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.
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Copyright: © Matthew R. Sommer
The New York Times today posted a rather lengthy article looking at the upcoming film "DAN IN REAL LIFE," and speaking with its star, our old pal Steve Carell. Apparently, Steve is a big weirded out by being called "nice" all the time.From the article:"I don't think I'm especially nice... I just don't think I'm a jerk. To have that be kind of your banner is odd, and a little sad, because I think it speaks to ... Everybody should just be nice. I happen to think it's something you shouldn't be singled out for being.?
As for the nice thing, he just can't help himself. Over the course of a dinner interview at Jerry's Famous Deli in Studio City he apologized for showing up a half-hour late for the interview — delayed because shooting the first episode for the new season of "The Office? took longer than expected. And he apologized for the noise level in the restaurant, which made taping the interview impossible, and for the lateness of the appointment.
But hadn't he also had a long day? "I never want to hear myself complain about how grueling acting on a TV show is,? he said. "We're far too lucky. I see too many people work too hard at jobs they don't enjoy to complain about acting on a show that makes me laugh really hard every day.?
He paused just long enough. A beat.
"But yes, it's terrible, and I can hardly see straight.?
Click HERE to read the rest of the article.
(photo by J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times)
If you didn't pull the trigger on the season three DVD set last week, Circuit City this week is offering the set for $29.99 (which also includes an "exclusive" The Office mousepad). This is the lowest price I've seen on the set so far.The deal runs from Sunday September 9th through Saturday September 15th.
Old news by now, surely:Jenna Fischer and husband James Gunn have made a joint announcement on their MySpace pages that they will be separating/divorcing.To quote from the posting: "We are sorry for any pain this causes family and friends. The enthusiasm we have expressed for each other's lives, spirits and careers is real—we have been each other's cheerleader and friend during the past six years and continue to be so now and in the future."Maybe I'm out of the loop, but this certainly came as a surprise-- they always seemed to "couple-y" in all of the posts and comments, TV appearances, etc. Ah well. Did John C. Reilly break up their marriage? :) I guess we'll never know. Damn that Dewey Cox.Still, at the very least, delusional male fans of THE OFFICE can look forward to Fischer being "on the market."
by Kevin Crossman
ReviewComing to stores on September 4th is the DVD release of Season 3 of The Office. The four-disc set contains all 22 episodes and a host of extras.
The EpisodesEach episode is presented in pristine widescreen format and looks sharp on DVD. After an incredible Season Two that was one of the best seasons in television history, The Office's Season Three cannot help but be somewhat of a letdown. The early episodes with Jim in a separate branch office in Stamford in particular are not well-loved by fans. These early episodes also feature Pam as kind of an aimless soul. However, both storylines work well when placed in the context of the entire season and are well-worth a second look as part of the entire season package on DVD.
The packaging of episodes is pretty much what you'd expect. The episodes are shown in entirety, with Deleted Scenes for each episode easy to get to after playing the episode. Unfortunately, the Deleted Scenes are presented as one large clip, unlike the Deleted Scenes on The Office website where you can pick and choose which scene to watch. Another note is that the "Traveling Salesmen" and "The Return" episodes are presented together as they were when rerun as an hour episode. While this means additional scenes are included, each episode's individuality is reduced. This hurts "The Return's" cold open with Dwight (Rainn Wilson) on the job-hunt, for example.
Fans of the show have commented that this season belonged to the character Pam and actress Jenna Fischer. Fischer takes a character that appeared as a timid wallflower in Season One and has turned her into a sympathetic and dynamic character by the end of Season Three. John Krasinski's Jim character is subdued for most of the season, a turn-off to many fans. However, placed in context of his character's story-arc this acting style is understandable. New characters Andy and Karen (Ed Helms and Rashida Jones) are great foils to the existing cast and are definitely two big reasons to remember this season.
Steve Carell continues to evolve the character of Michael Scott from an insufferable, mean, and bloated windbag in Season One to a tragically flawed man-child in Season Three. He has many standout moments, and increases the mix of funny moments, cringe-worthy statements and monologues, and adds this season many emotionally effective performances.
The Bonus MaterialsA complete list of bonus features is shown below. A couple "unique to the DVD" items include "Kevin Cooks Stuff in The Office" a funny vignette featuring Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and the high-energy "Dwight Schrute Music Video" that has to be seen to be believed. More interesting is the original mini-episode "Excerpts From the 2006 NBC Primetime Preview Hosted by "The Office? Cast" that features a storyline with Michael buying a flat-screen television. This is also funny and is produced with the same quality and care as a regular episode. Hip-hop and comedy fans will also appreciate the full version of the "Lazy Scranton Video."
