The Office Rewatch - Season 2

Season 2 is where I really fell in love with The Office. Episode 2 ("Sexual Harassment") is the first episode I ever saw. I was so intrigued that I stuck with it and eventually went back and watched the episodes I had missed. This season pushes Michael Scott past that annoying and inappropriate boss we met in season 1. Though "The Dundies" and "Sexual Harassment" concentrate on these lesser parts of his personality, episodes like "Office Olympics" and "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" remind the audience that he's really a lovable character. He wants to be married and have a family, but he's never had the chance. 

The same happens with Dwight. He's still the big weirdo from season 1, but we get to learn more about his devotion to Michael. "Dwight's Speech" proves he really has a talent for selling paper, if that exists. His relationship with Jim develops both of their characters without forcing it on the audience. They don't sit around and talk about their hopes and dreams, but their hostility towards each other has the same effect somehow.

The season also pushes the relationship between Jim and Pam. For 22 episodes they try to fight their chemistry and feelings for each other until they can't any longer. I sort of hate Pam during this season because she's having her cake and eating it too. Did she really expect to keep Roy and Jim? You can't have both. I understand her hesitation completely, though, so it's hard to be mad at her. I like that other employees start calling her out about it. Her relationship with Jim is so natural and obvious, so it's only right that other people would notice. Episodes like "Office Olympics", "Email Surveillance", and "The Secret" keep pushing them further and further past the line. Every episode makes you think it's finally going to happen and Jim is finally going to say something. IT NEVER HAPPENS. Until "Casino Night". 

If you want to convince someone how great the show is, show them "Casino Night". It gives insight into all of the characters and highlights the most important storylines of the show. So maybe some people don't love John Krasinski (why are you reading this?). This episode is some of his best work. Realistically, the writers deserve most of the credit for Jim's speech at the end. How do you say no to that, Pam? Or do you? CLIFFHANGER ALERT. Enjoy thinking about that all summer. Thank God for Netflix. 

This season is The Office at its best, so it's really hard to choose the best episode. If you're looking to catch up on the plot quickly, though, these are the best episodes to hit the highlights: 

"The Dundies"

"Sexual Harassment"- too hilarious to skip 

"The Client"

"Christmas Party" - they have the best Christmas episodes. 

"Booze Cruise"

"The Secret"

"Conflict Resolution"- too hilarious to skip 

"Casino Night"

**"The Injury" is also one of my favorite episodes, even if it doesn't further the plot.

The Office Rewatch - Season 1

In honor of Dunder-Mifflin closing its doors on May 16, I decided to rewatch the whole series. Most people know I've seen the whole series about four or so times, so it's not like I have forgotten anything. I really just want to get good and depressed before the finale, it seems.

Season one is super short-- six episodes-- so it didn't take very long to finish. The beauty of season one is that The Office (as a whole) didn't really know what it was yet. All the actors were still settling into their characters, and the writers were still trying to figure out how to make this specific type of humor connect with an audience.

The treasure that is Michael Scott really hits you in the face in these episodes. The writers force this character on you so that you feel like you're going through a cheese grater. It's just this nails-on-a-chalkboard sensation, which I'm sure drove away some viewers. He's just so offensive and brash and ignorant. This intensity really allows you to connect with the rest of the characters, though, because they agree. Steve Carell left no crevices for human emotion and understanding to sneak in. One amazing example that stands out to me out of eight years is Michael fake-firing Pam in the pilot. It's so awkward and makes me want to look away every time I watch it. "Diversity Day" tackles some outrageous ignorance and intense rudeness in the second episode of the show. No time to waste! There's no room for "Well, he did that because he's lonely" excuses here. We only got six episodes to build a character, so the man's just an idiot.

That hair!

