If you’ve been waiting for an organized way to show of your trivial knowledge of all things Office, wait no longer! This month, not one, but two Office boards games will be released. Here’s a description of the games, set for release on July 19th.

The Office Trivia Game
For 2 to 6 Adult Players; Suggested retail price: $25
Fans of NBC’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning-sitcom The Office can test their show knowledge with Pressman Toy’s The Office Trivia Game. Players move around the office walking cubicle to cubicle answering trivia questions and visiting favorite Dunder Mifflin characters’ cubes. They must beware of Scranton Regional Manager Michael Scott showing up on the game die and moving into their cubicle – players must answer a trivia question about the socially awkward boss before they can move on. The player who successfully gets through all the locations and collects the all-important “Support the Rabid” wristband wins.

The Office DVD Board Game
For 2-4 Adult Players; Suggested retail price: $30
The Office DVD Board Game from Pressman Toy combines video on DVD from America’s funniest television sitcom NBC’s The Office with a companion game board allowing fans to interact with their favorite characters and put their show knowledge to the test. Players go head-to-head answering trivia questions based on video clips, images and facts from The Office using their DVD remote control and moving around the game board. Trivia Spaces test players’ knowledge. Challenge spaces let players collect other players’ Schrute bucks. Clerical spaces test players’ speed, skill and resourcefulness. Michael Cards can help or hinder their path. The first player to collect $1.00 in Schrute bucks wins. Game play is different every time.

More Pics:

LiveJournal user mo_shmoe was featured before for her drawing of John Krasinski, and now she’s back with this adorable picture of (the fancy new) Pam.

I recommend you visit moshmoe’s deviantART gallery, lots of great celebrity portraits.

Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Season 4 Episode 3-4 (hour long)
Airdate: October 4, 2007
Writer: Michael Schur
Synopsis: New boss Ryan returns to try to bring the Scranton branch into the digital age with a fancy new website, but Michael resists and tries to win back customers with some old tactics. Dwight tries to console Angela over her dead cat.

1. Supplemental Materials
Pam Pong Scorecard, Read the transcript at OfficeQuotes.net

2. Quick Recap
Cold Opener: Toby accidently “outs” Jim and Pam as a couple. “Guess who just became the best looking single guy in the office?” Andy says, with a smirk.
The Topic: New boss Ryan wants to streamline Dunder Mifflin, starting with a new website. Michael goes on a rather futile quest to win back customers with gift baskets. To make a point about technology, he takes his GPS directions literally and drives his car into an effin’ lake.
Meanwhile: Angela is beyond upset over Sprinkles, and Dwight does everything he can think of to make it up to Angela . . . other than actually apologizing. But it’s too little too late for Angela as she breaks up with Dwight.
Fancy New Howard: Ryan’s got a new haircut, new Blackberry, and a new New York businessman attitude. But that doesn’t stop him from flipping out when Kelly tells him she’s pregnant (don’t worry, she’s not).
Splashframes: Ryan asks Pam to brainstorm some logos for the website. Impressed with her work (or maybe just trying to rebound after Kelly’s pregnancy scare) Ryan asks Pam out, and is beyond embarrassed when Pam tells him she’s with Jim. Sorry, Ryan, you’ll always be just “The Temp” in Scranton.
Michael Scott Words of Wisdom: “People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections.”

3. Flonkerton’s Favorite Quotes

Pam: Phone’s ringing. [goes back toward desk]
Michael: No, no, no Pam let ‘em ring. Let the bells of Dunder Mifflin chime out your love. Because this is really good, this is really good. My heart soars with the eagles nest.

Dwight TH: I don’t see it. I think they both could do better.
Angela TH: It’s not a surprise to me. Pam is the office mattress.
Andy TH: Jim Halpert’s off the market. Guess who just became the best looking single guy in the office?

Michael: Hey. Can you make that straighter? That’s what she said.
Phyllis: Did you plan that?
Michael: No. [Pam paper from Michael]
Pam: [reading] “Can you make that straighter? That job looks hard. You should put your mouth on that.” How can you even use that one naturally?

Michael: Pam and Jim are together. Ryan is visiting. Only thing that could make this day better is ice cream.

Angela: I don’t want Garbage! I want Sprinkles!

Jim: Swore I wouldn’t tell anyone this, but in the interest of revealing secrets. Oh my God, this will make your brain explode. Umm, Dwight and Angela dating. Have been for six months.
Pam: No..
Jim: Swear to God. Aww this is great. I was actually gonna wait and tell you on your birthday, but this is much more fun.
Pam: No, they have been dating for like two years. Since before your barbecue.
Jim: Wait. What? You knew? And you didn’t say anything?
Pam: You didn’t say anything to me.
Jim: Fair enough. Wow! We should have started dating like a long time ago.

Phyllis: Hey Pam, by the way, it’s great that you’re dating. But when a new client calls, you just have to randomly assign them to a sales person. You can’t base who gets new clients on who you’re sleeping with that week, OK?
Jim TH: And… that is why we waited so long to tell people.

Michael: We had a foreign exchange student live with us when I was young. And we called him my brother. And that’s who I thought he was. Um, then he went home to what is now formerly Yugoslavia, taking all of my blue jeans with him. And I had to spend the entire winter in shorts. That is what Ryan is like. A fake brother who steals your jeans.

Kelly: Well, I hope you’re still committed because I’m pregnant.
Kelly TH: [shaking head]
Kelly: And guess what buddy, I am keeping it.
Ryan: OK. OK.
Kelly: Do you feel prepared to help me raise a baby?
Ryan: I can… I can’t talk about this right now, OK? After work, we’ll go out to dinner, we’ll talk about it then, OK?
Kelly TH: We have a date!

Creed: I’m thirty. Well, in November I’ll be thirty.

Angela: I can’t do this. I can’t be with you. Every time I look in your eyes I see Sprinkles’ stiff lifeless body.
Dwight: Then don’t look in my eyes. Look right here [points to middle of forehead above the eyes], it’s an old sales trick.

