.gif)
Two Weeks (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"Two Weeks" is the twenty-first episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the 93rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
in the United States on March 26, 2009. In this episode, Michael
, who has given his two weeks notice to Dunder Mifflin, tries to convince others in the office to quit and join him in starting a new paper company. Meanwhile, Pam spends her day trying to put together the new photocopier
and becomes frustrated with her job.
The episode was written by Aaron Shure
and directed by Paul Lieberstein
. Executive story editor Charlie Grundy conceived the idea of Michael leaving Dunder Mifflin, and the writers collectively decided the Pam character should leave and try to find out what she wants from life. The episode included a guest appearance by Idris Elba
, who played new Dunder Mifflin vice president Charles Miner
. "Two Weeks" received generally positive reviews and, according to Nielsen ratings
, was watched by 8.7 million overall viewers and was the top-rated show on NBC the week it aired. "Two Weeks" received a 2009 Emmy Award
for Outstanding Editing in a Comedy Series.
(Steve Carell
) begins goofing off and drinking around the office, while new company vice president Charles Miner
(Idris Elba
) plans to hire the new regional manager from the outside, for "obvious reasons." The employees suggest that Michael start looking for another job. Michael is unworried at first, until he learns how poorly the economy
is performing. He first tries Prince Paper
, but they had been run out of business by Dunder Mifflin. After finding no available work, Michael decides to start his own paper company and unsuccessfully tries to convince others around the office to join him. When Charles catches Michael labeling Dunder Mifflin customer lists with his new company's name, he orders security guard Hank (Hugh Dane
) to escort Michael from the building. Michael drives out of the parking lot, but is later spotted sneaking back into the building.
Meanwhile, the office has received a new copy machine, but it is not assembled, so Pam
(Jenna Fischer
) spends the day putting it together as the rest of the employees hassle and tease her. She finally completes assembling it, but feels no satisfaction about it afterward. Meanwhile, Angela
(Angela Kinsey
) and Kelly
(Mindy Kaling
) continue to flirt with Charles, who claims to be aware of the effect he has on women.
Michael sneaks back into the office, crawling on the floor below the desks so Charles, who is sitting in the conference room, will not notice him. Michael grabs his customer list and makes a final desperate offer for the other employees to join him. Charles notices Michael and physically threatens him, prompting Michael to leave without the customer list. After Charles angrily closes the conference room door, Pam follows Michael out of the building, announcing that she's leaving with him. However, she tells Michael she wants to be a salesperson at his new company, not a receptionist. Michael agrees, and the two leave together, feeling both exhilarated and apprehensive.
At the end of the episode, Charles, who still knows very little about the employees at the Scranton
branch, decides to make Kevin
(Brian Baumgartner
) the temporary receptionist and make Stanley
(Leslie David Baker
) the office's "Productivity Czar," much to the surprise of both men.
"Two Weeks" was written by Aaron Shure
and directed by Paul Lieberstein
. Executive story editor Charlie Grandy conceived the idea of Michael leaving Dunder Mifflin. Shure said there was a great deal of debate among the writers about Pam's decision to leave Dunder Mifflin with Michael, but they decided to move in that direction to demonstrate Pam was trying to figure out what she wants in life. Lieberstein thought of the idea of the final scene in which Michael and Pam's faces go from optimism to concern, because he felt it would anchor the episode. The decision to have Charles choose Stanley as productivity czar and Kevin as receptionist was made by Shure the day before the episode's draft was handed in because he wanted to have Charles make "rookie mistakes, despite all his poise." "Two Weeks" was the second of six episodes guest starring Idris Elba
, best known as Stringer Bell
from The Wire
. Elba said he did not watch the episode after it aired because "I'm hypercritical about my work, so I try not to torture myself."
The official The Office website included three cut scenes from "Two Weeks" within a week of the episode's original release. In one minute-long clip, Michael asks Darryl
for warehousing advice for his new paper company; Darryl gives Michael encouraging words about the new business venture before admitting, "I'm messing with you. This doesn't sound like a good idea." In a second one-minute clip, Michael tries stealing office supplies from the Dunder Mifflin office for his new company, until he is caught by Charles, who literally chases him out of the office; Charles then tries to describe what Michael's like to the camera but finds himself shocked into silence. In a final 38-second clip, Kelly visits Michael's office to ask what he will do with his life, then starts talking about her own fantasy of running off to Mexico
with Charles. B. J. Novak
wrote a talking-head segment for Toby, where he compares Michael to a movie on a plane because "it's not great, but it's something to watch, and when it's over you're like, how much longer is this flight? Now what?"
