THE OFFICE Recap: “Launch Party
October 11, 2007 by Kath Skerry
WARNING! The following contains spoilers for tonight’s episode of THE OFFICE. Read at your own risk.
Tonight’s episode of THE OFFICE was like putting on a pair of old comfy pajamas…um, really, um funny pajamas? I don’t know where I was going with that exactly but what I was trying to say is that I really loved tonight’s episode of THE OFFICE. There were so many moments that reminded me why this is my favorite show on TV. It’s not like I forgot, but I’ve been a little iffy with the first two eps of this season and I don’t like being iffy when it comes to The Office.
In tonight’s episode, technology is still trying to inch its way into Dunder Mifflin. But technology can’t stand up to the mad selling skills of Dwight K. Schrute. Did you know that he was salesman of the month for 13 out of the last 12 months? Yeah, he’s that good. So when DB!Ryan launches Dunder Mifflin’s new corporate website it’s no match for Dwight. Despite being distraught and distracted over his breakup with Angela, he still manages to kick the computers ass.
Angela is back to her old bitchy self and I loved it. With the virtual launch party to plan, and dealing with the death of Sprinkles and her break with Dwight Angela was being bossy, judgmental and downright rude to anyone that got in her path (which was mostly Phyllis). It was great.
Michael and his tight shirt were all excited to be VIPing it up at the website launch party in the Big Apple. When Jan turned down his plus one (and she wouldn’t let him invite Carol), Michael decided to bring along his #2 guy. Sadly, Michael and Jim barely made it out of Pennsylvania before Jim figured out that they weren’t invited to hang out with Ryan and the cool kids at Corporate, but the invite was just for the “virtual” launch party back in the Scranton offices. Michael starts to see the light and begins to realize that his protege is kind of an ass. It’s about time Michael.
Always trying to make the best of a situation (especially one where he looks stupid), Michael decides that he wants to have the best virtual launch party of any branch. Cuz there ain’t no party like a Scranton party and (all together now) a Scranton party don’t stop. While he sends an already frazzled Angela on a goose chase to get the supplies for the party (only the essentials: beer, chips something made of ice, a celebrity, etc) Michael takes on the simple task of ordering the pizza. And as we all know what is simple to some is a disaster for Michael. After a dispute over coupon usage, Michael essentially kidnaps the punk delivering the pizza and holds him hostage. Oh Michael, the pizza boy is not Ryan, don’t hold DB!Ryan’s action against the guy delivering the food, no matter how much of an ass he is.
Meanwhile, Andy has his eyes set on Ms. Martin much to the chagrin of his new BFF Dwight (I guess the shunning is over). Andy is on a mission and nothing, not even Angela’s blatant refusal is going to stop him. In what was by far the best moment of tonight, Andy conferences in his acapella group to serenade Angela with the ABBA hit “Take a Chance on Me”. I mean can a girl really turn down a date when it’s set to the music of Here Comes Treble?! Perhaps. (By the way, NBC please make Andy’s version of “Take a Chance on Me” available for download…pretty please?!)
In a slightly better love story, Jim and Pam escape to the roof and share their dinner under the stars. Although Jim’s famous grilled cheese was replaced by pizza it was a nice throwback to Jim and Pam’s “first” date. And since we were cheated out of seeing their first official first date, this will have to do. They shared pizza and smiles as they admitted to each other the first moment they knew they liked one another. For Jim it was his very first day when Pam walked him to his desk and warned him of Dwight. For Pam it was a day when Jim warned her that her mixed berry yogurt had expired. The look of surprise on Jim’s face made it seem like perhaps this moment was quote some time ago…when she was still engaged to Roy. Young love…sigh.
Back down in the office, Michael finally realizes that keeping the pizza boy is a felony and lets him go. Feeling defeated yet combative, Michael and Dwight head to NYC to grab some the promised sushi at the launch party. By the time they get there the party is over, but they manage to steal some food and have some fun mocking Ryan, who seems to not be universally liked by his Corporate co-workers. Just another day in the office.
