"Garage Sale" is the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedytelevision seriesThe Office and the show's 145th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 24, 2011.[1] The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by series cast member, Steve Carell. The episode marks Carell's third director's credit for the series and the final physical appearance of Amy Ryan, having appeared as a regular since "Classy Christmas". (She makes a voice-only appearance in the episode "Goodbye, Michael".)
In the episode, Michael (Steve Carell) decides to propose to Holly (Amy Ryan), and runs into trouble thinking of how to do it well with his expensive diamond ring. He consults several coworkers on advice and for ideas on how to propose. Meanwhile, Dunder Mifflin Scranton's warehouse and crew hosts a public garage sale.
"Garage Sale" was met with critical acclaim by television reviewers as well as fans. Furthermore, HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall wrote that the episode could have served as Carell's last episode. It is considered one of the best episodes of The Office. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was viewed by more than 7 million viewers and received a 3.4 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 which marked a slight rise in the ratings from the previous episode, "Todd Packer".
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) decides to propose to Holly Flax (Amy Ryan), and runs into trouble thinking of how to do it in the most elaborate way possible with his expensive diamond ring (which cost what he believes is the traditional "three years' salary"). He pours gasoline in the parking lot in the shape of letters, planning to light them on fire and show it to Holly. Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) stops it and gathers a meeting of Michael, herself, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak), and Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez). They believe Holly truly is "the one" for him and give him anecdotes and ideas. They are shocked at Michael's suggestion, particularly one where he throws a corpse dressed as him off the roof, and are stunned at his huge engagement ring. He calls Holly's father to ask his permission (although he leaves a message rather than speak to him personally). Holly catches onto the idea when she calls her parents herself, but she notices her parents seem mentally disoriented. She talks to Michael later and says she wants to move back to Colorado to be there for her dad, and Michael supports her decision. Holly seems to be gearing up for a proposal, but Michael abruptly leaves, not wanting to be proposed to in such a casual way.
Dunder Mifflin Scranton's warehouse and crew host a public garage sale. Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) attempts to walk away with the most expensive item by trading smaller items with his office mates beginning with a thumbtack (a reference to One red paperclip) and continuously trading up from table to table. One item on Jim and Pam's table that piques his interest is a packet of "miracle legumes." Jim claims he received them from a mysterious old man on vacation, and that they keep reappearing on his table whenever he puts them away. Dwight initially believes Jim is trying to prank him, but is astonished when they reappear after Jim had seemingly destroyed the packet. Eventually, his curiosity gets the better of him and he trades Jim a $150 telescope for the legumes. At the end of the episode, Dwight plants and waters the seeds and Jim secretly replaces the pots with full-grown plants.
Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson), and Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) play and bet on the Dallas board game, which Kevin had for sale. As the instruction booklet is not with the game, Andy and Darryl make up the rules as they go along; when Kevin objects, Andy simply claims "that's Dallas." Eventually, Kevin notices the money they had bet on the game is missing, and storms out. As Darryl and Andy look at each other in confusion, Kevin reveals to the cameras that he has the money, stating, "And that... is Dallas", mocking Andy's statement.
Michael takes Holly on a walk through the office, pointing out the locations of various events throughout their courtship. He opens the door to the kitchen, revealing all of the other employees holding candles, a path in between them. Various members of the office ask Holly if she will marry them (all part of Michael's plan) and she politely declines each one. Michael then leads Holly out to her desk, which is surrounded by dozens of candles. Michael gets down on his knee and begins to make a speech when the fire sprinklers go off due to the burning candles. The water drenches everyone in the office and Michael proposes. Holly accepts. Everyone then begins to congratulate Michael. However, Michael announces he is moving to Colorado with Holly, leaving his employees in shock.
Productionedit
Coupled with the fact that it was the start of Steve's departure and it was my own, yeah, there wasn't a dry eye in the house — literally, from the water pouring down on us and from our emotions. But it was a beautiful night ... We did it in two takes, but it took the crew quite a bit to vacuum up all the water with these big power vacs and reset everything as we stood by in robes, shivering.
