Watching The Office

Hey there! There isn’t much The Office news to go around today. But the good news is the cast is going back to work by August 4th.

Meantime, here are some amusing The Office-related reads:

Variety:
Sitcoms circle the wagons: Returning comedies might save dying genre

“The Office” is a strong performer among the 18-34 set (and could win its time period in men 18-34), but will need to broaden its appeal to become the next “Seinfeld.” That will be tough opposite its brutal competish, but NBC made the right decision in shifting the Emmy winner to the high-profile slot for what should be the peak of its run.

The Office’s competish in their time slot? Ratings puller - Grey’s Anatomy. Haaaack!

MSNBC:
NBC’s Comedy Thursdays

The Jim-Pam romance of course was discussed. One critic noted that last year’s promos for the show tended to hype the “Jam” lovin’ even if it meant ignoring the show’s humor, and Daniels agreed. He noted that the Jim-Pam romance actually has “more impact when it’s not carrying the weight” (of being the show’s main thread) and claimed that “(the romance) has always been the B-plot,” to which Krasinski pulled mock outrage and pretended to storm out.

The Office, Steve Carell

There’s an interesting interview posted at E!Online with Kent Zbornak, The Office’s co-executive producer.

We spent five or six weeks in March, April and early May breaking stories for the beginning of the season, and then we sent every writer off with stories. All of the writers came back July 9, after the holiday, and we had 13 scripts in our hands. I mean four of those are one-hour scripts, but they equate to 13 scripts.

On to Jim and Pam. In the season finale, they moved forward in their relationship. Anything you can tell us about that? Will they be dating?
Will they be dating? Hmmm…

Are we going to see a date possibly?
I will say that they’ve taken that step up. Our first episode takes place two months after that particular moment, and they take a step up.

Are they exclusive?
It’s going to be revealed in the first episode. You’ll have a very clear definition of who they are and where they’re going.

Those aren’t really spoilers, are they?

And who do you think should hook up? I say Andy needs a woman to mellow him down, yah?

The Office, The Office Season 4, E!Online

Here’s an interesting read from the Televisionary. I mostly agree with what has been written as his Office Wishlist for Season 4. Some of it include the following:

Meredith. Please for the love of Ed Truck, find something for Meredith to do. Kate Flannery is far too talented an actor and comedian to be relegated to the background time and time again.

It would really be great to see more of Meredith. I had not realize how underplayed her role is, till I read the wish list. I guess I too have been putting her in the background to much. Hence, that wish list makes a lot of sense! Haha. There is really so much more to her character that we should get to know. Even Creed’s caricature and exposure has made people love him a lot more, never mind if he sometimes sound creepy.

Corporate power play. I’m hoping that Ryan’s new position will invigorate his storyline and switch up the paradigm between him and Michael, who has made Ryan into an object of, er, affection over the last three seasons.

The powerplay between Michael and his new boss, Ryan is something I am looking forward to. Will Michael try to be like his new boss? Suck up to him? Or will he try to (very, very, hard, I should say!) out-perform him to nurse his bruised ego? Just thinking about it makes me crack a smile!

Jim and Pam.I don’t want to see Jim and Pam go down the Friends road, with the season being devoted to a back and forth tennis match of are-they-or-aren’t-they together.

I definitely agree. There are too many love stories on TV to go around. I want a love story that is so much more realistic and typical this time around. Less of the drama, please. As one of the producers of the show said, some viewers have become fixated on the Jim/Pam/Karen angle, forgetting that this is really in fact, Michael’s show.

Hey, what’s on your wishlist?

The Office, The Office Season 4, The Office Cast, The Office characters, Televisionary

Here’s a very interesting interview conducted by the TV Addict with Ed Helms, who plays Andy (aka Drew) in The Office.

What’s your favorite thing about Andy? He’s definitely crazy, but we love him!
What’s my favorite thing? I think my favorite thing about Andy is his eagerness to break into song. Because that’s pretty close to me in real life. I’m really glad that that’s found its way into that character just because it’s fun and silly. But from an acting standpoint, I think the funnest part for me is Andy’s disconnect with how he’s really feeling. He seems like he’s always trying to give an outward appearance that’s not quite in sync with his real emotional status. That’s always fun.

