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China (The Office)

March 13, 2023

"China" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 136th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on December 2, 2010. The episode was written by Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein, and directed by Charles McDougall. The episode guest stars Mark Proksch as Nate and Hugh Dane as Hank.

"China"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 10
Directed byCharles McDougall
Written by
Cinematography byMatt Sohn
Editing byClaire Scanlon
Production code7010[1]
Original air dateDecember 2, 2010 (2010-12-02)
Running time22 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) reads an article about China growing as a global power and decides it must be stopped before it takes over the United States. Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) threatens to move the office into a new building after everyone complains about Dwight Schrute's (Rainn Wilson) lax building standards. Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) is sick of Andy Bernard's (Ed Helms) annoying text messages.

The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics, many of whom felt that the confrontation between Oscar and Michael was realistic and humorous. "China" was viewed by 7.31 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49, marking a slight drop in the ratings when compared to the previous week. Despite this, the episode was the highest-rated NBC series of the night that it aired, as well as the highest-rated non-sports NBC broadcast for the week it aired.

Synopsis

While at the dentist, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) reads an article about China's growing global power, and he decides that China must be stopped before it takes over the United States. Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) tries to correct one of the statements, but when Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) checks the fact online, it turns out Michael's statement was correct. Everyone mocks Oscar for his mistake, as Oscar is usually the smartest one in the office, having built this reputation by often correcting his coworkers. Oscar invites Michael for a cup of coffee to discuss China in more detail, but the other employees realize that he is trying to reestablish himself as the office's intellectual heavyweight. Seeing an opportunity to give Oscar a taste of his own medicine, they start quizzing Michael on different facts about China, but he cannot answer, so Ryan gives him note cards to keep track. When Michael and Oscar have their conversation, Ryan, Erin, Jim, Andy, and Kelly also sit in to watch. Michael begins to blank, but then changes the subject to the value of the conversation itself. The employees toast him, leaving Oscar just as bothered as before.

Everyone in the office complains about Dwight Schrute's (Rainn Wilson) building standards, such as half-plying toilet paper, adding motion sensors to the lights, and placing a roach billboard over the windows to the office. Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer), as office administrator, threatens to move everyone to a different building if nothing is done. She leaves and comes back with pictures of a newer office space and says they can move in three months. Dwight investigates and finds that the office building does not exist. When Dwight plays coy around Pam, she admits to Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) that she lied about the office building and that she is afraid of failing again after failing as an artist and a salesperson. Jim tries in vain to reassure her, and she breaks down in tears. Later Nate (Mark Proksch), Dwight's building assistant, discreetly gives Pam a book on the state building regulations. Pam shows Dwight that his policies are in violation of the laws written in the book, so Dwight puts everything back to normal. The camera crew confronts Dwight with footage showing that he overheard Pam's conversation with Jim and instructed Nate to give her the book on the building regulations. Dwight admits that he allowed her to win, but mocks the idea that he did so out of compassion.

Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) is sick of Andy Bernard's (Ed Helms) pointless text messages. After one text, Darryl tells Andy that he is one bad text away from being blocked, but Andy wagers that he is one good text from a high five, to which Darryl agrees. Andy eventually texts Darryl, telling him to come to the parking lot, where there are pigeons eating an ice cream cone. Darryl laughs and gives Andy a high five.

Production

"China" was written by producers Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein, their fourth writing credit on the series.[2][3][4][5] Warren Lieberstein is the brother of Paul Lieberstein, who was the showrunner of the show at the time.[6] The entry was directed by Charles McDougall, his fifth directing credit on the series.[5][7][8][9][10] "China" is the third episode to feature Nate, played by YouTube star Mark Proksch. After the producers of The Office saw a series of prank videos that Proksch did under the name "Kenny Strasser", they hired him to become a recurring character.[11]

The Season Seven DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Michael talking more about his fear of China, Nate swapping an "energy-saving cord" for an "un-energy-saving cord", Dwight making fun of Pam's concerns, Pam discussing the new office space with Dwight, Jim criticizing Pam's plan to the camera, Erin talking about moving, and Michael furthering his argument with Oscar in the coffee shop.[12]

