That's What She Said!

Credit: The Office

“Goodbyes are a bitch.” – Jim Halpert of “The Office”

It is May Sweeps again and I have to say that I am psyched. The NBA Playoffs have been entertaining and unpredictable while TV shows are quite pleasant recently. “American Idol” is not a buzzkill thus far. Although Casey got eliminated, at least the other remaining contestants are all legit (OK, I don’t like Jacob and I would have preferred him leaving before Casey but it is what it is). May Sweeps are usually the best spectacle in TV every year because of the various season finales that we get to watch. However, before these climactic moments are shown, a great lead-up is critical. Not every show can pull off a Seattle Grace Hospital Shootout in its finale. Well… that’s what she said!

Last week featured shows delivering awesome lead-ups. I won’t be discussing on the details that you probably know already. After all, most Internet blogs on TV shows have tackled their recaps. Instead, I will be focusing on last week’s coincidental theme – redemption. Shown below are the TV shows/characters/NBA teams which have redeemed themselves last week (unfortunately, my favorite baseball teams who can’t even get past .500 do not belong).

Scotty McCreery. After what seems like an eternity, Scotty has finally delivered an interesting performance in “American Idol.” It was a heartfelt take of “You’ve Got a Friend.” Scotty’s deep voice suited the song well. He also hit some high notes that he never risked reaching before. It was so great that I had it as the second best performance of the night on my initial power rankings (by tweeting them). After I re-watched the performance show (and skipped the cheerleaders’* praises), I still have Scotty’s take as the second best but I am adjusting a bit of it. Here are my rankings from Top 6 Night:

1.    James Durbin – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow + his trainwreck duet with Jacob Lusk
2.    Scotty McCreery – You’ve Got A Friend + his forgettable duet with Lauren Alaina
3.    Haley Reinhart – Beautiful + I Feel The Earth Move
4.    Casey Abrams  - Hi-De-Ho + I Feel The Earth Move
5.    Lauren Alaina – Where You Lead + her forgettable duet with Scotty McCreery
6.    Jacob Lusk – Oh No, Not My Baby + his/her trainwreck duet with James Durbin

The family dog knows how to vote but Stewie got the laptop | Credit: Family Guy

The Top Three was closer that I thought. Actually, I really liked Haley’s “Beautiful” and given the fact that “I Feel The Earth Move” was the best and only legit duet performance of the night, I should be moving her one spot higher. However, Scotty rarely has awesome times like this so I do not mind having a variation on my rankings. James and Haley have been interchanging week after week. Casey Abrams’ performance was actually decent even if Jimmy Iovine criticized it by saying that the family dog does not vote. How dare you, Jimmy. You are insulting Brian of “Family Guy.” At least Casey’s performance was more interesting than another safe Lauren song where she gets praised for cracking and another indulgent Jacob song. As such, here are my week’s power rankings:

1.    James Durbin
2.    Haley Reinhart
3.    Casey Abrams (eliminated)
4.    Lauren Alaina
5.    Jacob Lusk

Obviously, I am rooting for a Haley/James finale even if there is zero chance of it happening. I don’t care who wins in that scenario but I have to admit that it is more satisfying to see a Haley win. This is because it is a come-from-behind triumph. She easily beats Kris Allen as the Unlikely American Idol. What’s sweeter is that Haley is one of the contestants who fully deserve it. If you are wondering why I am mentioning this right now, it is because I think Haley will be eliminated this week.

Credit: American Idol

Yup, I think that Haley is the next contestant to go. People are already concluding that Jacob will get the boot this week but I do not think that will happen. Here are my reasons:
1)    Haley’s voters will get complacent because they thought that Casey’s votes will go Haley’s way.
2)    Haley will be thrown under the bus again by the judges this week.
3)    Haley will have a bad spot since she just had the pimp spot.
4)    Jimmy just branded Haley with one of the most polarizing descriptions - a contestant who doesn’t know who she is.
5)    Jacob Lusk has votefortheworst.com’s support.
6)    It’s been too long that everything is right in “American Idol” that something bad is bound to happen.

At least, Haley has the best voice in the competition according to Jennifer Lopez. That’s what she said!

