A Jim, divided against itself, cannot stand!

How about one spoiler, Jim and Pam see each other for first time this season.

Its weird when you work in a office setting, people come and go, you have cake with them one day and then minutes after they go, you go after their office equipment.

Once you leave school, you see these people much more than friends or family and you can build these intense relationships that can end at the snap of a finger or a pink slip.

And there certainly is a difference in having offices as opposed to work stations.

Anyways just some ramblings, hopefully a good night of TV ahead.

"I'm always one step ahead. Like a carpenter. Who builds stairs."

Other than that, I thought this was truly a top-flight episode, one of the best shows on television strutting its stuff. I mean, there was part of me that just wanted Jim & Pam to fall into each other's arms and spend the next two episodes sullying every surface in each of Pam's three kitchens, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

Andy and Dwight were great.

Andy vs. Dwight shapes up to be one of the great battles of incompetence television has every known.

But a great episode. I agree with 6.

Overall though, I thought last nite's episode didnt really flow well. It almost seems like the office is too big now. The best part of The Office I typically like is the subtle humor, and I only found one instance last nite: When the new black guy gives Stanley the understated fist pump, and Stanley just rolls his eyes. That was pretty clever I thought.

Andy and Dwight were good. I think Andy might become a lead character. They can do alot with him.

The guy shredding the documents "they typically dont give me alot of responsibility"....that was good.

I also think Karen is now the "every woman" of the show and Jim is still the "everyman". Those two seem to be the only characters that either 1)arent playing a stereotype or 2)have serious character flaws. They just seem like they are playing themselves on screen, while the rest of the cast is playing a character.

Someone touched on this last week about whom Jim should choose (karen or Pam) in order to carry on the theme of the show. I think it almost has to be Karen bc Pam's already had her shot at Jim and broke his heart twice. How many guys would love to turn the tables on their former crush? I think that is what should happen. Pam had her chance, and now Jim's moving onto bigger and better things. Now its Jim's chance to break Pam's heart. Pam deserves it. She broke Roy's heart and Jim's at the same time. Now, its her turn to have her heart broke.

One of Dwight's first lines was the best, when talking about running a 7 minute mile.

"Pff, I could do that on a skateboard."

Jim: So, Kelly, how are you doing?
Kelly: I just told you.

I disagree with JoeyP in that I think the bigger cast actually makes the show much more dynamic. The best thing about the show is the interpersonal relationships, and every new person introduces exponentially more possible interactions. Andy is a genius addition and between his competition with Jim and Dwight and his almost inevitable romantic entanglements in one way or another with Pam or Angela (I am guessing Angela) he really upped the ante on what was already the best show on television.

Well, Karen did give him a ride home after they worked late/drank a couple of episodes ago. Maybe they leapt from that occurrence to actually seeing each other, although we as an audience dont know exactly what happened that nite.

I kinda find it strange they are playing up Karen being Italian, when Rashida Jones is mulatto. Her dad is Quincy Jones.

On Homicide, Yaphet Kotto played an Italian Jew.

I'm one that doesnt always separate the actors from the characters they are playing. Its a similar concept as to when a completely unathletic actor tries to play a role as a sports hero in a movie. Same principle.

Has Halle Berry ever played an Italian role? Or would the audience watch the movie and keep thinking "Halle Berry isnt Italian"? I'd be in the latter group.

The comparison you're making to athletes vs. non-athletes is silly.

You rail against so-called stereotypes on The Office, yet you're so eager to pigeonhole both what Italians should look like and what Rashida Jones can play. I think this is a case of you needing to come to terms with reality, rather than the writers of The Office.

"Is Maya Rudolph Italian?" --Paris Hilton
http://tinyurl.com/ynzyhc

At least, I've never seen them at the meetings.

Strange but true: Dairy Queen markets a coffee-milkshake concoction under the product name MooLatte.

I can think of someone else who might have made similar comments to some of the ones above: Michael Scott.

"Let me show you where we put our slaves...er...I mean...uh...follow me."

"Was your dad a G.I.?"

http://www.slate.com/id/2105310/

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2004-08-26/news/hairballs.html

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/2004-08-12/news/hairballs.html

You're missing the entire point.
There's a reason why Francis Ford Coppola selected a cast of mostly Italian-American descent to play the characters in the Godfather movies. I think it helped authenticate the movie. I'm sure Dustin Hoffman--great actor--could have played a role in that film. But guess what? He's not Italian and Coppola knew that the audience would notice that.

There are other examples of this.

Would Heath Ledger or Antonio Banderas make a better Zorro, in The Mask of Zorro? Sure Ledger could have played the part, but I'm sure the audience would be thinking.."hey wait a minute Ledger is caucasian...Zorro is supposed be latin"...Jon Weisman sitting right beside this movie goer would be like, "Its ok, Ledger is "playing" a latin role", and the other guy would be like "yes, but I'm not buying it..doesnt resonate with me"

Jon, I'm really surprised you totally missed this point. You're actually in the business.

You dont think casting directors think about this stuff, when they cast roles? They know what the audience is thinking.

It helps to have the actor be as similar to the character as possible when casting roles in order to have cohesion with the audience.

The Godfather example's a strange one, and it basically support's Jon's point. You don't seem thrown at all by the Jew with the curly blond hair they got to play Santino Corleone. Maybe because he's an actor, and a hell of a good one, and he was great for the part, regardless of his actual background? Isn't that why the call it acting?

I think your point is well-intentioned, but it seems like you're spending more effort trying to defend it than you spent thinking it up.

Surprise me! I didn't know Rashida Jones was half-african-american. She doesn't look like a particularly specific ethnic heritage to me. She just looks... uh... "exotic".

Of course, Dwight thinks Karen could be either Italian or Filipino... :)

Okay, not to let that point hang. I guess JoeyP's point is mostly that he doesn't look at Rashida Jones and think "Italian", and JoeyP's perception is that he tends to see Italian-looking people playing Italians.