I loved it! Favorite dialog:
Michael: Maybe I could stay with Jim…?
Jim: Can’t. Apartment’s on fire.
Pam: Flooded.
Jim: Flooded.
To be honest… I didn’t like it that much.
Part of it is that I’m usually not crazy about episodes that take place outside the office in the first place, although I understand that it’s the 5th (4th? I can’t remember) season and they need to keep things fresh.
I dunno, I think the whole thing was just too over-the-top for me. Jan has gone from neurotic but competent businesswoman to depressed layabout to manic depressive harpy in a really short amount of time, and while that may not be totally unrealistic, it is kind of jarring.
I also didn’t really like Jim and Pam’s reaction to the whole thing. They’ve both shown in the past that in spite of the way he acts, they do care about Michael; Pam in particular has talked to Michael about his problems with Jan before. I didn’t buy that Pam would be joking with Jim about what had happened at the dinner party right after it happened; I expected both of them to be more concerned.
The things that I did like about the episode were the more subtle touches - Hunter’s song was hilarious (are they going to release an MP3?), and I love how Michael’s apartment was decorated.
Part of it might also be that after such a long hiatus, I would have liked to see the whole cast rather than concentrating on Michael, Jan, Pam, Jim, and Dwight; even Andy and Angela hardly did anything. Maybe I’ll like the episode better when I watch it on DVD sandwiched between the other episodes.
I loved this episode.
Don’t think it’s been mentioned, but Angela Kinsey was very very pregnant while filming this (she’s due anytime now) and I thought they did a great job hiding her stomach w/o making it too obvious. Dark clothes and a lot of close shots.
That was probably the last ep I’ll watch.
Wasn’t too thrilled with the first couple of eps this season, but thought I’d give it another shot after the strike.
IMO, it has tilted the scale towards pathetic and uncomfortable, from what I used to consider dysfunctional and amusing.
Michael is my least favorite character, and the more attention they give him, the less I like the show.
I thought there were some good bits, but the episode as a whole was, I don’t know… One thing I loved about the early episodes was the deliberate pace, the way someone would say a line and there would be a pause for it to sink in, for the camera to find other characters’ reactions. This episode seemed more like they were going for a rapid-fire, joke-a-minute style. Everything about it seemed fast, jumpy, and loud. It just didn’t feel like The Office to me.
I thought this episode was hilarious. One great part no one has mentioned was the game of Celebrities.
“He’s married to her!”
“Dawson’s creek?”
“OK, this guy sounds like Parnold Pwarznegger… he’s the governor of California”
“Tom Cruise?”
I pretty much agree dead on with the TV reviewer at the Onion AV Club that The Office was brilliant while 30 Rock, which I generally love, was uncharacteristically listless. I mean, a guy getting his arm stuck in a vending machine? Really?
That was so perfect.
I liked this episode. But I can only watch about 5 minutes at a time before I have to pause the TV. I get uncomfortable when I see people act like idiots and need a break. Or I can watch it while doing other things and then keep re-winding it.
I would totally watch MILF Island, though.
Did they make a MILF Island joke on 30 Rock? Because that joke was originally on the other SNL sendup, the one that bombed (I’m blanking on the name).
Youre thinking of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but the “MILF Island” storyline (it’s more than just a one-liner, it’s a whole storyline involving the show as Alec Baldwin’s brainchild. It’s produced and it’s a hit. They show mock scenes and promos for it), as far as I know, is orginal to 30 Rock.
I thought the candles were great- what happened to Jan?? she officially turned into a freak- i mean i guess her old character would have never moved in with Michael. plus the part where Jan is convinced that Pam dated Michael was priceless- so awkward.
Exactly.
I think it dates back to this years premiere(the one with Jerry Seinfeld), where Jack goes over his 10 or so ideas of shows. Milf Island was one of them. 15 hot moms. 1 14 year old boy.
I also liked when Jan explained how she just liked to relax and chill out with her candles and the “OMG, yeah, to get high off the fumes” look Jim and Pam gave eachother.
I’m surprised by the mixed reaction to the show. I thought that it was one of their best episodes ever. They have some cast interviews on the website and the cast all seem to think that it will go down as one of their best too.
Another great bit was how Michael “forgot” to hide the camcorder in the bed room and how he sleeps on that little couch.
I just about died when he physically demonstrated how he fit onto it.
Huh, that’s weird, because my reaction was pretty much the opposite.
While I agree that the vending machine subplot was stupid and should never have been filmed, I thought 30 Rock was otherwise fantastic while, as I said, I didn’t care for The Office really.
I’m sort of surprised at the mixed reactions, too, just because it doesn’t seem to me as though there are a lot of Office episodes that are really that divisive.
I think people have just missed The Office so much that they would have liked to see a more conventional episode, in the office with the full cast. While I liked this episode ok, I personally prefer seeing more of the ensemble get incorporated. Some of the best bits involve characters like Kevin, Kelly, Creed, Stanley, even Ryan. I missed them and I wanted to see them.
I think Jan became more and more dysfunctional when she lost her job. Plus David’s speech as to why Jan was being fired in the first place showed a lot of behaviour that we didn’t know about, that is pretty irrational. (Smoking in her office all day, going to see her sister all the time while she should be at work).
The scene with the little bed really made me feel uncomfortable.
But is it possible for Michael to have a supportive, good girlfriend (somewhat like the one David Brent ends up with, she was at least sympathetic) and the show to still be interesting?
Like I said, he can only be pathetic for so long before it becomes annoying.
Yes. Kudos to the art direction. I loved how the tinyness of the rooms in the condo added to the oppressive atmosphere. The way they were all crammed into each room in the various scenes seemed to suggest greater difficulty of escape.