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December 5, 2008 at 11:10am

"The Office": Chairs vs. copiers -- FIGHT!

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Now that's more like it. Season 5 of "The Office" has been wildly inconsistent thus far. Given the plotlines that have either stagnated or just plain disappeared (the abrupt departure of Holly; Jan and her baby; Ryan's story arc; Pam's art school pseudo-love interest) I sometimes wonder if the writers know where the show is going. But last night we had an A plot that called back to the show's early, office-based antics and a B plot that progressed the meandering Andy/Angela/Dwight love triangle. Oh, and it was really funny.

In the main plot, Oscar informed Michael that the branch had a $4,800 surplus for the year, and that it needed to be spent that day or else the amount would be deducted from next year's budget. It took a while for dense Michael to get the gist, but Oscar eventually explained it to him as he would a 5 year old, and then suggested that they spend the money on a new copier. As someone who works in an office with an evil, possessed copier that just beeps and bloops at me every time I push the button, I completely sympathize. It must be destroyed.

Things get complicated when Pam launches a campaign to instead spend the money on new chairs (this includes a nod to the episode from a few seasons ago, where Michael promised Pam his old chair after he selected a new one, but that never happened because he fell in love with the model from the chair catalogue, who he then discovered was killed in a car accident while driving stoned out of her mind). Battle lines in the copier vs. chair war are drawn, with the unexpected alliance of Jim with Oscar (he hates the machine, and since he's Pam's fiancée he feels weird about asking her to make his copies), and Pam playfully but firmly demonstrated to Jim why you should always let your lady win.

Predictably Michael screwed everything up by being incapable of making a decision, and went so far as to seek counsel from Hank the security guard and Dunder-Mifflin head David Wallace. David told Michael he should just take the bonus, citing a clause that says that if branch managers come in under budget, they receive 15 percent of the surplus to keep for themselves. Michael, of course, really liked that idea.

After Michael explained to the office why they didn't need a new copier OR chairs, Oscar called him out on figuring out the bonus option, and Michael "solved" the problem by telling the two warring factions that they had to come to a consensus by the end of the day, or he would keep the bonus. Secure that everyone is as awful at decision making as he is, Michael was shocked when minutes later Pam and Oscar announced that they want the chairs, leaving Michael to pay for the gaudy fur coat he bought off the internet while fantasizing about his bonus -- and the bill for cleaning out the animal blood that a protestor threw on what appears to be a gorilla pelt.

Meanwhile, Andy and Angela visited Schrute Farms to finalize wedding arrangements. Andy was repeatedly humiliated, as usual, and after showing his would-be bridge everything she's missing, Dwight staged a "fake" ceremony for him and Angela, presided over by a Mennonite minister who speaks only German. Angela admitted that she made a mistake, and should never have chosen Andy over Dwight. Dwight informed her that it's taken care of, since the fake ceremony wasn't fake, it was real, and Andy signed their marriage license as a witness when he thought he was signing a receipt. Oh, Dwight. That nasty bit of trickery pushed Angela back into the tender-nippled chest of her actual fiancée, and no amount of cat sculptures made of cow butter seem likely to turn the tide back to Dwight's favor.

Comments for ""The Office": Chairs vs. copiers -- FIGHT!" (2)

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Larry Guengerich said on Dec. 05, 2008 at 12:31pm

Great episode, however, they messed up the Mennonite minister part. No minister in groups who still speak German (a VERY small portion of Mennonites in PA) would do a wedding for people outside the church.

Still one of the funnier ones this year.

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Max said on Dec. 05, 2008 at 1:39pm

Definitely the best of this season. I think Hank was my favorite part. "Hmmm, no lumbar support. Can I see the copier again?" "GET OUT!" HA!

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