Dammit, posting this made me miss the start of the $2 NL tourney at PT.
Jenna, you are so worth it.
Like most of you probably were, I was too wrapped up in wrapping my head around the whole Jim & Pam thing (which I didn’t see coming at all) to think much about it, but I noticed as Jan was leaving she threw something in the back seat of her car that looked like an overnight bag. Jan is a really tough nut to crack…sometimes, it seems like she almost can’t stand Michael, and other times, it seems like she genuinely likes him.
Anyone else have a take on Jan, and her opinion(s?) of Michael? Does anyone else think the idea of them actually being a couple is both a disaster waiting to happen and a possible comedy goldmine? 
I tried posting this last night (twice, in fact), but kept getting some weird error message.
Anyhow, I think Roy and Pam are* Comfortable* together. I think Roy is the type of guy who doesn’t ever really want to move out of his comfort zone—why would he? He’s got his girl, his job, his buddies, his beer, whatever. As such, he doesn’t want Pam to move out of her comfort zone either…except it’s not really comfortable for her. She has dreams of working as an artist, but he doesn’t want her to explore them because it means disrupting their “system”. So, no, I don’t think he’s evil, just one of those guys who sees nothing wrong with settling in to an existence that doesn’t promise a lot, but is predictable.
That said, there does exist the possibility that he is cheating on her—he leaves her at events, didn’t want to set a date for the wedding for the longest time, and might just be one of those guys who sees nothing wrong with getting a little on the side. Would be an interesting twist.
As for Jan, I think she’s caught in this struggle between having this pressure and responsibility at work, and sometimes just wanting to let her hair down and be a “regular” person. Have you ever worked with someone who started out in one position and then got promoted and were then supervisor to their former peers? You can often see those people caught in between wanting to be a good supervisor or manager, and wanting it to be like the old days, when they bitched and complained with their coworkers about the old manager over drinks after work (and they know full well that their subordinates could be bitching and complaining about them). I see some of that struggle in Jan—why can’t I be just one of the gang for a while. I think Michael offers her an opportunity to do that, but with someone who looks up to her and will still make her feel like the hot one of the couple.
I think Jan is vulnerable and lonely after her divorce, and Michael showed himself to be normal and competent, and also really helped her career, with the client at Chili’s. Presumably he was also pretty normal and sympathetic later that night as well.
And now I guess just when Jan thinks, “OK, Michael is a total nimrod, I could never actually like him,” he acts like a regular, nice guy for a brief period, and blindsides her.
As for Roy, I like the explanation that it’s a high school relationship that she’s outgrown, and is largely a product of inertia. As others have said, Roy isn’t a bad guy, just not a good match for Pam. Come to think of it, it seemed like her mother really likes him, and he seemed at his most charming when she came to visit. So that could indicate both that he has his moments, and that Pam feels some social pressure to stay with him.
Also, remember that the “documentary crew” has their own prejudices and agendas. Maybe they want Pam and Jim together, and wind up showing all the negative and none of the positive about Roy. 
As mentioned, Pam and Roy have been engaged for years. (Hence the “best” Dundie being “longest engagement”, and Jim managing to convince Michael not to humiliate Pam yet again.)
But Roy did spark into action on the Booze Cruise by deciding to set a date, so you’re not really misremembering.
And how does her husband feel about that?
Good episode, 2 minor points irritated me though.
Michael was right, everybody else was wrong: Comic Relief is still going strong, and you can donate at pretty much any time, not just close to Red Nose Day.
Michael threw in his hand pre-flop after going all in: I’d expect Michael to do something that stupid, but the dealer should have still dealt the cards. Whatever Michael had, (even a 2-7 of the same suits as Toby) it sill has a not insignificant chance of winning.
I think they are specificaly refering to the HBO specials of Comic Relief. Are those still airing?
They could still manage the Pam/Jim tension very well. I say he DOES transfer, and they get to undergo the trials and tribulations of a long-distance relationship. Pam will have to survive without Jim as she rids herself of Roy, while still working with him. And Jim will have to adjust to his new surroundings without Pam, was was approximately 103% of what was good about his old job. Plenty of material to be had.
Could somone please give me a link to Jenna/Pam’s myspace blog?
Thanks.
Yeah, I wonder about that.
It is utterly pointless to fold after going all-in. But is it permitted, nevertheless?
If its permitted, then the dealer need not continue. But I wonder whether its permitted.
-FrL-
I thought that it was after the flop. If so, it is certainly possible based on their hands that Michael couldn’t win no matter what the next two cards were.
Till Death Do Us Rock
Man, married to Jenna Fischer *and * has a Joss Whedon character named after him?
Hmm… Do I want to stalk and replace him, or Alexis Denisof?
I think that Roy is a man of such limited imagination that he cannot see himself (and Pam) ever living anywhere other than Scranton, PA. And that’s the problem.
Feh, lay off Roy, it takes two to tango, after all he didn’t kidnap Pam or anything.
All this poker talk reminds me: I saw a promo for Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown this weekend that said Jenna Fischer would appear on the upcoming season and showed a brief shot of her sitting at the table. I don’t know exactly when it starts, but probably pretty soon.
Pam Beesly is the cutest girl ever on TV… Jennna Fischer, I have no idea about… I say this because in every photo in every magazine I’ve seen… she loks horrible… And it appears to be solely the makeup/hair/photographer’s faults… It seems they try to make her look so different from the character she ends up looking just bizarre. I think the EW or (was it Style?) photoshoot actually made her look alright.
I finally got to see this after my VCR crapped out five minute into it… Sayijng I loved the episode is just redundant sicne I have loved every one of them.
Bits I really liked-
Phyllis calling ‘spades’ clovers.
Michael’s Emceeing with the glow sticks.
The double cheek kiss repeated by Dwight to inform Michael that Jan was here.
Michael having Re/Max blow on the dice and then putting them up to Jan and saying “I don’t want to play favorites”
Stanley heckling Michael as the emcee.
And of course… the kiss…
I totally have a crush on the actress who plays Jan. I was super excited when she showed up on GmoreGs last week as a totally different character.
DUDE! Those are my two big celebrity crushes too: Jenna and Alyson Hannigan. They both come across as so sweet and cute and adorable – the characters they play of course, but the actresses as well. James Gunn and Alexis Denisof are very lucky men.