What I’m Watching: The Office

The Office: Season 6, Episode 15 “Sabre” (B+)

This is the kind of terrific episode I’ve been waiting for all season. The opening moments were a great start, with Oscar refusing to pass on Michael and Erin’s comment, instead emphasizing that they didn’t know what they were saying.” Dwight’s comment when they were trying to put the box back together that it was impossible since Michael opened it like an ape was spectacular. Creed’s suggestion to try and make everything smaller was completely typical and awesomely random. Michael calling out “scissor me” and having Erin throw the scissors at him was worthwhile just to see Pam panic every time. I immediately recognized the guy from Sabre as Zach Woods (had to look up the name though), one of the obnoxious rival assistants in “In the Loop.” The confusion about the pronunciation of Sabre was hilarious, especially because Andy and Erin really couldn’t handle it. It’s really sweet that Erin is excited about seeing what Andy’s going to do next but so tragic that Andy isn’t on the same page. These lovebirds are never going to get together at this rate. The Saber video was pretty ridiculous, especially the line, “have you ever tasted a rainbow? At Saber you will!” Michael’s excitement at seeing Christian Slater narrating the video was quite funny, and the cuts to Michael saying “don’t like that” after everything had me worried that he was going to resign again. Fortunately, his visit to David Wallace knocked some sense into him, and when Michael doesn’t even want to work with him, that’s a big deal. This episode had some great guest stars, staring with a fearsome Kathy Bates as the CEO of Sabre and Joey Slotnick from “Nip/Tuck” and “Alias” as the day care interviewer. Jim’s initial joke about the infantry had me laughing, but I could not have prepared myself for the hilarity of the bathroom problem and how it led to such an angry interview. It was one of the most awkward conversations ever, but it was executed so perfectly, making for a fantastic plotline.