tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post657561579203156829..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: The Office, "Mafia": Where were the heads of the Five Families?Alan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-11677401946326506222009-10-25T15:44:00.593-04:002009-10-25T15:44:00.593-04:00I'm pretty shocked at the negative reactions t...I'm pretty shocked at the negative reactions to this show. After the forty-minute parade of gooey shmaltz that was the way-too-long wedding episode, I couldn't wait to get back in the office for a little normalcy. And this was classic hi-jinx a la Season 2 -- Michael being an idiot, and everyone else either enabling him or being frustrated.<br /><br />I'm similarly appalled that out of the numerous comments above, only one chose to highlight what was one of the absolute funniest lines in recent Office memory...<br /><br />Michael: <i>(trying to look intimidating)</i> I'll have the spaghetti, with a side salad. If the salad is on top, I send it back.<br /><br />Also, how about that brilliant cold open? Toby getting up to go even before Michael predictably told him to "get out," or Creed's ridiculous conception of acceptable subjects of small talk ("small things... peas, ball bearings, dimes?").<br /><br />Awesome episode. C'mon guys!Jesse Porterhttp://www.backoftheclass.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-36225641016849026162009-10-21T17:00:30.523-04:002009-10-21T17:00:30.523-04:00If Oscar, Jim and Pam make up the "Coalition ...<i>If Oscar, Jim and Pam make up the "Coalition of Reason," does that make the rest of the office the "Legion of Dolts" or something?</i><br /><br />I'd go with Legion of Dumb.deznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-57364429182451038812009-10-20T12:18:24.038-04:002009-10-20T12:18:24.038-04:00I was amused by Toby's checked out reaction to...I was amused by Toby's checked out reaction to being told he's checked out.Craignoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-62233323798972344812009-10-19T03:52:36.578-04:002009-10-19T03:52:36.578-04:00I found this episode a huge improvement on the res...I found this episode a huge improvement on the rest of the season, which has felt flat and directionless. The wedding episode was particularly bad - just too unfocused, full of jokes and stories that went nowhere, whereas at least "Mafia" had some coherent stories, and most importantly, made the most of Dwight and Andy, who have not featured enough this season. And the Kevin story was brilliant - "I think you should let the criminals use the card a little longer"... I loved it! And as a Sopranos/Godfather/etc fan I liked the mob references, and once again the message - this guy was a good salesman - linked to Michael's lesson on good sales techniques at the beginning. All in all, well done!Jarvis and Anitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05337366763748255417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41725434855957868452009-10-18T15:19:58.832-04:002009-10-18T15:19:58.832-04:00"gabagool" alone was worth the entire ep..."gabagool" alone was worth the entire episode! that was hilarious! and Michael saying if his SIDE salad comes on top, he'll send it back! LOL! <br />This episode rocked! We got enough Pam/Jim mush at the wedding. It was nice to just laugh at everyone's ridiculousnessAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18181532594066844539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-29607275418939561902009-10-17T18:19:49.158-04:002009-10-17T18:19:49.158-04:00I enjoyed the episode, although my expectations fo...I enjoyed the episode, although my expectations for The Office have gotten quite low. So that may have been a factor.<br /><br />As someone stated above, I think my favorite moment was, "Oscar said I've checked out mentally? Meh ..."<br /><br />I laughed at quite a few things, and I enjoyed not having Jim and Pam there, actually.3333/afahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09267988998044410208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-60699389606010475472009-10-17T17:22:51.751-04:002009-10-17T17:22:51.751-04:00If Oscar, Jim and Pam make up the "Coalition ...If Oscar, Jim and Pam make up the "Coalition of Reason," does that make the rest of the office the "Legion of Dolts" or something?MDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16068862786412108602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-12634972810468421922009-10-17T16:53:54.954-04:002009-10-17T16:53:54.954-04:00It took me a while to sum up how I felt about this...It took me a while to sum up how I felt about this episode beyond the baseline view "it wasn't terrible, the material with Kevin was fantastic, but the A story didn't quite work and the physical absence of Jim & Pam was glaring". So here goes: "Mafia" doesn't entirely work because the salesman storyline relies on Michael being convinced to be paranoid