Kish and I enjoyed the last episode of The Office on Thursday night — and I’d venture to say that it stacks up as one of the best series finales ever.
We’re all familiar with the Seinfeld syndrome, where a beloved series hits the creative wall, limps to the finish line, and then ends with an over-the-top last episode that is hopelessly sappy, or confused, or kills off (or imprisons) long-time characters. That is the unfortunate fate of too many shows, and for a time this season, as Jim and Pam seemed to grow apart and a behind-the-scenes cameraman seemed to enter the fray, I was afraid that The Office might take that wrong turn. I’m glad that Jim and Pam reconciled and the show returned to its first principles.
Sure, the final episode had its saccharine moments, such as where an orphan found her parents and Michael Scott returned for the wedding. For the most part, though, I thought the characters remained true to what we’ve seen over the past years. I particularly liked the way the last episode, and those leading up to the finale, believably sold the notion that all of this was the part of a long-in-preparation PBS documentary — and then managed to poke some fun at PBS executives, tote bags, and viewers in the process. And while the resolutions of relationships was undoubtedly a bit too pat, and prior animosities seemed to vanish, it’s satisfying to see characters you’ve come to like have a happy ending.
Kish’s question at the end of many movies is: “Do you think they get together at the end?” With The Office, it’s nice to know that they did.
* Haunted by the fact that he murdered Chappelle in cold blood at the instruction of former President David Palmer, Jack has sworn off violence and become a French pastry chef. But when Tony Almeida is ruthlessly gunned down while buying a baguette at Jack’s bakery, Jack must spring into action to avenge the death of his old comrade.
Fox apparently is in talks with Kiefer Sutherland to bring back 24
One long-time participant, a boastful “mogul” named Dave Hester, isn’t on the new episodes, so I decided to do some internet research to see what happened to him. It turns out that ol’ Dave and Storage Wars had a parting of the ways, and they are now mired in a lawsuit. Hester alleges that 
Annette Funicello, on the other hand, was not a significant historical figure. Instead, 
Contrast that with the classic “Mikey” commercial for Life cereal. Two brothers push a bowl of “healthy”cereal back and forth, neither willing to try it because we all know that healthy cereal tastes like twigs and cardboard. So they do what any real brothers would do — they force their grumpy younger brother (“Let’s get Mikey! He hates everything!”) to give it a shot. When little bro tries it and likes it, they know that Life must be good. The commercial works because it’s not just going for “aw shucks” cuteness but instead tries to make its point through kids acting like real kids.
I’ve written before about Game of Thrones — both the HBO series and the epic-length books. It’s a fantastic show, rich in themes and plots and production values, one that convincingly captures the curious medieval world where seasons can last for decades, dragons fly, and magic is real. I’m looking forward to the return of characters that I love, and even more to the return of the awful characters that I love to hate.
It’s 
Curiosity drove over a Martian rock and broke it open, exposing a dazzling white exterior. The striking ivory color indicates the presence of hydrated minerals in the rock. As any person who walks around with a water bottle knows, “hydration” requires water, and hydrated minerals are those that are formed when water is found. Curiosity also has detected clay-type minerals in a different rock — another clue suggesting the presence of water at some point. These discoveries are part of a growing body of evidence that running water once existed on this part of the surface of Mars.
I may be the only person in America who was happy when Steve Carell left The Office. I thought the Michael Scott character had become so painfully awkward and outlandish that the series was difficult to watch, and the Michael Scott stories were interfering with the show’s real strength — which is the ensemble of office workers. Every moment of Michael Scott angst took time away from a Jim Halpert practical joke at the expense of Dwight Schrute, or droll Stanley Hudson comment, or Creed Bratton weirdness. When Michael Scott finally left it cleared the way for the other characters to shine, and they did.
You know that pretty much everybody else in America, from the President on down, is glued to the TV, either because they are interested in the game or they’ve bet on it or they want to watch the commercials or they think the halftime show could be interesting. They’re all sharing in one of the very few common social experiences in our diverse, sprawling country. Tomorrow, everyone at work will be talking about the game — or, more likely, about the commercials — but I won’t be able to join them.
