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"Search Committee"

"Search Committee" is the hour-long finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series The Office. It is the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It was written by Paul Lieberstein and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. The episode originally aired on NBC on May 19, 2011 in the United States. In the episode, Deangelo's new replacement is sought out through a search committee process led by Jim.

The episode featured several guest appearances including one from The Office co-creator Ricky Gervais.[3] The episode received mixed reviews from critics. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Search Committee" was viewed by an estimated 7.29 million viewers and a 3.9 rating/10% share in the 18-49 demographic, marking a rise in the ratings from the previous episode and the previous season finale.

Synopsis

With Deangelo Vickers in a coma, Dunder Mifflin-Sabre Scranton is left with Creed (Creed Bratton) as interim regional manager. Jo (Kathy Bates) puts Jim (John Krasinski), Toby (Paul Lieberstein), and Gabe (Zach Woods) into a committee to interview candidates for the manager position, including Andy (Ed Helms), Darryl (Craig Robinson) and a number of outsiders, including a personal friend of hers, Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate). Pam (Jenna Fischer) takes it upon herself to protect the office and their clients from Creed's haphazard managerial style, such as distracting him with activities and pretending to be their own clients when Creed has Jordan (Cody Horn) contact them.

Dwight (Rainn Wilson), still upset over being demoted by Jo, stops taking care of himself, and openly looks through want ads in the office. His attitude changes when he speaks with applicant Robert California (James Spader), who disparages the position and the office to other manager candidate Merv Bronte (Ray Romano) and becomes incensed that the position might go to someone who doesn't take it seriously. He demands to be interviewed, and while Jim balks, after Dwight's persistant efforts to acquire an interview, Jo instructs Jim to grant him one, as she "likes a little bit of crazy".

When Andy interviews for the manager position, Gabe hijacks the meeting in an attempt to sabotage him by asking random trivia questions, most of which Andy is able to successfully answer, although Andy is still frustrated in the end. He is also dismissive of Kelly (Mindy Kaling) during her interview. Kelly exacts revenge by telling Jo about his relationship with Erin (Ellie Kemper) and his harassing behavior after their breakup. In response, Jo sends Gabe back to Sabre's Florida headquarters, and installs Kelly to Gabe's position on the search committee. Jim eventually takes the discussion to the entire office (after Kelly accepts a bribe from Dwight to cast her vote for him), but the discussion gets out of control, and Jim brings the committee back to the conference room.

Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) and Erin await the results of a DNA test to see if Erin is the daughter previously given up by Phyllis in high school. The results are negative, but Phyllis holds off on telling Erin after Andy rejects Erin's proposal to start dating again, and continues to show maternal affection toward her.

Meanwhile, Angela (Angela Kinsey) becomes engaged to her state senator boyfriend, Robert. Oscar (Oscar Nunez), who strongly believes that Robert is gay, shares his feelings with Pam, and the rest of the office. They eventually decide not to tell Angela out of respect for her feelings, despite Angela's constant obnoxious and upbeat attitude about her forthcoming nuptials.

Production

File:Jim Carrey on the Office.jpg
Jim Carrey as his unnamed Office character, dubbed "Finger Lakes guy".

"Search Committee" was written by executive producer Paul Lieberstein, who also plays Toby Flenderson on the show, his 14th writing credit of the series. The episode was directed by Jeffrey Blitz, the ninth episode he has directed for the series. The episode features special guest appearances from Ricky Gervais (as David Brent), Catherine Tate, Will Arnett, Ray Romano, James Spader, Jim Carrey, and Warren Buffett.[3] In addition to appearing in the episode, Gervais contributed to the script.[4] The episode features a storyline hinted in "Goodbye, Michael" in which it is hinted that Phylis is Erin's birth mother.[5][6] The rumor was started during an interview with executive producer Greg Daniels with Entertainment Weekly in which he stated "A tiny mystery story – which I'm not sure anyone’s going to catch and will come out a few episodes from now – is being set up here".[7]

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast on May 19, 2011, "Search Committee" was viewed by an estimated 7.29 million households and received a 3.9 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[8][9] This means that it was seen by 3.9% of all 18–49 years olds, and 10% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a rise in the ratings from the previous episode, "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager, and a rise from the sixth season finale, "Whistleblower".[8] The episode became the highest rated scripted program on Thursday and ranked first in it's timeslot, beating the season finales for Grey's Anatomy, Bones, and The Mentalist.[9]

Reviews

The episode received generally negative reviews from critics. IGN reviewer Cindy White commenting that "it's more apparent than ever that 'Goodbye, Michael' should have ended the season, if not the series." and that "the show is just spinning its wheels now".[10] Despite this, she praised the scenes featuring Creed Bratton and James Spader calling Bratton's performance "the funniest scenes of the episode", and that Spader "was given the meatiest part, gamely channeling his dominating boss role from Secretary".[10] She ultimately gave the episode a 6.5/10 calling it "Okay".[10] TV Squad writer Joel Keller criticized the episode for not featuring a true plot writing that "this felt like a series of sketches in search of a plot.".[11] The Office co-creator Ricky Gervais also commented on the outlandishness, particularly Warren Buffet's appearance, saying "If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one.".[12] He also compared the episode to the Chris Martin episode of Gervais's other series, Extras.[12] The qoute was repeated multiple times on other media outlets and eventually Gervais commented that "I fucking didn't [diss The Office], that's for sure."[12]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix called the episode "bumpy, awkward, great big mess of a finale" and a "was a very poorly-executed sweeps stunt".[13] He also wrote that the guest starts "did not fit comfortably into the world of the show".[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'The Office' Guest Stars: Will Arnett, Ricky Gervais, Ray Romano, James Spader & Catherine Tate Names Revealed". Huffington Post. April 12, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  2. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (May 9, 2011). "Warren Buffett joins 'Office' finale". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "The Office: Search Committee, 7.25-7.26". OfficeTally. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  4. ^ "Week one hundred and sixty-two - March 2011". RickyGervais.com. March 28, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (April 29, 2011). "Office Gossip: Are Phyllis and Erin Mother and Daughter?". TVLine. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  6. ^ Kubicek, John (April 29, 2011). "'The Office' Mystery: Phyllis and Erin's Big Secret". BuddyTV. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  7. ^ Snierson, Dan (April 28, 2011). "'The Office': Exec producer Greg Daniels on the departure of Steve Carell and tonight's farewell episode, 'Goodbye, Michael' - EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Seidman, Robert (May 20, 2011). "TV Ratings Thursday: 'The Office' Rises, 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Private Practice,' 'Big Bang Theory' Rise, But American Idol Dominates". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Seidman, Robert (May 20, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Big Bang,' 'The Office,' 'Grey's,' 'Mentalist' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c White, Cindy (May 20, 2011). "The Office: "Search Committee" Review". IGN. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "'The Office' Season 7, Episode 24 (Season Finale) Recap". Tvsquad.com. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  12. ^ a b c Plumplard.com August 2004. "Ricky Gervais... Obviously". Rickygervais.com. Retrieved 2011-05-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ a b http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/the-office-search-committee-cavalcade-of-stars
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