I don't usually offer advice to television characters for a variety of reasons, number one being they (or the people who create them) don't listen to me, and number two being I don't want to be taken away by the authorities. However, I'm risking the latter and flying in the face of the former to serve up some counsel to Jim Halpert. Attention Jim: you are on the verge of being fired!

All the signs are there on The Office. Jim has thrived in Dunder Mifflin under Michael Scott's leadership (such as it was), by doing just enough to satisfy corporate. He had a comfy niche in the Scranton branch. Well, the happy times are over. The new boss, Charles Miner, does not like Jim.

(S04E08) Yeah, I know the title of the episode isn't really "Episode 408," but the real titles never pop up until a few days after the show airs, at least not on the sites I check. If any of you lovely readers knows where I can find the actual episode titles, let me know in the comments. I'll give you mad props.

As a fan of Reno 911 since the very beginning, it's difficult for me to say this: the show isn't as good as it used to be. Of course, when a show is improvised like Reno, there are always moments of genius, but there are just two many instances of the same jokes, or gags you see coming a mile away. The opening scene with the bomb inside the bus would have been funnier had it not been obvious from the beginning that the bus was going to explode.

(S03E07) I'm sure that many of us have either been laid-off from their jobs or know someone that has, so this episode surely hit home with quite a number of people.

As what took place with the British version of The Office, Jan tells Michael that corporate has decided to close the Scranton office and will transfer a few staffers to the Stamford branch. Someone once said to me that you never truly find out what a person is made of until you seem him/her deal with a crisis. Watching Michael go to extremes to save his employees (and himself) showed that despite his overbearing, obnoxious, pompous personality, he does have a soul, and you ended up rooting for him to save the day. Of course, it was all moot when we learned earlier that after Josh decided to move on to Staples, the Stamford branch would be closed and merged into Scranton.

Robert Smigel started airing his animated "TV Funhouse" segements on Saturday Night Live back in 1996. In 1998, he created a short called "Conspiracy Theory Rock" which poked fun at corporate ownership of television networks, and was especially scathing when it came to NBC and its parent company, General Electric. The segment aired only once and was never seen again. According to NBC, however, it wasn't pulled due to content, but to allow for a second Backstreet Boys performance when the episode was re-aired. Well, it is hard to say no to the Backstreet Boys, that's for sure. Anyway, you can check out the short here. Or alternatively, watch this Backstreet Boys video. Like NBC, I know it's often difficult to choose between the two.

Update: I left the link, but as of right now it appears to be broken. Sorry, guys.

[via Cartoon Brew]