and stupid by Dwight and Andy, and then to be "cured" of his delusions by them. If Michael had felt after the initial meeting that he was being threatened by the mob and worked the rest of the episode from that point, the story would have been A) funnier and B) more believable. The main point of the Michael-Jim interactions over the years has been Michael either having odd, goofy, and oft-stupid ideas and Jim having to either work around them or talk his boss down from them; having it reversed didn't feel true to Michael, Andy or even Dwight. So even though there was funny material around the sides of the story--especially Oscar's spot-on view about the coalition of reason and Toby offhandedly agreeing that he no longer gives a damn what's going on at the office--it was too flawed at its center to be great.<br />On the other hand, Kevin shows again that G-d loves his fools, and I agree with a post I read elsewhere that the only thing missing here was a gag where Angela charged into the office to find him and got a whiff of WHY HE WAS THERE (literal gag, I'd bet).<br />And even though the phone calls were a hamhanded way to have JK and JF present-if-absent for even one show, I did laugh when it was became clear Jim was faking the phone problems to get Michael to shut up and leave him alone.DolphinFannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-44745697950001227172009-10-17T14:06:52.316-04:002009-10-17T14:06:52.316-04:00While it will definitely be forgettable in the gra...While it will definitely be forgettable in the grand scheme of things, I definitely laughed quite a bit at it. I enjoyed it much more than most of the posters.<br />Though, with no Jim or Pam, the writers probably should have tried to tell a more human story about Michael.Billiamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-37359967310902004942009-10-17T10:50:21.084-04:002009-10-17T10:50:21.084-04:00@Adam
The subplot of Erin ruining one of Pam's...@Adam<br />The subplot of Erin ruining one of Pam's paintings was cut from the episode and is the focus of the deleted scenes at NBC.com. So far, they've released 2 clips.<br /><br />http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/clips/mafia-clip-one/1167166/<br /><br />http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/clips/mafia-clip-two/1167197/Emily N.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16021233527140771193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74312486927320654972009-10-17T02:00:15.198-04:002009-10-17T02:00:15.198-04:00This episode was a snoozer! Only laugh-inducing mo...This episode was a snoozer! Only laugh-inducing moment: Michael asking Jim for advice, and Jim pretends that the connection was bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-54719062691084756772009-10-17T01:44:48.765-04:002009-10-17T01:44:48.765-04:00I guess Oscar was right - the office is too wildly...I guess Oscar was right - the office is too wildly unbalanced when the sane people aren't there. <br /><br />I watched it, but already I can't remember much of anything about the episode. Huge, huge miss.belindanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-61944035408630024572009-10-17T01:07:42.430-04:002009-10-17T01:07:42.430-04:00I thought this episode was pretty funny. I prefer ...I thought this episode was pretty funny. I prefer the goofy ones over the touchy feely emotional Jim-Pam episodes. It's a comedy. I like to laugh and I laughed a lot.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00536950356985273600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-49849020891099298762009-10-17T01:06:34.244-04:002009-10-17T01:06:34.244-04:00First Curb Your Enthusiasm was vitrually laughless...First Curb Your Enthusiasm was vitrually laughless, now the Office doee the exact same thing. <br /><br />I will have to say I laughed pretty hard when Michael tried to order gabagool at the restaurant. Clearly, his knowledge of the mob comes from The Sopranos and Tony's favorite cured meat. Very hilarious, almost inside joke.Chris T.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-89120627327285035282009-10-16T22:48:49.612-04:002009-10-16T22:48:49.612-04:00I'd bet good money this was a plotline that...I'd bet good money this was a plotline that's been sitting on the wall of the writers room for a couple of seasons, and they finally ran out of better ideas. <br /><br />There were no ties to the serialized storylines, other than wedging in Pam and Jim being on their honeymoon.<br /><br />"Muckduck" saved it from being a total loss.