Credit: NBA

Atlanta Hawks. When the playoffs began, I tweeted about the teams I was rooting against: Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and the usual San Antonio Spurs. Ever since I followed the NBA, this is what happens almost every year: 1) My favorite team has a strong regular season then enters the playoffs (did not even happen this year); 2) My favorite team gets past the first round only to be eliminated by the team I dislike; 3) The team that I dislike goes farther than expected; and 4) the team I end up rooting against in the Finals end up as the champions. The only exceptions to Scenario 4 are the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat (2006). I am a masochist on these stuff so when I learned that the Atlanta Hawks pulled off an upset against the revamped Orlando Magic, the feeling was strange.

I was not able to post a playoff bracket in my blog this year but on my initial plan, I had Orlando sweeping the Hawks in Round 1. Why? It’s because they were swept last year and the only change the Hawks did last year was to massively increase Joe Johnson’s salary. Little did I know that this squad had the determination to redeem themselves. Against a supposedly-better-team-on-paper Orlando Magic.

No matter how you get into the stats in basketball, intangibles still matter a lot. Statistics say that Shane Battier is a mediocre player but he is in fact the X-factor for the Grizzlies. Team chemistry is not measured by the numbers but it was one of the things that determined the Hawks-Magic series. The Atlanta Hawks have been together for a while and they know how to function as a team. On the other hand, the Magic had several player movements the past few years that even if they got big names like Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson, they became less of a team. Basketball is not just about a collection of star players but it is about getting the right blend/mix of players.

Congratulations, Atlanta! I am happy for your redemption over last year’s blunder.

Chris Wallace. It was highly unlikely that the teams I root against fall in the first round. After all, they are usually the strong teams. But for two out of three of them getting upset? It was nirvana for me. When the Memphis Grizzlies eliminated the first seeded San Antonio Spurs last weekend, I was joyously celebrating as if my favorite team became this year’s champions. It meant that I will most likely enjoy the ride for this year’s playoffs.

The team that defeated the Spurs were the most unlikely team to do it. Well, they had the talent but they also had it during the years when the Spurs swept them in the playoffs a decade ago. It was also strange that the very same team was led by a knucklehead named Zach Randolph. But the biggest reason why the Grizzlies were doubted was because their general manager was still Chris Wallace.

Chris was infamous because of several one-sided trades like when he gift wrapped Pau Gasol to the Lakers. His Grizzlies are always involved on trades were they were just cast as the third team to make it happen. He is such a giver to other teams that it was strange that he still sits comfortably as the GM right now. But of all his bloopers, I still appreciated the team he made because it had a young crew composed of Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. OK, I liked the team because I have always had a Grizzly in my fantasy NBA lineups every year. However, he destroyed that core when he brought a highly paid headcase named Zach Randolph a few years ago. I was frustrated by that decision. But you know what, he proved me and his long-time critics wrong because Zach transformed into a better player in Memphis. I do not know what happened along the way but it seems that Memphis has a very good core composed of role players that know their place in the team hierarchy. When the Memphis Grizzlies upset the San Antonio Spurs in arguably the most lopsided eighth seed victory ever (when Denver and New York did it in the 90s, it took them the full route while Dallas did not need a regulation time miracle to pull off an overtime Game 5 win in 2007).

Michael Scott. The biggest redemption story of the week easily belonged to Michael Scott of “The Office.” It happened to have the most realistic redemption story as well. The past three redemption stories that I mentioned happened on the short term. You can argue that the NBA teams spent building their franchises for years but their redemption angle lied along their recent playoff success which could have gone either way depending on the current circumstances. But as for Michael Scott, it was a seven-year process. He was the most despised boss in “The Office” Season 1. His employees did not like him because he was insensitive, annoying and he lacked professionalism. Cringe-worthy moments were a staple in the earlier seasons of “The Office.” Those happened to be the show’s trademark. However, Michael always had the quality of caring/over-caring for his officemates as he treated them as family. Of course, it still felt weird but it was where he built his character from as the seasons progressed. From the annoying boss, he suddenly had redeeming moments. No matter how awfully he messed up things, he ends up making up for it on coincidental or well-thought reasons.

