China (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"China" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy
television series
The Office and the shows 136th episode overall. Written by Halsted Sullivan
and Warren Lieberstein
, and directed by Charles McDougall
, the episode aired on December 2, 2010 on NBC
.
growing global power
, he decides that China must be stopped before they take over the U.S. Oscar tries to correct one of the statements, but it turns out Michael made a correct statement about China. Everyone then mocks Oscar over the fact that Michael was actually right and Oscar was wrong, as Oscar is usually the smartest one in the office, having built this reputation by often interrupting his coworkers conversations with obscure information (and, occasionally, to correct their grammar
). Oscar invites Michael for a cup of coffee, but the other employees realize that Oscar wants to discuss subjects Michael knows nothing about, in order to re-establish himself as the office's intellectual heavyweight. Seeing an opportunity to give Oscar a taste of his own medicine, they start quizzing Michael on different facts about random topics, but he can't answer, so he makes note cards to keep track. When Michael and Oscar have their conversation (with the other employees present) Michael blanks on one topic, but then changes the subject to conversation itself. The employees toast him, while Oscar is left baffled.
Everyone in the office complains about Dwight's building standards, such as un-plying toilet paper, adding motion sensors to the lights, and finally placing a gigantic roach billboard over the windows to the office. Pam, as office administrator, threatens to move everyone to a different building if nothing is done. She leaves and comes back with pictures of a newer office space and that they can move in three months. Dwight investigates and finds that the office building doesn't exist. When Dwight plays coy around Pam, she admits to Jim that she lied about the office building and that she doesn't want to fail again after failing as an artist and a salesperson. Nate, Dwight's building assistant, mysteriously gives Pam a book on the commonwealth building regulations. Pam confronts Dwight and tells him he's breaking the law, so Dwight puts everything back to normal. Dwight then admits (to the camera) that he overheard Pam's conversation with Jim and allowed her to win.
Darryl is sick of Andy's pointless text messages. After one text, Darryl tells Andy that he's one more bad text from being blocked, but Andy wagers that he's one good text from a high five, to which Darryl agrees. Darryl then gets a text from Andy telling him to come to the parking lot, where there are pigeons eating an ice cream cone. Darryl laughs and gives Andy a high five.
and Warren Lieberstein
, their fourth writing credit on the series and directed by Charles McDougall
, his fifth directing credit on the series. Warren Lieberstein is the brother of Paul Lieberstein
, who is the current showrunner of the show.
This episode got overwhelmingly positive reviews. On NYmag.com, the reviewer claimed "Last night’s episode was the best of the season so far." James Poniewoznik of Time said, "The China plot, which thankfully focused less on Michael's craziness than his (and his coworkers') relationship with Oscar, demonstrated how well-drawn the show has been even when it comes to its more peripheral characters." He also said the episode was "vintage Office." Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club said "China steps back and finds a small moment within that conflict." He also said that this was a good episode.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
The Office and the shows 136th episode overall. Written by Halsted Sullivan
Halsted Sullivan
Halsted Sullivan is an American television writer and producer who has worked on shows such as Carpoolers and The Office. He often works with his writing partner Warren Lieberstein.- Career :...
and Warren Lieberstein
Warren Lieberstein
Warren Lieberstein is an American television writer and producer who has worked on shows such as Carpoolers and The Office. He is the younger brother of Paul Lieberstein and brother-in-law of Greg Daniels. He often works with his writing partner Halsted Sullivan. He and Angela Kinsey have filed...
, and directed by Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director.-Biography:McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives . McDougall has also directed episodes of Queer as Folk on Channel 4 and Sex and the City on HBO...
, the episode aired on December 2, 2010 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...
.
Synopsis
When Michael reads an article about China'sPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
growing global power
Potential superpowers
A potential superpower is a state or a political and economic entity that is speculated to be, or to be in the process of becoming, a superpower at some point in the 21st century. Previously, it was considered by many sources that only the United States fulfilled the criteria to be considered a...
