Michael's Last Dundies

Last updated

"Michael's Last Dundies"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 21
Directed by Mindy Kaling
Written byMindy Kaling
Cinematography byMatt Sohn
Editing byClaire Scanlon
Production code7021 [1]
Original air dateApril 21, 2011 (2011-04-21)
Running time22 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Training Day"		Next →
"Goodbye, Michael"
The Office (American season 7)
List of episodes

"Michael's Last Dundies" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 147th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on April 21, 2011. The episode was written and directed by co-executive producer Mindy Kaling. "Michael's Last Dundies" guest stars Will Ferrell as Deangelo Vickers and Jack Coleman as State Senator Robert Lipton.

Contents

The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) trains his office replacement, Deangelo Vickers (Ferrell) on how to properly host the branch's annual Dundie Awards. Michael soon learns that Deangelo has a terrible problem with speaking in front of others. Meanwhile, Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper) grows to dislike her boyfriend, Gabe Lewis (Zach Woods).

The episode—which was originally going to be called "Goodbye, Michael Part 1"—was the first installment in the series to be both written and directed by Kaling, who also portrays Kelly Kapoor on the series. The episode also marks the second appearance of Ferrell as Deangelo Vickers; Ferrell had signed onto the series to make Carell's exit transition easier. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics. "Michael's Last Dundies" was viewed by 6.849 million viewers and received a 3.3 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49. The episode was the highest-rated NBC series of the week that it aired, as well as the sixth-most watched episode in the 18–49 demographic for the week it aired.

Plot

At the office, Michael Scott announces to the employees that Deangelo Vickers will be his co-host at the Dundies. The Dundies are an annual award program created by Michael to motivate his employees. The idea of performance is worrisome to Deangelo, but Michael insists he take the job. Michael brings some of the staff together in the conference room to help Deangelo get prepared for the show, but he struggles to be humorous. Andy Bernard tries to help him, saying he should just think of performing like conducting a meeting, but Michael objects, wanting Deangelo to mimic his style. Michael tries a number of different things to help Deangelo, such as sitting on his stomach and making him listen to a Walkman at full volume so he cannot hear himself think, but none are effective.

Meanwhile, Jim and Pam Halpert see Erin Hannon eating lunch alone in her car. She explains that she has begun doing this to get some time away from Gabe Lewis, whom she is starting to despise. Pam and Jim reluctantly enter the car (and looks visibly weary when Erin outright says she doesn't want to string Gabe along the way Pam did Roy) but she hides from a clueless Erin long enough to just suggests that Erin admit to Gabe her real feelings as soon as possible. Jim leaves the car making it very clear that he's not interested in interacting with Erin or listening to her problems.

After work, the employees arrive at an Italian restaurant named Louie Volpe's to celebrate the Dundies. Moments after being introduced, Deangelo disappears into the bathroom to vomit. Eventually, Michael is able to psych him up, and the show begins. The show continues to go poorly, with most of Michael's jokes offending more than amusing the employees. Dwight wins the "Promising Assistant Manager" Dundie, but as he is still mad at Michael for not recommending he replace Michael, he tosses his award in the trash. Erin wins the "Cutest Redhead" award and gives a speech in which she breaks up with Gabe (and cites a horrified Pam as her inspiration for doing so), and Gabe leaves the ceremony in humiliation. Michael awards Deangelo with the "Best Dundies Host" award. The staff urges him to make a speech, but as he nervously tries to yell over his Walkman, the ceremony is kicked out of the restaurant. Michael is upset that his last Dundies Award show was a disappointment, but the staff convinces him to continue the event at the office.

After Dwight, still angry with Michael, insults the Dundies and leaves, Michael and Deangelo continue the event in the conference room. After the last award, Andy leads the employees in serenading the soon-to-depart Michael with an altered version of the song "Seasons of Love" called "9,986,000 Minutes;" Michael is touched, stating that "this is gonna hurt like a motherf**ker."

In a tag scene, Michael "rewards" Toby with the honor of the Most Repulsive Person in the office, to Deangelo's surprise. Toby refuses to accept the award at first but thanks to some "it's his last Dundies, you kind of have to" nudging from Jim does take the trophy from Michael. When Toby mentions that he's not sure the person convicted as the Scranton Stranger is guilty, Dwight does a "ba-bump" sound effect on the drum, and the audience is completely silent.

