The Office: Season Five

Season Five is not just another day at The Office, delivering break-ups, corporate shake-ups, and a game-changing finale that, as with Jim (John Krasinski), should leave you ecstatic and speechless. The writers continue their masterful handling of the Jim and Pam (Jenna Fischer) romance, taking care of some unfinished business from last season's finale in the season opener with a glorious rain-swept gas station proposal. Their initial separation--while she attends art school in New York--avoids the usual sitcom mechanics ("We are not that couple," Jim states as he aborts a panicked trip to see her). The course of true love is no smoother for The Office's other soul mates, Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) and "major dork" Holly Flax (an Emmy-worthy Amy Ryan), the new HR rep. Meanwhile, Angela (Angela Kinsey) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) are having office trysts under the nose of her fiancé, Andy (Hangover star Ed Helms, having a breakout season in a career year). On the corporate front, Michael shockingly quits after butting heads with no-nonsense new boss Charles Miner (Idris Elba). In a brilliant stroke, Jim immediately gets on Charles's bad side, much to Dwight's delight. The formation of The Michael Scott Paper Company is a highlight of the season, as Michael and his dream team, Pam and Ryan (B.J. Novak), improbably put a major dent in Dunder Mifflin's sales (but at what cost?). For everyone who wonders how the blundering and tactless Michael keeps his job, it is instructive to get a glimpse of his sales acumen in the episodes "Heavy Competition," in which Michael poaches one of Dwight's clients, and "Broke," in which he negotiates a buyout of his struggling company. The Office's own dream team got dreamier with the addition of Ellie Kemper as "Erin," the adorable and naïve new receptionist. The Office still makes for cringe-worthy discomfort television (see a reunited Michael and Holly's excruciating skit at the "Company Picnic" in the season finale), but some of the best episodes are the ones in which the Scranton branch bonds in the face of adversity. A season benchmark is the episode in which the former Michael Scott Paper Company office space is transformed into "Café Disco" and all squabbles and resentments are forgotten on the dance floor. This season is representative of why The Office is one of television's most DVR'd series. Each episode offers priceless bits of background comic business and charming character grace notes that lend themselves to repeated viewing. Among them: Andy's drunken late night phone call to Angela in "Company Trip"; Pam demonstrating her volleyball prowess in "Company Picnic"; Kelly (Mindy Kaling) setting up one of the series' very best "that's what she saids" in "Customer Survey"; and Andy and Kelly's "dance off" in "Café Disco." As Dwight notes in "Heavy Competition," "There's a lot going on" in The Office, and in that chaos, this series soars. --Donald Liebenson

Also on the discs
This five-disc set works overtime with about eight episodes' worth of deleted scenes. Highlights include Pam bonding with her younger fellow students in New York, Kevin's revelation that he loves the smell of bacon on a woman, and Michael Scott on the loose with a defibrillator. The 10 audio commentaries are low-key, but informative, and some offer unique behind-the-scenes perspectives (one features craft services and catering personnel who reveal what the cast eats for breakfast). Along with the standard-issue gag reel, there are for completists two webisodes featuring the series' B+ team and synergetic promos for the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Andy Richter moderates an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Q&A featuring the cast, key creative personnel, and crew members. A "100 Episodes, 100 Moments" countdown is open to debate (not one "that's what she said!"). --Donald Liebenson

Price: $59.98

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3 Ways to Avoid Overdoing it This Holiday Season

Can a single meal trigger a heart attack?

According to researchers, a huge meal similar to what many eat at Thanksgiving or Christmas, can actually set the stage for a heart attack, in those at risk for heart disease.

The study of 1,986 heart attack patients in 2000, suggested that an unusually large meal quadrupled the chance of having a heart attack within the next two hours.

Dr. Lopez-Jimenez said this,

Overeating should be considered as a heart attack trigger, much in the same way as extreme physical activities and severe anger episodes may cause an MI... People at risk for a heart attack should be careful not only about the total caloric intake they eat every day, but the size of individual meals as well.

So, if you tend to eat way to much at this time of year, here are 3 ways avoid overdoing it this holiday season:

1. Downsize Your Serveware
Most people will eat everything that is pilled onto their plates, regardless of whether it's more than they need to feel satisfied. So, eating from a salad plate is a good way to control this.

Studies have also shown that people eat as much as 56 percent more when they serve themselves from a one-gallon bowl, rather than a half-gallon one. So, if you plan to serve your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner from large bowls in the centre of the table, try using smaller serving dishes, as a way to encourage everyone to eat a little less.

This idea works with glassware, too. Large gobblet-shaped glasses can hold up to one third of a bottle of wine. However, people fail to realize just how much alcohol they are consuming from these supersized glasses.

If you drink alcohol, limit your intake to just one small glass of wine. As for juices and soft drinks, they are simply empty calories -- you would be better sticking with water, and saving up the calories for something tastier later on.

2. Portion Control
As an extra way to check that your food portions aren't too big, here are some guidelines: fill half your dinner plate with non-starchy vegetables, then one quarter with starchy carbs, and one quarter with lean meat, or alternatives.

3. Indulge -- but just a little!
Personally, I enjoy dessert way too much to avoid it. If you are the same, pass on the drinks pre-dinner, the bread roll and butter with your entree, and also that extra scoop of potatoes at dinner. Then you can easily enjoy a small piece of cheesecake, guilt-free and without too much sacrifice.

If all else fails, and you end up eating enough to feed a tiny country, get back on the healthy eating handwagon right away, and then get some exercise. There's no point slacking off just because it's the holidays. When you do that, you set yourself up for a long slippery road back to where you were pre-vacation. It's not worth it!

So, what are your tips for surviving the holiday season without gaining those dreaded extra pounds?

Image source: falconreid

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