Michael: Ryan wants everything in our company to be about emails and IM’s, but I think he’s forgetting about the original instant message. Letters attached to baskets of food.

Michael: Ever since I was a kid people have been telling me I can’t do things. “You can’t be on the team”, “You can’t move on to second grade”. Well, now they’re telling me that I can’t win back clients using old fashioned business methods. We’ll see about that. And FYI, I eventually aced second grade, and I was the biggest kid in class.

Phyllis: How is giving people gift baskets going to get our clients back?
Michael: Gift baskets are amazing, Phyllis. Gift baskets are… the essence of class and fanciness. They are the ultimate present that a person can receive.
Andy: What about cash? With cash you can buy anything you want, including a gift basket, so… it’s kind of the best gift ever.
Jim: What about a gift basket full of cash?
Andy: Yes! Cash basket! Nice work Tuna.

Andy: He smells like what I think Pierce Brosnan probably smells like.

Pam: Yeah, I’m gonna do some mock ups, and then turn those into thumbnails, maybe do some..splash frames. [laughs] I don’t know what I’m talking about but I’m excited.

Jim: I guess he can’t get any girl he wants.

Michael: What’s missing… the turtles. Where are the turtles? Where are the turtles?
Ex-client: Come on guys, get out of here!
Michael: WHERE ARE THE TURTLES? WHERE ARE THEY?

Michael: Ryan thinks that technology is the answer. Well guess what? I just drove my car into a lake.
Oscar: You did what?
Michael: I drove my car into a [bleep]ing lake.

Michael TH: Everyone always wants new things. Everybody likes new inventions, new technology. People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. And computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. And to me the choice is easy.

4. Trivia

• Ryan asking out Pam marks the third time Ryan’s gone after a woman involved with Jim. He asked for Katy’s number in “Email Surveillance” and emailed Karen to ask her out sometime before “Women’s Appreciation.”
• Michael called Johnson’s Towing to pull hi car out of the lake. Johnson’s Towing is a real Scranton company.
• During the conference room scene, Michael reused a picture from “Big” and one of Ben Kingsly. Those pictures were previously used in “The Injury” and “Diwali” respectively.
• When this episode re-aired in two parts, a new cold open was added for Part 2 with Toby kissing his girlfriend at Pam’s desk. There was also a new scene at the end with Ryan trying to explain the “vibe” of living in New York City.

5. Grade The Episode

It’s Mid-May, which means it’s about that time to say good-bye to our favorite paper company for four months. It’s a little more bitter sweet than usual as the Writer’s strike shortened the season about half-a-dozen episodes, but we had a lot of big moments this season. So let’s look at Flonkerton’s favorite moments of this (woefully short) season.

FYI: This post was actually inspired by this completely awesome “Top 5″ picspam by opportunistice over at LiveJournal. For those that don’t know, a “picspam” is exactly what it sounds like, tons of pics being thrown at you as once, so people with slow connections have been warned.

Onward to the list! This is by no means a be-all-end-all list of Top S4 moments, just 10 of my favorite moments.

Kelly’s pregnancy scare, “Dunder Mifflin Infinity”: When a flirty little pink dress wasn’t enough to impress Ryan, Kelly pulled out the big guns. The editing is what really makes this scene hilarious as they cut to a talking head of Kelly simply shaking her head to confirm she’s not pregnant, as well as proclaiming “We have a date!” when Ryan reluctantly agrees to take her to dinner to talk about the “baby”.

The Bouncing Box, “Launch Party”: Easily the best cold opener of the season, Michael thinks he has the full attention of the staff when really the bouncing color DVD square on the screen is what the crew is intently watching. Cut in an adorable talking head of Pam insisting she did actually see the box go right into the corner once, and Kevin telling Oscar that he’s “gotta believe”, and you have a great scene.

Take a chance on Andy, “Launch Party”: I confess, I use to really hate when Andy sang. Okay, many not “hate”, but get very annoyed at the amount of screen time devoted to his “super sexy falsetto” (end of Product Recall anyone?). However, Andy did win me over in Launch Party when he enlisted his former A Capella buddies to serenade Angela. How could anyone say no?

Whoever/Whomever: “Money”: It’s ensemble acting at it’s finest as the staff debate whether “whomever” or “whoever” is correct. I can’t do the scene justice by describing it, you just have to watch.

Jim talks to Dwight, “Money”: Though Dwight is Jim’s favorite prank target, he put that all aside for a moment as he went to the stairwell to talk the recently heart broken Schrute. Jim confesses he went to Stamford because he torn up over Pam, and he wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone, even Dwight. Yeah, kinda sounds sappy, I know, but John and Rainn really pull it off to make a simple, emotional scene. Plus it’s immediately followed by Jim kissing Pam, which always makes me happy.

The “real” commercial, “Local Ad”: Michael’s creative efforts for a Dunder Mifflin commercial are all for not as corporate really just wants a few seconds of the staff waving at the end of a professionally produced 30-second spot. But there was some special about watching the crew watch the “real” commercial, which despite low production values was actually pretty good. For a brief moment, you could tell everyone was just a little bit proud to be working at Dunder MIfflin.

Michael loves birthday parties, “Survivor Man”: A hilarious montage of past birthday parties/disasters as Jim talks, in his patented sarcastic-serious voice, about Michael’s love of only singing the high harmony to “Happy Birthday” as well as scaring the crap out of the everyone with his “surprise” parties. Again, I don’t know if I can do this scene justice by describing it, you just have to see.

Jan’s Candles, “Dinner Party”: Jim and Pam probably suspected that dinner at Jan and Michael’s was a train wreck waiting to happen. And the train was already starting to derail as soon as they walked through the door and were taken on a tour of the Jan-centric house. Jim and Pam got a first hand glimpse at what the former business woman is doing with herself these days when they entered her candle room. Jim’s gagging face kills me every time.