Production

"Michael's Last Dundies" marked Will Ferrell's second appearance on The Office. Will Ferrell 2, 2012.jpg
"Michael's Last Dundies" marked Will Ferrell's second appearance on The Office.

"Michael's Last Dundies" was written and directed by co-executive producer Mindy Kaling, the first time that she has both directed and written an episode of the series. Kaling was also the writer of the second season episode "The Dundies", [2] an episode to which "Michael's Last Dundies" serves as a sequel in many ways. [3] The episode was originally titled "Goodbye, Michael Part 1" before NBC announced that "Goodbye, Michael" would be an extended 36-minute episode and this episode was re-titled "Michael's Last Dundies". [4] [5] In the episode, a cue card features Dwight's last name spelled incorrectly as "Shrute". Kaling later admitted on Twitter that she had spelled the name that way "in every script I've written since 'Hot Girl'." [6]

The episode is the second of Will Ferrell's four-episode guest stint on the series. Ferrell signed on to appear in Carell's final three episodes, and the first episode without Carell, "The Inner Circle", to make Carell's transition easier. Ferrell initially called the producers and offered to appear in a few episodes in Carell's last season, because he is "a fan and wanted to commemorate Carell’s swan song". [7] He had previously starred alongside Carell, in the 2004 film, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy . [7]

The Season Seven DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Michael talking about his last Dundies using comedians as metaphors, Dwight booing Deangelo in order to adequately prepare him for his actual speech, various clips from the actual Dundies awards and of people accepting their awards, a cut scene featuring a video of Michael interviewing Danny Cordray (Timothy Olyphant) at his house, and Andy talking to Erin about loading the printer so that she can take her mind off of Gabe. [8]

Cultural references

In this episode, Michael Scott describes the Dundies as "like the Golden Globes but less mean", referring to Ricky Gervais' hosting of the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, which left critics questioning if he had gone "too far". [9] [10] As executive producer of the American series and co-creator of the original British series, Gervais stated on his blog that the line was intended as "a little in-joke". [10] Near the beginning of the episode, Deangelo compares Meredith Palmer's (Kate Flannery) house to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Michael notes that "When Larry King died, they didn't just cancel his show", showing that Michael is unaware that Larry King was not deceased. [11] Later, he notes that "they got Piers Morgan to come in and do his show" instead. [11] The final song that the office sings to Michael is a parody of "Seasons of Love" from the Broadway musical Rent . Dwight later reveals in a talking head that he is always the padawan learner, and never a Jedi knight, a reference to the 1977 film Star Wars and its franchise. Michael notes that he wanted his last Dundies celebration to be like the 1990 film The Godfather Part III , rather than the "confusing" 1972 film The Godfather I , which he notes had "three big laughs". [11] Additionally, the episode contains several references to the film The King's Speech , notably during the scene in which Deangelo gives his speech at the Dundies while listening to his Walkman played at a high volume. [11]

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "Michael's Last Dundies" was viewed by an estimated 6.849 million households and received a 3.3 rating/10% share in the 18–49 demographic. [12] This means that it was seen by 3.3% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 9% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a significant drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "Training Day". [13] Despite this, the episode became the highest-rated NBC program for the original week it aired and also became the sixth-most-watched show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49. [14]

'Michael’s Last Dundies' obviously wants to take on a particular meaning given that final song [...] As a result, I think it is perfectly fair to hold the show accountable for the fact that the rest of it was built around a transparent set of bits being played by two actors, not two characters, and to wish that the big picture was more than just a musical afterthought in Carell’s next-to-last episode.

Myles McNutt, The A.V. Club [2]

The episode received a moderately positive review from Cindy White of IGN. She said "the laughs were scarce this episode" but the lack of humor was compensated by the "emotional highlights". [3] However, she praised the performances of many of the supporting cast. She ultimately gave the episode a 7 out of 10, denoting a "good" episode. [3] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix felt that the episode was "very up-and-down", largely due to inconsistent writing. [15] He did, however, feel that the ending song was "beautiful" and "enough to justify" the episode. [15] Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic awarded the episode four-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "funny and sweet" and "a perfect penultimate episode for Steve Carell". [16]

Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B−". [2] He felt that it was appropriate that Steve Carell's time on the series was bookended largely by the Dundies; he noted that the episode in which the awards were introduced—the eponymous second season entry—served as "a second pilot of sorts" for the series, and the idea to bring the Dundies back made sense at the time in order to see how the characters had grown. [2] However, he felt that the episode at large did not live up to its source material, and that it was "occasionally funny but unfortunately meaningless". [2] The ending song, however, in McNutt's opinion, was a highlight of the episode. [2]

