Five Drinks Into Thursday Night TV: Fun Away from the Office (I)

Tom Reviews The Office: Season 8 Episode 15 "Tallahassee"

I'm going to do a couple of lists for this episode.

List 1: Things in this Episode that made me Laugh.

• Dwight waking everyone up.
• Ryan thinking he was getting to sleep with Erin.
• Jim staging a crime scene where Dwight has apparently murdered him. (Funniest prank ever.)
• Nellie talking about her penis. I usually find that kind of humor crass, but I enjoyed at least her first few jokes.
• Erin being totally in love with Nellie's presentation. I love her enthusiasm. 
• Dwight thinking that Jim poisoned him. 
• Jim being in total awe of Stanley's laziness, and just wanting to be him. Jim has fallen far since his early days. His new ambition is Stanley. 
• Ryan in general was hilarious in this episode. 
• Andy enjoying being a secretary.
• Daryl telling a totally sexist anecdote right in front of Pam.

List 2: Things in this Episode that I could have Done Without.

• Dwight actually having appendicitis was kind of dumb.
• Packer. I hate Packer. I don't want him on the show. 
• Dwight trying to prove himself worthy of another made up position. Vice President of what? This is just a temporary project right?

Rating: 7 out of 10.

This was a genuinely funny episode. I thought Jim's prank was the funniest I've ever seen, and he's pulled off some good ones. It was just so dark and disturbing, and I did not expect it. I also felt like the show might actually have some fresh ideas to carry on the show past this season. Is that even possible? These last few episodes have just had a good energy to them. I really like it. I'm interested to see how the Special Project turns out. It could be the spark to revive this show, the way Robert California absolutely was not. I am interested to see how the Special Project turns out. At the end of the episode I started to feel myself rooting for Andy/Erin again. I predict that there will be a dramatic moment at the end of the season where they finally get back together. Yes, I also noticed Kathy noticing Jim in this episode. I'm going to have to go back and rewatch earlier episodes to see if she was always so interested in Jim. I'm curious about how that plays out, even if I'm not too excited about it.