Jim ties his shoe, “Chair Model”: After some playful banter about getting engaged, Jim shows the cameras an engagement ring he got only a week after he and Pam started dating. Jim then psyches out Pam, and frankly most of us watching, as he gets on one knee and softly calls Pam over to ask will she . . . wait while he ties his shoe. You got us pretty good there, Halpert.

Michael lays down the law with Stanley, “Did I Stutter?”: First off, I love how the wrath of Stanley is way more effective in clearing the office than any fire drill. I also love how I actually expected Michael to seriously reprimand Stanley, but instead sobs and asks why Stanley keep picking on him. Now if only the scene had “fluffy fingers”.

Yeah, not a bad season? What were your favorite scenes?

This week’s topic: Andy greatest performances
The first two things that anyone who meets Andy Bernard will learn is a) he went to Cornell (ever heard of it?) and b) he likes to sing. And boy does he sing. From the standards to the 70s, to alternative and beyond, Andy seems to be the sole contestant on his own Dunder Mifflin Idol. Let’s look back at some of his greatest hits and vote for your favorite.

“Closer to Fine” - Indigo Girls
When Andy, Jim, and Karen have to stay late in “Diwali”, Andy spices things up with Jager and a little a capella (despite Karen’s protests). Best of all, he got Jim to join in on his version of the female-folk-rock duo’s famous tune. Tuna!

“What is Love” - Haddaway
Who needs a CD player when you have Andy? In “The Merger”, Andy wins Michael over easily with his personality mirroring and his knowledge of old SNL sketches when he helps Michael recreate his own “Night at the Roxbury” sketch. Unfortunately, Andy has the ability to make everyone feels as uncomfortable as Michael does every day.

“The Rainbow Connection” - Kermit the Frog
When Jim’s “advice” to Andy on winning over Pam included asking if Andy had a banjo and could sing in a falsetto voice, we knew we were in for something special. Gotta give Pam credit for managing to keep a straight face as Andy serenades her with the old Kermit-the-Frog tune at the end of “The Convict”

“Hot Hot Hot” - Buster Poindexter
Apparently Andy is not only a prodigy with singing but also with playing exotic instruments. As Michael struggles to even get a bar of music out on his steel drum, Andy adds a touch of the Caribbean at the Inventory Luau in “Back from Vacation”, singing the 80’s dance hit.

“Dwight is now gone” - Oompa Loompa style
When Andy gets Dwight to quit in “Traveling Salesman”, he can’t contain his excitement as he sings a mean-spirited version of the Oompa Loompa song from the 70’s Willy Wonka movie. Andy would later meet an Augustus Gloop-like fate in “Beach Games”

“Rockin’ Robin” - Bobby Day
As Jim said, Andy was in rare form in “The Return”. Unable to hide his glee over the departure of Dwight, Andy was having his own concert as sang his own version of Elton John’s “Benny and the Jets” (Andy and the Tuna) and The Cranberries’ “Zombie”. But most impressive, or perhaps most frightening, was his “Rockin’ Robin” ring tone that he sang all four parts to.

“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” - The Tokens
Another Halpert/Bernard classic came from “Product Recall”. After learning his “girlfriend” was actually a high school student, Andy was feeling pretty down, that is until Jim started singing the low part of the early 60’s hit. Andy just can’t resist showing off that falsetto.

“Take a Chance on Me” - Abba
Andy said himself that every success he’d ever had from “the lady folks” has come from his ability to slowly (and painfully) wear them down. In “Launch Party”, Andy sets his sights on Angela. With the help of his old “Here Comes Treble” buddies, Andy gives Angela a conference call serenade of the Swedish quartets upbeat single. It was enough to make the frigid Angela thaw just a tiny bit as she walks away with a little smile on her face.

“Break me off a piece of that…” - KitKat candy bar jingle
When the crew is brainstorming for a commercial in “Local Ad”, Andy breaks out into the famous jingle for . . . Chrysler cars? Applesauce? Football cream? Claude Van Damme? No, no, it’s Fancy Feast, yeah, that’s it. Whatever the product is, the melody has made an impression on Andy.

With a catalog like this, Andy is ready for a tour. So which song will you be dying to hear at Andy’s concert?

It’s been a very long time since I posted fanart, but I happened upon this piece by Astrodevil at deviantART. It was a Daily Deviation (featured piece) and rightly so. Fantastic caricatures of all regulars and a few semi-regulars.

See the full sized piece here.

21 characters, and this artist has never even seen the show! Bravo, my friend.

This recap is in my new new format, info about this format is on the about page

“Fun Run”
Season 4 Episode 1-2 (hourlong)
Air Date: September 27, 2007
Writer: Greg Daniels
Synopsis: Michael thinks the office is cursed after a couple freak accidents. He then decides to hold a charity fun run. The fate of Jim and Pam’s dinner date is revealed. And a death will test Dwight and Angela.

1. Supplemental Materials
Pam Pong scorecard, Read the transcript at OfficeQuotes.net

2. Quick Recap

Cold Opener: Michael claims “This is going to be a good year” shortly before hitting Meredith with his car and breaking her pelvis.
The Topic: It turns out Meredith was exposed to rabies. How does Michael decide to help? By having a 5k run to raise money for the largely eradicated disease, naturally. Michael “carboloads” on fettuccine to give himself an edge in the race, but really just gives himself a stomach ache.
Meanwhile: Angela entrusts the care of her ailing cat, Sprinkles, to Dwight. No more than a couple hours later, Sprinkles is dead, and Dwangela may never be the same.
Jim and Pam; totally hooking up: They adamantly deny that anything romantic is going on, but their “remarkably good moods” and Pam’s cardigan-free attire say otherwise, and the camera crew quickly confirms everyone’s suspicions.
TMI, my friends: We learn Andy has sensitive nipples. You don’t really need to know what happens when they chafe.
Michael Scott Words of Wisdom: “While I eventually puked my guts out, I never puked my heart out”

3. Flonkerton’s Favorite Quotes

Michael: Ok, well I did not get the job in New York, but I got the real prize, domestic bliss.