I don’t know about you, but this felt like a great old school episode of The Office. Here were a few of my favorite moments:
- The cold open with the whole office obsessed with the DVD square on the TV screen. I didn’t get it at first but when it was paid off I thought it was brilliant.
- “The website is the brainchild of my brainchild, Ryan, it’s my brain grandchild.”
- Meredith’s cast was great. Anyone else think that it will be offered in an online auction soon? Why else would “Jim Halpert” sign the cast “JOHN KRASINSKI”…and I just double checked…he did.
- Jim & Pam haven’t lost the magic and showed us just that when they pulled off a classic Season 2 prank against Dwight by messing with his IM and convincing him that the corporate computer had come to life. Oh Dwight.
- Tuna mocking Andy & Dwight felt all kinds of right too. It’s nice to see Halpert happy again and making proper fun of his silly co-workers.
- If Michael’s new thing is to come up with silly nicknames for Angela I’m all for it. Tonight is was “pipsqueak” and “booster seat”. Fantastic!!
- Darryl maybe has a little thing for Kelly Kapoor. He did defend her honor to Dwight (“start selling multiple reams like a man”). Based on her comments last week I think she’s into black guys so go for it Kelly (and psst Darryl…run for your life). I’m personally with Dwight who thinks Andy should go after Kelly. Kandy!! Kandy!!
- Unstable and bitter doesn’t look good on Kelly, especially when she smashes her pizza in to the TV screen when Ryan appears (even if he deserved it).
- Perfect balance of the Jim/Pam storyline tonight. There were some really sweet moments with the two of them but it wasn’t the focal point of the show.
- The end scene with Michael and Dwight on the car mocking Ryan. My gut tells me that that scene was a Steve Carell/Rainn Wilson improv – either way I was laughing my ass off.
- And I have to give another shout out to Andy for saving what was looking like another lackluster second half of The Office…way to pull it off Bernard!! You took one for the team tonight.
In general, I really felt like tonight’s episode of THE OFFICE focused on the comedy of the workplace. Although there were a few broad moments (I mean Jim should have just stepped in and settled the pizza boy hostage crisis at the get go) a lot of the humor was based on what was happening in the office and with the job. That’s how I like my Office.
And have I mentioned that I LOVED Andy singing tonight?! (Someone…youtube…please!)
Ok, spill it Dunder Mifflinites – what did you think of tonight’s episode?
I thought it was fantastic! I really liked the first two episodes too, but I think this one is the best of the three. They nailed it.
Loved it. I could mention 50 things that were great about it. But I will only mention one. Jim and Pam’s prank on Dwight. Drop dead funny, but what put it over the top was when Pam saw how sad Dwight was when Angela rejected him and tried to cheer him up by have the “compter” concede defeat. It is that kind of moment that no show up the Office can pull off.
I thought dwight letting himself go with the 5 oclock shadow was a nice touch.
Michael’s tight shirt and discussing fast weight loss with kelly was hilarious.
They really used most of the cast tonight which is good. A well written, ensemble acted, funny episode of the office is as good as it gets.
Who else is hungry for some new york style sushi?
Really dug this episode. I was nervous after the first two of the season but this one didn’t drag like the other ones. This episode also felt like one cohesive episode rather than 2 half hours smooshed together.
Andy is the man! That’s how you woo a woman.
I’m not a Jim/Pam guy but I really liked what you said about the balance of them in tonight’s episode. Not too much, not too little, but they nailed it.
I thought everything with my man Halpert was on the money tonight. The prank was solid,but I really enjoyed the bit when he was mocking Andy. Funny stuff.
I always read your recaps but I kind of keep quiet. I’m a fan of The Office but I read all your stuff. Nice work.
Love, love, loved it. Definitely the best of the year so far, and one of my favorite episodes of all time. It was funny throughout the entire episode, and I thought the hour flew by.
I love me some PB&J with some Michael and Dwight on top, but the little pieces of the ensemble cast really made this episode great. Stanley’s dancing, Kevin talking about how crappy Pizza by Angelo’s was, Phyllis looking up how to deal with hostile workers, Oscar looking up jail time and accomplices, Meredith’s cast, Darryl and Kelly, Jan refusing to go with Michael….etc. etc. What an ensemble. Kudos!
