I assumed Jim invited Pam to dinner because he and Karen were no longer a couple. Largely on his "it's a date" comment, even though there's some room to interpret.

And as I've said in Bureaucracy, I'd also like somewhere to keep discussing.

I can't remember if I fell asleep before the ends of Scrubs. How stupid is that? How did it end, Matt?

Elliot and JD were hiding in the on-call room freaking out about their respective relationships, and after a montage (of happy couple Carla & Turk, dysfunctional couple Cox & Jordan, and Keith and Kim alone waiting up for them) they're lying together on a cot, turn to each other, and the screen fades to black.

I definitely fell asleep then, Matt. Thanks. I will have to watch the whole thing, tonight.

The Office is really about Pam and Jim, so once they're solid, it's sort of over.

Hmmm. Even though I'm way too emotionally invested in Jim/Pam, I don't think this is true.

I think I overstated. I know I've read that Gervais said the UK original series was really all about Tim and Dawn -- that the film crew came to tell a story about a regular old bad boss in a regular job, and happened upon this love story in the making, so that shaped the fictional film crew's choice of footage, and editing, etc. Jim and Pam are like Tim and Dawn in that they're one another's bright spot and sanity. Pam and Jim are less central to the US series than Tim and Dawn were to the UK original. The rest of the US cast gets more focus than the rest of the UK cast got, but P/J is certainly a focus of the fictional documentary crew.

I think the US series has somewhat more freedom to let Jim and Pam get closer here and there than Tim and Dawn could be, but they really can't just be a happy couple, or the show will (I think) lose something. They're not eccentric enough to handle the way the show has handled the other office couples. They're our regular, competent, bored people in a crazy office full of dysfunctionals. They need conflict to keep them going.

Creed thoughts [link]

OMG, that's hilarious.

Sometimes when I’m sick, or feeling blue, I drink vinegar. I like all kinds: balsamic, vodka, orange juice, leaves.

I only wish it were formatted like a Word document!

So are we supposed to assume that Jim broke up with Karen before asking Pam out? I hope he did. The editing didn't make that clear, and the moment came off a little wrong to me because of it.

But, yes, OMG gold medal.

I thought that the conversation about what would happen if one or the other of them got the job pretty much put an end to their relationship, assuming there was further discussion off-camera.

I like Scruffy Jim. Loved Stanley about The Schrute Bucks. Loved the Olympic callback Couldn't really believe Jan Levinson would do that, though I thought it was funny.

Jan's role in the episode felt like a way to keep the Jan-Michael relationship going without going down the road of possible future sexual harassment questions. Though I do like Michael's "God, I hate myself in this relationship but I can't help myself" vibe.

I also prefer Jim scruffy. I think it's that the scruffy hair frames his face better.

Okay, I know I'm in the middle of the Office squee, but I have to say that the HIMYM cuteness rocks! I had no idea that couple was a couple. Daww...