Cultural references

Michael is initially worked up about China after reading an article in Newsweek, an American weekly news magazine.[13] Michael notes that he was forced to read Newsweek in the waiting room at his dentist's office because some "kid had the magazine I wanted to read", hinting that the magazine Michael wanted to read was the children's magazine Highlights for Children.[14] Andy sends Darryl a text that only reads "Megan Fox", a reference to the actress. Creed notes that he understands, but cannot speak, pirate slang. Andy attempts to motivate Michael with a pep talk taken from the 1979 movie Rocky II.[13] During Michael and Oscar's discussion in the lobby of the office building, a copy of Call of Duty can be seen behind the counter. Fans have interpreted this as a reference to the third season episode "The Coup", which used the game as a plot device.[15]

Reception

In its original American broadcast on December 2, 2010, "China" was viewed by an estimated 7.31 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating/10 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 3.7 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 10 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a slight drop in the ratings after one week off due to Thanksgiving.[16] The episode became the highest-rated non-sports related NBC program for the original week it aired and also became the ninth most-watched show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49.[17]

 
 
Steve Carell (left) and Oscar Nunez's (right) plot received particularly positive reviews from critics.

This episode received positive reviews. Phoebe Reilly of Vulture wrote highly of the episode and called it "the best of the season so far."[18] James Poniewoznik of Time compared the episode and the season at large to the later work of The Beatles; he noted that, "after becoming known for a string of ambitious" entries, they both "decide[d] to take a step backward stylistically".[19] For this reason, he enjoyed "China", and opined that "The China plot, which thankfully focused less on Michael's craziness than his (and his coworkers') relationship with Oscar, demonstrated how well-drawn the show has been even when it comes to its more peripheral characters."[19] He also said the episode was "vintage Office."[19]

Bonnie Stiernberg of Paste magazine wrote highly of the episode and called it "a half hour of heartwarming comedy".[14] She was particularly pleased with how Michael was able to overcome Oscar with pathos, and she enjoyed the episode's subplots.[14] Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic praised the episode and awarded it five stars out of five. He wrote that "If my favorite thing for Jim to do is prank Dwight, my second favorite is when he backs Michael."[20] Furthermore, he wrote that "While this A story was filled with plenty of laughs, [...] Dwight's B story was absolutely murderous [and] all gold".[20] He also felt that the C plot was enjoyable, because "Andy is great in small doses".[20]

Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B+" grade. He noted that The Office was not suited for political examination, because, as the show is grounded in reality, the concept of the office as "a microcosm for global politics is … uneven."[21] However, McNutt argued that because the show used the conceit of China as a "red herring [...] to introduce a story about Oscar as 'Actually,' and the gap between Michael’s rhetorical potential and his actual knowledge of just about any subject", the story "steps back and finds a small moment within [the larger] conflict."[21] McNutt also enjoyed the B-plot with Pam and Dwight, noting that the ending was "honestly quite sweet".[21]

