TV Verdict

If Cheers was able to produce great spin-offs like Frasier, then surely The Office has more than a few new series up its sleeve. Might I make a suggestion for the first spin-off: The Adventures of Recylops.

“Shareholder Meeting” was a fantastic episode all around–for many reasons that I’ll get to–but it sure did have a killer opening. It’s becoming clear that these one-off opening sequences (that I think of almost like beginnings to Bond films, only funny) are mainly a chance for Dwight to go hog wild. Dwight hasn’t been in the spotlight very much this season, but he’s been a solid supporting player throughout. These openings let him unhinge a little. While last week’s self-fighting ninja thing was funny, his donning of a Don Quixote-esque mish-mash of crappy armor and parading around the office destroying the planet as “Recylcops” was brilliant. You see, he once loved Earth and tried to save it (a la Capt. Planet), but quickly turned sour and now runs around spraying aerosol and trashing the place. I especially liked how everyone in the office was very aware of Recyclops’s annual return, and even Stanley was up on the mythology.

The rest of the episode continued the storyline of last week’s bankruptcy development. I’m really enjoying this storyline, bleak though it may be, because it rings true with what’s happening in the headlines. Dunder Mifflin Scranton is no longer able to exist in a hilarious vacuum, and now must face the harsh realities of the world. Michael Scott has been called in to participate in an emergency shareholder’s meeting in New York City. Surprisingly, Michael is being hailed at the meeting as the most successful branch manager of the bunch. Does this mean that the other branches are run by monkeys and R/C cars?

When Corporate sends a limo to pick up Michael in Scranton, everyone freaks out. First, everyone in the office rushes to the window, and then they all storm the limo in the parking lot, as if they’d never seen one. Their comments here were great (It’s like a limo you take to the prom on TV!). Even better is Michael’s reaction: the limo seats 8, so naturally he’s taking people with him. What better crew to roll with than Andy, Dwight, and Oscar?

Michael thinks he’s walking into some kind of event halfway between a concert and an awards show. When he and the board members take the stage, however, they’re met with furious stockholders and plenty of booing. Michael’s deadpan reaction is great. Naturally, since Michael Scott cannot stand any negative environment for more than a few minutes, he tries to turn things around, promising the crowd a 45-day solution and a carbon neutral environmental policy. The board members are stunned.

Throughout the episode, Oscar is griping about the company’s direction. He’s got plenty of ideas on how he would turn things around, but when it comes time for him to actually stand up and act he cowers. First he refuses Andy’s suggestion to get up and ask a question during the meeting. Then, when Michael calls Oscar up to the hotel suite to pitch a 45-day plan to the CEO, he wilts and runs away. The larger stockholder event played out wonderfully, and had a nice mix of reality and laughs, but Oscar’s cowardly moments were great on a smaller level. His character developed some more depth, and he surprised me by not being able to solve the company’s problems given the chance.

While all of this chaos is going on, Jim has to handle a little mess of his own: namely, Ryan doesn’t take Jim’s authority seriously. It’s a minor plotline, but it was pretty funny. The second Michael leaves, everyone begins slacking off, and Ryan, especially, just stops caring. He’s playing Tetris and blatantly refusing to work because the company’s probably going out of business. So Jim sticks him in the closet. This was mainly a storyline to help break up the stockholder stuff, and it worked to that extent. It’s fun to see Pam caught between being a loyal wife and a lower-rung employee.

As I said earlier, this was a great episode. It was consistently funny, had a good pace, and developed the bankruptcy storyline nicely without trying to solve everything all at once. I especially appreciated the ending, where Michael and Co. run out of the meeting early so that they can take the limo back to Scranton… because after all, they have every right to celebrate.