Welcome Party

Last updated

"Welcome Party"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 20
Directed by Ed Helms
Written by Steve Hely
Cinematography byMatt Sohn
Editing by David Rogers
Production code820
Original air dateApril 12, 2012 (2012-04-12) [1]
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Get the Girl"		Next →
"Angry Andy"
The Office (American season 8)
List of episodes

"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.

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 this episode, Robert California (James Spader) forces the office to prepare a welcome party for Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate), but the party planners seek to sabotage it. Meanwhile, Erin Hannon (Ellie Kemper) helps Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) break up with his girlfriend, Jessica.

"Welcome Party" was received differently by many critics, resulting in mixed reviews, with multiple critics feeling that the episode never lived up to its potential. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Welcome Party" was viewed by an estimated 4.39 million viewers and received a 2.2 rating/6% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode ranked fourth in its timeslot and was also the highest-rated NBC series of the night.

Synopsis

Robert California forces the office to throw a welcome party for Nellie Bertram, but the Party Planning Committee works on ways to sabotage it. Meanwhile, Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute are sent to Nellie's apartment to help her move in. When Dwight sarcastically suggests bringing in a magician to move her furniture magically, Nellie quickly admits her disdain for stage magicians, prompting Jim to tell Pam Halpert about hiring a magician for Nellie's party. Jim and Dwight find a shoe box with a note to Nellie from herself saying not to open it. Inside, they find photos of her with another man and deduce him to be an ex-boyfriend. When Nellie finds them with the photos, she explains that she lost everything when they broke up. One of the photos shows him as a stage magician, which they realize is the root of her distaste of magicians. Jim calls Pam back and asks her to reconsider throwing the bad party. Pam tries to convince the other employees to little or no avail.

At the party, the employees vent their hatred of Nellie onto Pam to avoid admitting the truth, making Pam uncomfortable. The magician that was hired arrives, much to Nellie's dismay. Jim and Pam, out of solidarity to Nellie, sabotage the magician's tricks until he reaches breaking point, angrily yelling at everyone, and Dwight kicks him out. Nellie could see what Jim and Pam were doing and smiles gratefully. Nellie and Robert commend the employees for throwing a good party, but Kevin Malone complains that the carrot cake has actual vegetables in it, which Pam made as a prank. When Jim and Pam leave for the day, Pam asks Hank Tate why he let the magician into the elevator when he was asked not to. Hank, busy reading a magazine, claims not to have noticed him, stating that as a magician he could have slipped by.

Andy Bernard and Erin Hannon decide not to get together officially until he breaks up with Jessica. On their way back to Scranton, they stop at Jessica's family's log cabin, where they encounter a bunch of Jessica's friends having a bachelorette party for her sister, and have been drinking extensively. Uncomfortable, Andy and Erin decide to bail, but Jessica returns from her morning run. After staying a while, Andy asks Jessica into the kitchen where she deduces that he is breaking up with her. Erin is surprised however when Jessica said that Andy told her he did not think Erin was relationship material. Andy does not deny saying that, instead opting to claim that he is gay and leaves awkwardly with Erin. In the car, Andy says he made those comments about Erin because he was with Jessica before Erin accepts it and sleeps. Andy decides to head back to the cabin to tell Jessica and her party that he broke up with her because he wanted to be with Erin and that she is relationship material, while Erin stands nearby. Furious, Jessica and her party chase Andy and Erin back to the car. Erin passionately kisses Andy inside the car while the party throws things at their vehicle, prompting a quick getaway.

Production

"Welcome Party" was directed by Ed Helms. EdHelmsJune09.jpg
"Welcome Party" was directed by Ed Helms.

"Welcome Party" was written by Steve Hely, his second writing credit for the season after "Trivia". [2] The episode was directed by series regular Ed Helms, who portrays Andy Bernard. This marked his second director's credit for both the series and season, after "Christmas Wishes". [3]

The Season Eight DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Jim trying to stall Nellie, Robert California asking the party planning committee how great the party will be, Nellie checking out her new neighbors and asking her neighbor if he is an abortion care provider, in order to make sure her building will not be the target of a fire-bombing, and the party planning committee trying to think of catty ways to make Nellie angry. [4]

Reception

Ratings

"Welcome Party" originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 12, 2012. [1] The episode was viewed by an estimated 4.39 million viewers and received a 2.2 rating/6% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. [5] This means that it was seen by 2.2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 6% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a slight drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "Get the Girl". [6] "Welcome Party" was ranked as the lowest-rated episode of the series in the 18–49 demographic, beating the first-season finale, "Hot Girl", "Tallahassee" and "Get the Girl". [6] [7] [8] The episode finished fourth in its time slot, only beating The CW drama series, Supernatural . [5] The episode was defeated by the Fox drama series Touch , ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy and a rerun of the CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory . [5]

