Spooked (The Office)

"Spooked"
The Office episode

A man is dressed up as a sci-fi character for Halloween.

Dwight as Sarah Kerrigan
Episode no. Season 8
Episode 5
Directed by Randall Einhorn
Written by Carrie Kemper
Production code 806[1]
Original air date October 27, 2011
Guest actors

"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.

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 the episode, Erin Hannon (Kemper) works to make a spooky, non-childish Halloween party with help from Gabe Lewis (Zach Woods). Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) becomes friends with Robert California's (James Spader) son (David Mazouz), and Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) debate the existence of ghosts. Meanwhile, Robert figures out everyone's deepest fears and tries to culminate a ghost story.

"Spooked" received mixed reviews, although many critics complimented Ellie Kemper's performance. According to the Nielsen Media Research, "Spooked" drew 5.53 million viewers and received a 2.9 rating/7% share in the 18–49 demographic. The episode ranked as one of the lowest-rated episodes of the series to air on Thursday and ranked third in its timeslot.

Plot

Erin (Ellie Kemper) has been assigned to set up the Halloween party by Andy (Ed Helms), who wants to live up to the expectations set by Robert (James Spader). Robert arrives with his son Bert and notices that the party is more tailored to kids than adults. In response, Andy asks Angela (Angela Kinsey) and Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) to help take over and re-tailor the party, much to Erin's chagrin. Andy also tells her that he wishes to speak with her at the end of the day. Worried about the party, she asks Gabe (Zach Woods) for help, and he gives her a tape to show everyone. Unaware of the fact that the video is full of disturbing images and no story, the office staff get upset when they see that there's hidden footage of them present in the video. Andy and Robert then talk with Erin in his office regarding the incident. Erin says that she got nervous when Andy wanted to have a talk with her, and she thought he was about to fire her regarding the party. However, Andy informs her that he is dating someone, and she is shocked to hear they have been out on 31 dates so far. Erin feels dejected and leaves.

Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) argue whether ghosts are real after she claims to have seen one at a pub where she used to work; their argument becomes extremely heated throughout the day. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) dresses up as Sarah Kerrigan from StarCraft, but Toby (Paul Lieberstein) takes off his wings as they had knives on them and Dwight is not allowed to bring in weapons, thus people do not know what Dwight is. Bert notices what his costume is supposed to be and the two bond over playing StarCraft all day, ignoring everyone else. Dwight also makes Bert pretend to fire Toby, for taking away his weapons, on the grounds that he is the CEO's son.

Robert, having witnessed the various discussions and arguments between some employees and aware about the fears of others, tells a horror story implementing all the fears and arguments as a way to convince them not to let fear control their lives. This inspires Jim and Pam to stop their argument and Erin to talk to Andy about her feelings.

Production

The episode was written by story editor Carrie Kemper, sister of cast member Ellie Kemper, her second written story for the series. It was directed by one of the The Office's cinematographers, Randall Einhorn, his 15th directing credit for the series.[2] The episode is the third Halloween themed episode of the series after season two's "Halloween" and season seven's "Costume Contest".[3] The episode also featured James Spader as Sabre CEO Robert California, who is currently set to appear in 15 episodes for the season.[4] The Season Eight DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include the rest of the office getting in the debate over whether ghosts exist, and Robert's son Bert and Dwight talking about zombies, specifically characters from The Walking Dead.[5]

Cultural references

In the episode, Dwight dresses up as Sarah Kerrigan, a character from the video game series StarCraft.[6] Later, Toby narrates a montage of previous costumes worn by Dwight including dressed as Freddy Krueger, Jigsaw, and Pinhead, the primary antagonists from the A Nightmare on Elm Street, Saw, and Hellraiser franchises, respectively.[7] Angela is seen dressed in the same cat that she wore in the season two episode, "Halloween".[6] Jim, Kevin and Darryl are dressed up as professional basketball players Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, respectively. Ryan is dressed as Jesse Pinkman from the T.V. series Breaking Bad, wearing the character's signature yellow hoodie and beanie.[6]

Reception

Ellie Kemper's performance as Erin was widely praised by critics.

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Spooked" was viewed by an estimated 5.53 million viewers and received a 2.9 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[8] This means that it was seen by 2.9% of all 18- to 49-year-olds in the United States, and 7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a 15% drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "Garden Party" making it the lowest-rated episode of the series that aired on Thursday.[9] 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 0.9 rating/2% share.[8] The episode, however, was beaten to number two by Grey's Anatomy, which received a 3.7 rating/9% share, and beaten to number one by the 2011 World Series, which received a 6.5 rating/18% share.[8]

Reviews

The episode received mostly mixed reviews from critics. National Post writer Barry Hertz wrote that while "it wasn’t as patience-testing as last year’s outing ['Costume Contest'], but it also wasn’t as gut-busting and on-the-nose as its earlier incarnation ["Halloween"]."[10] He complimented the Erin and Andy plot, but criticized the Jim and Pam plot, by calling it "boring".[10] Ellie Kemper's performance received commendations from Hertz.[10] The A.V. Club reviewer Myles McNutt criticized the episode for "just creating situations and seeing how the characters react to them, which is likely why the writers were willing to lazily rehash the stock 'office Halloween party' setup that drives the narrative of 'Spooked'."[3] Despite this, he wrote positively of Erin's plot and praised Kemper's performance in the episode.[3] James Spader's scary speech at the end was also positively critiqued.[3] However, McNutt was critical of the Dwight plot and the Jim and Pam plot writing that "I don’t care that Pam believes in ghosts and Jim doesn’t, I don’t care that Dwight gets a few scenes in which the cynical adult is softened by the presence of a precocious child."[3] He ultimately gave the episode a C+.[3] New York writer Chris Blanche criticized the episode for its lack of heart.[11] Television Without Pity gave the episode a C rating.[7] Several critics considered the episode an improvement over the previous halloween episode, "Costume Contest".[3][6][10]

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Rainn (December 13, 2012). "Remember all of these? #FinalSeason". Facebook.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ Randall Einhorn (director) (October 27, 2009). "Spooked". The Office. Season 8. Episode 5. NBC.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 McNutt, Myles (October 27, 2011). "“Spooked” | The Office | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ Hibberd, James (August 15, 2011). "'The Office' scoop! James Spader, showrunner reveal season 8 details – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  5. ↑ Deleted scenes for "Spooked" (DVD). The Office: Season Eight Disc 1: Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 White, Cindy (October 28, 2011). "The Office: "Spooked" Review". IGN. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Office TV Show – Spooked". Television Without Pity. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Gorman, Bill (October 29, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: World Series Game 6 Finals + ‘Big Bang,’ ‘Vampire Diaries,’ ‘Office,’ ‘Person,’ Adjusted Up; ‘Rules,’ ‘Secret Circle,’ ‘Whitney,’ ‘Prime Suspect’ Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  9. ↑ Gorman, Bill (October 29, 2011). "TV Ratings Thursday: Epic World Series Game 6 Leads Fox Win; ‘Community,’ ‘Parks & Rec,’ ‘Office,’ ‘Prime Suspect’ Hit Lows". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Hertz, Barry (October 28, 2011). "The Office, Season 8, Episode 5: Recap | Arts | National Post". National Post. Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  11. ↑ Plante, Chris (October 28, 2011). "The Office Recap: Trick or Trick – Vulture". New York. Retrieved September 5, 2011.

External links