Nepotism (The Office)
Encyclopedia
"Nepotism" is the seventh season premiere of the American comedy
television series
The Office, and the show's 127th episode overall. Written by Daniel Chun
and directed by Jeffrey Blitz
, the episode aired on NBC
in the United States on September 23, 2010. This episode got mostly positive reviews.
In the episode, the office turns against Michael
when he refuses to fire the new office assistant, Luke, who has a terrible attitude and happens to be Michael's nephew. Meanwhile, Andy
is jealous that Gabe
has started dating Erin
and he tries to play it cool. Also, after accidentally ruining one of Jim
's pranks, Pam enlists Kevin
to help her change the wiring in the elevator, a plan that backfires on her when she and Dwight
become stranded.
"Nepotism" received generally positive reviews. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was watched by 8.40 million viewers, a slight increase from the sixth season premiere, "Gossip"
, and finished second in its timeslot.
). However, it soon becomes clear that he only goofs off, deliberately messes up food and coffee runs, and has a poor attitude that leads everyone to openly despise him. When Michael (Steve Carell
) steps up to defend him, it is revealed that Luke is Michael's nephew, whom Michael hires in hoping that it will end the estrangement between him and his half sister, Luke's mother. The office angrily demands Michael get rid of Luke, but he refuses. Later on in the day, the office employees discover the trunk of Luke's car is filled with packages from the office that he neglected to send (along with Michael's rejected pants from Talbot's). Since Luke is now costing the office customers, Gabe
(Zach Woods
) sends a heads-up on the situation to CEO Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates
), who sternly tells Michael to deal with the situation. The breaking point for Michael is during a meeting where Luke continues to rebel and act out, so Michael spanks him in front of the entire office, leaving Luke to quit and run away crying and the rest of them satisfied. Gabe is forced to assign Michael to six hours of counseling with Toby (Paul Lieberstein
) after his 'physical assault' of a fellow employee; Michael is aghast at having to sit down with his arch-enemy, but Gabe gives him two options: he talks to Toby or gets fired immediately.
Meanwhile, the rest of the office is equally busy. Erin (Ellie Kemper
) starts dating Gabe over the summer, and Andy (Ed Helms
) tries to play it cool by using his anger management techniques, though he's clearly not happy with the news. Kelly attended a corporate training class as part of the "Print in All Colors" initiative for Sabre, and is trying to impress everyone by dressing up and 'sounding smarter'. Dwight (Rainn Wilson
) has bought the industrial park building, and Jim (John Krasinski
) begins a lengthy, planned-out prank to overload Dwight's key ring with fake keys. Jim's prank is accidentally revealed to Dwight by Pam (Jenna Fischer
). Pam feels guilty for spoiling the prank, so she tries to make it up to Jim by devising a prank of her own. She enlists Kevin to rewire the elevator so the buttons all do different things. To her dismay, Kevin's alterations to the elevator's 'circus board' result in Pam and Dwight getting trapped in the elevator together. In the end the backfired prank does impress Jim.
"Nepotism" was written by Daniel Chun
and directed by Jeffrey Blitz
, both of whom had worked on several previous episodes of The Office as a writer and director, respectively. It was the seventh season
premiere, and the first new episode to be broadcast since Steve Carell publicly announced he would depart from The Office by the end of the seventh season. At the time that "Nepotism" was filmed, the writers and producers had not yet determined who would replace Michael Scott as the office's manager, nor whether that character would be the primary protagonist of the show. "Nepotism" features Kathy Bates
, Hugh Dane
and Evan Peters
in guest appearances as Jo Bennet, Hank Tate and Luke Cooper, respectively. It was also first episode to feature Zach Woods
as a regular cast member, although he had previously guest starred as Gabe Lewis in several sixth season
episodes. "Nepotism" featured an updated opening credits sequence which more strongly highlighted the entire supporting cast, rather than just the main characters.
