By Dianne Brooks
Fancast.com
Welcome back to the continuing saga at The Office. It’s Friday morning and Michael’s (Steve Carell) got gum in his hair which Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is more than happy to remove via a peanut butter head massage. (who knew?) Hot shit Ryan drops by to let everyone know they’re working on the Dunder Mifflin website on Saturday. Michael advises the group not take it out on Ryan (B.J. Novak who is also a writer on the show) by making fun of his height or his half beard. Vociferous objections follow particularly since no one really understands why there needs to be a social networking feature on the site, which as it turns out, was infiltrated by sexual predators. Later Michael, grabbing Ryan in a bear hug of desperation, confesses “I need a girlfriend so bad.” Ryan’s response that the NYC club girls are hot inspires Michael to grab Dwight (singles only) for their “night out.” The rest of the staff’s night out occurs unexpectedly when Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) forgets to tell security not to lock the gates after he has “brilliantly” suggested that everyone work late Friday instead of coming in on Saturday. Meanwhile Dwight and Michael show up at a club where Ryan is talking to his “banking wizard” friend who Dwight thinks is a hobbitt. Michael astutely notes that the club is full of “babies” which turns out to be true when he refers to the “Back to the Future” tattoo he plans on getting and one of same babes has never heard of the movie. Back in Scranton, Jim scrambles because he can’t remember the name of the security guard, Hank, who he wakes up in the middle of the night to come to the rescue. As if it isn’t enough being trapped in the hallway because Pam (Jenna Fischer) has locked the office from the inside, Michael thoughtfully sends them a pic of Dwight making out with an “amazon” volleyball player, eliciting simultaneous groans. They are finally liberated thanks to the cleaning brigade but not before Toby (Paul Liberstein, also a writer) has literally climbed over the fence on his way to New Zealand. Michael and Dwight drag Ryan back to his miniscule studio (it’s still way bigger than anything I remember when I lived in NYC) where Ryan asks what to do about a “friend” with a drug problem. (Ryan has been running back and forth to the bathroom BTW). Michael signs off by telling the the camera that “it’s not the horniness but the loneliness.” The episode ends with Hank cursing before a now empty parking lot.
[Extra: See Angela on the set.]