Aren’t holiday episodes supposed to be fun? I mean, whatever happened to the fun Christmas episode on The Office? Seems like more and more the holidays are just another reason for subpar writing at our favorite Scranton printer and paper company.
I liked the idea behind the office Christmas card in the cold open. Who gets that, customers? But I didn’t get the nonsense about the “fun” card, with everybody having a hard time jumping together. I must have missed the funny.
I can’t remember if we’ve ever experienced a corporate Christmas present before; is that a Sabre innovation? It seems like something that could be funny, particularly if the gifts are specific to each office, and each person who picks them puts their personal stamp on the gift. But I can’t stand Kelly, so her pink Hello Kitty laptop sleeves just got an eye roll from me. She should have been fired many seasons ago. Either that, or someone should call her bluff on one of her ultimatums (see below for the quote).
Dwight’s bowtie was awesome. I was hoping it would get more play, but it got lost in the whole snowball fight. Jim landing the first blow after Dwight questioned the snow fall was funny, but the rest of it — until the parking lot full of snowmen — was just awkward and uncomfortable. Okay, I enjoyed the snowball in the box as well, and Dwight dressing up as Pam with his creepy “I have a wig for every person in the office” line, but Dwight’s rage is out of control, and Jim wasn’t funny as a whipped little boy. Blood and The Office don’t really mix.
I’m positive that Toby’s not on the Scranton Strangler jury, but how funny was it when he explained what he liked about people talking to him about the case? That maybe when there’s no more case to talk about they’ll just talk to him. Perhaps sad is a better word for that…. Awesome that Stanley’s been trying to get on a jury since he turned eighteen.
The Jimmy Halpert/Bear Man comic book was an awesome gift from Pam. Why was she going around the office getting everyone’s opinion? First of all, who cares what they think? And second, since when is she the type of person to care what other people think? I’m glad Jim didn’t ruin the moment checking over his shoulder for Dwight.
I don’t know if we’ve seen Andy and Pam together since that awful night before Jim and Pam’s wedding when he injured his scrotum. Before that it was when Andy and Pam, the two worst salesmen in the office for the month, were assigned to go on sales calls together. That was just disastrous. Here they were kind of cute, but the games they put together for Darryl’s daughter — after promising to put a smile on her face — were pathetic. Sadder was her excitement at the room full of vending machines … until we saw her buying treats for everyone. Sweet girl.
I hope Oscar follows up with State Senator Robert. I’m not sure if I’d enjoy it more for Angela to discover she’s dating a gay man, or for Oscar to steal Angela’s boyfriend. Well, probably the latter.
As for Michael … every year he proves himself a bigger baby then the year before. Remember season three’s “Benihana Christmas?” Hopefully he’s got “growing up” on his New Year’s resolution list.
“She’s one sassy black lady.” – Creed, describing Holly
“Thank you for your interest in my truck.” – Darryl, to Pam and Andy
“Ultimatums are key. Basically nobody does anything for me anymore unless I threaten to kill myself.” – Kelly
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![The Office Dwights a bit of a slumlord [51oc6QJyVEL. SL160 ] (IMAGE)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51oc6QJyVEL._SL160_.jpg "The Office Dwights a bit of a slumlord [51oc6QJyVEL. SL160 ] (IMAGE)")
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Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 10, 2010 @ 16:30 EST5EDT
Well done for mentioning Holly once in a recap/review about an episode where she was the main reason for most of the things that Michael was doing.
*POST AUTHOR*
Holly’s one of the worst characters ever to be introduced on The Office, and only partly because of what she turns Michael into. We’re all better off that I ignored her plot. And on a scale of interesting to not during the hour, her story line fell somewhere below the fact that the original Christmas tree in the office wasn’t real.
Brilliant.
Areyh, sometimes it just bums me out that you don’t have the appreciation for the show that I have.
*POST AUTHOR*
Comedy’s obviously subjective, but was it really funny when Holly and Michael did their stupid back-and-forth when she came in? Really? That’s funny? I just don’t get it.
Let’s use the example Dwight not pushing his advantage on Pam. Your mentioned your wife saw it as kindness (as I did, good job Mrs. Aryeh!) and you saw it as further triangulation on Dwight’s part. You seem to miss the sweet nuances that make the show great. Not to worry though, your wife is undoubtedly brilliant, and your kid is still cute!
*POST AUTHOR*
I think I do miss the subtlety on the show these days, but I feel like maybe it’s because they’re a bit too blunt with it now.
Check on the wife (and son, of course!) — she just got her PhD! :)
That should be “You” not “Your” :)
I finally got around to watching this episode, and I actually enjoyed it. The Jim-Dwight snowball war was hands-down the best part for me. It’s nice to see Dwight outsmarting Jim for once – kind of like those rare episodes of Tom and Jerry in which Tom ends up beating Jerry (literally).
I don’t like Holly, and you’re right that her goofy reunion with Michael was not funny. It was awkward – and that was the whole point. The two of them are complete dorks who think they are funny but are so not funny. Everyone else in the office knows this, as do we. That scene was meant to be awkward.
Perhaps because of my dislike of Holly, I found Erin particularly amusing this episode. Her protectiveness of Michael is creepy-cute, as we’ve already learned that she thinks of him as a father-figure (which is poignant because she’s an orphan who grew up in foster families). I loved it when she refused to help Holly because she was waiting for Michael’s “pretty friend” to arrive.
And another thing I loved – Kevin’s indignation about the maple candy.
This really was a funny episode. I’d say the weakest part for me was Angela’s boyfriend (that story line got old so fast).
Yes, Michael is still a big baby, but he had some nice moments (helping Pam in the snow, cleaning up Woody, being a semi-proper Santa). The ending with Dwight watching from the roof as Jim attacks the snowmen was hilarious. This episode might not be one of the best, but it was pretty solid IMO.
*POST AUTHOR*
I liked the snowball fight, but didn’t it go a bit too far? Jim bleeding and pleading for mercy seemed to me to be what’s wrong with the last season or two — they take the joke too far and lose it a little.
I get that the scene with Holly was meant to be awkward, I’m just posing the question: if this is who her character is, what do people like about her?
Agreed on Erin, but I find the father-figure thing a bit creepy, so at times it was a tad too much. But it was funny, particularly because of my feelings about Holly.