The official website for The Office included three cut scenes from "Nepotism" within a week of its original release. In the first clip, Toby reveals that he self-published his murder mystery novel and sold four copies, but is now being sued for plagiarism, while Kevin interviews that he's decided to deliberately lie all the time about everything. In the second clip, which is one minute and 17 seconds, Michael attempts to instruct Luke on how to use the photocopier. In the final clip, Dwight inquires about buying a robot.
to "Nobody but Me", performed by The Human Beinz
, with the intention of placing the video on the Internet. This refers to an Internet meme
trend that started with a 2009 YouTube
video released by students of the Université du Québec à Montréal
, in which hundreds of students lip synched The Black Eyed Peas
song "I Gotta Feeling
" in one continuous take. During the lip dub, Ryan wears a shirt advertising his website, Wuphf.com. This refers to a social networking website Ryan announced he would launch in the sixth-season finale "Whistleblower
", which would link the communication portals of emails, faxes, text messages, voicemails, tweets and others. After pranking Dwight, Pam declared herself the "Bart Simpson
of Scranton", a reference to the mischievous protagonist from the animated comedy series The Simpsons
. Creed indicates he follows Luke on the social-networking website Twitter
specifically because Luke does not write about the actress Betty White
, who was particularly popular at the time the episode aired. The same day "Nepotism" was broadcast, White appeared in the second-season
premiere of Community
, another comedy series on NBC.
Michael claims during his summer he caught the West Nile virus
, an illness commonly transported by mosquito
bite. He also claims to have watched Inception
, a Christopher Nolan
-directed science fiction
film that was critically and commercial successful in the summer of 2010. Michael alludes, however, that he may have only dreamed about watching the film, a reference to the ambiguity surrounding the movie's plot about extracting information from dreams. In one scene, Darryl explains he blew out his knee playing softball over the summer and watched a great deal of the cable news network CNN
, which led him to develop grave concerns about the ongoing War in Afghanistan
. Luke declares himself a lover of cinema and says his favorite films are Citizen Kane
, a classic 1941 film by Orson Welles
, and The Boondock Saints
, a 1999 crime thriller film. When Jim comments on the outrageous number of keys on Dwight's keyring, Dwight responds by saying, "The bigger the keychain, the more powerful the man", which Jim recognizes as a quote by the janitor
from the show Scrubs
. While trying to recall the last time he saw Luke, Michael remembers it was the release year of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
(1995), a comedy film
starring Jim Carrey
. Michael has Luke pick up pants for him from Talbots
, a retail store that specializes in women's clothing and accessories; this also serves as a callback to the Season 3 episode "The Negotiation
", where Michael accidentally bought and then wore dress slacks called MISSterious that were designed for women. While reflecting on how difficult it is to work with family, he wonders aloud how the Ringling brothers
have managed the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
for so many years. He also claims that mixing family and business is a beautiful thing by illustrating what a bad idea it would have been to have open auditions for the band Hanson (band)
: "What if no one named Hanson showed up? That wouldn’t even make sense. Or what if they just hired the littlest kid and a 50-year old guy who was a murderer? Really safe."
Throughout the episode, Dwight wears a CamelBak
, a hydration backpack from which the wearer drinks water through a hose.
When the office workers discover the packages that Luke was supposed to deliver in the trunk of his car, Michael defends Luke by saying it is possible that he manages an "Ebay Store", which is a direct reference to the Steve Carrell movie The 40 Year Old Virgin in which the girlfriend of Steve Carrell's character manages an "Ebay Store".
.