This was a huge improvement over the last two weeks! I could tell because my girlfriends and I missed lines from laughing so hard…one of the hazards of watching The Office in a group!
One of those moments was Michael’s slow realization that he was not invited to the actual NY party. “Are there three w’s in front of that address?”
I also have to give Angela props tonight. Maybe it’s just that the writers are giving her character more scenes, but I’ve enjoyed her so much more this season. I loved how Phyllis’ attempt to deal with Angela’s anger backfired. She’ll never again confuse spoons with forks and knives.
I agree with Josh that it felt like a solid hour instead of two separate halves. I did not know that was an Abba song, and apparently I’m the only person who didn’t.
I was lamenting to myself recently that I’ll never feel the cool feeling of first realizing what a great show this is. And tonight they proved me wrong because they took me right back to the good old days of pranks and subtle moments of two people in love without any drama.
Could’ve done without the kidnapping, though.
I loved Ryan’s interview where everything he said was obnoxiously buzzword-laden corporate-speak.
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I noticed that they seemed to be back in their groove tonight too. The first two episodes were good, but kind of overdone like you’ve talked about. Tonight, although it completely felt like to episodes squished together (I could even notice where one ended and the next one started), it was good ol’ Office again. I’m glad you mentioned Michael’s nicknames for Angela. Hilarious. Reminds me of Sawyer on LOST.
I keep meaning every week to get out a pen and paper when the episode starts to write down my favorite stuff, but I’m always so excited about watching it that I forget. I hope next week keeps up this trend of the good ol’ days.
WOW. Just re-read the post and there were so many typos. Sorry about that. I’m going on very little sleep right now and wanted to get something up before I went to bed.
I’m really glad that you all got that same “old school” feeling that I did. I really hope the writers chase this feeling.
Andy all the way. His version of Take a Chance on Me was just awesome.
TWO episodes, not “to episodes”. Good grief, me.
awesome episode. I could not stop smiling when andy sang to angela. Such a cute moment!
I loved tonight’s episode. I love Jim and Pam as always, but I also liked Phyllis’s approach with Angela! I know Angela shut her down, but her attemps were funny. Darrell is too cool, he could use a little Kelly in his life (even if he is going to get way more than he bargained for…should be funny for us!) Tonight’s episode reminded me of why I love The Office and redemend the so-so first-two episodes (that did have some good moments of course).
PS. It’s Friday at least on the East Coast and I don’t think it’s too early to remind everyone to watch/TiVo Friday Night Lights..NBC 9pm!!!
The whole “not it” exchange between Jim/Pam was so classic Jam, except for the whole “tie goes to the girlfriend”. That [/Jim] was an added bonus.
I also loved Michael’s take on the Jim/Pam relationship. First when he said “look at these two, they have their own language, like twins” HA! And then we he sang acapella “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and saying “I love you” in girl voices as Jim said goodbye to Pam.
However my favorite moment goes to Stanley grooving to the DMI website music. Awesome!
LOVED tonights episode!
My favorite moment was when Andy was singing…TOTALLY Dawesome. But also, equally amazing, was when Pam IMed Dwight as the computer and told him he was superior, when he was clearly down about Angela. It was so subtle but so great.
And the cold open was great too!
Tonight felt like Season 2…only even better cause Jim and Pam are dating.
I actually didn’t quite like it as much as last week, but the Andy ABBA song was pure gold. Sign him up for an Emmy nod right now. I was actually pulling for him to snag Ms. Angela after that! Jim/Pam prank on Dwight was priceless too. I think all of Michael’s increased insane behavior is leading to something explosive in the next few weeks. He’s had some serious bad luck recently and I doubt it is all sunshine and roses with Jan – not that it was ever in question! 😉
Absolutely loved this episode – definitely the best of the three so far this season. I too loved Andy’s singing to Angela – best moment of the episode. I already think Ed Helms is fantastic, so his singing with his acapella group to Angela just increased my adoration for him! 😉 I agree, how can you resist that? I definitely saw the little smile on Angela’s face when she walked away, but then it broke my heart seeing Dwight’s reaction. I’m definitely Team Dwangela but I also won’t mind seeing Andy’s attempts to romance Angela and how Dwight will react. Maybe Andy might realize at some point that Dwight and Angela were dating? I also have a feeling Pam might have something to do with getting them back together at some point this season.