Review

"Welcome Party" received mixed reviews from critics. The A.V. Club reviewer Myles McNutt wrote that while the series had two goals to perform by the end of the episode—to turn Nellie into a relatable character and break Andy and Jessica up—he felt that both plots failed in execution. [9] He wrote that because the audience knew nothing about Jessica and that he had "already given up on" Nellie as a character, the episode ultimately became an "'unfunny' experience". [9] He ultimately gave the episode a C. [9] Cindy White of IGN compared the writer's attempt to humanize Nellie to the previous seasons, specifically "The Dundies" when the writers humanized Michael and wrote that she hoped the writers would continue to do this with Nellie. [10] She also went on to praise the interaction between Jim and Pam, saying "Their ability ... to communicate volumes with a few words or merely a glance demonstrates why their chemistry has been so difficult to replicate with other couples." [10] Despite her mainly positive review, she criticized the Andy and Erin subplot because she neither cared about Jessica nor Andy and Erin's relationship and called the whole subplot "a waste of time". [10] She ultimately gave the episode a 7.5/10, calling it "Good". [10] Writing for New York , Lucy Teitler unfavorably compared the Andy-Erin plotline to Jim and Pam's from the early seasons of the series, writing that the romance was not able to "take off, because Erin has no real agency" and that the scene where Andy returned to the bachelorette party felt too superficial to reach its potential of becoming a "classic" Office scene. [11]

The cold open received particularly positive reviews from critics. [9] Myles McNutt called it "clever" and noted that even he had forgotten whether Stanley had a mustache. [9] Lucy Teitler positively compared it to Guys and Dolls . [11] Cindy White considered a "great ensemble bit" and that it showed promise for the episode, although it did not reach that promise. [10]

Related Research Articles

"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.

"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.

Spooked (<i>The Office</i>) 5th episode of the 8th season of The Office

"Spooked" is the fifth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 157th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 27, 2011. It was written by Carrie Kemper, sister of cast member Ellie Kemper, and directed by Randall Einhorn. The episode guest starred David Mazouz.

"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.

"Pool Party" is the twelfth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 164th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 19, 2012. It was written by Owen Ellickson and was directed by Charles McDougall. The episode guest starred Lindsey Broad 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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"Roy's Wedding" is the second episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 178th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on September 27, 2012. The episode guest stars David Denman as Roy Anderson, Michael Patrick McGill as his brother, Kenny, Robert R. Shafer as Bob Vance, and Ameenah Kaplan as Val.

"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.

"Work Bus" is the fourth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 180th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on October 18, 2012. The episode was written by Brent Forrester and was directed by Bryan Cranston.

"Here Comes Treble" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office. The episode originally aired on NBC on October 25, 2012. It guest stars Stephen Colbert as Andy's college friend Broccoli Rob and Ben Silverman as an investor.

Customer Loyalty (<i>The Office</i>) 12th episode of the 9th season of The Office

"Customer Loyalty" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the 188th episode overall. The episode was written by Jonathan Green and Gabe Miller, and directed by Kelly Cantley. It originally aired on NBC on January 24, 2013. The episode guest stars Chris Diamantopoulos as Brian the boom mike operator, and Ben Silverman as Isaac, a coworker of Jim's.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Office: Welcome Party". Zap2It. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Trivia". The Office. Season 8. Episode 11. January 12, 2011. NBC.
  3. ↑ "Christmas Wishes". The Office. Season 8. Episode 10. December 8, 2011. NBC.
  4. ↑ Deleted scenes for "Welcome Partyl" (DVD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2012.The Office: Season Eight Disc 4
  5. 1 2 3 Bibel, Sarah (April 13, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Office' and 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' Adjusted Down – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Gorman, Bill (February 17, 2012). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Big Bang Theory,' '30 Rock,' 'Office' Adjusted Up; 'Person Of Interest,' 'Mentalist,' 'Secret Circle' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  7. ↑ "3 May 2005 Press Release ("Hot Girl")" (Press release). NBC. February 27, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2012.[ dead link ] Alt URL
  8. ↑ Gorman, Bill (March 16, 2012). "TV Ratings Thursday: 'Missing' Premieres Below 'Charlie's Angels', 'Community' Jumps On Return, 'Awake' Steadies". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 McNutt, Myles (April 12, 2012). ""Welcome Party" | The Office | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club . Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 White, Cindy (April 13, 2012). "The Office: "Welcome Party" Review". IGN . News Corporation . Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  11. 1 2 Teitler, Lucy (April 13, 2012). "The Office Recap: Parties Are the Worst". New York . New York Media, LLC. Retrieved April 21, 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.