Having some time off over the holidays paid off for The Office, which returned last night with a rejuvenated storyline and promise for more laughs to come.
That’s saying something, since the show post-wedding has been a letdown week after week, with the writers boxing the characters into stereotypes so outlandish or annoying that they’ve just been painful to watch.
But now that Dunder Mifflin is merged with Sabre (pronounced Say-ber, not Sab-rée as Andy and Erin’s “Party in the USA” remake suggested), there is promise for fresh storylines and new characters to freshen things up.
Gabe (guest star Zach Woods) is a meek version of Jan who didn’t quite know what he had gotten himself into at Dunder Mifflin, but clearly endorses the corporate culture set forth by Sabre head honcho Jo Bennett (guest star Kathy Bates), whose no-BS attitude reminds me a little of my own boss. Mind you, no one can glare quite like Ms. Bates. Anyone else remember Misery?
When I heard Bates and Christian Slater were guest-starring on the show, I was initially worried this was a stunt-casting pull by NBC in order to reel in some ratings, but luckily Bates is so great in any role she’s given, and the way the writers used Slater was quite clever — having him play himself in an Introduction to Sabre video.
“Have you tasted the rainbow? You will at Sabre,” he promised in the completely non-informative clip.
Everyone but Jim seem enthralled at the video, until Gabe announced that employees were to drink out of go-go cups rather than paper cups at the watercooler, and that as they were in the meeting, the tech guy was blocking “time-wasting” sites such as YouTube.
Clearly that didn’t fly with Michael, who demanded to speak to Jo Bennett about the changes, which didn’t fly with her. “I suggest you take until the end of the day,” she threatened, via video chat.
A defeated Michael, with no one else to turn to, hightailed it to David Wallace’s house, where a changed man answered the door. The former co-workers chatted in the hot tub (why was Michael wearing his shirt?) over beer, while Wallace pitched his new idea to Michael: an oversized vacuum that picked up kids toys called Suck It.
“There are very few things that would make me not want to team up with David Wallace,” Michael told the camera, realizing just how badly he needed to keep his job. “And Suck It is one of them.”
Meanwhile, Jim and a swelled Pam interviewed at one of the city’s best daycares in hopes of landing a spot for their unborn child, but things turned sour when Jim walked in on the interviewer using the kid’s washroom. The interview was downhill from there, until Pam asked if the reason for it going so poorly was because Jim had walked in, and assured the man that they were actually very nice people so she didn’t understand why things weren’t going well.
“Did you ever think that you might not be as pleasant as you think you are?” the man asked, echoing my own thoughts since the wedding, which somehow turned two terrific characters into smug jerks.
“This coming from a guy who still uses a children’s washroom,” Jim responded, sealing their fate at the daycare.
Luckily for fans, Andy and Erin are quickly replacing the Jim and Pam dynamic that’s been lacking this season, albeit in a completely different way. Every since the 12 Days of Christmas episode, Erin has been waiting for Andy to top that in asking her out, whereas Andy thinks the ball is in Erin’s court. Obviously, these two have to get together at some point, but watching it play out is turning out to be a lot of fun.
If writers continue to focus on bringing out the supporting characters while developing the new ones, I think the latter half of this season will be salvageable yet.
What did you think of last night’s episode? Email me at amber@tvguide.ca or comment below.
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The Office airs Thursdays, 9 p.m. ET/PT, Global/NBC.
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