The Jim faces originate here! I always wonder if he showed off his faces to the producers in his audition, because they're pure gold. Jim is this everyman character that everyone can understand. His longing for Pam is palpable from the very first episode. They have this relationship that I think everyone can understand and appreciate. They're together everyday in the midst of all these wackos, so they're bound to form a bond. When Roy comes in, my heart sinks every time. Do you choose what's safe or what's new? I know exactly what she should do in episode two, but (spoiler alert) they make me work for it.

Dwight Schrute is one of the best characters in television. Biased? Maybe. Rainn Wilson is brilliant. He provides the perfect foil for Jim and gives Michael the supportive audience he needs to keep acting like the fool he is. The first sounds we even hear from Dwight are him singing "Little Drummer Boy" at his desk. He's just so darn quirky! And hilarious! "The Alliance" gives such a good look at what we're getting ourselves into with this character. And the jello in the pilot! It's just all so good.

Dunder Mifflin Paper Company gives a great background for the characters, because I don't know one person who wants to hear more about their actual jobs. Shows like 24 and Alias could entertain with or without interesting characters, but The Office has to work at it. The documentary style makes it interesting, as well, because the characters get to narrate their own stories. We get to hear Michael's deluded self-perception straight from his mouth. The documentary crew digs deeper into the real stories we want to hear about. Not paper.

Starting season two now.

Mellie Grant: The Ultimate Betch*



SPOILERS AHEAD

If you watch Scandal (one of the best guilty pleasure shows on TV), you know Mellie. 

 

As the wife in a Shonda Rhimes universe, Mellie gets a lot of haters. I started out as one of those haters; however, the more I watch Scandal, the more I realize the truth. Mellie is awesome. Sure, she has some flaws, but who doesn't? The flaws that most people fault her for are just ridiculous. Let's take a look at all the reasons America hates Mellie.

1. Mellie stands in the way of Olivia and Fitz. Well, duh. She's his wife. That's how wives work.

2. She loves power. Again, who doesn't? Mellie knew how to get Fitz into the White House and did what she had to do. She gained almost as much as he did from the election, but she had to deal with a lot of BS on the way. She set a goal and achieved it. Snaps for Mellie. I can't wait for her own campaigns. She'll wipe the floor with any man that tries to beat her.

3. She's ruthless. She put herself through unlimited nonsense just to be the First Lady of a successful POTUS. She sat by while he fooled around with Liv EVERYWHERE, just so he would be a happier candidate. In case everyone has forgotten, she also broke the law to ensure he got elected. She put everything on the line for Fitz to sit in the Oval Office and handle foreign policy while she worried about obesity or tea parties or whatever else First Ladies do. She does all the dirty work while JFK reincarnated drowns himself in alcohol over Olivia Pope. "I'm sitting all alone at the Resolute Desk with no mistress. Woe is me." Someone has to take charge, so it might as well be her. Our first female POTUS needs to be ruthless if she's going to survive.

4. She keeps it classy. No one rocks pearls like Mellie Grant. She will do anything and put up with anything, as long as everyone still looks the part. "Sure, Fitz, jump in that kiddie pool of scotch. Get good and wasted. I'll be waiting in the wings with a suit and an Altoid." Mellie keeps the public happy, and again, because someone has to. You can't just screw around in the White House telecom room, Fitz. America doesn't like that.

Shower drinking-- so presidential.

5. She's a woman of her word. Why would people fault her for that? She made it very clear that she was going to tell everyone about Fitz's philandering if he didn't get his act together. Why was everyone so surprised when she did? I just don't understand the disconnect. She told Cyrus repeatedly, who told the President repeatedly. I applaud her for that. She gave him actual YEARS to get it together. She's the victim here. Not Can't-Keep-It-In-Your-Pants Fitzgerald. When Mellie warns you, you should listen.

