FAMILY BUSINESS

Michael and Dwight (Rainn Wilson) go undercover to do a bit of industrial espionage on a paper company competitor. Meanwhile, the rest of the office holds a debate to settle the question: is Hilary Swank hot? John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Leslie David Baker, Phyllis Smith, Angela Kinsey, Ed Helms, Kate Flannery, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson also star.

Don't forget to rate Prince Family Paper here.

Which high school was it that he mentioned? Was it the one with the prom invitations or Pam's old high school? Love the cold open.

This is already funny.

"You will have pancakes and you'll like them."

"Thank you accounting department."

And we have the return of Michael Scarn.

The single celled shark!

Michael Scarn!

Kevin: "I don't want to bang a painting."

Angela: "Hot is a temperature."

"Don't put that!" Poor Michael!

Well, that only gives further enlightenment to how he managed to get just that deep in debt. "That little 2 is... weird"

And this would be the reason why I like Michael... sometimes.

He seems to understand.

Yeppers. Michael sucks at being a shark...

Exactly. Deep down, he knows what's right.

"Jan, Ryan"

"I'm gonna take this list somewhere it can't hurt us."

And Stanley's speech. classic.

Stanley's speech was AMAZING!!!

Everyone had good speeches. I didn't think this would be an interesting plot point, but it was quite good!!

Definitely felt like an episode from season two. Loved the closing.

And Michael: "Bitter because I slightly destroyed a family..." haha

That was the best part of the episode for me. I didn't like this episode at all. The Hilary Swank stuff was just annoying. And I can't believe he gave up the list. He could have just ran to Pam's desk and shredded it there.

I don't think I've been this satisfied with an episode since Season 3! Simply wonderful. I think it worked because all the stupid drama and soap-opera stuff was completely cut out. This episode went back to what this show started as... a comedy poking fun at what goes on in an office.

Man. I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed out loud so often at this show.

Hooray! My favorite show is back! I am quite pleased.

Ahhhh, my first thought: "I still freaking love this show!"

I thought it was a great episode.

And those that have been saying that Jim's the reason the branch is doing so well, I'm starting to agree. He at least put a half-hearted attempt at getting back to work. A far cry from the Office Olympics Jim. (Personally, I love them both!)

But I wouldn't put it past Dwight to be part of the reason the branch is doing well. He apparently has some good observation and deductive reasoning skills. Plus, the office needs at least one shark.

That was horrible, just horrible. Only the last few minutes raised it from gawdawful to just poor.

On a scale of 1 to 10... no better than 1.5.

^^^Oh, Jazz, I knew you'd be there with me.

Best moment for me: When Dwight and Michael practiced licking their lips. Soooo disgusting and yet sooo funny.

Oh yeah, I also liked the Denny's/ IHOP argument.

This was more like a Season Two episode.

I lobe it when Michael has a heart ... even if it leads him wrong. "Jan. Ryan."

I loved how long they went on with the Jaws theme. They always take it just a few moments too far which is why it works. I'm not sure about the lips licking thing. I was hoping they'd have a safety word... like, foliage or something.

Worst episode EVER. I'm so disappointed in Michael.

There were some parts of this episode that were simply unwatchable. Granted...there were a couple of tidbits, but not many. The whole Dwight / Michael chase was ridiculous. And how did Hilary Swank get into this?

Brutal, just brutal. Certainly in the bottom five of the worst episodes ever.

Oh, wait. You mean instead of the lip licking.

Yes, I meant instead of lip licking. Not to stop with the lip licking (though either would have been funny).

Liked the speeches and Kelly uses her crying tactic once again. I noticed Angela and Toby couldn't stay out of the debate.

I've actually been in the shadows of the forum. I always come here to see what people's opinion of a particular episode are like, and it's interesting to read. Anyway, for me, this was one of the worst episodes I have seen taking into account not just season 5, but all seasons. Where was the continuity? Why wasn't there ANY reference made to last weeks episode? I can understand they don't want to beat down the Andy/Angela/Dwight love triangle with a stick but I was annoyed that they didn't even acknowledge it. There were other parts that reallyyyyyyyyy bothered me too.

Speaking of which, does anyone beside me think of Angela, Kevin and Oscar act like they are three siblings? It's just the way they get along and antagonize/fight with each other. I love that. And I love how Angela "claims" she voted for Hillary Swank just to do the opposite of Kevin.

A lot of times, immediately following a heavy or drama-filled episode, there is a completely/mostly light hearted episode that doesn't necessarily have ties to or reference the previous episode. Many of those episodes, I find the funniest (but that's just me). The Injury after Booze Cruise, Safety Training after The Negotiation, and Chair Model after Dinner Party (though that one did make a reference to events in Dinner Party). It's a tactic. Works for some people, not for others.

Angela appears not to be wearing her ring, but I saw no other clues regarding what happened last week. This episode is just like Safety Training, a no-plot, general-purpose snoozefest that can be slotted in anywhere and not fit. Sad.

Or like a Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear?

Well, when Angela joined in the debate, Andy did make a face, but that was the only thing I saw that could have referenced last week. Although, when Michael and Dwight were fighting about who would get to seduce the daughter , I thought we might get a comment about Angela.

