The Office: Koi Pond ..."Message Received, Little Soy Bean"

The cold open of last night's Koi Pond installment of The Office, made me shout a "what the what-ie WHAT?" at the vision of Michael Scott in full "Dick in a Box" regalia. Very funny. And weird-ish. Ok, so children are more media savvy today and can handle the "dick" implication in his outfit, but was it a tad...inappropriate, perhaps? That's Michael for you. Thank Thor there were no fire eating jugglers involved.

Really Jim? "Face" book? It will never measure up to 2005's "Three Hole Punch Jim". And Pam. Weird wig? Frumpy dress and slippers? She probably dressed up as "Michael's Mom" in an act of vengeance.

It's always nice to be reminded of why Michael is a big giant baby in the adult world. We've been given glimpses into his lonesome childhood. Little Michael was alone. He hung out with the lunch lady. Kids did nasty things to him. So, when he fell in the koi pond on the way to a meeting, it was just a matter of time before the rest of the gang figured it out, and set out to tear him a new a-hole in his already bruised and wedgie'd heart. Put that together with sweet Andy's delight in pretending that he and Pam were mistaken for a married couple with a "little soy bean" on the way, and you have a storyline with the message of loneliness written all over it. If it weren't so expensive, and if the show was scored, "Eleanor Rigby" would song of the episode.

It was nice to see Jim try to stand up for himself by trying to convince Michael he could fly solo in a meeting, but once again there is a modicum of passive aggressive behavior in Halpert. Stepping back to let Michael fall in the pond? Not cool, Jim. However, as the deleted scene above can illustrate, Michael and two feet of water do not mix...and it's hilarious.

The silliness and un-likability of some secondary characters has weakened any emotional attachment for the viewer. Oscar's snark is getting way out of hand, and they've ramped up Angela's hypocritical judgmental comments so far up the decibel scale that she's down right hateful.

Although the element of loneliness in Michael and Andy struck a warm chord, the execution of the episode didn't hit all the right notes; yet, it was a nice attempt reveal human issues for Nard Dog and Scott that remind you of their spirit rather than being the cartoon figures they tend to turn into.