Monday, February 26, 2007

Pretendinitis

Episode
The Coup (Season 3, Episode 3)

Pranker
Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly

Target
Dwight Schrute

Description
Jim isn’t used to the Stamford office yet. No chaos ensues from the manager and they play Call of Duty in order to come together as an office. Jim remarks about not playing any real games in Scranton. Save for when Pam and he would hum the same high-pitch note to get Dwight to make an appointment with an ear doctor. Pam called it Pretendinitis.

Reaction
Unknown. Dwight almost assuredly went to the doctor and hilarity was sure to follow. I could imagine, though never verified, that Jim and Pam would do this on every third Tuesday and see if Dwight noticed a connection.

Originality
8 – Nothing like playing towards a fear of bodily problems. Dwight pictures his own body as a temple to be worshiped. He considers his fists to be lethal weapons and his feet require a license to carry in the state. If one of his most important senses, the ability to hear all sounds of people sneaking up behind him, it would obviously have a reaction. The high pitch humming in the same tone at the same time from two different angles definitely gets the effect.

Length Taken
6 – I’m giving the benefit of the doubt and saying that this wasn’t an isolated incident. Pam and Jim are much to exacting in their ways to do something this inherently evil just once. This goes up to a nine if this has happened a half-dozen times or more.

Special Award
Creativity Award – Jim thinks up the pranks, Pam thinks up the names. Pretendinitis is something else to behold. They should go into some kind of business venture to combine their evil skills for good.


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