, he decides that China must be stopped before they take over the U.S. Oscar tries to correct one of the statements, but it turns out Michael made a correct statement about China. Everyone then mocks Oscar over the fact that Michael was actually right and Oscar was wrong, as Oscar is usually the smartest one in the office, having built this reputation by often interrupting his coworkers conversations with obscure information (and, occasionally, to correct their grammar
Linguistic prescription
In linguistics, prescription denotes normative practices on such aspects of language use as spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and syntax. It includes judgments on what usages are socially proper and politically correct...
). Oscar invites Michael for a cup of coffee, but the other employees realize that Oscar wants to discuss subjects Michael knows nothing about, in order to re-establish himself as the office's intellectual heavyweight. Seeing an opportunity to give Oscar a taste of his own medicine, they start quizzing Michael on different facts about random topics, but he can't answer, so he makes note cards to keep track. When Michael and Oscar have their conversation (with the other employees present) Michael blanks on one topic, but then changes the subject to conversation itself. The employees toast him, while Oscar is left baffled.
Everyone in the office complains about Dwight's building standards, such as un-plying toilet paper, adding motion sensors to the lights, and finally placing a gigantic roach billboard over the windows to the office. Pam, as office administrator, threatens to move everyone to a different building if nothing is done. She leaves and comes back with pictures of a newer office space and that they can move in three months. Dwight investigates and finds that the office building doesn't exist. When Dwight plays coy around Pam, she admits to Jim that she lied about the office building and that she doesn't want to fail again after failing as an artist and a salesperson. Nate, Dwight's building assistant, mysteriously gives Pam a book on the commonwealth building regulations. Pam confronts Dwight and tells him he's breaking the law, so Dwight puts everything back to normal. Dwight then admits (to the camera) that he overheard Pam's conversation with Jim and allowed her to win.
Darryl is sick of Andy's pointless text messages. After one text, Darryl tells Andy that he's one more bad text from being blocked, but Andy wagers that he's one good text from a high five, to which Darryl agrees. Darryl then gets a text from Andy telling him to come to the parking lot, where there are pigeons eating an ice cream cone. Darryl laughs and gives Andy a high five.
Production
The episode was written by producers Halsted SullivanHalsted Sullivan
Halsted Sullivan is an American television writer and producer who has worked on shows such as Carpoolers and The Office. He often works with his writing partner Warren Lieberstein.- Career :...
and Warren Lieberstein
Warren Lieberstein
Warren Lieberstein is an American television writer and producer who has worked on shows such as Carpoolers and The Office. He is the younger brother of Paul Lieberstein and brother-in-law of Greg Daniels. He often works with his writing partner Halsted Sullivan. He and Angela Kinsey have filed...
, their fourth writing credit on the series and directed by Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director.-Biography:McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives . McDougall has also directed episodes of Queer as Folk on Channel 4 and Sex and the City on HBO...
, his fifth directing credit on the series. Warren Lieberstein is the brother of Paul Lieberstein
Paul Lieberstein
Paul Bevan Lieberstein is an American screenwriter, actor and television producer. An Emmy Award winner, he is most widely known as a writer, producer, and as supporting cast member Toby Flenderson on the U.S...
, who is the current showrunner of the show.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on December 2, 2010, "China" was viewed by an estimated 7.31 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, dropping just slightly after one week off due to Thanksgiving.This episode got overwhelmingly positive reviews. On NYmag.com, the reviewer claimed "Last night’s episode was the best of the season so far." James Poniewoznik of Time said, "The China plot, which thankfully focused less on Michael's craziness than his (and his coworkers') relationship with Oscar, demonstrated how well-drawn the show has been even when it comes to its more peripheral characters." He also said the episode was "vintage Office." Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club said "China steps back and finds a small moment within that conflict." He also said that this was a good episode.