r/DunderMifflin • u/drguillen13 • 3d ago
Lee Kirk, Jenna Fischer's real-life husband, directed one episode of The Office (S9,E14: Vandalism). In it, Jim is depicted as a slob and a non-ideal roommate.
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u/The_Arkham_AP_Clerk Michael 3d ago
Season 9 really went off the rails as far as searching for episode ideas.
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u/MyHusbandIsGayImNot 3d ago
There's a few gems (like the lice episode) but I think just about everything involving the Philly storyline fell flat.
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u/IntelligentRock3854 Mose 2d ago
Meredith going bald was kinda unnecessary tbh
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u/CrunchwrapConsumer 2d ago
It makes no sense and pissed me off. Coincidentally just watched the episode last night. Meredith had lice. She shaved her head because she had lice. Whether or not she brought it into the office is completely irrelevant and seperate to the reason she shaves her head.
Yet when she founds out Pam brought it in. Sheâs pissed she shaved her head. As if she didnât have the lice
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u/user684629 3d ago
He was also the breastfeeding consultant in the Delivery Part 2!
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u/philouza_stein 3d ago
See how I flick the nipple to stimulate it?
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u/InSixFour 3d ago
I love Jimâs reactions throughout that scene. John played that role so well.
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u/Public_Owl 3d ago
Apparently he was trying to make them break, guess they managed to get through those lol.
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u/noveler7 My middle name is Kurt, not Fart 3d ago
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u/Prior-Bed5388 2d ago
IIRC from an episode of âThe Office Ladiesâ podcast, it was a deliberate decision from the producers/casting director to hire Lee because the character needed to touch Pamâs breasts in the scene. If any other actor were hired they would potentially need an intimacy coordinato and thereâd be a bunch of other things to be worried about. Really it was a genius decision.
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u/NYY15TM I don't technically have a hearing problem 2d ago
That's one of those things that was done as an accommodation to Jenna as to not have a random manhandle her breasts
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u/Prior-Bed5388 2d ago
Donât call it an accommodation for her specifically. You could just as easily say it was to save money. If any other actor were hired, there would need to be an intimacy coordinator, and probably multiple meetings and extra time spent to make sure everyone was comfortable during filming.
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u/YinzJagoffs 2d ago
They paid $50k to play Ants Marching⌠this would be a drop in the bucket
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u/SuzCoffeeBean 3d ago
Did anyone else find that plot line clunky? Jim suddenly the slob roommate & Darryl getting upset about his coffee mug? Like they tried to write an odd couple thing but it seemed weirdly out of character for them both. Forced.
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u/thekyledavid IMPEACH ROBERT LIPTON 3d ago
We never really see either of them at home, so I feel like itâs not really âout of characterâ if we have nothing to compare it to
Besides, Jim apparently has a record of leaving his stuff on Dwightâs desk, and he used Andyâs mug for coffee instead of bringing his own or using a disposable cup, so I can believe heâs not that concerned with respecting other peopleâs stuff. And thatâs not even getting into how often he messes with other peopleâs stuff for the sake of pranks.
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u/ldcl289 3d ago
That's not accurate. We do get to see Jim's home in the first season! And someone could describe our and his room as very tidy! But, we could also argue that that was to impress Pam! đđ
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u/thekyledavid IMPEACH ROBERT LIPTON 3d ago
Fair catch, but since he was throwing a party, it makes sense to assume he would tidy before company arrived, especially considering the Pam situation like you said
He has no reason to want to impress Darryl with his tidiness
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u/Diggitygiggitycea 3d ago
Another Jarryl (Dim?) denier. You saw the loving looks exchanged between them. You can never silence our slash fiction.
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u/artgarfunkadelic 3d ago
The horrors the apartment I had in my 20s saw...
The place was immaculate for parties though.
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u/SayWhatever12 đśSuite four-ohhhhhh-onnnnnnneđś 3d ago
Even if Pam wasnât invited, itâs not hard to believe heâd clean up his house before multiple people from work would arrive. People can live like slobs on the daily and clean up for company. Thatâs ⌠I thought pretty common. Who in their right mind throws a party with dishes under a tarp in their bed?
