Lecture Circuit
Encyclopedia
"Lecture Circuit" is a two-part episode of the American comedy television series The Office. They constituted the sixteenth and seventeenth episodes of the fifth season
, and the 88th and 89th overall episodes of the series. The first episode originally aired on NBC
on February 5, 2009, and the second on February 12.
During both episodes, Michael
and Pam
visit the various branches of Dunder Mifflin to make business lectures, and in particular visit the Utica branch - where Jim
's ex-girlfriend Karen
is regional manager, and the Nashua branch, where Michael's ex-girlfriend and the love of his life, Holly
is an H.R. rep. In both episodes, Jim and Dwight
hit a snag as the new heads of the Party Planning Committee when they forget Kelly
's birthday. In the first episode, Andy
develops a crush on a customer, and in the second episode, Angela
's unhealthy obsession with her cats is spotlighted when she installs a nanny cam.
Both episodes were directed by Ken Kwapis
and written by Mindy Kaling
, who also plays Kelly Kapoor in the show.
"Lecture Circuit" included guest appearances by screenwriter Dan Goor, comedian Rob Huebel
and actress Rashida Jones
, who reprises her role of Karen Filippelli
, a regular character from the third season
. Although the character Holly Flax played a major part in the storyline, actress Amy Ryan
did not appear in "Lecture Circuit". The episodes received generally positive reviews. According to Nielsen Media Research
, the first part was watched by 8.4 million households and the second part was watched by 8.89 million households.
(Steve Carell
) is asked to visit the Dunder Mifflin branches to lecture about his success in Scranton. He and Pam
(Jenna Fischer
), who is coming along as his assistant and driver, plan to visit every branch except Nashua
because Michael is not ready to face his ex-girlfriend Holly
, who works there. They first visit the Utica
branch, where former Scranton employee Karen
(Rashida Jones
) is now regional manager. Pam, who is engaged to Karen's ex-boyfriend Jim
(John Krasinski
), fears the encounter will be awkward. But Karen is now married and pregnant, and the two get along very well. Michael's lecture in Utica proves to be a disaster when he tries to teach the employees a trick for how to memorize names and ends up insulting everybody. Nevertheless, Pam is ecstatic to have found closure with Karen. Later, on the road, Michael tells Pam that he never found closure with Holly and, at Pam's suggestion, they decide to blow off the other lectures and drive to Nashua to find Holly.
Back in Scranton, Jim and Dwight
(Rainn Wilson
) have been named the reluctant heads of the Party Planning Committee due to previous fights between Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) and Angela
(Angela Kinsey
). Jim and Dwight prove terrible at the job, especially when an upset Kelly
(Mindy Kaling
) chastises them for forgetting her birthday. They try to make it up to her by throwing a party but they do a poor job, choosing horrible decorations and forgetting Kelly's age. When Dwight reads her file and learns Kelly spent time in juvenile hall, but is disappointed to learn it does not affect her job performance. Meanwhile, Andy
(Ed Helms
) finds himself attracted to Julia, a female potential client who is talking with Stanley
(Leslie David Baker
). Andy repeatedly acts awkwardly in front of Julia, and accidentally sets off her car alarm while trying to look inside and find out what music she likes. Andy admits his attraction to her to Stanley, who then gives the potential client over to Andy in exchange for two of his clients. After walking her out to the car, Andy tries to kiss her, but is immediately rebuked. Andy apologizes and mentions that he just got out of a relationship. The client claims she also just got out of a relationship and Andy starts feeling a connection, but she still rejects him and he loses the account.
). Deeply upset, Michael is at first unable to go forward with the presentation, but Pam tries to comfort him by telling him that she felt the same way when Jim was dating Karen. She encourages Michael to do the best presentation possible so people will tell Holly about it. He starts the presentation, but it falls apart when Michael starts asking A. J. intimate questions about his relationship with Holly. Michael leaves in the middle of the talk, leaving Pam to awkwardly finish the rest of the presentation. When Michael goes to Holly's desk he cuts a sleeve off her sweater, and notices a document on her computer called "Dear Michael", which he copies onto his flash drive. Later, at a diner, Michael tells Pam about the letter, but she insists reading it would be violating Holly's trust. Pam herself reads the letter and does not tell him the exact contents, but she reassures him Holly still has feelings for Michael and it is not over, giving an ecstatic Michael the closure he sought.