References

  1. ^ Wilson, Rainn (December 13, 2012). "Remember all of these? #FinalSeason". Facebook.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  2. ^ Randall Einhorn (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (May 7, 2009). "Cafe Disco". The Office. Season 5. Episode 27. NBC.
  3. ^ Reggie Hudlin (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (October 29, 2009). "Koi Pond". The Office. Season 6. Episode 8. NBC.
  4. ^ Paul Lieberstein (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (May 20, 2010). "Whistleblower". The Office. Season 6. Episode 26. NBC.
  5. ^ a b Charles McDougall (director); Warren Lieberstein & Halsted Sullivan (writers) (December 2, 2010). "China". The Office. Season 7. Episode 10. NBC.
  6. ^ Reiher, Andrea (June 29, 2010). . Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  7. ^ Charles McDougall (director); Michael Schur (writer) (December 6, 2005). "Christmas Party". The Office. Season 2. Episode 10. NBC.
  8. ^ Charles McDougall (director); Paul Lieberstein (writer) (March 2, 2006). "Dwight's Speech". The Office. Season 2. Episode 17. NBC.
  9. ^ Charles McDougall (director); Greg Daniels (writer) (May 4, 2006). "Conflict Resolution". The Office. Season 2. Episode 21. NBC.
  10. ^ Charles McDougall (director); Justin Spitzer (writer) (November 19, 2009). "Shareholder Meeting". The Office. Season 6. Episode 11. NBC.
  11. ^ Hyden, Steven (October 13, 2010). . The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  12. ^ Deleted scenes for "China" (DVD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2011. The Office: Season Seven Disc 2
  13. ^ a b Giant, M. "Battle of Wits". Television Without Pity. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  14. ^ a b c Stiernberg, Bonnie (December 2, 2010). "The Office Review: 'China' (Episode 7.10)". Paste. Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  15. ^ "The Office: Call of Duty". OfficeTally. December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  16. ^ Gorman, Bill (December 3, 2010). . TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  17. ^ Seidman, Robert (December 7, 2010). . TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  18. ^ Reily, Phoebe (December 3, 2010). "The Office Recap: Turning On the Chinese". Vulture. New York Media, LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  19. ^ a b c Poniewoznik, James (December 3, 2010). "Office Watch: Get Back". Time. Time, Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  20. ^ a b c Forcella, Dan (December 3, 2010). "The Office Review: 'China'". TV Fanatic. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  21. ^ a b c McNutt, Myles (December 2, 2010). "'China' | The Office | TV Club". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved December 27, 2012.