The Atlantic writer Suzanne Merkelson praised the episode, and felt the opening lip-syncing scene highlighted the talents of the entire cast. However, she said the subplots were not as strong as the main story involving Michael, which underscored the challenge writers would have in maintaining The Office after Steve Carell's departure. The A.V. Club
writer Myles McNutt, who said he was critical of the sixth season, said "Nepotism" was effective both in its main storyline involving Michael and Luke, and its B story involving Pam pulling a prank on Dwight. Although slightly disappointed that the episode did not allude to Michael's eventual replacement, McNutt said "Nepotism" demonstrated The Office would continue to be the same show even without Carell. Aishini Thiyagarajan of The Cornell Daily Sun
highly praised the episode, claiming it highlighted the best traits of all the characters. She especially praised the cold open and the ending scene with Michael spanking Luke. Phoebe Reilly of New York
magazine said the episode lacked any poor points, and said it established the season as one of "a mix of high jinks and heart". Rick Porter of Zap2it
described "Nepotism" as "an old-school episode" with a strong main story and subplot, and praised Kelly's new attitude following her executive training. His only criticism was that Dwight seemed too over-the-top, particularly while wielding a knife during the cold open lip dub.
Kevin Fitzpatrick of UGO Networks said that this was a good episode, but not an especially important one which failed to advance any ongoing story lines. Although he called scenes like Michael spanking Luke and his defense of Luke during the meeting as "classic Scott", Fitzpatrick also said the episode does little to start establishing a proper send-off for the character's final season. Time
magazine television critic James Poniewozik
called it "a fine but unremarkable, meat-and-potatoes Office about a Michael screw-up", which made him question whether the show could continue after Carell left. Although he complimented individual moments, Poniewozik called the cold open a "self-congratulatory, awkward (and) unearned curtain call". Joel Keller of TV Squad praised the cold open, but felt the rest of the episode was extremely disappointing. Keller said few of the characters' stories about how they spent their summers stood out, and said Michael's spanking of Luke was awkward and unfunny. Brooklynne Kelly Peters of Blast magazine said the episode started strong with the lip synching cold open, but that the rest of the episode was not as funny as the series often is, describing it as "mundane hilarity".
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 show's 127th episode overall. Written by Daniel Chun
Daniel Chun
Daniel Chun is an American comedy writer. He has written for The Office and The Simpsons. He received a Writers Guild Award nomination and an Annie Award for his work on The Simpsons. He is now Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer of The Office...
and 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...
, the episode 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...
in the United States on September 23, 2010. This episode got mostly positive reviews.
In the episode, the office turns against Michael
Michael Scott
Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to:* Michael Scott , former regional manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton in the U.S. TV series The Office-Academics:...
when he refuses to fire the new office assistant, Luke, who has a terrible attitude and happens to be Michael's nephew. 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...
is jealous that Gabe
Gabe Lewis
Gabriel Stuart "Gabe" Lewis is a fictional character on NBC's The Office. He first appears in the sixth season, where he is the Coordinating Director of Emerging Regions for the Sabre Corporate headquarters in Florida...
has started dating 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...
and he tries to play it cool. Also, after accidentally ruining one of 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 pranks, Pam enlists 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:...
to help her change the wiring in the elevator, a plan that backfires on her when she 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...
become stranded.
"Nepotism" received generally positive reviews. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was watched by 8.40 million viewers, a slight increase from the sixth season premiere, "Gossip"
Gossip (The Office)
"Gossip" is the sixth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the 101st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009....
, and finished second in its timeslot.
Synopsis
The office returns from summer with a new office assistant, Luke (Evan PetersEvan Peters
Evan Peters is an American actor, best known for his roles as Tate Langdon in American Horror Story, Jesse Varon in the ABC TV series Invasion and as Cooper Day in The Days, also on ABC. He also had a recurring role in Disney Channel's show Phil of the Future as Phil's geeky friend Seth...
). However, it soon becomes clear that he only goofs off, deliberately messes up food and coffee runs, and has a poor attitude that leads everyone to openly despise him. When Michael (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...
) steps up to defend him, it is revealed that Luke is Michael's nephew, whom Michael hires in hoping that it will end the estrangement between him and his half sister, Luke's mother. The office angrily demands Michael get rid of Luke, but he refuses. Later on in the day, the office employees discover the trunk of Luke's car is filled with packages from the office that he neglected to send (along with Michael's rejected pants from Talbot's). Since Luke is now costing the office customers, Gabe
Gabe Lewis
Gabriel Stuart "Gabe" Lewis is a fictional character on NBC's The Office. He first appears in the sixth season, where he is the Coordinating Director of Emerging Regions for the Sabre Corporate headquarters in Florida...