This episode was written by consulting producer Jon Vitti, his second writing credit of the series since joining the staff at the beginning of the seventh season. It was directed by series star Steve Carell, the third episode he has directed for the series. The episode marked Amy Ryan's last physical appearance on the series, although she did speak in "Goodbye, Michael".[2] Ryan later said in an interview with New York that "The script was so sweet anyway that it made us all have a good cry" especially adding the fact that it was her final appearance.[2] She also expressed her confidence that the series could survive without Carell and that it was the right move for him to leave.[2] Vitti later submitted the episode for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, but it was not nominated.[3]
Cultural referencesedit
"Garage Sale" features several callbacks to previous episodes. Kevin's skills at poker were previously shown in "Casino Night".[4] Michael's St. Pauli Girl sign was previously shown in "Dinner Party".[5] Michael mentions when Toby left for Costa Rica from "Night Out".[5]
Receptionedit
Ratingsedit
In its original American broadcast, "Garage Sale" was viewed by an estimated 7.07 million viewers and received a 3.4 rating/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[6] This means that it was seen by 3.4% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 10% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a slight rise in the ratings from the previous episode, "Todd Packer", which received series lows.[7] The episode ranked second in its timeslot beating the Fox crime drama Bones, which was seen by 8.78 million households; and CBS coverage of NCAA basketball, which was seen by 6.82 million household; but it was defeated by the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which was seen by an average 10.1 million households.[6]
Reviewsedit
This episode received critical acclaim and is considered one of the best Office episodes. HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall called it one of his "favorite Office episodes ever" and also called it one of the greatest romantic sitcom episodes of all-time. He also said the episode could have served as Carell's last episode, and praised "Garage Sale" for its multiple subplots, its exploration of the ensemble cast, and Jim's prank against Dwight.[8] Sepinwall named it one of the best TV episodes of 2011 for series that were not great the whole year and praised it for showcasing "the ridiculous and romantic sides of The Office". He also wrote that it gave Fischer and Krasinski their best material for the series in years.[9] Cindy White of IGN praised it for its mix of comedy and drama. She also complimented it for the showcase of the cast, ultimately giving the episode a 9/10.[5]James Poniewozik of Time said it "was unspectacular as an episode overall but did build to a delightful moment as Michael finally proposed to Holly", later naming it one of his honorable mentions for the top 10 TV episodes of 2011.[10][11]
The A.V. Club writer Myles McNutt called the episode a "spiritual successor to 'Casino Night', which remains one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series" for "turning what could feel like a gimmicky sitcom scenario into something that feels distinct to both the office [the characters] ... and The Office". He ultimately gave the episode an A−.[4] Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic compared the proposal to other television proposals on Friends, Cheers and Frasier.[12]New York writer Willer Paskin praised the writers for being adept at writing for romance.[13] Following the airing of the episode, Colorado governor John Hickenlooper issued a press release appointing Michael Scott to the position of Director of Paper Distribution in the Department of Natural Resources.[14] "Garage Sale" was voted the third-highest-rated out of 24 from the seventh season, according to a "Survivor" episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally.[15] It was later named the 20th-best episode of the series according to an episode poll by OfficeTally.[16]BuddyTV named the episode the 19th-best TV episode of 2011 and it was the only episode of the series to make the list.[17]
Referencesedit
^"The Office: Garage Sale". OfficeTally. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
^ abcdChou, Jessica. "Amy Ryan Talks About Her Cold, Wet Proposal on The Office – Vulture". New York. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^"The Office Emmy nominating ballot submissions". OfficeTally. June 13, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
^ abMcNutt, Myles (March 25, 2011). ""Garage Sale" | The Office | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^ abcWhite, Cindy (March 25, 2011). "The Office: "Garage Sale" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
^ abSeidman, Robert (March 25, 2011). . TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
^Seidman, Robert (February 25, 2011). . TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
^Sepinwall, Alan (March 25, 2011). "Review: 'The Office' – 'Garage Sale': More than decent proposal". HitFix. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
^Sepinwall, Alan (December 23, 2011). "Best of the Rest: 10 Great TV episodes from 2011". HitFix. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
^Poniewozik, James (March 25, 2011). "The Morning After: That's What She Said". Time. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
^Poniewozik, James (December 7, 2011). "The Top 10 TV Episodes of 2011: The Best and the Rest". Time. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
^"Great Proposals in Sitcom History, From 'Cheers' to 'The Office' – Kevin Fallon – Entertainment". The Atlantic. March 11, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^Paskin, Willa. "The Office Recap: Marrying Me Will You Be? – Vulture". New York. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
^. Archived from the original on 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
^"Survivor Poll: Season 7". OfficeTally. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
^"The Office All-Time Fan Favorite Poll, 2011". OfficeTally. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
