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Dinner Party (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"Dinner Party" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy
television series
The Office—the show's sixty-sixth episode overall. Written by the writing team of Lee Eisenberg
and Gene Stupnitsky
and directed by Paul Feig
, the episode originally aired on NBC
on April 10, 2008. Guest stars in the episode include Beth Grant
, Steve Seagren, and Gary Weeks.
The episode focuses on a dinner party thrown by Michael, the regional manager of the Scranton, Pennsylvania
branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company, and his girlfriend Jan, the former Vice-President of Regional Sales at the Dunder Mifflin corporate office in New York City
. Attending the party are the couples of Jim and Pam, and Andy and Angela, as well as the uninvited Dwight along with his childhood babysitter. The party ends when Michael leaves with Dwight on the advice of two police officers who respond to a domestic disturbance call following a loud argument with Jan.
(Steve Carell
) succeeds in his attempts to invite Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski
) and Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer
) to join him and his girlfriend Jan Levenson (Melora Hardin
) for dinner at his condominium after Jim had previously turned him down nine times. He also invites Andy Bernard
(Ed Helms
) and Angela Martin
(Angela Kinsey
), but excludes Angela's former boyfriend Dwight Schrute
(Rainn Wilson
), much to Dwight's dismay. On a tour of the condominium, Jan shows the workspace from which she runs her candle-making home business. Jan's dominance in the relationship is apparent from the living arrangements; Michael sleeps on a small bench due to Jan's "space issues", and his sole comfort is a very small "plasma television", which he bought for $200. It is also later revealed that Jan had Michael undergo a vasectomy
, only to later have it reversed and then reversed back again. Throughout the evening, Jan plays a song titled "That One Night" by her former assistant, Hunter (from his CD called "The Hunted"), the lyrics of which imply that Jan may have taken Hunter's virginity.
In the kitchen, Jan quietly confronts Pam with a false assumption that Michael and Pam had once dated, while Michael attempts to get Jim and Andy to invest in Jan's candle-making business for "only $10,000". Jim's attempts to get himself and Pam out of the increasingly uncomfortable evening are unsuccessful. Dwight arrives, uninvited, with his own food, wine glasses and his former babysitter (Beth Grant
) as his date (Dwight describes the relationship as "strictly carnal."). The feud between Michael and Jan escalates, culminating in Jan's destruction of the television using one of Michael's beloved Dundie Awards
. Under the advice of responding police officers (Steve Seagren and Gary Weeks), Michael agrees to spend the night with Dwight, although it was at this moment that Jan becomes remorseful of her actions. Jim and Pam share a warm moment together eating take-out food in their car, repeatedly calling each other "babe" in a mockery of Michael and Jan; Jim also puts on Hunter's CD, which he stole from the condo. In Andy's car, Andy attempts to flirt with Angela by leaning in and tasting her ice cream cone, she responds coldly by smashing the ice cream on the outside of the door. Jan is seen trying to fix the broken Dundie Award.
"Dinner Party" was the eighth episode of the show written by the team Lee Eisenberg
and Gene Stupnitsky
. It was the sixth episode to feature Paul Feig
as director. The episode was the first original episode of The Office to be broadcast since the episode "The Deposition" on November 15, 2007, due to the effects of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
. The Writers Guild of America
(WGA) went on strike at 12:01AM Eastern Standard Time
on November 5, 2007. Filming of The Office immediately halted on that date, as Steve Carell, who is a member of the WGA, refused to cross WGA picket lines. Members of Writers Guild of America, East
and Writers Guild of America, West
voted to end the 100-day strike on February 12, 2008. Writers were allowed to return to work on the same day. The WGA allowed for show runner
s to return to work on February 11, in preparation for the conclusion of the strike. The show runner for The Office, Executive Producer Greg Daniels
, returned on the February 11, while the show's writers returned to work on February 13.
If not for the writers' strike, this episode would have completed filming successfully during the week of November 5, 2007. Also, a Christmas
episode would have been produced and aired, but that script was discarded as the strike lasted past the 2007 holiday season, the time of year when the potential episode would have aired.
The song featured in the episode supposedly written by Jan's former assistant, Hunter, was written by the episode writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (lyrics) and Todd Fancey
of The New Pornographers
(music). The song was sung by Fancey.
". This episode achieved a 4.8/12 in the key 18–49 demographic, meaning that 4.8 percent of 18–49 year olds were tuned in at any given moment and twelve percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time were tuned in. The episode ranked in eighth place, in the 18–49 demographic, among all programs on television, which aired during the week of this episodes original broadcast.
The episode has been met with critical acclaim since it has aired and is considered one of the best episodes of The Office by critics and fans. Travis Fickett of IGN
wrote that "This is one of those great episodes of The Office that is hysterical and difficult to watch at the same time. Only this time, it's not because of something Michael is doing that makes you wince. It's because of what's happening to him." He ultimately gave the episode a 8.9/10. Jay Black of AOL
's TV Squad said that "[he] was happy The Office was back" but "the only thing [he] worried about was whether it'd still be good" after the writers strike. M. Giant of Television Without Pity graded this episode with an "A." Aubry D'Arminio of Entertainment Weekly
said that her favorite moment of the episode "was when Jan popped on that song by her former assistant, Hunter."
