For starters, the jello scene from the season 3 opener is from season 1 when Jim did it to Dwight.

Can't really think of any other things that set up anything, but you absolutely have to watch The Alliance.

Office re-runs totally ruin my Thursday night. Nothing worth doing whatsoever now. It's a sad, sad existance really.

Gotta love the teaser for next week. Wedding proposal!! Only one really makes sense... but of course, this being The Office, they'll probably come from left field...

In two weeks, there's a big episode according to Wikipedia:

One of the big cliches folks talk about with The Office is how it "became its own show" and became a great show somewhere in Season 2. Yes, the pilot episode was retarded if you were a fan of the UK show. But The Alliance episode is what sold me that this version was a very special show. (I thought it was going to be a very good comedy with a few episodes that were brilliant. I wasn't expecting it to become what it is now -- amongst the short list of great comedies to ever appear on television. But the first season was still great.)That still might be the single funniest episode, particularly the scene where Dwight is fighting his way out of the box while one of the warehouse dudes looks on. The Racial Training episode in Season 1 is also absolutely fantastic -- Stanley walking around with an index card that says "black" is one of my favorite scenes. Everyone really needs to take another look at Season 1.

As far as stuff that gets set up in Season 1 -- Jim and Pam like each other but can't act on those impulses, Michael is more of a dick, Dwight is strange, Angela is judgmental and Jim bags Katie. The background characters don't really develop as much as they do until Season 2. And the likeable sides of Michael don't get developed either.

I am actually thinking it might be Kelly and Ryan, seeing as how they are at an Indian party of some sort. I know it doesn't really make sense, but they said proposal, not whether someone said yes or not, and I can see Ryan accidentally saying something that sounds like a proposal to Kelly and her overreacting.

What about Kelly proposing to Ryan?

Roy reasking Pam?
He's "gotta get her back somehow"

What about Michael proposing to Carol? I coulda swore I saw her in the preview after the flash of Angela, where she was standing next to Ryan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Is6_li3Yk

I have to say, I love the Jello bit in all the incarnations. With Gareth in the UK Office, on Dwight, and especially with Ed Helms. Jim's terrified 'oh, I'm hard at work yes indeedy' face just killed me.



Oh jesus, that'd be nuts.

How would that work? Am I missing something here? God I need coffee.

Whoops, apparently I was tired as hell last night cause I read it COMPLETELY wrong.

Here's the official preview:

Seeing the preview of next week, I already have visions of Michael dancing to Bhangra at this Diwali festival.

I could totally see Michael proposing to Jan while drunk and her just flat out refusing.

"Jan...will you marry me?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

and so on.

I wish I hadn't clicked but at the same time I'm so glad I did. I can't wait.

I know exactly what you mean...Gosh it's going to be so good!

I (heart) sweeps.

I love this show, the only thing I wish theyd do is add Todd Packer full time. He fucking rules.

I'm thinking maybe Roy is going to propose to Pam out of nowhere assuming the whole proposal deal isn't a swerve.

Rob

completely agree. i noticed he's also credited as a producer this season. it's something strange like, "consulting producer." i don't know if that means anything though.

Pretty much what I expected, any episode where the storyline doesn't advance doesn't hold up as well as the ones in which it does. All in all it was pretty good, TOO much Michael though.

What an interesting swerve on the proposal. I loved how afterwards he goes for Pam but she totally takes him down. Smell the awkwardness!

I loved how Karen doesn't drink the shot yet totally sells it like she did. That was awesome.

Karen calling him 'dummy' cracked me up, and what happened to Jim's cell? Did he leave it on the desk or did he break it when he fell? I guess we'll have to find out next week. 1-2-3 SHOT! ruled, and watching Michael get shot down twice in one night was painful to watch. Jim and Andy singing to bug Karen was neat, and Dwight was hilarious when the projector was on him, and when he came to the celebration in formal attire. Angela finding a problem with everything made me laugh, but she comes off as too much of a needless bitch when she does that, and it makes it hard to feel bad (or any kind of emotion) for her.

"Apu" and "Gringos" got a huge laugh out of me.

I think this episode actually served to advance the Jim/Pam/Roy/Karen subplot nicely. Aside from the obvious between Karen and Jim and Roy and Pam, you had the nice little touch with the text mesaage, Pam sends one to Jim and when he doesn't immediately respond back that just creates a further gulf in their already strained relationship.

Maybe Karen just took Jim home...we'll see next week.

She probably only did, that's not what I was referring to though. It's the way in which week after week she continues to look at Jim with more and more want, finding every little thing he does to be endearing. This week put that on display once again, and put them in a closer situation in the car at the end, plus i think it's very important that this shows Karen as being accessible to Jim, something that was never the case with Pam.

*Is off to rewatch the entire season and pay closer attention to Karen*

C'mon...it's not like you need an excuse to stare at her MORE.

Oh c'mon guys, the best line in this show was EASILY Ryan with: "Actually I'm saving up to travel... yep... oh, and for an Xbox".

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWESOME!

This episode hit way too close to home for me so I feel awful for poor Ryan.

The Jim/Karen stuff was good once again and I liked the closing scenes with Karen driving Jim and Pam driving Michael. Maybe I've been watching too much Lost so I'm trained not to believe what I see but do we know for a fact that Pam messaged Jim? It was definitely implied but they could always swerve us. It was really weird how at first Pam didn't want to go... then she went... then she told Michael she expected something to happen that night as well. Are we to assume that means she was just going to go home and text message Jim to come see her that night?