IT Tech Guy: What was the exact offer?
Pam: It was for a video.
IT Tech Guy: Yeah, what kind of video?
Pam: A celebrity sex tape.
Jim: Really, what kind of celebrity?
Pam: Not relevant.
Jim: How much did you pay for it?
Pam: Not relevant.
Jim: You paid for it?!
Pam: It all happened so fast!

Jim: One day Michael came in complaining about a speed bump on the highway. I wonder who he ran over then.

Angela: I have to give [Sprinkles] her meds, I have to pet her, and who will she eat lunch with?
Pam: Can’t your other cats keep her company.
Angela: There’s bad blood, jealousies, cliques.

Ryan: Did this happen on company property?
Michael: Yes. It was on company property, with company property, so… double jeopardy, we are fine.
Ryan: I don’t think you understand how jeopardy works.
Michael: Oh, right, I’m sorry. What is: we are fine?

Michael: I’m not superstitious, but… I’m… I am a little-stitious.

Creed: I’ve been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader.

Michael: Kelly, you are Hindu, so you believe in Buddha.
Kelly: That’s Buddhist.
Michael: Are you sure?
Kelly: No.

Kevin: Oh well, if they aren’t together now, then they probably never will be. I thought they’d be good together, like PB&J. Pam Beasley and Jim. What a waste. What - A - Waste!

Angela: This is Halloween last year, [picture of Angela holding Sprinkles] just a couple of kittens out on the town.

Angela: I have this crazy thought, that I know is crazy. That maybe Dwight killed my cat.
Pam: Hmm…
Angela: When I got home, Sprinkles’ body was in the freezer where Dwight said he left her, but all my bags of frozen french fries had been clawed to shreds.

Pam: Yeah, I gave him a ride home because … we’re dating.
Jim: Wow, there it is.
Pam: Ah, yeah. We haven’t told anybody, but it’s going really great. [looks at Jim] Right?
Jim: It is going really great.

Pam: So I closed the door but the image of his…
Jim: Baguette.
Pam: … dangling participle…
Jim: Eww.
Pam: … still burned in my eyes.

Pam: On average, how many hours a day do you spend naked in your office? Just ballpark.
Michael: European offices are naked all the time.
Pam: They’re so not.
Michael: Besides my shirt tail covered most of it so…
Pam: I didn’t see where it started but I saw where it ended.

Pam: They say if you’re nervous around someone you should picture them naked. I do not recommend this strategy. Try picturing them with more clothes on… or a funny coat.

Michael: Darryl what are you doing?
Darryl: [feeding a squirrel] I’m giving him a peanut.
Michael: No, don’t give him… just, did you hear anything I said?
Darryl: Look how happy he is.
Michael: He’s happy because he’s insane.

Jim: Ooo! An estate sale. Wanna go in?
Pam: I don’t know, I’m really committed to winning.
Jim: OK, but what if I told you all the money you spend here, goes to preventing a disease that’s already been cured.

Pam: I know you Michael, I saw you naked.
Michael: You don’t, you don’t know me. You’ve just seen my penis.

Michael: People always talk about triumphs of the human spirit, well today I had a triumph of the human body. That’s why everybody was applauding for me at the end. My guts and my heart, and while I eventually puked my guts out, I never puked my heart out. And I’m very, very proud of that.

4. Trivia

• Reference is made to numerous Scranton-area locations and companies in this episode, including Pam saying she’s planning to go to the flea market at the Circle Drive-in in Dickson City, Stanley, Oscar and Creed hiring a McCarthy Flowered Cab, Michael eating fettuccine alfredo from Giovanni’s, character eating Wegmen’s products, and Pam eating Utz potato chips.
• With the departure of Karen, Andy Bernard is now the only remaining employee from last season’s merger with Stamford (not counting Jim).
• Jim and Pam viewing the footage of Pam picking up Jim is the first time characters on the show view footage from the documentary crew
• possible continuity error: Jim says he can take 3 people to the hospital to visit Meredith at lunchtime, but at the end of the day Pam gives Jim a ride home.
• Angela’s cat, Sprinkles, was first mentioned in the “newpeat” version of “Traveling Salesmen”, when Angela offered one of Sprinkles’ kittens (Ash) to Pam.
• The picture of Angela and Spinkles on Halloween shows Angela wearing the same costume she wore in Halloween
• The “nurse” hired to accept the check is Elizabeth the stripper from Ben Franklin.

5. Grade The Episode

Let the bells of Dunder Mifflin chime out the message: The Office will return tonight.

Cancel your plans and reset those DVRs, “Dinner Party” will air at 9e/8c.

If you’ve forgotten what’s happened so far in S4, I wrote a little refresher course for TheTwoCents, so check it out.

My heart is truly soaring with the eagle’s nest.

Like the title says, this post is devoted to the Season 4 schedule of The Office. Episode titles, NBC summaries, and official promotional items after the jump.

EDIT: We are now in the midst of repeats. I will continue to update this post with the rerun schedule until September where I will make a new post devoted to Season 5.

News:
* According to NBC, there will be webisodes this summer starting July 10th.