Back in Scranton, the party planning continues to go poorly. Dwight publicly and loudly confronts Kelly about her time in juvenile hall, which turns out to be for stealing the boat of an ex-boyfriend when she was 14. Kelly also declares she hates the cake Jim picked for her, which is completely blank; he later decorates it and spells her name incorrectly as "Kelley". When Kelly insists the party needs a theme, Jim and Dwight are unable to think of anything. They finally settle on offering her one hour of napping or one hour of watching television. She loves the idea and chooses the nap. Meanwhile, Angela appears much happier than usual because she bought a new $7,000 cat with the money she received from selling Andy's engagement ring. She has also set up a nanny cam
so she can monitor the cats from work. However, she is horrified to watch one of her other cats trying to have sex with the new cat, and rushes home to stop it. Later, Kevin
(Brian Baumgartner
) and Oscar
(Oscar Nunez
) watch Angela arrive home on the nanny cam screen, and become disgusted when Angela starts licking the cat to help clean it. Angela eventually returns to work and coughs up a hairball. Oscar claims the image will haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Lecture Circuit" was directed by Ken Kwapis
and written by Mindy Kaling
, who also plays Kelly Kapoor in the show. The first episode included a cameo performance by Rashida Jones, a regular cast member during the third season
, where she played Jim Halpert's love interest Karen Filippelli. "Lecture Circuit" aired just two months before Jones began her regular role as Ann Perkins
in the NBC
comedy series Parks and Recreation
, which was created by Office producers Greg Daniels
and Michael Schur
. Dan Goor, a future writer for Parks and Recreation, made a cameo as Karen's husband in the photographs featured in the part one episode. Rob Huebel, a comedian best known for the MTV
sketch comedy series Human Giant
, guest starred as Holly's boyfriend, A.J. Amy Ryan, who played Holly Flax in previous episodes, did not appear in either "Lecture Circuit" episode, although the decision by Michael and Pam to visit Holly at the end of the first episode led to speculation about whether she would appear in the second.
", where Michael passed out chocolate bars during his speech to a business school classroom. Michael expresses regret for insulting Tony Gardner, the heavyset man who briefly transferred from the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin to the Scranton branch, who Michael drives to quit by trying to lift onto a table for an orientation demonstration in the third season episode, "The Merger
". Among the Dunder Mifflin branches Michael visits is Nashua, New Hampshire
, where Holly works, and Utica, New York
, where Karen works. Michael said he can only prepare for his lectures by listening to "silence or Sam Kinison
", an American stand-up comedian known for his extreme and vulgar sense of humor. Michael said he learned the Pledge of Allegiance
, the lyrical oath of loyalty to the United States flag
, by setting the lyrics to the rhythm of "Old McDonald Had a Farm
", a children's song about the various animals on a farm. During one lecture, Michael and Pam both do impressions of the protagonist from Forrest Gump
, the 1994 film starring Tom Hanks
as a mentally handicapped man. Michael also uses the title from the films Good Morning, Vietnam
(at his Nashua lecture by saying "Good morning, Vietna...shua!") The Princess Bride
, Gone with the Wind
and Jerry Maguire
in his lectures. Holly's computer has a screensaver
with images of Ed Grimley
, the nerdy character with a cowlick played by comedian Martin Short
in the comedy shows SCTV
and Saturday Night Live
.
Angela said she sold Andy's engagement ring on eBay
, an online auction website. Creed gives Andy romantic advice and says, "This is how I got Squeaky Fromme", a reference to the Manson family
member who tried to assassinate U.S. President
Gerald Ford
. A picture of President George W. Bush
appears on a fake three-dollar bill Creed gives Jim to pay for the party. Creed suggests Kelly watch The Bonnie Hunt Show
, a syndicated talk show hosted by actress Bonnie Hunt
. Andy puts Splenda
, an artificial sweetener, into Stanley's coffee because he has adult onset diabetes
, a disorder characterized by high blood glucose. Andy sings Julia a song by Feist, the Canadian
singer and songwriter, after he spots a Feist CD in her car. Michael takes a document file from Holly's computer that was created with Microsoft Word
, the Microsoft
word processing program. Pam said she hates the notion of even Al-Qaeda
hating her, a reference to the Islamist
terrorist organization that organized the September 11 attacks against New York City
. Kelly confesses she went to juvenile detention in Berks County, Pennsylvania
, at age 14 for doing something "like Thelma & Louise, but with a boat", a reference to the 1991 road movie
starring Geena Davis
and Susan Sarandon
on the run from their troubled, caged lives. Jim said during a birthday trip to a museum at age seven, his father bought him a plastic toy triceratops
, a three-horned dinosaur
from the Late Cretaceous Period
, which Dwight insists is not a good dinosaur. Pam remembers the name of one audience member by comparing her to k.d. Lang
, the Canadian singer known for her extremely short hair.
