The Convict
Encyclopedia
"The Convict" is ninth episode of the third season of The Office (U.S. version). It aired on November 30, 2006 on NBC
. It was written by Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant
(creators of the original The Office
) specifically for the U.S. series. It was directed by Jeffrey Blitz
.
In this episode, Michael discovers that an employee named Martin Nash who came with the merger was previously in prison. Michael becomes frustrated when Martin's stories of prison sound better than working in the office. Meanwhile, Jim plays a prank on Pam by giving incorrect information to Andy on how to impress Pam.
learns that Martin Nash is a former criminal, and tells the entire office. During this time, Michael asks the employees to name a white person that they trust and he will name a black person he trusts even more. The name Jesus pops up and Michael replies with Apollo Creed
. Meanwhile, Jim
encourages Andy
to pursue Pam
, and intentionally gives him wildly incorrect information about her favorite things.
Martin tells the others he was incarcerated for insider trading
, and that he enjoyed certain perks of prison, including outside time and art classes. Pam comments that prison sounds better than their current work situation. Attempting to convince his employees that the office is better than prison, Michael sends everyone to "outside time" in the bitter cold. He then calls a meeting in which he adopts the persona of "Prison Mike," in a segment reminiscent of the Scared Straight!
documentaries. Martin comments that Michael's performance did not remind him of his time in prison. This further infuriates Michael, who then locks all of the staff inside the conference room. Toby
tells Michael the staff is simply teasing him. A relieved Michael relents, but Martin chooses to quit.
Andy strums "The Rainbow Connection
" on his banjo, while singing falsetto
. Pam smiles politely and silently shares the joke with Jim.
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...
. It was written by Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
and Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
(creators of the original The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
) specifically for the U.S. series. It was directed by Jeffrey Blitz
Jeffrey Blitz
Jeffrey Blitz is an American film director, producer and screenwriter from Ridgewood, New Jersey. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, Spellbound and he won the Dramatic Directing Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his 2007 film, Rocket Science.Blitz won the 2009...
.
In this episode, Michael discovers that an employee named Martin Nash who came with the merger was previously in prison. Michael becomes frustrated when Martin's stories of prison sound better than working in the office. Meanwhile, Jim plays a prank on Pam by giving incorrect information to Andy on how to impress Pam.
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...
learns that Martin Nash is a former criminal, and tells the entire office. During this time, Michael asks the employees to name a white person that they trust and he will name a black person he trusts even more. The name Jesus pops up and Michael replies with Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the Rocky films, initially portrayed as the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. He was played by Carl Weathers. Many believe his character was modeled after Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali while Rocky Balboa was based on relatively unknown...
. Meanwhile, 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...
encourages 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...
to pursue 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....
, and intentionally gives him wildly incorrect information about her favorite things.
Martin tells the others he was incarcerated for insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
, and that he enjoyed certain perks of prison, including outside time and art classes. Pam comments that prison sounds better than their current work situation. Attempting to convince his employees that the office is better than prison, Michael sends everyone to "outside time" in the bitter cold. He then calls a meeting in which he adopts the persona of "Prison Mike," in a segment reminiscent of the Scared Straight!
Scared Straight!
Scared Straight! is a 1978 documentary directed by Arnold Shapiro. Narrated by Peter Falk, the subject of the documentary is a group of juvenile delinquents and their three-hour session with actual convicts...
documentaries. Martin comments that Michael's performance did not remind him of his time in prison. This further infuriates Michael, who then locks all of the staff inside the conference room. Toby
Toby Flenderson
Toby Wyatt Flenderson, M.S.W. born 1971 is a character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Paul Lieberstein. He is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
tells Michael the staff is simply teasing him. A relieved Michael relents, but Martin chooses to quit.
Andy strums "The Rainbow Connection
The Rainbow Connection
"Rainbow Connection" is a popular song written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher and originally performed by the character of Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie in 1979...
" on his banjo, while singing falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
. Pam smiles politely and silently shares the joke with Jim.
Deleted scenes
The Season Three DVD contains several deleted scenes. Notable cut scenes include:- Dwight and Andy spar verbally in the kitchen.
- In a talking head interview, Ryan is upset that Kelly forgets to take her birth control pills on purpose.
- Martin offers Meredith a ride to the tire shop so she can pick up her car. In a talking head interview, Dwight reads a pretend story of the events of the day, beginning with "There is a convicted probably-murderer" and ending with "Everybody died. The end." Angela pointedly takes notes on Martin's license plate and car model.
- Dwight informs Michael that he believes Martin has murdered Meredith. In response to Angela's prodding about what he is going to do about it, Dwight explains, "She's on her own."
- In a talking head interview, Michael explains that he created "Prison Mike" in an improv class.
- Pam gives Andy wildly incorrect tips for hanging out with Jim.
External links
- "The Convict" at NBC.com