An original draft for the episode included more dialogue between Pam and Jim about the decision, in which Pam brought up Jim's impulsive decision to buy his parents' house without consulting her in the episode "Frame Toby
," but it was ultimately cut because they felt it added too much time to get to the resolution. A number of documentary-style interviews with Dwight about Michael's defection and his thoughts about Charles Miner were cut for length issues.
Immediately after "Two Weeks" was first broadcast, NBC Universal
's The Office website DunderMifflinInfinity.com sent mass e-mail messages said to be from "Michael Gary Scott" encouraging people to join his new company, "The Michael Scott Paper Company." The message, which included a link to the website, said "As the manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton I learned two things: everything about the paper business and that Dunder Mifflin is a suckee company. I’m taking that expertness and creating The Michael Scott Paper Company. … I cannot promise success, but I will promise you the best effing time of your life!!!"
and Splenda
, an artificial sweetener; Michael had the same drink in the third season episode "Cocktails
". Michael tries to get a job with Prince Family Paper Company only to find they have gone out of business; this is a reference to "Prince Family Paper
", an episode from earlier in the fifth season, in which Michael and Dwight go undercover at Prince Paper to learn their company secrets and steal their clients. While flirting with Charles, Kelly said her family was so close they were like the Kardashians, a reference to the E!
reality series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians
.
Several reviewers compared Pam's decision to quit with Michael to that of Renée Zellweger
's character in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire
, and the final scene in which Michael and Pam go from excitement over their new company to concern about the future to the final moments of The Graduate
. Shure, who said he a fan of the movie scene, said it was not directly inspired by the film, but he was "painfully aware of the inevitable comparison"; he said the writers considered having Michael refer to the movie in the episode, but dropped it due to time constraints. The line spoken by Oscar, "Just like that, as mysteriously as he arrived, he was gone" was written by Office writer Mindy Kaling
and was inspired by the Keyser Söze
character in the 1995 film, The Usual Suspects
.
"Two Weeks" received generally positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
praised the episode and specific elements of it, like Michael wandering around the office drunk and many of the documentary-style interviews, like Charles talking about his effect on women, Toby comparing Michael to a movie on a plane and Kevin being too lazy to compliment Michael in person. But he said the episode was "elevated" by Michael and Pam forming a partnership at the end: "Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer are always brilliant in those moments when they have to show multiple emotions at once, so it was nice to finally see them get to do it side-by-side." Entertainment Weekly
writer Margaret Lyons said "Two Weeks" offered a change that would keep the series fresh and, although he said it was "not a nonstop laugh riot", he said it "highlights what The Office does that few other shows ever even attempt: incredibly humane, subtle moments that contrast with the kind of chaos only ever borne of monotony."
Brian Howard of The Journal News
said the episode flowed well and he liked the payoff at the end when Pam joined Michael's new paper company, but he said the moments with Michael crawling on the floor felt like "unnecessary padding". Nevertheless, he said, "I’m looking forward to rewatching this episode, probably the first time I’ve done that since 'Lecture Circuit, Part 1.'" Andy Shaw of TV Fodder said Michael was much more likable in "Two Weeks" than in other recent episodes, and said, "Steve Carell was at his best, with great throwaway lines and getting to the heart of Michael's love for Dunder-Mifflin and paper." Will Leitch of New York
magazine said the episode marked a "major step" for the series and had some particularly sweet moments between Michael and Pam. He also particularly liked the moment when Charles Miner, who is played by the same actor who played drug dealer Stringer Bell
on the HBO series The Wire
, threatened to attack Michael: "Michael Scott being beaten up by Stringer Bell. That's one for the TV annals."
Rick Porter of Zap2it
said the episode was "pretty good" and that Jenna Fischer was "fantastic", but he felt the episode was less outright funny than recent episodes. But Porter also said he had mixed feelings about Pam's decision to work for Michael and about the Charles Miner character, who he said might be too humorless and uncomfortable for the show. Travis Fickett of IGN
felt it was disappointing and slow-paced compared to last week's episode "New Boss": "Things slow down a bit as we sort of repeat the awkwardness between Michael and new regional manager Charles Miner. It feels a bit like the episode is marking time - which is exactly what Michael is doing with his final two weeks on the job." "Two Weeks" was voted the eighteenth highest-rated episode out of 26 from the fifth season, according to an episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally; the episode was rated 7.74 out of 10.
