Office Fodder

The Office: Grief Counseling

The show kicks off with Michael entertaining everyone with his ability to act like he's walking down stairs behind a bunch of paper boxes. He compares himself to Bette Midler in "For the Boys" ("gotta keep the troops entertained"). Of course, to keep up with the act, he almost kills himself crawling commando-style to the lunchroom to retrieve coffee.

The episode isn't all laughs though: Ed Truck died. However, even that is funny. Who's Ed? Michael's old boss. No one seems to care; not even Michael. However, he would appreciate someone trying to cheer him up. Creed isn't exactly helping -- he informs Michael that Ed was decapitated.

Dwight says it's actually a good way to go because his death was instant. Always the ray of sunshine, Creed informs him that isn't always the case (ew).

At the other office, Jim is trying to bond with Karen -- over chips. They are Herr's chips, and I don't know if any of you have ever had those, but they are damn tasty.

To help with his grieving process, Michael approaches Jan about getting an Ed statue/robot. Rightfully so, she thinks he is insane. Something else that's insane: Did anyone notice Michael's hair in the photo while he was on the phone? Pretty sweet.

Back at the bizzaro-office, Jim continues on with the chips quest. Andy wants in. He asks if Jim and Karen checked the vending machine. Jim has an array of smart answers, to which Andy then asks if he checked his butt. Zing!

Still dealing with his sadness, Michael gets the group together and asks them to reminisce about loved ones that have past on. Roy comes to rescue Pam from the meeting. Sadly, the entire group waited.

Dwight reveals that he was actually supposed to be twins, but he actually absorbed what could have been his brother or sister -- now he has the "strength of a man and a little baby." Pam steals her sob story from "Million Dollar Baby," which prompts Ryan to lift his from "The Lion King." Kevin chose "Weekend at Bernie's" -- and that blew the whole game, since Michael if obviously familiar with that plotline.

Upset that the group was not taking the whole thing seriously, Michael freaked out and ran downstairs to find a dead bird that had flown into the glass door. He tries to revive the bird, which Dwight offers to flush. Michael then organizes a memorial service for the bird. Dwight tries to shove him in a soda can. However, Pam made a coffin out of a tissue box. She also makes a lovely speech -- and sings "On the Wings of Love" accompanied by Dwight on the recorder. I don't know if this was touching, hilarious, or both, but I do rank it up there with one of the top "Office" moments of all time.

Also, did anyone think that Pam's speech sort of compared the bird's life to Michael's?

Oh, and Jim found the chips -- in the vending machine next door. What a sweet guy. -- Rachel Cericola

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Posted by Rachel Cericola on October 12, 2006 9:23 PM
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