The commentaries are a mixed bag. For the most part, the commentaries decline with the number of people on the commentary track. In particular, the season finale "The Job" is neither fully entertaining or informative because of all the people who are trying to participate. A better option would have been to make two commentaries for this important episode, featuring John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rashida Jones for one and Melora Hardin, Editor David Rogers, and Director Ken Kwapis on the other. This would have allowed more discussion of the two principal storylines.
Commentaries with fewer participants are better, even if they are for lesser episodes. The "Initiation? Commentary with BJ Novak, Rainn Wilson, and Leslie David Baker is both informative and hilariously entertaining, for example. Novak and Wilson are also good together along with writer Brent Forrester on "Business School." Another standout commentary is for the penultimate episode "Beach Games." In our opinion, writer Jennifer Celotta could do commentaries for all episodes as she is insightful and pleasant to listen to. Ed Helms and Brian Baumgartner are also effective on this commentary, though Director Harold Ramis does not participate as much as he does on the commentary for "Safety Training."
The "Bloopers" provide the only season-spanning bonus feature and that's a shame. The blooper reel is actually really good, but a twenty minute feature about the storylines for the entire season would have made for a more interesting and unique keepsake. A "Making Of" feature for the Stamford branch office would have also been welcome. Given these missing features and Steve Carell being unable to participate in the commentaries, The Office's bonus features are only good but not great.
The PackagingThe "office" theme is presented well in the packaging. Lots of "highlights" over the episode listing by disc, and cast photos, "post-it" notes, and more. Thankfully, the cover of the DVD set features a normal looking Michael Scott, rather than the infamous "Prison Mike" (from "The Convict") that was shown when the DVD set was first introduced.
The DVD menus are animated and well-done. There are visuals and audio that are pertinent to the episodes on each disc, and they provide a wonderfully immersive experience.
OverallIf you're a hardcore fan of The Office, there's no question this is a must-own item. Casual fans will be well-served by this set as well, since the immersive experience can help you understand and appreciate the show's humor and sensibility. However, the middling bonus features and uneven commentaries do present flaws to be aware of.
Bonus MaterialsBloopers, photos, and more at the official The Office DVD site.
Disc 1I already mentioned the Best Buy exclusive edition, and now Target is offering their own version of The Office season three DVD.Wrapped in a brown paper "Nifty Gifty" bag, the Taget exclusive comes with an extra bonus disc featuring Q&A with the cast and crew at the Museum of Television and Radio. It also comes with a retail price of $37.99, which seems a bit steep for that extra disc. The regular season three DVD set is priced at $31.99.
Nearly everyone and their mothers are reporting this breaking story, so why not jump on the bandwagon?NBC Universal, fresh from announcing their new "hulu.com" on-demand download service, has so far refused to renew its contract with Apple's iTunes store to sell episodes of THE OFFICE, SCRUBS, HEROES, and all other NBCU owned properties. The current contract is set to expire in December.Some of you may remember the ruckus Universal's music arm caused a few months ago when they refused to renew music rights with Apple as well. Seems like the big-wigs over at NBCU want to be able to charge and force bundle whatever they want, and don't like the flat $0.99/1.99/9.99 structure Apple has sworn (and profited) by. NBCU properties currently account for 40% of all videos sold on iTunes, and I suppose they feel they deserve a bigger cut of the action.The New York Times is reporting that Universal's argument is that "NBCU wants to sell a package, say an episode of "The Office? with the movie "The 40- Year-Old Virgin,? because they both star the comedian Steve Carell." Apple, obviously, doesn't want to do that since they feel complicated pricing turns customers off. NBCU also claims that piracy concerns have something to do with this, although why you'd DENY people a chance to buy a show legally is beyond me. All this does is drive more people towards Bittorent.Editor Jeremy Horowitz of Apple fan-site iLounge.com has posted an editorial on the decision which echoes some of my same points:"Hi, NBC. It's me, Jeremy. You probably don't know me, but I'm one of your customers. That's right, "customers.? Two years ago, that word wouldn't have made any sense to either of us. The idea of paying money for your TV shows was next to ridiculous to me back then. Even today, I think it's on the fine edge of foolish, and all it would take is one really dumb move by your company and I'd stop paying to watch your shows.
Today, you did something that comes as close to "really dumb? as you'll need to get to lose my business entirely. You announced that you're considering pulling your videos out of the iTunes Store come December over piracy and pricing concerns. The New York Times also reported that you're holding back on selling movies through iTunes because you're worried about piracy.
[...]What you should have learned from the iTunes experiment is simple: Apple is helping you make money, and build fan bases. Shows like The Office that were going nowhere suddenly developed religious fans and—in my case—customers. I missed the first and half of the second seasons of The Office because nothing you did to promote the show worked properly. Then, one day while I was on vacation, a friend recommended the show. So I downloaded an episode from iTunes. Then I downloaded the entire series. I let my now-wife watch, then she and I both got our fathers (and other family members) hooked, and so on. The same thing happened with Battlestar Galactica, and this week, I bought the entire first season of Heroes. It's purely coincidence, I think, that The New York Times reported this morning that those are your three most popular shows on iTunes.
