Secret Santa (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"Secret Santa" is the 13th episode of the sixth season
of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 113th episode overall. It was written by Mindy Kaling
and directed by Randall Einhorn
. The night the episode premiered, it was immediately followed by an episode of 30 Rock
with the same title
.
In this episode, the office throws a Christmas party, and Michael is upset when Jim allows Phyllis to be Santa, since he has always been the one to dress up. Meanwhile, Oscar develops a crush on a new warehouse worker, and Andy's secret Santa gift to Erin - the 12 Days of Christmas, featuring live birds - does not go as well as planned.
(Steve Carell
) comes into the office as Santa
and is outraged that Jim
(John Krasinski
) had already allowed Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) to be Santa at the office Christmas
party this year. Everyone seems to enjoy having Phyllis as Santa, but Michael continues to try and steal her thunder, prompting Jim to tell him to cease and desist. Michael then rearranges his costume into a Jesus
outfit and starts interrupting Phyllis while she's giving out the Secret Santa
gifts. When Jim stops Michael again, Michael calls CFO David Wallace
(Andy Buckley) to complain. David asks not to be bothered as someone made an agreement to buy the company, and David and presumably everyone else will lose their jobs after the fact.
Michael calls a conference meeting to try and keep up everyone's spirits but reveals that the company is going out of business, which puts everyone into shock. When Jim asks for confirmation, Michael says that David told him that the company is being sold. Jim notes that being sold could be different than going out of business, so Michael calls back David with everyone listening. David reveals that he meant that only he, CEO Alan Brand, and a few other executives at corporate will lose their jobs, but the branches will stay as they are the only successful aspect of the company. The office then cheers and goes back to the party, where everyone receives their Secret Santa gifts and Michael apologizes to Phyllis for trying to overshadow her.
Oscar
(Oscar Nunez
) has a secret crush on one of the new warehouse workers Matt (Sam Daly
). Pam (Jenna Fischer
) tries to play matchmaker and introduces Matt to Oscar. After conversing a while, Matt leaves and Oscar asks Pam to let him pursue Matt by himself. Meanwhile, Dwight explains that his present has been delivered to him in pieces over the course of several weeks. After his first attempt to assemble it, he believes it is a gun. However, after a hint from Michael, he rebuilds it and realizes it is in fact a nutcracker. He is pleased, exclaiming "Oh man! I can use this for so many nuts!" Additionally, Andy
(Ed Helms
) had asked to have Erin
(Ellie Kemper
) as his recipient for Secret Santa and decides to give her the Twelve Days of Christmas
as his gift to her. However, the gifts, most of which are actual live birds, are causing her physical harm, prompting her to publicly ask her Secret Santa to discontinue. Andy asks Phyllis not to reveal him as Erin's Secret Santa, but Michael reveals that Andy had Erin for Secret Santa and she becomes upset with Andy. At the end of the episode, as the office leaves for the night, they are greeted by the "twelve drummers" in the parking lot. Andy joins them and wishes Erin a Merry Christmas, completing his Secret Santa gift to her. They start drumming and Erin is visibly pleased by the gesture.
's Dan Phillips gave the episode a 8.7/10 saying that "The episode had a lot of great lines; for example Jim eventually shows up with a great line of his own, telling Michael, "You can't yell out 'I need this, I need this!' as you pin down an employee on your lap" and also noting "there have been better, funnier Christmas episodes in the past, but not by all that much".
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 6
The American television comedy The Office was renewed by NBC for a sixth season on January 15, 2009. The season premiered on September 17, 2009 and concluded on May 20, 2010. The episodes aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EDT as part of Comedy Night Done Right...
of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 113th episode overall. It was 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...
and directed by Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn is an American television director and cinematographer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.Einhorn is best known for his work on The Office . He also directed The Accountants, a ten-part webisode spinoff of The Office which appeared online between the second and third seasons...
. The night the episode premiered, it was immediately followed by an episode of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
with the same title
Secret Santa (30 Rock)
"Secret Santa" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American television comedy series 30 Rock, and the 66th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by series' creator Tina Fey and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company ...
.
In this episode, the office throws a Christmas party, and Michael is upset when Jim allows Phyllis to be Santa, since he has always been the one to dress up. Meanwhile, Oscar develops a crush on a new warehouse worker, and Andy's secret Santa gift to Erin - the 12 Days of Christmas, featuring live birds - does not go as well as planned.
Synopsis
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...
) comes into the office as Santa
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
and is outraged that 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...