^John Kubicek. "BuddyTV Slideshow | The 50 Best TV Episodes of 2011". BuddyTV. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
garage, sale, office, garage, sale, nineteenth, episode, seventh, season, american, comedy, television, series, office, show, 145th, episode, overall, originally, aired, united, states, march, 2011, episode, written, vitti, directed, series, cast, member, stev. Garage Sale is the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show s 145th episode overall It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 24 2011 1 The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by series cast member Steve Carell The episode marks Carell s third director s credit for the series and the final physical appearance of Amy Ryan having appeared as a regular since Classy Christmas She makes a voice only appearance in the episode Goodbye Michael Garage Sale The Office episodeMichael Scott and Holly Flax kiss under the rain of sprinkles set off by candles that surround them Episode no Season 7Episode 19Directed bySteve CarellWritten byJon VittiCinematography byMatt SohnEditing byDavid RogersProduction code7019Original air dateMarch 24 2011 2011 03 24 Guest appearancesHugh Dane as Hank TateEpisode chronology Previous Todd Packer Next Training Day The Office American season 7 List of episodesIn the episode Michael Steve Carell decides to propose to Holly Amy Ryan and runs into trouble thinking of how to do it well with his expensive diamond ring He consults several coworkers on advice and for ideas on how to propose Meanwhile Dunder Mifflin Scranton s warehouse and crew hosts a public garage sale Garage Sale was met with critical acclaim by television reviewers as well as fans Furthermore HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall wrote that the episode could have served as Carell s last episode It is considered one of the best episodes of The Office According to Nielsen Media Research the episode was viewed by more than 7 million viewers and received a 3 4 rating 10 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 which marked a slight rise in the ratings from the previous episode Todd Packer Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Cultural references 4 Reception 4 1 Ratings 4 2 Reviews 5 References 6 External linksPlot editMichael Scott Steve Carell decides to propose to Holly Flax Amy Ryan and runs into trouble thinking of how to do it in the most elaborate way possible with his expensive diamond ring which cost what he believes is the traditional three years salary He pours gasoline in the parking lot in the shape of letters planning to light them on fire and show it to Holly Pam Halpert Jenna Fischer stops it and gathers a meeting of Michael herself Jim Halpert John Krasinski Ryan Howard B J Novak and Oscar Martinez Oscar Nunez They believe Holly truly is the one for him and give him anecdotes and ideas They are shocked at Michael s suggestion particularly one where he throws a corpse dressed as him off the roof and are stunned at his huge engagement ring He calls Holly s father to ask his permission although he leaves a message rather than speak to him personally Holly catches onto the idea when she calls her parents herself but she notices her parents seem mentally disoriented She talks to Michael later and says she wants to move back to Colorado to be there for her dad and Michael supports her decision Holly seems to be gearing up for a proposal but Michael abruptly leaves not wanting to be proposed to in such a casual way Dunder Mifflin Scranton s warehouse and crew host a public garage sale Dwight Schrute Rainn Wilson attempts to walk away with the most expensive item by trading smaller items with his office mates beginning with a thumbtack a reference to One red paperclip and continuously trading up from table to table One item on Jim and Pam s table that piques his interest is a packet of miracle legumes Jim claims he received them from a mysterious old man on vacation and that they keep reappearing on his table whenever he puts them away Dwight initially believes Jim is trying to prank him but is astonished when they reappear after Jim had seemingly destroyed the packet Eventually his curiosity gets the better of him and he trades Jim a 150 telescope for the legumes At the end of the episode Dwight plants and waters the seeds and Jim secretly replaces the pots with full grown plants Andy Bernard Ed Helms Darryl Philbin Craig Robinson and Kevin Malone Brian Baumgartner play and bet on the Dallas board game which Kevin had for sale As the instruction booklet is not with the game Andy and Darryl make up the rules as they go along when Kevin objects Andy simply claims that s Dallas Eventually Kevin notices the money they had bet on the game is missing and storms out As Darryl and Andy look at each other in confusion Kevin reveals to the cameras that he has the money stating And that is Dallas mocking Andy s statement Michael takes Holly on a walk through the office pointing out the locations of various events throughout their courtship He opens the door to the kitchen revealing all of the other employees holding candles a path in between them Various members of the office ask Holly if she will marry them all part of Michael s plan and she politely declines each one Michael then leads Holly out to her desk which is surrounded by dozens of candles Michael gets down on his knee and begins to make a speech when the fire sprinklers go off due to the burning candles The water drenches everyone in the office and Michael proposes Holly accepts Everyone then begins to congratulate Michael However Michael announces he is moving to Colorado with Holly leaving his employees in shock Production editCoupled with the fact that it was the start of Steve s departure and it was my own yeah there wasn t a dry eye in the house literally from the water pouring down on us and from our emotions But it was a beautiful night We did it in two takes but it took the crew quite a bit to vacuum up all the water with these big power vacs and reset everything as we stood by in robes shivering Amy Ryan 2 This episode was written by consulting producer Jon Vitti his second writing credit of the series since joining the staff at the beginning of