Scott's Tots

Last updated
"Scott's Tots"
The Office episode
ScottsTot3rdGrade.jpeg
Michael Scott poses behind several third graders that have been promised by him tuition money as part of the titular "Scott's Tots" program. The image appears in a newspaper seen in the episode.
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 12
Directed by B. J. Novak
Written by
Cinematography byMatt Sohn
Editing by David Rogers
Production code6013 [1]
Original air dateDecember 3, 2009 (2009-12-03)
Running time22 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Shareholder Meeting"		Next →
"Secret Santa"
The Office (American season 6)
List of episodes

"Scott's Tots" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy television series The Office , and the show's 112th episode overall. The episode was directed by B. J. Novak, his directorial debut for the series, and written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. It first aired in the United States on NBC on December 3, 2009.

Contents

The series, presented in a mockumentary format, depicts the everyday lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, it is revealed that ten years earlier, Michael (Steve Carell) recklessly promised to pay for the college tuition of an entire local third grade class if they could complete high school. Lacking the personal wealth necessary to fulfill his promise, he and Erin (Ellie Kemper) must go tell the students, who are now high school seniors, that they will not be receiving the money. Meanwhile, in Michael's absence, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) convinces Jim (John Krasinski) to start an employee-of-the-month program with the intention of getting Jim into trouble. The episode achieved a viewership of 8.05 million during its initial airing in the United States.

"Scott's Tots" was critically acclaimed upon its initial airing, with many calling it a classic Office episode. Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg submitted this episode for the 2010 Emmys.

Synopsis

A decade ago, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) launched a program named "Scott's Tots", where he promised a group of underprivileged 3rd graders that he would pay their full college tuition, provided they graduate high school. In present time, he has failed to achieve his goal of being a millionaire, and is unable to fulfill the promise. He reluctantly visits their high school with Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper) to break the bad news. Michael's promise encouraged the students to excel academically, and they greet Michael with standing applause. Michael admits his inability to pay for their college tuition, and attempts to make up for it by providing them laptop batteries. However, this fails to appease the angry students. In the end, Michael offers to a single student to at least pay for his books. On the way back to the office, Michael and Erin have a comforting conversation. Erin reminds him of the students' higher-than-average graduation rate, and Michael compliments Erin's work ethic and reveals Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) was originally going to be in the warehouse, but became an accountant after Michael's belief in him.

Meanwhile, on a suggestion from Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) starts an employee of the month program to increase office morale. Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), however, schemes to get Jim fired. He gives Jim a performance sheet to determine the employee of the month, using complete anonymity to ensure a fair and unbiased assessment. Dwight, without Jim's authorization, also collects money from each of the employees as part of a cash prize. At the end, it is revealed that he apparently picked himself by accident and his wife Pam (Jenna Fischer) came second. Then, a cake is delivered to the office with Jim's face on it, and with the words "It Could Only Be You." The other workers accuse Jim for extracting money from the company. Jim tries to blame Dwight, but since he has taken numerous precautions to protect himself from it, he passively fires back.

Dwight initiates the second part of his plan by calling CFO David Wallace (Andy Buckley) multiple times, each time pretending to be a different employee complaining about Jim's failed program. An angry David calls Jim back and chews him out for the mishap. Almost assured that this will get Jim fired, Dwight listens in to the phone conversation from the pen recorder he had left in Jim's office in a previous episode ("The Lover"). But instead of firing Jim, David apologizes to him for losing his temper and praises Jim, adding that David and his wife are "still on" to go out with Jim and Pam. Angry that his plan has not worked, Dwight returns to the drawing board. He creates an alliance with Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) to achieve his goal.

Reception

"Scott's Tots" first aired on NBC on December 3, 2009. [2] In its original American broadcast, the episode was viewed by an estimated 8.055 million viewers and received a 4.1 rating/11 percent share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 4.1 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. In addition, the episode ranked first in its half-hour timeslot and was the highest-rated NBC series of the night. [3]

"The pay-off of this predicament plays with Michael's delusional tendencies brilliantly. As the students and teachers heap praise onto his shoulders, the kids even busting into a choreographed dance and rap number in his honor, you can sense Michael nearly convincing himself that he's really helping all these kids and that he deserves all the thanks. Steve Carell's facial expressions during this scene are absolutely priceless, and remind you what makes him one of the most gifted comedic actors around. Dread turns into amusement, which turns into pride, which finally turns back into dread when he realizes he's going to have to spill the beans."

