# The Office -- 'Threat Level Midnight' - OAD 2/17/2011



## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

I thought this was GREAT. Super silly. But all sorts of awesome stuff in it. 


Loved how Michael emphasized Toby's head blowing up. Over and over and over. 

Creed as the person coaching him in hockey. :up:

The comment about Woody Alan and Antz. lol.


Good cameos, too.


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

This episode was great. Probably the best in a few years.

Of course, partly it was great because Threat Level Midnight was not a half bad movie. Which isn't very believable for Michael Scott. But it was still great fun.


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

I guess I will be the odd duck and say that this was just totally terrible in almost every way.

It just totally misfired for the wife and I.

Z


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I thought it was pretty bad too. I kept looking over to my wife and saying...huh? How is this funny?


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

Horrible episode. A couple mild chuckles but it was tedious.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

Fantastic episode. But maybe only for the Office old-timers.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

jsmeeker said:


> Loved how Michael emphasized Toby's head blowing up. Over and over and over.


"That man was a convicted animal rapist."

Best episode in a long time, possibly ever.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

nataylor said:


> "That man was a convicted animal rapist."
> 
> Best episode in a long time, possibly ever.


YEah...The Cast Bios over on the website are funny.


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

Cameos rule.


"Get to the puck by halftime!" Classic.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

This was awesome. 

Unless I missed him, Roy was noticeably absent, though.


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

Yeah didn't see him at all, thought he might have been in the bar scene but nope.


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## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

DougF said:


> This was awesome.
> 
> Unless I missed him, Roy was noticeably absent, though.


Roy was one of the stadium hostages.
He was next to Pam.

I'm shocked to see the negativity.
I laughed a lot this episode.


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## Jesda (Feb 12, 2005)

Bryanmc said:


> Fantastic episode. But maybe only for the Office old-timers.


It seems to appeal more to the Office viewers that arrived around seasons 3-4, when it went from dark comedy to slapstick. I would have preferred it as a DVD bonus or webisode.

I watch the first three seasons on DVD once in a while and its amazing how dramatically the characters went from realistic to sitcomish.


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## markymark_ctown (Oct 11, 2004)

i liked it. a lot of silly laughs. loved creed.


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## RGM1138 (Oct 6, 1999)

I thought I would bust a gut when the puck hit the satellite and then the signal came back on the bar TV.


"Clean up on aisle 5."

"I took the role to impress a receptionist who will remain nameless."


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

Bryanmc said:


> Fantastic episode. But maybe only for the Office old-timers.


I'm an "old timer" (watched since day 1) and I found it pretty "meh" overall..a couple of amusing parts but that was about it...my wife gave up half way through..and she's been a fan since the start as well.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

"On your mark... get set..."

"DIE!" 

The best cameo was Jim's old haircut.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

Some funny, but just too long.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

busyba said:


> The best cameo was Jim's old haircut.


I thought the same thing.


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## mpar1 (Feb 14, 2005)

I knew this episode would generate widely varied opinions. I loved it. Many great laughs.


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

I started watching at the start of season 2 and I loved it.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

Jesda said:


> It seems to appeal more to the Office viewers that arrived around seasons 3-4, when it went from dark comedy to slapstick. I would have preferred it as a DVD bonus or webisode.
> 
> I watch the first three seasons on DVD once in a while and its amazing how dramatically the characters went from realistic to sitcomish.


I just liked it because they fleshed out the incredible episode from season 2 where they originally found the script.

You could cut out everything from that episode to last night's and I'd have loved it.


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

I'm going to retire the term "Jump the Shark" and start using "Threat Level Midnight"


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

DeDondeEs said:


> I'm going to retire the term "Jump the Shark" and start using "Threat Level Midnight"


But wouldn't that mean something that's become uncool (Jumped the Shark) has a moment of awesomeness, even if fleeting?


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## Jstkiddn (Oct 15, 2003)

I think this is one of those episodes that you either love or hate. No in between.

