Viewing Party
Encyclopedia
"Viewing Party" is the eighth episode of seventh season of the American comedy
television series
The Office, and the show's 134th episode overall. Written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Ken Whittingham
, the episode aired on NBC
in the United States on November 11, 2010.
Michael becomes frustrated when Kevin refers to Gabe as his boss. Erin and Gabe invite the office over to Gabe's house for a Glee
viewing party. When the show starts, Michael and Gabe get in to an argument over how high the volume should be. After taking turns raising and lowering the volume, Michael retreats to Gabe's bedroom, hoping that his employees will follow him there. Meanwhile, Pam has been having a hard time with getting Cece to go to sleep at night, so Dwight picks her up to try calm her down and stop crying. Pam is stunned to find out that Cece becomes completely quiet in Dwight's hands.
Jim changes the channel from the Glee episode so he can check sports scores. Kelly yells at Jim to change the channel back to Glee, but discovers much to her horror that Erin had forgotten to record the episode. In order to avoid being the target of Kelly's anger, Jim goes into the bedroom to see Dwight holding a sleeping Cece. He is shocked to discover that Dwight is able to keep her quiet. Angela comes into the room, and demands that Dwight meet her outside for fulfillment of their sex contract. Dwight is about to leave, but Pam persuades him to stay with the baby. Jim is then forced to feed Dwight a pizza and a beer while Pam goes outside to tell Angela that Dwight cannot see her.
Andy is growing increasingly jealous of Gabe's relationship with Erin. While observing Gabe's room, he becomes intoxicated with a Chinese virility supplement (made from seahorse) Gabe has in his bedroom. The supplement initially works but soon makes Andy sick, prompting him to later admit his jealousy to Phyllis, who decides to help Andy by casually talking to Erin about her relationship with Gabe. Phyllis attempts this by decribing the first time her husband Bob saw each other naked. She says that they just stared at each other for hours before falling asleep. Erin becomes disgusted and walks off. Becoming irritated over the attention people are paying to the TV show, Michael goes outside and pulls the cable connection, causing it to turn off. Hysteria erupts from Kelly and many of the other Glee fans. Michael becomes self-conscious over the commotion he has caused, and goes outside to fix the cable.
Outside, Michael is discovered by Erin, who throughout the evening has been trying to encourage Michael to bond with Gabe. Michael, still indignant over the idea that his office views Gabe as his boss, questions Erin as to why she needs his approval, since he's not her father—a statement that is met with complete silence from Erin. Michael, realizing that Erin views him as a father figure, jokes around and tells her to go to her room, leading to a sweet moment between the two. As he leaves the party, Michael warns Gabe that he will, both figuratively and literally, kill Gabe if he breaks Erin's heart.
, a long-time writer of The Simpsons
. This is his first writing credit for The Office since joining the staff in the seventh season as a consulting producer. It was directed by Ken Whittingham
, who has directed several Office episodes previously.
It was first revealed by Entertainment Weekly
on October 6, 2010, that an upcoming episode would feature the office employees getting together to watch an episode of the musical television series Glee
.
episode viewed during the party was the season two episode "Duets
." Though some comments made about the episode by Kelly and Creed are not presented in the episode. When turning up the volume at the party, he comments, "Turn it up to eleven. Spinal Cord", an obvious mis-reference to This Is Spinal Tap
.
Michael comments that his favorite character on Glee is "the invalid". The character, Artie Abrams
, is played by Kevin McHale. McHale appeared in the season four episode of The Office, "Launch Party
", as the pizza delivery boy.
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 134th episode overall. Written by Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
and directed by Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...
, 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 November 11, 2010.