Will Ferrell's character received criticism in the episode. White criticized Deangelo Vickers, noting that she did not have a handle on the character and that he was too "downright normal" and "practically boring". [3] McNutt argued that, while Ferrell "is not really the problem with the role" of Deangelo Vickers, the actions between Ferrell and Carell felt more like "hanging out to commemorate the former’s departure from a television show" rather than the two playing believable characters. [2] He also felt that Deangelo "feels disruptive to the show’s narrative" because his character gets in the way of the plot. [2] Sepinwall felt that parts of the episode fell flat because it spent "so much time giving Will Ferrell stuff to do". [15] He further noted that "nobody has come up with a good reason for him being here other than that he's Will Ferrell." [15]

Related Research Articles

The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series based on the 2001–2003 BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Adapted for NBC by Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons, the show depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and aired from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. The show was co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Daniels, Gervais, Merchant, Howard Klein and Ben Silverman, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.

Michael Scott (<i>The Office</i>) Fictional character in NBCs The Office

Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character in the NBC sitcom The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell. Michael is the regional manager of the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of Dunder Mifflin, a paper company, for the majority of the series. Like his counterpart in the original British version of the show, David Brent, he is characterized as a largely incompetent, unproductive, unprofessional boss, though he is depicted as kinder and occasionally shown to be effective at his job in key moments.

"The Dundies" is the first episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, the episode originally aired in the United States on September 20, 2005 on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erin Hannon</span> Fictional character

Kelly Erin Hannon is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series The Office, played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previously held by Pam Beesly before she quit to go work for the Michael Scott Paper Company. She is a character original to the American version, and has no counterpart in the original British version of the series.

<i>The Office</i> (American TV series) season 7 Season of television series

The seventh season of the American television comedy The Office premiered on September 23, 2010 and concluded on May 19, 2011 on NBC. 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. (ET) as part of Comedy Night Done Right. It stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, and Ed Helms, with supporting performances from Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, Zach Woods, and Amy Ryan. This was the last season to feature Michael Scott, played by Carell, as the lead character. The seventh season was released on DVD and Blu-ray in region 1 on September 6, 2011.

"Counseling" is the second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the shows 128th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on September 30, 2010. The episode was written by B. J. Novak and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. "Counseling" guest stars Eric Zuckerman as a store clerk, Vincent Angelo as a vendor, and Michael Schur as Mose Schrute. Evan Peters also appears as Luke Cooper in archival footage from the previous episode.

"Sex Ed" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 130th episode overall. Written and directed by Paul Lieberstein, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on October 14, 2010. The episode features the return of several recurring characters, most notably Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson, Linda Purl as Helene Beesly, and Nancy Carell as Carol Stills. Actresses Amy Pietz and Amy Ryan — who portray Donna Newton and Holly Flax — only make vocal cameos, though Ryan is credited as a starring role.

"The Sting" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the shows 131st episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on October 21, 2010. The episode was written by co-executive producer Mindy Kaling and directed by Randall Einhorn. "The Sting" guest stars Timothy Olyphant as Danny Cordray.

"Christening" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of the American version of the comedy television series The Office and the show's 133rd episode overall. Written by Peter Ocko and directed by Alex Hardcastle, the episode aired on November 4, 2010 on NBC in the United States. The episode guest stars Linda Purl as Helene Beesly, Rick Overton as William Beesly, Robert Pine as Mr. Halpert, Perry Smith as Betsy Halpert, Bobby Ray Shafer as Bob Vance, and Peggy Stewart as Sylvia.

"Viewing Party" is the eighth episode of the 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.

"The Seminar" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 140th episode overall. Written by Steve Hely and directed by B. J. Novak, the episode aired January 27, 2011 on NBC. The episode features Ricky Gervais reprising his role as David Brent, his character from the original British version of The Office, in an uncredited cameo.

"Goodbye, Michael" is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy series The Office and the show's 148th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 28, 2011. In the episode, Michael prepares to leave for Colorado with Holly and spends his last day in the office saying goodbye to everyone individually, wanting no drama to ensue. Meanwhile, new manager Deangelo and Andy try to keep Michael's biggest clients.

"Training Day" is the twentieth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 146th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on April 14, 2011. The episode was written by Daniel Chun and directed by Paul Lieberstein. This episode marks the first appearance of Deangelo Vickers in the series.