Ryan was being a huge DB this episode! Loved Kelly and the pizza in his face, even if it was just through the TV! I also agree that the amount of JAM was just right and perfect. Great prank on Dwight! The “kidnapping” was a bit too broad, but it didn’t take away from the episode for me.
Jen Cellota really writes great episodes of this show – I agree that this hour felt like a good full hour of an episode compared to the first two. She also wrote A Benihana Christmas, another hour episode, and I thought she did a great job with that one too. Overall, a wonderful episode and I hope the rest of the season just keeps getting better from here on out! Yay Office Thursdays!
Definitely the best so far this season. Jen Cellota did a fabulous job of bringing back what made us all love this show from the start. I agree that the kidnapping was a bit much (though not as bad as that horrible lake thing last week), but that’s a minor quibble. So, so many funny moments tonight!
I can’t tell you how much I loved it when Phyllis crinkled up the sticky notes & threw it at Angela. I bet they had so many takes.
Can I just say that I have done the exact same thing with the DVD screen? In class one day, I was SO BORED and the little DVD thing was just bouncing around and I was just waiting for it to hit the corner, and it never did. So seeing it finally hit the corner made me so happy, you have no idea!
Loved this episode! The best of the 1 hour episodes so far!
Lots of singing on NBC this week… No complaints here
My mistake… For a second I thought Pushing Daisies was on NBC… Nevertheless, it has been a very musical week television-wise.
Kath, I know of a site that contains great quality photos from episodes. They already have pics up of the next two weeks shows. Email me if you want the url.
They’re back! I loved this episode! So many laugh out loud moments which you did a great job of pinpointing all my favorites.
I have always thought that Jim was the heart of the show and this was a classic Happy Jim episode from explaining the moving square and mocking Andy to orchestrating a brilliant prank. Even his warm handshake with Darryl was sweet.
I can’t believe that John signed John Krasinski on Meredith’s cast!! What a great catch! Why do you think that he did that? You know, when he signed it I thought to myself that he was dotting to many i’s for his name.
I honestly thought of the kidnapping story the same way I felt last week when Michael drove his car into the lake–ridiculous. Everything else in the episode except for that was pure gold. LOVED Pam and Jim’s prank on Dwight, but also loved the sympathetic moment Pam gave Dwight at the end, because he truly is hurting. Can’t wait for next week!
I loved last night’s episode! There was so much funny there I don’t know where to start – you did a great job with your favorite moments.
I literally had to pause the Tivo when Ryan launched into his corporate lingo-fest. I laughed so hard I was nearly crying.
Andy’s singing was so cute – I loved Angela’s microscopic grin when she was walking away.
love, Love, LOVED it! That was the hardest I’ve laughed since season 2. In fact the first half hour may be my favorite Office episode ever… wow! 🙂
So I am rewatching the episode right now and I can’t get over how many wonderful, subtle, hilarious, moments there were! The cold open started off a great episode- loved Jim and Pam explaining it in their talking heads! And can I just say Jim and Pam were just too cute for words this episode…’tie goes to the girlfriend’ ha! And Jim with his mocking of Andy…’zippity do da’…loved it!
some more favorite moments:
*’what is a jim?’
* Michael’s names for Angela- pipsqueak/booster seat- so subtle!
*Michael’s tight fuschia shirt
*Kelly online shopping at Dunder Mifflin
*Lunch Party
*a performance by ‘I love Treble’
*how Jim knew about Dwight’s Staples customers- again, so subtle
*are there 3 w’s at the beginning of the address?