Personally, I thought it was HYSTERICAL! Loved it!


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## Magnolia88 (Jul 1, 2005)

I thought it was very funny. Silly and goofy, but I still laughed a lot. 

I enjoyed seeing Jan and Karen, that was unexpected.


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## Skittles (May 25, 2002)

And Roy! I didn't even notice that Roy was in it at first, but he's one of the hostages being held under the stadium by Goldenface.

And add me to the "It was Epic" side of the discussion. This episode now has a "Save until I delete" tag on my TiVo.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Skittles said:


> And Roy! I didn't even notice that Roy was in it at first, but he's one of the hostages being held under the stadium by Goldenface.
> 
> And add me to the "It was Epic" side of the discussion. This episode now has a "Save until I delete" tag on my TiVo.


I didn't either until I read the "Cast Bios"


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

Whose voice was narrating?


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## Skittles (May 25, 2002)

Turtleboy said:


> Whose voice was narrating?


It was Stanley.


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## whitson77 (Nov 10, 2002)

Turtleboy said:


> Whose voice was narrating?


I laughed because my wife kept saying it wasn't Stanley as the narrator. It was so obvious to me.  And she is a musical person. She should recognize this stuff better than me!


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## Bananfish (May 16, 2002)

Was this the funniest episode ever? No. But it was plenty funny, and was certainly one of the most clever and creative episodes ever, making it just good old-fashioned fun to watch.

My biggest laugh was when Packer drunkenly slurs out "if doing the Scarn is gay, then I'm the biggest queer on earth!" But there were plenty of other little touches that just made this enjoyable:

- using a still shot of a mansion that has a picture of a realtor that Michael dated one episode (or maybe a few?) with "Carole Stills - Realtor" in the lower corner.

- a "Classic Dave Barry" day-at-a-time calendar used to show three days passing! (If you pause the screen, the entries are pretty darn funny in their own right - about colonoscopies and quitting smoking)

- best 4 out of 7 heads/tails

- Jim's retro-hair.

- the office of the President of the United States having modular office walls

- the Karate Kid spoof with Creed as the sensei: "Mop it"

- the "bad acting" was very effective "bad acting" - exactly how I would expect the characters to act.

- blowing Toby's head off being "integral to the story"

- Michael forgetting he let Dwight be a robot

Not to mention Rashida Jones looking oh-so-yummy.


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## Bananfish (May 16, 2002)

whitson77 said:


> I laughed because my wife kept saying it wasn't Stanley as the narrator. It was so obvious to me.  And she is a musical person. She should recognize this stuff better than me!


Stanley's voice-over sounds remarkably like Morgan Freeman - who makes a fortune doing voice-over work.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

Bananfish said:


> Stanley's voice-over sounds remarkably like Morgan Freeman - who makes a fortune doing voice-over work.


Yes. That's what I was thinking too.


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## Aniketos (Mar 6, 2006)

Bananfish said:


> Stanley's voice-over sounds remarkably like Morgan Freeman


That was the point. Funniest part of the episode for me.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Yeah... It was funny when they cut to Michael with Stanley's voice.


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## scottjf8 (Nov 11, 2001)

Halfway through I thought, if the whole episode is them watching the movie, it wouldn't work. But then it got really good, especially when Michael was laughing himself and told Holly it was dumb.


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

The website is awesome.



> "It was unclear whether or not Andy would be able to pull off a salt of the worth character. The man wears red pants. But he definitely nailed the part of Billy the Bartender."


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

Bananfish said:


> ... a still shot of a mansion that has a picture of a realtor that Michael dated one episode (or maybe a few?) with "Carole Stills - Realtor" in the lower corner.


Trivia: The realtor character was played by Steve Carell's real-life wife Nancy.



jsmeeker said:


> The comment about Woody Alan and Antz.


That would be Woody *Allen*.



Zevida said:


> ... Threat Level Midnight was not a half bad movie.


You're right -- it wasn't HALF bad ... it was ALL bad! 

