The Coup (The Office)
"The Coup" | |
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The Office episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Greg Daniels |
Written by | Paul Lieberstein |
Cinematography by | Randall Einhorn |
Editing by | Dean Holland |
Production code | 302 |
Original air date | October 5, 2006 |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"The Coup" is the third episode of the
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) becomes unimpressed with how Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is controlling his branch, so Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) tries to take his job and an office power play ensues. Meanwhile, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) conducts a lunchtime fashion show, and the Stamford branch plays Call of Duty as a team-building exercise, something Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) does not do well in.
The episode was written by co-executive producer
Plot
Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) berates Michael Scott (Steve Carell) when she discovers that he calls the entire office into the conference room every Monday to watch a movie. Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) prods Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) to ask Jan to give him Michael's job. After her awkward meeting with Dwight, where he declares he can be a better boss than Michael, Jan calls Michael and demands he get his branch under control.
The
Meanwhile,
Michael leads Dwight to believe that he has been given control of the branch before revealing the ruse. Dwight begs for his job and for Michael's forgiveness while Angela and the rest of the office watch. Dwight offers to do Michael's laundry for a year. When it appears that Michael is on the verge of firing Dwight, Michael insists that they "hug it out, bitch." Dwight quickly returns to being Michael's loyal right-hand man, but Michael is still resentful, and forces Dwight to stand atop a box in the middle of the office, wearing a sign that says "LIAR"—and then promise to do Michael's laundry for a year.
Production
"The Coup" was written by co-executive producer
In preparation for some episode scenes, Rashida Jones "took some serious Call of Duty" lessons from the writers, as they all played the online game. In the DVD audio commentary, Rainn Wilson stated that he was happy that the series could "have the nuanced stuff and then the really broad stuff"; he referred specifically to Michael confronting Dwight in this episode as well as to the season's twenty-third episode "Beach Games", where "people are running around in inflatable outfits bashing each other." Also in the audio commentary, Jones suggested that Dwight's punishment – being forced to wear a "liar" sign and stand silently on some boxes in the middle of the office – was reminiscent of the iconic photo of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.[2]
The season three DVD contains a number of deleted scenes that were edited from the episode. These include
Reception
Overall, "The Coup" had its moments, but it's far from being among the best Office episodes to date. Dwight being shamed and groveling for mercy on Michael's floor was funny (and disturbing) but not as satisfying as when Pam & Jim pull an elaborate prank on Mr. Schrute. Here's hoping the series kick-starts the Pam-Jim storyline again soon, before we start wondering why those documentary cameras are still following Jim way over in the Stamford branch.
"The Coup" first aired on October 5, 2006, in the United States on
The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
Kath Skerry of Give Me My Remote called Dwight's groveling "hilarious," but was unsure about Jim and Karen's ending scene, explaining that it "was adorable. Too adorable. And I’m not quite ready to handle the fact that I’m not HATING the idea of Jim and Karen. I feel like I’m betraying Pam. I’m still a JAM shipper all the way, but it’s nice to see Jim smile again." Skerry concluded that "there were some seriously funny, laugh out loud moments tonight, but I don’t think this episode is going to make my favorites list. But even when The Office isn’t at its best, it’s still hands down the best comedy on TV."
References
- ^ a b Roger Nygard (director), Jennifer Celotta (writer) (October 5, 2006). "The Coup". The Office. Season 3. Episode 3. NBC.
- ^ Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The Office: Season Three Disc 1
- ISBN 157958215X.
- ^ Flannery, Kate (October 4, 2006). "Episode 4: Grief Counseling". TV Guide. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2007. The Office: Season Three Disc 1
- ^ a b Zoromski, Brian (October 6, 2006). "The Office: The Coup Review". IGN. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ^ "Nielsen primetime ratings report. (Statistical table)". Daily Variety. October 11, 2006. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2012. (subscription required)
- AOLTV. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ^ Skerry, Kath (October 6, 2006). "The Office Recap: The Coup". Give Me My Remote. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
- ^ Chun, Wing. "The Coup". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
External links
- "The Coup" at NBC.com
- "The Coup" at IMDb