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Traveling Salesmen (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"Traveling Salesmen" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the US version of The Office. It aired January 11, 2007. It was written by Michael Schur
, Lee Eisenberg
, and Gene Stupnitsky
and directed by Greg Daniels
. This is the first episode to use an abbreviated title sequence, presumably to allow for slightly more content in the episode itself. It has since been used in several subsequent episodes.
In this episode, the sales team goes out on sales calls, with Michael and Andy, Stanley and Ryan, Phyllis and Karen, and Dwight and Jim pairing up. Andy tries to show Dwight in a bad light to Michael. Karen learns of Jim's previous crush on Pam, and Angela forgets to hand in some important documents to New York, so secret boyfriend Dwight does it for her.
"Traveling Salesmen" was later rebroadcast with "The Return
" as a combined hour-long episode. As a result, the cold open with Michael and the talking computer was deleted. The hour-long recut appears on the Season 3 DVD, so the scene is included as a deleted scene.
"Traveling Salesmen" is one of only three other episodes of The Office to reach over 10 million viewers, the others being the show's pilot episode, "Ben Franklin
" and "Stress Relief," of which the latter reached over 20 million viewers.
chooses Michael
, Phyllis chooses Karen
, and Stanley
grudgingly chooses Ryan
, leaving Dwight
with Jim
, who already used to do sales calls together. Andy learns that Dwight does Michael's laundry as punishment for meeting with Jan to take over the branch
. During their sales call, Andy sabotages the meeting, setting up an opportunity to later apologize to Michael, stating that he had really "Schruted" the situation, a further attempt to deride Dwight.
While the salespeople are out, Angela
tells Pam
a thinly disguised story of how "Kurt" saves "Noelle" ("Kurt" and "Noelle" being Dwight's and Angela's middle names, respectively) by delivering the quarterly tax forms to New York
.
At first, Jim's and Dwight's sales call appears to be a fiasco, but it is immediately clear that the joint force of Jim's straight-and-honest sales approach, along with Dwight's aggressive, erratic tactics, is a very successful partnership. Ryan asks Stanley if he could lead on this call so Stanley can critique him, which Stanley obliges. However, Ryan freezes up and fails when he realizes that Stanley's clients are all black. Stanley laughs at an annoyed Ryan during the entire trip back to the office. Phyllis and Karen first stop at a beauty parlor, emerging with gaudy makeovers. Their sales call is a success owing to the fact, as Phyllis knew, that the client obviously likes women with that kind of look, as evidenced by the photo of his wife. Returning to the office, Phyllis tells Karen that she's pleased that Jim got over his crush on Pam. Karen confronts Jim with this information, and he reassures her that his crush has passed.
Andy finds evidence of Dwight's trip to New York. Michael accuses Dwight of disloyalty, and Angela prevents him from clearing his name because it would expose their relationship. Dwight resigns.
Andy gloats over his success, but the documentary camera catches Angela in the background glaring at him.
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...
, 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 Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
. This is the first episode to use an abbreviated title sequence, presumably to allow for slightly more content in the episode itself. It has since been used in several subsequent episodes.
In this episode, the sales team goes out on sales calls, with Michael and Andy, Stanley and Ryan, Phyllis and Karen, and Dwight and Jim pairing up. Andy tries to show Dwight in a bad light to Michael. Karen learns of Jim's previous crush on Pam, and Angela forgets to hand in some important documents to New York, so secret boyfriend Dwight does it for her.
"Traveling Salesmen" was later rebroadcast with "The Return
The Return (The Office)
"The Return" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the US version of The Office. It aired on January 18, 2007 on NBC and marked the return to work of Oscar Martinez, who had been on vacation since the first episode of the season....
" as a combined hour-long episode. As a result, the cold open with Michael and the talking computer was deleted. The hour-long recut appears on the Season 3 DVD, so the scene is included as a deleted scene.