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u/Gator__Sandman 3d ago
Yeah but the kitchen was in bad need of a remodel so who knows
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u/kakawisNOTlaw 3d ago
He was renting with a roommate...
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u/knallpilzv2 3d ago
This episode always makes me think of how Pam was surprised Jim used fabric softener in that one episode. And how Jim reacted to that. As if the show wanted to tell us how non-slobby Jim was.
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u/pinto_bean13 Jim 3d ago
I think that was more because âguys donât use fabric softenerâ. Sheâd been with Roy for years, and just from purely guessing with what little info we had about their at home relationship, Iâd guess she did the laundry 90% of the time. The other 10%, Roy (cos âlazy manly manâ or whatever) probably didnât bother with fabric softener, so she was shocked that Jim would.
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u/knallpilzv2 3d ago
Exactly. I always thought that was supposed to make the point Jim isn't the average male American slob Roy probably is. Which he sort of is when roommates with Darryl.
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u/justForked 3d ago
Pam frequently says he is a slob⌠she said it when they were talking about moving in together but she said she needed to be engaged first and then she says it throughout the time they live together
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u/SarcasticGamer 3d ago
I feel like Jim being a slob would have been a major turn off for Pam who is super tidy at work. She got mad at people for leaving a microwave dirty but lives with a guy who just leaves dirty clothes and dishes everywhere.
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u/goldblendis 3d ago
I agree. I found a lot of Jim and Darrylâs interactions in the last season forced and out of character. That episode when Darryl gets really drunk and passes out is also weird.
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u/Clebard_du_Destin 3d ago
We always talk about what the later seasons did to Andy but same thing happened to Darryl IMO.
Went from a no nonsense foreman whom Michael finds intimidating to some shy house cat with who sucks up to DeAngelo
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u/SuzCoffeeBean 3d ago
Yeah it was like they didnât know how to write Darryl outside the warehouse
The interview scene in Philadelphia was tough to sit through
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u/Voeglein 3d ago
I felt it was set up with the manager application scenario, so I kind of expected a cringe fest at the interview
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u/buttplugs4life4me 2d ago
I actually felt it was pretty accurate in that he's a foreman and mostly been around that and now being a formal manager in a suit and tie is weird for him.Â
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u/JogJonsonTheMighty 2d ago
Although I find the way Darryl confronts him by shouting "YOU!!" and then dancing towards him really funny
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u/FermisParadoXV 3d ago
Jim is exactly the kind of laid back guy who makes a messy and inconsiderate roommate. Theyâre not uptight about you doing it so they donât think youâll care about them doing it.
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u/chanaandeler_bong 2d ago
I mean your job as the other roommate is to tell them that.
People arenât going to change their behavior if no one says anything to them.
So many people complain about how they have this huge string of terrible roommates but they never fucking do anything about it.
I had about ~15 roommates over the time I was in college and then post college. I had one pretty bad roommate in that time. Everyone else was awesome and Iâm still cool with all of them.
Communication is key.
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u/Real-Yogurtcloset-34 3d ago
They did imply Jim was a slob from way before. I remember Pam calling Jim a slob when she was asked if she would like to move in with him before they got engaged.
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u/timeforachange2day 3d ago
I was trying to remember if this was the same scene we might be thinking of or if I am remembering something different but when Pam set Michael up with her landlord Jim says sheâll now need a new place to live and Jim says sheâs âkinda a slob.â Was that in reference to her not being able to find someone to live with? Cause I know he says she can move in but I donât remember Pam saying Jim was a slob before they moved in together. But I also have a very sketch memory when it comes to the show even when Iâve watched it 40 some times!!!
