Watching The Office

Here’s an article from The New York Observer based on last week’s episode —

“ Tonight brings the penultimate episode of this season of The Office, which may or may not include a secret wedding between two beloved characters (hint: Jim and Pam). If you’re sitting there thinking this season has gone on forever, that’s because it kinda has; the episode, titled “Café Disco,” will be the 25th of the 2008-2009 campaign. Talk about oversaturation: It’s no wonder we’ve been down on the series for the better part of a year! Count us among the people who thought The Office had lapsed into borderline DVR-removal after too many lackluster episodes and lame plotting—Dwight and Andy literally dueling over Angela will end up being the show’s nadir. But then an intriguing series of events unfolded over the course of the last six weeks: Michael quit Dunder Mifflin and started his own company (which subsequently folded), Stringer Bell (guest star Idris Elba) showed up and put Jim in his place, Dwight became a preening jerk, and, most important, Ryan came back to work not a moment too soon. And just like that, The Office got good again.

B.J. Novak, the diminutive actor who plays ne’er-do-well Ryan, missed a large chunk of this season so that he could film a key role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Mr. Novak was dutifully floored by the experience—he told Entertainment Weekly that filming Basterds was like a “movie version of making a movie”—and though we’re happy to see him find success outside of television, his absence from our telly was clearly noticed. Ryan is not only a hilarious construct—a repellent and petulant man-child whose recent put-downs to Pam have reached epic proportions—but a character that perfectly bridges the gap between the grounded Jim and the obtuse Michael. That he’s also one of the few supporting officemates who acts like a real-life human being doesn’t hurt, either. (And please note: Ryan went to jail for embezzlement, dyed his hair blond, worked at a bowling alley and, now, lives with his mother—and yet he still ranks high on the humanity scale when placed aside everyone else. This should tell you all you need to know about why the series had taken a dip.) Since he returned to The Office in March, Mr. Novak has been a constant source of surprise—and for a series that is airing its 90th episode later tonight, surprises have become somewhat of an endangered species.

Perhaps Mr. Novak’s return and the series’ rejuvenation are just a happy, unconnected coincidence. (Frankly, they probably are.) The writing has certainly picked up a bit—in a recent interview with USA Today, John Kransinski said that these late-season episodes were the best since season two—and the show seems more focused than usual. But we’d prefer to think Mr. Novak is the cause. What can we say? In Ryan we trust.”

The new receptionist, the pretty and spunky lady named Erin who is now doing Pam’s job at Dunder Mifflin Scranton is no stranger to acting at all. She is Ellie Kemper, from St. Louis Missouri and she is part of the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City.

The actress also has a knack for writing and has contributed to The Onion and McSweeney’s. Here are samples of her work at McSweeney’s:

• IN RESPONSE TO ACCUSATIONS THAT MY MEMOIR, I, ELLIE KEMPER, BORROWS NUMEROUS PASSAGES FROM RIGOBERTA MENCHU’S MEMOIR, I, RIGOBERTA MENCHU.
• I AM NOT ON A ROLL.

She is also popular on Youtube as Blowjob Girl. Watch this funny video of her:

Her profile is after the cut…

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Writer, producer, actress Mindy Kaling has just signed a two year contract with NBC and Universal Studios to develop a new comedy series which will also star her. Sources say, she is being groomed ala Tina Fey.

This talented lady will continue to appear on The Office though, while working on her new series.

Congratulations to Mindy!

The full details are after the cut…

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Creed talks to TV Guide and it is actually refreshing to see him looking so…normal!

Are you missing Charles Miner?

The Washington Post had an interview with him from two weeks ago. Here are excerpts to that one…

• Speaking of “The Office,” I’m curious: which member of that show’s cast raised your game the most when you were shooting?

It was actually a combination of Steve Carell and John Krasinski.

[Krasinski] hazed me, okay? While we were doing scenes, especially scenes where I would be in front of the whole team and telling them orders and such, he would always throw jabs at me and see if I’d crack. A few times, I got him. Because when the camera was on him, I’d be exactly the same way and be a complete goofball and he just wasn’t expecting that from me. Because he’s like: “Oh my God. Stringer Bell’s funny.”

And Steve Carell is unbelievably funny and crazy. I mean, he’s so good at the improvisation. And never cracks up. Ever.

As you are probably aware, Rainn Wilson has been updating and moseying around on his Twitter account. You can follow him here. You can also follow the rest of the cast and writers:

• Mindy Kaling
• Paul Feig
• Brian Baumgartner
• Melora Hardin

Got to admit, I am liking Charles Miner (played by Idris Elba). He does have that George Clooney vibe, as Kelly puts it.

The actor is more familiar for his role on the critical acclaimed series, The Wire. This site actually outlines the many similarities with his Charles Miner character to that of Stringer Bell, his The Wire character:

• — Bell was a ruthless businessman first and foremost. Ditto Minor.
• — Bell didn’t suffer fools gladly. Minor proved that while dealing with Michael.
• — Bell had no problem with attracting the ladies. Minor already has Kelly and Angela fighting over him. (Wasn’t it fun seeing the Ice Queen melt in front of the new boss?)

And this actually makes me wanna go and check out The Wire already. It’s something I have started but have since been putting off for so long!

How are you liking the addition of Charles Miner to the dynamics of Dunder Mifflin? I love the fact that it makes Michael so crazy but at the same time, I’m torn because I have sympathy for him. And I guess that’s what makes their relationship so interesting — there’s friction to sustain good stories (for future episodes).

I say they did a great casting job for this one!