* Kevin and Oscar’s explanation of the pizza
*Jim trying to tell Michael he has kidnapped ‘little jerk boy’…his whisper of ‘ransom’ was great!
*Dwight and Michael’s roadtrip to get New York style sushi, and then the mocking of Ryan at the end…so funny!
Ok, thats enough for now, there were so many more! Overall, great episode!
My boyfriend and I paused the DVR after the cold opening and just stared at each other….we do that thing with our DVD player too! Freaky….
I’m so glad to know you thought he signed his real name to the cast too. I rewound it once to check but I just thought…”Jim Halpert” doesn’t have that many i’s to dot….
meanwhile, I love it whenever the other women in the office inappropriately hit on Jim and his eyes just get bigger and bigger.
And wow, Andy, wow.
I enjoyed this episode. I think it’s the best one so far this season. I really liked the cold open….can totally relate to watching the DVD icon. One line that I loved was when Michael held is hand up toward the wall in front of Angela and said, “You must be this tall…..” oh man, I laughed pretty hard at that one!!
I loved Jim and Pam in this one. The roof was special and I enjoyed hearing their “moments”. I agree with you though, they didn’t have too much or too little….just enough JAM.
I can’t believe that no one touched on my most favorite bit of the show…well it did only last a few seconds…Angela noting that the only way to break up with a person was by notarized letter, but what if your notary is the person you want to break up with? That moment was concentrated essence of Angela for this season. Hilarious.
(Last year’s CEoA moment was the comment about the clothing at the American Girl store.)
Watching again….
In the cold open, as they are waiting for the cube, Jim has his hand on Pam’s upper arm. It’s funny to think that this simple act would have had the message boards going for days had it happened last year.
So can anyone else see the possibility of Ryan failing miserably at corporate and being sent back to Scranton? I have found that those people who use corporatespeak at the rate that he used it often have no idea what they are doing. There are those who obviously already don’t like him (what with him using their offices for his TH and someone liking it when he was embarrassed), so I could see him being demoted or scapegoated if anything goes wrong. It would be interesting to see him get his wings clipped.
Also, I loved the kindness shown by Pam to Dwight. That is my favorite part of The Office – the little moments of true kindness that allow a simple humanity to show through the occasionally ridiculous characters that we love.
I loved it! but your missing one of the greatest parts! When Stanley started dancing! I loved that part.
I really really enjoyed this episode. All of the good parts have been mentioned already but I want to add myself to the list of people who really loved Andy in this episode. After that serenade, how could Angela not smile at him? I just feel bad for Dwight having to witness Angela giving Andy her Casino Night smile that she used to give him.
I also love how they are handling Jim and Pam. Their “secret language” was cute and I especially loved the rooftop scene, so subtle yet so right. I love how Jim adores Pam.
I had to rewatch John signing Merediths cast three times last night because I saw him dot his i’s. Do you really think they would auction off her plaster panties? Ewwwww!. I think it was just a mistake on Johns part. It was funny though!!!!!
GMMR, we squeed over the hand on Pam’s shoulder at the MTT boards all night. We’ve even got screencaps to memorialize the moment 😉 You should come over there some time. It’s a really happy place.
Did nobody else laugh at the part when Dwight is talking about the pizza kid? “I know that punk. He’s the one that steals my hemp under the chicken coop” followed by “I know him. He’s the farmer that grows crappy weed.” And how about when Michael says to Angela “Who could do a better job at this than you? Can anybody do this better than you? Seriously, who are they, cause we’re short on time here.”
I think my comment didn’t go through because it had the phrase “Cas-ino Night” in it :o(
I was at my mom’s last night when The Office was on and turned it on. My brother’s girlfriend had never seen an episode. I’m glad she saw this episode first. I love The Office, but the episodes are funny one week and not so much the next.
I very much enjoyed it! I also noticed that John was signing his own name. Wish Jenna would blog more about the behind the scenes things this year – there were lots of moments I think some were breaking! Very funny. Lots of extra character stuff – but no Toby or Creed! It did feel like one long episode, rather than 2. Very well done…can’t believe Angela is smitten with Andy! Poor Dwight. 🙁
I loved last night’s episode. That is what I was expecting from the other episodes that were an hour long. Everyone was in their element for that episode. My favorite part was the DVD player. I loved Jim’s talking head about it and his face when he was talking about it hitting the corners haha! Priceless.
