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Money (The Office episode)
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"Money" is the fourth episode of the fourth season in the US version of The Office, and was written and directed by Paul Lieberstein. This marked his directorial debut.[1] The episode first aired on October 18, 2007,[1] and is the last of four consecutive hour long episodes that opened Season 4. In the episode, Jan, now living with Michael in his condominium, forces costly changes in Michael's life. This causes Michael to worry about his financial situation. To remedy the problem, Michael leaves work early for a late night job as a telemarketer until 1 a.m. When Ryan finds out, he forces Michael to quit, who then fears that there is no way in which he can support Jan and himself. He hops a train to run away, but Jan meets him and tells him that they can work together to find a way to live. Meanwhile, Dwight pines over Angela, who is later asked out by Andy. After a pep-talk by Jim, Dwight returns as his normal annoying self, to Jim's pleasure. Pam and Jim visit Dwight's family farm, which he has fashioned into a bed and breakfast.
Plot
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) discuss her plans to renovate their condo. Not only are the plans costly, but Jan has forced several other changes at Michael’s expense, such as trading in both cars to buy her a Porsche Boxster.
Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer) discover that Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is running the Schrute Farm as an "agritourism" bed and breakfast. They spend the night there, taking part in table-making demonstrations, beet wine-making, and distributing manure. That night, however, Jim finds Dwight moaning in depression over Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey).
Michael begins leaving the office early, refusing to explain himself to his employees and lying to Jan of his whereabouts. In reality, Michael has been combating heavy debt by working as a telemarketer until 1 a.m. At the office the next day, Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) arrives to find Michael unprepared for a presentation due to his moonlighting, and orders Michael to quit his night job. At the same time, Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) flaunts the fact that she is now dating Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) in an attempt to make Ryan jealous.
After quitting his telemarketing job, Michael desperately attempts to come up with money. Upon reviewing Michael's financial situation, Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) finds that Michael spends a large amount on useless items like magic kits and bass fishing equipment.
Kelly and Darryl’s continuing relationship proves to be dysfunctional, as she cannot comprehend his candor, and he finds her to be attractive yet "crazy." Meanwhile, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) gains Angela's approval to ask her out on a date by giving her a cat that Dwight had tried to give Angela earlier named Garbage. Dwight, continually depressed, retreats to the stairwell. Jim joins him and recounts his days pining for Pam and how miserable it made him feel, saying he would not wish for anyone, Dwight included, to experience it. Jim passionately kisses Pam, and indirectly confesses in an interview that he loves her. Jim is quietly pleased when Dwight returns to his desk, due to his annoying and overbearing personality having returned.
Jan learns of Michael's dismal finances by phone, and immediately harangues Michael about being irresponsible. He panics and attempts to hop a nearby train, however it is slowing down and comes to a complete halt, upon which he is seen sitting on the train singing to himself. Jan speeds to the office and Oscar tells her in which direction Michael ran. She then runs to the train yard. She tells she will stand by him as he did when she was fired. Eventually, they leave the train yard hand in hand.
Production
The episode was both written and directed by Paul Lieberstein, who also plays the part of Toby Flenderson on the show.[1] In the episode, Jim refers to a TripAdvisor page for Dwight's bed and breakfast. This can be found by searching for Schrute Farms.[2] Jim and Pam ("JandP2") post a review, which can be seen on the actual reviews page. It read: "The architecture reminds one of a quaint Tuscan beet farm, and the natural aroma of the beets drifts into the bedrooms and makes you dream of simpler times. You will never want to leave your room. The informative lecture will satisfy all your beet curiosity, and the dawn goose walk will tug at your heart strings. Table making never seemed so possible. Great story to tell your friends. Plenty of parking! The staff’s attention to detail and devotion to cleanliness was limitless. From their enthusiastic welcome to the last wave good-bye, Schrute Farms delivers."[2]
Reception
Some reviewers complained about the episode's length. A Buzzsugar.com review stated that "there was something off about this week's episode. It's never really a good thing when I'm checking the clock and feeling antsy at the 20-minute mark of an hour-long episode."[3] An IGN review said "while there's some really funny moments in this episode, overall I really started to feel that hour running time. Of course, as always, that doesn't make this a bad episode, just not one of their best."[4]
The episode's length was not a problem for the staff and readers of IGN, with the former giving it an 8 out of 10 rating, and the latter giving it an average rating of 8.4.[4] "Money" received a 4.9 Nielsen Rating and a 7% share. The episode was watched by 8.50 million viewers and achieved a 4.4/11 in the adults 18–49 demographic.[5]
For his work as director on the episode Paul Lieberstein received an Emmy nomination; his was one of two of the season's episodes receiving nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy (with the fourth season finale also receiving a nomination).[6]
References
External links
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