The Office: Dream Team, 5.22

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The Office Dream Team

Writer: B.J. Novak, Director: Paul Feig

Summary (NBC): After getting off on the wrong foot with his new supervisor, Charles (Idris Elba), Jim finds himself face to face with the new boss in a soccer game in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot. Meanwhile, Michael, afraid to face the workday, has trouble leaving his house.

The Office Dream Team rating

In a poll conducted April 9-13, Tallyheads rated this episode: 8.00/10

See all The Office Season 5 ratings.

The Office Dream Team quotes

Andy: You are murdering the Nard Dog!

Andy: My maid died.

Michael: Oh good, my hooker is here.

Dwight: Oh no! The new boss does not find Jim adorable!

Michael: I have egg in my crocs.

Michael: Like Benjamin Button in reverse.

Michael: He’s everything I’m not, and everything I am. He’s the whole package.

Pam: I hate that I just used the word ‘relationship.’

Jim: If you really want to impress your boss, you go in there and you do mediocre work. Halfheartedly.

Pam: Next on the list, song parodies.

Dwight: Great ideas are just part of what I bring to the table.

Jim: I was on the orange team.

Pam: We got Vikram!

Vikram: Confidence — it’s the food of the wise man, but the liquor of the fool.

Vikram: Is it possible he’s bowling?

Michael: Everyone deserves a second, second chance.

Ryan’s boss: Back to work, shoe bitch!

Ryan: Do you guys want to hear about Thailand? It was indescribable.

Michael: Ryan Howard is about to make a splash in paper.

Jim: My strategy is to touch the ball as little as possible. Chalk it up to teamwork.

Vikram: What kind of a name is Nana?
Pam: It means ‘grandmother.’
Vikram: Oh sweet Jesus.

Phyllis: I swallowed a crown.

Pam: I was just feeling impulsive! I should have gotten a tiny tatoo on my ankle!

Michael: I do my best work when people don’t believe in me.

Michael: You know what they say. Keep your friends close.

Icon provided by pessimistreader.

42 comments

  1. One thing I liked about Pam’s breakdown (besides Jenna’s usual stellar acting) is that it flipped the usual dynamic they have showed us on The Office. Usually it is Pam that is comforting Michael after he has a breakdown but this time Pam had the breakdown and it was Michael comforting and reassuring her.

  2. Great episode. I was glad to see that after a rough start, Michael is on the right track. Even though he’s not in the office, I’m happy that Michael and company are at least in the business park. Also, poor Phyllis.

  3. I really enjoyed today’s episode. It was kinda funny to see Jim playing a kiss ass. Can’t wait to see what happens with the “new boss” around!

  4. Loved Pam’s breakdown and admitting she made a bit of an irrational decision from boredom at work! But glad to see she also is sticking with MSPC for now.

    Good episode, I feel much better about the ending of this season, as I was very nervous before!

  5. Yeah, I agree with #3. However cute the Pam and Michael bonding is, I really miss Jim and Pam togetherness!

  6. I really liked this episode. :) Michael and Pam always have such an interesting dynamic, and the scene where they approached Ryan in the bowling alley just cracked me up. “Shoe bitch,” haha.

  7. Fantastic and original episode; lots of laughter and a great storyline is developing, liberated of overly dramatic angles and triangles. Things are looking up for the office!!!!!!!!!!!

  8. Hmm, I guess I’m the minority today. Not the biggest fan of this one. It just seemed a bit weird and I didn’t like the way Ryan did it.

  9. I enjoyed it! Who else thought for a split second that Meredith was the one who got hit in the face with the soccer ball?

  10. That scene with Pam and Michael in the driveway at the end had maybe the best acting that I have ever seen on a comedy. From both Jenna and Steve. No exaggerating. So amazing.

  11. I have to comment again because I forgot to mention one of the best lines ever – Kevin saying his soccer position was “leg” after Oscar said he was a wing. Too funny.

  12. This wasn’t a compete laugh-out-loud episode but I gave it a 10 because it was a great plot advancing ep. I enjoyed it a lot and it got me excited to see the episode following it.

