# The Office - Dec. 1, 2011 - Mrs. California **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844 "2011-12-02T15:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/1 "2011-12-02T15:29:32Z")
A pretty good use of Robert California in this episode. Dwight was good too. I love Pam’s being away on maternity leave. I think this show needs a lot less Pam and Jim storylines. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/2 "2011-12-02T15:43:16Z")
I didn’t love this episode mostly due to Robert California’s underlying motivation being so aggravatingly inscrutable. However, Andy trying to stay with the plan until he broke was quite amusing. And then there was that hanging implication at the end… ---
**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:** [December 2, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/3 "2011-12-02T17:32:40Z")
I LOVED this episode. It was by far, my favorite episode in a long, long while… maybe since last season… maybe even longer. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/4 "2011-12-02T17:38:44Z")
The stuff with Dwight was classic. gravel bucket squats. cutting tin. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/5 "2011-12-02T18:15:17Z")
Yeah, I thought this was a HUGE improvement over the previous episode (Gettysburg). Not riotously funny, but the main plot actually made sense and really played Andy vs. Robert California well. And nice to see Maura Tierney again. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/6 "2011-12-02T19:16:14Z")
Pretty good cold open. “You know I have to do this.” (Pause) … “I know.” I liked Robert California’s weirdness – – His inexplicable refusal to tell people his wife’s name – “This is my wife … Mrs. Robert California.” – “Why can you never say exactly what I tell you to say?” Ryan was used perfectly. – “BITCH” ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/7 "2011-12-02T19:30:08Z")
Good to see Creed is keeping himself busy during the day. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/8 "2011-12-02T19:43:57Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > I LOVED this episode. It was by far, my favorite episode in a long, long while… maybe since last season… maybe even longer. It almost reminded me of the season one awkwardness. It wasn’t quite as bad, but Robert really put Andy in tough spot. I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/9 "2011-12-02T19:47:08Z")
I agree, good episode. Fun to see Andy squirm and finally crack. Also Jim was amusing for a change. Now excuse me while I work on stretching my pelvic bowl. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/10 "2011-12-02T19:52:30Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > I didn’t love this episode mostly due to Robert California’s underlying motivation being so aggravatingly inscrutable. It makes perfect sense (they even allude to it during the conversation). Robert basically created a logical Catch 22 for Andy: Under no circumstances can Andy hire Robert’s wife. Robert’s wife can’t know that he doesn’t want her working there. As an employee of Roberts, Andy can’t refuse to hire Robert’s wife if Robert really wants her to work there. Andy, predictably, is not clever enough to come up with a way for refusing to hire Robert’s wife without looking like he is openly defying Robert (who must maintain the illusion that he wants his wife working there). ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/11 "2011-12-02T20:42:07Z")
I kept thinking of how I would probably lose my job because if I were in Andy’s shoes I would pull Robert aside and chew him out for telling me not to hire his wife, and then jerk me around by arguing with me about it in her presence. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/12 "2011-12-02T20:56:45Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It makes perfect sense (they even allude to it during the conversation). Robert basically created a logical Catch 22 for Andy: > > Under no circumstances can Andy hire Robert’s wife. > Robert’s wife can’t know that he doesn’t want her working there. > As an employee of Roberts, Andy can’t refuse to hire Robert’s wife if Robert really wants her to work there. > Andy, predictably, is not clever enough to come up with a way for refusing to hire Robert’s wife without looking like he is openly defying Robert (who must maintain the illusion that he wants his wife working there). I understood the premise. However, there were ample opportunities for Robert to give some sort of justification, ANY justification for not wanting her around. He did not do so. And I also understand that is part of the fun, but I am also free to be aggravated by it. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/13 "2011-12-02T21:35:43Z")
When Jim was called in, he missed a perfect ‘out’ for himself. Robert asked him, “Did I tell you not to allow my wife to work here?” Jim could have easily said “No”, since Robert was in fact talking to Andy when he gave that order. Jim would have been off the hook (albeit leaving Andy out to dry). ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/14 "2011-12-02T23:54:07Z")
Not sure how much longer I can watch this show. If Mr. California is killed off I may rethink it. As it is he’s such a boring, horrible character that he ruins the show. Dwight with his weight lifting facility was just silly/stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/15 "2011-12-03T00:41:27Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Not sure how much longer I can watch this show. If Mr. California is killed off I may rethink it. As it is he’s such a boring, horrible character that he ruins the show. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks this. When the season first started I thought that maybe he’d show up like maybe once every four or five episodes. But seeing him every episode… There’s nothing I like about his character and I don’t find him funny. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/16 "2011-12-03T23:08:00Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It makes perfect sense (they even allude to it during the conversation). Robert basically created a logical Catch 22 for Andy: > > Under no circumstances can Andy hire Robert’s wife. > Robert’s wife can’t know that he doesn’t want her working there. > As an employee of Roberts, Andy can’t refuse to hire Robert’s wife if Robert really wants her to work there. > Andy, predictably, is not clever enough to come up with a way for refusing to hire Robert’s wife without looking like he is openly defying Robert (who must maintain the illusion that he wants his wife working there). Well, he did come up with a good out at first, about how they were fully staffed, but because that would make for a very short episode, Robert had to quash that and keep going. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/17 "2011-12-04T00:47:16Z")
It seems like a bad sign when I like the cold open much more than the episode itself. Then again, I really like the cold open. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/18 "2011-12-05T13:54:20Z")
I recently went to a standing desk at work. I’m not sure what to make of the fact that Dwight and I have that in common. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/19 "2011-12-05T16:32:13Z")
Andy (Ed Helms) is the problem this season. He gets all the cring-worthy moments of Michael Scott, but they’re all-too-frequently devoid of any endearing quality or personal motivation–he just does what the writers tell him to do. This episode is a good example. It was inevitable that Andy (or any character in that situation) would at first deny Mrs. California a job, then cave in under intense pressure, then get berated for it. I accept that, but what was driving Andy during the process? Michael Scott would have tried to diffuse things with an inappropriate joke or a crazy scheme in cahoots with Dwight. Andy has nothing like that; he merely reacts to every other character. That may be what the writers are going for–making Andy such a Zelig that he’s easily manipulated by others. If so, IMO it’s a poor choice. Andy has shown some flashes of personal quality this season–standing up to Darrell near the end of the lottery episode and the relationship with his father in the party episode were good examples. But if I have to see yet another plot revolve around his creepy over-smile when faced with an unpleasant situation, then it’s coming off my TIVO list. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844/20 "2011-12-05T16:46:37Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Not sure how much longer I can watch this show. If Mr. California is killed off I may rethink it. As it is he’s such a boring, horrible character that he ruins the show. Dwight with his weight lifting facility was just silly/stupid. So don’t watch it. Trust me, no one will miss you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-dec-1-2011-mrs-california/604844.md?page=2)