How much of you is in Andy – the musical stuff, was that written in because of you, or was it already in the scripts?
You know I think that the writers put in that Andy was in an a capella group in college because that seemed a sort of defining part of his history. I think it gives you an immediate association that tells you a lot about who Andy is. So that’s where it started, but then I think the extent of it just grew as we kept shooting more episodes. Some of it was improvised, some of it was written. It’s gotten to a point now where it’s acknowledged as a part of Andy’s character. So the writers write to it.

For more of that interview, follow this link

Ed Helms, The Office, TVAddict

Blog updates from the cast, wheee!

Angela mentions in her blog that Season 4 of The Office will begin filming August 6. She is going to be at TheOfficechat.com on July 25th 6PM. She also answers some fan questions sent in through her Myspace.

Meanwhile, Jenna just had a contest on her blog (Darn, I missed that!) and gave away an autographed copy (signed by the entire cast) of Season 2, among many other prizes. That was so nice of her!

Creed has had quite a pretty long entry in his blog last week and talked a great deal about bus, bus stations and bus drivers.

The Office, The Office cast, Jenna Fischer, Creed Thoughts, Angela Kinsey

Looking for Schrute buckes? Earn them here! I mean,….you know, you can print them out have enough to redeem your extra five minute lunch break.

Thanks to Toby Hilden for making this available for download on his website.

Schrute bucks, The Office

Yes folks, last night TV critics reaffirmed that they do love The Office twice over by awarding the show the honors for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. The Office has won the same recognition last year.

Among the cast, Angela and Kate (who plays the drunkard office worker, Meredith) were there to receive the award. But it was Greg Daniels who represented the whole crew.

(Photo is from GettyImages)

From the National Post (Canada)

The Office won for best achievement in comedy. In his acceptance speech, exec producer Greg Daniels said he’d been reading Harry Potter for most of the day, and went on to match the cast members standing behind him to characters from J.K. Rowling’s world. His picks: Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin, as Hagrid; Oscar Nuñes (Oscar) as Victor Krum; Mindy Kaling (Kelly) as Parvati Patil or Luna Lovegood; Angela Kinsey (Angela) as Dolores Umbridge; Leslie David Baker (Stanley) as Mr. Dursley.

The Office, Greg Daniels, TCA Awards

You know, Michael Scott is never really at a loss for words, even in the most awkward and awful situations. It’s no wonder Hallmark has decided to come up with greeting cards featuring him and another equally interesting The Office character, Dwight Schrute. Their sound bites are what viewers look forward to in this series. What they have to say just sometimes sum up what we also want to say, right?

If you find yourself without the right words to express your feelings…why not say it with this?

Michael Scott Card

Cover

Inside

When opened the card will play this audio clip: “Presents are the best way to show someone how much you care. It is like this tangible thing that you can point to and say ‘Hey man, I love you this many dollars worth.’”

There are currently two Michael Scott designs and one birthday card with a Dwight Schrute voice clip that says: “Women are like wolves. If you want a wolf, you have to trap it. You have to snare it…and then you have to tame it. Keep it happy, care for it, feed it …lovingly, like an animal deserves to be loved. And my animal deserves a lot of loving.â€?

These are available nationwide.

Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, The Office Hallmark Cards

Most people agree that Rainn Wilson’s very first Emmy nomination is one so deserving. Korbi of E! was able to immediately talk to him while filming, The Rocker. Some parts of that interview below:

I must ask you the question you’ve surely answered at least 15 times already today: Where were you when you found out?

I was on the surface of the moon, and a carrier pigeon showed up from my publicist’s office. I don’t know how that happened, but I immediately jumped on the first shuttle back here to get on the phone and do some interviews…No, it was the standard [experience]. The only thing that was funny was the producer of the movie I’m filming right now in Toronto, he beat my publicist to the phone by, like, eight seconds. He was so thrilled to be the first to tell me. I think he’s going to be telling his grandchildren about how he was the first to tell Rainn Wilson that he got an Emmy nomination.

This is actually your first solo nomination, right?
It’s the first time I’ve ever been nominated for anything in my life, so it’s a nice first nomination.

This is a day you’ll always remember.
I’m gonna sear it into my memory banks right now. Ready…and…done.

Have you had a chance to look at your competition in the category?
Um, yeah. I can take any of ‘em in an ultimate combat fight in a cage match. I don’t know…Kevin Dillon though, he’s pretty tough. But I’m wily. So, I think they should put us all in a cage and let us fight it out.