* Season 5 will premiere on September 25th

Summer Schedule

June 19: The Deposition

Past Promotional Stuff

September 27: Fun Run
THE RUN FOR THE CURE-SPECIAL ONE-HOUR PREMIERE - A freak accident causes Michael to feel the office is cursed. He explores the religious beliefs of his employees before deciding to hold a charity 5K fun run. Meanwhile, further developments in the romances of Pam and Jim, and Dwight and Angela are explored.
Large Photos

October 4: Dunder-Mifflin Infinity
THERE’S A NEW BOSS IN TOWN - Much to the dismay of Michael and many of the employees, Ryan returns to the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin to bring the company into the digital age. Angela is still upset about her cat.
Large Photos

October 11: Launch Party
THE WORLDWIDE WEB–The Dunder Mifflin Infinity website is launching and Michael is excited about going to the big launch party in New York while Angela plans a satellite party for the Scranton branch. Meanwhile, Dwight competes against the website to see who can sell the most paper in one day.
Large Photos

October 18: Money
EASY COME, EASY GO–As Jan renovates the condo, Michael confronts his growing debt every way he can, which includes pressuring his employees for a loan. Pam and Jim spend a night out on Dwight’s family farm, now a bed and breakfast.
Large Photos

October 25th: Local Ad
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF ADVERTISING– When the Scranton branch is asked to participate in a Dunder Mifflin ad, Michael seizes his chance to exhibit his creativity. Meanwhile, Dwight explores the online world of Second Life.
Large Photos

November 1: Branch Wars
BATTLE OF THE BRANCHES- When Karen tries to woo Stanley away from Scranton, Michael fights back, dragging her ex, Jim , into his war. Meanwhile, the existence of a “Finer Things Club” further disturbs Dunder Mifflin’s calm.

November 8: Survivor Man
INTO THE WOODS-SPECIAL GREEN WEEK EPISODE–After Ryan excludes Michael from a corporate wilderness retreat, Michael heads into the woods for his own survival adventure with nothing but the suit on his back. Back at work, Jim tries to revolutionize the office birthday party.

November 15: The Deposition
SUE CRAZY IN THE OFFICE–Michael finds himself between a rock and a hard place when Jan sues Dunder Mifflin and Michael is deposed as a witness. Meanwhile, Kelly trash-talks Pam after Darryl beats Jim at ping-pong.

April 10: Dinner Party
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER-Pam and Jim find they have run out of excuses and are forced to go to Jan and Michael’s house for dinner. When Andy and Angela are also invited to dinner, Dwight’s jealousy gets the best of him.
Large Photos

April 17: The Chair Model (formerly ‘Parking’)
Michael’s fascination with a woman modeling a chair in an office supply catalog makes him feel things he hasn’t felt in a while. With Michael distracted, Kevin and Andy team up to win back Dunder-Mifflin’s stolen parking spaces, forcing them into a showdown with the bosses of the five businesses of the office park.
Large Photos

April 24: Night Out
Michael and Dwight decide to surprise Ryan in New York for a night of clubbing and meet his friends. Meanwhile, the Scranton branch is upset when they find out they have to come in on a Saturday for Ryan’s website project. Jim’s plan to save them has unexpected results.
Large Photos

May 1: Did I Stutter?
TAKING ON THE BOSS- When Stanley snaps at Michael during a meeting, Michael tries to give Stanley an attitude adjustment. Dwight decides to buy Andy’s car. Meanwhile, Pam deals with an unexpected inconvenience after spending the night at Jim’s.
Large Photos

May 8: Job Fair
Jim hits the links with Andy and Kevin to try and land his biggest client ever. Meanwhile, Michael sets up a booth at a local job fair, which happens to be at Pam’s alma mater, to find “the best and the brightest” for Dunder-Mifflin’s summer internship.

May 15: Goodbye, Toby (one hour season finale)
It’s Toby’s goodbye party at Dunder Mifflin and Michael demands a huge celebration that matches the joy in his heart. Angela, sick of Michael’s unreasonable last minute demands, refuses, and Michael turns to Phyllis to take over the party planning committee. Meanwhile, Dwight and Meredith haze the new HR woman, Holly.
Large Photos

It’s Valentine’s Day, so what better day to talk about broken hearts!

Break-ups are a bit like people; they’re all different. Some are quiet, while other are loud, some are somewhat amiable, while others leave people destroying property. Here’s a look back at the Break-ups of Dunder Mifflin, and a poll on which was the ugliest break up.

Jim and Katy - Booze Cruise

Katy and Jim simply weren’t long for this world. Katy was sweet but ditsy, so much so that Jim often seemed embarrassed by her. Plus there was the unavoidable fact that she just wasn’t Pam, a problem that came to a head in Booze Cruise when Roy finally set a wedding date. The heart-broken Jim couldn’t fake it with Katy any longer as he watched Roy and Pam dance, and flatly told Katy they should break up.

Carol and Michael - Benihana Christmas

It’s no easy task to be involved with Michael in any capacity, especially romantically. Carol stayed with Michael even after he prematurely proposed to her in front of a gym full of people, but the last straw was Michael photoshopping himself into a picture of Carol and her kids and sending it out as a Christmas card. Carol quite literally shut the door in Michael’s face, leaving Michael to face the holidays alone.

Pam and Roy (breakup #2) - Cocktails

After a few light beers in “Cocktails”, Pam decided to confess to Roy that she kissed Jim on Casino Night. Good for her conscious, bad for her newly rekindled relationship. Roy reacted to the news by yelling and throwing his beer at the bar. Pam didn’t mess around, though, and walked away from the bar declaring that “This is over.”

Michael and Jan - Women’s Appreciation

Surprisingly enough, Michael turned out to be the sane one in this relationship as it’s slowly revealed that Jan’s libido was out of control. After getting some advice from the office women, Michael decides to tell Jan it’s over . . . via voicemail . . . which Jan doesn’t hear until she sitting in Michael’s office. Awk-ward!

Jan and Dunder Mifflin - The Job

Jan’s dismissal from DM was much less like professional business person being let go and much more like an angry girlfriend storming out. From interrupting an interview to making a scene in the front area and calling the CFO an A-hole to later suing the company for wrongful termination, Jan and DM’s “break-up” was pretty rough.

Jim and Karen - The Job

Though we never saw the actual break-up, all evidence points to it being rather unceremonious. When Jim said he broke up with Karen after the job interview, he likely meant right after the job interview as the passenger seat of his car is empty on his way back to Scranton, where he rushes back to work to ask Pam out to dinner. The aftermath is ugly as Karen chews Jim out in front of everyone before she transfers, then chews him out again when a prank leads Jim to her new office. There’s little hope of these two ever being friends, or even being on good terms.

