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Lecture Circuit

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"Lecture Circuit"

"Lecture Circuit" is a two-part episode of the television series The Office. The episodes aired in the United States on February 5 and February 12, 2009 on NBC.

Synopsis

Part One

Michael (Steve Carell) is asked to go around to the different branches to lecture about Scranton's success, except Nashua, as Michael says it's still a "little bit raw" there. He brings Pam (Jenna Fischer) along as his assistant, mostly just to carry around his belongings. She's on the trip because she gets time-and-a-half pay.

Their first stop is the Utica branch, where Karen (Rashida Jones) is the regional manager. Pam is nervous to see Karen as she believes Karen is still mad at her over Jim (John Krasinski). When Karen comes to greet them, the two are shocked to see that she is pregnant. Michael immediately asks if it is Jim's, which Karen denies. Michael's lecture to the Utica branch is a failure (in part because of Michael's unintentionally insulting effort to memorize names) and Karen brings Michael and Pam into her office. While Michael fools around, Karen reveals to Pam she is due in one month and is married to a dermatologist named Dan. Pam mentions that she and Jim are engaged, about which Karen hesitantly but happily congratulates her. On the way to the car, Pam mentions to Michael that she is happy she came on the trip because she found closure with Karen. Later, in the car, Michael tells Pam about Holly and how he never really found closure with her. Pam suggests that they drive to Nashua so that he can find closure, and Michael agrees, blowing off the lecture in Rochester.

Back in Scranton, Jim and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) become the reluctant heads of the Party Planning Committee after Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) blackmailed Angela (Angela Kinsey). Michael determined that Angela and Phyllis became too power hungry when they were the sole heads at their respective times, and it would be best for both of them to step down and appoint two new heads. They openly show their disdain for it, which is reflected in their performance of their duties when Kelly (Mindy Kaling) chastises them for forgetting her birthday. They try to make it up to her by having a party, but do a poor job setting it up as Dwight puts little effort into blowing up the balloons and neither of them know how old Kelly is. Dwight reads through Kelly's file report and finds out that she has been to juvenile hall. He is, however, disappointed when he reads that it has not affected her job performance.

Meanwhile, Andy (Ed Helms) finds himself attracted to Julia, a female potential client, who is talking with Stanley (Leslie David Baker). Andy awkwardly interrupts their business meeting and Stanley pulls him aside. Andy admits his attraction to her to Stanley, who then gives the potential client over to Andy in exchange for two of his clients. Andy awkwardly gets Julia to reveal that she is single and tries to muster up the courage to ask her out. Creed (Creed Bratton) suggests that he goes in for the kiss, before mistakenly calling him Jim. Andy walks the client to her car and attempts to kiss her, but she immediately rebukes his advances. Andy apologizes and mentions that he just got out of a relationship. The client mentions that she got out of a relationship as well and Andy starts feeling a connection, but she still rejects him and he loses the account.

Part Two

Michael and Pam head to the Nashua branch to give a presentation, as well as have Michael find closure with Holly. When they arrive at the branch, they find that Holly is away on an HR retreat. They also learn that she is dating one of the salesmen there named A.J. (Rob Huebel), which deeply upsets Michael. Michael finds himself unable to give the presentation after hearing that news. Pam empathizes with Michael saying she felt the same way when Jim was dating Karen, but she kept her composure. She encourages Michael to do the best presentation possible so that people will tell Holly about it. They then go do their presentation, which starts off well, until Michael calls out A.J. about his relationship with Holly. Michael then leaves the room deeply upset, leaving Pam to do the rest of the presentation using Michael's techniques, which fails. Michael goes to Holly's desk and cuts off a sleeve of her sweater and puts it in his pocket. He looks on her computer and finds a file entitled "Dear Michael" and copies it to his flash drive. Later, at a diner, Michael tells Pam what he did and Pam says it was not a good idea to copy the file and that he should not read it, given that he would be violating her trust. Pam, however, volunteers to read it, and deletes it afterward. She says that the letter said that Holly still has feelings for Michael and that it's not over. Michael becomes happy and feels like he found closure.

Back in Scranton, Jim picks up a blank cake for Kelly, and later decorates it with her name spelled incorrectly. Dwight tries to find out why Kelly was in juvenile hall. Kelly explains that it was because her boyfriend at the time dumped her and she responded by stealing his father's boat. Kelly gets mad at Jim and Dwight for not having a theme. Jim and Dwight then wonder what Kelly's favorite things are so they can make a theme out of it. When the party starts, Jim and Dwight give Kelly the option of either watching TV or taking a nap for an hour. Kelly says she loves the theme and decides to take a nap in the conference room for an hour. Jim and Dwight enjoy the ice cream cake at the reception couch, which Dwight compliments him on for getting. After the hour is up Dwight wakes Kelly up by banging two trash can lids together, then slaps her on the buttocks as she leaves the conference room and says, "many happy returns."