Jack Rodgers of TV Guide
wrote that "on the one hand it’s a hilarious, brutally awkward look at the relationship (and apartment) from hell, a train wreck that you just can’t keep from staring at. But it’s also a study of four couples: one hideously dysfunctional (Michael and Jan), one loving (Jim and Pam), one mismatched (Angela and Andy), and one, ahem, "purely carnal" (Dwight and babysitter).". The A.V. Club
reviewer Nathan Rabin praised the episode for it's "sheer squirm-inducing awkwardness". He ultimately gave the episode an A. Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky's writing in the episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
in 2008. "Dinner Party" was voted the fourth highest rated out of 24 from the fourth season, according to an "Survivor" episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally. It was later named the sixth best episode of the series after "Goodbye, Michael
", "The Injury
", "Niagara
", "The Dundies
" and "Casino Night", according to an episode poll by OfficeTally.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
The Office—the show's sixty-sixth episode overall. Written by the writing team of Lee Eisenberg
Lee Eisenberg
Lee Eisenberg is a film and television writer. He usually works with Gene Stupnitsky.-Life and career:In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Stupnitsky, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and...
and Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky is a film and television writer. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg.In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Eisenberg, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and "The Lover"...
and directed by Paul Feig
Paul Feig
Paul S. Feig is an American director, actor and author. Feig is known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as Tim a camp counselor on the hit kids movie Heavyweights...
, the episode originally aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on April 10, 2008. Guest stars in the episode include Beth Grant
Beth Grant
Beth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....
, Steve Seagren, and Gary Weeks.
The episode focuses on a dinner party thrown by Michael, the regional manager of the Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company, and his girlfriend Jan, the former Vice-President of Regional Sales at the Dunder Mifflin corporate office in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Attending the party are the couples of Jim and Pam, and Andy and Angela, as well as the uninvited Dwight along with his childhood babysitter. The party ends when Michael leaves with Dwight on the advice of two police officers who respond to a domestic disturbance call following a loud argument with Jan.
Plot
Michael ScottMichael Scott (The Office)
Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
(Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
) succeeds in his attempts to invite Jim Halpert
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...
(John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
) and Pam Beesly
Pam Beesly
Pamela Morgan "Pam" Halpert is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom The Office, played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Dawn Tinsley....
(Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer is an American actress and director. She is most widely known for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of Pam Halpert on the NBC situation comedy and mockumentary The Office, and has also appeared in several films, including Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,...
) to join him and his girlfriend Jan Levenson (Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin
Melora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...
) for dinner at his condominium after Jim had previously turned him down nine times. He also invites Andy Bernard
Andy Bernard
Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. The character is highly insecure, yet egotistical, constantly mentioning his education at Cornell University...
(Ed Helms
Ed Helms
Edward Paul "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andy Bernard on the US version of the sitcom/mockumentary The Office and for his role as Dr. Stu Price in The Hangover films.- Early life :Helms was born and raised...
) and Angela Martin
Angela Martin
Angela Noelle Martin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by American actress Angela Kinsey. She is an original character, and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
(Angela Kinsey
Angela Kinsey
Angela Kinsey is an American actress. She currently appears as the uptight accountant Angela Martin on the hit NBC television series The Office.-Personal life:...
), but excludes Angela's former boyfriend Dwight Schrute
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
(Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
), much to Dwight's dismay. On a tour of the condominium, Jan shows the workspace from which she runs her candle-making home business. Jan's dominance in the relationship is apparent from the living arrangements; Michael sleeps on a small bench due to Jan's "space issues", and his sole comfort is a very small "plasma television", which he bought for $200. It is also later revealed that Jan had Michael undergo a vasectomy
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
, only to later have it reversed and then reversed back again. Throughout the evening, Jan plays a song titled "That One Night" by her former assistant, Hunter (from his CD called "The Hunted"), the lyrics of which imply that Jan may have taken Hunter's virginity.
In the kitchen, Jan quietly confronts Pam with a false assumption that Michael and Pam had once dated, while Michael attempts to get Jim and Andy to invest in Jan's candle-making business for "only $10,000". Jim's attempts to get himself and Pam out of the increasingly uncomfortable evening are unsuccessful. Dwight arrives, uninvited, with his own food, wine glasses and his former babysitter (Beth Grant
Beth Grant
Beth Grant is an American actress. She is known for often playing characters who are conservatives, religious zealots or sticklers for rules....
) as his date (Dwight describes the relationship as "strictly carnal."). The feud between Michael and Jan escalates, culminating in Jan's destruction of the television using one of Michael's beloved Dundie Awards
The Dundies
"The Dundies" is the second season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, the episode originally aired in the United States on September 20, 2005 on...
. Under the advice of responding police officers (Steve Seagren and Gary Weeks), Michael agrees to spend the night with Dwight, although it was at this moment that Jan becomes remorseful of her actions. Jim and Pam share a warm moment together eating take-out food in their car, repeatedly calling each other "babe" in a mockery of Michael and Jan; Jim also puts on Hunter's CD, which he stole from the condo. In Andy's car, Andy attempts to flirt with Angela by leaning in and tasting her ice cream cone, she responds coldly by smashing the ice cream on the outside of the door. Jan is seen trying to fix the broken Dundie Award.