(Zach Woods
Zach Woods
Zach Woods is an American actor and comedian. From 2010-11, he portrayed Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office. He was promoted to a series regular beginning in Season 7....
) sends a heads-up on the situation to CEO Jo Bennett (Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
), who sternly tells Michael to deal with the situation. The breaking point for Michael is during a meeting where Luke continues to rebel and act out, so Michael spanks him in front of the entire office, leaving Luke to quit and run away crying and the rest of them satisfied. Gabe is forced to assign Michael to six hours of counseling with Toby (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...
) after his 'physical assault' of a fellow employee; Michael is aghast at having to sit down with his arch-enemy, but Gabe gives him two options: he talks to Toby or gets fired immediately.
Meanwhile, the rest of the office is equally busy. Erin (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:...
) starts dating Gabe over the summer, and Andy (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...
) tries to play it cool by using his anger management techniques, though he's clearly not happy with the news. Kelly attended a corporate training class as part of the "Print in All Colors" initiative for Sabre, and is trying to impress everyone by dressing up and 'sounding smarter'. Dwight (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...
) has bought the industrial park building, and Jim (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...
) begins a lengthy, planned-out prank to overload Dwight's key ring with fake keys. Jim's prank is accidentally revealed to Dwight by 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,...
). Pam feels guilty for spoiling the prank, so she tries to make it up to Jim by devising a prank of her own. She enlists Kevin to rewire the elevator so the buttons all do different things. To her dismay, Kevin's alterations to the elevator's 'circus board' result in Pam and Dwight getting trapped in the elevator together. In the end the backfired prank does impress Jim.
Production
Daniel Chun
Daniel Chun is an American comedy writer. He has written for The Office and The Simpsons. He received a Writers Guild Award nomination and an Annie Award for his work on The Simpsons. He is now Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer of The Office...
and 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...
, both of whom had worked on several previous episodes of The Office as a writer and director, respectively. It was the seventh season
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 7
The seventh season of the American television comedy The Office premiered on September 23, 2010 and concluded on May 19, 2011. The season consisted of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 22 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes. The seventh season aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m...
premiere, and the first new episode to be broadcast since Steve Carell publicly announced he would depart from The Office by the end of the seventh season. At the time that "Nepotism" was filmed, the writers and producers had not yet determined who would replace Michael Scott as the office's manager, nor whether that character would be the primary protagonist of the show. "Nepotism" features Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
, Hugh Dane
Hugh Dane
Hugh Dane is an American television and film actor known most recently for his recurring role as Hank, the security guard in the US version of the television series, The Office.- Acting career :...
and Evan Peters
Evan Peters
Evan Peters is an American actor, best known for his roles as Tate Langdon in American Horror Story, Jesse Varon in the ABC TV series Invasion and as Cooper Day in The Days, also on ABC. He also had a recurring role in Disney Channel's show Phil of the Future as Phil's geeky friend Seth...
in guest appearances as Jo Bennet, Hank Tate and Luke Cooper, respectively. It was also first episode to feature Zach Woods
Zach Woods
Zach Woods is an American actor and comedian. From 2010-11, he portrayed Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office. He was promoted to a series regular beginning in Season 7....
as a regular cast member, although he had previously guest starred as Gabe Lewis in several sixth season
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...
episodes. "Nepotism" featured an updated opening credits sequence which more strongly highlighted the entire supporting cast, rather than just the main characters.
The official website for The Office included three cut scenes from "Nepotism" within a week of its original release. In the first clip, Toby reveals that he self-published his murder mystery novel and sold four copies, but is now being sued for plagiarism, while Kevin interviews that he's decided to deliberately lie all the time about everything. In the second clip, which is one minute and 17 seconds, Michael attempts to instruct Luke on how to use the photocopier. In the final clip, Dwight inquires about buying a robot.