External links

March 13, 2023
china, office, china, tenth, episode, seventh, season, american, comedy, television, series, office, show, 136th, episode, overall, originally, aired, december, 2010, episode, written, halsted, sullivan, warren, lieberstein, directed, charles, mcdougall, episo. China is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show s 136th episode overall It originally aired on NBC on December 2 2010 The episode was written by Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein and directed by Charles McDougall The episode guest stars Mark Proksch as Nate and Hugh Dane as Hank China The Office episodeEpisode no Season 7Episode 10Directed byCharles McDougallWritten byHalsted Sullivan Warren LiebersteinCinematography byMatt SohnEditing byClaire ScanlonProduction code7010 1 Original air dateDecember 2 2010 2010 12 02 Running time22 minutesGuest appearancesHugh Dane as Hank TateEpisode chronology Previous WUPHF com Next Classy Christmas The Office American season 7 List of episodesThe series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company In this episode Michael Scott Steve Carell reads an article about China growing as a global power and decides it must be stopped before it takes over the United States Pam Halpert Jenna Fischer threatens to move the office into a new building after everyone complains about Dwight Schrute s Rainn Wilson lax building standards Darryl Philbin Craig Robinson is sick of Andy Bernard s Ed Helms annoying text messages The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics many of whom felt that the confrontation between Oscar and Michael was realistic and humorous China was viewed by 7 31 million viewers and received a 3 7 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49 marking a slight drop in the ratings when compared to the previous week Despite this the episode was the highest rated NBC series of the night that it aired as well as the highest rated non sports NBC broadcast for the week it aired Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Production 3 Cultural references 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksSynopsis EditWhile at the dentist Michael Scott Steve Carell reads an article about China s growing global power and he decides that China must be stopped before it takes over the United States Oscar Martinez Oscar Nunez tries to correct one of the statements but when Ryan Howard B J Novak checks the fact online it turns out Michael s statement was correct Everyone mocks Oscar for his mistake as Oscar is usually the smartest one in the office having built this reputation by often correcting his coworkers Oscar invites Michael for a cup of coffee to discuss China in more detail but the other employees realize that he is trying to reestablish himself as the office s intellectual heavyweight Seeing an opportunity to give Oscar a taste of his own medicine they start quizzing Michael on different facts about China but he cannot answer so Ryan gives him note cards to keep track When Michael and Oscar have their conversation Ryan Erin Jim Andy and Kelly also sit in to watch Michael begins to blank but then changes the subject to the value of the conversation itself The employees toast him leaving Oscar just as bothered as before Everyone in the office complains about Dwight Schrute s Rainn Wilson building standards such as half plying toilet paper adding motion sensors to the lights and placing a roach billboard over the windows to the office Pam Halpert Jenna Fischer as office administrator threatens to move everyone to a different building if nothing is done She leaves and comes back with pictures of a newer office space and says they can move in three months Dwight investigates and finds that the office building does not exist When Dwight plays coy around Pam she admits to Jim Halpert John Krasinski that she lied about the office building and that she is afraid of failing again after failing as an artist and a salesperson Jim tries in vain to reassure her and she breaks down in tears Later Nate Mark Proksch Dwight s building assistant discreetly gives Pam a book on the state building regulations Pam shows Dwight that his policies are in violation of the laws written in the book so Dwight puts everything back to normal The camera crew confronts Dwight with footage showing that he overheard Pam s conversation with Jim and instructed Nate to give her the book on the building regulations Dwight admits that he allowed her to win but mocks the idea that he did so out of compassion Darryl Philbin Craig Robinson is sick of Andy Bernard s Ed Helms pointless text messages After one text Darryl tells Andy that he is one bad text away from being blocked but Andy wagers that he is one good text from a high five to which Darryl agrees Andy eventually texts Darryl telling him to come to the parking lot where there are pigeons eating an ice cream cone Darryl laughs and gives Andy a high five Production Edit China was written by producers Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein their fourth writing credit on the series 2 3 4 5 Warren Lieberstein is the brother of Paul Lieberstein who was the showrunner of the show at the time 6 The entry was directed by Charles McDougall his fifth directing credit on the series 5 7 8 9 10 China is the third episode to feature Nate played by YouTube star Mark Proksch After the producers of The Office saw a series of prank videos that Proksch did under the name Kenny Strasser they hired him to become a recurring character 11 The Season Seven DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode Notable cut scenes include Michael talking more about his fear of China Nate swapping an energy saving cord for an un energy saving cord Dwight making fun of Pam s concerns Pam discussing the new office space with Dwight Jim criticizing Pam s plan to the camera Erin talking about moving and Michael furthering his argument with Oscar in the coffee shop 12 Cultural references EditMichael is initially worked up about China after reading an article in Newsweek an American weekly news magazine 13 Michael notes that he was forced to read Newsweek in the waiting room at his dentist s office because some kid had the magazine I wanted to read hinting that the magazine Michael wanted to read was the children s magazine Highlights for Children 14 