Das Büro Casino Night (2005–2013) Online

Best episode EVER! Jim and Pam...sigh. My husband loves Dwight, and although Dwight is probably the most hilarious character on the show, as a woman I'm sappily caught up with Jim and Pam and their unspoken romance. I thought I was going to be cheated after Jim confessed his love for Pam and she walked away, seeming to be upset about it. But then of course, he redeemed himself by following her into the office where she was possibly confessing to her mother that she loved Jim back, and then just kissing her. Most romantic moment in television in a long time, if you ask me! I can not WAIT until next season to find out what happens between them. I pray for her to dump Roy and get with Jim.

When it first came out I gave The Office US a pass and didn't think much of it as all I could do was compare and contrast with the UK version. A month or so back I decided to take another look because I figured that, after five seasons, it must be doing something right. Starting again with season 1 I found again that it was a poor copy, trying to replicate the UK version but failing to do so, partly because it didn't really want to do so but felt it should. Season two does not repeat that mistake and, by the halfway point I no longer felt that it deserved to be compared to the original so much as just be judged on its own merits.

Although the awkwardness of the first season is still part of the comedy, it is no longer the "painful" embarrassment that it tried to copy from the original but rather it plays like a more confident US sitcom. The device of the film crew remains constant but the material is a lot more comical than season 1 and seems a better fit in terms of the characters and aims of the series. To a point the season could be put down as a series of 20-minutes sketches because each more or less does serve as a standalone episode with a central idea at the core but the show does well to integrate threads across the season. The most obvious of these is Jim and Pam's flirty friendship thing and this works better here than it did in the UK version, partly because the writers perfectly capture this type of relationship but also because the tone of the show allows it to happen by being warm rather than bitter in its comedy. This is not a criticism of the UK version but it is simply true that in the US, this works better because the American psyche is a bit more positive and "big" whereas in the UK the comedy of embarrassment and awkwardness just sits better with who we are! As a result of doing what it wants to do rather than what it feels it should do, the show gains confidence and is very consistent in what it does. It has its high points that are hilarious but mostly it is just consistently pretty funny and each episode threw me plenty of chuckles and a couple of good big laughs. This is helped by the show utilising the supporting characters to do more than awkwardly look away in silence when Michael does something shocking (although they still do that). Instead each person gets fleshed out a bit and given a lot more material, which is fair enough and also allows for the office to feel fuller and less reliant on one or two characters to deliver laughs and plot. Of course the main characters remain that way and the cast do well with this. Carell seems a lot more comfortable with his character rather than he did in season 1 because it suits his style better. As a result he is funnier and a lot more likable even if he is still very much a jerk with no self-awareness. Krasinski doesn't grip me as an actor but he does make for a very real person and I like him for that. He works well with Fischer, who does her stuff very well, whether it is being shocked silence or being overly close to Jim – the two of them together make the office relationship aspect work. Wilson is better as well as he has better material including some awesome lines (the one about smiling and monkeys is a killer and a good example).

The example of using the other characters more is best seen in Kaling' Kelly, who has gone from being "the Indian women to allow Michael to be racist" to being a ditzy valley girl type who is a very funny character and a dream-world of romance in her head. I like her a great deal and she makes for plenty of good asides during each episodes. Novak benefits from this and he does well with a Jim-esquire character of being trapped. Baker, Baumgartner, Kinsey, Bratton and many others all step up and the show benefits by having much more of an ensemble feel that adds to the impression of a show growing comfortable with itself.

Season 2 is not an awesome affair and I wasn't wiping tears from my eyes but it is still very consistent and pretty funny, while delivering good big laughs here and there each episode. From season 1 the show now feels like its own creature and is doing what it wants to do rather than just copying The Office UK in a way that doesn't work. The result is more enjoyable and entertaining and I look forward to season 3 for more of the same.

Pam and Jim can't get together. It's TV death. Look at Frasier, when Niles and Daphne got together. Without the sexual tension, the show has nowhere to go. Other couples that everyone wanted to get together:

Hawkeye and Hotlips, Sam and Diane, Ross and Rachel (though they did, and then they separated again, and rebuilt the sexual tension), Niles and Daphne (as stated above, when they finally got together, it marked the end of Frasier), Kevin and Winnie

Bottom line, the anticipation we feel of Jim and Pam getting together is better than the satisfaction of them actually getting together. I want them to get together, but I hope they never do.

How cute were they? i mean seriously, Pam needs to dump that fiancé of hers. Jim is sweet, funny, easy to talk to, smart, a hard worker, and HOT! How could she not choose him? We know they have to get together, it is just a matter of how long we will have to wait.

plus. they are the best couple ever. who cares if they work together? Dwight and Angela are working out fine (if you call a total dork with a messed up control freak working out fine).

Also... will Jim be in the next season? I really hope so because John Krasinski is the greatest!! =]

Pam + Jim= love lol.... how long must we wait for them to be together???

Casino Night is my favorite episode in the entire series, and perhaps of all time. The first two-thirds of this episode are, for the most part, really funny. It's mostly composed of little vignettes revolving around the different members of the cast, but they're a great way to give everyone a good amount of screentime before Season 2 comes to an end.

Along with the casino night itself, the main plotline of this episode was about Michael accidentally inviting both Carol and Jan to the casino night. While this was arguably the weakest part of the episode, there was still a lot to like, especially the twist ending.

What truly elevates this episode is what happens with Jim and Pam. After a season of will-they won't-they, Jim finally decides to confess his feelings to Pam, and it is glorious. The writing, the acting, even the camerawork, was just perfect, creating one of the most realistic love confession scenes ever to be on TV. Sadly, Pam decides to stay with Roy, so Jim makes his move anyway and kisses her, thus ending the episode on a perfect cliffhanger. Overall, Casino Night could've just been a great finale, but Jim and Pam helped turn it into one of the greatest episodes in TV history.

I don't think my heart has hurt so much as it did when Pam rejected Jim. Wow. When he teared up, I just hurt for both of them. GREAT TV!

The Office

Who doesn't love a bit of a tragedy in romance and to top all of it Pam and Jim; its every "crush" story that one has lived. A great cliffhanger not only to the Pam and Jim love story but a weird love angle to Michael too, The Office is sinking its teeth to the character.

It's not hyperbole to say that for a lot of people the ending is a classic moment of television-- the first kiss of an iconic pairing. For that I give the episode lots of points. However, the rest of the episode is just not that funny. The Jan/Carol stuff takes up way too much time and the office worker gags are limited. It's a solid episode, but one of the weaker Office season finales, I think.

Also, the cutest part of the Jim/Pam scene actually takes place in the next episode, Gay Witch Hunt.

Michael has a casino night at the warehouse.

This episode has a lot of funny moment. I liked Michael's double date story that ended up not the way I expected. All the gambling moments such as Dwight folding when Jim coughs were wonderful. And I think the highlight isn't even the funny stuff but Jim finally confessing his love for Pam and them kissing. Beautiful of such a perfect couple.