personality plus
Seriously, "The Office" just continues to impress. If you don't watch it ... uh, WATCH IT ALREADY.
When the Andy character (Ed Helms) came into play this season, I thought at first that he was a little too over-the-top. Too much like Steve Carell's Michael Scott: Tries too hard; thinks he's hilarious, but not in the way he really is; wants everybody to be his best friend; overreacts to every little thing. And so on. "What's the deal here?" I wondered. They already had Michael; did they need another one? Sure, Andy's motivation is different; he wants to get ahead, and he'll do whatever it takes, while Michael really just wants to be loved.
And then the Scranton and Stamford offices merged, and Andy started intentionally mimicking Michael -- the sincerest form of sucking up -- and it started to make sense.
But even so, it's been weird in the last couple episodes to see Michael as the serious one, the one who's annoyed by the antics going on around him. He's always been the one who annoys everybody else.
In last night's episode, though, it all came to a head. Michael gave voice to the creepy vibe he gets from Andy. "I don't understand how someone can have so little self-awareness," he deadpanned. And later he admitted, "I don't want somebody sucking up to me because they think I can help their career. I want them sucking up to me because they genuinely love me."
I love it. And will any of this result in greater self-awareness for Michael himself? Of course not.
Oh yeah, and the snippet where Jim (John Krasinski) admitted to his sort-of girlfriend, Karen (Rashida Jones), that he still has feelings for Pam (Jenna Fischer)? Augh! Perfect!
Seriously. If you don't watch the show, just watch it.