Thursday, April 12, 2007

"Safety Training"

Okay, so I know the last time I blogged it was about The Office, but I've got to do it again because today there is a new episode and nothing exciting has happened to me all week. So what else am I supposed to write about?

It's called "Safety Training" and it's premised around the fact that the warehouse guys have invited everyone from the office to attend their safety training course (namely because of Michael's foolishness). Comedy ensues from that point. I won't go into detail as I'm sure you can find these synopses anywhere.

I actually came upon a 5 page audition script for this episode about a month ago. It looks as though they've omitted the role of "Safety Trainer" and replaced him with Daryl, the warehouse guy. At least that's how it appears from the two minute preview I watched earlier. The clip I saw looked pretty funny, but the picture I've posted above is even more intriguing (notice the positioning of Jim and Pam). There are a series of these pics at http://justjared.buzznet.com/2007/03/29/the-office-safety-training-day/where you can see Karen way off to the right without her Jim. Why is Pam standing with Jim and not her? It's an interesting question that hopefully has a good answer. Although, knowing the way these pictures have come out before, it's probably a coup.

So last week on "The Negotiation" we learned that nothing much came of the Jim/Roy fight. In fact, Roy never even laid a finger on Jim as Dwight was there to save the day with his can of mace (luckily it wasn't the Chinese throwing star). The tear-faced Dwight talking head was hilarious and the awkward chat between Jim and Pam was a bit sad, but not hopeless. After all, the episode ended with Pam and Roy officially and amicably parting ways.

On that note, you have to love the writers of this show for keeping it real. The Office is not a drama, after all, and they always write what you don't expect in a very funny way. They could have made Roy a real asshole, but they ended up giving him some substantial, redeeming qualities.

They also hinted at a few of Karen's less desirable traits. One trait was shown with her complete lack of interest in Jim's dilemma with Dwight. Jim asked Karen how he could remedy the situation with Dwight, to which she replied, "Um, I don't know. Why don't you go make some more sales, so we can go on a trip." It doesn't seem as though she's being self-centered on purpose, but there have been hints here and there (if you pay attention) that there might be a bit of a possessive or controlling streak in her. Who knows? I've been a fan of the down-to-earth Karen even though I don't want her with Jim, but lately she's showing some colors I'm not too fond of. I'm interested to see how this plays out. Is this the beginning of the end for 'Jaren'?

So what will happen this week? Will Pammy stick to her guns and be a little more bold, as she had said she would be? Will Jim and Karen's relationship escalate or deflate? Will Dwight and Angela be found out? I'm sure it will take the rest of the season for these questions to be answered, but until then...this girl will be glued to the TV set.

Thanks, Office, for making Thursdays awesome again.

Cayceaquasheep.

2 comments:

srah said...

I don't think that was self-centeredness on Karen's part. I think she sees Jim's pranking as a sort of immaturity that she hopes he'll grow out of (especially because the pranking is usually connected to Pam).

Anonymous said...

Well written article.