. The original broadcast for the second part on February 12 was seen by 8.89 million household viewers. The second episode received a 4.3 rating/11 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 3.8 rating/9 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, numbers which were close to the season's average rating. The first episode received a 5.0 rating/14 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 4.3 rating/11 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. Both ratings were three-tenths of a drop from the previous episode, "Stress Relief
", which was heavily viewed because it immediately followed the broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII
on NBC. The drop in ratings led some media outlets to speculate that the post-Super Bowl ratings boost was only temporary and would not help The Office in the long run.
Both episodes of "Lecture Circuit" received generally positive reviews. Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly
described them as "nearly perfect", calling them the two best episodes of the season so far: "(Writer Mindy Kaling) nailed the characterizations, the interactions, the tossed-off one-liners, the weird-yet-realistic scenarios...I wonder how much it helps that she's out on the acting floor every day, getting attuned to her costars' rhythms?" Josh McAuliffe of The Times-Tribune of Scranton
, Pennsylvania
, said the first "Lecture Circuit" episode was his favorite episode of the fifth season so far, which he said provided several laugh-out-loud moments and a poignancy with Michael's decision to find Holly. McAuliffe described the second episode as a "satisfying wrap-up" and said Michael's outburst during the lecture was "one of the most painful Michael meltdown moments in the show's history". Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger
said the first episode perfectly balanced drama and comedy. He particularly complimented the chemistry between both Carell and Fischer and between Krasinski and Wilson, and said he was particularly pleased to receive closure over the Karen character. But Sepinwall said the second episode felt padded with "material I would have been fine seeing as deleted scenes". Although he said Carell's reaction to the news that Holly still has feelings for him as a "wonderful performance", Sepinwall also said the subplot involving Angela's cat was particularly unfunny and that subplot with Jim and Dwight, "so brilliant last week, ran out of steam quickly here."
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club
said the episode "was full of laughs but had a bit of a bittersweet aftertaste" and had "one hell of a cliffhanger" ending. Rabin praised the Jim and Dwight teaming in the first episode, but said the plot line of Michael's lectures were predictable and "promised more than it delivered". Rabin said the second episode "wrapped up everything nicely (and) delivered laughs aplenty"; he particularly enjoyed the subplot involving Angela's cats, and the fact that it "left the door open for Holly's return". Will Leitch
of New York
magazine praised the cliffhanger ending of the first episode and said he was pleased the Holly character was still in the show's equation. Leitch also praised Ed Helms, who "is nailing the right combination of ridiculous and sad-sack pathos", although he said he "(wasn't) nearly as inspired" by the Jim and Dwight subplot. Leitch also enjoyed the second episode, particularly the "legitimately sweet moment" when Pam tells Michael that Holly still has feelings for him. Leitch was less praiseworthy of the Angela subplot involving her cats, and said the character "appears to have officially gone batshit insane." Travis Fickett of IGN
criticized the first episode and said, "I'm starting to wonder if the show is showing signs of winding down." Fickett said the idea of Michael giving awkward lecture tours felt old and familiar, so much so that "I was convinced it was a repeat". He also said the Jim and Dwight idea was funny, but "nothing the show hasn't tapped before". Likewise, Fickett described the second episode as "average Office and feels overly familiar without really blazing any new ground." He also said it was disappointing Holly did not appear, and that Angela felt like a "caricature" in her subplot.
The first part of the episode was voted the fifth highest-rated episode out of 26 from the fifth season, according to an episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally; the episode was rated 8.64 out of 10. The second part of the episode, however, was voted the third-worst of the season, with a rating of 7.14 However, the scene with Angela licking her cat was heavily criticized by reviewers, prompting some observers to describe it as the moment when The Office jumped the shark
, a phrase used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful television show. When asked about this during an interview, actor Oscar Nuñez responded, "No show is 'Jump the Shark'-proof, but there have been other moments on The Office that I think were more 'Jump the Shark' than that." He did not specify what other moments he meant.
