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It’s not a spin-off.  Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari will be starring in an Office-like show, one with the same tone, style, and vision of the original but one that has no connection to the original.  In other words, they take place in two separate television universes, so don’t expect Steve Carrell or Jim and Pam (can’ think of their real life names) to show up in this new version of the show.  Just seems like NBC doesn’t really know what to do with this show, which sounds like they think a show that isn’t a direct spin-off of the original won’t succeed.  [Nikki Finke]

Leave it to those Scrantonians to have yet another tie in with the fictional office crew from The Office, when the host “The Office Games” at the Steamtown Mall on July 19th.

The competition won’t feature anything as awesome as the various ways to prevent boredom (a shame!), but it will feature a 2k run in office attire (great oogly moogly that would be hell running 1.5 miles in a suit on a July afternoon) and then conclude with a beet-eating contest.

The affair to remember is going to be hosted by Mindy Kaling, who plays krazy Kelly on the show.

And yes, this all has to do with some product tie-in.  The events were organized to mark the launch of Pressman Toy’s official NBC licensed games based on “The Office” — “The Office DVD Board Game” and “The Office Trivia Game,” representatives for Pressman Toy said Monday.

It’s funny cause you don’t know what they’re saying and it’s sort of racist. What? No Hello Kitty? Still, Kristen Wiig needs to get her own sitcom cause she’s an SNL MVP. Also, it’s worth watching for the hilarious introduction by Ricky Gervais, which only confirms that the original is still the better of the two.

She plays wall flower Pam on NBC’s The Office. More often than not we think, yeah, Fischer’s fairly attractive. But then we can’t help but think we only feel that way because she’s on television and that we could think of 2o every day women much more attractive than she is.

Either way this is what we’ve been thinking about all weekend. What kick started the debate was this photo sent to us by “The Head Researcher” and also the developing controversy of Jenna Fischer’s appearance on the April cover of Wired. And by controversy we mean some geeks are upset that the magazine dared to put a naked woman on their cover. I guess when you sex things up it leads to people getting into a tizzy.

The April cover of WIRED features a package of stories about radical transparency, our notion that the next model of business success is laying your company bare to the world—sharing secrets with your rivals, blogging about ideas as you have them, and copping to fumbles and foibles as you make them. The concept was crisp, but we all struggled with how to portray a pretty complex idea in the three-second visual byte that is the modern magazine cover. If you’re talking about transparency, the obvious metaphor is clear: you’re naked.

So of course, WIRED being WIRED, we wanted a cover that was smart and showy. And as Creative Director I wanted something that hadn’t been done before. We settled on the idea of printing on clear acetate. But it had to be interactive. Now you’re in a business suit—now you’re not.

Then we wrestled with the question of how to best show the real goings on inside the modern American office. How about using “The Office” as a model? And who would we like to see practicing what we’re preaching? Dwight? Ehhh…notsomuch. Of course, Pam. So we called NBC and pitched our idea and Jenna Fischer (thankfully!) liked the idea.

Hmmm… not very interesting. Anyway, we’re beginning to think Ms. Fischer (she’s married to director James Gunn), may be setting the standard for the contemporary Hollywood two-face. Pretty one minute, plain Jane the next. And in a way, that may be her sexiest quality. That and her comedy chops/intellect.

So we’ll get to Mr. Wilson in a moment. But while we think of it, did anyone catch “24″ last night? Me thinks Jack’s gone soft. For a moment I thought he was gonna torture the retarded brother and then when he was all nice and caring towards him, there was part of me that was upset, disappointed, and felt a little betrayed that Jack did not torture him. Consider this the moment that Jack Bauer has officially gone soft and the great show jumping the shark or whatever the young kids call it these days.

So the reason for this post. Seems that Rainn Wilson, AKA Dwight Shrute, from NBC’s hit comedy “The Office” has been getting all kinds of offers to appear in movies now that he is, arguably mind you, the best aspect of the workplace sitcom. We’ll forgive him for cashing a paycheck on “The Last Mimzy” but his other projects he has lined up sound pretty darn awesome.

From an interview with the AP, he has a bunch of stuff lined up. Including a surreal comedy from Bob Odenkirk in the vain of Ace Ventura? Done. We’re there. Or how about Bonzai Shadowhands, a comedy about an alcoholic ninja trying to regain his ninjaness? Done and done. Consider our ticket already bought.

“Kanan Rhodes” … is a really funny, kind of over-the-top comedy from Bob Odenkirk. It’s like a surreal “Ace Ventura.” It’s about a man who serves subpoenas and takes himself way too seriously. “Bonzai Shadowhands” I’m writing. It’s about a down-and-out alcoholic ninja, a once-great ninja trying to put his life back together. I’m doing that with Jason Reitman who directed “Thank You for Smoking.” And I have a couple other projects I’m working on and things I’m developing. You strike when the iron’s hot and I spent long years slogging by, doing New York theater and spending months and months out of the year unemployed, doing odd jobs to get by. Now I’m going to just take a couple years and work hard and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Long live Dwight! Even if we first loved you as Arthur the creepy mortician in Six Feet Under. We know he can fight werewolves and possibly vampires. Why not ninjas?