Andy sends Darryl a text that only reads Megan Fox a reference to the actress Creed notes that he understands but cannot speak pirate slang Andy attempts to motivate Michael with a pep talk taken from the 1979 movie Rocky II 13 During Michael and Oscar s discussion in the lobby of the office building a copy of Call of Duty can be seen behind the counter Fans have interpreted this as a reference to the third season episode The Coup which used the game as a plot device 15 Reception EditIn its original American broadcast on December 2 2010 China was viewed by an estimated 7 31 million viewers and received a 3 7 rating 10 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 This means that it was seen by 3 7 percent of all 18 to 49 year olds and 10 percent of all 18 to 49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast This marked a slight drop in the ratings after one week off due to Thanksgiving 16 The episode became the highest rated non sports related NBC program for the original week it aired and also became the ninth most watched show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18 49 17 Steve Carell left and Oscar Nunez s right plot received particularly positive reviews from critics This episode received positive reviews Phoebe Reilly of Vulture wrote highly of the episode and called it the best of the season so far 18 James Poniewoznik of Time compared the episode and the season at large to the later work of The Beatles he noted that after becoming known for a string of ambitious entries they both decide d to take a step backward stylistically 19 For this reason he enjoyed China and opined that The China plot which thankfully focused less on Michael s craziness than his and his coworkers relationship with Oscar demonstrated how well drawn the show has been even when it comes to its more peripheral characters 19 He also said the episode was vintage Office 19 Bonnie Stiernberg of Paste magazine wrote highly of the episode and called it a half hour of heartwarming comedy 14 She was particularly pleased with how Michael was able to overcome Oscar with pathos and she enjoyed the episode s subplots 14 Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic praised the episode and awarded it five stars out of five He wrote that If my favorite thing for Jim to do is prank Dwight my second favorite is when he backs Michael 20 Furthermore he wrote that While this A story was filled with plenty of laughs Dwight s B story was absolutely murderous and all gold 20 He also felt that the C plot was enjoyable because Andy is great in small doses 20 Myles McNutt of The A V Club awarded the episode a B grade He noted that The Office was not suited for political examination because as the show is grounded in reality the concept of the office as a microcosm for global politics is uneven 21 However McNutt argued that because the show used the conceit of China as a red herring to introduce a story about Oscar as Actually and the gap between Michael s rhetorical potential and his actual knowledge of just about any subject the story steps back and finds a small moment within the larger conflict 21 McNutt also enjoyed the B plot with Pam and Dwight noting that the ending was honestly quite sweet 21 References Edit Wilson Rainn December 13 2012 Remember all of these FinalSeason Facebook com Retrieved December 13 2012 Randall Einhorn director Warren Lieberstein amp Halsted Sullivan writers May 7 2009 Cafe Disco The Office Season 5 Episode 27 NBC Reggie Hudlin director Warren Lieberstein amp Halsted Sullivan writers October 29 2009 Koi Pond The Office Season 6 Episode 8 NBC Paul Lieberstein director Warren Lieberstein amp Halsted Sullivan writers May 20 2010 Whistleblower The Office Season 6 Episode 26 NBC a b Charles McDougall director Warren Lieberstein amp Halsted Sullivan writers December 2 2010 China The Office Season 7 Episode 10 NBC Reiher Andrea June 29 2010 The Office s Angela Kinsey Divorcing Husband Warren Lieberstein Office Producer Zap2it Tribune Media Services Archived from the original on December 28 2012 Retrieved December 27 2012 Charles McDougall director Michael Schur writer December 6 2005 Christmas Party The Office Season 2 Episode 10 NBC Charles McDougall director Paul Lieberstein writer March 2 2006 Dwight s Speech The Office Season 2 Episode 17 NBC Charles McDougall director Greg Daniels writer May 4 2006 Conflict Resolution The Office Season 2 Episode 21 NBC Charles McDougall director Justin Spitzer writer November 19 2009 Shareholder Meeting The Office Season 6 Episode 11 NBC Hyden Steven October 13 2010 Milwaukee s Mark Kenny Strasser Proksch to appear Thursday on The Office The A V Club The Onion Archived from the original on January 21 2011 Retrieved December 27 2012 Deleted scenes for China DVD Universal Studios Home Entertainment 2011 The Office Season Seven Disc 2 a b Giant M Battle of Wits Television Without Pity NBCUniversal Archived from the original on February 3 2013 Retrieved December 27 2012 a b c Stiernberg Bonnie December 2 2010 The Office Review China Episode 7 10 Paste Wolfgang s Vault Retrieved December 27 2012 The Office Call of Duty OfficeTally December 3 2010 Retrieved December 27 2012 Gorman Bill December 3 2010 TV Ratings Thursday Grey s Anatomy Office Outsourced Bones Fringe Fall 30 Rock Apprentice Rise TV by the Numbers Zap2it Archived from the original on December 5 2010 Retrieved December 3 2010 Seidman Robert December 7 2010 TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25 Sunday Night Football Glee Simpsons NCIS Grey s Anatomy Top Week 11 Viewing TV by the Numbers Zap2it Archived from the original on December 10 2010 Retrieved December 27 2012 Reily Phoebe December 3 2010 The Office Recap Turning On the Chinese Vulture New York Media LLC Retrieved December 27 2012 a b c Poniewoznik James December 3 2010 Office Watch Get Back Time Time Inc Retrieved December 27 2012 a b c Forcella Dan December 3 2010 The Office Review China TV Fanatic Retrieved December 27 2012 a b c McNutt Myles December 2 2010 China The Office TV Club The A V Club The Onion Retrieved December 27 2012 External links Edit China at NBC com China at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title China The Office amp oldid 1086333484, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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