"Dunder Mifflin Infinity"

There's a new sheriff in Scranton town. His name?
Ryan Bailey Howard.

Excitement ensued today as I stumbled upon new Office promo pics from Episode 2 of season four this morning. Two pictures in particular have intrigued me. (See pics below). I'm very giddy about it.

The episode is called "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" and it's centered around Ryan's triumphant return visit to the office; this time as Michael's' boss. Ryan has all sorts of new ideas for bringing Dunder Mifflin into the modern age. So he has created a website called Dunder Mifflin Infinity to help the company succeed in an "increasingly paperless world."

Here is the official synopsis from NBC:

Much to the dismay of Michael and many of the employees, Ryan returns to the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin to bring the company into the digital age. Angela is still upset about her cat.

And now for the fun part. Here are some of my ideas on these new promo pics:

First off...

Jim is back at his old desk (with his old hair)!!!! WooHoo!!!

Secondly...

(I'm probably totally off here [so don't hold me to this], but I believe this may be a slight jealous look coming from Jim. If you watch the deleted scenes from season 3's "The Job" there is a scene where Ryan and Pam have a bit of a flirtation that does not go unnoticed by Jim. So I'm wondering if, now that a newly single Ryan has acquired an inflated ego as the new bossman (and since Pam has enhanced her wardrobe), Ryan will start to flirt with Pam on his visits from corporate. With Jim back at his old desk he would have to witness every 'move' Ryan makes.

What fuels that theory even more is that I also have a feeling 'Jam' may be keeping their relationship [or dating-ship] under wraps for a while, as Kevin/Brian let it slip in the OfficeTally Chat Room that he [Kevin] is conducting an investigation to find out if Jim and Pam are dating. So, with all that being said, I think this picture is of Jim noticing Ryan flirting with Pam [see headlining picture above] and experiencing a teensy bit of jealousy; leaving him unable to object, since he and Pam are keeping things secret. Like I said, though, don't quote me on that [unless it turns out to be true. Then please tell everyone what a genius I am]) .

Third?...

Okay, I have no idea what's going on here. Looks funny, though. Dwight and Michael (or "Dwighchael", as I like to call them) look very triumphant and very dirty. Have they intercepted this gift basket from Ryan?

(For the other two pictures click here).


*As an interesting side note, if any NBC show creates a fictional website for an episode, NBC is obligated to then buy the rights to it (as we learned from Conan O'Brien's HornyManatee.com incident. Check it out). So, as you can guess, NBC has already bought the rights to the real DunderMifflinInfinity.com and has got the website up and running. It's still a work in progress, but it's certainly available to play with for the time being.

In an attempt at maintaining the show's popularity, NBC has wisely decided to make Dunder Mifflin Infinity a place where fans can create their own branches of Dunder Mifflin and compete against each other in weekly challenges. Each branch earns Schrute Bucks for their victories, which I'm supposing will enable to them to make purchases later on. Winning teams will also be given certain rewards.*

I've already jumped on this bandwagon and have been hired on as a temp (pending permanent employee status) at an existing Dunder Mifflin branch, which shall remain nameless (You'd never guess which one anyhow). I'm pretty excited about it, though. I've already got a profile set up and I can't wait to participate in these weekly "challenges".


Well, I hope you've enjoyed this new information as much as I have. I just love speculating about these episodes. It's been four months (and far too long) since I've had a fresh helping of The Office on my plate and I can't wait to see what's in store!

Cordially,
CayceAquaSheep

The Office Returns with a 'Fun Run' Premier!

I was so excited last week when these promo pictures surfaced from The Office's season 4, hour-long premier. It's called "Fun Run" and it looks rather promising and hilarious. So hold on to your hats, people because, on Thursday, September 27th, The Office returns for its fourth season with 4 weeks of special hour-length episodes (airing at 9pm/8pm central on NBC)!

NBC has not officially posted a synopsis of 'Fun Run' yet, but, judging from the title, it appears as though Michael is taking the Scranton branch on yet another one of his useless outings. This one is a "Rabies Awareness - Fun Run" and promises loads of outdoor shenanigans. If you look closely at the logo on their shirts (no doubt created by Michael himself), it reads:

"Micheal Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure."


See? Already funny.


Despite the mention of the race being a "memorial" for Meredith Palmer, have no fear. Meredith is not necessarily dead. Angela Kinsey stated in her MySpace blog that Meredith will be around for a long time. She's not going anywhere. So I've just chocked that idea up to Michael being Michael. It's as though he's strung together every typical, cliche title for a fundraising marathon he could think of; using words like 'Awareness', 'Pro-Am', 'Memorial', and 'Race for the Cure' (It's even funny just writing it all out). I'm thinking that Meredith may have contracted rabies while trapped in a trash bag with the bat from the "Business School" episode last season and that she makes (or has made) a full recovery.



Oh! And check out this picture of Dwight and Angela. I am super anxious to find out what Dwight did to piss her off.












Oh and here's another one. Poor Michael looks a bit frightened by this dog.












What really sent my girly little heart soaring, however, was this picture of Jim and Pam taking a detour. (If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can kind of see that they're smiling. For an even larger pic see the link below).

Even though they're not smooching or holding hands, just seeing them together again, talking and being friends, bodes very well for this season. I've never let myself say this before, but it actually makes me "squee". (I used to think that sounded so dirty. So I never used it. Apparently I've succumbed to this little trinket of pop culture). Anyhow, seeing Jam together as friends (and possible lovers) makes me so happy. I CAN'T WAIT for this new season!

I've posted my favorites of the new pictures on this blog, but there are quite a few more; including behind the scenes shots and pictures of Andy's nipples bleeding (I kid you not). If you'd like to see them, click here.

Though we are getting closer and closer to the premier, it still seems a ways off. So until then, I suppose we can all anticipate the arrival of the Season 3 DVD next Tuesday, September 4th! It's got quite an array bonus features; including 14 minutes of bloopers, over 3 hours of deleted scenes, cast/crew commentaries from 8 episodes, and much more. You can check out all the features and watch two "Jim" bloopers at the season 3 DVD website by clicking here.

Are you as excited as I am?!

UPDATE: Watch NBC's latest promo with footage from the new season! Click here for the video!
UPDATE II: Here is the official synopsis from NBC (09/09/07):

Fun Run- A freak accident causes Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) to feel the office is cursed. He explores the religious beliefs of his employees before deciding to hold a charity 5K fun run. Meanwhile, further developments in the romances of Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinski), and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Angela (Angela Kinsey) are explored.

Cordially,
CayceAquaSheep