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u/Public_Owl 3d ago
Jim says she's messy and has the tv up way too loud (plus another thing, can't remember)... she comes back with "my boyfriend's kinda a slob too"
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u/afganistanimation 3d ago
Agreed, Jim's apartment was very tidy, I can't picture him being a slob or so inconsiderate
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u/downinCarolina 3d ago
my house is tidy, but when i go on vacation i get all sorts of slobbery in a hotel room....within reason of course
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u/chidi-sins 3d ago
My interpretation of this is that Jim unconsciously felt that he was basically in a college dorm and without the responsibilities/worries that he has in his own home, while Darryl is naturally a more methodic and organized person.
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u/TravisTicklez 3d ago
Of course. The show was a parody of itself by then. Itâs fine to say that, it was still good fun and I rewatch 10 years later. But the Jim and Pam characters definitely suffered the most with the change in tone to more slapstick / sentimental hybrid, even before Steve Carell left.
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u/CoconutMacaron 3d ago
Part that bugged me is it made Jim look like he was loving bachelor life (being a slob, playing video games) while Pam was struggling with real life back at home.
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u/OpenSourcePenguin 3d ago
I think the point was that Jim reverted to bachelor mode and embraced that care free lifestyle from the past.
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u/fredyouareaturtle What did I tell you about YEPPERS 2d ago
yeah. darryl's behaviour was reasonably plausible, but i found it hard to believe Jim could be so inconsiderate and immature - and he responded like a jerk when darryl raised the issue with him. not what i would have expected from jim.
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u/3lbFlax 2d ago
I think the real problem is they had to create and show the problem in a very short time, so suddenly Jim makes a leap to being an outrageous slob - enough for Darylâs complaints to seem reasonable - rather than slipping into bad âbachelorâ behaviour over a few weeks. It seems clear that Pam with her microwave campaign wouldnât put up with any of that nonsense at home, though Iâm sure we could cherry-pick evidence to support just about any scenario.
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u/drguillen13 3d ago
Kirk surely had no say in this decision, as the episode was written by Owen Ellickson, but it's a funny coincidence nonetheless.
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u/IHateTheLetterF 3d ago
'You know Kirk, this whole subplot i wrote with Jim isn't really that important to the episode'
'No no Owen, i think it should be the main plotline actually. Lets cut everything else'
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u/MyHusbandIsGayImNot 3d ago
Turns out the A plot of the episode was suppose to be Creed and Meredith rekindling their affair but Kirk paid Creed $50 to mess up every scene so the producers had to switch it up.
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u/DarkAdventurous224 3d ago
Owen Ellickson is Lee Kirkâs pseudonym, I thought this was common knowledge
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u/ComebackShane 2d ago
It's like how Joss Whedon directed the episode where Dwight thought he was turning into a vampire; that was just the one he happened to get, wasn't planned that way.
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u/1Nothing4 3d ago
Plus he got to fondle Pam in the hospital right in front of Jim to show him who the real boss was.
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u/ASeaofStars235 3d ago
When you live with friends, you see a side of them you didn't really know was there. Small things start to annoy you even more than they probably should. If you work AND live with them, this is even more true.
I always saw this episode as a take on that idea. The things that Jim did were made to seem super annoying to get the point across. Jim has always been a reasonable guy, but showing Darryl getting annoyed with him let us see a side of Jim that I've always though was handled pretty well in the show: he isn't perfect. He's a good guy with flaws that gets main character treatment. From Darryl's perspective, though, he's just a friend and a coworker.
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u/bubba_nomad 2d ago
To me it just didn't make sense, because we already saw Jim's living space when he had the barbecue. It was neat clean and tidy. For me it just didn't make sense for him to be a great roommate in the beginning, to go to a slob.
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u/ASeaofStars235 2d ago
Idk, man. I lived with friends and coworkers for a few years in my early 20s. It started great, everyone was respectful, good room mates. As time went on, people got lazy, stopped cleaning up after themselves, etc. By the time I moved out, the entire first floor of the apartment was covered in everyone's crap - dishes, fast food garbage, etc. We fought about the mess regularly, and nobody gave enough of a crap to clean it up. I'd have to wait until everyone was at work to clean if I wanted it clean.