Ryan and Kelly - The Job

Ryan was desperate for an out from his relationship with Kelly almost as soon as he got in it. Kelly’s grip only seemed to tighten until an unexpected call from corporate came and Ryan was off to New York. It’s clear Ryan took lessons from the “Jim Halpert School of Breaking Up” and he announces to Kelly “You and I are done.” mere seconds after the call from the CFO.

Dwight and Angela: Dunder Mifflin Infinity

Puritan viewpoints and a mutual disdain for all their fellow employees brought Angela and Dwight together, but a death would tear them apart; specifically the death of Angela’s cat Sprinkles. Angela used countless medications to keep her ailing cat going, but when Dwight is put in charge of Sprinkles for one day, he decides the humane thing to do is put her down . . . in the freezer. Angela takes the death hard and can’t even look at Dwight without thinking of Sprinkle’s “stiff life-less body”. Dwight makes a last ditch effort with Angela by giving her a stray cat, but to no avail: Angela was done with Dwight.

That’s it for the heartbreak, so which was the worst? Please vote!

I’ve very happy to announce the Writer’s strike is ending, and everyone will get back to working on our favorite show soon. We should see new episodes in a few weeks time! While we won’t get the full 30 episodes that NBC ordered this season, there will be at least 6 more episodes in season 4. Considering many shows are scraping their seasons in favorite of “relaunching” in Fall, I’m more than happy with the promise of half-a-dozen new episodes.

This site kind of took an unexpected hiatus along with the writers, and I’m sorry about that. But I do have a new poll written, so look for that soon!

That’s right, it’s been merely 16 days since the last episode of The Office, but it certainly feels longer, doesn’t it? It also doesn’t help that I haven’t been posting on this site much. I was going to promise to have Random Polls and Viewing Clubs, but it’s good I didn’t because I wouldn’t have followed up very well.

Anyway, the big news on the Writer’s Guide Strike is they started talking to the Studios again this week, but what the studios are offering is far from what the WGA is asking for, so I don’t know if we’re very much closer to a resolution to this strike.

In happier news, Angela Kinsey announced that she expecting her first child in May. Yay, Angela!

As far as what I’ve been up to that’s Office related, I wrote recaps of the last two episodes for TheTwoCents.com, so you can check those out: Survivor Man, The Deposition.

Also, in what might become a regular segment, I would like to spotlight other Office Sites that I think are worth checking out.

This time I would like to Spotlight Scranton Times. This Livejournal community is basically a “Reader’s Digest” of the Office Fandom, posting a list of the best that office flans have to offer every couple days.

This post is kinda everywhere, and I’m sorry. It just shows how lost I am without this show. Come back soon, Office!

and how we can help reopen it

If you’ve been keeping up with any TV sites, you know the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike. In order to show solidarity, show runner Greg Daniels is picketing with the writers, and Steve Carell refuses to cross the line, so production of the show had to be shut down.

How many more new episodes are there?
- There are no new episodes ready after Nov. 15th

Does this mean Season 4 is (almost) over?
- It’s a possibility depending on how long the strike lasts. Greg Daniels said that roughly every month the strike lasts, about 4 episode will be shaved off the season. The last Hollywood writers strike in the late 80’s lasted 22 weeks.

Why are the writers on strike?
- DVDs and “New Media” (Internet, iTunes, etc.)

Writers receive very little “residuals” for DVDs. For a $20 DVD, writers get about 4 cents. This rate was established in 1985 before home video became the huge market that it is today. Writers get the same percentage for Amazon and iTunes downloads, even though downloads don’t have the manufacturing costs DVDs have.

As it stands now, writers (and actors, directors, crew, etc) are getting nothing for “new media”. When you watch a repeat episode of The Office on TV, the writers get residuals per their contracts. However when you stream an episode online, the writers get nothing because the studios consider internet streaming “promotional”. But as we can clearly see, advertisements are run with online videos, meaning money is being made. This isn’t a huge deal now, but it will be in the future as the trend continues towards online streaming and internet downloads. For example, ABC doesn’t air repeats of LOST in favor of streaming it online, and other shows and studios will surely follow suit.

What can I do?- Stay informed by reading blogs like United Hollywood or The LiveJournal WGA Supporters community. And of course, OfficeTally.com is your best source of Office-related strike news.

- Don’t watch The Office on NBC.com (or any of your favorite scripted shows on any website). I know it’s streaming for free, but this is the issue that’s the very core of the strike. It’s easy for you to stream, it’s easy for studios to sell ads, and it’s easy for them to pass it off as “promotional” and not pay the people who actually created the show a dime. In fact, I’m boycotting NBC.com and other network websites altogether (course, it’s easy for me, I’m not in the US so I can’t view any of the videos anyway).

- Don’t watch whatever crap reality show the networks air in place of your favorite scripted shows. There’s a ton of reality shows for a reason: they’re cheap to make, there’s no writers or actors unions to answer to, and they can draw a large audience (American Idol is the #1 show on TV after all). If this strike lasts, we will likely see a crop of new reality shows spring up. Don’t watch them! They’ll probably suck anyways! Edit: NBC just announced that the crap reality show they’re going to air if the strike continues is The Celebrity Apprentice. I would tell you to avoid this show anyway, but the fact that it’s set to air in The Office’s time slot starting Jan. 3rd is making tell you to REALLY avoid the show, and make your friends avoid it too.

*- Send in letters This is the most important one, if you can only do one thing, do this. Yeah, I know, I don’t remember the last time I wrote a letter either, but a thousand letters in someone’s office always has more impact than a thousand emails in someone’s inbox. Show your love for The Office by sending a nicely worded letter about how you love The Office (or any NBC show) to one of these address, or better yet, all of them:

Jeff Zucker
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Universal Studios
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal Studios, CA 91608

NBC Studios
3000 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91523

- And spread the word! Blog, email, or just tell your friends. Internet buzz has saved many shows, we can save The Office!

