Has The Office started out there yet? I just finished the entire lineup (besides the Earl rerun), so it is weird to think you guys haven't started yet. The Office is great as usual, 30 Rock was very good and Scrubs was so-so. Andy Barker wasn't as good as last week, but still had some moments.

The question is: if you are time-shifting this to avoid commercials, what time do you start watching? It's 148 minutes of programming. I'm guessing that each show is 26.6% commercials, so I will start watching around 8:39 pm PT.

Alright, so Bob just started the episode, but surely someone else has something to say about it? I mean there were some amazing moments.

Well, I'll start it out then. What I really liked about this episode is the fact that not only did it actually deliver on the promised conflict, but there were consequences.

That was probably the single coldest Jim and Pam moment in the series, with Pam all but begging forgiveness not just for the incident, but for having picked Roy over Jim in the first place and Jim denying both her apology and her sincerity. Meanwhile, Jim and Karen seem to be better than ever (they are planning to go on vacation together even).

Michael is already seeing the benefits of dating the boss-lady. Plus, it is interesting how kinky and weird the Jan-Michael dynamic is. She is willing to put up with a lot.

All in all, I think this was one of the best plot-heavy episodes. Not the funniest, but a lot of stuff went down. Plus a nice cherry on top at the very end when Jim finds out about Angela and Dwight. I give it a solid A, but then I don't think I have given any episode lower than a B since season One ("Casino Night" gets an A++).

Yep, I'm done! Very good. It was nice to see Darryl get some work.

One advantage of being my size is never being worried about getting women's clothing.

The last scenes were very good as well.

Good to see people reacting to what others say to the camera.

I think it is interesting what shots are done through windows with blinds and what is shown in the open. It seems like there is an attempt to distance the audience when the characters are being guarded, but Jim told Pam how he felt in the open air. It may be too obvious of a metaphor, but I do notice that as a motif at the very least.

The very last scene of Toby taking away all the weapons made me laugh.

I think the coffee/break room is almost always shot through the blinds and that tends to be the place where people try to say things in confidence.

It also happens through the blinds of Michael's office, but only when he is trying to be guarded. Perhaps it is all a function of the camera as a character. Certain moments are shot through blinds because people wouldn't act that way if they saw the camera. The British Office only did something like this once, and in that instance someone turned off their mic so the camera couldn't hear what was said.

I also did not guess the commericial time right. I'm off by a couple of minutes. Drat!

The Office episode gets my endorsement as the funniest episode of the series to date. No doubt it was because of the extra length, but EVERY character contributed, right down to Darryl from the warehouse. Even Stanley's few seconds in the spotlight was classic -- "He's overpaid." And don't get me started on Toby.

11 - I guess it all comes down to your preference, quality or quantity. There were a lot of giggle moments last night, but I didn't ever erupt into belly laughter. I can think of 4-5 Office moments that were funnier than anything in last night's episode(Michael and Oscar's kiss, Pam and Ryan telling stories about death after Michael finds the bird, Dwight taking Jim's call at his desk in the bathroom and telling him the price of paper, Jim and Pam making up diseases highlighted by Merdith pointing out that she had an "inverted penis", ect). It did feature a lot of giggle moments last night though. Ryan and Kelly have great chemistry, comic chemistry anyway, Toby talking about how Michael is a genius while the make out in the background got me laughing. Michael and Jan killed me too. Man, what a great show it is.

No question "The Office" benefits from being stretched out like this. I don't think of the Office as a bada-bing kind of sitcom anyway. It's about character, and the best gags come straight from character -- like the very first gag, the way Dwight reacted to the attack on Jim. Of course he'd be equipped with pepper spray. And of course, at the end, he would misuse it against -- of course -- Andy. With more time, they have more time for character development. You're right, this one might not have been as densely-packed with jokes, but that's what made it more satisfying.

NBC should cut 5 minutes from Scrubs, and 5 minutes from Andy Barker or whatever that show is, and let the Office always be about 40 minutes long. Or, ito give Andy a chance (since I liked him on Conan), take it all out of Scrubs, which is the most overpraised yet annoying show in the history of television. Or, better yet, instead of Scrubs, they could run a 20-minute infomercials with Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley. Then they'd have something.