Dunder Mifflin Infinity
Encyclopedia
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" is the third (and fourth) episode of the fourth season
of the American comedy
television series
The Office, and the show's fifty-sixth (and fifty-seventh) episode overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur
, who also acts in the show, and directed by Craig Zisk
. It first aired in the United States on October 4, 2007 on NBC
.
In this episode, Ryan returns to his old office and reveals his plan to bring technology to Dunder Mifflin. Michael and Dwight try to prove that the personal touch is better than technology. Meanwhile, Jim and Pam reveal their relationship to the rest of the office. Kelly attempts to get back together with Ryan, and Dwight and Angela's relationship continues to plummet.
Ryan Howard
(B. J. Novak
) returns to the Scranton, Pennsylvania
branch of Dunder Mifflin for the first time since his promotion to the corporate headquarters. Although he sports a much more urbane look and attitude, he garners little respect from his former peers. Ryan introduces "Dunder Mifflin Infinity," his initiative to revitalize the company with new technology. Michael Scott
(Steve Carell
) is initially excited about the prospect of getting a BlackBerry
, but is warned by Creed Bratton
(Creed Bratton
) that the program is a ploy to get rid of older workers. Creed dyes his hair black with printer ink in an attempt to convince everyone that he's much younger. Michael holds a conference room meeting on the subject of ageism
. To show that personal interaction is more effective than new technology, Michael and Dwight Schrute
(Rainn Wilson
) decide to go out and win back the clients they lost in the past year with gift baskets. Each manager they encounter refuses to consider returning to Dunder Mifflin unless the company improves its technology. While driving back to the office, Michael misinterprets his rental car's GPS map system's directions and ends up driving into Lake Scranton. He takes this as further proof that new technology is useless because it "tried to kill him". After the lake incident, he and Dwight walk back to one of the former clients to awkwardly get back their gift basket, causing a scene.
Meanwhile, Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer
) and Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski
) are exposed as a couple when Toby Flenderson
(Paul Lieberstein
) circulates a memo about public displays of affection. Jim secretly informs Pam that Dwight and Angela Martin
(Angela Kinsey
) are dating, only to discover that she already knew. Meanwhile, Dwight attempts to make amends for the death of Angela's cat Sprinkles by giving her a stray cat he found in his barn, named Garbage. Angela rejects the gift. Kelly Kapoor
(Mindy Kaling
) tries to restart her relationship with Ryan, an effort he ignores until she tells him she's pregnant. After going out to dinner, Ryan learns that Kelly's pregnancy claim was a lie that Kelly used in attempt to get them back together. Back at the office, Ryan asks Pam to create a logo for Dunder Mifflin Infinity. Pam is excited about the opportunity to use her art background, but Ryan uses the logo as an excuse to ask her out, which he does in front of Jim. Pam responds that she's dating Jim, which leaves the new boss thoroughly embarrassed.
. Zisk had previously directed episodes of Nip/Tuck
, Weeds
, Scrubs
, Smallville
, and The Single Guy
. "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" was written by Michael Schur
, who plays Dwight's Amish
cousin Mose.
For Ryan's new appearance this season, the writers originally had B. J. Novak grow a goatee
. Show runner
and executive producer
Greg Daniels
decided to have Novak lose the goatee, because according to Novak "a goatee would make Ryan a flat-out chump. And we wanted it to be more subtle." In addition to his five o'clock shadow, Ryan was also seen wearing black clothes. Novak explained that "We wanted him to dress as obnoxious as possible. As much black as possible." "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" went along with a website that had been created with the same name. The website was part of a game in which fans of The Office would sign up, and become "employees" of different "branches". Members of the site would perform tasks such as design a logo for the company or make Creed look young again.
. This means that 4.5 percent of all households with an 18 to 49 year old living in it watched the episode, and eleven percent had their televisions tuned to the channel at any point. The episode was watched by 8.49 million viewers.
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" received mixed reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly
s Christine Fenno commented that she thought "Michael seemed a bit more focused than usual, even competent at moments. And then he drove into a lake." Jack Rodgers, from TV Guide
said that his "favorite thing about this episode was the sly parallel that connects the three love stories" and "Michael’s obsession with sticking to his old methods rather than learning to change and embrace technology". Will Leitch of New York Magazine criticized the episode, saying that Michael driving into the lake felt more like the actions of a "cartoon character", than "based in reality". Leitch did say that if "we can get Michael out of that lake and back in a conference room with Ryan, we'll have something."
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 4
The fourth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 27, 2007, and concluded on May 15, 2008. The season consisted of 9 half-hour episodes, and 5 hour-long episodes to comprise the 19 total episodes of material created...
of the American comedy
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, and the show's fifty-sixth (and fifty-seventh) episode overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
, who also acts in the show, and directed by Craig Zisk
Craig Zisk
Craig Zisk is an American director and producer. He has worked on Smallville, Scrubs, Weeds and My Name Is Earl as well as many other programs.-Director:* My Name Is Earl * The Office * Weeds...
. It first aired in the United States on October 4, 2007 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...
.
In this episode, Ryan returns to his old office and reveals his plan to bring technology to Dunder Mifflin. Michael and Dwight try to prove that the personal touch is better than technology. Meanwhile, Jim and Pam reveal their relationship to the rest of the office. Kelly attempts to get back together with Ryan, and Dwight and Angela's relationship continues to plummet.
