New Boss
"New Boss" | |
---|---|
The Office episode | |
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 20 |
Directed by | Paul Feig |
Written by | |
Cinematography by | Randall Einhorn |
Editing by | David Rogers |
Production code | 520 |
Original air date | March 19, 2009 |
Guest appearances | |
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"New Boss" is the twentieth episode of the fifth season of the television series
The episode was written by
Plot
Jim Halpert wears a tuxedo in response to a memo written by Dwight Schrute about "professionalism in the workplace". This leads to an awkward encounter with Charles as Jim explains the tuxedo is a prank. Jim is further scrutinized by Charles when he notices Jim's idea of a "two-way petting zoo" for Michael's party. Jim tries elevating his standing with Charles by discussing his position as Assistant Regional Manager, but when Charles presses him about the position, Jim confesses Michael made it up to appease Dwight. When Charles leaves, Jim says goodbye, with no response. Jim halfheartedly jokes that his career could be over.
Angela Martin and Kelly Kapoor develop crushes on Charles, but their flirtations make him uncomfortable. At the end of the day Kelly puts on more makeup to tempt Charles into asking her out, but he has left. Kelly runs out to the parking lot, finding Angela holding Charles's scarf and chases her. Angela says that Charles deserves better than Kelly.
In New York, Michael tracks down Wallace, who has seemingly been avoiding him. Michael complains about being forced to drive to New York to talk to him, and that he deserves more respect after fifteen years at Dunder Mifflin. David agrees to fund and attend an anniversary party for him. Dissatisfied that David is missing the bigger point, Michael responds by announcing his resignation.
Production
I am much more courageous in real life with the parts I want to play. They don't often come my way. The Office is comedy. No one in a month of Sundays would invite me do comedy. So I love the fact that someone is out there looking and understanding that there might be more in this nutshell.
"New Boss" was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Paul Feig. Executive story editor Charlie Grandy conceived the idea of Michael leaving Dunder Mifflin.
The official The Office website included three cut scenes from "New Boss" within a week of the episode's original release. One clip includes
In what some reporters described as a continuity error, Charles Miner refers to Jim's second-in-command position as "made-up", but the position is real and Jim was officially hired for it in the
Reception
In its original American broadcast on March 19, 2009, "New Boss" was watched by 7.95 million overall viewers and received a
Alan Sepinwall, television critic for The Star-Ledger, said the episode was satisfying, although he felt it was short on laughs, except for Jim's antics with the tuxedo and the episode's documentary-style interviews. Sepinwall particularly praised the twist of Michael quitting and said he looked forward to seeing where the subplot went.[10] Jeff Labrecque said "watching Jim flail for approval [was] one of the episode's most awkward delights", but he said the episode was really about "the type of man Michael Scott really is". Labrecque also said he looked forward to seeing how Michael regained his job, and raised the suggestion that the reason Michael clashed so much with Charles was because he was intimidated by the man's race.[16] Brian Howard of The Journal News said, "For 22 minutes of not much fun and only some funny, 'New Boss' was a pretty good episode." He particularly liked the ending, which he said he did not see coming and served as a kind of redemption for Michael; Howard also liked Pam's documentary interviews and Jim's failed efforts to make a good impression to Charles.[11] Several reviewers particularly praised the line about the "two-way petting zoo", a zoo in which people pet the animals and the animals pet back.[10][11][15]
Joshua Alston of
The introduction of Charles Miner ranked number three in phillyBurbs.com's top ten moments from the fifth season of The Office.[18]
References
- ^ a b Carter, Kelley L. (March 19, 2009). "For Idris Elba, patience pays off with a career in acting". USA Today. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "The Office "Two Weeks" Q&A with Aaron Shure". OfficeTally. April 2, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
- ^ Barshad, Amos (March 19, 2009). "Idris Elba on Moving From "The Wire" to "The Office"". New York. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Stewart, Ryan (March 19, 2009). "TV Tonight: Stringer Bell is on "The Office"". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Chaney, Jen (April 19, 2009). ""I've Been Just the Ordinary Chap for 30-Odd Years": From Stringer Bell to DJ Driis, Idris Elba Is a Looker With Many Faces". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Alston, Joshua (March 20, 2009). "In Which "The Wire" Meets "The Office", and We are Only Mildly Amused". Newsweek. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Leno, Jay (March 13, 2009). "March 13, 2009". The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Burbank, California. NBC.
- ^ "The Office – New Boss – Clip One – Video". NBC. March 21, 2009. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ "The Office – The Boss – Clip Two – Video". NBC. March 21, 2009. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c Sepinwall, Alan (March 20, 2009). "The Office, "New Boss": Charles in charge of Michael's wrongs and his rights". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b c Howard, Brian (March 20, 2009). "The Office recap: New Boss". The Journal News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (March 20, 2009). "Thursday Ratings: Down to the Wire". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- National Public Radio. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ Fickett, Travis (March 20, 2009). "The Office: "New Boss" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Abbas, Shahzad (March 20, 2009). ""The Office" Episode Recap: "New Boss"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Labrecque, Jeff. ""The Office" recap: Managing expectations". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ Howard, Brian (March 26, 2009). "The Office preview: Two Weeks (hint: Spoiler alert)". The Journal News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- ^ Wielgus, Jen (May 14, 2009). ""The Office": Top 10 moments from Season 5". phillyBurbs.com. Retrieved May 16, 2009.[permanent dead link]
External links
- "New Boss" at NBC.com
- "New Boss" at IMDb