Test the Store

Last updated

"Test the Store"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 17
Directed by Brent Forrester
Written by Mindy Kaling
Featured music"Clocks" by Coldplay
Cinematography byMatt Sohn
Editing byClaire Scanlon
Production code817
Original air dateMarch 1, 2012 (2012-03-01) [1]
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"After Hours"		Next →
"Last Day in Florida"
The Office (American season 8)
List of episodes

"Test the Store" is the seventeenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 169th episode overall. The episode was written by Mindy Kaling, directed by Brent Forrester, and aired on NBC in the United States on March 1, 2012.

Contents

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) attempts to put on a theatrical presentation to impress Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate). Meanwhile, in Scranton, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) comes to work with an embarrassing black eye.

"Test the Store" contains many cultural allusions, including several to the NBC action-comedy series Chuck . The episode received mixed reviews from critics. According to the Nielsen Media Research, "Test the Store" was viewed by an estimated 4.95 million viewers and received a 2.5 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode ranked first in its time slot and was also ranked as the highest-rated NBC program of the night.

Synopsis

At the Sabre store opening, Dwight Schrute attempts to put on a theatrical presentation to impress Nellie Bertram. Dwight assigns the members of his team various tasks: Erin Hannon is to act like a hipster to make the Sabre Pyramid more appealing to other hipsters, Cathy is to flirt with the bloggers, Ryan Howard is to give a presentation to wow the critics, and Todd Packer is to play the part of a sexual predator who "prey[s] on the trendy teenage girls who are obsessed with the pyramid"—much to Packer's chagrin. As the grand opening progresses, things begin to fall apart. Several bloggers notice Jim Halpert using his old cell phone instead of his Sabre Arrowhead phone, resulting in a reprimand from Nellie. Erin disappears with a group of seniors after Dwight drives them away, fearing their age will frighten the youth. Ryan has a panic attack and, after being consoled by Dwight and Jim — who imitate Kelly Kapoor and his mother respectively in an attempt to calm him down — leaves to go to his parents' house. Jim is forced to give the presentation, which, despite a rocky start, impresses the crowd. After the opening, Dwight is named vice president by Nellie.

In Scranton, Andy Bernard tries to protect Pam Halpert from a group of kids who are throwing pinecones at her, and a young girl, Tiffany, punches him, giving him a black eye. Andy tells his co-workers that he stepped in when a "gang" harassed Pam, and Pam plays along out of gratitude to Andy and not wanting to embarrass him. At Andy's suggestion, Toby Flenderson arranges a meeting in the conference room to discuss self-defense. Andy is then humiliated when Tiffany is brought in by her mother and half-apologizes to him and Pam. Kelly asks Toby to demonstrate how to defend oneself when being attacked by a girl, and begins physically harassing him; Andy steps in between the two to break the fight up, resulting in his other eye being blackened. The rest of the office laughs at his misfortune, but shuts up when Andy points out he got hit twice because he defended other people who were being attacked. The episode concludes with Andy noting that he took a bunch of pain medication, drank half a bottle of wine, and took his pants off, thus greatly improving his feelings as the day ends.

Production

"Test the Store" was written by Mindy Kaling, who portrays Kelly Kapoor on the show. Mindy Kaling at PaleyFest 2013.jpg
"Test the Store" was written by Mindy Kaling, who portrays Kelly Kapoor on the show.

"Test the Store" was written by executive producer Mindy Kaling, [2] her second script of the eighth season after the Christmas special, "Christmas Wishes." [3] The episode was directed by consulting producer and series writer Brent Forrester. [2] Matt Selman and Matt Warburton, writers for the long-running animated comedy series The Simpsons , appeared in the episode as bloggers. [4] The episode also features a guest appearance from David Koechner, who appears as Todd Packer in the series. [2] He recently had made a deal with NBC to do more episodes for the series and also possibly join the cast of series developer Greg Daniels's next series, Friday Night Dinner, an adaption of the British series of the same name. [5]

The episode also marks the eleventh appearance of Lindsey Broad who plays Cathy, Pam's replacement during her maternity leave. [6] She appeared in a recurring role for the season, after she initially appeared in "Pam's Replacement". [6] The Season Eight DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Erin and the senior citizen that she forcibly removed from the Sabre store discussing rent payments over pretzels, Nellie and Dwight lying and telling the team that they went to church, Jim and Cathy having an awkward moment, and Stanley attempting to convince a group of bloggers that he is Al Roker's brother and Raven-Symoné's father. [7]

