The Office: “Did I Stutter?” Recap

Posted by Mike, Ryan and johnnysweeptheleg

Michael needs an idea. No, he’s not looking to come up with the next Dunder Mifflin Infinity. There’s wet cement outside and he decides that it represents his chance to leave his mark on the world — he’s just not sure what that mark should be. Kevin suggests Michael’s initials. No good. Some idiot named Mark Greg Sputnik would only steal the credit. Andy suggests a picture, Phyllis has a great idea that she can’t remember and Kelly thinks he should do his handprints like Will Smith outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Jim says that if Michael were a true star, he’d do Will Smith one better and put his face in the cement. Unsurprisingly, Michael loves the idea. After all, one day he can show it to his children and say, “Look, kids, your daddy left that facehole.” What dad doesn’t dream of doing that?

Later, in the kitchen, Andy and Angela are playing the most boring game of MadLibs ever. Angela’s uninspired choices produce the following:

The tall man entered the nice building to visit a very nice man. “Sit down, Mr. Smith. Can I interest you in any good catfood?”

Seriously, if you’re not going to pick adjectives like “stinky” and “poopy,” I don’t understand why you’d play MadLibs at all. The scene upsets Dwight as well, but obviously for different reasons. He sums it up by saying, “Andy and Angela seem very happy. I hope nothing horrible ever happens to them.” Pretty creepy stuff, coming from a guy who stashes weapons around the office.

Once again, Michael needs an idea. This time, though, it’s about how to energize the office. He’s momentarily distracted by Pam, who has been forced to wear her backup glasses today. Michael notes the subtle change thusly: “Oh my God, Pam. Those make you look so ugly. Pam, in order to get hotter, you take glasses off. You’re moving in the wrong direction.” She tries to explain, but to Michael “it’s just noise coming out of an ugly scientist.” (Kevin, who harbors a librarian fetish, likes the new look though.)

And we’re back on track. Everybody heads into the conference room to brainstorm. Andy suggests adding more zing and pep to the outgoing answering machine message. Jim goes one better, suggesting an even newer message with more zing and pep — then turns to Pam and proposes … that she get him an energizing cup of coffee. Stanley, on the other hand, doesn’t want to be distracted from his crossword, and when Michael pushes the issue, Stanley erupts with, “Did I stutter?” which puts an abrupt end to the meeting.

Afterward, Toby comes into Michael’s office to discuss Stanley’s open insubordination, which Michael claims was just joshing around. Toby, of course, just doesn’t get it because he’s “so white” and Stanley is “a beautiful, sassy, powerful black man.” Michael spends the rest of the episode trying to find ways not to confront Stanley.

Meanwhile, Andy is trying to sell his Xterra, which, by the way, is a great car for meeting women — whenever you pull up next to one, they’re always driven by chicks. Dwight is not impressed and offers to buy it for $1,500 below the asking price. Andy agrees after Dwight employs a technique that basically consists of yelling “do it” at him. Later, Dwight flips the Xterra for a profit. We’re not sure if that counts as something horrible, but it’s a start. Later, Dwight tries the same approach to get Michael to give him complete control of the office. It doesn’t work as well the second time.

Ryan makes a brief appearance, but it’s not to discipline Stanley — it’s to discipline Jim, who gets a formal warning about spending too much time goofing around with Dwight and hanging out with Pam. Is Ryan still upset about Jim talking to David Wallace about Dunder Mifflin Infinity? Is he jealous that he struck out with Pam? Is he just a complete douchebag now that he’s in a position of power? Put us down for all of the above.

Michael finally decides to handle the Stanley situation with a fake firing — which results in much more than a simple “Did I stutter?” Then, just when it looks like Michael has lost complete control of the office, he sends everyone but Stanley outside and shows some actual leadership by telling Stanley he needs to show him more respect in the office — even if he doesn’t actually respect him. And, with that, Michael probably gained a little respect from Stanley. He certainly did from us.

Mike says

Best Quote: “I haven’t done anything since Christmas, and Pam clearly has just given up trying.” — Michael on the need to energize the office.

Best Moment: Dwight taking his revenge in MadLib form: “A stupid, idiotic numbskull named Andy Bernard sold his Xterra to a smart and capable man named Dwight. This is shaping up to be an awesome day for Dwight.”

Employee of the week: Michael, if only for his bad Rodney Dangerfield impression that devolved into a bad impression of every standup comedian ever. Seriously, what is up with airplane food? And why don’t they just make the whole plane out of it?

Ryan says

Best Quote: “It’s Michael vs. Stanley, and it is the clash of the titans! In one corner you have Michael, and he is mad. And then in the other corner, you have Stanley, and he’s mad. So that’s about it.” — Kevin

Best Moment: Dwight, flipping the Nissan Xterra Andy just sold to him. Andy originally asked $8,700. Dwight got Andy to knock off at least $1,500. Dwight then turns around and asks $9,995 for it. Dwight’s going to make a profit of at least $2,795 off the car simply by washing it — not to mention the three-way bidding war currently waging on eBay for it.

Employee of the week: Toby. How involved was Toby in having Ryan give Jim the “formal warning” about his job performance? Toby’s not too happy about Jim spending so much time hanging around Pam, or talking to Pam or doing anything with Pam … but to call down the thunder on Jim raises the stakes.

johnnysweeptheleg says:

Best Quote: “What’s the pink?”

“Menstrual Cycles.”— Dwight explaining to Michael the meaning of the different colored lines on his office ORG Chart.

Best Moment: Creed explaining that many jazz cats are blind, but can play the piano well. So he’d like to put Pam in front of a piano without her glasses, to see if she could play. Oh, and he’d also like to see her topless.

Employee of the week: Darryl. He comes in for all of a minute, and steals the episode. Who knew he was a Blood, Crip and Newsie, among other gang members? Next time, don’t pull a gat. Pull fluffy fingers on your rivals. It’s effective.

2 Comments

  1. I love what they’re doing with Toby. Instead of merely having him pine over Pam, they add another level of weasel-ness by his acts of attempted sabotage. Can you imagine the proportions of jackassery that Toby and Ryan will accumulate as they pool together their hatred of Michael and their anger at Jim’s ability to successfully land the girl they couldn’t?

    It’s like early season Lost. Toby and Ryan are The Others. And Jim, Pam, and Michael are going to have to band together to fend them off.

    Do you think eventually Jim will begin listening to angry Nirvana music and popping pills?

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