Fitz may look good in a suit and say all the right things when it comes to seduction, but the man is as incompetent as they come. Do you really want your President having sex in the Oval Office? No. Thank goodness Mellie is around, because there's no telling what he would do if he didn't have restraints. Everyone seems to hate her for standing up for herself and her marriage. If you want someone to blame, look at Fitz. The man has to be told where he should and should not put his private parts, and he still doesn't listen. Thank God for Mellie. Otherwise, he'd be on a watchlist somewhere and that can't be good for America.

*Definitions of betch, if needed.

My Obsession with The Good Wife

"You don't need another Sunday night show."

For six months I repeated this mantra. As I scrolled through Netflix looking for new friends to call my own, I would force my cursor past that seductive photo of Julianna Marguiles that just seemed to call to me (I love you Carol!). I had papers to write and books to read for class, so I needed to concentrate. Right? Then one fateful day, I went to a four hour late shift expecting to get some homework done, but forgot my book. Totally fate right?

It wasn't on Netflix anymore (which should have been a sign to STOP), but I managed to procure it from other sources.

I watched all 4 seasons in two weeks. Oops. I just couldn't stop.

Alicia is fabulous. She's good and honest past the point I thought was possible on television dramas. It's so refreshing to watch her struggle with her choices and to understand that there are consequences for your actions. A lot of other TV heroines just do whatever they want and everything seems to work out magically or a man saves her from the problems. Alicia's struggle can be so frustrating for me, but I think that's good writing.

Plus I basically know all of the law now. Who needs 3 years of law school when I figured it out in two weeks?

Then there's this:

Chris Noth (Peter) vs. Josh Charles (Will).

It seriously hurts me to think about choosing one over the other. I love Sex and the City and Sports Night, so their faces pretty much fueled this entire obsession. This isn't like Grey's Anatomy where you grow to love Addison, but you need Mer and Der to be together. I keep switching sides. I'll be so set in my choice and then one episode will swing it the other way. They're both so frustrating. (My real choice is my phone background, if you're curious.)

These writers know how to keep me going, too. It's close to perfect plot structure for me, especially in the fourth season. There had been no real development for one of the relationships in the first half of the season, so as I started another episode I thought, "Well maybe that's over for good." Then, at the end of that very episode, something happened. It was something so small, but because the writers let me doubt the relationship, I was shocked. Jumping-up-and-down shocked. It's so nice for shows to be unpredictable instead of going in cycles. The Good Wife is seriously some of the best writing in television. So far, season 6 of Mad Men is lagging behind in comparison.

The only problem with this TV binge is that it's been three days since the newest episode, and I'm having withdrawals. I just want to know what Will's doing, okay?

I would recommend this show for anyone who likes quality dramas. There are no zombies or ghosts, so lower those sci-fi expectations now. Imagine someone writing about situations that could actually happen and doing it well. It's mindblowing.

90's Dreamboat Valentine

Buzzfeed is awesome. I try to check it pretty often because it lifts my spirits and provides perfect procrasination opportunities.

This quiz deserves attention.
Which 90's dreamboat is your perfect valentine?

I got Pacey and couldn't be more thrilled!

Of course we matched up because we are a perfect match. I was such a Joey back in the day.

Confession: I could identify all the mouths on the mouth question. So yeah, I pretty much picked Pacey myself. I feel no guilt.

What you should be watching: Mad Men

So many people in my life are missing the greatness that is Mad Men. My first question is always, "Have you seen Jon Hamm?"

I get the drawbacks. It looks dark and potentially boring. It's based in the 1960's. AMC makes their episodes so long. There have been so many episodes already. All completely understandable. But there are so many reasons for anyone to watch this show! So I've made a list of some of my favorite reasons to keep watching:

Cultural references. Who doesn't love a history lesson while they're watching television? I can honestly say I've learned more from Mad Men than I have from a history book about the 1960s. If I had been alive during this time period, I would watch it religiously for nostalgic purposes. You get so much insight into race and gender relations, economic classes, and the apparent sex lives of my grandparents which I like to assume they had no part of.