Cultural references

"Test the Store" featured several direct allusions and references to the action-comedy series Chuck , which had just finished its five-season run on NBC on January 27, 2012. [2] [8] In the episode, a cut-out of Zachary Levi is used by the sales team to garner support for the Sabre Pyramid; Jim and Dwight both mention that Jim was originally supposed to dress as the titular character Chuck; during Jim's presentation, Jim mentions that the Sabre Pyramid has the capability to watch movies and TV shows ranging from "Chuck to Cars 2 "; and lastly, Dwight admits to Nellie that the before-mentioned presentation could have used more Chuck references. [2]

As evidenced by the title, Sabre's Pyramid tablet makes a reappearance. [2] The device serves as a parody of several tablet computers, specifically the Apple iPad. [9] B. J. Novak described the device as "really the worst piece of technology that you've ever seen." [10] The device was created by Paul Lieberstein, who originally envisioned that the device only had the rights to the 1993 film Coneheads . [11] The concept was then expanded and changed: the Pyramid would only have the rights to Chuck and Cars 2. [11]

The episode contains several direct mentions to popular music. Nellie mentions that, when she was younger, she tried out for the Spice Girls, failing to secure a call-back for "the black one." [2] During Jim's presentation, the opening of the song "Clocks" by the British rock band Coldplay is played. [2] When pretending to be a hipster, Erin mispronounces both Coachella and Zooey Deschanel. [12]

Reception

Ratings

"Test the Store" originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 1, 2012. [1] The episode was viewed by an estimated 4.95 million viewers and received a 2.5 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. [13] This means that it was seen by 2.5% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. [13] The episode finished first in its time slot, beating re-runs of the CBS drama Person of Interest , the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy , and The CW drama series Supernatural . [13] In addition, "Test the Store" was the highest-rated NBC television episode of the night. [13]

Reviews

The episode received mostly mixed reviews from critics. Myles McNutt from The A.V. Club awarded the episode a C rating, noting that "'Test the Store' was just too dumb to build any further momentum; I wish I had a better word for it, but I just can't think of one." However, McNutt appreciated Jim's presentation, noting that "the final presentation was a pretty decent setpiece." [14] What Culture! reviewer Joseph Kratzer awarded the episode three out of five stars, noting that the episode fell victim to "the overall lack of focus and believability that has plagued The Office all season." [15] Jeffrey Hyatt from Screen Crave gave the episode a review of seven out of ten, noting that "The Office continues to get the comedy boost it needs from the Florida storyline." Hyatt called the scene featuring Dwight and Jim imitating Kelly and Ryan's mom as "one of my favorite moments of the season so far." Despite this, he did call the episode "uneven," noting that the Scranton story-line was "ho-hum." [12] Dan Forcella from TV Fanatic awarded the episode four out of five stars and praised Jim's presentation, writing, "Between Jim's outfit and makeup, the fact that he embraced the presentation throughout, and all of the Chuck references, I was speechless by the end of that thing." [16]

Many reviews were critical of the Scranton sub-plot. McNutt wrote that, "Andy getting hit by a girl plays into the most weak, infantile parts of his character, and making Pam his accomplice was a complete non-starter." [14] Kratzer wrote, "Don't get me wrong, the idea of Andy getting punched in the face by a female fifth grader isn't necessarily unbelievable or unfunny, it's just that it had so little relevance or realism that it was difficult to follow for more than five minutes and it constituted an entire plot line." [15]

Related Research Articles

"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.

"Classy Christmas" is the collective name for the eleventh and twelfth episodes of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 137th and 138th episodes overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Rainn Wilson, the episode originally aired on December 9, 2010 on NBC. "Classy Christmas" guest stars Jack Coleman as Senator Robert Lipton, Rob Huebel as A.J., Mark Proksch as Nate, and marks the return of Amy Ryan as Holly Flax.

"Todd Packer" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 144th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on February 24, 2011. The episode was written by Amelie Gillette and directed by Randall Einhorn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nellie Bertram</span> Fictional character

Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the American comedy television series The Office, portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the seventh season, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch. She is an original character, and has no counterpart in the original British version of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert California</span> Fictional character from NBCs The Office

Robert California, also known as Bob Kazamakis, is a fictional character on the American comedy television series The Office, portrayed by James Spader. In the eighth season, Robert managed to persuade Jo Bennett to appoint him CEO in her place. In the eighth-season finale, Robert departs from the company after David Wallace purchases Dunder Mifflin.

<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.