I’m going to go ahead and say the “Launch Party” cold opener was one of the best ever. It was hilarious and very realistic; who hasn’t zoned out watching that little DVD box bounce around?  And of course, since Office fans are awesome, someone already made an “Office” version of the bouncing box. You can make it your screen saver, put it on your MySpace, or just go to the web page and watch the little box go to the corner. Just remember to believe!

The Office - Conference Room TV

Yep, Random Poll is back, and on a random day of the week too! Future Random Polls will be posted on Monday, but this one is special, so it’s being posted now.

Not sure what you’re going to wear to that costume party this weekend? Look no further than The Office. In one of my personal favorite episodes, “Halloween”, the employees of Dunder Mifflin dressed up in costume that are easy to replicate and won’t put too much strain on your wallet. Go to the jump for instructions on becoming your favorite employee and vote on your favorite.

Michael - Two-headed Man
Now this might be a bit time consuming, but it’s still doable. Get some newspaper and paste and mold it around a blown-up balloon. When dry, paint with acrylic paint, and glue some cloth around the base. People will be fooled for sure!

Dwight - Sith Lord
Show off your inner geek and be a Sith lord. This could get pricey if you want to get fancy, but most costume shops should have a simple black hooded cloak and any good toy store will have a light saber. Get gray face paint and pencil in lines with an eyebrow pencil to get that lovely ashen evil look.

Jim - 3-Hole Punch Jim
If you’re lucky, you won’t need to spend a dime to get this costume together. Just tape three round pieces of paper (may need a compass to get them nice and round) to a white shirt. Now you’re available in two varieties, plain and 3-hole punch.

Pam and Angela - Black and White Cat
If you have a lot of white clothes or black clothes, this is an easy outfit. Get black or white cat ears to go with your clothes, put on a little black makeup and voila. If you really wanna be Angela, find a stuffed white cat to carry with you as Sprinkles, and you’ll be a couple of kittens out on the town. Black Cats, get your guy to be “3-hole punch Jim” and be the cutest couple around.

Kevin - Dunder Mifflin Hero (ala Mr. Incredible)
Find yourself an adult sized Mr. Incredible outfit (or some sort of knock off), tape a large print out of the Dunder Mifflin logo to the chest, and you will be a hero, Dunder Mifflin style!

Oscar - Woman
Raid your mom or grandma’s closet for a print dress (the uglier the pattern, the better), find some costume jewerly, and a blond bee-hive wig. But beware your boss accusing you of showing your “true colors”.

Phyllis - Leopard
Show off your wild side with a leopard outfit, all you need is a leopard print shirt, scarf, ears plus some black face paint.

Kelly - Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz
Now this costume requires a bit more planning than most of these costumes. Fine some cheap flats, and cover them with glue and red glitter. Find a Dorothy-style blue plaid dress at a costume, or sew one from a pattern and get a white, puffy cap sleeved shirt to go with it. Tie your hair in French braids and you’ll be Dorothy. Or maybe you should just wear a soccer outfit at be Jess from Bend It Like Beckham.

Devon - Hobo
A quick trip to a secondhand store should be all you need to get this outfit together. Get some ratty, mismatched clothes, a hat, and a little black face paint to make you look scruffy.

Creed - Dracula
Black cape, fake teeth, and you’re ready to go

Look at all your options! So, which is your favorite?

Yep, it’s my birthday. I’m sitting in Japan, a bit sick and a little lonely, and I figured I’d try to finagle some birthday wishes from a loyal Flonkerton reader or two.

Just to make this post somewhat Office related, Happy Belated Birthday to John Krasinski, who turned 28 on Oct 20th.

Last season and over the summer I posted weekly Office trivia for Dunderheads to enjoy. Now it’s a new season, and like Pam, Flonkerton Trivia is letting it’s hair down to become “Odds and Ends.” I was feeling a bit stifled by the old format, so I’m creating something a little more lucid. Instead of just straight up trivia, “Odds and Ends” will be just that, random tidbits, links to videos or articles new and old, pictures, just anything that is fun and Office related and may not fit anywhere else. Past Odds and Ends with be archived in this post. Oh, and you can still read my old list of straight-up-Office trivia if you want.

6/1: What happens when you combine The Office with the strict hierarchy of a Japanese work place? This: Sono Jimusho (and yes, they are speaking Japanese, though not terribly well).

5/22: If you’re looking for Ryan’s arrest video on YouTube, you might be out of luck, but NBC did post it on the Office Website, check it out: Ryan’s arrest

5/3: Dwight’s organization chart from “Did I Stutter” is available from NBC.com and includes many bits of interesting information (he wasn’t kidding about the menstrual cycles) Download the PDF of the main chart and the emergency overlay.

4/23: Episodes often go through several title changes before a final title is selected. “The Return” was originally “Oscar’s Return”, “Beach Games” was “Coal Walk”, and “Chair Model” was initially called “Michael’s Date” and then “Parking”.

4/14 Hunter’s song in “Dinner Party” was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, with music and vocals by Todd Fancy of The New Pornographers. Listen to it here.

3/17: Interested in becoming the Jim Halpert of your own office? Try this extreme but surely hilarious prank: Cups runneth over

2007
11/2:John Krasinski may one of the most bankable “money beets” of The Office, but Rainn Wilson got an opportunity to shine in the “sexy” area. He is included in this years People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” list. Watch his super geeky video here.

10/26: The first Office Convention is being held in Scranton this weekend. Read all about Scranton’s response to the fame that the show has brought to the city.

10/19: Schrute Farms does have a listing on TripAdvisor.com, and reviews from some people you may recognize. Beats the Radish-Inn.

