Generally speaking, what happens in the workplace usually is not meant for media consumption. Unless it's a Karen Silkwood situation, employees know that you don't blab about your fellow workers. Except in show business! Apparently, the very idea of working on a set or in the production offices where glamorous stars are toiling is a reason to yap about what you see.

This is especially true when those glittery vessels of acting have questionable personal lives that have already been selling ad space in newspapers, magazines and web sites. This is all a preface to the report filed by TMZ.com that the 'Two and a Half Men' team have been told to keep quiet about Charlie Sheen.

Ah, the office holiday party - it's a delicate operation. After all, you know these people - in fact you probably spend one-third of your life with them - but do you really know them? Do you want to? If my experience is anything to go by, it's only sheer effort that's kept your opinions of how the boss really ought to run the company quiet. Ditto your feelings on your cube neighbour's BO, ugly baby or sloppy work.

And yet, every December the powers that be decide to round up this unruly group in a hall or hotel conference room, serve them drinks and expect them to get along without embarrassing themselves.

If it wasn't for television, it would be impossible.

(S05E01) Is there a word that describes the feeling of "missing fictional characters?" If not, there ought to be one. Flurj, maybe, to take a word from last week's wonderful SNL cold open. As in, "I don't know about you guys, but I flurjed the hell out of Jim and Pam and Michael and Dwight all summer long."

What about you guys? Did you flurj your friends at The Office? Well, everything is a-okay now. Your fictional friends from Dunder-Mifflin are back, and your good buddy Jay (quite possibly fictional, we're working it out in therapy) is back reviewing every episode mere seconds after it's aired! So, sit back, relax, and sharpen your commenting fingers! On to the review!

I've heard and read it a million times in interviews. Johnny X of the show YZ says he just doesn't have time to watch much TV. Maybe the news here or there. And I'm sorry, but I was always pretty suspicious of that. Even moreso when they say they've never watched much TV. Then why did they want to get into TV in the first place? Frazier Moore of the AP talked about the phenomenon of TV actors shunning TV and speculated it may have to do with the old stigma that TV acting is somehow akin to writing pulp romance novels. After all, "real" writers moonlight in that arena, albeit with pen names.

I wonder, though, if it isn't more that they're trying to put on an appearance of someone who is above the "pedestrian" fare of television, elevating themselves to the so-called loftier perches of the stage and big screen actors. After all, don't many television actors aspire to move onto the more prestigious film world. Is television still something to be ashamed of?

If you thought The Singing Bee was bad, wait till you get a load of this. TLC is premiering it's new show The Singing Office at the end of June. The show will be hosted by ex-*NSYNCer Joey Fatone and ex-Spice Girl Mel B. Each week, Joey and Mel B. will surprise a different office and hold an impromptu audition. From each location, they will recruit a team of five for the next round of competiton. Once formed, the teams will go to "boot camp" as the hosts coach the teams on both their performance quality and their singing. Finally, the teams will compete on stage for a shot at $50,000.

Fans sound off about shows, stars and the strike.

We asked you to tell us how last season panned out, and you did -- to the tune of 1.4 million votes.

You surprised us: 'Two and a Half Men' over 'Ugly Betty'? As Michael Scott would say (his show, 'The Office,' lost too), "That's what she said."

But find out what our readers chose as Best Drama, Sexiest Cast, Best Villain ... and too many other cool categories to name.

Love is in the air, which makes it the perfect time to take a walk down (lovers') memory lane with 20 of TV's all-time best couples.

From the will-they-or-won't-they duos of 'Cheers' and 'Moonlighting' to current faves Jim and Pam and Mer and McDreamy, these tube twosomes all have one thing in common: We love to love them, baby.


-- By Kimberly Potts

(S04E07) I think I've struck upon the perfect analogy to describe my feelings about tonight's Office. In keeping with the pastry theme of the episode: tonight's show was like a perfectly baked black and white cookie. I'm not talking the cheap kind that you buy shrink-wrapped at a rest-stop, I'm talking the high-end black and white you'd get from a top-quality New York baker. The kind of black and white that Seinfeld might buy.

The only problem is that I'm allergic to vanilla. So while I can see how some people might enjoy the whole cookie, for me to enjoy it, I have to concentrate only on the half I'm capable of digesting...

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In my review of The Office last week, I called Ryan one of the best villains on TV today. I thought it was obvious that the producers were taking Ryan in this direction and that my comment was a compliment to the fine acting and writing on the show. I was met with a bit of resistance, however. Some of our readers felt that Ryan's ideas made a lot of sense and that, if anything, Michael's overall incompetence is the real villain on the show.