"Traveling Salesmen" is one of only three other episodes of The Office to reach over 10 million viewers, the others being the show's pilot episode, "Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin (The Office)
"Ben Franklin" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's forty-third episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling, who also acts in the show as Kelly Kapoor, and directed by Randall Einhorn, the episode first aired in the United...
" and "Stress Relief," of which the latter reached over 20 million viewers.
Synopsis
Michael announces that the sales department will be pairing up. AndyAndy 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...
chooses Michael
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...
, Phyllis chooses Karen
Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. She is played by Rashida Jones. She is loosely based on the character of Rachel from the original UK version of the show, in that she transferred during the merger of the two branches, and became romantically...
, and Stanley
Stanley Hudson
Stanley James Hudson is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Leslie David Baker. Stanley's counterpart in the UK series is Malcolm.-Overview:...
grudgingly chooses Ryan
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...
, leaving Dwight
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...
with Jim
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...
, who already used to do sales calls together. Andy learns that Dwight does Michael's laundry as punishment for meeting with Jan to take over the branch
The Coup (The Office episode)
"The Coup" is the second filmed and third aired episode of the third season of The Office . It was written by Paul Lieberstein and directed by Greg Daniels. It aired on October 5, 2006 on NBC....
. During their sales call, Andy sabotages the meeting, setting up an opportunity to later apologize to Michael, stating that he had really "Schruted" the situation, a further attempt to deride Dwight.
While the salespeople are out, Angela
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:...
tells Pam
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....
a thinly disguised story of how "Kurt" saves "Noelle" ("Kurt" and "Noelle" being Dwight's and Angela's middle names, respectively) by delivering the quarterly tax forms to New York
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...
.
At first, Jim's and Dwight's sales call appears to be a fiasco, but it is immediately clear that the joint force of Jim's straight-and-honest sales approach, along with Dwight's aggressive, erratic tactics, is a very successful partnership. Ryan asks Stanley if he could lead on this call so Stanley can critique him, which Stanley obliges. However, Ryan freezes up and fails when he realizes that Stanley's clients are all black. Stanley laughs at an annoyed Ryan during the entire trip back to the office. Phyllis and Karen first stop at a beauty parlor, emerging with gaudy makeovers. Their sales call is a success owing to the fact, as Phyllis knew, that the client obviously likes women with that kind of look, as evidenced by the photo of his wife. Returning to the office, Phyllis tells Karen that she's pleased that Jim got over his crush on Pam. Karen confronts Jim with this information, and he reassures her that his crush has passed.
Andy finds evidence of Dwight's trip to New York. Michael accuses Dwight of disloyalty, and Angela prevents him from clearing his name because it would expose their relationship. Dwight resigns.
Andy gloats over his success, but the documentary camera catches Angela in the background glaring at him.
Deleted scenes
The Season Three DVD contains a number of deleted scenes. Notable cut scenes include:- Michael uses his computer 'Harvey' to hit on Pam. (This scene was aired as the cold open when the episode was originally broadcast on January 11, 2007; the "new-peat" version of this episode combined with "The Return", aired on March 8, 2007, cut this opening).
- Andy dramatically illustrates to Karen that they are the only two Stamford employees remaining.
- Michael asks if Pam left a message for Dwight telling him that "his ass was grass and that I am the lawn mower."
- In a talking head interview, Michael emphasizes the importance of punctuality. "I need them to show up on time, so when I finally show up, we can get started right away."
- Numerous scenes in Michael's and Jim's cars, among them Michael mockingly accusing Andy of having a crush on Dwight because Andy brings Dwight up so much, and Jim freaking out Dwight by rummaging through his glove compartment while driving.
- Jim and Dwight surreptitiously plan their sales tactic.
- Pam offers to get coffee, and Toby asks for a chai latteLatteA latte is a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk. Variants include replacing the coffee with another drink base such as masala chai, mate or matcha...
. He watches Pam as she delivers the beverage, then puts it in the trash. - Before giving his box of possessions to Michael, Dwight emotionally gives away selected items to other co-workers.
External links
- "Traveling Salesmen" at NBC.com