Jenna Fischer immediately wrote updates on her blog early this morning and posted her thoughts regarding the good news. She writes:

Man…I am so excited. I just can’t tell you what this means to me. Not because it is an award or something like that. But because it feels like it is for our gal Pam. She’s a shy girl who doesn’t get recognized very often you know.

Yes, Jenna….we do know. And we love the fact that you were nominated. It is one of the very few things Emmy did right this year — recognizing your character portrayal in a show with a lot of crazy characters.

Congratulations!

Emmy Awards, Emmy Nominations, The Office, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson

This just in —

The full list of Emmy nominees may be downloaded here.

I am overjoyed for The Office, but overall, I’m beginning to dislike the Emmy’s for overlooking other really good shows and actors. Darn!

The Office, Emmy Awards, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Steve Carell

Both these sites: Star Ledger & EOnline! have reported the following plans for The Office’s fourth season and they are as follows:

RYAN
Ryan, now Michael’s new boss, intends to introduce some changes for the company. Expect a lot of stuff happening between both characters this season and whether or not Michael will be able to handle this.

JAN
She will be moving in with Michael, for sure.

KAREN
Karen will have some episode appearances but it isn’t clearly elaborated how this will affect the love triangle.

ROY
Roy’s fate is also open. As long as he is not dead, he could still appear on the show.

Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon is asked to direct another episode for Season 4

The Office, The Office Season 4, Joss Whedon

So, which version would you go for best?

Stanley’s from The Office USA? (A fan video):

The cast from The Office UK? (from the first episode of series 2 - Merger):

Or the original Muppet version? (From the children 80’s series):

Either way you go, you will have this song in your head for quite awhile…hah! Good luck trying to get it off your system.

The Office, The Office UK, Stanley from The Office, Mahna Mahna, The Muppets

About 30 or so TV critics participated in a poll late last week to determine the Top 25 Best TV shows of the previous season and based on the tally, The Office landed on fourth place. This result is not to be confused with the TCA (Television Critics Association) Awards which we will know by the end of this week.

The complete list is here.

TV Week, The Office, TCA Awards

Watch this space beginning at 6 PM tonight, as these stars participate in this live blogging activity:

While we can’t totally guarantee who will drop by to blog with us, we’re pretty sure we’ll be talking to Jason Lee from “My Name is Earl,” Casts of “Heroes,” “Friday Night Lights,” “The Office,” Joey Fatone from “The Singing Bee,” Josh Duhamel, Molly Sims, James Lesure from “Las Vegas,” John Stamos from “ER,” Tiki Barber from “Football Night in America,” Judy Reyes from “Scrubs,” David Hasselhoff from “America’s Got Talent,” Bob Saget from “1 vs. 100,” Carson Daly from “Last Call with Carson Daly,” Alison Sweeney from “The Biggest Loser” and “Days of our Lives,” Damian Lewis and the cast of “Life,” Kevin McKidd and the cast of “Journeyman,” Zachary Levi and the cast of “Chuck,” and Michelle Ryan and the cast of “Bionic Woman”.

You can start leaving your questions for your favorites at the comments section.

The Office, The Office Cast, NBC Live Blogging

Could a big “merger” be in the works?

Now that The Apprentice’s “re-hiring” is confirmed…and yes, that surprised a few people….more surprises are apparently in stored, courtesy of NBC. Yesterday, the network announced its plan to do a Celebrity Edition of this RealityTV series. And what’s more — they are thinking of hiring the folks from The Office!

Silverman said he approached producer Mark Burnett and star Donald Trump with the idea. Trump immediately embraced it, though Burnett was tad reluctant. The producer has avoiding doing celebrity editions of his key shows in the past, but Silverman convinced him that “now is the time.�

As for which celebrities will participate, Silverman said one of the first calls he made was to the staff of “The Office,� which he produces. The idea of actors who play office workers on TV competing with business tasks in real life had its appeal.

via TVWeek

I honestly don’t know if I should look forward to this or forget about it altogether. The Apprentice lost its appeal for me, over time. And the thought of bringing in some familiar The Office cast members to a dwindling reality show?? I’m on the fence.

The Office, The Apprentice, The Apprentice Celebrity Edition, NBC, Ben Silverman NBC