It’s hard to remember it now, but seasons two through four of “The Office” can rival the current and the last of seasons “Parks and Recreation” in sheer gloriousness. So much has happened since the marriage of Jim and Pam that it’s easy to lose sight of just how amazing the show once was, how it excellently combined the comedy of discomfort with the effervescent sweetness, and how Jim and Pam were once a sublime combination of Ben/Leslie and Andy/April.

Based on Ricky Gervais’ brilliant UK series, many argued during the heyday of the US version that it was actually better than the original: It was a sweeter, less misanthropic version of Gervais’ series, and if anything, it was more palatable. As originally formulated, the series revolved around the branch manager, Michael Scott and his uncanny ability to stick his foot in his mouth, the will they/won’t they relationship of Jim and Pam, and a menagerie of eclectic and amusing oddballs that made up the rest of the Dunder Mifflin staff.

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Imagine them eating in slow-motion, and you've got about three selections from this list.

Did people in the 1960s, when TV was a relatively new source of entertainment, predict that at the end of the “Mr. McBeevee” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” the previously-unseen-by-everyone-but-Opie titular character was going to appear? Like we would now. You see, Mr. B is a “Not So Imaginary Friend,” and because of Opie stating that he has 12 hands…The point I’m trying to make is: recognizing tropes have made us more cynical about TV, and that’s why I love them.

One of the reasons why shows like “Community” and “South Park” are so good is because they rarely go the easy route and do something that’s been seen a million times before. Their success comes from the way they subvert tropes, unlike, say, “Two and a Half Men” or “Family Guy,” both of which have been doing the same exact stories with the same exact jokes that “The Honeymooners” did in 1955. Just not as well.

On the following pages are 10 of my least-favorite TV tropes. If ever you’ve groaned at a character screaming in horror when they realize who their bedmate is, or turned the channel when someone thought they were high or drunk when they were actually just given a placebo, this list is for you. (Note: this is not the 10 WORST – it’s 10 that really bug me, even if some of my favorite shows use them. Please list your least favorites.)

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The above photo of Ben staring at Leslie’s non-wrinkled, non-hideous face: not a GIF. What follows after the jump: GIFs. Though they’ve been around since 1987, when CompuServe blah blah blah, GIFs have only really exploded in popularity over the last few years, thanks mostly to websites like Tumblr. They’re like pictures, but NOT. They’re like videos, but NOT. They’re hypnotic and funny, and can even sum up a whole half-season’s worth of story lines in two movable images (see: “Walking Dead” ones included.)

So, every Monday from now until THE FUTURE, we’ll be posting our favorite TV GIFs o’ the Week (the “o’” implies coolness!), from shows airing between the previous Sunday to Saturday. (In other words, for this week, it’d be any show ranging from “The Walking Dead” midseason finale to the Steve Buscemi “SNL” episode.) And we need your help! The three of us watch a ton of TV, but there are certain shows that slip through our proverbial cracks – so, if you find any O’ the Week-worthy GIFs for shows that aren’t, say, on Thursday nights, please send them to Joshua.Kurp@gmail.com. I’ll reply back with a “Simpsons” reference or picture of my guinea pigs (not a euphemism – they’re named Butters and Gob) or even a jovial “thank you!”

The initial entry follows, and even though Dustin already covered “Community” and many shows aired repeats, we’ve got Regis and Butt-head, di*k twirling, and Ruxin dancing. Yes.

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Community (NBC) – For weeks, IMDb had the title of tonight’s episode as “Indoor Sports with Christian Bale.” But it was recently changed to “Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism.” Not nearly as titillating, so in the interest of increasing ratings, let’s pretend it’s called, “Outdoor Nudity with Brie and Bale.”

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (ABC) – Oh, how I hate that Mayor Burgermeister Meisterburger.

Parks and Recreation (NBC) – As much as I love Adam Scott and Amy Poehler, I’m growing a little weary of their will they/won’t they story. Here’s hoping tonight’s episode, about “things [coming] to a head for Leslie, Ben, and Chris,” finally resolves things, and that Andy and Ron do something wacky together. (Also, please enjoy this mash-up of the “Community” cast with the “Parks & Rec” credits.)

The Office (NBC) – Maura Tierney, who guest stars on “The Office” as Robert California’s (James Spader) wife, was one of my first TV crushes. Then again, considering my TV watching habits as a 12-year-old in 1999, it was either her, Caroline Rhea, or the mom from “Malcolm in the Middle.” I made the right choice.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX) – The Gang tries to see the greatest action movie of the summer, Thunder Gun Express, before it leaves theaters. I would trade every single movie that came out between June and August this year for a movie called Thunder Gun Express.

LATE-NIGHT GUESTS: Melissa McCarthy, Rick Perry, and T-Pain reminisce about “Gilmore Girls” on Leno; Ken Tucker fawns over “Pushing Daisies” with Kristin Chenoweth on Ferguson; Terry Bradshaw tries to talk about segregation with the Civil Wars while Maggie Q awkwardly laughs along on Kimmel; and Darrell Hammond tells the Dum Dum Girls and soon-to-be “SNL” host Steve Buscemi about that time he did rock at 30 Rock on Fallon.

Note: There have been a lot of hello’s and goodbye’s (now I get that Beatles song – John’s the walrus!) over the last few days, so I’ll make this brief: I look forward to writing more for Warming Glow, and I hope you guys and gals remain hyper invested in the content and quality of the website. (In other words, call us out on our sh*t.) It’s our shared interests in talking about good shows, making fun of bad ones, and looking at pictures and videos of cute puppies and people that drive WG, and we’ll do our best to continue Matt’s Internet-owning legacy. And I’ll make sure not a day goes by without at least one gratuitous “Simpsons” quote: “Ah, Oliver North, he was just poured into that uniform.”

See you tomorrow.

Leslie David Baker is better known as Stanley from “The Office,” a no-nonsense character who for years served as an unsmiling counterbalance to Michael Scott’s juvenile antics. Now Baker has recorded a heavily-autotuned party anthem called “2 Be Simple,” and I cannot for the life of me figure out of it’s ironic or serious. In the music video below, Baker wanders around his mansion in pajamas and a robe, enjoys a harem of sexy white girls, lords over a wild pool party, and shuns the advances of a peeping tom neighbor. It all feels vaguely like an ’80s sex comedy, and I can’t figure out why it exists, except for the likelihood that Baker woke up one day and said, “I’m Stanley from ‘The Office,’ and I wanna make a music video with some sexy white girls.” Well done, sir. Opportunity not missed.

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