Advertising through a recession – Guest Clack
Julia Hass is back Guest Clacking for us again after her great five-parter last month:
Like every other family in America, my family will, when asked what the best part about our relatively new acquisition of a DVR (yeah, we’re behind the times) is, answer “we get to fast forward through commercials.” Commercials have been the bane of any television watcher’s life, the scourge of their existence. They are the meaningless fodder stuck in between the tensest moments when you very desperately need to know what happens on the other end of the commercial break.
I don’t know. Call me crazy, but I kind of miss them.
How I repaired my television marriage (or how I stopped worrying and learned to love The Office again) – Part 5
Here’s the final installment for this five-parter from guest clacker Julia Hass. Be sure to check out part one, two, three and four if you haven’t already.
Concern the Fifth: Putting the Nard-Dawg Back On the Prowl
When I first heard Ed Helms was joining The Office, part of me was thrilled, because oh my God Ed Helms, and part of me was sad to part with him reading me my fake news. At first, the latter won. Andy originally was a snobbier version of Dwight with a penchant for irritating karaoke who punched in walls and screamed a lot. But toward the end of the third season, anger management seemed to have done Andy a world of good. He moved into a strange mixture of Michael and Dwight that was endearing and fun.
How I repaired my television marriage (or how I stopped worrying and learned to love The Office again) – Part 4
Here’s part four of five for guest clacker Julia Hass. Be sure to check out part one, two and three if you haven’t already.
My Fourth Concern: Finding Michael Endearing
There are some celebrities who I think live purely to give me my weekly recommended injection of joy and faith in humanity, and high up on that list is Steve Carell. The man is the rare celebrity who seems to really use their money and fame for good. He never seems to get a swelled head no matter how much praise gets heaped on him, instead remaining, as far as I’m concerned, the world’s most huggable incarnation of what giggling feels like. I do not think that, if anyone else played Michael, I would manage to find him endearing or watchable. The genius behind The Office is half the amazing ensemble and half Steve Carell’s unique genius for making Michael Scott, the ultimate blowhard and unintentional douchebag, lovable and pathetic and human and, most importantly, real.
How I repaired my television marriage (or how I stopped worrying and learned to love The Office again) – Part 3
Here’s part three of five for guest clacker Julia Hass. Be sure to check out part one and two if you haven’t already.
My Third Concern: Pam And Jim Get Their Groove Back (Separately)
As I’ve mentioned before, I do love me some Pam and Jim. They’re delightful characters who are equally delightful together as a couple. But lately they’ve been completely attached at the hip, seemingly unable to have story lines that do not revolve around them as a couple. It’s an widespread problem a lot of television shows have of portraying couples as one person with one set or problems instead of thinking that maybe, perhaps, a couple is made up of two people who do have parts of their lives that do not revolve strictly around each other. It’s a revolutionary thought process, I know. Until recently I didn’t think The Office would be able to follow me down this twisty and untested road.
I should have had more faith.
How I repaired my television marriage (or how I stopped worrying and learned to love The Office again) – Part 2
Here’s part two of five for guest clacker Julia Hass. Be sure to check out part one if you haven’t already.
My Second Concern: Making Karen Awesome
Like most fans of The Office, I am, of course, totally convinced that Jim and Pam should be together forever and get married and have lots of babies, because their babies would be criminally adorable, and I’m just thinking of the betterment of humanity here. But just because I love me some Jim and Pam doesn’t mean I wasn’t fond of Karen during her time in Scranton.
What made Karen and Jim so painful was that she honestly was a great person who, under any other circumstances, could have been happy with Jim. If it wasn’t for Pam, and Jim still being helplessly in love with her, and her with him, I think more people would have found Karen charming. I mean, the girl kicks ass at Call of Duty, shamelessly sings The Police at Phyllis’ wedding, and considers Bridget Jones’ Dairy 2: The Edge of Reason a hilariously bad Christmas gift.
How I repaired my television marriage (or how I stopped worrying and learned to love The Office again)
Julia Hass is back Guest-clacking for us again, this time with a five-part series! Enjoy!
There are times, I have heard, in which every marriage gets strained; it’s not that the love isn’t there, it’s just that it’s hibernating a bit. Maybe it’s because one of you stopped shaving or the other one keeps forgetting to take out the trash. Maybe it’s kids or work or school or stress. But all marriages, as far as I can glean from having never been in one, go through brief cooling periods where you wonder why, exactly, you have married this person, where you start to mourn for your single days before looking around sadly at the other options and realizing that, for better or for worse, there’s no one you’d rather leg-shackle yourself to that the schmuck you’ve already chosen.
I’d been feeling that way about The Office lately. Our love started out so passionate and strong. We made each other laugh and cry, it comforted me in times of sorrow, and we stuck together come hell, high water, writer’s strikes, and the season of Jim Halpert’s poorly thought-out wig to cover up his shorter hair. But the passion had dimmed. Maybe it was because I was feeling down in the dumps myself, or maybe it was that The Office wasn’t supporting me in my time of need, but whatever the reason was, I started looking around.
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