What I’m Watching: The Office

The Office: Season 6, Episode 6 “Mafia” (B+)

The main storyline in this episode is a little funny, tough it’s not overwhelmingly clever. Michael is always intimidated by people who seem like exert some sort of power over him, and Mike has the perfect build and demeanor to play the suspected Mafioso. His presence at the restaurant and his ability to talk Michael into getting in over his head were both very funny. Michael enlisting Dwight and Andy as his witless advisors was much more prominently terrific than the Mafioso and his attempted sale, and the excuse for Andy to end up dressed in a mechanic’s uniform was wonderfully far-fetched and fantastic. Oscar’s frustration at being the only reasonable person in the office since he believed Toby had checked out was great, and his desperation and need to call Jim and Pam to try and restore order was so unexpected and spectacular (especially remembering Jim not taking the Finer Things Club seriously way back when). The fact that so many people called Jim and Pam was a nice way to keep them incorporated and to really demonstrate how hard it is for the couple to get away from their jobs. Kevin shacking up in Jim’s office was a fun subplot, and his doomed accidental cancelling of Jim’s credit card was quite funny, but outdone by his subsequent international call to Jim where he chickened out and told Pam to let Jim know he said hi. Kevin is quite a character, and it’s so excellent that this show decided to emphasize and draw out all of its minor background players. Erin, to her credit, plays the secretary role pretty much as well as Pam.