"The Inner Circle" is the twenty-third episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 149th episode overall. The episode originally aired on May 5, 2011, on NBC. The episode also marked Will Ferrell's final appearance as Deangelo, having signed up for four episodes. Cody Horn also makes her first guest appearance for the series as Jordan Garfield.

"Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series The Office. It comprises the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It originally aired on NBC on May 19, 2011 in the United States. In the episode, Deangelo's replacement is sought out through a search committee process led by Jim. Meanwhile, Angela becomes engaged to her state senator boyfriend, Robert, while the rest of the office believes he is gay.

"Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager" is the twenty-fourth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 150th episode overall. The episode was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Troy Miller. It originally aired in the United States on May 12, 2011 on NBC. The episode also features guest appearances from Kathy Bates, Cody Horn and Michael Schur.

<i>The Office</i> (American TV series) season 8 Season of television series

The eighth season of the American television comedy The Office commenced airing on NBC in the United States on September 22, 2011, and concluded on May 10, 2012, consisting of 24 episodes. The series is an American adaptation of the British comedy series, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The eighth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States as part of the "Comedy Night Done Right" television block. It stars Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, and James Spader, with supporting performances from Catherine Tate, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, and Zach Woods. This was the first season without Steve Carell as Michael Scott in the lead role and the only one to not feature the character in any onscreen capacity, although he is occasionally mentioned.

"The List" is the eighth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 153rd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 22, 2011. It was written and directed by executive producer B. J. Novak.

"Christmas Wishes" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 162nd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on December 8, 2011. It was written by executive producer Mindy Kaling and was directed by Ed Helms in his directorial debut. The episode guest starred Lindsey Broad, Ameenah Kaplan, and Eleanor Seigler.

<i>The Office</i> (American TV series) season 9 Season of television series

The ninth and final season of the American television comedy The Office premiered on NBC on September 20, 2012, and concluded on May 16, 2013, consisting of 25 episodes. The Office is an American adaptation of the British comedy series, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The ninth season of The Office aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) in the United States, as part of the Comedy Night Done Right television block. It stars Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Ed Helms, with supporting performances from Catherine Tate, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Clark Duke, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Jake Lacy, Paul Lieberstein, B. J. Novak, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith. This is the second season not to star Steve Carell as lead character Michael Scott, although he returned for a cameo appearance in the series finale.

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Rainn (December 13, 2012). "Remember all of these? #FinalSeason". Facebook.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McNutt, Myles (April 21, 2011). "'Michael's Last Dundies' | The Office | TV Club". The A.V. Club . The Onion . Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 White, Cindy (April 22, 2011). "The Office: "Michael's Last Dundies" Review". IGN . News Corporation . Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ "(#721) "Goodybe, Michael Part 1"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  5. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (April 11, 2011). "Steve Carell's Office Farewell Just Got Bigger". TVLine . PMC. Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Shrute or Schrute". OfficeTally. March 29, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  7. 1 2 Fleming, Mike (January 26, 2011). "Will Ferrell Helping Steve Carell's Exit From 'The Office' With Four-Episode Arc". Deadline Hollywood . PMC . Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  8. ↑ Deleted scenes for "Michael's Last Dundies" (DVD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2011.The Office: Season Seven Disc 4
  9. ↑ "Ricky Gervais Too Mean at Golden Globes?". CBS News . CBS Broadcasting. Jan 18, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Gervais, Ricky (April 2011). "Blog! Week One Hundred and Sixty-Five – April 2011". RickyGervais.com. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Giant, M. "Played Out". Television Without Pity . NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  12. ↑ Seidman, Robert (April 22, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Vampire Diaries,' 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; 'Community,' 'Parks & Recreation' Down". TV by the Numbers . Zap2it. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  13. ↑ Seidman, Robert (April 22, 2011). "TV Ratings Thursday: 'Bones,' 'American Idol,' 'The Office,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Paul Reiser' All Down; 'Community' Inches Up – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers . Zap2it. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  14. ↑ Seidman, Robert (April 26, 2011). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'American Idol,' 'Glee,' 'Dancing with the Stars,' 'NCIS' Top Week 31 Viewing". Television Without Pity . Zap2it. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Sepinwall, Alan (April 22, 2011). "Review: 'The Office' – 'Michael's Last Dundies': Remember to Call". HitFix . Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  16. ↑ Forcella, Dan (April 22, 2011). "The Office Review: 9,986,000 Minutes". TV Fantic. Mediavine Inc. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.