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 5
The fifth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States in the 2008–2009 television season on NBC on September 25, 2008 and concluded on May 14, 2009. The fifth season consisted of 28 half-hours of material, divided into 24 half-hour episodes and two hour-long...
, and the 88th and 89th overall episodes of the series. The first episode originally aired on NBC
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...
on February 5, 2009, and the second on February 12.
During both episodes, 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...
and 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....
visit the various branches of Dunder Mifflin to make business lectures, and in particular visit the Utica branch - where Jim
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...
's ex-girlfriend Karen
Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. She is played by Rashida Jones. She is loosely based on the character of Rachel from the original UK version of the show, in that she transferred during the merger of the two branches, and became romantically...
is regional manager, and the Nashua branch, where Michael's ex-girlfriend and the love of his life, Holly
Holly Flax
Hollis "Holly" Partridge Flax is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by Amy Ryan. She was an original character, and not based on a character from the British version of the show...
is an H.R. rep. In both episodes, Jim and Dwight
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
hit a snag as the new heads of the Party Planning Committee when they forget 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....
's birthday. In the first episode, Andy
Andy Bernard
Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. The character is highly insecure, yet egotistical, constantly mentioning his education at Cornell University...
develops a crush on a customer, and in the second episode, 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:...
's unhealthy obsession with her cats is spotlighted when she installs a nanny cam.
Both episodes were directed by Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and He's Just Not That Into...
and written by 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...
, who also plays Kelly Kapoor in the show.
"Lecture Circuit" included guest appearances by screenwriter Dan Goor, comedian Rob Huebel
Rob Huebel
Rob Huebel is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.-Early life:...
and actress Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
, who reprises her role of Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. She is played by Rashida Jones. She is loosely based on the character of Rachel from the original UK version of the show, in that she transferred during the merger of the two branches, and became romantically...
, a regular character from the third season
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 3
The third season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 21, 2006, and concluded on May 17, 2007. The season had a total of 25 half-hours of material, divided into 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour...
. Although the character Holly Flax played a major part in the storyline, actress Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan
Amy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The...
did not appear in "Lecture Circuit". The episodes received generally positive reviews. According to Nielsen Media Research
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...
, the first part was watched by 8.4 million households and the second part was watched by 8.89 million households.
Part one
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...
) is asked to visit the Dunder Mifflin branches to lecture about his success in Scranton. He and 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,...
), who is coming along as his assistant and driver, plan to visit every branch except Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
because Michael is not ready to face his ex-girlfriend Holly
Holly Flax
Hollis "Holly" Partridge Flax is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by Amy Ryan. She was an original character, and not based on a character from the British version of the show...
, who works there. They first visit the Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
branch, where former Scranton employee Karen
Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. She is played by Rashida Jones. She is loosely based on the character of Rachel from the original UK version of the show, in that she transferred during the merger of the two branches, and became romantically...
(Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
) is now regional manager. Pam, who is engaged to Karen's ex-boyfriend Jim
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...
(John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
), fears the encounter will be awkward. But Karen is now married and pregnant, and the two get along very well. Michael's lecture in Utica proves to be a disaster when he tries to teach the employees a trick for how to memorize names and ends up insulting everybody. Nevertheless, Pam is ecstatic to have found closure with Karen. Later, on the road, Michael tells Pam that he never found closure with Holly and, at Pam's suggestion, they decide to blow off the other lectures and drive to Nashua to find Holly.
Back in Scranton, Jim and Dwight
Dwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
(Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
) have been named the reluctant heads of the Party Planning Committee due to previous fights between Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) and 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:...
). Jim and Dwight prove terrible at the job, especially when an upset 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...
) chastises them for forgetting her birthday. They try to make it up to her by throwing a party but they do a poor job, choosing horrible decorations and forgetting Kelly's age. When Dwight reads her file and learns Kelly spent time in juvenile hall, but is disappointed to learn it does not affect her job performance. Meanwhile, Andy
Andy Bernard
Andrew "Andy" Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. The character is highly insecure, yet egotistical, constantly mentioning his education at Cornell University...
(Ed Helms
Ed Helms
Edward Paul "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andy Bernard on the US version of the sitcom/mockumentary The Office and for his role as Dr. Stu Price in The Hangover films.- Early life :Helms was born and raised...
) finds himself attracted to Julia, a female potential client who is talking with 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...