Kevin, Oscar, Creed, Angela, and Meredith looking at Angela's new cat through her nanny cam.

Angela comes in happier than usual because she bought a new cat with the money she received from selling her engagement ring. Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) and Oscar (Oscar Nuñez) are annoyed with the fact that Angela set a nanny cam up at her home so she can monitor them from work. Angela gets annoyed when one of her cats tries to have sex with her new cat, while Kevin, Oscar, Meredith, and Creed find it funny. She goes home to check on them, and Kevin and Oscar become disgusted with the image of Angela licking her cat on the monitor. Angela comes back to work and coughs up a cat hairball, which is an image that Oscar claims will disturb him for the rest of his life.

Production

Dan Goor, a writer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and future writer for Parks and Recreation, a show created by Office producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, made a cameo as Karen's husband in the photographs featured in the part one episode.[1]

Cultural references

Michael handing out candy bars during his lectures is a reference to the third season episode, "Business School", where Michael passed out chocolate bars during his speech to a business school classroom.[2] Michael expresses regret for insulting Tony Gardner, the heavyset man who briefly transferred from the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin to the Scranton branch, who Michael drives to quit by trying to lift onto a table for an orientation demonstration in the third season episode, "The Merger".[3] Among the Dunder Mifflin branches Michael visits is Nashua, New Hampshire, where Holly works,[4] and Utica, New York, where Karen works. Michael said he can only prepare for his lectures by listening to "silence or Sam Kinison", an American stand-up comedian known for his extreme and vulgar sense of humor.[2] Michael said he learned the Pledge of Allegiance, the lyrical oath of loyalty to the United States flag, by setting the lyrics to the rhythm of "Old McDonald Had a Farm", a children's song about the various animals on a farm.[5] During one lecture, Michael and Pam both do impressions of the protagonist from Forrest Gump, the 1994 film starring Tom Hanks as a mentally handicapped man.[6] Michael also uses the title from the films Good Morning, Vietnam (at his Nashua lecture by saying "Good morning, Vietna...shua!")[3] The Princess Bride, Gone with the Wind and Jerry Maguire in his lectures.[7] Holly's computer has a screensaver with images of Ed Grimley, the nerdy character with a cowlick played by comedian Martin Short in the comedy shows SCTV and Saturday Night Live.[8]

Angela said she sold Andy's engagement ring on eBay, the popular online auction website.[7] Creed gives Andy romantic advice and says, "This is how I got Squeaky Fromme", a reference to the Manson family member who tried to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford. A picture of former President George W. Bush appears on a fake three-dollar bill Creed gives Jim to pay for the party.[2] Creed suggests Kelly watch The Bonnie Hunt Show, a syndicated talk show hosted by actress Bonnie Hunt.[8] Andy puts Splenda, an artificial sweetener, into Stanley's coffee because he has adult onset diabetes, a disorder characterized by high blood glucose.[9] Andy sings Julia a song by Feist, the Canadian singer and songwriter, after he spots a Feist CD in her car.[5] Michael takes a document file from Holly's computer that was created with Microsoft Word, the Microsoft word processing program.[10] Pam said she hates the notion of even Al-Qaeda hating her, a reference to the Islamist terrorist organization that organized the September 11 attacks against New York City.[5] Kelly confesses she went to juvenile detention in Berks County, Pennsylvania,[11] at age 14 for doing something "like Thelma & Louise, but with a boat", a reference to the 1991 road movie starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon on the run from their troubled, caged lives.[12] Jim said during a birthday trip to a museum at age seven, his father bought him a plastic toy triceratops, a three-horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period, which Dwight insists is not a good dinosaur.[7] Michael remembers the name of one audience member by comparing her to K.D. Lang, the Canadian singer known for her extremely short hair.[3]