Cultural references
During the cold open, the cast performs a lip dubLip dub
A lip dub is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song. There is...
to "Nobody but Me", performed by The Human Beinz
The Human Beinz
The Human Beinz is an American rock and roll / frat rock band from Youngstown, Ohio. Originally known as The Human Beingz, the band initially featured John "Dick" Belley , Joe "Ting" Markulin , Mel Pachuta and Gary Coates -Early career:The Beinz started in 1964 as The Premiers, launching their...
, with the intention of placing the video on the Internet. This refers to an Internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
trend that started with a 2009 YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video released by students of the Université du Québec à Montréal
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
, in which hundreds of students lip synched The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
song "I Gotta Feeling
I Gotta Feeling
"I Gotta Feeling" is the second single from The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D., produced by the French DJ David Guetta. The song was released on May 21, 2009 and debuted at number two on the Canadian and Billboard Hot 100 on the week of June 27, 2009, behind the group's "Boom Boom...
" in one continuous take. During the lip dub, Ryan wears a shirt advertising his website, Wuphf.com. This refers to a social networking website Ryan announced he would launch in the sixth-season finale "Whistleblower
Whistleblower (The Office)
"Whistleblower" is the 26th episode and season finale of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 126th episode overall...
", which would link the communication portals of emails, faxes, text messages, voicemails, tweets and others. After pranking Dwight, Pam declared herself the "Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
of Scranton", a reference to the mischievous protagonist from the animated comedy series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. Creed indicates he follows Luke on the social-networking website Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
specifically because Luke does not write about the actress Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, who was particularly popular at the time the episode aired. The same day "Nepotism" was broadcast, White appeared in the second-season
Community (season 2)
The second season of the television comedy series Community premiered on September 23, 2010 and concluded on May 12, 2011, on NBC and aired on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET as part of Comedy Night Done Right.-Starring:*Joel McHale as Jeff Winger...
premiere of Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
, another comedy series on NBC.
Michael claims during his summer he caught the West Nile virus
West Nile virus
West Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic...
, an illness commonly transported by mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
bite. He also claims to have watched Inception
Inception
Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
, a Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
-directed science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film that was critically and commercial successful in the summer of 2010. Michael alludes, however, that he may have only dreamed about watching the film, a reference to the ambiguity surrounding the movie's plot about extracting information from dreams. In one scene, Darryl explains he blew out his knee playing softball over the summer and watched a great deal of the cable news network CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, which led him to develop grave concerns about the ongoing War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. Luke declares himself a lover of cinema and says his favorite films are Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, a classic 1941 film by Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, and The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints is a 1999 American action comedy film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Irish fraternal twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense...
, a 1999 crime thriller film. When Jim comments on the outrageous number of keys on Dwight's keyring, Dwight responds by saying, "The bigger the keychain, the more powerful the man", which Jim recognizes as a quote by the janitor
Janitor (Scrubs)
The Janitor is a fictional character, played by actor Neil Flynn in the American comedy-drama Scrubs.Neil Flynn was originally billed as a recurring guest star throughout Season 1, although he appeared in all 24 episodes of that season. He was promoted to a series regular beginning with Season 2...
from the show Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
. While trying to recall the last time he saw Luke, Michael remembers it was the release year of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is the sequel to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective . Jim Carrey reprises his role as the title character Ace Ventura, a detective who specializes in retrieval of tame or captive animals. This is the only sequel to a film starring Carrey in which Carrey reprised his role...
(1995), a comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
. Michael has Luke pick up pants for him from Talbots
Talbots
Talbots is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s classic clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company sells items such as the blazer, trench, white shirt, ballet flats and pearls....
, a retail store that specializes in women's clothing and accessories; this also serves as a callback to the Season 3 episode "The Negotiation
The Negotiation
"The Negotiation" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the U.S. version of The Office, aired on April 5, 2007 on NBC...