As soon as John signed his cast I had realized that he had signed his own name. I got his autograph when I went to the premiere of License to Wed and that was exactly how he signed my magazine and exactly how it looks. I thought that was so funny. I was wondering if he was going to sign Jim or John haha!
Finally, a prank on Dwight! I was waiting for it. I felt like that was the biggest thing missing from the first two episodes.
All in all it was a great episode, the only thing is that there is still too much Michael sometimes. It is a lot better when they focus on other characters, like Kevin and Oscar! Love IT!
I say amen to almost all of your points, except… I kind of liked Kelly smashing her pizza in Ryan’s face/the TV screen. But you’re right – it felt like home. Hooray for pranks! And Kudos to Pam for her kindness. I really like Pam/Dwight interaction. I hope we see more of their weird sort of friendship. We definitely need more Jim mocking his co-workers. I would like a little more Jim & Pam, but I think we’ll be getting that soon. I’m going to trust the writers, as they usually handle that situation and pace things very well. I about fell off my chair when Andy started singing – it was wonderful and cringe-worthy and just plain dawesome. I have one main concern at this point, which is, how is Michael not going to get fired? I think they need to take him back down a notch. LOVED IT.
I don’t know where to begin. Like you I was iffy after the first two shows; and I hated feeling that way. The Office is my one and only show.
However, tonight/last night, the show came “back to life” for me. There were so many nuances to the show I watched it 4 times. I kept picking up little things. God it was amazing and it felt like old times. You just can’t beat this show. Your summary of the events cannot be more explicit. Incredible. I laughed my a** off just like I used to. Let’s hear it for the Office. It’s back at a 10+.
I don’t know where to begin. Like you I was iffy after the first two shows; and I hated feeling that way. The Office is my one and only show.
However, tonight/last night, the show came “back to life” for me. There were so many nuances to the show I watched it 4 times. I kept picking up little things. God it was amazing and it felt like old times. You just can’t beat this show. Your summary of the events cannot be more explicit. Incredible. I laughed my a** off just like I used to. Let’s hear it for the Office. It’s back at a 10+.
Because I’m hearing impaired, I watch the show over and over to pick up pieces that I miss the first time; the captions can only do so much. So, I go back and watch it over and lip read and pay more attention to body language. Like I said before it is back at a 10+. I am thrilled!!!!!!!!!
This episode was FANTASTIC. None of the minor missteps of last week. I thought it was perfect. Yay!
I loved this episode. That pizza guy was HOT! Omg, he is so flippen gorgeous. It was so funny. The whole thing was great. I love The Office. And, I’m only 12 years old!
This was such an awesome episode. The scene with the cube bouncing around an how they just waited for it to hit the corner was genius. The sheer reality of this show is scary. Whenever there a screen like that I totally do that. Michaels nicknames for Angela regarding her petite size were hilarious, and the computer prank that Jim and Pam pulled on dwight was awesommee 🙂 it was so nice how Pam ( as the computer ) told dwight that he was the superior being lol.
The kidnapping was a bit much, but I didn’t mind because the ready of the ep was so amazing and because Kevin McHale played the pizza delivery kid. The office and glee are among my favorite shows. The thing about the kidnapping scene was that the pizza kid was ready to take the pizzas and leave, which would be the perfect way out for any normal person, as they could just order the good pizza, but because he was annoyed, and he was cheap, and he was MICHAEL, of course he had to further complicate things. Also I am assuming this kids cell phone died or he left it in the car because I see no reason for a kid his age to not to have a cell phone on him. But as I mentioned before, Kevin McHale ( Artie on Glee ) played the pizza delivery kid, this did not bother me as much as it should have. Kevin McHale, you made this episode just that more awesome for me 🙂
Lastly, the way Andy serenaded Angela was hilarious 🙂
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