—Dan Phillips, IGN [4]

Dan Phillips of IGN gave the episode a 9.4 out of 10 rating, denoting an "amazing" episode. It was also the highest score given to any sixth-season episode by the site. [4] Phillips called the episode "an instant classic and another phenomenal installment of this season, which hit some rough patches but seems to have recovered brilliantly", especially pointing out the scene between Michael and the irate students. [4] Phillips felt that the main scene between Michael and the children was pivotal and that it "might just rank atop The Office's long list and rich history of uncomfortable yet hilarious moments". [4]

Joel Keller of The Huffington Post wrote that "as the kids from that third-grade class praised Michael and told him how much his gift meant to them, all I could think of was, 'this is so wrong.' [...] The pain on Michael's face was palpable. I had the same expression." [5] He, however, was more critical of the episode's subplot, noting that he was "getting tired of Dwight's diabolical plans". [5] He felt that Jim should have caught onto Dwight's plan, rather than fall for it. Keller ultimately concluded that the episode was "a solid job this week. Not the best of the season, but not bad, either." [5]

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called the episode "kick-ass" and awarded it an "A−". Rabin commended the fact that Michael's bad-idea-for-the-right-reason made him likable. Furthermore, he noted that both Michael and the kids engaged in "mutually beneficial self-deception"; the former thought he could save those in need, and the latter had something to look forward to. [6] Rabin also enjoyed the subplot involving Jim and Dwight, noting that it "afforded [actor Rainn Wilson] an opportunity to do surprisingly accurate, unconscionably mean impersonations of Stanley and Toby". [6]

Several critics, on the other hand, felt that the main plot was too mean to be humorous. Gage Henry of Paste felt that the episode was weak because "one [of its storylines was] rather flimsy and the other ending up too atrocious to watch." [7] He noted that the formula of "Jim tries to conduct one normal day at the office while Michael is out making an ass of himself somewhere" was "becoming bland". [7] Ultimately, however, he could not decide if the episode "was commendably funny, or if it was as humorous as a child realizing that Santa Claus doesn’t exist." [7] Henry graded the episode a 6 out of 10. [7] Steve Marsi at TVFanatic did not enjoy it and was succinct in his review: "Last night's 'Scott's Tots' was not one of The Office's best. [...] it was actually a little depressing. Promising kids college tuition, then yanking it away?" [8]

The episode has become notorious among fans of the show as one of its most awkward and uncomfortable episodes. [9] [10] [11] Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey discussed the episode with B. J. Novak for their Office Ladies podcast on April 13, 2022.

Related Research Articles

The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series that depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It aired on NBC from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. Based on the 2001–2003 BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the show was created by Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons. It was co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, 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.

"Halloween" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's eleventh episode overall. It was written by executive producer and showrunner Greg Daniels and was directed by Paul Feig. The episode first aired on NBC in the United States on October 18, 2005. Guest stars in this episode included Devon Abner, Hugh Dane, George Gaus, Annabelle Kopack, Ava Nisbet and Alec Zbornak.

"The Fight" is the sixth episode of the second season of the television series The Office and the show's twelfth episode overall. It was written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and directed by Ken Kwapis. It originally aired on November 1, 2005, on NBC. "The Fight" guest starred Lance Krall, who played the part of Dwight's sensei, Ira.

"The Secret" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's nineteenth episode overall. It was written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Dennie Gordon. The episode first aired on January 19, 2006 on NBC.

Pilot (<i>The Office</i>) 1st episode of the 1st season of The Office

"Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the American comedy television series The Office. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on March 24, 2005. The episode's teleplay was adapted by Greg Daniels from the original script of the first episode of the British version written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. "Pilot" was directed by Ken Kwapis.

"Michael's Birthday" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's twenty-fifth episode overall. Written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham, the episode first aired in the United States on March 30, 2006 on NBC. The episode guest stars Nancy Carell as Carol Stills.

"The Convention" is the second episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's thirtieth episode overall. The episode was written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired on September 28, 2006 on NBC in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Bernard</span> Fictional character on NBCs The Office

Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character portrayed by Ed Helms in the NBC comedy television series The Office.