", where Michael accidentally bought and then wore dress slacks called MISSterious that were designed for women. While reflecting on how difficult it is to work with family, he wonders aloud how the Ringling brothers
Ringling brothers
The Ringling brothers were seven siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of America's largest circuses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in McGregor, Iowa and raised in Baraboo, Wisconsin, they were the children of Heinrich Friedrich August Ringling...
have managed the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
for so many years. He also claims that mixing family and business is a beautiful thing by illustrating what a bad idea it would have been to have open auditions for the band Hanson (band)
Hanson (band)
Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...
: "What if no one named Hanson showed up? That wouldn’t even make sense. Or what if they just hired the littlest kid and a 50-year old guy who was a murderer? Really safe."
Throughout the episode, Dwight wears a CamelBak
CamelBak
CamelBak Products, LLC is an outdoors equipment company known primarily for its hydration products, such as hydration packs and water bottles. CamelBak is also a supplier of hydration packs, protective gear, and other products to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies around the world.The...
, a hydration backpack from which the wearer drinks water through a hose.
When the office workers discover the packages that Luke was supposed to deliver in the trunk of his car, Michael defends Luke by saying it is possible that he manages an "Ebay Store", which is a direct reference to the Steve Carrell movie The 40 Year Old Virgin in which the girlfriend of Steve Carrell's character manages an "Ebay Store".
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Nepotism" was viewed by an estimated 8.40 million viewers with a 4.4 rating/11% share in the 18–49 demographic coming second in its time slot and improving its rating by 1.80 million viewers from last season's finaleWhistleblower (The Office)
"Whistleblower" is the 26th episode and season finale of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 126th episode overall...
.
The Atlantic writer Suzanne Merkelson praised the episode, and felt the opening lip-syncing scene highlighted the talents of the entire cast. However, she said the subplots were not as strong as the main story involving Michael, which underscored the challenge writers would have in maintaining The Office after Steve Carell's departure. 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...
writer Myles McNutt, who said he was critical of the sixth season, said "Nepotism" was effective both in its main storyline involving Michael and Luke, and its B story involving Pam pulling a prank on Dwight. Although slightly disappointed that the episode did not allude to Michael's eventual replacement, McNutt said "Nepotism" demonstrated The Office would continue to be the same show even without Carell. Aishini Thiyagarajan of The Cornell Daily Sun
The Cornell Daily Sun
The Cornell Daily Sun is an independent daily newspaper published in Ithaca, New York by students at Cornell University. It is the oldest independent college daily in the United States....
highly praised the episode, claiming it highlighted the best traits of all the characters. She especially praised the cold open and the ending scene with Michael spanking Luke. Phoebe Reilly 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 said the episode lacked any poor points, and said it established the season as one of "a mix of high jinks and heart". Rick Porter of Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
described "Nepotism" as "an old-school episode" with a strong main story and subplot, and praised Kelly's new attitude following her executive training. His only criticism was that Dwight seemed too over-the-top, particularly while wielding a knife during the cold open lip dub.
Kevin Fitzpatrick of UGO Networks said that this was a good episode, but not an especially important one which failed to advance any ongoing story lines. Although he called scenes like Michael spanking Luke and his defense of Luke during the meeting as "classic Scott", Fitzpatrick also said the episode does little to start establishing a proper send-off for the character's final season. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine television critic James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik is an American journalist and television critic. He writes Times Tuned In column and has a blog with the same name.Originally from Monroe, MI, Poniewozik attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating with a BA in English. He subsequently attended the graduate program...
called it "a fine but unremarkable, meat-and-potatoes Office about a Michael screw-up", which made him question whether the show could continue after Carell left. Although he complimented individual moments, Poniewozik called the cold open a "self-congratulatory, awkward (and) unearned curtain call". Joel Keller of TV Squad praised the cold open, but felt the rest of the episode was extremely disappointing. Keller said few of the characters' stories about how they spent their summers stood out, and said Michael's spanking of Luke was awkward and unfunny. Brooklynne Kelly Peters of Blast magazine said the episode started strong with the lip synching cold open, but that the rest of the episode was not as funny as the series often is, describing it as "mundane hilarity".
External links
- "Nepotism" 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...