I can’t tell who they’re from. No, no, I did read the card but it’s not signed…no, I’m not with so many men that it’s impossible for me to guess…oh, well you know what, I found the card, actually, they’re from your mom, so tell your gay mom I said thanks!

Dear Tina,

The Valentine’s Day extravaganza continues. My apologies for Friday’s post not appearing until this afternoon, but you know, life happens. Not to be confused with Love Happens starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart and hands down the worst name for a film since…ever. Now in this weekend dedication to Valentine’s Day I am faced with a dilemma. There are five half hour, scripted comedies I watch without fail every week. In the order they occur: Modern Family, Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock. I had to give Modern Family its own post because um, it earned it, and I had never properly professed my love for it. 30 Rock (Spoiler Alert!) will be getting the Sunday spot because it’s the best thing that ever happened to me so I’ll obviously need to honor it on Valentine’s Day. So what to pick for Saturday? Not all three because this is supposed to be the BEST of the Valentine’s themed sitcom and when you only watch five shows, well, you should at least be critical enough to limit yourself to three.

Here is my line of thinking. Community is out of the running first. An amazing showing but it fell short. In their attempt to create what we TV enthusiasts can now officially refer to as the “Jim-Pam” relationship without needing further explanation, they have chosen for half of this equation, a character who honestly is not all that likable. I am of course referring to Britta. I want to like her but I tend to think of television characters as potential friends: if a character wouldn’t appeal to me as a friend in real life, then I’m probably not going to care if you get what you’re after. This is not to say that in real life, if you’re a real person and you and I are not friends that I hope for the worst for you. As Laura Linney said to Mark Ruffalo in You Can Count on Me and as my friend Amanda said to my friend Adam when they recreated the same scene in our on-camera class, “I do root for you.” I am strictly referring to television. I like where Community is going with the Jeff-Britta relationship. But I think that is because this development is making Jeff a more interesting character. Britta on the other hand is still as self-important as she always was. What we loved about Jim and Pam was that the two were clearly perfect for each other yet their timing was always off; I don’t see Britta as Jeff’s missing piece. Until the writers can figure out a way to make their chemistry more palpable and Britta’s personality more sympathetic, this show is not taking any Valentine’s Day victories.

So now we are left with Parks and Recreation and The Office. I’ve been having a hard time with The Office lately. Ever since Pam got pregnant and Jim became kind of jerk to everyone but her, it just hasn’t been the same. Parks and Recreation on the other hand has really come into its own and Amy Poehler is the perfect example of making a character likable who on paper is supposed to be irksome and foolish. After giving this a lot of thought, I have decided to give it to………………………….The Office. (I am now noticing that you can’t really do dramatic pauses in writing because it takes about a nanosecond for the eye to skip over a series of ellipses.) Yes, just as The Bachelor finale is always edited so the bachelor appears to be in love with the loser just to throw you off, Parks and Recreation fell slightly short in the race to steal my heart. An excellent showing though; if Leslie hadn’t been with such a chach during the episode, they may have edged out The Office.

The Office is in desperate need of a recharge or a reset or a resomething and tonight we saw a glimmer of hope that this may come during the final moment when the camera captured life in the office as it once was. As we remember it most fondly. But we’ll get back to that. For now I want to focus on what made it a great Valentine’s Day episode. The answer is Andy and Erin. I have been a fan of Ed Helms, who plays Andy, since he was a correspondent on The Daily Show so I was delighted when he showed up for the third season premiere. I was even more delighted when he continued to do so for the 4th, 5th, and 6th seasons. Andy Bernard is charming with an element of obliviousness much more subtle than Michael’s, but like Michael, he is most appealing when he is sincere. Erin, played by the wonderful Ellie Kemper, replaced Pam as the office secretary. Erin is refreshingly positive and upbeat in this office filled with complainers and cynics. Erin and Andy’s mutual crush has been developing all season long and after the drawn out mess that was Andy’s engagement to Angela, he finally has potential with someone who is a good match for him. The problem is both are waiting for the other to make the move. Having provided Erin with an extravagant display of affection via his Christmas gift to her, the 12 days of Christmas–literally bought her two french hens, etc., Andy feels it is Erin’s turn to make a move but she doesn’t oblige him. Because she’s a girl and we don’t do that. Andy, determined to keep things moving forward, decides the next logical step is to give her a Valentine’s Day card. Then give one to everyone else in the office to “dilute” the gesture. Ahh it reminds of my relationship with my 5th grade boyfriend who I would find ways to bump into in the halls and then avoid direct eye contact. That relationship kind of petered out on its own.