I have ventured into the dark worlds of online television reviewing and wrote this week’s recap and review of “Money” for The Two Cents. Here’s a little teaser:

“I hate to break it to you Dunderheads, but the reviews for Season 4 thus far have been not so great. Our little mid-range North-Eastern Penn. based paper company can’t seem to catch a break as TV Guide jeers Jim and Pam for being dull, Slate says Ryan is a one-dimensional villain, LA Times thinks Michael’s antics are over the top, and pretty much everyone agrees the hour-long format hasn’t done the show any favors. Now, it will take a lot to make me stop loving this show, but I have been worried that Jim’s little quip about the magic being gone in “Dunder Mifflin Infinity” has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Go read the rest at TheTwoCents (and please tell me how I did review wise).

Rolling Stone Magazine decided to take on a daunting task and list the 25 Greatest Moments from the show in their latest issue. Go read the list, then go to the jump to see if Flonkerton thinks RS delivered a good list.

Um, yeah, in the words of Kevin, “Are you kidding me?” If this list was called “Top 25 funny obscure moments that you may have forgotten”, then it’s a fine list. But I can’t buy any list that claims to be the “Greatest Moments” when there’s two moments from ‘Phyllis’ Wedding’ but no moments from Dundies, Booze Cruise, Casino Night, Benihana Christmas, or Beach Games. Is Kelly talking about celebrity babies really “greater” than Michael’s “Boss of Dancing” or Dwight getting faxes from his future self? And no Jim & Pam? At all? Sorry, Rolling Stone, but you tried this out, and it’s clearly not for you. It’s time to go.

In this series, Flonkerton investigates some of the unanswered questions from “The Office.”

Question: Who started at Dunder Mifflin first, Jim or Pam?
status: unsolved
In “Launch Party”, Pam and Jim share a cute moment on the roof when they revealed to each other the moment they knew they liked each other. Not surprisingly, Jim confessed he liked Pam from the first moment they talked on his first day. Wait, his first day? Didn’t Pam start after Jim? Did the writers goof, or have fans been falsely assuming Jim started before Pam?

What we know

• We know in Season 2 that Pam had been engaged for 3 years.
• We know that Pam was engaged when she and Jim first met, so one of them started in 2002 or later.

The Theories
Theory 1: Jim started before Pam, and the “Launch Party” conversation is a continuity error.
supporting evidence
1. In “The Secret” Jim says to Pam, “I had had a crush on you when you first started here.” In the same conversation, Pam said “I thought that maybe you did when I first started.”
2. In “Dwight’s Speech” Ryan makes a comment that Jim “has been working at the same place for 5 years.” Since Pam has been engaged for 3 years as was engaged when she met Jim, this indicates Jim started 2 years before Pam.
3. (it’s a stretch, bear with me) In “The Merger” Michael spoofs the SNL video “Lazy Sunday” for his orientation video. Jim tells the cameras that the video Michael showed on his first day was a spoof on the Blair Witch Project. If we go with Ryan’s 5 year comment, then Jim started working at DM in 2000/2001. BWP came out in 1999, so it would have been and appropriately topical spoof.
4. On Jenna Fischer’s Myspace, under the companies section (bottom of the left hand section), it says Pam has worked at DM since March 2002.

Theory 2:Pam started before Jim
supporting evidence
1. In The Secret, Jim may have said he had a crush on Pam when she first started, but then 5 minutes later in Michael office, Pam says, “Yeah, he had a crush on me when he first started”, meaning perhaps Jim’s previous line was the flub.
2. Ryan never made an effort to get to know Jim, or anyone really, so his comment in “Dwight’s Speech” that Jim had been working there for 5 years may have just been a guess, or an exaggeration to prove his point.
3. Unlike Pam’s engagement, where “3 years” was constantly reiterated, Ryan’s comment is pretty much the only specific reference to how long Jim has worked at DM, and it was likely just an off-hand comment. The writers were possibly trying to keep the dates ambiguous.
4. And of course, In “Launch Party” Jim confesses to Pam he liked her ever since his very first day.

So there are Flonkerton’s Theories. Questions? Comments? New evidence or just a different theory altogether? Please post!

Previous Round, The Fire: It was a constant back and forth as we saw Pam deal the reality of another woman in Jim’s life. On the plus side, Katy’s presence made Pam’s feelings for Jim creep up to the surface. But on the down side, Pam acted a bit immature as she openly mocked Katy and purposely kissed Roy in front of Jim, resulting in a score of -4.

Pam Pong Scorecard
Episode 205: Halloween

Jim is at Pam’s desk when Dwight makes his dumb “3-hole-PUNCH” joke: +1
And they immediately team up for a brilliant prank on Dwight: +2
Plus Jim takes advantage of being behind the desk with Pam, leaning over her the whole time: +2
Pam smiles at Jim the whole time he’s impersonating Michael: +1
And they share an air five: +1
Pam thinks Jim is very talented and deserving of a better job: +1
But Jim takes her encouragement as a sign that she doesn’t want or need him around and is visibly upset as he leaves her desk: -7
Pam is extremely worried when Jim is called into Michael’s office: +2
She runs up and grabs his hand when he leaves: +3
But Jim is short with Pam and walks away: -3
Pam pulls Jim aside to apologize: +1
Jim is not very responsive to Pam’s apology: -2
But after she joking says she would “blow her brains out” if he left, he chuckles and motions for her to come along: +1
And the camera’s catch him break into a big smile: +2
Jim tells the camera’s if Pam ever left, he would probably look for another job: -1

Final score, +4: Things were going swimmingly for Pam and Jim, but Jim’s reaction to Pam’s job suggestion set them nearly all the way back and Pam spent the rest of the day trying to get back in Jim’s good graces. She managed to pull it off in the last couple minutes, but some concerns still remain. We see in this episode that even the slightest rejection from Pam hurts Jim very much. Given Pam’s engaged status, we can only brace ourselves for the inevitable rejections Jim will suffer. But on the plus side, Pam recognized Jim’s hurt and did everything she could to make it better. She didn’t really have anything to apologize for; her job suggestion was purely encouragement and she was not responsible for how Jim took it. Still, she reached out to make sure they were good at the end of the day.