Plot
Ryan Howard (The Office)
Ryan Bailey Howard , played by B. J. Novak, is a fictional character on the US television sitcom The Office. He is based upon Ricky Howard from the original version of The Office , but his role is significantly expanded and he is a main character.-Character profile:Little is known about Ryan's...
(B. J. Novak
B. J. Novak
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B. J.” Novak is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the US version of The Office, as well as appearing in Inglourious Basterds...
) returns to 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 Dunder Mifflin for the first time since his promotion to the corporate headquarters. Although he sports a much more urbane look and attitude, he garners little respect from his former peers. Ryan introduces "Dunder Mifflin Infinity," his initiative to revitalize the company with new technology. Michael Scott
Michael 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...
) is initially excited about the prospect of getting a BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
, but is warned by Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton (character)
Creed Rowland Bratton a.k.a. "William Charles Schneider" is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. Confusion may arise from the fact that the character is played by and partially based on the musician of the same name, Creed Bratton...
(Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton
Creed Bratton is an American actor and musician, a former member of The Grass Roots...
) that the program is a ploy to get rid of older workers. Creed dyes his hair black with printer ink in an attempt to convince everyone that he's much younger. Michael holds a conference room meeting on the subject of ageism
Ageism
Ageism, also called age discrimination is stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice, discrimination, and subordination...
. To show that personal interaction is more effective than new technology, Michael and 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...
) decide to go out and win back the clients they lost in the past year with gift baskets. Each manager they encounter refuses to consider returning to Dunder Mifflin unless the company improves its technology. While driving back to the office, Michael misinterprets his rental car's GPS map system's directions and ends up driving into Lake Scranton. He takes this as further proof that new technology is useless because it "tried to kill him". After the lake incident, he and Dwight walk back to one of the former clients to awkwardly get back their gift basket, causing a scene.
Meanwhile, 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,...
) and 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...
) are exposed as a couple when Toby Flenderson
Toby Flenderson
Toby Wyatt Flenderson, M.S.W. born 1971 is a character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Paul Lieberstein. He is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
(Paul Lieberstein
Paul Lieberstein
Paul Bevan Lieberstein is an American screenwriter, actor and television producer. An Emmy Award winner, he is most widely known as a writer, producer, and as supporting cast member Toby Flenderson on the U.S...
) circulates a memo about public displays of affection. Jim secretly informs Pam that Dwight 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:...
) are dating, only to discover that she already knew. Meanwhile, Dwight attempts to make amends for the death of Angela's cat Sprinkles by giving her a stray cat he found in his barn, named Garbage. Angela rejects the gift. Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Rajnigandha Kapoor , is a fictional character from the US television series, The Office. She is played by Mindy Kaling, who is also a writer and producer for the show....
(Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam , better known as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer who plays Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office. Kaling is also a co-executive producer and writer of several of the show's episodes.-Early life:Kaling was born Vera Chokalingam in...
) tries to restart her relationship with Ryan, an effort he ignores until she tells him she's pregnant. After going out to dinner, Ryan learns that Kelly's pregnancy claim was a lie that Kelly used in attempt to get them back together. Back at the office, Ryan asks Pam to create a logo for Dunder Mifflin Infinity. Pam is excited about the opportunity to use her art background, but Ryan uses the logo as an excuse to ask her out, which he does in front of Jim. Pam responds that she's dating Jim, which leaves the new boss thoroughly embarrassed.
Production
The episode was the first episode of the series directed by Craig ZiskCraig Zisk
Craig Zisk is an American director and producer. He has worked on Smallville, Scrubs, Weeds and My Name Is Earl as well as many other programs.-Director:* My Name Is Earl * The Office * Weeds...
. Zisk had previously directed episodes of Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
, Weeds
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
, and The Single Guy
The Single Guy
The Single Guy is an American television sitcom that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 1995 to April 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot, and followed several of his close friends The series also starred Joey Slotnick as Eliot's best...
. "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" was written by Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
, who plays Dwight's Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
cousin Mose.
For Ryan's new appearance this season, the writers originally had B. J. Novak grow a goatee
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
. 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...
and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
decided to have Novak lose the goatee, because according to Novak "a goatee would make Ryan a flat-out chump. And we wanted it to be more subtle." In addition to his five o'clock shadow, Ryan was also seen wearing black clothes. Novak explained that "We wanted him to dress as obnoxious as possible. As much black as possible." "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" went along with a website that had been created with the same name. The website was part of a game in which fans of The Office would sign up, and become "employees" of different "branches". Members of the site would perform tasks such as design a logo for the company or make Creed look young again.
Reception
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" received 4.5/11 in the ages 18–49 demographic in the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. This means that 4.5 percent of all households with an 18 to 49 year old living in it watched the episode, and eleven percent had their televisions tuned to the channel at any point. The episode was watched by 8.49 million viewers.
"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" received mixed reviews from critics. 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...
s Christine Fenno commented that she thought "Michael seemed a bit more focused than usual, even competent at moments. And then he drove into a lake." Jack Rodgers, from 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...
said that his "favorite thing about this episode was the sly parallel that connects the three love stories" and "Michael’s obsession with sticking to his old methods rather than learning to change and embrace technology". Will Leitch of New York Magazine criticized the episode, saying that Michael driving into the lake felt more like the actions of a "cartoon character", than "based in reality". Leitch did say that if "we can get Michael out of that lake and back in a conference room with Ryan, we'll have something."