). Andy repeatedly acts awkwardly in front of Julia, and accidentally sets off her car alarm while trying to look inside and find out what music she likes. Andy admits his attraction to her to Stanley, who then gives the potential client over to Andy in exchange for two of his clients. After walking her out to the car, Andy tries to kiss her, but is immediately rebuked. Andy apologizes and mentions that he just got out of a relationship. The client claims she also just got out of a relationship and Andy starts feeling a connection, but she still rejects him and he loses the account.
Part two
Michael and Pam arrive at the Nashua branch, only to learn Holly is away on a human relations retreat. They also learn Holly is dating one of the Nashua salesmen named A. J. (Rob HuebelRob Huebel
Rob Huebel is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.-Early life:...
). Deeply upset, Michael is at first unable to go forward with the presentation, but Pam tries to comfort him by telling him that she felt the same way when Jim was dating Karen. She encourages Michael to do the best presentation possible so people will tell Holly about it. He starts the presentation, but it falls apart when Michael starts asking A. J. intimate questions about his relationship with Holly. Michael leaves in the middle of the talk, leaving Pam to awkwardly finish the rest of the presentation. When Michael goes to Holly's desk he cuts a sleeve off her sweater, and notices a document on her computer called "Dear Michael", which he copies onto his flash drive. Later, at a diner, Michael tells Pam about the letter, but she insists reading it would be violating Holly's trust. Pam herself reads the letter and does not tell him the exact contents, but she reassures him Holly still has feelings for Michael and it is not over, giving an ecstatic Michael the closure he sought.
Back in Scranton, the party planning continues to go poorly. Dwight publicly and loudly confronts Kelly about her time in juvenile hall, which turns out to be for stealing the boat of an ex-boyfriend when she was 14. Kelly also declares she hates the cake Jim picked for her, which is completely blank; he later decorates it and spells her name incorrectly as "Kelley". When Kelly insists the party needs a theme, Jim and Dwight are unable to think of anything. They finally settle on offering her one hour of napping or one hour of watching television. She loves the idea and chooses the nap. Meanwhile, Angela appears much happier than usual because she bought a new $7,000 cat with the money she received from selling Andy's engagement ring. She has also set up a nanny cam
Nanny cam
A Nanny Cam, or Nanny Camera, sensationalized to the phrase "spy camera" is a hidden video camera that has been secretly installed within a common household object...
so she can monitor the cats from work. However, she is horrified to watch one of her other cats trying to have sex with the new cat, and rushes home to stop it. Later, 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:...
) and Oscar
Oscar Martinez
Oscar Jual Paul Martinez is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Oscar Nunez.-Overview:Oscar Martinez is an accountant at the paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. He is a first generation Mexican-American. Oscar is also openly homosexual after being...
(Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez , sometimes credited as Oscar Núñez, is a Cuban American actor and comedian.He currently appears as Dunder Mifflin's paper supply accountant, Oscar Martinez, on NBC's The Office.-Career:...
) watch Angela arrive home on the nanny cam screen, and become disgusted when Angela starts licking the cat to help clean it. Angela eventually returns to work and coughs up a hairball. Oscar claims the image will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Production
Ken Kwapis
Ken Kwapis is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and He's Just Not That Into...
and written by 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...
, who also plays Kelly Kapoor in the show. The first episode included a cameo performance by Rashida Jones, a regular cast member during the third season
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 3
The third season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 21, 2006, and concluded on May 17, 2007. The season had a total of 25 half-hours of material, divided into 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour...
, where she played Jim Halpert's love interest Karen Filippelli. "Lecture Circuit" aired just two months before Jones began her regular role as Ann Perkins
Ann Perkins
Ann Meredith Perkins is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is a nurse and best friend of Leslie Knope. She is portrayed by Rashida Jones.-Season one:...
in the NBC
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...
comedy series Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
, which was created by Office producers Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
and Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
. Dan Goor, a future writer for Parks and Recreation, made a cameo as Karen's husband in the photographs featured in the part one episode. Rob Huebel, a comedian best known for the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
sketch comedy series Human Giant
Human Giant
Human Giant is a sketch comedy show on MTV, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer and directed primarily by Jason Woliner.The show has completed two seasons. The status of a third season is unknown...