Production
Lee Eisenberg
Lee Eisenberg is a film and television writer. He usually works with Gene Stupnitsky.-Life and career:In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Stupnitsky, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and...
and Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky
Gene Stupnitsky is a film and television writer. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg.In television, he wrote for the NBC comedy series The Office from seasons 2 to 6, and served as a co-executive producer and directed two episodes with Eisenberg, "Michael Scott Paper Company" and "The Lover"...
. It was the sixth episode to feature Paul Feig
Paul Feig
Paul S. Feig is an American director, actor and author. Feig is known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as Tim a camp counselor on the hit kids movie Heavyweights...
as director. The episode was the first original episode of The Office to be broadcast since the episode "The Deposition" on November 15, 2007, due to the effects of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
. The Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
(WGA) went on strike at 12:01AM Eastern Standard Time
Eastern Standard Time
Eastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
on November 5, 2007. Filming of The Office immediately halted on that date, as Steve Carell, who is a member of the WGA, refused to cross WGA picket lines. Members of Writers Guild of America, East
Writers Guild of America, East
Writers Guild of America, East is a labor union representing writers of television and film and employees of television and radio news. The 2006 membership of the guild was 3,770....
and Writers Guild of America, West
Writers Guild of America, west
Writers Guild of America, West is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. The Guild was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, which include the Screen Writers Guild...
voted to end the 100-day strike on February 12, 2008. Writers were allowed to return to work on the same day. The WGA allowed for show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s to return to work on February 11, in preparation for the conclusion of the strike. The show runner for The Office, Executive Producer Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, returned on the February 11, while the show's writers returned to work on February 13.
If not for the writers' strike, this episode would have completed filming successfully during the week of November 5, 2007. Also, a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
episode would have been produced and aired, but that script was discarded as the strike lasted past the 2007 holiday season, the time of year when the potential episode would have aired.
The song featured in the episode supposedly written by Jan's former assistant, Hunter, was written by the episode writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (lyrics) and Todd Fancey
Todd Fancey
Todd Fancey is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist and solo artist. He is most widely known as the guitarist for Vancouver-based indie rock band The New Pornographers and the bassist for the band Limblifter...
of The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
(music). The song was sung by Fancey.
Reception
"Dinner Party" brought in an average of 9.2 million American viewers, which was the highest total audience since the fourth season premiere episode "Fun RunFun Run
"Fun Run" is the fourth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's fifty-fourth episode overall...
". This episode achieved a 4.8/12 in the key 18–49 demographic, meaning that 4.8 percent of 18–49 year olds were tuned in at any given moment and twelve percent of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time were tuned in. The episode ranked in eighth place, in the 18–49 demographic, among all programs on television, which aired during the week of this episodes original broadcast.
The episode has been met with critical acclaim since it has aired and is considered one of the best episodes of The Office by critics and fans. Travis Fickett of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote that "This is one of those great episodes of The Office that is hysterical and difficult to watch at the same time. Only this time, it's not because of something Michael is doing that makes you wince. It's because of what's happening to him." He ultimately gave the episode a 8.9/10. Jay Black of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's TV Squad said that "[he] was happy The Office was back" but "the only thing [he] worried about was whether it'd still be good" after the writers strike. M. Giant of Television Without Pity graded this episode with an "A." Aubry D'Arminio of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said that her favorite moment of the episode "was when Jan popped on that song by her former assistant, Hunter."
Jack Rodgers of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
wrote that "on the one hand it’s a hilarious, brutally awkward look at the relationship (and apartment) from hell, a train wreck that you just can’t keep from staring at. But it’s also a study of four couples: one hideously dysfunctional (Michael and Jan), one loving (Jim and Pam), one mismatched (Angela and Andy), and one, ahem, "purely carnal" (Dwight and babysitter).". The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
reviewer Nathan Rabin praised the episode for it's "sheer squirm-inducing awkwardness". He ultimately gave the episode an A. Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky's writing in the episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situation comedies.Though this category is the dominant one...
in 2008. "Dinner Party" was voted the fourth highest rated out of 24 from the fourth season, according to an "Survivor" episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally. It was later named the sixth best episode of the series after "Goodbye, Michael
Goodbye, Michael
"Goodbye, Michael" is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy series The Office and the show's 148th episode overall. The episode was written by series developer and executive producer Greg Daniels and was directed by Paul Feig. The episode originally aired on April...
", "The Injury
The Injury
"The Injury" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's eighteenth episode overall...
", "Niagara
Niagara (The Office)
"Niagara" is an hour-long episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office. It is the 4th and 5th episodes in the season's episode count and the 104th and 105th episode of the series overall. The episode was written by executive producer Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling, and was...
", "The Dundies
The Dundies
"The Dundies" is the second season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, the episode originally aired in the United States on September 20, 2005 on...
" and "Casino Night", according to an episode poll by OfficeTally.
External links
- "Dinner Party" at NBC.com