Reception

Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly described both parts of "Lecture Circuit" as "nearly perfect" and the two best episodes of the season so far: "(Writer Mindy Kaling) nailed the characterizations, the interactions, the tossed-off one-liners, the weird-yet-realistic scenarios...I wonder how much it helps that she's out on the acting floor every day, getting attuned to her costars' rhythms?"[7] Josh McAuliffe of The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said the first "Lecture Circuit" episode was his favorite episode of the fifth season so far, which he said provided several laugh-out-loud moments and a poignancy with Michael's decision to find Holly.[11] McAuliffe described the second episode as a "satisfying wrap-up" and said Michael's outburst during the lecture was "one of the most painful Michael meltdown moments in the show's history".[3] Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger said the first episode perfectly balanced drama and comedy. He parcomplimented the chemistry between both Carell and Fischer and between Krasinski and Wilson, and said he was particularly pleased to receive closure over the Karen character.[2] But Sepinwall said the second episode felt padded with "material I would have been fine seeing as deleted scenes". Although he said Carell's reaction to the news that Holly still has feelings for him as a "wonderful performance", Sepinwall also said the subplot involving Angela's cat was particularly unfunny and that subplot with Jim and Dwight, "so brilliant last week, ran out of steam quickly here."[6]

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said the episode "was full of laughs but had a bit of a bittersweet aftertaste" and had "one hell of a cliffhanger" ending. Rabin praised the Jim and Dwight teaming in the first episode, but said the plot line of Michael's lectures were predictable and "promised more than it delivered".[9] Rabin said the second episode "wrapped up everything nicely (and) delivered laughs aplenty"; he particularly enjoyed the subplot involving Angela's cats, and the fact that it "left the door open for Holly's return".[8] Will Leitch of New York magazine praised the cliffhanger ending of the first episode and said he was pleased the Holly character was still in the show's equation. Leitch also praised Ed Helms, who "is nailing the right combination of ridiculous and sad-sack pathos", although he said he "(wasn't) nearly as inspired" by the Jim and Dwight subplot.[4] Leitch also enjoyed the second episode, particularly the "legitimately sweet moment" when Pam tells Michael that Holly still has feelings for him. Leitch was less praiseworthy of the Angela subplot involving her cats, and said the character "appears to have officially gone batshit insane."[10] Travis Fickett of IGN criticized the first episode and said, "I'm starting to wonder if the show is showing signs of winding down." Fickett said the idea of Michael giving awkward lecture tours felt old and familiar, so much so that "I was convinced it was a repeat". He also said the Jim and Dwight idea was funny, but "nothing the show hasn't tapped before".[13] Likewise, Fickett described the second episode as "average Office and feels overly familiar without really blazing any new ground." He also said it was disappointing Holly did not appear, and that Angela felt like a "caricature" in her subplot.[14]

The first part of the episode was voted the fifth highest-rated episode out of 26 from the fifth season, according to an episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally; the episode was rated 8.64 out of 10. The second part of the episode, however, was voted the third-worst of the season, with a rating of 7.14[15]

References

  1. ^ Tan, Jennie (2009-04-09). "Parks and Recreation set". OfficeTally. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  2. ^ a b c d Sepinwall, Alan (2009-02-06). "The Office, "Lecture Circuit, Part One": The closure". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  3. ^ a b c d McAuliffe, Josh (2009-02-13). ""Lecture Circuit, Part II" Recap". The Times-Tribune. Scranton, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  4. ^ a b Leitch, Will (2009-02-06). "The Office: Sets Up Amy Ryan's Return!". New York (magazine). Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  5. ^ a b c Pastorek, Whitney (2009-02-06). ""The Office" Recap: On the Road". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  6. ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (2009-02-12). "The Office, "Lecture Circuit, Part Two": She'll be back". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  7. ^ a b c d Pastorek, Whitney (2009-02-13). ""The Office" Recap: It's a celebration". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  8. ^ a b c Rabin, Nathan (2009-02-12). "The Office: Season 5: Episode 15: "Lecture Circuit Part 2"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  9. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (2009-02-05). "The Office: Season 5: Episode 14: "Lecture Circuit"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  10. ^ a b Leitch, Will (2009-02-13). "The Office: The Cat Lady, Redefined". New York (magazine). Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  11. ^ a b McAuliffe, Josh (2009-02-06). ""Lecture Circuit" Recap". The Times-Tribune. Scranton, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  12. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (2009-03-06). ""The Office" Recap: Love Hurts". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  13. ^ Fickett, Travis (2009-02-06). "The Office: "Lecture Circuit, Part 1" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  14. ^ Fickett, Travis (2009-02-13). "The Office: "Lecture Circuit, Part Two" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  15. ^ Tan, Jennie (2009-05-19). "The Office Fan Ratings, Season 5". OfficeTally. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
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