"Two Weeks", and the episode's editor, Stuart Bass, received a 2009 Emmy Award
nomination for Outstanding Editing in a Comedy Series. It marked one of 10 Emmy nominations The Office received during the show's fifth season. The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
, which were held September 20, 2009.
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 the United States on March 26, 2009. In this episode, 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...
, who has given his two weeks notice to Dunder Mifflin, tries to convince others in the office to quit and join him in starting a new paper company. Meanwhile, Pam spends her day trying to put together the new photocopier
Photocopier
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using heat...
and becomes frustrated with her job.
The episode was written by Aaron Shure
Aaron Shure
Aaron Shure is a TV writer/producer and two-time Emmy winner. Shure was an executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond for which he won two Emmy awards in the "Outstanding Comedy Series" category...
and directed by 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...
. Executive story editor Charlie Grundy conceived the idea of Michael leaving Dunder Mifflin, and the writers collectively decided the Pam character should leave and try to find out what she wants from life. The episode included a guest appearance by Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
, who played new Dunder Mifflin vice president Charles Miner
Charles Miner (The Office)
Charles Miner was the Vice President of Northeast Sales for Dunder Mifflin, having taken over the position vacated by Ryan and Jan. He is portrayed by Idris Elba.-Character history:Charles is first introduced in "New Boss"...
. "Two Weeks" received generally positive reviews and, according to Nielsen ratings
Nielsen 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...
, was watched by 8.7 million overall viewers and was the top-rated show on NBC the week it aired. "Two Weeks" received a 2009 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Editing in a Comedy Series.
Synopsis
Having submitted his two weeks notice to Dunder Mifflin, MichaelMichael 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...
) begins goofing off and drinking around the office, while new company vice president Charles Miner
Charles Miner (The Office)
Charles Miner was the Vice President of Northeast Sales for Dunder Mifflin, having taken over the position vacated by Ryan and Jan. He is portrayed by Idris Elba.-Character history:Charles is first introduced in "New Boss"...
(Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
) plans to hire the new regional manager from the outside, for "obvious reasons." The employees suggest that Michael start looking for another job. Michael is unworried at first, until he learns how poorly the economy
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
is performing. He first tries Prince Paper
Prince Family Paper
"Prince Family Paper" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 85th overall episode. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 22, 2009...
, but they had been run out of business by Dunder Mifflin. After finding no available work, Michael decides to start his own paper company and unsuccessfully tries to convince others around the office to join him. When Charles catches Michael labeling Dunder Mifflin customer lists with his new company's name, he orders security guard Hank (Hugh Dane
Hugh Dane
Hugh Dane is an American television and film actor known most recently for his recurring role as Hank, the security guard in the US version of the television series, The Office.- Acting career :...
) to escort Michael from the building. Michael drives out of the parking lot, but is later spotted sneaking back into the building.
Meanwhile, the office has received a new copy machine, but it is not assembled, so 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....
(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,...
) spends the day putting it together as the rest of the employees hassle and tease her. She finally completes assembling it, but feels no satisfaction about it afterward. Meanwhile, 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:...
(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:...
) and Kelly
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...
) continue to flirt with Charles, who claims to be aware of the effect he has on women.
Michael sneaks back into the office, crawling on the floor below the desks so Charles, who is sitting in the conference room, will not notice him. Michael grabs his customer list and makes a final desperate offer for the other employees to join him. Charles notices Michael and physically threatens him, prompting Michael to leave without the customer list. After Charles angrily closes the conference room door, Pam follows Michael out of the building, announcing that she's leaving with him. However, she tells Michael she wants to be a salesperson at his new company, not a receptionist. Michael agrees, and the two leave together, feeling both exhilarated and apprehensive.
At the end of the episode, Charles, who still knows very little about the employees at the Scranton
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, decides to make Kevin
Kevin Malone
Kevin Jaye Malone is a character in the United States television series The Office. He is played by Brian Baumgartner. Kevin's counterpart in the UK series is Keith Bishop.-Biography:...
(Brian Baumgartner
Brian Baumgartner
Brian Baumgartner is an Emmy Award-winning American film and television actor, best known for playing Kevin Malone on The Office.-Personal life:...