, guest starred as Holly's boyfriend, A.J. Amy Ryan, who played Holly Flax in previous episodes, did not appear in either "Lecture Circuit" episode, although the decision by Michael and Pam to visit Holly at the end of the first episode led to speculation about whether she would appear in the second.
Cultural references
Michael handing out candy bars during his lectures is a reference to the third season episode, "Business SchoolBusiness School (The Office)
"Business School" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's forty-fifth episode overall...
", where Michael passed out chocolate bars during his speech to a business school classroom. Michael expresses regret for insulting Tony Gardner, the heavyset man who briefly transferred from the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin to the Scranton branch, who Michael drives to quit by trying to lift onto a table for an orientation demonstration in the third season episode, "The Merger
The Merger (The Office)
"The Merger" is the eighth episode of the third season of The Office . It aired on November 16, 2006, as a special 40-minute episode on NBC.In this episode, the Scranton and Stamford branches are merged...
". Among the Dunder Mifflin branches Michael visits is Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
, where Holly works, and Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, where Karen works. Michael said he can only prepare for his lectures by listening to "silence or Sam Kinison
Sam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
", an American stand-up comedian known for his extreme and vulgar sense of humor. Michael said he learned the Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
, the lyrical oath of loyalty to the United States flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
, by setting the lyrics to the rhythm of "Old McDonald Had a Farm
Old McDonald Had a Farm
"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a children's song and nursery rhyme about a farmer named MacDonald and the various animals he keeps on his farm. Each verse of the song changes the name of the animal and its respective noise. In many versions, the song is cumulative, with the noises from all the...
", a children's song about the various animals on a farm. During one lecture, Michael and Pam both do impressions of the protagonist from Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
, the 1994 film starring Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
as a mentally handicapped man. Michael also uses the title from the films Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 American comedy-drama film set in Saigon during the Vietnam War, based on the career of Adrian Cronauer, a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio Service , who proves hugely popular with the troops serving in South Vietnam, but infuriates his superiors with what they call...
(at his Nashua lecture by saying "Good morning, Vietna...shua!") The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride is a 1973 fantasy novel written by William Goldman. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, while in the UK it is/was published by Bloomsbury Publishing....
, Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
and 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...
in his lectures. Holly's computer has a screensaver
Screensaver
A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
with images of Ed Grimley
Ed Grimley
Edward Mayhoff 'Ed' Grimley is a fictional character created and portrayed by Martin Short. Developed amongst The Second City improv comedy troupe, Grimley made his television debut the sketch comedy show SCTV in 1982, leading to popular success for both Short and the persona continued on Saturday...
, the nerdy character with a cowlick played by comedian Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
in the comedy shows SCTV
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
and Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
Angela said she sold Andy's engagement ring on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, an online auction website. Creed gives Andy romantic advice and says, "This is how I got Squeaky Fromme", a reference to the Manson family
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
member who tried to assassinate U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. A picture of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appears on a fake three-dollar bill Creed gives Jim to pay for the party. Creed suggests Kelly watch The Bonnie Hunt Show
The Bonnie Hunt Show
The Bonnie Hunt Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted by Bonnie Hunt. It premiered on September 8, 2008. It is the second show featuring Bonnie Hunt to have that title. The first was a sitcom that ran for one season in 1995 and was retitled Bonnie when it returned after a mid-season hiatus...
, a syndicated talk show hosted by actress Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Lynne Hunt is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.- Early life :...
. Andy puts 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, into Stanley's coffee because he has adult onset diabetes
Diabetes mellitus type 2
Diabetes mellitus type 2formerly non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetesis a metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood glucose in the context of insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. Diabetes is often initially managed by increasing exercise and...
, a disorder characterized by high blood glucose. Andy sings Julia a song by Feist, the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer and songwriter, after he spots a Feist CD in her car. Michael takes a document file from Holly's computer that was created with Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
word processing program. Pam said she hates the notion of even Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
hating her, a reference to the Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
terrorist organization that organized the September 11 attacks against New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Kelly confesses she went to juvenile detention in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, at age 14 for doing something "like Thelma & Louise, but with a boat", a reference to the 1991 road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
starring Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
and Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
on the run from their troubled, caged lives. Jim said during a birthday trip to a museum at age seven, his father bought him a plastic toy triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
, a three-horned dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
from the Late Cretaceous Period
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, which Dwight insists is not a good dinosaur. Pam remembers the name of one audience member by comparing her to k.d. Lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, the Canadian singer known for her extremely short hair.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on February 5, 2009, the first part of "Lecture Circuit" was seen by 8.4 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen 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...
