The Client (The Office episode)

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The Office episode
"The Client"

Jan watches Michael charm "The Client"
Episode No. 13
Prod. Code 205
Airdate November 8, 2005
Writer(s) Paul Lieberstein
Director Greg Daniels

The Office Season 2
September 2005 - May 2006
  1. The Dundies
  2. Sexual Harassment
  3. Office Olympics
  4. The Fire
  5. Halloween
  6. The Fight
  7. The Client
  8. Performance Review
  9. E-mail Surveillance
  10. Christmas Party
  11. Booze Cruise
  12. The Injury
  13. The Secret
  14. The Carpet
  15. Boys and Girls
  16. Valentine's Day
  17. Dwight's Speech
  18. Take Your Daughter to Work Day
  19. Michael's Birthday
  20. Drug Testing
  21. Conflict Resolution
  22. Casino Night
List of all The Office episodes...
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"The Client" is the seventh episode of the second season of the television series The Office (U.S. version). It was written by Paul Lieberstein and directed by Greg Daniels. It originally aired on November 8, 2005.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Michael and Jan take a client to a Chili's for an important meeting. Jan is disgusted with Michael's antics and general refusal to talk business but discovers at the end of the day that there is a method to his madness when the client bonds with Michael, allowing him to close the deal. Afterwards in the parking lot, Michael and recently-divorced Jan share a kiss.

Meanwhile, Pam finds a screenplay written by Michael, and Jim leads the office staff in a table read of the script. An editing error in the script reveals that Michael based the incompetent sidekick on Dwight, who quickly shuts down the exercise to invite everyone to set off fireworks outside. Jim and Pam break off their respective evening plans to enjoy an impromptu dinner on the roof and watch the firework show.

The following morning, Dwight and Angela independently observe Jan returning to her car (still parked at Dunder-Mifflin), and word quickly travels around the office. Michael initially tells the documentary crew that "nothing happened," that they talked for several hours before falling asleep, but his story gradually changes to imply that they did more than just talk. Jan calls, clearly regretful for what she did the previous evening, but Michael refuses to accept her change of heart.

[edit] Deleted Scenes

  • Michael tells an uninterested Pam about his new egg yolk diet. (Jenna Fischer breaks character and starts laughing.)
  • Michael empties the kitchen refrigerator of all foods containing carbs.
  • Michael jokes around with an unamused Jan regarding plans for the client meeting. In a talking head interview, Michael explains that he's a closer.
  • Jim visits the reception desk and asks Pam what she's doing. She admits she was just staring at her desk.
  • Phyllis tries gossip with Stanley, but Stanley ignores her.
  • The table reading reaches the last page of Threat Level: Midnight, which ends abruptly with Agent Michael Scarne jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.
  • Jim describes to the camera his worst first date. He's being evasive and vague about details, but gradually it becomes clear that he's describing a date he went on with Pam before he learned she was engaged to Roy. He says he found out later that she didn't even think of it as a real date and she was in love with another guy. Jim concludes, "My best first date was also my worst first date."

[edit] Trivia

For a list of songs featured in this episode, see List of songs featured on The Office (US TV series).
  • Tim Meadows and Steve Carell improvised an enormous amount together while the cameras were on, but the majority never made the final cut.[1]
  • The idea for Jan and Michael to "hook up" was conceived by Carell as far back as the filming of the pilot episode. The writers described their relationship as "it was like he was turned on by his teacher." [2]
  • Although Michael says that Chili's is "a couple blocks away" and mocks Jan for not knowing this about Scranton, in reality there is no Chili's in Scranton — the closest one is about 30 minutes away in the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre.
  • Michael's screenplay is called Threat Level:Midnight.
  • When the workers are table reading Michael's script the parts they play are as followed:
  • The closeup of the script reveals the lines to be in a different order than they are read; specifically, the line introducing Goldenface follows the "Dwigt" line, rather than preceding it.
  • Reshoots were needed to explain the "Dwigt" situation clearly and concisely.[3] On the day of the reshoot, Jenna Fischer had a cold; you can hear the change in her voice when she says, "leaving behind one Dwigt."
  • The illustrations that accompany the screenplay were drawn by Greg Daniels. The task was first given to a professional artist, but the results were too good to be convincing as something Michael would have drawn.[3]
  • During the scene where Christian and Michael eat baby back ribs, the sound effects were added in later by the editors. Apparently, Steve Carell and Tim Meadows weren't being loud enough.
  • The producers tried to obtain permission to use The Rolling Stones' iconic tongue logo for Michael's tie. They were unsuccessful.
  • The scene where Jim insults Pam for being ditched at a hockey game upset Jenna Fischer so much that after filming, she asked John Krasinski for a hug to show that he wasn't actually angry with her.[4]
  • Paul Lieberstein said the first idea that anybody came up with for this episode was the final shot, where Jim and Michael look at each other and shake their heads, suggesting that they had just been through similar experiences. The episode was written so events would lead to that scene.[5]
  • The story of Oscar's first date is based on an actual date that writer Paul Lieberstein went on.[5] (This episode takes place before it is established that Oscar is gay. The story could also have been fabricated, Oscar might have switched the gender of the date, or it could have been a true story.)
  • The song on Jim's iPod that he and Pam sway to was originally a song by Interpol, as explained in the DVD commentary.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details about future episodes follow.
  • This episode was originally intended to air before "Halloween," as evident in a deleted scene where Devon can clearly be seen in the background at his desk.
  • In a deleted scene, Jim states that his "worst first date" was "right down here, at Cugino's", and points out the window. However, in the episode "Branch Closing", when Kevin suggests the office employees go to Cugino's to commemorate their time together in the office, Angela complains that she doesn't want to go "all the way to Dunmore". (The real Cugino's is in Dunmore, but Dunmore is just five minutes' drive from downtown Scranton. Angela was being petty.)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Novak, B.J. (November 8, 2005). "The Office Presents: The Client", TVGuide.com
  2. ^ Ryan, Maureen (February 23, 2006). "'Office' promotions pay off in a big way", Chicago Tribune
  3. ^ a b Daniels, Greg (Producer/Director). 2006. "The Client" [Commentary track], The Office Season Two (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.
  4. ^ Fischer, Jenna (Actor). 2006. "The Client" [Commentary track], The Office Season Two (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.
  5. ^ a b Lieberstein, Paul (Writer/Actor). 2006. "The Client" [Commentary track], The Office Season Two (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.

[edit] External links

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