Business School (The Office episode)

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The Office episode
"Business School"

Guest speaker Michael tells the emerging industries class, "real business is done on paper."
Episode No. 44
Prod. Code 03017
Airdate February 15, 2007
Writer(s) Brent Forrester
Director Joss Whedon

The Office Season 3
September 2006 - May 2007
  1. Gay Witch Hunt
  2. The Convention
  3. The Coup
  4. Grief Counseling
  5. Initiation
  6. Diwali
  7. Branch Closing
  8. The Merger
  9. The Convict
  10. A Benihana Christmas
  11. Back from Vacation
  12. Traveling Salesmen
  13. The Return
  14. Ben Franklin
  15. Phyllis' Wedding
  16. Business School
  17. Cocktails
  18. The Negotiation
  19. Safety Training
  20. Product Recall
  21. Women's Appreciation
  22. Beach Games
  23. The Job
List of all The Office episodes...
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"Business School" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the U.S. version of The Office. It aired on February 15, 2007. It was written by Brent Forrester and directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator Joss Whedon.[1]

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Michael's ego goes into overdrive when Ryan invites him to speak to his business school class. Jim appears undisturbed that Pam and Roy have begun dating again.

Dwight discovers a bat in the office, and Jim pretends to be turning into a vampire.

When a student mentions Ryan's prediction that Dunder-Mifflin will become obsolete, Michael feels betrayed by Ryan and storms out of the hall. Upon returning to the office, Michael relocates Ryan to the annex, next to Kelly.

At Pam's art show, Roy appears with his brother, but Oscar is the only office employee that pays a visit. Oscar's partner, Gil, is dismissive of Pam's work, calling it "motel art". Pam overhears this, as well as Oscar's claim that honesty and courage "aren't her strong points". At the end of the night, Michael arrives and is genuinely impressed with her work. He buys a painting of the office building, and insists upon hanging it in the office, telling Pam he is proud of her. His words visibly touch Pam, and she hugs him in thanks.

[edit] Deleted scenes

The Season Three DVD contains a number of deleted scenes. Notable cut scenes include:

  • Karen considers taking down a flier for Pam's art show, but is interrupted before she can do it.
  • Meredith's joke about why Pam and Roy are back together is bleeped out.
  • Alternate takes of Meredith trapped in the bathroom and the other employees heading home.
  • Michael addresses the students as if they were children.
  • Michael responds to student questions.

[edit] Notes

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The music that Michael plays for the class is the first movement of Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.2 in F Major, which is indeed used by The Teaching Company.
  • Jim and Pam do not speak to each other in this episode.
  • This is the first episode to credit Steve Carell as a producer.
  • One of the paintings on display is one that won Pam $100 in the art contest seen in "Traveling Salesmen" .
  • At the beginning of his speech, Michael tries to inspire the students by tearing out the pages of a textbook. This is a reference to the film Dead Poets Society. Michael refers to the same film earlier in the car ride over, asking Ryan if he thinks the students will stand up on their desks.

[edit] Behind the scenes

  • California State University, Northridge served as the backdrop for Ryan's business school and the art show.[2]
  • According to Jenna Fischer's MySpace blog, the cast and crew nicknamed the bat "Gary", after Michael Gary Scott.[3]
  • In scenes with the live bat, the cast screamed silently because bats are sensitive to loud sounds.[4] The producers used a live bat, an animatronic bat, and a motorized bat.[5]
  • It was a coincidence that this episode featured vampire and bat themes in the episode and was directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer director Joss Whedon. Initially, Whedon was annoyed that the storyline involved a bat, but he enjoyed the final results.[5]
  • When shooting on the episode began, Joss Whedon did not like the artwork that was to have been created by Pam, and he held up production for a couple of hours so that it could be improved.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ NBC (2007-01-26). "NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, FEB 11 2007 - SATURDAY, FEB 17 2007". Press release.
  2. ^ CSUN Licensing - Facilities Use
  3. ^ blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27753303&blogID=230263590
  4. ^ Kate Flannery's Blog on TVGuide.com
  5. ^ a b Q&A with Kate Flannery on OfficeTally
  6. ^ http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/joss_whedon/3 Interview with Joss Whedon

[edit] External links