Stay ConnectedTHAT’S WHAT SHE SAID takes an in-depth look at the world of NBC’s THE OFFICE. Each and every week we will offer audio highlights, episode commentary, news, reports on upcoming media appearances of the cast, retro reviews, a selection of podsafe music, and much more.
Often imitated, yet never equaled, TWSS is the longest continually running podcast dedicated to the best show on TV.
Please SUBSCRIBE to receive the most recent episodes.
Copyright: © Matthew R. Sommer
I'm assuming that everyone who frequents the TWSS blog already owns all the seasons of THE OFFICE, but if you're STILL waiting... or if you'd like to convert some friends or relatives to the show this holiday, Target has a few deals for you:Right now, they're selling SEASON ONE for $9.99, and SEASON TWO for $12.99 each. Not sure if these prices are available IN STORE, but it's worth a look.(If you're looking for some other TV viewing, they're also selling seasons one and two of HOUSE for $12.99 each, season five of 24 for $14.99, and the first five seasons of SMALLVILLE for $14.99)
As That's What She Said reported on back in August , NBC Universal and Apple were not able to reach a renewal deal for the TV shows available in the iTunes Store. The previous agreement ended on December 1st, and sooner than you can say "try my googi googi" Apple has pulled the NBC shows from the store and associated websites. Thus apparently ends this sad chapter of internet commerce.It's an especially bitter pill for The Office fans to swallow, since many attributed the show's availability in the iTunes Store as once of the key factors in it's rise from cult curiosity to demographic ratings hit for NBC. In addition, The Office was frequently featured during CEO Steve Jobs' product keynotes for Apple Inc. As noted several months ago, Apple refused to provide pricing flexibility to NBC since they claimed that it would result in higher prices for some shows.The Office will continue to be available on the NBC.com website (well, when new shows start to air once the Writers Strike ends…). The Hulu.com service from NBC and Fox continues in private beta, leaving many Office fans desperate for Hulu's by-invitation-only pass codes. Of course, Hulu.com won't help everyone desperate for online TV shows. It requires Internet Explorer, the NBC Direct Player, and the latest .Net framework (all Windows only)Hulu does have some nice web-only features though. You can watch episodes online and even embed clips or entire episodes to your blog (complete with ads, however). As an example, check one of the highlights of Season Four.Amazon's Unbox service is another outlet selling The Office episodes for as little as $1.89 with subscription. While Unbox has similar Windows-centric system requirements as Hulu, there are some more liberal use rights, including transfer to TiVo devices and some portable video players.With Christmas coming in about three weeks, it's sad that many future iPod or iTunes Gift Card owners will be unable to catch up on episodes of The Office. And in this writers opinion, it's unlikely they'll discover the show on those other services. Instead, they might just check out what the talk is all about on that other buzz-worthy Thursday show: "I hear that Ugly Betty is pretty good, let's check it out.?-Kevin Crossman
I was a huge fan of THE X-FILES back in the day, and enjoyed the first 4 seasons of BUFFY:TVS, so I'm not sure why I never gave CW's SUPERNATURAL a shot. Maybe because it WAS on the "CW," home of schlocky pre-teen soaps and fashion model contests. Regardless, about a year ago I bought the first season on DVD from my local Goodwill store and It's been sitting on my shelf ever since. Being a teacher, I have my Summers free, and even THAT wasn't enough to get me to watch the show before now.Oh, you crazy writers strike! See what you make me do?SUPERNATURAL is the story of two brothers whose mother was murdered twenty-two years ago by supernatural means. Their father sort of snaps, I guess, and spends the ensuing twenty-two years training his sons to hunt and eliminate supernatural beasties while on a quest to find the THING responsible for mom's death. As the series opens, their father has gone missing, and it's up to the two brothers to FIND him as well as take over the "family business" for him while he's away. Lots of chaos ensues.Now, I realize this show is currently in its third season, so I'm really behind the times, but I just watched the first four episodes in a row and I'm digging it. It's definitely MOTW (monster of the week) material, but it's creepy enough and cool enough (so far) to hold my interest. One of the things I like about it is that it is a rare show that features two MALES in the leads. Think about it... when was the last time you've seen a show with two men as partners? LAW & ORDER started that way, but now, every single L&O has the same M/F partnerships (hell, even X-FILES did). Looking at their webpage, I see there are two "hot chicks" now on the team, so that might be out the window, but I guess I'll deal with that when I come to it.Highly recommended if you've ever been a fan of those shows mentioned in the first paragraph.
With the strike in full effect, I've been rather desperate for alternatives (see thread below). This weekend, I finally fired up all the MY NAME IS EARL episodes I've had sitting on my DVR since the new season began.As I've said before, I was a fan of MY NAME IS EARL before I started watching THE OFFICE. In fact, the only reason I started watching season two of THE OFFICE was because it came on right after MNIE, and I was too lazy to change the channel ("The Dundies" did the rest).I started losing interest in season two of MNIE because they went with a season-long plot arc where Earl's ex-wife Joy was arrested for committing a kidnapping/ robbery and was looking at being sent to prison. I thought the Joy stuff was boring, felt the show had lost the edge it had in season one, and didn't bother to see the last half of the episodes last year. Season three started with another gimmick -- Earl is now in jail, serving the time for his ex-wife. Seemed lame, but now that I've caught up with all the third season episodes, I admit the error of my ways. The prison thing adds a whole new level to the show's insanity, and I find myself remembering why I liked the show in the first place.NBC's Video Rewind has the last 6 episodes online.