"Traveling Salesmen" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the show's 41st overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur, Lee Eisenberg, and Gene Stupnitsky, and it was directed by series creator and executive producer Greg Daniels. It first aired on January 11, 2007 in the United States on NBC.

"Business School" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the show's 45th overall. In the episode, Michael Scott is invited by Ryan Howard to speak to his business school class. When many of the students question the usefulness of paper in a computerized world, Michael attempts to inform the class of how essential paper is. Meanwhile, a bat becomes trapped in the office, leading Dwight Schrute on a mission to protect the employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Appreciation</span> 22nd episode of the 3rd season of The Office

"Women's Appreciation" is the twenty-second episode of the third season of the American version of The Office, the show's fiftieth overall, and the third supersized episode of the season. In this episode, Phyllis is flashed in the parking lot, so Michael takes all the women to the mall for "women's appreciation", where the status of his relationship with Jan comes to light. Meanwhile, Pam makes a sketch supposedly of the man who flashed Phyllis, when it in fact resembles Dwight, who is unaware and posts the fliers throughout town.

"Dinner Party" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-sixth episode overall. Written by the writing team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Paul Feig, the episode originally aired on NBC on April 10, 2008. Guest stars in the episode include Beth Grant, Steve Seagren, and Gary Weeks.

"Did I Stutter?" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-ninth episode overall. Written by Brent Forrester and Justin Spitzer, and directed by Randall Einhorn, the episode first aired in the United States on May 1, 2008 on NBC.

"Job Fair" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's seventieth episode overall. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Tucker Gates, the episode first aired in the United States on May 8, 2008 on NBC.

<i>The Office</i> (American TV series) season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States in the 2008–2009 television season on NBC on September 25, 2008 and concluded on May 14, 2009. The fifth season consisted of 28 half-hours of material, divided into 24 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name, 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 season stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, with supporting performances from Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith.

"Weight Loss" is the collective name for the first and second episodes of the fifth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 73rd and 74th episodes overall. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and directed by Paul Feig, the episode first aired as a single 60 minute show in the United States on September 25, 2008, on NBC. "Weight Loss" guest stars Amy Ryan as Holly Flax, Dale Raoul as Ronni, and Rich Sommer as Alex.

"The Promotion" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American comedy series The Office and the show's 103rd episode overall. It was written and directed by Jennifer Celotta and originally aired in the United States on NBC on October 1, 2009.

"The Manager and the Salesman" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 116th episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Marc Webb, it first aired in the United States on NBC on February 11, 2010.

"The Cover-Up" is the twenty-fourth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy series The Office. It aired on May 6, 2010 on NBC in the United States.

"Finale" is the series finale of the American comedy television series The Office. It serves as the 24th and 25th episodes of the ninth season, and the 200th and 201st episodes of the series overall. The episode was written by series developer and executive producer Greg Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis, who directed the series' pilot episode. It originally aired on NBC on May 16, 2013, preceded by an hour-long series retrospective.

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Rainn (December 13, 2012). "Remember all of these? #FinalSeason". Facebook.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ "The Office – Seasons – Season 6 – Episode Guide". NBC.com. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. ↑ Gorman, Bill (December 4, 2009). "TV Ratings Thursday: Flash Forward Crashes; Fringe Surges". TV by the Numbers . Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Phillips, Dan (December 4, 2009). "The Office: "Scott's Tots" Review – Michael Scott Crushes the Dreams of Under-Privileged Teens". IGN . News Corporation. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Keller, Joe (December 3, 2009). "Review: The Office – Scott's Tots". The Huffington Post . AOL. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Rabin, Nathan (December 3, 2009). "'Scott's Tots' | The Office | TV Club". The A.V. Club (The Onion). Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Henry, Gage (December 4, 2009). "The Office Review: 'Scott's Tots' (Episode 6.12). Paste . Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  8. ↑ Marsi, Steve (December 4, 2009). "The Office Review: 'Scott's Tots' . TV Fanatic. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  9. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (June 29, 2018). "'The Office': An Ode to "Scott's Tots," One of the Most Excruciating Episodes of TV Ever Made". Collider. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  10. ↑ Beck, Lia (December 21, 2018). "Is It Impossible For You To Watch The "Scott's Tots" 'Office' Episode? You're Not Alone". Bustle. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  11. ↑ Cobb, Kayla (March 24, 2020). "'The Office's "Scott's Tots" Is a Test of Who You Are as a Person". Decider. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
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.