. The original broadcast for the second part on February 12 was seen by 8.89 million household viewers. The second episode received a 4.3 rating/11 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 3.8 rating/9 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, numbers which were close to the season's average rating. The first episode received a 5.0 rating/14 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 4.3 rating/11 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. Both ratings were three-tenths of a drop from the previous episode, "Stress Relief
Stress Relief
"Stress Relief" is a two-part episode of the American comedy television series The Office. They constituted the fourteenth and fifteenth episode of the fifth season, and the 86th and 87th overall episodes of the series...
", which was heavily viewed because it immediately followed the broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
on NBC. The drop in ratings led some media outlets to speculate that the post-Super Bowl ratings boost was only temporary and would not help The Office in the long run.
Both episodes of "Lecture Circuit" received generally positive reviews. Whitney Pastorek of 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...
described them as "nearly perfect", calling them the two best episodes of the season so far: "(Writer Mindy Kaling) nailed the characterizations, the interactions, the tossed-off one-liners, the weird-yet-realistic scenarios...I wonder how much it helps that she's out on the acting floor every day, getting attuned to her costars' rhythms?" Josh McAuliffe of The Times-Tribune of 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...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, said the first "Lecture Circuit" episode was his favorite episode of the fifth season so far, which he said provided several laugh-out-loud moments and a poignancy with Michael's decision to find Holly. McAuliffe described the second episode as a "satisfying wrap-up" and said Michael's outburst during the lecture was "one of the most painful Michael meltdown moments in the show's history". 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...
said the first episode perfectly balanced drama and comedy. He particularly complimented the chemistry between both Carell and Fischer and between Krasinski and Wilson, and said he was particularly pleased to receive closure over the Karen character. But Sepinwall said the second episode felt padded with "material I would have been fine seeing as deleted scenes". Although he said Carell's reaction to the news that Holly still has feelings for him as a "wonderful performance", Sepinwall also said the subplot involving Angela's cat was particularly unfunny and that subplot with Jim and Dwight, "so brilliant last week, ran out of steam quickly here."
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
said the episode "was full of laughs but had a bit of a bittersweet aftertaste" and had "one hell of a cliffhanger" ending. Rabin praised the Jim and Dwight teaming in the first episode, but said the plot line of Michael's lectures were predictable and "promised more than it delivered". Rabin said the second episode "wrapped up everything nicely (and) delivered laughs aplenty"; he particularly enjoyed the subplot involving Angela's cats, and the fact that it "left the door open for Holly's return". Will Leitch
Will Leitch
William F. Leitch is a writer based in New York City and the founding editor of the Gawker Media sports blog Deadspin...
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 praised the cliffhanger ending of the first episode and said he was pleased the Holly character was still in the show's equation. Leitch also praised Ed Helms, who "is nailing the right combination of ridiculous and sad-sack pathos", although he said he "(wasn't) nearly as inspired" by the Jim and Dwight subplot. Leitch also enjoyed the second episode, particularly the "legitimately sweet moment" when Pam tells Michael that Holly still has feelings for him. Leitch was less praiseworthy of the Angela subplot involving her cats, and said the character "appears to have officially gone batshit insane." 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...
criticized the first episode and said, "I'm starting to wonder if the show is showing signs of winding down." Fickett said the idea of Michael giving awkward lecture tours felt old and familiar, so much so that "I was convinced it was a repeat". He also said the Jim and Dwight idea was funny, but "nothing the show hasn't tapped before". Likewise, Fickett described the second episode as "average Office and feels overly familiar without really blazing any new ground." He also said it was disappointing Holly did not appear, and that Angela felt like a "caricature" in her subplot.
The first part of the episode was voted the fifth highest-rated episode out of 26 from the fifth season, according to an episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally; the episode was rated 8.64 out of 10. The second part of the episode, however, was voted the third-worst of the season, with a rating of 7.14 However, the scene with Angela licking her cat was heavily criticized by reviewers, prompting some observers to describe it as the moment when The Office jumped the shark
Jumping the shark
Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery....
, a phrase used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful television show. When asked about this during an interview, actor Oscar Nuñez responded, "No show is 'Jump the Shark'-proof, but there have been other moments on The Office that I think were more 'Jump the Shark' than that." He did not specify what other moments he meant.