"Garden Party" is the fourth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 156th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 13, 2011. It was written by co-executive producer Justin Spitzer and was directed by David Rogers and marks Mindy Kaling's first credit as executive producer. "Garden Party" features guest appearances from Josh Groban, Dee Wallace, and Stephen Collins.

"Gettysburg" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 160th episode overall. It was written by Robert Padnick and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on November 17, 2011. "Gettysburg" guest stars Lindsey Broad as Cathy Simms.

"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.

"Tallahassee" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 167th episode overall. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on February 16, 2012. "Tallahassee" was written by co-executive producer Daniel Chun and directed by series cinematographer Matt Sohn. The episode guest stars David Koechner and Wally Amos.

"After Hours" is the sixteenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 168th episode overall. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on February 23, 2012. "After Hours" was written by co-executive producers Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein and directed by Brian Baumgartner, who portrays Kevin Malone on the series, marking his directorial debut.

"Last Day in Florida" is the eighteenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 170th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 8, 2012. "Last Day in Florida" was written by Robert Padnick and directed by Matt Sohn. The episode features the final appearance of Lindsey Broad and guest stars Georgia Engel.

"Get the Girl" is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 171st episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 15, 2012. "Get the Girl" was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by series regular Rainn Wilson, who portrays Dwight Schrute.

"Welcome Party" is the twentieth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 172nd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 12, 2012. "Welcome Party" was written by Steve Hely and directed by series regular Ed Helms, who portrays Andy Bernard.

"Angry Andy" is the twenty-first episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office. It was written by Justin Spitzer and directed by Claire Scanlon. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on April 19, 2012.

"Fundraiser" is the twenty-second episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 174th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 26, 2012. "Fundraiser" was written by Owen Ellickson and directed by David Rogers. The episode guest stars Andy Buckley and Jack Coleman.

"Turf War" is the twenty-third and penultimate episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 175th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on May 3, 2012. "Turf War" was written by Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan, and was directed by Daniel Chun. The episode guest stars Chris Bauer, Andy Buckley, and Dan Castellaneta.

"Free Family Portrait Studio" is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 176th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on May 10, 2012. "Free Family Portrait Studio" was written and directed by B. J. Novak, who also wrote and directed the season premiere "The List". The episode guest stars Andy Buckley, Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Jerry Minor, and Michael Schur.

"Andy's Ancestry" is the third episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office. The episode originally aired on NBC on October 4, 2012. The episode was written by Jonathan Green and Gabe Miller, and was directed by David Rogers. The episode guest stars Randall Park as Jim and Pam's actor friend, Steve.

"The Boat" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the 182nd episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on November 8, 2012. It guest stars Josh Groban as Andy's brother Walter.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Office : Test the Store". Zap2it. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mindy Kaling (writer), Brent Forrester (director) (March 1, 2012). "Test the Store". The Office. Season 8. Episode 17. NBC.
  3. ↑ Mindy Kaling (writer), Ed Helms (director) (December 8, 2011). "Christmas Wishes". The Office. Season 8. Episode 10. NBC.
  4. ↑ "The Office Season 8 spoilers and news". OfficeTally. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 17, 2012). "David Koechner Inks NBC Talent Deal, Eyes Greg Daniels' 'Friday Night Dinner' & 'Office'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Ausiello, Michael (September 8, 2011). "The Office Exclusive: 'Til Death's Lindsey Broad Befriends Pam". TVLine . Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  7. ↑ Deleted scenes for "Test the Store" (DVD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2012.The Office: Season Eight Disc 3
  8. ↑ Dos Santos, Kristin. "Chuck Is Over. (Sob!) So What Did Those Final Moments Mean?!". E! News Online. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ Christian Zibreg (September 30, 2011). "NBC's The Office lampoons tablet craze: Meet the Pyramid tablet". 9to5Mac. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  10. ↑ Hibberd, James (January 30, 2012). "'Office' scoop: Cast talks Rainn Wilson spin-off, renewal odds". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  11. 1 2 Gonzalez, Sandra. "'The Office' scoop: B.J. Novak gives BIG finale intel, teases more Florida fun". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  12. 1 2 Hyatt, Jeffrey. "The Office: Season 8 Episode 17: Test The Store – TV Review". Screen Crave. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Kondolojy, Amanda (March 2, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Awake' & 'American Idol' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  14. 1 2 McNutt, Myles. "Test the Store". The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  15. 1 2 Kratzer, Joseph. "TV Review: The Office 8.17, "Test the Store"". What Culture!. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  16. ↑ Forcella, Dan. "Review: Pyramid Scheme". TV Fanatic. Retrieved March 2, 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.