I thought a post was in order to further explain why I thought Ryan was a villain. And what's the best way to explain a point? Well, considering the direction that the internet is moving, the answer is, of course, a numbered list! The nine reasons why Ryan is a villain after the jump.

All the scoop you need to know about the gang at Dunder Mifflin.

Think the George Foreman grill is the century's best invention? Michael Scott will convince you otherwise. Is it even remotely possible that Creed invented break dancing? And have you met Bob Vance, of Vance Refrigeration?

There's never a dull moment with cast of characters on NBC's 'The Office.' But whether you're a diehard "Jam" fan or can't even mentione the word "beets" without getting sick, everyone needs a little refresher course now and then.

Keep clicking to relive some of our favorite moments from the show.

But not a real bomb, of course.

It seems that the folks behind the show 24 were so honored by the 24 spoof South Park did recently that they sent a faux suitcase nuke to the South Park offices. You can see pictures here. I haven't seen a lot of suitcase nukes in my day, but I'd say that's a pretty good fake snuke.

If you missed the episode, titled "The Snuke," it satirized the intensity, drama and technology at the center of 24 perfectly with Cartman taking on the "Jack Bauer" role and trying to gather information on a new Muslim student he suspects of being a terrorist. As the plot unfolds, we realize it goes much deeper than that. Also, the Queen of England blows her brains out.

This isn't the first time the South Park gang has gotten praise from other shows. They also received a gift from The Simpsons team after they skewered Family Guy in a two-part episode.

[Thanks to Douglin]

Huh?

Not sure I get what SalesGenie does, but then again I haven't been involved in sales and marketing for quite some time. You go to their site and you can get sales leads? What type of sales leads? Any industry, any business? How do you qualify those leads? Are they up to date?

Then again, if I'm asking the question and I'm not even into sales anymore, I'm sure a lot of business types will be going over to their web site and checking out exactly what this is all about. Is the ad effective? If you want salespeople to go to your site, I guess it is.

According to Gail Shister of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the 60 Minutes office office of Ed Bradley has not been touched since the veteran reporter died of complications from leukemia in November. Staffers, including his fellow correspondents, have been going into the office to find comfort and reflect on Bradley's unexpected death. ""It feels like he's still here. In some ways, it almost feels like he's off shooting a story," Steve Kroft tells Shister.

The article also speculates on who eventually might take Bradley's spot on the full-time correspondents' roster starting next season. Believe it or not, the last full-timer to come aboard the mothership (not the 60 II edition that ended a couple of years ago) was Leslie Stahl... in 1991.

[via Mediabistro]

(S05E07) Dr. Kroger, Monk's shrink, typically plays a small role on the series. That isn't to say he's not important to Monk. Actually, he's very important to Monk, and Monk considers Kroeger's office his home away from home, the place where, as he tells Natalie, "it all doesn't happen."

When a cleaning lady in Dr. Kroeger's office is stabbed to death, Kroeger fears it may have been one of his patients. This becomes too much for him to bear so he decides to retire. Of course, Monk doesn't take this very well at all, and goes through all the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The difference is that Monk goes through them all in just a matter of seconds, and then repeats them over again as if stuck in a loop.

Kroeger suspects a patient named Joseph Wheeler, who once threatened him, may have been the killer. Wheeler works at Animal Crafters, a Build-A-Bear Workshop-type place, but his alibi checks out so they have to rule him out as the killer. Monk and Wheeler have a moment of solidarity when they realize they both lost someone very important when Kroeger quit his practice. They each stand clutching teddy bears and mourning the loss of their shrink.

First, what exactly is an ensemble cast? It's not just a matter of numbers, it's how the characters interact on the show. But if we are talking about numbers, let me explain that I'm not talking about 3 or 4 people. It has to be larger than that. Which is why you won't find Seinfeld or The Dick Van Dyke Show on this list. (But if I ever make a Five Great Foursomes, they'd be right up there.)

1. Newsradio: It's amazing how quickly these actors got into their roles. After only a few episodes, this large ensemble (8 regular characters: Dave, Lisa, Bill, Matthew, Catherine, Joe, Beth, and Jimmy) were like a comedy machine, and each character not only has easily noticable quirks and likes and dislikes and character traits, but even (dare I say it ) some depth. Some casts can't get that chemistry after 3 seasons let alone 3 episodes. Perfect in every way.