I really enjoyed the episode. :up::up:


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## Bryanmc (Sep 5, 2000)

Apparently if you buy the entire season on iTunes you'll get the full version of the movie (which itself runs 25 minutes).


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

Although there were several funny parts, this was a so-so episode for me. I liked Creed being the mystical teacher. I enjoyed the speed skating bit. Michael playing Jan's voice in reverse was humorous.

But...

Did not find amusing Goldface, the Dwight dive to save Michael, or the reveal that the President was in on the conspiracy. No particular reason, they were just not that funny. 

One thing I did love however was everything Scarn had saved was an All Star game.

ETA: After thinking about it, I realize why I didn't find this episode as funny as others. There were three other shows on tonight that I watched that were just that much funnier: 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and Community, which was the funniest of all the shows last night.


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

Magnolia88 said:


> I thought it was very funny. Silly and goofy, but I still laughed a lot.
> 
> I enjoyed seeing Jan and Karen, that was unexpected.


And Pam's mom, that was good too.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

Shaunnick said:


> Although there were several funny parts, this was a so-so episode for me. I liked Creed being the mystical teacher. I enjoyed the speed skating bit. Michael playing Jan's voice in reverse was humorous.
> 
> But...
> 
> Did not find amusing Goldface, the Dwight dive to save Michael, or the reveal that the President was in on the conspiracy. No particular reason, they were just not that funny.


"Threat Level Midnight" was written by Michael Scott. Of course a lot of it makes no sense or is done for no reason. That's why it's funny. Dwight's dive to save Michael? Not written. But that is Dwight being Dwight. Also, funny.


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

Shaunnick said:


> Did not find the reveal that the President was in on the conspiracy amusing.


The amusing part was that Michael forgot about it when the President appeared at the end (and Jim pointed it out).


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## zaknafein (Jul 17, 2001)

Ok, since evidently we need to qualify our opinion  I've seen every episode of the series.

The cameos were nice, but I really didn't enjoy it that much. I just found it tedious more than funny or goofy.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

zaknafein said:


> Ok, since evidently we need to qualify our opinion  I've seen every episode of the series.
> 
> The cameos were nice, but I really didn't enjoy it that much. I just found it tedious more than funny or goofy.


Ditto. I loved the reactions of Jan and Jim's ex.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

So, were the clips for this actually done over the years? It sure *seemed* like they seemed younger in some of the clips.

If they had this plan for several years, and did a scene here and there after the regular episode of the week, that would be genius.

(I thought it was pretty good.. Not hilarious, but very entertaining in how bad/cliched/ripoff of other movies it was.)


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## punky1337 (Sep 3, 2010)

I loved the fact they put the exact mailing addresses including the zip code for the white house and other places. That is exactly the way Michael thinks.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

My wife and I almost quit watching The Office a few weeks ago. So glad we didn't. Loved this episode.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

punky1337 said:


> I loved the fact they put the exact mailing addresses including the zip code for the white house and other places. That is exactly the way Michael thinks.


Not only that, but the White House address said "Washington, D.C., DC 20500."


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## scottjf8 (Nov 11, 2001)

I really like the scene when Michael is driving, and he keeps bobbing his head around.


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## Regina (Mar 30, 2003)

scottjf8 said:


> I really like the scene when Michael is driving, and he keeps bobbing his head around.


..and when he gets out of the car, and the windshield wipers are still going...
..and should I say, I have seen every ep of the US AND UK Office and LOVED this one! Laughed out loud several times!


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Shaunnick said:


> One thing I did love however was everything Scarn had saved was an All Star game.


And that one of the events that he didn't save and let get destroyed was the *W*NBA All-Star Game.


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## scottjf8 (Nov 11, 2001)

And that the newspaper said "NFL All Star Game" when it's not called that at all.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

This was certainly hit or miss based on the responses here. 

Count me a MISS. I hated it.


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## ursine1 (May 1, 2001)

Late to the game here, but *loved* it. So dense with little details; very much a reward for fans.


