The Office: Deleted Scene of the Week and Toby is Back

Why, why, why do the NBC wizards make The Office cut out scenes? For all the Jim and Pam anxiety and love making, this scene would have been great as the tag - or maybe even the cold open for next week. I despair, I really do.



One nitpick. Since Pam is dressed in another outfit, it appears this conversation was held a day or so after the reunion in the parking lot. Why is Jim asking her now about how she failed? Oh, I get it. The "professor" and "the student" were too busy "sleeping" together to clear up that detail.

Perhaps Jim and Pam will join forces for a graphic novel based on Dwight Schrute? Pam's illustrations and Jim's ideas combine to turn Dwight into a super hero. Why not? After all, it takes some Halpert imagination to come up with those pranks and Pam has that R.Crumb quality to her sketchings. I pray to Thor this happens.

Just Waiting out Wednesday to get to "Office" Thursday

Toby Flenderson. The sorry sack HR representative. Michael Scott's nemesis. The true "Thief of Joy", the master of hating "everything that he choses to be". He's back. For years we felt sorry for the put upon policy man. The verbal indignities hurled by Michael on a daily basis made us wonder what he could have done to cause such Michael hate. Even that innocent crush on Pam was sort of sweet. Then last season, the writers seemed to lift off the hatch and show us the Toby we never knew: the man who crushes on women he can't have, the creepy friend who lost his self control, placing his hand on Pam's knee in view of Jim and DM staff before fleeing into the night like a cockroach. Toby, the man who helped place Jim on probation in a evil passive aggressive act of revenge for being the true apple of Pam's eye. Oh, get over it Toby. You wussed out when Pam was single.

But I have to admit, I'm glad to see him back. As Pam said, he did have a "calming affect on the office", and pissing Michael off was like a watching a tennis match between a stubborn child and a turtle - amusing, slightly sadistic, but funny in spite of it all.

So, Toby's back from Costa Rica, darkening the doors of Dunder Mifflin once more. Michael is freaking out. A mysterious fire in the microwave is driving people nuts. I'm calling it. Fire guy did it. Could this be the storyline that writes Ryan out of the show so B.J. Novack can get some "me" time?

"The Office: Frame Toby" - Thursday night on NBC at 9:00pm/8:00pm CT