Just a few other little stories today:1) Netflix and NBC have struck a deal to allow Netflix subscribers to have online access to HEROES episodes the day after they air. Subscribers can also access previous seasons of THE OFFICE, 30 ROCK, or FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS either online or with traditional DVDs.2) Pete Mongillio of the Austin American-Statesman offers up several "emergency viewing" suggestions for those of us missing THE OFFICE.3) Kate Flannery appeared on LOVELINE last night (11/28). Hit the LINK to listen to the show.
The LA Times did a cover story today on where to celebrate Christmas in the Los Angeles area, and they asked Jenna Fischer for some ideas.From the article: YOU can imagine the poor schlubs from "The Office" throwing their annual office party. "If Pam was planning it," says Jenna Fischer, imagining her role as the receptionist on the popular television series, "she'd probably book it at Poor Richard's. Poor Richard's is a real place in Scranton, and it also has a bowling alley attached. So it would actually be ideal because everyone from the office could eat and then bowl together." It might get a lot of laughs, and surely it would turn out badly, as things invariably do on the beloved sitcom. But it's much more festive to imagine Fischer, the ascendant actress, feting and feeding her family and friends from the Midwest in the warm confines of Vitello's Italian Restaurant in Studio City, as she has in years past. It's likely to remind her of the family eateries in her adopted hometown of St. Louis -- and "great, because you can be loud in their private area upstairs," she says. Indeed, the holiday season is upon us, and with it the desire to make merry outside the home . . . in a manner that doesn't involve days of preparation or hours of cleanup. But how to do so without subjecting the general populace to your obnoxious co-worker Michael's bad Santa jokes? You can reserve a private room at any number of Los Angeles bars or restaurants and party like a star, or at least a Midwesterner-made-good.Read the rest of the article HERE.
Well, it's Thursday again... and no new OFFICE to help brighten the dreary autumn days. While pondering this tragedy, I started to wonder what YOU guys were doing to fill your TV watching time. Me? Not watching much TV at all anymore. I'm hoarding all my HEROES episodes from this season until episode #11 airs (the mid-season finale), since I think the show plays much better in one long viewing. Despite really hating the guy on Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" show, I have sort of become addicted to watching Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" shows (both the US edition on Fox, and the UK version on BBCAmerica). The US version really amps up the conflict, but I'm still enjoying watching old Gordon raise hell in these failing restaurants (the UK version IS much more enjoyable, though).Other than that... not much. Lots of Simpsons and Family Guy reruns.So again, what about you guys? Have you switched to DVDs? Are you watching lots of reality shows? foregoing TV entirely? Are you actually -- gasp! -- reading? Inquiring minds want to know.
I found this article on Dose.ca today, talking about the increasing link between product placements and our favorite prime-time shows. Sure, we've made fun of and pointed out the obvious ones (like the Staples Shredder or the Blackberry) and the not so obvious (like the bailer from "Safety Training"), but I was staggered to read this paragraph:So far this season, the Hollywood Reporter says there have been 142 product placements on 30 Rock and 381 on The Office - but NBC says it has always included these promos to up the funny, and Office showrunner Greg Daniels has said his show will no longer do these deals because he "found it pretty impossible to balance the desires of the ad agencies and their clients with the needs of the show."THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE product placements JUST THIS SEASON? Really? That blew my mind. Wow. In this age of TiVo and skippable commercials, I guess this is the next logical step in the evolution of TV advertising... but yeesh!As sort of disgusted as I am by that number, I'm also surprised and intrigued by the comment that Greg Daniels is no longer allowing these deals on THE OFFICE. I'm surprised that he can say "no," frankly, especially since new chief Ben Silverman has been a pioneer in the product placement realm. Whatever the reality may be, I applaud Daniels for putting the needs of the show over the needs of the sales department.
As you may recall, negotiations between the WGA and the studio heads resumed officially on November 26th. Apparently, word has leaked that negotiations are "done," and that a deal is already in place between both sides. From Nikki Finke's DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD blog:a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides [...] my source thought it was possible that the strike could be settled before Christmas. Look, I don't want to raise false hope here. But this source has been very accurate in the past. John over at UnitedHollywood.com isn't too optimistic, however:What if this round of negotiations falls apart? Personally, I didn't think it would come to a strike in the first place. It seemed inconceivable that the conglomerates would stand by a platform that was so -- no other word for it -- evil. But they did. And we went on strike. Had the AMPTP proposal been only 60% evil, who knows what would have happened [...] am I optimistic we'll have a fair deal by the end of the week? Nope. I'd love one. But I'm afraid after how the companies have behaved so far, I'll feel enthusiastic when there's a joint announcement about a deal and not a moment sooner.There's still a media blackout over the negotiations, so for now we'll just have to rely on blind faith, hope and scuttlebutt to get us through the cold, looming months ahead.WGA and studios -- It almost physically pains me to type this -- just "get-r-done."
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