Anyway, here some more tidbits about Idris Elba after the cut…

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When not playing Darryl on The Office, Craig Robinson is so busy with his movie projects, the latest of which is the comedy Miss March. The actor briefly talks to Chicago Tribune about his movie —-

Q: You have a master’s in education and taught in Chicago and Indiana in the mid-1990s. Why move from teaching to comedy?

A: Comedy kind of chose me. It was something I had to do, plain and simple.

Teaching was awesome, and it made you a little crazy. It was great because I taught music at Horace Mann; I would do what my mother did pretty much. My mother used to teach music; she was my music teacher at Whitney Young High School, in fact. I would always have a Christmas program where the kids would sing. The parents loved it. I met some really, really talented kids. I would love to see what they are up to today.

Q: What did you learn about dealing with immature students that you have applied to dealing with actors and agents?

A: Um, well … sadly, it’s not a joke. You heard about this Christian Bale [rant]? Wait, I’m not even gonna go there. … Yes, they are all babies. They all respond like children. [Laughs] I don’t know.

Q: Is that you singing the songs in “Miss March”?

A: Yes, that’s me. I recorded those. I always play music with comedy. Now I have a band, some of the greatest musicians on or off the planet. At this point, they are called The Nasty Delicious. It really enhances my show to the point that I got people singing along. It’s the Craig Robinson Comedy Dance Party. That’s when I have my most fun now, when I’m onstage with the band. We play anything, a lot of covers: “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” by the Eurythmics, [Michael Jackson's] “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” … We’ll do Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

For more of this Q & A, check this.

This report came from Variety:

Ed Helms is branching out from “The Office,” setting up an untitled Civil War feature with Warner Bros., with castmate Steve Carell producing through his Warner-based Carousel banner.

Helms will star in the project, which is based on a pitch from Helms and scripting partner Jake Fleisher. The duo will write the script with details of the story staying under wraps.

Helms would play a civil war re-enacter, someone who is obsessive about historical precision – stitch count in a coat, buttons from the period, proper speech, etc. He and three other guys (two fellow re-enacters and an African-American professor of history who is protesting the event) are accidentally transported back in time and awaken in the actual civil war. Once there, they have find there way home without altering history or permanently breaking America in half.

Carousel partners Vance Degeneres and Charles Hartsock are also producing.

Helms recently wrapped “The Hangover” for director Todd Phillips at Warner Bros. Helms and Fleisher previously collaborated on “A Whole New Hugh,” in development with Judd Apatow.

Helms is repped by CAA and managed by Principato-Young.

Ahh, Phyllis is really one lucky bride!

This site has picked Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration as one of Ten TV Top Husbands.

• Bob Vance (The Office). Vance Refrigeration is the finest HVAC operation in the Scranton, Pennsylvania area. And Bob Vance is married to Dunder Mifflin saleswoman Phyllis. The 2 married in the third season of The Office. He refused to get a lap dance from the stripper that Michael Scott hired for his bachelor party. On the negative side, he did start a family during the Vietnam War and they sort of want back into his life. Robert Shafer plays this character.

Bob Vance is categorized along with other superb TV Dads like Marshall Eriksen on How I Met Your Mother, Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights, and Ben Henrickson on Big Love. ]

Inglorious Basterds is a Quentin Tarantino film which stars Brad Pitt. BJ Novak of The Office is also part of the cast. You will see a short shot of him in this new trailer that just got released today:

Mindy Kaling, writer and actor on The Office, took time to chat with fans last week, during the airing of the Lecture Circuit episode. Some of the Q & A’s follow after the cut…

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Actor David Denman, who played Roy in The Office for a couple of seasons, was in the CBS comedy series, Gary Unmarried, last Wednesday. He played an almost similar character as Roy as someone’s ex who meets his ex-wife’s new boyfriend for the first time. He dressed like him too. Here are some screen captures:

His real name is Tug Coker. Get to know the brother we’ve all come to know from last week’s episode. Here’s Pete Halpert…

STAFFORD — If you saw a recent episode of the popular comedy “The Office,” you may have noticed a familiar face.

Former Stafford High School graduate Tug Coker made a guest appearance on a show that aired Oct. 30. He played the younger of Jim Halpert’s two visiting brothers on the show.

Coker primarily had screen time with full-timers John Krasinski, who plays Halpert, and Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam Beesly.

“Good TV is great,” Coker said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “My dream would be to do stage and film.”

While at Stafford High, Coker lettered in basketball all four years he was there, played golf in state tournaments and was named as one of three outstanding athletes during his senior year.

Coker declined to mention his age at the request of his agency, so as not to hamper his chances of securing certain acting jobs.

But, former Stafford High School art instructor Rachel Sigler, with whom Coker still shares a close relationship, remembers him as a young man who played soccer with one of her sons.

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His real name is Blake Robbins and this is the story to how he got the role of Tom Halpert on The Office…

The call that led to Blake Robbins landing a role on one of television’s most-watched shows came while he was walking his dog at a Los Angeles dog park.

"It was out of the blue," Robbins said yesterday.

Could he be at an audition in three hours?

Yes, he told his manager. The 43-year-old actor from Salem knew he was meeting with the woman who cast "The Office," but not much else.

They gave him seven pages of lines to quickly digest. Going through them moments before the audition, Robbins realized he was reading for the part of Tom Halpert, Jim Halpert’s older brother.

Turn on tonight’s episode (Oct 30th) of "The Office," and you will see that Robbins went from the dog park to prime time. It was a particularly rewarding trip, given his affinity for a show that documents life at the Scranton, Pa., branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company.

"I’m a huge fan of ‘The Office.’ It is appointment television for me," Robbins said.

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