) the temporary receptionist and make 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:...
(Leslie David Baker
Leslie David Baker
Leslie David Baker is an American film and television actor who plays Stanley Hudson on The Office. He also had several small roles in Scrubs and appeared on That '70s Show as a janitor after a Ted Nugent concert and played an office worker in several of OfficeMax's "Rubberband Man" series of...
) the office's "Productivity Czar," much to the surprise of both men.
Production
Aaron Shure
Aaron Shure is a TV writer/producer and two-time Emmy winner. Shure was an executive producer of Everybody Loves Raymond for which he won two Emmy awards in the "Outstanding Comedy Series" category...
and directed by 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...
. Executive story editor Charlie Grandy conceived the idea of Michael leaving Dunder Mifflin. Shure said there was a great deal of debate among the writers about Pam's decision to leave Dunder Mifflin with Michael, but they decided to move in that direction to demonstrate Pam was trying to figure out what she wants in life. Lieberstein thought of the idea of the final scene in which Michael and Pam's faces go from optimism to concern, because he felt it would anchor the episode. The decision to have Charles choose Stanley as productivity czar and Kevin as receptionist was made by Shure the day before the episode's draft was handed in because he wanted to have Charles make "rookie mistakes, despite all his poise." "Two Weeks" was the second of six episodes guest starring Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
, best known as Stringer Bell
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by English actor Idris Elba. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization during Avon's imprisonment...
from The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. Elba said he did not watch the episode after it aired because "I'm hypercritical about my work, so I try not to torture myself."
The official The Office website included three cut scenes from "Two Weeks" within a week of the episode's original release. In one minute-long clip, Michael asks Darryl
Darryl Philbin
Darryl Mathias Philbin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Craig Robinson.-Overview:Darryl Philbin is the foreman of the warehouse of the Scranton branch of fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin....
for warehousing advice for his new paper company; Darryl gives Michael encouraging words about the new business venture before admitting, "I'm messing with you. This doesn't sound like a good idea." In a second one-minute clip, Michael tries stealing office supplies from the Dunder Mifflin office for his new company, until he is caught by Charles, who literally chases him out of the office; Charles then tries to describe what Michael's like to the camera but finds himself shocked into silence. In a final 38-second clip, Kelly visits Michael's office to ask what he will do with his life, then starts talking about her own fantasy of running off to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
with Charles. 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...
wrote a talking-head segment for Toby, where he compares Michael to a movie on a plane because "it's not great, but it's something to watch, and when it's over you're like, how much longer is this flight? Now what?"
An original draft for the episode included more dialogue between Pam and Jim about the decision, in which Pam brought up Jim's impulsive decision to buy his parents' house without consulting her in the episode "Frame Toby
Frame Toby
"Frame Toby" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the show's eighty-first episode overall. The episode aired in the United States on November 20, 2008 on NBC....
," but it was ultimately cut because they felt it added too much time to get to the resolution. A number of documentary-style interviews with Dwight about Michael's defection and his thoughts about Charles Miner were cut for length issues.
Immediately after "Two Weeks" was first broadcast, NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
's The Office website DunderMifflinInfinity.com sent mass e-mail messages said to be from "Michael Gary Scott" encouraging people to join his new company, "The Michael Scott Paper Company." The message, which included a link to the website, said "As the manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton I learned two things: everything about the paper business and that Dunder Mifflin is a suckee company. I’m taking that expertness and creating The Michael Scott Paper Company. … I cannot promise success, but I will promise you the best effing time of your life!!!"
Cultural references
Michael accidentally visits a website about actual monsters when trying to visit Monster.com, a popular employment site. During work, Michael drinks a combination of scotchScotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
and Splenda
Splenda
Splenda is the commercial name and registered trade mark of a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle. Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, in 1976...
, an artificial sweetener; Michael had the same drink in the third season episode "Cocktails
Cocktails (The Office)
"Cocktails" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the US version of The Office. It aired on February 22, 2007 on NBC. It is written by Paul Lieberstein and directed by Alias and Lost creator J. J. Abrams....
". Michael tries to get a job with Prince Family Paper Company only to find they have gone out of business; this is a reference to "Prince Family Paper
Prince Family Paper
"Prince Family Paper" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 85th overall episode. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 22, 2009...
