Product Description
-------------------
American version of the accled BBC sitcom created by Ricky
Gervais and Stephen Merchant. At the Dunder Mifflin paper
company, clueless manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) considers
himself a business genius and an all-round entertainer - unaware
that, to his workers, he's an insufferable idiot. In this series,
Michael inadvertently outs a gay employee, Phyllis gets an
unexpected eyeful from a flasher, and Jan delivers the bad news
to Michael that the Scranton Branch is slated for closure.
Episodes comprise: 'Gay Witch Hunt', 'The Convention', 'The
Coup', 'Grief Counselling', 'Initiation', 'Diwali', 'Branch
Closing', 'The Merger', 'The Convict', 'A Benihana Christmas
(1)', 'A Benihana Christmas (2)', 'Back from Vacation',
'Travelling Salesmen', 'The Return', 'Ben Franklin', 'Phyllis'
Wedding', 'Business School', 'Cocktails', 'The Negotiation',
'Safety Training', 'Product Recall', 'Women's Appreciation',
'Beach Games' and 'The Job'.
.co.uk Review
-------------
After a shaky first season of finding its footing, and a second
season of establishing itself as one of the funniest shows on TV,
the third season of The Office finds the show in its strongest
form yet, thanks in large part to the addition of some new
characters and stronger plotlines centered on office romances. A
corporate merger brings the Stamford staff to the Scranton office
of Dunder-Mifflin a quarter of the way through the season giving
a nice boost to the season's arc of story lines, especially the
addition of Andy (Ed Helms, another Daily Show alum in a role
that seems custom made for him) who serves as yet another foil to
Dwight (Rainn Wilson) in his unending fight for Michael's
approval. As the season begins, the focus is more on Michael
(Steve Carell (
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)) and his unique "leadership" style in the Scranton office. "A
good boss gruntles the disgruntled," and despite his best
intentions, he proceeds to somehow screw it up, as in the opening
episode, "Gay Witch Hunt," in which he accidentally outs a gay
employee.
In the second episode, "The Convention," Michael tries to get the
party started at the Mid-Market Office Supply Convention ("fun
jeans"), and ends up revealing his insecurity about Jim's (John
Krasinski (
/gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=John%20Krasinski+-ntsc
)) decision to move to Stamford. It leads up to "The Coup," where
Dwight meets with Michael's Boss Jan (Melora Hardin) in a
misguided attempt to take control of the office. The merger of
the two offices into the Scranton location provides the fuel
needed to continue the Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) subplot as Jim
returns with his new girlfriend, Karen (ida Jones) who also
transferred, and with Pam no longer engaged to Roy, the tension
among them increases significantly.
Other major plot points this season include: Dwight shows his
true feelings for Angela in an excellent climax to one of the
funniest subplots on the show; Michael negotiates a raise after
learning he barely makes more than his subordinates; new office
suck-up Andy is forced into anger management classes; and
finally, in what may be the most bizarre company retreat in
history, a day at the beach ends with Pam revealing her true
feelings for Jim in front of the entire office. The season wraps
up in unpredictable fashion when Karen, Michael, and Jim all
travel to headquarters to interview for the same position. The
strength of this season just continues to solidify The Office's
place as the preeminent satire of today's cubicle culture.
--Daniel Vancini