Heyo! My name is Aishini Thiyagarajan and I am a freshman in the College of Human Ecology, which could very much change, since I’m all over the place with my interests and fittingly my interest in television shows parallel my academic curiosity. Despite being bombarded with prelims, prepping for homecoming and of course partying, everyone is still on board for getting ready for the very best season of the year, and no the season is not determined by the constantly changing colors I Ithaca, but rather the disgustingly awesome television shows that are starting up again. As much as I wish I could talk about all of them, I settled in on talking about the most coveted and loved show, The Office, and if you don’t think it’s the most coveted then you clearly have not been in the sky lounge at High Rise 5. (It’s not just for jumping; we do have TV’s that we occasionally use).
Music, Dance and Silly String. There is no doubt that the Office went all out for its Season 7 premiere. Amidst the music and dance sequence the audience got to see everyone at their finest, Creed jamming to his music, Kelly and Ryan having some sort of friskiness, Dwight with his knife and of course Michael Scott looking as if he’d just jumped out from the Monopoly Board game.
So what has everyone been up to since we last saw them?
Well since summer ended, Michael got West Nile Virus and glass in his feet, but don’t worry he peed on them. Best of all he saw the movie everyone is still not over, Inception! Or at least he dreamt he saw it. In any case Michael is not the only one who had an eventful summer. Erin, the new receptionist from last season and Gabe the trusted Sabre messenger are in a steady PDA induced relationship much to the dismay of the temperamental Cornellian, Andy Bernard a.k.a “the Nard Dawg”. Overzealous Kelly has taken a new approach to life and is a bit more intelligent after attending a minority program at Yale or I’m sorry the other Ivy that Cornell has to beat and will beat at the homecoming game.
Dwight and Jim are back to their old antics. Dwight has now become the proud owner of the building, which Jim takes full advantage of by stuffing his key ring with tons and tons of keys. The main plot of the show however focuses on one character and one character alone. Behold, Luke (Evan Peters) the kid from everyone’s least talked about guilty pleasure, “Never Back Down” and the movie that made Hit Girl the coolest super hero, “Kick Ass”. Luke is the typical narcissistic Gen Y teenager who has gotten his job the way many Cornellian’s do, nepotism. Of course he is related to Michael who specifically wants special treatment for a nephew who was born on the opening day of Ace Ventura 2. Much to Michael’s dismay, Luke is a complete screw up and deservingly get’s an ass smacking from Mr. Scott himself.
The Office started off strong for it’s seventh and last season with Michael Scott. The episode picked up on everyone’s characters and more importantly the individuality of the characters that make the show, from Kelly slipping in her newfound “knowledge” to Creed hating on Betty White (who does that?). Toby was made fun of, Dwight was picked on and messed with and Michael Scott had his fair share of issue to deal with.
The writers did superbly well with giving the audience exactly enough and wanting more. The brief glimpse of Kathy Bates, LOVE HER and Dwight’s fascination with his water pack are all reminders that the summer was worth the wait.
The ending by far was the best! It was foreshadowing Michael Scott’s or rather Steve Carrell’s decision to leave the Office once and for all. Michael was seen contemplating a termination from his job or attending 6 sessions of counseling with his arch nemesis Toby. For our sake, Michael better make the latter decision, even if it’s only for one season.
Here is what I want from The Office. First of, I want more Jo Bennett and Creed! The lack of Creed made for a rather lackluster Season 6, which picked up after Jo Bennett came in. I want more tension between Angela and Dwight, whatever happened to that relationship? On the other hand for some reason, Pam and Jim don’t seem quite as cute when they are together. Is that mean? Most importantly I want it to be a complete surprise as to who the new boss will be up until the very last episode. Till then I will savor as many Michael Scott moments as possible, he is what made the Office.
Original Author: Aishini Thiyagarajan