While Michael is still the childish boss that he is up to the present time, he was able to mature into a person that his peers learned to love. It is hard to respect a person like Michael but what TV shows do the best is the ability of the characters to evolve and adapt. They have learned to understand Michael for what he is and they have learned to appreciate Michael for his loving actions. Michael Scott, on the other hand, became sweet and sensitive on special occasions (i.e., attending Pam’s Art Show, believing in Pam when he created his own company, served as a guardian to Erin). In his own special ways, Michael redeemed himself.

Thus, Michael got a special send-off. He did not get his send-off party (partly because he decided to leave a day before his last day… he has grown to be a character who did not care about the spotlight as he once had) but Michael was able to say his farewell in heartwarming ways. It showed how he matured. The other way of thinking is that Michael could have been insensitive because he had the people plan a party for which he won’t be attending. However, it also showed that Michael has matured as well because he did not want to make his last day too much of a big deal. An early version of Michael Scott would have demanded a party that is all about him.  Also, Michael avoided the potential last day drama that was why he left a day earlier. He wanted to have a more genuine goodbye than a “I’m supposed to miss you because this is your last day” farewell. Goodbyes are a bitch.

Michael’s letter to Dwight was great. It also helped that Rainn Wilson (Dwight) sold the moment very well when he changed from being sarcastic to touched. Jim’s last conversation with Michael melted my rock solid heart as I was brought into tears as Jim said the most appreciative words that Michael earned: “best boss I’ve ever had.” It was heartwarming because we know how much Jim disrespected, ridiculed or got annoyed with Michael through the years. It just showed how Michael has matured through the years that he has earned Jim’s respect. Although I think it was also rooted with Jim’s horrible experience of being a co-manager. It was on those times when he learned how tough it was to be a manager as he saw himself transforming into a douche even if he wanted to control it.

Speaking of tearjerker moments, I realized that the TV season this year brought several highly emotional moments. In my opinion these were the best tearjerker/emotional moments in TV this year:

Honorable Mentions: Don Draper and Peggy Olson’s shouted argument about Peggy not being recognized that had Don saying “That’s what the money is for!” / Michael Scott’s marriage proposal to Holly – this may be the definitive “The Office” Season 7 moment but it was more of an awww moment than a tearjerker moment

5. “The Office” staff singing “Seasons of Love” to Michael Scott after the Dundies. This came out of the blue and it was one of the sweetest send-offs an employee can give to his boss. You can see Michael Scott crying when this happened but as Alan Sepinwall and Daniel Fienberg noted in their podcast, it was more of Steve Carell crying because “The Office” was such a huge experience for him.

4. Vince Howard and Coach Taylor talk about character.

3. Jim Halpert’s farewell to Michael Scott.

2. Marshall finding out of his father’s death. It came out of the blue and it felt so real. It also helped that Jason Segal and Alyson Hannigan sold the scene well.

1. Barney uttering the words “Because if you were going to be some lame suburban dad, why couldn't you be that for me?!” while he was trying to get the hoop from his father’s garage.

Credit: The Office

“The Office” ended with the touching scene of Pam Beesly hurriedly trying to catch Michael Scott in the airport to say her farewell message. It was an awesome ending scene because Pam went through a lot of experiences with Michael. She started being annoyed of Michael. She also hated him for dating her recently-divorced mother. However, every relationship has its frustrating moments. These make the better moments shine brighter and we know that Michael and Pam shared the best bond among the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Pam began as a secretary. She acted as Michael’s babysitter in the first seasons because she understands and adapts to Michael’s eccentric actions. She rides along even if Michael does childish actions like acting like a malfunctioning robot.

Their non-romantic relationship improved when Michael showed that he could be sensitive and caring by being one of the very few that attended Pam’s Art Show – an event that meant so much to her. When Michael decided to resign and make a new company. Only one person followed him and it was Pam. When Michael had problems in his relationship (for example, Jan Levinson), Pam was the sensitive person who gave advice to him. When Michael was trying to win Holly’s heart, Pam was behind the scenes in making it happen.

Thus, Pam deserved the final farewell scene with Michael. It was well done as the writers made it a silent moment.

“The Office” showed once again that it is one of my top five best shows of all-time. Redemption successful.

Farewell to the world’s best fictional boss.