| "The Incentive" | |||
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| The Office episode | |||
Andy unveils his new incentive program |
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| Episode no. | Season 8 Episode 2 |
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| Directed by | Charles McDougall | ||
| Written by | Paul Lieberstein | ||
| Production code | 802 | ||
| Original air date | September 29, 2011 | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of The Office (U.S.) episodes | |||
"The Incentive" is the second episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 154th episode overall. It was written by Paul Lieberstein and directed by Charles McDougall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 29, 2011.[1]
In the episode, after Robert (James Spader) challenges the Dunder-Mifflin staffers to double their sales, Andy (Ed Helms), taking matters into his own hands, creates an incentive program. Eventually, he promises to tattoo himself if the staff doubles their sales, which they inevitably do. Meanwhile, Pam (Jenna Fischer) makes an unlikely friend who's also pregnant.
"The Incentive" has received mixed reviews from critics with Myles McNutt mainly criticizing the episode for recycling stories. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was viewed by 6.7 million viewers and received a 3.5 rating/9% share among adult between the ages of 18 and 49, marking a drop in the ratings from the season premiere, "The List".
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Robert California (James Spader) challenges office manager Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) to double sales after a rousing motivational speech. After Andy institutes a point system and promises to "wear a dress" for 500 points, "run naked through the parking lot with a donut on [his] ding-dong" for 1,000 points, and tattoo whatever his co-workers would like on "[his] ass" in exchange for 5,000 points, everyone in the office suddenly gets motivated to sell, eventually earning 5,000 points by the end of the day. When Andy and the crew go to the tattoo parlor, however, Andy suddenly is unnerved and admits to Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) that he isn't sure why Robert made him manager. Jim reassures Andy that he managed to pick up sales, and that no one in the office expects him to go through with the tattoo idea. Andy responds by getting the tattoo, which Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) changes, without telling Andy, to a image of a dog that has "Nard" written on it, a reference to Andy's nickname "Nard Dog." Upon seeing his completed tattoo in a mirror, Andy is pleased with the result. Robert then reveals to the cameras that he picked Andy because he is "all surface...uncomplicated, what you see is what you get" and that causes people to rally behind him, because he is an underdog. Meanwhile, Pam and Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) become walking buddies at Angela's request, but after Angela says she's reported Pam to Social Services for drinking herbal tea with traces of caffeine it, a disgusted Pam tells Angela they should not have anything else to do with each other. Pam and Angela then continue to walk rapidly–and away from each other.
The episode was written by executive producer and showrunner Paul Lieberstein, who also portrays Toby Flenderson on the series, his 15th writing credit for the series. It was directed by Charles McDougall, the sixth episode he has directed for the series. The episode also featured guest star James Spader as CEO Robert California.[2] He is slated to appear in at least 15 episodes.[2]
The official website for The Office included two cut scenes from "The Incentive" within a week of its release. In the first 103-second clip, Erin tries to comfort Andy by giving him a gift.[3] In the second 86-second clip, Andy describes his low key management style and he seeks more advice on which tie combination to wear.[4]
Sabre's Pyramid tablet serves as a parody of several tablet computers, specifically the Apple iPad.[5]
In its original American broadcast, "The Incentive" was viewed by an estmated 6.70 million viewers and received a 3.5 rating/9% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[6] This means that it was seen by 3.9% of all 18–49 years olds, and 9% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a 13-percent drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "The List".[7] Despite this, it ranked as the highest rated NBC show on Thursday.[7] The episode ranked third in its timeslot beating Person of Interest which received a 2.7 rating/7% share in the 18-49 demographic and The Secret Circle which received a 1.0 rating/2% share, but was defeated by Grey's Anatomy which received a 3.6 rating/9% share and The X Factor which received a 3.9 rating/11% share.[7]
"The Incentive" received average reviews from critics with multiple critics criticizing the episode for recycling storylines. The A.V. Club reviewer Myles McNutt criticized the episode for recycling storylines from the early seasons of The Office commenting that "This episode wasn’t a trainwreck by any means [...] However, I would find a trainwreck more interesting than the show returning to the same narratives they’ve played out in the past with a vaguely different character".[8] He also criticized the series for low stakes writing that "While Andy's character might be reflecting on his management skills, and Pam and Angela might be pregnant, nothing about the eighth season of The Office suggests that any of this will amount to anything more than the reconfirmation of the status quo".[8] He ultimately gave the episode a C.[8] In a poll taken by an Office fansite Officetally.com, fans gave the episode a 7.69 out of 10 rating.[9]
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