Vote for this episode

Ahhh, but see, that's one of the reasons I love this episode. It kinda cuts loose and just has fun. There have been many episodes of the past (from all seasons) that have done that. It's like any good Shakespeare tragedy. There's a great comedic interlude (even in Hamlet) to break the tension a little bit (before being hit hard with the really heavy stuff). Although, I don't think this episode is completely void of plot development. I think there's been a lot of build up for how well the Scranton branch has or hasn't been doing, and thereby how well the Dunder Mifflin, Co. has been doing as a whole. This episode, I think, further works with that plot.

Ok, I never post online, I save my episode dissections for my co-workers on Friday but... I need to vent. I have NEVER disliked an episode until now. At a time when there was such nuance and tension between characters, the most interesting plotline in the series is just dropped suddenly. Actually, there was no advance in plot whatsoever. Usually B.J. Novak is so good at moving the show along subtly while pursuing the side stories about life in the office. I also thought Angela's take on the Hillary Swank issue was out of character.

I just hope that what happened to "The Simpsons" doesn't happen here, meaning I hope it doesn't become a parody of itself. When characters are so funny, it's easy to let them become flat and only do the same "funny" thing over and over (I kinda saw that in this episode's cold open, it seemed quite cartoonish and over-worked)

Like I said, I have never disliked an episode. Over the past five years, The Office has become the only show I watch, because it's just better than anything else on TV. I understand nothing lasts forever, but I really hope there's a few good seasons left!

Yep, precisely.

This was enough drama for me with Michael turning into a real jerk instead of just a silly/cringe-worthy one. Yeah, I know.... Somehow I got a little too invested in this one, but with thousands of people losing their jobs and businesses going under, I just couldn't find the humor in this. I cried when Michael ended up giving the list to Wallace.

I agree with this. I think that we are starting to see Michael realize that maybe he does not belong at Dunder Mifflin, or even in the world of big business. But the Hilary Swank stuff? Or any actor/actress? What was that about? And not for anything, but an office debate on this subject? Kind of like the chair/copier episode? Not exactly the same, but similar enough.

Sometimes little departments do turn into little families.


I noticed they stayed away from each other and I thought I saw Andy glare at Angela a few times. By now, Angela is probably beneath notice for Dwight.

That story line just makes the show that much better in my opinion. It's addressing the moral dilemma that everyone's facing. Michael knows what's happening and he fought for what he believed in but Dwight (representing corporations) won that battle. At the same time, Michael's actions are helping to secure the jobs of everybody in his own office.

That is a good point- When David Wallace was talking I half expected him to announce that they'd filled Ryan's seat. But thinking about it further, after what happened last episode, would everyone in that office be able to just come in and debate Hillary Swank as normal? Would Andy really go five minutes without a snarky comment to Angela? And would Dwight be able to talk about seducing another woman without bursting into tears? It seems awkward to drop the plot at that particular point.

Hmmm, I liked The Surplus as well, but not as much. I guess I just don't think anything has to do with anything else. Sometimes random moments pop up. Heck, I've gotten into debates over whether or not Brad Pitt is all that hot (and on this board too). This episode just takes it a step further, which (imo) it has to in order to make an interesting story for television. I think this show has always done that, take an otherwise mundane moment step it up just a notch, but importantly, only a notch and go with it. I personally loved the Hilary Swank debate, and even found myself debating along with them.

But that's what happens in an office which is why it works. Those are exactly the kinds of things that my friends and I discuss when waiting for a class to start, we would discuss those things when I was a cashier, and when I was substitute teaching celebrities and office supply/budget issues came up. *shrugs*

This was by far the worst episode. It's unbelievable to me that this made it on air. The premise sounded like something that wouldn't at all be funny, and it really wasn't.

I don't care about it being 'filler'...I watch LOST for the week to week storyline, office for the humor. Office has substituted in too much 'drama' for the humor, so I was glad to see no more relationship stuff. The first 3 seasons had little to no week to week storyline, and they were still a fantastic 3 seasons. That being said, this episode was still awful.

For me personally, most of the 'worst' episodes of the past 5 seasons have come in the last 2 seasons, more specifically when at least half of the episode takes place OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE.

I was confused about the time line from Moroccan Christmas and The Duel so I guess I just assumed that enough time had passed that the others in the office had moved on (cause they were all frustrated with it when it came out). Dwight wasn't around all day and I figure, the debate distracts everyone from that drama. I don't know; it makes sense to me.

I see your point, but considering that this is supposed to represent an edited documentary, it is entirely possible that Andy could have made snarky comments to/about Angela, but they never made filming or the cut, because they didn't fit in with the rest of the episode. Also, I kinda wonder if total avoidance wouldn't be more in character for both Angela and Andy (not so much Dwight, who was out of the office for the majority of the episode). But my point is, I think forcing a comment from Andy or Angela just so last weeks episode was referenced would have been ultimately unecessary and well . . . would feel forced. We already understand that Andy is angry, so ultimately a comment from him wouldn't be top priority as far as the episode goes. But that's just my opinion.

Who else wonders whether Hilary Swank is a fan of the show?

If she was before this episode, I doubt she still is.