By Kevin McCarthy

Thursday’s episode was probably originally conceived of as two separate normal length episodes.  Ryan, back at his office in New York, sends notice to the regional offices that there will be a Web site launch party that night.  The satellite offices (Scranton included) will broadcast via webcam to the main event in the city.  He ends with a positive note that the Web site will definitely be the company’s best salesman in no time at all.  Dwight, having won salesman of the month 13 times in the past 12 months (he was given two plaques back in February in lieu of a pay raise, he explains) takes Ryan’s assertion as a challenge. The first half of the episode spans the workday as Dwight struggles to outsell the computer; the second half is the launch party. THE OFFICE is becoming a darker place as conflicts seem to bring morale to an all-time low.  Even in an episode about a party, one Jim and Pam seem to be having any fun. 

In keeping with one of the most beloved mainstays of the series, Jim and Pam team up to convince Dwight via instant messenger that the Web site has become self-aware and omniscient.  He takes the development in stride, explaining that from time to time robots and computers spontaneously gain intelligence. The competition quickly heats up, much to the annoyance of the other Scrantonites, who have to listen to Andy blow an airhorn every time Dwight scores a sale.  This is Dwight’s latest attempt to win back Angela, who by all appearances is very much over him. Meanwhile, Michael gears up to attend the main party in the city. He changes into a tight shiny shirt and brags to his unders about his special VIP invitation.  He calls up his girlfriend Jan, who used to hold Ryan’s job before she was fired. Jan, now unemployed and spending most of her days in Michael’s condo, refuses to join him among the people that got rid of her.  Jim ends up getting stuck going along.


Dwight and the Web site are in a dead heat while Angela tries to arrange the launch party in the conference room. Given the Dwight situation, she’s extra ornery and takes most of her frustration out on Phyllis, who tries to counter with techniques she found on the Internet.  As Jim approaches New York, he asks Michael for directions from the invitation only to realize that it’s an Internet address for the webcam connection.  Michael calls up Ryan and is sent back to Scranton. Despite Pam’s continued taunting as the Web site, Dwight manages to outsell the page by the close of the day.  Angela is unimpressed and increasingly agitated when Michael returns to get revenge against New York by throwing as extravagant a launch party as possible.

During the second half of the episode, Michael orders pizza from “Pizza by Alfredo” instead of “Alfredo’s Café Pizza,” essentially choosing the worst pizza over the best in the area.  We realize later that it’s because he has a half-off coupon. In an attempt to drop Dwight a hint, Angela asks Pam within earshot of Dwight that she’s looking for a new man.  Also listening in is Andy, who spends the rest of the episode trying to put the moves on her. When the pizza arrives, the delivery guy tells Michael that his half-off coupon is only valid for two pizzas – not the eight he ordered – and he has to pay the whole $65.50. Michael refuses and locks the delivery guy in the conference room when the kid tries to leave with the pizza. The standoff lasts right through the beginning of the launch party, and when Ryan cues Michael to address New York by webcam, he takes the opportunity to curse out his former temp and announce that Dwight has outsold the diabolical Web site. Soon after, Michael comes to his senses and makes Dwight pay the delivery guy.  The other employees have already chipped in for the good pizza and Jim and Pam escape to the roof for some private time.  It’s a sweet moment – if a little bit of an afterthought. The episode concludes with Andy serenading Angela with an a capella tune, his fellow group members providing backup vocal via speakerphone.  She ignores his advances in front of the gather crowd but smiles in private.

All in all, your standard episode of THE OFFICE. Summarizing this series is as difficult as it is easy for comedy like this one.  With such a wide variety of characters getting equal billing in an episode, ignoring even the smallest interactions between them seems a disservice.  On the other hand, to say “the Scranton branch throws a Web site launch party to rival the main event in New York” would certainly be good enough for TV Guide. 


Thursday was suspiciously easier than normal, as most of the supporting cast didn’t get much face time at all.  It’s a testament to the strength of the show, of course – every character is an indispensable component to the attitude of the episode, and their absence is noticed.  Well, after they sloughed off all of last season’s fat.  A year ago, viewers were annoyed by the sudden doubling of an already extensive cast.  While I respect the creators’ attempts at experimentation, they’d far from exhausted the comedy from the original cast, and this season goes a long way to prove that. But big events in the opening episodes have denied us the whole complement of OFFICE characters, and I hope we see more from the supporting cast soon.  Think of it like THE SIMPSONS before the show was all about Homer.  You know, when it was good.  Let’s learn a lesson here.