Betty Draper. I really don't want to spoil this character for you. She fleshes out The Feminine Mystique and it's so entertaining to watch. I have had such a love-hate relationship with her since the beginning because I seriously don't know what I want from her. I want her to fight against all the housewife stereotypes and have her own ideas and be her own person, because you know I'm all about girl power. But when she steps out of those roles I usually get super pissed and tweet mean things about her. Besides my own issues, she wears the best clothes and goes into the best rages on the show.

Kiernan Shipka. This child can act. Sally is growing up in such a weird time period, and Kiernan knocks it out of the park every week, in my opinion. Her facial expressions alone are a gold mine.

"The Suitcase". One of the best television episodes I've ever seen. I was so absorbed in the episode that I didn't realize I was crying until it was over. Don and Peggy's relationship is so complicated, yet easy, and it was executed perfectly. I think one reason it's so great is that the elements for its success aren't on paper. Don't get me wrong, the writing and dialogue are outstanding, but a lot of the beauty in this episode comes from the acting and directing. Somehow the characters say so much by saying so little, and it was a refreshing change from other shows that pack their punch with wordy dialogue. Some people may not agree, but I loved it.

Roger Sterling. "You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbuttoning your collar, because we deserve it. We drink because it's what men do." This pretty much sums him up. Roger exudes pure masculinity and does whatever he wants whenever he wants. He has no filter. I see how he gets all the women.

Dialogue. Mad Men has some of the best writing on television. The plot turns are often genius and surprising, but the attention paid to word choice and musicality cannot go unnoticed. To me, the beauty is in the directness. I've always thought of the 60s as a sort of awakening from repression, but my parents were born in this decade so what do I know really? But the dialogue cements my connections to the characters and the world of SCDP. Some examples of my favorites:

Don: "What you call 'love' was invented by guys like me. To sell Nylons."

Peggy: "You need three ingredients for a cocktail. Vodka and Mountain Dew is an emergency."

Peggy: "I have a boyfriend."
Joyce: "He doesn’t own your vagina."
Peggy: "No, but he’s renting it."


Pete Campbell. To sum up Pete Campbell in one word, he is the worst. He's that guy at your office or in your class that sucks up to get ahead and thinks he has everyone fooled. I never want him to leave SCDP, though, because I love to hate him. He's just a sad individual and a joy to watch every week.

Intense Smoking and Drinking. It's like watching a trainwreck. Not only do they drink with their clients, but they drink alone in their offices in the middle of the day. Can't figure out a pitch? Just get blackout and take a nap on the couch. Quick fix! Watching this go down and knowing that Americans base their purchases on the campaigns these frat boys come up with is entertainment at its finest.

"The Other Woman". Another episode with Don and Peggy that made me cry. I'm sensing a pattern. This episode really made me question the direction of the show and long to see the next episode. And Joan? Oh I can't even deal. I liked her fine, but she really grew on me in season 5. This episode just broke my heart for completely necesssary reasons. Understanding the characters' decisions makes it worse for me.

Jon Hamm/ Don Draper. I could have made a list with just this entry on it and it would be reason enough to watch the show. Don Draper is a clear cut example of an antihero. He makes the worst life decisions, but I still love him. When he does something terrible to other characters on the show, somehow I wind up mad at the victims instead of Don. How does that happen? Jon Hamm. Besides the fact that he's a human Ken doll, the man can act. I loved him on 30 Rock, I wish he would be on SNL every week, and yet he still makes me cry on this show. I've seen him in blackface for crying out loud, but when he makes that tortured face, it's over and he knows it. I can't help but love him. The last episode in season 5 left a cliffhanger that really questions the essence of his character, so I'm dying for April to get here. Plus I need to see his face again.

Vulture provided a schedule to get through all the episodes before the premiere on April 7. By all means go at your own pace, but this could be helpful.

Fair warning: It's starts out slowly. I've never heard anyone say any different. Stick with it! It wins awards for a reason. Plus, Jon Hamm is smokin if I haven't mentioned it.