Synopsis
The office employees are watching the pursuit of "The Scranton Strangler" live on television. The chase happens to go down their street, so Michael races to the windows, just in time to get a glimpse of the chase. He then goes outside and collects the gravel which the chase occurred on, thinking that it may be of value someday.Michael becomes frustrated when Kevin refers to Gabe as his boss. Erin and Gabe invite the office over to Gabe's house for a Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
viewing party. When the show starts, Michael and Gabe get in to an argument over how high the volume should be. After taking turns raising and lowering the volume, Michael retreats to Gabe's bedroom, hoping that his employees will follow him there. Meanwhile, Pam has been having a hard time with getting Cece to go to sleep at night, so Dwight picks her up to try calm her down and stop crying. Pam is stunned to find out that Cece becomes completely quiet in Dwight's hands.
Jim changes the channel from the Glee episode so he can check sports scores. Kelly yells at Jim to change the channel back to Glee, but discovers much to her horror that Erin had forgotten to record the episode. In order to avoid being the target of Kelly's anger, Jim goes into the bedroom to see Dwight holding a sleeping Cece. He is shocked to discover that Dwight is able to keep her quiet. Angela comes into the room, and demands that Dwight meet her outside for fulfillment of their sex contract. Dwight is about to leave, but Pam persuades him to stay with the baby. Jim is then forced to feed Dwight a pizza and a beer while Pam goes outside to tell Angela that Dwight cannot see her.
Andy is growing increasingly jealous of Gabe's relationship with Erin. While observing Gabe's room, he becomes intoxicated with a Chinese virility supplement (made from seahorse) Gabe has in his bedroom. The supplement initially works but soon makes Andy sick, prompting him to later admit his jealousy to Phyllis, who decides to help Andy by casually talking to Erin about her relationship with Gabe. Phyllis attempts this by decribing the first time her husband Bob saw each other naked. She says that they just stared at each other for hours before falling asleep. Erin becomes disgusted and walks off. Becoming irritated over the attention people are paying to the TV show, Michael goes outside and pulls the cable connection, causing it to turn off. Hysteria erupts from Kelly and many of the other Glee fans. Michael becomes self-conscious over the commotion he has caused, and goes outside to fix the cable.
Outside, Michael is discovered by Erin, who throughout the evening has been trying to encourage Michael to bond with Gabe. Michael, still indignant over the idea that his office views Gabe as his boss, questions Erin as to why she needs his approval, since he's not her father—a statement that is met with complete silence from Erin. Michael, realizing that Erin views him as a father figure, jokes around and tells her to go to her room, leading to a sweet moment between the two. As he leaves the party, Michael warns Gabe that he will, both figuratively and literally, kill Gabe if he breaks Erin's heart.
Production
The episode was written by Jon VittiJon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
, a long-time writer of 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...
. This is his first writing credit for The Office since joining the staff in the seventh season as a consulting producer. It was directed by Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...
, who has directed several Office episodes previously.
It was first revealed by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
on October 6, 2010, that an upcoming episode would feature the office employees getting together to watch an episode of the musical television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
.
Cultural references
The GleeGlee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
episode viewed during the party was the season two episode "Duets
Duets (Glee)
"Duets" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 26th episode overall. It was written by series creator Ian Brennan, directed by Eric Stoltz, and premiered on Fox on October 12, 2010...
." Though some comments made about the episode by Kelly and Creed are not presented in the episode. When turning up the volume at the party, he comments, "Turn it up to eleven. Spinal Cord", an obvious mis-reference to This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
.
Michael comments that his favorite character on Glee is "the invalid". The character, Artie Abrams
Artie Abrams
Artie Abrams is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Kevin McHale, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Artie was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
, is played by Kevin McHale. McHale appeared in the season four episode of The Office, "Launch Party
Launch Party
"Launch Party" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's fifty-eighth episode overall. The episode was written by Jennifer Celotta and directed by Ken Whittingham...
", as the pizza delivery boy.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on November 11, 2010, "Viewing Party" was viewed by an estimated 7.15 million viewers and received a 3.6 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The Baltimore NBC affiliate carried the Ravens/Falcons NFL game, so ratings for the regular Thursday NBC programming were lower than usual. This episode garnered fresh reviewsExternal links
- "Viewing Party" 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...