Rob

This episode was totally cringe-worthy. You just know Michael is going down in flames proposing to Carol, that he is getting shot down and shot down hard. And yet, you're powerless to stop it. I actually watched it with my hand over my face saying, "No Michael!" and I NEVER react to TV like that. Poor Michael. Add the the big spoiler for next week, which I won't mention, and the poor guy just isn't having a good go of it with the ladies right now. Oh well.

I'm thinking maybe Pam came to the shin-dig because she was expecting the Ryan/Kelly thing to fall apart and she'd pick up Ryan's pieces at the end, thus "I was expecting something to happen" and she'd have some sort of Jim moment with Ryan that would have romantic tension to it. Then, when nothing happened with Ryan, she texted Jim to go for the surest thing she had?

Have I missed an episode or something b/c where are you guys getting all this Pam loves Ryan stuff from?:)

Rob

About the Ryan/Pam thing: I think people are looking too much into that stuff. When she said she was "expecting something to happen", she was probably referring to Michael being at something ethnically oriented, so. Putting him in that position is begging for something entertaining to go down. That's how I took it. The only time they ever really showed anything between Pam and Ryan was in Gay Witch Hunt. She looked over to her right on instinct due to how she used to laugh at that type of stuff with Jim. It's nothing more than that.

I got the vibe she was actually looking for something to happen with Roy when she said that line, which makes it all the more sad how he walked out when he saw her dancing with the other guy.

I also don't get where people see Pam/Ryan as a future possibility. There was the bit where she was concerned with him when he came back to the office after his whole ordeal with Dwight, but that was just there to make things awkward on the phone between her & Jim, not to imply any feelings toward Ryan.

people are also saying because of how he caught onto her describing-deaths-from-movies joke. I personally think that's more a case of the writers using Ryan to tell the jokes that they would have written for Jim. There were also times in season 2 when Ryan showed that he was more instep with Pam and Jam's humor than anyone else in the office, so it doesn't come out of nowhere for him to follow Pam's lead like that.

Seeing as how B.J. Novak IS one of the writers/producers, on the show, that was probably more him giving himself a choice scene.

That is a fantastic way to spend any evening. Or every evening, for that matter.

Last show's episode was kind of weird to me. It was good, but not as good as the past episodes and outside of Michael trying to kiss Pam and Kelly not proposing, nothing really happened I didn't expect it too.

The episode DID focus on Michael too much and really needed some more from the minor characters. For instance, Kevin saying it's a disease to Angela for obviously the hundreth time was classic. Angela with the "You used your hands..ugh" line was brillant.

Not much from Dwight this episode really either except for going after Ryan which I found awkward coming off of the last episode.

Geez, I feel like a need a shower after watching that one... how awkward. Damn, I was hoping that we'd find out that Jim ended up banging the chick from work.

When Jim was face down at his desk after doing all the shots, you could hear his phone vibrating on the desk right after Pam sent her text message.

That's what I was thinking as well. I think some people might have unrealistic expectations of each episode. And when one like last night's comes along, some seem a bit let down. For me, the episode was perfect, in that Dwight had a bit less focus after his insane adventures with Ryan last time, and we got to see a bit more of the Scranton brach with Karen and Jim's deal unfolding further. Instead of throwing out a lot of concrete, decisive moments out there, we're on the boards this morning trying to figure out what Pam was expecting from the event, if she really was texting Jim, if Jim would have dropped his good time with Karen to reply, and if Michael will try to make a move on his boss now that his proposal was a massive failure.

Oh God, you know this truly is the internet when people are speculating whether or not Pam was really texting Jim. So stupid.

I think it's pretty obvious that she texted jim and was expecting him to reply and maybe drop by the party (hence the "I was expecting something to happen, too" line). Really folks, this is not Lost or 24. Stop making it so fucking complicated.

I loved the last scene again hitting on the parallel between where Jim is and where Pam is right now. Pam driving Michael home in the backseat and Jim passed out in the backseat with another woman driving him home. I dig the little stuff they have been doing with the parallel lives deal.

I did the exact same thing, hand over the eyes and all. Michael's whisper of "you've got to be kidding me" before he dropped the microphone was painful. I cringed again when Michael started telling Pam how "alike" they were because I knew he'd be the one to try and make a move.

Plus, more little things that make me love the show:
-Meredith's insistence to drink at every opportunity (leaping at the chance to "make appletinis and watch Sex and the City" with Pam, plus having the drink in her hand while she was in the crowd watching Michael sing)
-Creed knowing EXACTLY what the sex position was without even batting an eye
-Ryan shaking off the questions about money and looking happier mentioning the XBox than he ever does with Kelly

The scandalized look on the Indian couple's face was brilliant. Plus it was a neat touch to have Ryan talking in that slow, clear, voice people use when they aren't used to talking to people with heavy foreign accents.

And don't forget Michael's "Diwali Song" during the credits. Dwight's "stoic guitarist" face was priceless.

Creed has quickly turned into my favorite supporting cast member. I find myself looking for him every week..and he never disappoints. His lines absolutely rule and he delivers them beautifully.

And I think I found myself cringing the most when Carol made it clear that she wanted to be by herself and Michael asks if can come with and offers up the Kama Sutra.

That was pretty fun. From the response I kind of got the sense that that little song was something they did for the cast and extras only.

Who was it that said, "Pam wishes..."?