The Virtual Employee (Dilbert episode)
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| “The Virtual Employee” | |
|---|---|
| Dilbert episode | |
 |
|
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 25 |
| Guest stars | Tress MacNeille |
| Written by | Ned Goldreyer Larry Charles Scott Adams |
| Production no. | 212 |
| Original airdate | May 30, 2000 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Company Picnic" | "The Return" |
| List of Dilbert animated series episodes | |
The Virtual Employee was the twenty-fifth episode of the Dilbert animated series, the twelfth of the second season. It originally aired on May 30, 2000.
New company policies mandating recycling have made it virtually impossible to dispose of e-waste and obsolete equipment, so the employees must start storing electronic waste anywhere they can. Dilbert and friends, hearing rumors that there is an unused cubicle next to Wally's that they've never noticed, lay claim to it before the marketing department can get a hold of it. To ensure that they don't lose this precious commodity, they quickly create an employee named Todd as a new employee and the cube's occupant. Marketing falls for the deception, fooled into believing that they are old friends of Todd and that he is a great employee.
Word quickly spreads about Todd, and he is soon made the engineering project head. Dilbert and Alice find that they must do Todd's work in addition to their own and Wally's. When Catbert can't find any record of Todd, the engineers must create an employee file for Todd. Catbert counteracts this move by demanding that all employee evaluations must include an even distribution of ratings, which means that somebody will have to be rated at the lowest performance rating in the company. Since Todd is the highest performer in the group, this means that Wally is now classified as "Retard", which gets him fired. The engineers decide they need to kill Todd. When the Pointy-Haired Boss overhears this, the engineering team is arrested for killing Todd, and it's up to Dogbert and Wally to save the day.
[edit] Notes
- In the episode, Todd is frequently used in joking references to the Christian God.
- The plot of a coworker created as a paperwork convenience who takes on a life of his own is also told in the very similar M*A*S*H episode Tuttle.
- The Principia Discordia records the origins of the name Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst in a similar hoax.
- One of the cops in the police deparment looks like Andy Sipowicz from NYPD Blue.
- Also, when the cop lets Dilbert out, he [the cop] says, "You lucked out, Judas."
- When Wally is putting his possessions into his box, he loads in a Naked Troll Booty magazine from Little People into his box.
