The Office: Tallahassee

What Happened, Yo!:

-It's the first day of the Sabre Store project and Dwight is hoping to get noticed by the Special Projects President (And new series regular!) Nellie Bertam, who was one of the applicants for the manager's job in Scranton. Scranton arrives with other groups at an orientation where Jim and Dwight are surprised to see Todd Packer, who they had tricked into going to Florida last season because they thought he'd get fired. Nellie shows up and starts the orientation off. At the start of the day, Dwight had been feeling a pain, which was slowly getting worse. After finding out Jim didn't poison him (as Jim had joked about), Dwight prepares to go to the hospital, when he finds out that Nellie is looking for a Vice President. Dwight ignores his pain and tries to be more impressive than Packer, but it soon becomes obvious to everyone that something is wrong, and after Dwight collapses from trying to be the top of the human pyramid, he is carried off to the hospital to get his appendix removed. But Dwight escapes after his surgery and returns so he can give his group's presentation, despite being unprepared. Dwight fumbles his way through the presentation, but still manages to impress Nellie who invites him (and also Todd) to come in early to talk about the store over breakfast. Dwight also keeps his appendix as a souvenir for his son.

-Back at the office, it is peaceful until everyone realizes that Erin had set the phone to voicemail. Andy steps in as a temp receptionist and quickly takes a shine to the job. Pam and Daryl convince him that his interest in reception is fleeting. Later, as he explains to a client where Erin has gone, he looks at a photo of them (at Kevin's birthday) and tells the client he misses her.


I Like This: Tallahassee really kicks off the Dwight in Florida arc that was set up last week, and it continues to be probably the best thing thats happened in season 8.  The cold open was probably the hardest I've laughed at the show since we saw Creed as manager way back in Search Committee and got the episode off on a great start. I was a bit iffy when I heard Todd Packer would be returning, but I like him in the role of Dwight's rival and watching them vie for the position of Nellie's VP should be fun to watch in recent years. And, though I have some issues with the wackiness of it all (see below) Dwight escaping the hospital and giving a presentation he's completely unprepared for was quite funny, and I was oddly touched by him deciding his Appendix would be a good souvenir for his son. Rainn Wilson continues to be on fire, doing wonders in every scene he's in. And I'm not sure I've ever liked Stanley as much as I do right now and he was already one of my favorite characters. Lastly, Andy as Temp Receptionist was a slight story, but a funny one, and I hope him missing Erin will finally get those two crazy kids back together so we can stop hearing about them trying to get back together.

But...: The Office isn't the most realistic show on the planet, especially in these latter years, but although it was funny to watch, Dwight coming back to the presentation three hours after being taken away for appendicitis seemed like it was pushing the limits in terms of cartoonishness. And I'm fine with Catherine Tate as a series regular, but it would nice to see her character get a bit more personality, beyond "Wacky Boss".

The Bottom Line: Tallahassee was a great second entry in the Sabre Store storyline that continues to reaffirm my faith in the show, even with the over-the-top cartoonishness of Dwight powering through Appendicitus.

Grade: 82% (Great)

Memorable Moments

-Dwight:"Work starts at 9. Sabre HQ is 30 minutes away driving at the speed limit. Giving everyone 20 minutes to shower, plus 50 for Jim to style his hair, 20 for breakfast, 40 for Erin to get lost between her room and the lobby, 90 for Ryan to do his morning ecstasy. We're already 20 minutes late."

-Dwight: "Why are you sleeping that way?" Erin (Who fell asleep with her head at the feet of the bed and her feet at the head): "I was reading the mattress tag and I fell asleep.

-Erin: "What do you think happened?" Dwight: "Looks like Jim got mixed up with some bad apples". Jim's prank had me laughing for a full minute. Also the note "Dwight did This- Luwanda at the alcohol club".

-Dwight: "First impressions get locked in forever. When I first met Pam, she said something that slightly rubbed me the wrong way. Since then I've loved working with Pam, and she's frankly wonderful, but I hate her."

-Florida Stanley continues to be a great comic invention. "Life is short. Drive fast and leave a sexy corpse. That's one of my motto's."

-Creed: "It's so peaceful, I've already written, like, 12 plays today."

-Nellie: "Well, sorry to disappoint, but my big whooping penis is right here (points at brain) and I'm not afraid to use it. So stop looking at my breasts and start looking at my penis."

-Dwight: "You didn't poison me. It's just stress." Jim: "Ok." Dwight: "What is the antidote?" Jim: "True love's kiss."

-Poison Control: "Sir? Sir, where should we send the ambulance?" Dwight: "Send it to the freaking moon, idiot."

-Jim: "I've spent so much of my life telling myself 'please don't end up like Stanley'. And now I'm wondering if I even have what it takes."

-Jim: "The one thing Pam made sure I knew: Florida's pretty loose with the death penalty."

-Dwight: "Don't remember me like this. Remember me as the man who pulled down the screen."

-Erin: "Let's see. What else did you miss? Ryan switched his name tag to his pants so know it's like if you wear yours on your shirt, you're a total dip, but if you switch you're a copy cat. But I think I've figured out a solution." Cue Erin having a name tag on her shirt and her pants.

-Jim: "Dwight, will you go back to the hospital? You were there for like three hours." Dwight: "I got the surgery. What else is there to do?" Erin: "Do a hundred jumping jacks." Dwight: "No, I don't feel like it! You do a hundred jumping jacks!" Erin: "I don't feel like it either." Cut to Erin doing a hundred jumping jacks.

-Dwight: "You're too slow. You're too small. Seabiscuit is a stupid name. You guys sound just like the enemies of Seabiscuit."

-Dwight: "The menstrual cycle determines every choice a woman makes".

-Dwight: "Anderson's three pillars of retail. Crucial. So important. Next. (Next slide is conclusion) Are there any questions?"

-Nellie: "I once spent a passionate night with Hugh Grant's brother, John Grant. He's older than Hugh. Just a tiny bit uglier. How did I pull that off? Through sheer force of will."

-Daryl: "Andy, when I was 12 years old, we did a field trip. A lock-in at the zoo. I met this girl. She was soo perfect. I was in love with her. But when the sun came up, I knew it wasn't real. Because she was ugly."

-Nellie: "That's disgusting! That's barely healed." Dwight: "You're not paying me to heal. You're paying me to kick ass."

-Dwight: "I had two goals today. The first was to make myself a clear candidate for Vice President. I achieved that, no thanks to my Appendix. The second was to find a memorable souvenir for Phillip. For that, I do have to thank my Appendix."

-Erin: "Famous, hi. I'm sure you get new ideas for cookies all the time-" Famous Amos: "Is it oatmeal with no raisins?" Erin: "I'm sorry to have wasted your time."