Without iTunes, this would never have happened. I want to underscore the word "never.?To read more of Jeremy's editorial, go HERE.
So what do you guys think? Did you learn to love THE OFFICE through iTunes downloads? Do you care about this move? Many people believe iTunes sales are what kept THE OFFICE viable to NBC in the first place, so is it "fair"? Or just business as usual?EDIT: Apple responded to this whole thing, giving some insight into NBCU's demands for pricing--Apple (R) today announced that it will not be selling NBC television shows for the upcoming television season on its online iTunes(R) Store ( http://www.itunes.com). The move follows NBC's decision to not renew its agreement with iTunes after Apple declined to pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC TV episode, which would have resulted in the retail price to consumers increasing to $4.99 per episode from the current $1.99. ABC, CBS, FOX and The CW, along with more than 50 cable networks, are signed up to sell TV shows from their upcoming season on iTunes at $1.99 per episode. "We are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes because we would not agree to their dramatic price increase," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "We hope they will change their minds and offer their TV shows to the tens of millions of iTunes customers." Apple's agreement with NBC ends in December. Since NBC would withdraw their shows in the middle of the television season, Apple has decided to not offer NBC TV shows for the upcoming television season beginning in September. NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales. $4.99 per episode? Seriously NBC?For those of you who actually pay attention to the TWSS news segments, you may remember Ian and I talking about how Fox and NBC were teaming up to create a YouTube-like video streaming service that would both allow on-demand streaming of popular shows as well as allow other services access to distribute the videos themselves. Well, let's let the good people at Adweek.com explain how this thing workds:"When it does launch, the site will allow fans to stream episodes of NBC series such as The Office and Friday Night Lights, along with the soon-to-launch remake of The Bionic Woman. Meanwhile, Fox is planning to offer on-demand episodes of staples like The Simpsons and Mad TV as well as premiering shows such as the New Orleans-set cop drama K-Ville. In addition to Hulu.com, the sweeping venture will see these series distributed across the biggest sites on the Web, including AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo!."Well, low and behold, the thing is finally almost ready to launch sometime in October. The name of the new site? HULU.com. Yep. Hulu.Why Hulu, for the love of god? To quote the CEO of the new venture:"Objectively, Hulu is short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce and rhymes with itself," he wrote. "Subjectively, Hulu strikes us as an inherently fun name, one that captures the spirit of the service we're building. Our hope is that Hulu will embody our (admittedly ambitious) never-ending mission, which is to help you find and enjoy the world's premiere content when, where and how you want it."Ooooooh-kay. In any event, if you'd like to try and beta-test the new website, head on over to hulu.com and leave your e-mail address. You just might get lucky.
Just a quick note-- Angela Kinsey recently participated in a moderated discussion about the secrets of improvisational comedy at I. O. West's monthly "Inside the Improvisors Studio" show. Backstage.com summarized the talk for our reading pleasure."Kinsey said the seeds of her career were sewn at an early age. "I went to a very progressive [elementary] school in Indonesia," she recalled. "My English teacher had us do improv exercises as a way to brainstorm, and then I had this great theatre teacher, Dr. Allen, and he used improv. And so I just kept looking for that kind of thing." She continued her acting training at HB Studio in New York. "They were doing a lot of classical pieces, and I would bring in pieces I wrote and it would be like, 'Hey, I wrote this thing. It's called "Plant Lady." She talks to her plants,' " she said with a laugh. Kinsey later moved to Los Angeles to study improv at the Groundlings and I.O. West. "It just seemed like where I was studying in New York was much more classical, which was great, but I wanted to experiment."To read the rest of the article, go HERE.
Not sure what I think about this promo clip... it's about 3 minutes long, and features all of our favorite "Officians" dishing on what they did over the Summer. The problem? This little clip actually covers a lot of material I assumed would be dealt with in the ACTUAL episodes. And Ryan's posture? Come on, man... you've only been gone four months (at most). What's with the big act?Well? What'd you guys think?
As most of you may already know, the reruns of THE OFFICE will begin airing on cable channel TBS on Tuesday September 11th at 10pm/9pm Central. The episodes will continue to air on subsequent Tuesdays.TBS's official THE OFFICE page can be found HERE.Do I need to remind anyone that the season 3 DVD set hits stores on September 4th? I didn't think so.What you might NOT know is this-- Best Buy is offering a special exclusive set for season 3, called the "Welcome Aboard Kit." Included in this special pack is the DVD set, a Dundie Award, a Dwight Schrute Mini- Bobblehead and a Welcome Aboard letter packed in an "Office" storage box. The price for all of this extra swag? $42.99.The regular old vanilla set will run $32.99. If you're interested in the special set, prepare to get their early-- supplies will be limited.
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