The Office So this is the new arrangement, then?
The Office moves to Thursdays and commences with an entire half-hour of
breaking my heart? One more gut-wrenching look of longing from Jim and I'm gonna make a special weekend trip to Lake Wallenpaupack myself, just so I can jump overboard. (But not like the guy who thinks the boat's pulling a
Titanic and reasonably decides to make a break for it; my plunge would have a little more "Goodbye, cruel sitcom world!" panache.) The romantic atmosphere aboard the booze cruise and a snorkel shot or two finally persuades Pam's fiancé, Roy, to set a wedding date, and it's the straw that breaks the lovesick camel's back. Not only does our adorably twitterpated Jim break up with his hottie ex-cheerleader of a girlfriend (an always effortless
Amy Adams), but he even goes so far as to confess his painful secret to Michael. Who, as it happens, is 1) clueless about it, 2) sweetly supportive with his advice and, my personal favorite, 3) in the "brig" for unboatsmanlike conduct. I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: I just can't get enough of Michael's delicate balance between cringe-worthy buffoon and actual human being. Golden Globe nomination well deserved,
Steve Carell.
A few quickies I can't help but mention: Meredith gettin' busy with Captain Jack and then showing up in nothing but a life preserver and a skirt; Kevin's sly grin as he packs a strip of condoms in his travel bag; Michael handing out Gilligan's Island alter egos and labeling Stanley "one of the Globetrotters" (stop, you're hurting me!); and the oh-so-realistic sheen of postpuke sweat on Michael's face just before the cruise gets really ugly.
I'm noticing a trend, by the way: SNL alums are pitch-perfect at stepping into the Dunder-Mifflin universe. We've seen David Koechner, Tim Meadows and now Rob Riggle. (He's not in the cast anymore? Seriously?) You hear that, Ana Gasteyer? The casting couch is calling.
