Who’s ready to work?

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!

Life Without The Office: Day 16

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!

The Office is closed

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?

I saw it, and it was amazing

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

Random Poll: Dunder Mifflin Halloween

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.

It’s the webmaster’s birthday

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.

Office Odds and Ends

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.

Money Recap and RS’s top moments

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.

Office Mysteries: Who started first?

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

Pam Pong Round 11: Halloween

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.