The OfficeSeason 4 Refresher Course
NEW EPISODE THURSDAY APRIL 10!!!
Lauren - TwoCents Staff Writer
November 16th. That was when the last new episode of “The Office” aired. Due to the many hyphenates (writers and actors) on “The Office”, it was one of the first television shows to halt production after the WGA strike started. Therefore, we Dunderheads have had no new material to analyze, memorize, or fanviddify for nearly five months! No Darrylism to quote, no Jim-faces to make into LiveJournal icons, no Andy serenades to have playing in our heads all day. We only had our DVDs and Dwight bobbleheads to comfort us through the long winter.
But this Thursday, our wait is finally over. A new episode of the Office will air, and by 9:30pm (8:30 Central), we will be laughing at the newest classic moments from Dunder Mifflin, and all will be right in Officeland again. Since this was a long and unexpected hiatus, some fans might not remember what’s happened in Season 4 so far. Never fear, just read this post and you’ll be ready for Thursday night.
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The Office
ReplyDeleteSeason 4 Refresher Course
NEW EPISODE THURSDAY APRIL 10!!!
Lauren - TwoCents Staff Writer
November 16th. That was when the last new episode of “The Office” aired. Due to the many hyphenates (writers and actors) on “The Office”, it was one of the first television shows to halt production after the WGA strike started. Therefore, we Dunderheads have had no new material to analyze, memorize, or fanviddify for nearly five months! No Darrylism to quote, no Jim-faces to make into LiveJournal icons, no Andy serenades to have playing in our heads all day. We only had our DVDs and Dwight bobbleheads to comfort us through the long winter.
But this Thursday, our wait is finally over. A new episode of the Office will air, and by 9:30pm (8:30 Central), we will be laughing at the newest classic moments from Dunder Mifflin, and all will be right in Officeland again. Since this was a long and unexpected hiatus, some fans might not remember what’s happened in Season 4 so far. Never fear, just read this post and you’ll be ready for Thursday night.
Michael Scott: poorer, and still a bit crazy
Michael proclaims in this season’s premiere that this is going to be a good year, but he may have jinxed himself with that statement as he hits Meredith with his car mere seconds later, breaking her pelvis. That’s about how things have gone for Mr. Scott this season. He futilely attempts to win back customers with gift baskets, drives his car into an effin’ lake, (accidentally) kidnaps a rude pizza boy, and takes on a second job to fight his mounting debt from Jan’s redecorating and his own reckless spending. That’s just in the first four episodes.
We all know what Michael hates the most is being left out (or feeling abandoned). He’s left out of the creative process of Dunder Mifflin’s commercial when it turns out all the commercial makers want from Michael is five seconds of the employees waving. He feels abandoned when Stanley threatens to leave for more pay in Utica (under new regional manager Karen Filippelli). Worst of all is when he is not invited to a company retreat, but Toby is, leading Michael to go out and rough it ‘Survivor Man’ style. Don’t worry, he’s back at DM before quitting time.
In the last episode before the break, Michael gives a deposition in Jan’s wrongful termination case against DM. Michael feels betrayed all around as he learns that not only did Jan steal his diary and give him a terrible performance review after they became a couple, but that CFO was never seriously considering him for the corporate job. In the end, Michael sides with his one true love, Dunder Mifflin.
Dwight, Angela, Andy: DWANGELANDY?
When Angela asks Dwight to take care of her ailing cat, Sprinkles, Dwight decides the best thing for everyone is for the cat to be euthanized . . . in the freezer. It’s too much for Angela and she breaks up with Dwight. Dwight does his best to win back Angela, including finding her a replacement cat and going mano-a-mano with the new DM Website. But Angela ignores Dwight’s gestures, leaving room for a new suitor; Andy.
At first, Andy doesn’t have much luck wooing Angela. A conference call serenade and a stolen ice sculpture thaws Angela a little bit, but after Andy gives her a cat he found at Vance Refrigeration, Angela finally grants Andy permission to ask her out.
Dwight, meanwhile, takes the break up hard and goes off into his own world even more by trying to run a bed and breakfast at the beet farm and spending a lot of time on Second Life. To add insult to injury, Andy’s tends to come to Dwight for relationship advice about Angela. Dwight’s so miserable, even Jim and Pam are reluctant to prank him.
Ryan: “Wunderkins”
The biggest twist of the Season 3 finale was Ryan, once the office temp and arsonist, was promoted to Jan’s old job at corporate. Ryan’s main objective in his new job is to modernize and streamline DM (the Scranton branch in particular) by setting up a new and encouraging the employees in Scranton to use Blackberries and Power Point.
Ryan can’t seem to rise above his former ‘Temp’ status, though. His ideas are met with intense resistance from Michael, he still gets called the ‘Fire Guy’, he keeps chomping after Jim’s girls when he asks out Pam, and Kelly gives him a major scare when she claims she’s pregnant. It’s not surprising that he seems to be avoiding visiting the Scranton Branch.
Speaking of Miss Kapoor; after being unceremoniously dumped by Ryan, Kelly uses flirty dresses and the aforementioned fake pregnancy to try to win him back, but it turns out there was a better man right under her nose, Darryl ‘Mistah Rogers’ Philbin. While Kelly appreciates his ping pong skills, she can’t quite figure out his ‘game’ of telling her what he’s actually thinking.
Pam and Jim: Totally hooking up
That’s right, after three (2 and a half? 2 and 1/4?) seasons of will-they-won’t-they, Jim and Pam are. Dating, that is. They try to keep it under wraps at first, but the camera crew and other employees find out soon enough. The ‘aww’ worthy moments haven't stopped coming since as we've watched PB&J have private pizza parties, spend the night at Schrute Farm, and share the occasional PDA.
Pam is also continuing her transformation into ‘Fancy New Beesly’. She’s let her hair down, ditched the cardigans, and is pursing graphic design more seriously. She draws up some logos for the DM website, and also exercises her animation skills for Michael's commercial. She also starts a club with Oscar and Toby to appreciate the ‘finer things’, though as it turns out, the DM break room isn't the best place to discuss the works of Monet.
Jim's personal growth, however, has been a little more stagnant. He may finally have the girl, but his worst fear from back in Season 1 is being realized; his job at DM is becoming his ‘career’. And that career is less than dignified so far. Though never above a harmless prank, Jim desperately tries to thwart Michael and Dwight's ‘panty-raid’ of the Utica branch, leading to a beyond awkward encounter with his ex, Karen.
When Michael goes on his sojourn to the wilderness, Jim is in charge and attempts to combine all the birthday parties into a single communal party. It’s a disaster, and when Michael reveals he made the same rookie mistake and that he also used to tell himself he wasn't going to make a career at Dunder Mifflin, Jim realizes he’s inadvertently following in the footsteps of the boss that he admires so little.
There we are, Season 4 in a roughly 1000-word nutshell. Now let’s sit back this Thursday and let our favorite paper company get back to work.