10. A cleaned-up, preppy-looking Jim is not our favorite Jim. Why would he ditch the suburban-chic shag in favor of a Mormon missionary look? We know Cougar Meredith liked it when he first walked in that morning, but she’s usually drunk by that time.
9. Rainn Wilson (Dwight) has more acting range than we thought. When Michael handed Dwight his invitation to take over as regional manager, Dwight broke down into Emmy-worthy tears. He was almost as “emotionally magnificent†as Jan’s breasts.
8. We wish there were more catfights between Pam and Karen this season. When the two passive-aggressively sniped at each other last night, it was like, finally. Who were they trying to fool with their BFF act, anyway? Bring on the mud-wrestling!
7. Creed needs his own spinoff show. They’ve already given him his own blog, so it shouldn’t be long before it’s time to bust out those Team Creed tees.
6. A world in which Dwight is trusted with a leadership position is not a world we understand. Even though Michael’s a moron, there’s something innately bosslike about him. Dwight, however, paints his office black and says his co-manager is Satan. C’mon! Wouldn’t Satan be better off in HR?
5. Michael may be incompetent, but his emergency cabinet meetings with Pam, Karen, Phyllis, and Angela are genius. What guy couldn’t be aided in times of relationship crisis by an inner circle of trusted female advisers? Or, for that matter, the occasional mani-pedi?
4. We’ve been saying this for years, but Jan has proven it: Breasts have supernatural powers.
3. It’s always vexed us how a hottie like Jan could lust after a putz like Michael, but we’re starting to get it. The chick’s unhinged! Season-four prediction: Jan and Creed get it on.
2. Even though we’d like to take Steve Carrell’s word that Michael is “never, ever, going to leave†Dunder Mifflin, we can’t see him or the other rising names on this cast staying much more than a season. When lesser personalities like Rainn Wilson and John Krasinsky are landing big-time movie roles opposite Robin Williams, the end draws near. Only question is, who will pull a Clooney-ditching-ER move first?
1. As suspected, Karen got the shaft from Jim. Though we learned earlier this week that Rashida Jones, who plays Karen, will be starring in Fox’s The Rules for Starting Over in the fall, we’d hoped for a better send-off than Jim’s returning to Scranton to whisk Pam away on a date. Weak! But we’re not so heartless to begrudge Pam and Jim their love. Just don’t screw the pooch, kids… —Jon Steinberg