I feel somewhat vindicated: just earlier this evening I took the time to write a blog post about my five favourite supporting characters on the show, and NBC proceeds to roll out an episode of ‘The Office’ that features every single one of them…except one. Each character had their moment to shine, and that’s really what an episode like this is good for.
I need to thank them for bringing more Stanley into my life. Between being threatened with the back of the bus, and his reaction to becoming one of the competitors, Stanley took his role and turned it up a notch. He was as cantankerous as ever, and for that we must be thankful.
However, I am somewhat alarmed to learn that Jan, one of my selections, has unfortunately disappeared from the cast as far as I can tell. I really hope that this was just me missing her name, but I don’t believe it was. Considering they added Ed Helms to the cast, that probably makes sense, but if last week is seriously the last we see of Jan? I am going to be pissed. Her role as antagonist was too good to give up this easily, and I can only hope she returns in time.
And, to be honest, I think it was a mildly weak episode for Creed. Sure, he was just as odd as per usual, what with catching a fish with his bare hands and then eating it raw, but it seemed like “Creed is weird, get it?” as opposed to something different. It was lip service to the character’s oddities, which at least justified what I said about his character but didn’t really give me anything to cheer about.
You could really say the same about Kelly, although her one major exchange was more than enough to satisfy me. Her reference point for Bob Hope became Amanda Bynes, which was more than enough for me to claim it a victory for her character. Still, she didn’t really get a big role her as the focus of the episode was on the sales team, which she is ostensibly not a part of.
And, as we see, neither is Toby, and yet he came to the table with some of his best material yet. He flirted with Pam (Missing her in a two-piece almost broke his poor heart), he was at odds with Michael, and once again his depressed status made for some fantastic comedy within the episode.
Of course, really, this episode wasn’t really about the supporting players, but rather the future of the show’s leads. Michael has big plans for his corporate job that he’s interviewing for, and wishes to see which of his senior staff could theoretically take over from him. Of course, in doing so, Jim and Karen get fed up with his antics and each decide to interview for the position themselves.
5. Stanley
4. Jan
Admittedly, it has been about 9 months since I first sat down to watch the pilot for ‘Traveler,’ ABC’s new serial drama which debuts tonight following Grey’s Anatomy. During that time, I think that the industry has become predisposed to believe that the show cannot possibly be a success, which is really unfair to this particular program. Sure, Kidnapped and Vanished both failed while covering similar ground, and Jericho went from modest hit to moderate failure, but I think that it’s unfair to consider this too highly. Still, in the end the show faces a difficult road with both viewers and 
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