Maybe throw some tears at it?

This week on The Bachelor, Sean and the remaining ladies jetted out to St. Croix for some beach time after their wintertime adventures in Montana. I was really excited for this episode because Sean is down to the tough decisions since there are only six girls left: Desiree, Lesley, Catherine, AshLee, Lindsay, and Tierrable Tierra.

AshLee got the first one on one date and Sean took her on a catamaran to an island for some alone time. He asked her flat out about Tierra and AshLee ended up telling him a few watered down details about Tierra's bad behavior. (I don't think AshLee knew Tierra had just been making fun of her to the cameras this morning for being a 32 year old cougar and not being married yet.) I go back and forth about Sean and AshLee. I can tell they really like each other a lot, but I wouldn't pick her. I know she's been through more than I could understand, and I genuinely feel for her, but she honestly seems like an airhead. Maybe it's just the editing but I can't imagine having a real conversation with her. For instance, she wanted to tell Sean she loved him so she stared at him awkwardly and then yelled "I LOVE SEAN!!!" as loud as she could to the deserted island. That's just so immature to me. I would never do that. But I also don't know that I could tell someone that on national television either, so props to her for being more open with her feelings than I am. Oh, she also revealed she got married as a junior in high school and I think I speak for most people when I say, who cares?

Tierrable Tierra's one on one was next and she and Sean shopped around a marketplace and danced in the streets with some kind of parade. Her outfit was almost as tierrable as she is. I am a firm believer that shorts need seams. Tierra was putting on the biggest show I've ever seen. Sign this girl to a pilot, now. She was running and dancing through the streets with Sean in tow. She was laughing, but not in an evil way, which confused me. Then at dinner, she cried and told Sean she could sense a distance between them and that she was falling in love with him. Clearly she wanted to guilt a rose out of him.

The next two dates were pretty boring. First was the group date with Lindsay, Desiree, and Catherine. They watched the sun come up on the eastern shore of the island and took a road trip to the western shore to watch the sun set. In between they did a lot of jungly and islandy things. Sean really has a connection with all of these girls, so it was mostly just awkward for everyone to share him. One major theme of this date was all the crying. Desiree cried because she loves her family so much and Catherine cried because of her relationship with her father (I felt so bad she was talking about it on camera because I wouldn't have been able to). The date was so fun and carefree and then the one-on-one times turned into therapy sessions. Props to Sean for comforting all of them. Props to them for being comforted by Sean. Biggest props of all goes to Lindsay for stepping out of the limo in a wedding dress and getting the first rose into the final four. This girl is a champ regardless of what happens next.

Lesley's one-on-one was a boring date, plain and simple. They wandered around a garden. I mean that's cool except that it's nothing compared to the other girls' dates. I've said Lesley is my favorite from the beginning, and I realized it's because she handles it how I would. I wouldn't be able to drone on and on about my feelings when I watch him date other girls in front of me. Expecially not in front of cameras! I get that's the nature of the game, but I couldn't form a real connection in that situation. At least I don't think I could. I knew by the end of the date she was going home just because she wasn't forcing it.

Then all the DRAMA broke out. Tierra owes AshLee an apology and she needs to give it at the WTA. I could rehash why I was borderline infuriated with every word out of her mouth, but there's no point. The girl is immature and loves drama, bottom line. I hope she watches the show and is ashamed of how she acted. Sean came in on the fight and ended up sending Tierra home from her cot in the living room, which I thought was fitting.

Sean's sister was there to help with his Tierra problems, and I was super excited to see her! I'm such a fan of her blog. I get how nerdy that sounds, but it's true. I read it all the time.

Then comes the rose ceremony and Lesley goes home. I'm really sad about it, but I understand.

Next week: Hometowns! Desiree's brother looks like a total jerk, so I'm pumped after all her talk about their close knit family.

Later.