) had already allowed Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) to be Santa at the office Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
party this year. Everyone seems to enjoy having Phyllis as Santa, but Michael continues to try and steal her thunder, prompting Jim to tell him to cease and desist. Michael then rearranges his costume into a Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
outfit and starts interrupting Phyllis while she's giving out the Secret Santa
Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition, in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a gift. Often practiced in workplaces, or amongst large families, participation in it is usually voluntary...
gifts. When Jim stops Michael again, Michael calls CFO David Wallace
David Wallace (The Office)
David Wallace is a character in the American television show The Office and was the chief financial officer of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, before being fired in late 2009 after the company was bought by Sabre. He is portrayed by Andy Buckley.- Character history :David Wallace was...
(Andy Buckley) to complain. David asks not to be bothered as someone made an agreement to buy the company, and David and presumably everyone else will lose their jobs after the fact.
Michael calls a conference meeting to try and keep up everyone's spirits but reveals that the company is going out of business, which puts everyone into shock. When Jim asks for confirmation, Michael says that David told him that the company is being sold. Jim notes that being sold could be different than going out of business, so Michael calls back David with everyone listening. David reveals that he meant that only he, CEO Alan Brand, and a few other executives at corporate will lose their jobs, but the branches will stay as they are the only successful aspect of the company. The office then cheers and goes back to the party, where everyone receives their Secret Santa gifts and Michael apologizes to Phyllis for trying to overshadow her.
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:...
) has a secret crush on one of the new warehouse workers Matt (Sam Daly
Sam Daly
Sam Daly is an American actor. He is the son of actor Tim Daly and actress Amy Van Nostrand. His aunt is actress Tyne Daly. He is a 2006 graduate of Middlebury College, where he captained the basketball team his senior year.-Feature films:-Television:-References:...
). Pam (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,...
) tries to play matchmaker and introduces Matt to Oscar. After conversing a while, Matt leaves and Oscar asks Pam to let him pursue Matt by himself. Meanwhile, Dwight explains that his present has been delivered to him in pieces over the course of several weeks. After his first attempt to assemble it, he believes it is a gun. However, after a hint from Michael, he rebuilds it and realizes it is in fact a nutcracker. He is pleased, exclaiming "Oh man! I can use this for so many nuts!" Additionally, 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...
) had asked to have Erin
Erin Hannon
Kelly Erin Hannon is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. She is the office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previously held by Pam Halpert before she left the company. Erin is played by Ellie Kemper...
(Ellie Kemper
Ellie Kemper
Elizabeth Claire "Ellie" Kemper is an American actress, comedian and writer best known for her role as Erin Hannon in NBC's The Office.-Personal life:...
) as his recipient for Secret Santa and decides to give her the Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, textual evidence may indicate the song is French in origin...
as his gift to her. However, the gifts, most of which are actual live birds, are causing her physical harm, prompting her to publicly ask her Secret Santa to discontinue. Andy asks Phyllis not to reveal him as Erin's Secret Santa, but Michael reveals that Andy had Erin for Secret Santa and she becomes upset with Andy. At the end of the episode, as the office leaves for the night, they are greeted by the "twelve drummers" in the parking lot. Andy joins them and wishes Erin a Merry Christmas, completing his Secret Santa gift to her. They start drumming and Erin is visibly pleased by the gesture.
Reception
This episode was watched by 8.51 million viewers, with a 4.2 rating and a 11 share in the 18-49 demographic. IGNIGN
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...
's Dan Phillips gave the episode a 8.7/10 saying that "The episode had a lot of great lines; for example Jim eventually shows up with a great line of his own, telling Michael, "You can't yell out 'I need this, I need this!' as you pin down an employee on your lap" and also noting "there have been better, funnier Christmas episodes in the past, but not by all that much".
Cultural references
- When everyone is celebrating, Dwight and Andy do a karaoke of Boulevard of Broken DreamsBoulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the second single from their seventh album, American Idiot. The song was written by Green Day, with lyrics by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong...
by Green Day. - Jim is seen giving a TwilightThe Twilight Saga (film series)The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide...
poster to a delighted Kelly. - Ryan gives Toby a kite adorned with LGBT pride colors, but Toby assumes it is because Toby is reading The Kite RunnerThe Kite RunnerThe Kite Runner is a novel by Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it is Hosseini's first novel, and was adapted into a film of the same name in 2007....
. - Michael sings part of Y.M.C.A. by the Village PeopleVillage PeopleVillage People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
to tell Dwight his pin number.
Producer's cut
Five days after the episode first aired on television, Hulu added the producer's cut of the episode to their website. This version includes 9 extra minutes, bringing the total length of the episode to 29:43.External links
- "Secret Santa" at NBC.comNBCThe 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...