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

Loved it too. One of the best episodes in years. We were crying from laughing so hard-and it was a legitemly sweet episode.


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## NoThru22 (May 6, 2005)

jsmeeker said:


> "Threat Level Midnight" was written by Michael Scott. Of course a lot of it makes no sense or is done for no reason. That's why it's funny. Dwight's dive to save Michael? Not written. But that is Dwight being Dwight. Also, funny.


Wasn't it Dwight being Dwigt?

Did not love the episode.


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## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

I thought this ep was hysterical. One of the best in several seasons. Probably the best ep since the wedding episode.


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## warrenn (Jun 24, 2004)

This is going to sound silly, but what ruined TLM for me was the high production values. I kept thinking there's no way Michael Scott could have made a movie with that level of production quality. Regardless of the story, he could not have made a movie that looked that good. Costumes, sets, studio cameras, tracking, steady cams, sound, etc were professional quality. Obviously they used The Office crew and it shows. They should have done it with camcorders so it looked like something Michael was capable of producing.


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

warrenn said:


> This is going to sound silly, but what ruined TLM for me was the high production values. I kept thinking there's no way Michael Scott could have made a movie with that level of production quality.


I agree with your complaint, but I was able to look past that. I completely understand though, the movie was entertaining, but was way too good for a Michael Scott Joint.


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## trainman (Jan 29, 2001)

Keep forgetting to mention one of the details I really liked: the Dave Barry page-a-day calendar. Which is _of course_ what Michael Scott would have. And of course he wouldn't have paid any attention to which pages he was using, and thus, freeze-framers like me would get to enjoy Dave Barry writing about colonoscopies.


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## YCantAngieRead (Nov 5, 2003)

trainman said:


> Keep forgetting to mention one of the details I really liked: the Dave Barry page-a-day calendar. Which is _of course_ what Michael Scott would have. And of course he wouldn't have paid any attention to which pages he was using, and thus, freeze-framers like me would get to enjoy Dave Barry writing about colonoscopies.


I love Dave Barry, and I got a kick out of that as well.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

What was funny about the Woody Allen part? Seems really drawn out and boring to me. Did I miss something? Was there something funny there?

I enjoyed the episode. Pretty good.


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## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

uncdrew said:


> What was funny about the Woody Allen part? Seems really drawn out and boring to me. Did I miss something? Was there something funny there?


Come on.. Really?


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## spikedavis (Nov 23, 2003)

uncdrew said:


> What was funny about the Woody Allen part? Seems really drawn out and boring to me. Did I miss something? Was there something funny there?


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

I'm laughing just thinking about the Woody Allen bit!


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## rifleman69 (Jan 6, 2005)

uncdrew said:


> What was funny about the Woody Allen part? Seems really drawn out and boring to me. Did I miss something? Was there something funny there?
> 
> I enjoyed the episode. Pretty good.


Woody Allen isn't funny, I think that was the point.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

rifleman69 said:


> Woody Allen isn't funny, I think that was the point.


I think Woody Allen is a comedic genius personally, but I know many don't like him at all and I get that.

Tying him to Ants was not funny, and the bit was drawn out and pointless (to me). Not funny. Unless I'm missing something. If all it was is that Michael Scott thought Woody Allen had something to do with Ants, that just wasn't funny to me at all. Now if it tied back to something else from The Office or Woody Allen, then perhaps it was pretty funny and I just didn't catch the reference. If it's because Michael Scott fashions himself a funny guy but doesn't really know Woody Allen? Still not all that funny. If it's because Woody Allen kind of looks like an insect? Still not all that funny.


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## scottjf8 (Nov 11, 2001)

According to IMDB, Woody Allen was in Antz, as one of the voices. No idea myself, I haven't seen it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120587/

But MS was acting like he wrote/directed it.


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

Uh, Woody Allen was the voice of the main character in Antz. 

The bit is that Woody Allen is a comedy legend and Michael wants to associate with that except the only Woody Allen movie he's seen was the cartoon. 

