China (The Office)
"China" | |
---|---|
The Office episode | |
Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 10 |
Directed by | Charles McDougall |
Written by | |
Cinematography by | Matt Sohn |
Editing by | Claire Scanlon |
Production code | 7010[1] |
Original air date | December 2, 2010 |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
"China" is the tenth episode of the
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the
) annoying text messages.The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics, many of whom felt that the confrontation between Oscar and Michael was realistic and humorous. "China" was viewed by 7.31 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49, marking a slight drop in the ratings when compared to the previous week. Despite this, the episode was the highest-rated NBC series of the night that it aired, as well as the highest-rated non-sports NBC broadcast for the week it aired.
Synopsis
While at the dentist,
Everyone in the office complains about Dwight Schrute's (Rainn Wilson) building standards, such as half-plying toilet paper, adding motion sensors to the lights, and placing a roach billboard over the windows to the office. Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer), as office administrator, threatens to move everyone to a different building if nothing is done. She leaves and comes back with pictures of a newer office space and says they can move in three months. Dwight investigates and finds that the office building does not exist. When Dwight plays coy around Pam, she admits to Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) that she lied about the office building and that she is afraid of failing again after failing as an artist and a salesperson. Jim tries in vain to reassure her, and she breaks down in tears. Later Nate (Mark Proksch), Dwight's building assistant, discreetly gives Pam a book on the state building regulations. Pam shows Dwight that his policies are in violation of the laws written in the book, so Dwight puts everything back to normal. The camera crew confronts Dwight with footage showing that he overheard Pam's conversation with Jim and instructed Nate to give her the book on the building regulations. Dwight admits that he allowed her to win, but mocks the idea that he did so out of compassion.
) pointless text messages. After one text, Darryl tells Andy that he is one bad text away from being blocked, but Andy wagers that he is one good text from a high five, to which Darryl agrees. Andy eventually texts Darryl, telling him to come to the parking lot, where there are pigeons eating an ice cream cone. Darryl laughs and gives Andy a high five.Production
"China" was written by producers Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein, their fourth writing credit on the series.[2][3][4][5] Warren Lieberstein is the brother of Paul Lieberstein, who was the showrunner of the show at the time.[6] The entry was directed by Charles McDougall, his fifth directing credit on the series.[5][7][8][9][10] "China" is the third episode to feature Nate, played by YouTube star Mark Proksch. After the producers of The Office saw a series of prank videos that Proksch did under the name "Kenny Strasser", they hired him to become a recurring character.[11]
The Season Seven DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Michael talking more about his fear of China, Nate swapping an "energy-saving cord" for an "un-energy-saving cord", Dwight making fun of Pam's concerns, Pam discussing the new office space with Dwight, Jim criticizing Pam's plan to the camera, Erin talking about moving, and Michael furthering his argument with Oscar in the coffee shop.[12]
Cultural references
Michael is initially worked up about China after reading an article in
Reception
In its original American broadcast on December 2, 2010, "China" was viewed by an estimated 7.31 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating/10 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 3.7 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 10 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a slight drop in the ratings after one week off due to Thanksgiving.[16] The episode became the highest-rated non-sports related NBC program for the original week it aired and also became the ninth most-watched show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49.[17]
This episode received positive reviews. Phoebe Reilly of
Bonnie Stiernberg of Paste magazine wrote highly of the episode and called it "a half hour of heartwarming comedy".[14] She was particularly pleased with how Michael was able to overcome Oscar with pathos, and she enjoyed the episode's subplots.[14] Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic praised the episode and awarded it five stars out of five. He wrote that "If my favorite thing for Jim to do is prank Dwight, my second favorite is when he backs Michael."[20] Furthermore, he wrote that "While this A story was filled with plenty of laughs, [...] Dwight's B story was absolutely murderous [and] all gold".[20] He also felt that the C plot was enjoyable, because "Andy is great in small doses".[20]
Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B+" grade. He noted that The Office was not suited for political examination, because, as the show is grounded in reality, the concept of the office as "a microcosm for global politics is … uneven."[21] However, McNutt argued that because the show used the conceit of China as a "red herring [...] to introduce a story about Oscar as 'Actually,' and the gap between Michael’s rhetorical potential and his actual knowledge of just about any subject", the story "steps back and finds a small moment within [the larger] conflict."[21] McNutt also enjoyed the B-plot with Pam and Dwight, noting that the ending was "honestly quite sweet".[21]
References
- ^ Wilson, Rainn (December 13, 2012). "Remember all of these? #FinalSeason". Facebook.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ Randall Einhorn (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (May 7, 2009). "Cafe Disco". The Office. Season 5. Episode 27. NBC.
- Reggie Hudlin (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (October 29, 2009). "Koi Pond". The Office. Season 6. Episode 8. NBC.
- ^ Paul Lieberstein (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (May 20, 2010). "Whistleblower". The Office. Season 6. Episode 26. NBC.
- ^ a b Charles McDougall (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (December 2, 2010). "China". The Office. Season 7. Episode 10. NBC.
- Tribune Media Services. Archived from the originalon December 28, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ Charles McDougall (director); Michael Schur (writer) (December 6, 2005). "Christmas Party". The Office. Season 2. Episode 10. NBC.
- ^ Charles McDougall (director); Paul Lieberstein (writer) (March 2, 2006). "Dwight's Speech". The Office. Season 2. Episode 17. NBC.
- ^ Charles McDougall (director); Greg Daniels (writer) (May 4, 2006). "Conflict Resolution". The Office. Season 2. Episode 21. NBC.
- ^ Charles McDougall (director); Justin Spitzer (writer) (November 19, 2009). "Shareholder Meeting". The Office. Season 6. Episode 11. NBC.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (October 13, 2010). "Milwaukee's Mark "Kenny Strasser" Proksch to appear Thursday on The Office". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2011. The Office: Season Seven Disc 2
- ^ a b Giant, M. "Battle of Wits". Television Without Pity. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ "The Office: Call of Duty". OfficeTally. December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (December 3, 2010). "TV Ratings Thursday: Grey's Anatomy, Office, Outsourced, Bones, Fringe Fall, 30 Rock, Apprentice Rise". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (December 7, 2010). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: Sunday Night Football, Glee, Simpsons, NCIS, Grey's Anatomy Top Week 11 Viewing". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ Reily, Phoebe (December 3, 2010). "The Office Recap: Turning On the Chinese". Vulture. New York Media, LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c Poniewoznik, James (December 3, 2010). "Office Watch: Get Back". Time. Time, Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c Forcella, Dan (December 3, 2010). "The Office Review: 'China'". TV Fanatic. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c McNutt, Myles (December 2, 2010). "'China' | The Office | TV Club". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
External links