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-91716669752770779582009-10-16T20:42:14.441-04:002009-10-16T20:42:14.441-04:00Creed's line, as usual cracked me up. Michael...Creed's line, as usual cracked me up. Michael talking about "small talk" and Creed saying they could talk about "peas, bb's, dimes." <br /><br />I had some laugh out loud moments and agrees with those who say insanity reigns without the voices of reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-60232793448206618972009-10-16T19:40:00.269-04:002009-10-16T19:40:00.269-04:00I was heartbroken by that deleted scene. Giving Er...I was heartbroken by that deleted scene. Giving Erin a talking head is sacrilege. Almost as unforgivable as <i>Blackmail</i>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-8995266484490781142009-10-16T19:11:55.894-04:002009-10-16T19:11:55.894-04:00Thinking about it more, the mafia storyline didn&#...Thinking about it more, the mafia storyline didn't work for me because it felt like something that should only happen when Jim is around.<br /><br />It felt like something where Jim would've been the one who convinced someone the guy was a mafia guy, just to amuse himself.<br /><br />So it felt off that it all went down without Jim there. Despite Oscar's thinking that it wouldn't have happened if Jim were there. (Does the general office not notice Jim is constantly in on shenanigans like that? Or is the assumption that Jim is all business since the promotion?).J.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11999053649820732449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58878107570537520102009-10-16T17:53:16.371-04:002009-10-16T17:53:16.371-04:00I thought it was a funny episode and loved all the...I thought it was a funny episode and loved all the oneliners. I really didn't miss PB&J and it gave the other characters a chance to shine.gabbagoolnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-42085408377803439342009-10-16T17:39:03.130-04:002009-10-16T17:39:03.130-04:00Andy and Dwight were great, but any time these cha...Andy and Dwight were great, but any time these characters are in the spotlight I am happy. Overall I didn't care that much for the episode.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705788002352470163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74682260069918651812009-10-16T16:51:57.024-04:002009-10-16T16:51:57.024-04:00The deleted scene with Erin was the best part of t...The deleted scene with Erin was the best part of the episode.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-79042093778304297722009-10-16T16:12:18.314-04:002009-10-16T16:12:18.314-04:00I think the idea of focusing an episode on what ha...I think the idea of focusing an episode on what happens when Pam and Jim aren't around to keep people like Dwight and Andy in check is a good one, but the execution wasn't all it could have been. A more interesting way to do it might have been to focus more closely on Oscar's point-of-view with the Michael-Dwandy stuff happening more in the background. It would have been a lot more funny if we had imagined, say, the dinner meeting with those three and the insurance salesman. Then they could have also given the Kevin subplot more attention.Ryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-66327235146587156942009-10-16T15:33:57.759-04:002009-10-16T15:33:57.759-04:00Definitely not the best episode, but it still had ...Definitely not the best episode, but it still had quality laughs. I really enjoyed the Kevin subplot (as I usually enjoy anything involving Mr. Malone) and the increasingly annoyed Jim and Pam over the phone were a lot of fun. Andy's adventures as a mechanic also brought a smile to my face.<br />I think the real issue of this episode is that the "reasonable" characters were gone, but not because they show can't be funny without them. It's more because the idea was too broad and wacky to play without them. If the episode had revolved around something smaller and more realistic (and completely inter-office) than a "mafia connection," I could see it playing out better.Kenthttp://www.theflamingcat.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5143856253513409592009-10-16T15:17:23.618-04:002009-10-16T15:17:23.618-04:00It was mediocre but had a few good laughs. My favo...It was mediocre but had a few good laughs. My favorite being Jim's advice on the phone that at first seems to be Michael losing the signal ("Here's what you gotta do: I--B--if--the--and then you'll be saved!") until you realize it's Jim fooling around. "Bermuda triangle...don't call back!")Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-18828229570674069892009-10-16T15:12:28.937-04:002009-10-16T15:12:28.937-04:00Strongly disagree. I think it makes perfect sense ...Strongly disagree. I think it makes perfect sense that when the voices of reason are away, chaos would reign in Scranton. I really enjoyed all the push-pull between the Michael-Dwight-Andy triangle. Not a classic episode like last week's, but very funny. And it even had a running theme of identity confusion -- Michael thinks the insurance agent is a mobster, the credit card company thinks Kevin is Jim, that poor woman thinks Andy is a mechanic. Neat how those jokes were tied together thematically.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08917874378666399043noreply@blogger.com