The delightfulness of Erin and Andy’s relationship can be properly summarized in the interaction that took place during the Valentine’s Day card delivery. Erin and Andy “bump” into each other in the office:

Andy: Woah traffic jam!
Erin:Uh oh traffic jam on route three!
[human produced siren noises]
Erin: 20 people dead in a pile up!
Andy: Blood everywhere!…..Um I got you a Valentine’s card.

It’s nice to have a budding relationship not complicated or muddled by one having a fiance or a boyfriend or girlfriend. Rather, we watch two people who simply struggle to put themselves out there and take a risk with the other. Gosh, what must that be like. It is refreshingly innocent and playful. Enough with all the complications that we force into our heads as adults; let’s go back to the basics–a crush and a flirtation. It is the simplicity of their situation that makes it such a joy to watch and a delight to root for.

Andy’s love for Erin is tested when, unbeknownst to him, the Valentine’s Day card he gave to Kelly (Mindy Kaling–love) is inscribed with a passionate message that leaves Kelly with the impression that he is in love with her. Kelly takes it in stride stating, “I guess Andy likes me. I never thought of him in that way. But, I guess in most romantic comedies, the guy you’re supposed to be with is the one you never thought of in that way. You might have even thought he was annoying or possibly homosexual.” Kelly breaking this news to Erin does not go well as Erin is clearly devestated but, not wanting to appear the victim, keeps mum about her crush.

After Kelly attempts a move on Andy, he realizes his mistake and sends out an office email sans Erin stating that regarding his Valentine’s Day cards, this does not mean he likes any of them. Which brought the sweetest moment of this Valentine’s Day episode when Phyllis asked “you don’t even like us as friends?” and Andy replies, “Phyllis, you guys are like my closest friends. I just mean I don’t like like you.” (Oscar: “What are we five?” perfect.) Pam wanted to give the camera a snarky look during this whole exchange, LIKE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN THERE BEFORE MCSMRIKSALOT. Ugh Jim and Pam, they think they’re so much better than everyone now. Drives me crazy. So Andy and Erin basically return to square one. There is no longer confusion about one liking anyone else, yet no admittance than one likes the other. I’m so happy we have the rest of the season to figure this out. If Erin is pregnant or married by the middle of next season I’m calling for new hires in the writing room. Don’t do that to us.

Which brings me to that final moment I mentioned earlier. I didn’t discuss the A story because it was unrelated to Valentine’s Day and therefore moot. So I will be very brief in a recap. New boss (Kathy Bates) comes in and says the office doesn’t need two co-managers, Michael or Jim needs to step down and return to salesman. Jim agrees to do so because he can make bank on commission under the new policies. Michael discovers this, wants to be and is demoted to salesman, making Jim manager. This dynamic is maintained for four and a half hours before Michael realizes he wants to be back in his office regardless of earning potential. Because unlike Jim, Michael is not in it for the money.

In the last scene we have Michael and Erin dancing to generic keyboard music in his office and Jim at his original desk as a salesman. Dwight is harassing Jim for his embarrassingly brief stint as manager and in response Jim puts Dwight’s tie in his coffee mug. Smirks all around and a “MICHAEL!” from Dwight. It was like retro Office. Back in the good old days when Jim was more concerned with putting Dwight’s office supplies in the vending machine than acting all husbandy with Pam. My only hope is that this was a subtle promise from the writers that the humor is returning to this wonderful place for the rest of the season. Sure all television shows need to grow and change but that doesn’t mean forgoing the qualities that originally made your show a hit. The Office has taken some of their most beloved characters in questionable directions so it felt appropriate that in their Valentine’s Day episode they honored the office dynamic that we fans think of with great affection. Well done. Keep it up; don’t make me have to dump you and get together with Parks and Recreation at the “After the Final Rose” special. Because I will.

30 Rock Quote of the Day:

Tracy: Liz lemon, do you know where I can find a good church?
Liz: How good, like Judaism good or just like Unitarian?