the seventh season It was directed by series star Steve Carell the third episode he has directed for the series The episode marked Amy Ryan s last physical appearance on the series although she did speak in Goodbye Michael 2 Ryan later said in an interview with New York that The script was so sweet anyway that it made us all have a good cry especially adding the fact that it was her final appearance 2 She also expressed her confidence that the series could survive without Carell and that it was the right move for him to leave 2 Vitti later submitted the episode for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series but it was not nominated 3 Cultural references edit Garage Sale features several callbacks to previous episodes Kevin s skills at poker were previously shown in Casino Night 4 Michael s St Pauli Girl sign was previously shown in Dinner Party 5 Michael mentions when Toby left for Costa Rica from Night Out 5 Reception editRatings edit In its original American broadcast Garage Sale was viewed by an estimated 7 07 million viewers and received a 3 4 rating 10 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 6 This means that it was seen by 3 4 of all 18 to 49 year olds and 10 of all 18 to 49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast This marked a slight rise in the ratings from the previous episode Todd Packer which received series lows 7 The episode ranked second in its timeslot beating the Fox crime drama Bones which was seen by 8 78 million households and CBS coverage of NCAA basketball which was seen by 6 82 million household but it was defeated by the ABC medical drama Grey s Anatomy which was seen by an average 10 1 million households 6 Reviews edit This episode received critical acclaim and is considered one of the best Office episodes HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall called it one of his favorite Office episodes ever and also called it one of the greatest romantic sitcom episodes of all time He also said the episode could have served as Carell s last episode and praised Garage Sale for its multiple subplots its exploration of the ensemble cast and Jim s prank against Dwight 8 Sepinwall named it one of the best TV episodes of 2011 for series that were not great the whole year and praised it for showcasing the ridiculous and romantic sides of The Office He also wrote that it gave Fischer and Krasinski their best material for the series in years 9 Cindy White of IGN praised it for its mix of comedy and drama She also complimented it for the showcase of the cast ultimately giving the episode a 9 10 5 James Poniewozik of Time said it was unspectacular as an episode overall but did build to a delightful moment as Michael finally proposed to Holly later naming it one of his honorable mentions for the top 10 TV episodes of 2011 10 11 The A V Club writer Myles McNutt called the episode a spiritual successor to Casino Night which remains one of my all time favorite episodes of the series for turning what could feel like a gimmicky sitcom scenario into something that feels distinct to both the office the characters and The Office He ultimately gave the episode an A 4 Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic compared the proposal to other television proposals on Friends Cheers and Frasier 12 New York writer Willer Paskin praised the writers for being adept at writing for romance 13 Following the airing of the episode Colorado governor John Hickenlooper issued a press release appointing Michael Scott to the position of Director of Paper Distribution in the Department of Natural Resources 14 Garage Sale was voted the third highest rated out of 24 from the seventh season according to a Survivor episode poll at the fansite OfficeTally 15 It was later named the 20th best episode of the series according to an episode poll by OfficeTally 16 BuddyTV named the episode the 19th best TV episode of 2011 and it was the only episode of the series to make the list 17 References edit The Office Garage Sale OfficeTally Retrieved March 12 2011 a b c d Chou Jessica Amy Ryan Talks About Her Cold Wet Proposal on The Office Vulture New York Retrieved November 8 2011 The Office Emmy nominating ballot submissions OfficeTally June 13 2011 Retrieved November 12 2011 a b McNutt Myles March 25 2011 Garage Sale The Office TV Club TV The A V Club Retrieved November 8 2011 a b c White Cindy March 25 2011 The Office Garage Sale Review IGN Retrieved March 26 2011 a b Seidman Robert March 25 2011 Thursday Final Ratings Private Practice Parks amp Recreation 30 Rock Adjusted Down American Idol Grey s Anatomy Wipeout Adjusted Up Plus CBS NCAA Basketball Ratings TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on April 29 2011 Retrieved March 25 2011 Seidman Robert February 25 2011 Thursday Final Ratings Grey s Anatomy Adjusted Up The Office Outsourced and Private Practice Down TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on February 28 2011 Retrieved February 26 2011 Sepinwall Alan March 25 2011 Review The Office Garage Sale More than decent proposal HitFix Retrieved March 26 2011 Sepinwall Alan December 23 2011 Best of the Rest 10 Great TV episodes from 2011 HitFix Retrieved December 23 2011 Poniewozik James March 25 2011 The Morning After That s What She Said Time Retrieved March 26 2011 Poniewozik James December 7 2011 The Top 10 TV Episodes of 2011 The Best and the Rest Time Retrieved December 10 2011 Great Proposals in Sitcom History From Cheers to The Office Kevin Fallon Entertainment The Atlantic March 11 2011 Retrieved November 8 2011 Paskin Willa The Office Recap Marrying Me Will You Be Vulture New York Retrieved November 8 2011 Gov Hickenlooper appoints new Director of Paper Distribution in the Department of Natural Resources Archived from the original on 2011 09 09 Retrieved 2011 04 04 Survivor Poll Season 7 OfficeTally Retrieved August 26 2011 The Office All Time Fan Favorite Poll 2011 OfficeTally Retrieved October 22 2011 John Kubicek BuddyTV Slideshow The 50 Best TV Episodes of 2011 BuddyTV Retrieved December 23 2011 External links edit Garage Sale at NBC com Garage Sale at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Garage Sale The Office amp oldid 1181357552, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