I honestly don't remember the time frame of them living together, so Idk, maybe it did feel like a sudden 180 and I just didn't pick up on it.
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u/ProblematicKefir 1d ago
This!!!! I work and live with my best friend of YEARS and it was a process when we first moved in together. Itâs almost identical to how Jim and Darryl moved in together too, I took her bedroom and sheâs now in the living room and our apartment is one wall away from being a studio basically. This episode used to annoy me until I literally lived it and now itâs one of my favorites because itâs so relatable. Weve been best friends for 14 years but you REALLY get to know someone when you live together and you see a whole new side of them lol
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u/pickledtofu 3d ago
Just recently finished a run thru of the office and this particular episode was so fuckin weird. It immediately felt like they were written out of character.
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u/Remote-Persimmon4583 Creed 3d ago
Jim and Darryl getting an apartment in philly was so confusing
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u/4Ever2Thee 3d ago
How so? That part made sense to me, but I didn't really buy them hating each other over it, for that one episode. I can buy Jim being a messy roommate in his Philly bachelor pad, but the scenes where they seem like they're about to come to blows seem forced and just not believable, for me at least.
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u/TheMoneyOfArt 3d ago
I also don't know that I see Daryl as being unable to handle a messy roommateÂ
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u/4Ever2Thee 2d ago
Exactly. They had pretty much just got to Philly, Jim brought Darryl along and theyâre running the start up of their dreams. Itâd be more believable if they were geeking out about work stuff and loving the roommate sitch. Theyâd be in the honeymoon phase, things couldnât sour this quick.
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u/ninefourteen 2d ago
I find the whole "Move in with your best friend, regret it." plot very relatable. So many of my friends I love, but am glad I don't share a roof and responsibilities with.
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u/No-Independence-6842 3d ago
Sorry man, but thatâs one of the worst episodes The Office ever did.
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u/AltruisticSpot5448 3d ago
This episode was terrible
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u/Separate-Cable5253 2d ago
idk if its the same episode but the business meeting with darryl at athlead was almost impossible to watch, and not in a good way
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u/nopalitzin 2d ago edited 2d ago
Also Pam was talking to herself and the cameras too much with no one to interact except hidetoshi. One of my least favorite episodes for many reasons, in my least favorite season.
Edit: also the bad guy from the warehouse was shown very little in past episodes, he should have been foreshadowing more his aggressiveness in other episodes, it felt that it just came out of thin air, felt like very rushed poor writing.
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u/IneedAName37 Dwight 2d ago
Jim had been living in "partner mode" for so long that he temporarily went "dorm room" brain
It can happen to anyone
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u/Impossible-Inside-42 2d ago
Didnât Jennaâs husband also play the lactation consultant when Cici was born? I heard that was him .
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u/Mediocre-Garden4952 3d ago
Wait he directed an episode, but didnât touch Pamâs boob even once?
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u/DorianTurk 3d ago
This is most likely due to a small sample size of bad pics, but when I googled Lee Kirk he kinda resembles a younger, more attractive TobyâŚ
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u/argh_damn_im_pissed 2d ago
Directed by, not written by Lee.
It was written by Greg and Owen.
They talked about this on the office ladies podcast and actually had lee on as a special guest talking about the experience of directing.
And for anyone who hasn't listened to it.....go listen to the office ladies podcast immediately.
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u/DonaldDucksSecret 3d ago
The thing that bothered me the most was when Jim poured coffee into the garbage. Like what? Karen Filipeli pours shots into a garbage as well. Is it an american thing? Liquid into a plastic bagged garbage pin?
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u/plwrth333 3d ago
This episode really tripped me out. Just seems like they changed Jimâs character for a bit. Idk
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u/ProperMod 3d ago
Its all because Jom got defensive when Pamâs husband in real life was the lactation consultant in an episode..
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u/dumblyClose91 3d ago
It's worth noting that Jim once called Pam a slob, so imagine how messy their house is.