", an episode from earlier in the fifth season, in which Michael and Dwight go undercover at Prince Paper to learn their company secrets and steal their clients. While flirting with Charles, Kelly said her family was so close they were like the Kardashians, a reference to the E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
reality series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series that airs on E!. The series premiered in October 2007. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of the members of the Kardashian and Jenner family. There will be a 7th Season to premiere in 2012.As of September 2011,...
.
Several reviewers compared Pam's decision to quit with Michael to that of Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
's character in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
, and the final scene in which Michael and Pam go from excitement over their new company to concern about the future to the final moments of The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
. Shure, who said he a fan of the movie scene, said it was not directly inspired by the film, but he was "painfully aware of the inevitable comparison"; he said the writers considered having Michael refer to the movie in the episode, but dropped it due to time constraints. The line spoken by Oscar, "Just like that, as mysteriously as he arrived, he was gone" was written by Office writer 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...
and was inspired by the Keyser Söze
Keyser Söze
Keyser Söze is a fictional character in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects, written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. According to Roger "Verbal" Kint, Söze is a crimelord whose ruthlessness and influence have acquired a legendary, even mythical, status among police and criminals...
character in the 1995 film, The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on March 26, 2009, "Two Weeks" was watched by 8.7 million overall viewers, and 5.8 million viewers among ages 18 to 49. The episode had a 4.5 rating and 11 share in the 18 to 49 demographic, making it NBC's top-rated show the week it aired."Two Weeks" received generally positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
praised the episode and specific elements of it, like Michael wandering around the office drunk and many of the documentary-style interviews, like Charles talking about his effect on women, Toby comparing Michael to a movie on a plane and Kevin being too lazy to compliment Michael in person. But he said the episode was "elevated" by Michael and Pam forming a partnership at the end: "Steve Carell and Jenna Fischer are always brilliant in those moments when they have to show multiple emotions at once, so it was nice to finally see them get to do it side-by-side." 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...
writer Margaret Lyons said "Two Weeks" offered a change that would keep the series fresh and, although he said it was "not a nonstop laugh riot", he said it "highlights what The Office does that few other shows ever even attempt: incredibly humane, subtle moments that contrast with the kind of chaos only ever borne of monotony."
Brian Howard of The Journal News
The Journal News
The Journal News is a newspaper in New York serving the suburban New York City counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by the Gannett Company, Inc. The Journal News was created through a merger of several daily community newspapers...
said the episode flowed well and he liked the payoff at the end when Pam joined Michael's new paper company, but he said the moments with Michael crawling on the floor felt like "unnecessary padding". Nevertheless, he said, "I’m looking forward to rewatching this episode, probably the first time I’ve done that since 'Lecture Circuit, Part 1.'" Andy Shaw of TV Fodder said Michael was much more likable in "Two Weeks" than in other recent episodes, and said, "Steve Carell was at his best, with great throwaway lines and getting to the heart of Michael's love for Dunder-Mifflin and paper." Will Leitch of New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine said the episode marked a "major step" for the series and had some particularly sweet moments between Michael and Pam. He also particularly liked the moment when Charles Miner, who is played by the same actor who played drug dealer Stringer Bell
Stringer Bell
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by English actor Idris Elba. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization during Avon's imprisonment...
on the HBO series The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
, threatened to attack Michael: "Michael Scott being beaten up by Stringer Bell. That's one for the TV annals."
Rick Porter of Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
said the episode was "pretty good" and that Jenna Fischer was "fantastic", but he felt the episode was less outright funny than recent episodes. But Porter also said he had mixed feelings about Pam's decision to work for Michael and about the Charles Miner character, who he said might be too humorless and uncomfortable for the show. 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...
felt it was disappointing and slow-paced compared to last week's episode "New Boss": "Things slow down a bit as we sort of repeat the awkwardness between Michael and new regional manager Charles Miner. It feels a bit like the episode is marking time - which is exactly what Michael is doing with his final two weeks on the job." "Two Weeks" was voted the eighteenth highest-rated episode out of 26 from the fifth season, according to an episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally; the episode was rated 7.74 out of 10.
"Two Weeks", and the episode's editor, Stuart Bass, received a 2009 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination for Outstanding Editing in a Comedy Series. It marked one of 10 Emmy nominations The Office received during the show's fifth season. The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! the Creative Arts event; both take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations for the Awards were announced on July 16....
, which were held September 20, 2009.
External links
- "Two Weeks" at NBC.comNBCThe 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...