The
Office, Season Two
Our rating: 3 out of 5
Rated: TVPG
reviewed by Shannon H
If you've ever worked in an office, you notice that sometimes life gets
a little monotonous. Fielding phone calls, faxing memos, data entry, and
carpal tunnel syndrome can get you down and that's just the first few
hours of your shift. Now imagine all these and having to work for a boss
who makes inappropriate outbursts about everything from the general
working atmosphere to a co-workers hair. Throw in some workplace
romance, unfriendly desk mates, and potluck parties for every big and
little (and downright trivial) occasion and you've got The Office.
Season Three is funnier (and somewhat raunchier) than the first and
second seasons. Here we see Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) get transferred
from the Scranton, PA branch of Dunder-Mifflin to the Stamford branch in
Connecticut. There, he meets and makes friends with Karen Filippelli
(Rashida Jones) and Andy Bernard (Ed Helms). Eventually, he starts
dating Karen much to Pams dismay (she dumped her fiancé after secretly
kissing Jim just a short time before their wedding). Eventually, the
Stamford branch shuts down due to their regional manager taking a
position at Staples and the Scranton branch absorbs it along with five
new employees (excluding Jim since he had worked at Scranton before).
Over the course of a few episodes, three of those new employees would
quit due to Michael Scotts (Steve Carell) unorthodox management style
(inappropriate comments toward his new employees). Jim is named the
number two guy below Michael and Andy and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) battle
it out over who gets to be number three.
Also, things get hot and heavy as Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) and
Michael continue having feelings for one another while trying to keep
their tryst secret from the human relations department. Dwight and
Angela (Angela Kinsey) also start having feelings for each other and try
to keep their relationship confidential as well. Oscar (Oscar Nunez) is
outed by Michael as gay; Michaels own attempts to show his tolerance for
homosexuals backfires as Oscar gets offended (but is offered some time
off in return for not suing the company). Near the end, Jan Levinsons
position opens and Michael battles it out for the coveted spot along
with Ryan (B.J Novak), who moved from being a temp to a permanent
employee.
There's a moderate amount of cursing in the show. Cuss words range from
b***h to a**. There is some mild violence as Roy (David Denman),
Pam's ex-fiancé, tries to punch Jim for kissing her. Dwight catches a
bat that got caught in the office and bags it with a black trash bag,
accidentally getting Meredith's (Kate Flannery) head stuck in it (he
wrestles with her until he gets the bat). Sexual content is mostly
implied. Dwight pulls up homosexual pornography on his computer in order
to understand Oscar (its not obviously shown and Michael is naturally
interested by it). To demonstrate his tolerance for homosexuality,
Michael forces Oscar to kiss him (naturally, Oscar does not enjoy it).
Jim and Pam share a passionate kiss despite the fact that Pam was
engaged at the time (seen in both the second and third seasons). Jan and
Michael go to the Sandals Resort in Jamaica for a Christmas vacation and
Michael accidentally forwards a picture of Jan seminude in a photograph
(she was lying stomach down wearing nothing but a bikini bottom; the
side view of her left breast is shown). Michael also demands (from Jan)
a 15% raise or no sex.
On the morning of Phyllis Lapin's (Phyllis Smith) wedding, Michael talks
to her about what to expect on the wedding night. In one episode, an
obscene watermark appears in several hundred reams of paper
(Dunder-Mifflin is a fictional paper supply company) featuring two
different animals engaged in a sex act (this was censored out). In the
same episode, Dwight thinks nothing of it, saying he's seen these things
happen before while living on his farm (he also mentioned that it was
consensual). In another episode, Phyllis is flashed by a stranger on her
way to work, which prompted a lot of phallic references. In celebration
of Phyllis upcoming wedding, Michael hires a stripper for the guys at
work and a Ben Franklin stripper for the ladies (nothing happens; only a
few innuendoes).
I enjoyed the third season, however, the second was slightly better
because it was funnier. Still, I did get a crack out of Ryan getting
initiated as a permanent worker by Dwight (he was taken to Dwight's farm
to undergo a series of tests). The one episode I found fault with was
the one about the obscene watermark. Anything like that shouldn't be on
television in the first place. Christians should be wary of this
particular season since homosexuality is brushed off as tolerable.
Bizarre sexual practices are casually mentioned as well. Again, there is
no pro-Christian content but there is a little bit of anti-Christian
content (see examples of the objective content above). I did learn a few
things from this season. Sometimes its best to loosen up at work
and enjoy a laugh or two. Always respect ones co-workers as well as the
employer. Treat everyone with the respect that you'd like to be given
yourself.
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