camera guy, Roy after the break up, the Mad Men guy when she was at art school, Toby). Why not? Pam is very attractive without necessarily falling into the unattainable supermodel category. Most importantly she is smart, sweet, and **has an overall very pleasant and upbeat personality**. She’s really sort of the “girl next door” archetype. Sounds damn near perfect to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/58 "2013-02-04T16:34:17Z")
She’s legitimately sexy in the critically panned Blades of Glory. It’s just the office clothes she wares covers up her curves. Also, last week’s episode had shades of early season strife with the love triangle stuff. It was a touch contrived and forced but if you don’t think too hard about it and squint… it stirred up some nostalgia for those early seasons. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/59 "2013-02-04T17:08:49Z")
> [@ptr2void](#): > > Why not? Pam is very attractive without necessarily falling into the unattainable supermodel category. Most importantly she is smart, sweet, and **has an overall very pleasant and upbeat personality**. She’s really sort of the “girl next door” archetype. Sounds damn near perfect to me. 🙂 Pam’s character flaw is that she is too passive and mousy. She dated Roy for, like, what? Four years? Imagine all of the selfish, bad sex Pam laid there and took. Knowing the Roy character, you know it had to be. Blegh. That lack of confidence and assertiveness would be a turn off for some men and an asset for others. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000/60 "2013-02-04T17:53:23Z")
Brian has been around for the whole time that we have. He saw her with Roy and saw the Jim romance blossom and the wedding and the two kids. He has to know, like we do, that this is just temporary stress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-1-31-junior-salesman-vandalism/649000.md?page=4)