Him going on and on about Antz was funny especially when he closed with A Bug's Life was better!


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## DougF (Mar 18, 2003)

The Woody Allen bit was classic Michael Scott, IMO.


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## jradford (Dec 28, 2004)

Zevida said:


> Uh, Woody Allen was the voice of the main character in Antz.
> 
> The bit is that Woody Allen is a comedy legend and Michael wants to associate with that except the only Woody Allen movie he's seen was the cartoon.
> 
> Him going on and on about Antz was funny especially when he closed with A Bug's Life was better!


Being forced to watch A Bug's Life once a week with my 4-year old, I about cried at this line.

The whole episode worked really well for me.


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## Zevida (Nov 8, 2003)

jradford said:


> Being forced to watch A Bug's Life once a week with my 4-year old, I about cried at this line.


I love_ A Bug's Life_.


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

Zevida said:


> Uh, Woody Allen was the voice of the main character in Antz.


Ok, well that is funny.

I figured I missed something. I didn't know Woody Allen was involved with the movie.

And here I was thinking y'all had lousy senses of humor.


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## jradford (Dec 28, 2004)

Zevida said:


> I love_ A Bug's Life_.


I'll take it over her princess movies everyday of the week.:up:


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

Got caught up and watched this one last night. Hilarious! It was just classic Michael Scott. 

In addition to the stuff already mentioned, it was funny that Michael interrupted the championship hockey game to film his movie, uninvited, in which he cost the previously undefeated team the championship. And he didn't seem to understand any of that


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## SoBelle0 (Jun 25, 2002)

I'm watching this again, now. Totally hilarious!!

" 3 years of writing
1 year of shooting
4 years of re-shooting, and
2 years of editing.

It is so classic Michael Scott. 
Yeah, production values are high for a Michael Scott Production. But, whatever! I bet I could do a lot in 10 years. I just loved it all!!
And, Michael's sweet realization that it was crazy, pure fun, ridiculous, etc... and all because of Holly. 

I've watched the Office from the beginning - and watched the British one before that... So, I guess I'm an anomaly compared to some. But, I think this was a complete riot!!


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## FilmCritic3000 (Oct 29, 2004)

Jesda said:


> It seems to appeal more to the Office viewers that arrived around seasons 3-4, when it went from dark comedy to slapstick. I would have preferred it as a DVD bonus or webisode.
> 
> I watch the first three seasons on DVD once in a while and its amazing how dramatically the characters went from realistic to sitcomish.


I've watched the series since the first episode and I loved "Threat Level Midnight".

And since we're repping our cred, for the record, my favorite episode is "The Injury".


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

My favorite all-time Office moment was when they were watching the square on the TV screen saver and when it hit the corner perfectly they all left the room even though the meeting wasn't over.


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

uncdrew said:


> I think Woody Allen is a comedic genius personally, but I know many don't like him at all and I get that.
> 
> Tying him to Ants was not funny, and the bit was drawn out and pointless (to me). Not funny. Unless I'm missing something. If all it was is that Michael Scott thought Woody Allen had something to do with Ants, that just wasn't funny to me at all. Now if it tied back to something else from The Office or Woody Allen, then perhaps it was pretty funny and I just didn't catch the reference. If it's because Michael Scott fashions himself a funny guy but doesn't really know Woody Allen? Still not all that funny. If it's because Woody Allen kind of looks like an insect? Still not all that funny.


No - you missed the joke.

Michael said he could relate to Woody Allen's troubles. Something along the lines of Woody Allen being misunderstood, IIRC.

Now, Woody Allen is known as a very talented filmmaker, responsible for far more classic films then the regrettable "Antz." He's also known for being the center of a pretty big scandal in the 1990's, involving his romantoc relationship with his girlfriend Mia Farrow's adopted daughter.

That Michael Scott only thinks of "Antz" when he thinks about Woody Allen is meant to show just how sweetly clueless Michael Scott is.


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