Garden Party (The Office)
"Garden Party" | |
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The Office episode | |
Episode no. | Season 8 Episode 4 |
Directed by | David Rogers |
Written by | Justin Spitzer |
Cinematography by | Matt Sohn |
Editing by |
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Production code | 804 |
Original air date | October 13, 2011 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Garden Party" is the fourth episode of the
The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) throws a garden party at Schrute Farms to impress Robert California (James Spader), with Bernard's parents and brother in attendance. Meanwhile, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) works to make it a classy event.
"Garden Party" features a substantial appearance by Josh Groban; Kaling had asked Groban if he could guest star in the series, through Twitter. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism towards its repetition of plot ideas. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Garden Party" drew more than 6 million viewers and received a 3.2 rating/8% share in the 18–49 demographic, staying even with the previous episode, "Lotto". It ranked third in its timeslot, and ranked as the highest-rated NBC series on Thursday.
Synopsis
His father confronts him privately about his outburst, and when Andy admits to trying to win his father's affection, he reacts with annoyance, harshly telling him that he is simply not proud of Andy's accomplishments, and is annoyed at Andy's attempts to gain his approval. This conversation is overheard by the other staff on the
) confide to the camera that they now understand why Andy feels he needs to prove himself to everyone. After his family leaves, a dejected Andy, feeling unwanted by his family and co-workers, says goodbye to the office staff as they turn the garden party into a barbecue. Darryl and Oscar, however, convince Andy to stay with a cheeseburger and a beer.Pam feuds with co-worker Angela Lipton (Angela Kinsey) over baby names. Pam and Angela learn they've both chosen the name Phillip for their soon-to-be-born sons, with Pam naming her child after her deceased grandfather and Angela after her favorite cat. Angela, annoyed that Pam does not relinquish the name, makes a toast to "my son Phillip" at the garden party—only to have Pam make the same toast but describe in great detail how the name honors her grandfather. Angela, unwilling to reveal her feline-centric reasons for the name, simply grouses to the camera that Pam is always copying her.
Throughout the party,
Production
The episode was written by co-executive producer
Reception
Ratings
In its original American broadcast on October 13, 2011, "Garden Party" was viewed by an estimated 6.050 million viewers and received a 3.2 rating/8% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[6] This means that it was seen by 3.2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 8% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. Although seeing a 3.8% increase in viewership, the episode matched the 18–49 demo rating from the previous episode, "Lotto".[7] The episode ranked third in its timeslot beating Person of Interest which received a 2.7 rating/7% share in the 18–49 demographic and The Secret Circle which received a 0.8 rating/2% share, but was defeated by Grey's Anatomy which received a 3.4 rating/9% share and The X Factor which received a 3.6 rating/10% share.[6]
Reviews
The episode received mixed reviews from critics.
Despite this, the episode received some negative reviews. The A.V. Club reviewer Myles McNutt was more negative towards the episode writing that "Here, we have a case where an episode could have signaled at least some sense of what else the show might be interested in other than Andy as the well-meaning but hapless boss and Pam and Angela's dueling pregnancies, and all we got were variations on those storylines with no new angle either narratively". He gave the episode a C.[12] IGN writer Cindy White considered the episode superior to previous "external" episodes "Christening" and "Phyllis' Wedding", but considered it inferior to the "Niagara" and the "classic" "Booze Cruise". She criticized the main plot for rehashing previous plot lines and ultimately gave the episode a 7.0/10.[13]
References
- ^ Moaba, Alex (September 15, 2011). "Mindy Kaling Gets 'Office' Promotion to Executive Producer". AOL TV. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ Keller, Joel (May 12, 2011). "Is Mindy Kaling Done Writing for 'The Office'?". AOL TV. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ Eng, Joyce (August 17, 2011). "Stephen Collins, Dee Wallace to Appear on The Office". TV Guide. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 18, 2011). "Josh Groban To Play Ed Helms' Brother On 'The Office'". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ a b "Q&A: Josh Groban on his Office role". National Post. October 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Gorman, Bill (October 14, 2011). "TV Ratings Thursday: 'X Factor' Drops, Still Leads Fox Win; On A Mixed Night Of Advances & Declines". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (October 7, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'X Factor,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Office,' 'Person of Interest,' 'Parks & Rec' Adjusted Up; 'Private Practice' Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (October 13, 2011). "Review: The Office – Garden Party: The host with the most". HitFix. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ Plante, Chris (October 14, 2011). "The Office Recap: Ain't No Party Like a Garden Party". New York. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Hertz, Barry (October 13, 2011). "Recap: The Office, Season 8, Episode 4". National Post. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ M. Giant (October 13, 2011). "The Office TV Show – Garden Party". Television without a Pity. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ a b McNutt, Myles (October 13, 2011). "Garden Party". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^ White, Cindy (October 14, 2011). "The Office: "Garden Party" Review". IGN. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
External links
- "Garden Party" at NBC.com
- "Garden Party" at IMDb