  13. Loved seeing Michael’s condo, post-Jan (so did he buy all the “Successories” posters ever made??) There were so many great talking heads from Jim in this one, and the tension between him and Charles was brutal (love that Dwight has caught on!) Pam’s meltdown and Michael’s attempt to console her was so well done. All around great episode.

  14. I really didn’t enjoy this episode at all. I want to see the ensemble interacting as a unit, which is now impossible. Charles isn’t at all funny. He’s just a jerk. I can’t stand Ryan anymore. I miss seeing Jim & Pam actually speak to each other.

    2 big thumbs down from me.

  15. My friend grabbed my hand when Pam had her break down and Michael said “Now listen to me”. We just knew that this was about to be a big moment for Michael. Michael’s really stepping it up and maturing and that had to be one of my all time favorite moments of this season. I was more excited to see The Office this week than Lost because of this new plot line and the twists and turns we’re getting to see.

  16. I think some who don’t like the story arc miss a key point. Office has been on awhile now… How long can the writers keep churning out interesting plots off the original premise? So change is hard but it also creates interesting dynamics and plot lines. This could all be temporary with Charles continuing to be listed as a “GUEST.” But wherever the story arc goes. It will be interesting seeing how it plays out. I doubt Michael’s company will survive but he could end up taking some clients from Dunder leading up to CFO asking him back.

  17. There were some great moments in last night’s episodes. Pam had so many really lovely moments. I love watching her really come into her own. Loved the way she helped Michael through his breakdown and then he did the same for her. I also LOVE the friendship between Andy and Dwight. I could watch a whole show with just the two of them :-)

    Am I the only person who wished that the Ryan character would not return? I know that for some reason he is one of the main characters but he never really adds anything to the office dynamic. He does so many unlikeable things but is never “bad” enough to be a villain. He also lacks the appeal of other obnoxious characters like Michael or Dwight because because you never see another side to his personality. Maybe his character just needs a storyline that allows him to care about someone a little bit. Is it just me???

  18. I have to say, not a big fan of this new story line. Although I like Michael taking a stand, I don’t like Charles at all and the shows have become more uncomfortable than funny. I miss Jim and Pam and I would love to see a mutiny against Charles in the future. I hope it doesn’t continue like this.

  19. 2 Thumbs Down. Way down. The characters are not themselves anymore. Jim acting like a little girl, Dwight not being an idiot, Stanley actually being happy to see Michael, or even caring to go see his new workspace? Ryan sucks and I’m sick of his character. Please bring the office back, please?

  20. Really liked it. Uncomfortably-squirming-but-still-able-to-crack-a-joke Jim is awesome. Pam and Michael is always a win and Michael’s pep talk was incredibly well done, especially the framing with her in the car. And more Vikram is always a good thing.

    Only bit I didn’t like was the soccer story just seemed to stop after Phyllis’ face was destroyed, but maybe that’s because I was really enjoying that whole thread: Jim squirming, Charles actually enjoying work (!!), and Dwight ribbing Jim wholeheartedly.

  21. I thought that Pam was amazing in this episode. Her character is really evolving. I think the reason some people don’t like it so much is that change is hard to deal with. Everything IS changing but it’s ok. It’s going to make “normal” that much better when it comes back. (If there is such a thing as “normal” for The Office).

    Also, I’m a huge Jim and Pam fan, and I love their story but this is not the Jam show, this is about the whole office. I’m glad that they don’t make everything about the two of them. I love that the writers include everyone in the storyline. I wouldn’t object to one overly Jammy episode, though.

  22. Someone please post that quote of Michael talking about how he was failing out of school, but scored the most goals for the hockey team!

  23. I really enjoyed the episode, but did anyone else think there was a discontinuity with Nana? In “Goodbye, Toby,” she keeps sending Michael $10 because she’s not sure when his birthday is. Now, she’s a shrewd investor who thinks her grandson’s business plan lacks merit. Over the past year, she’s gotten a lot better with money…

    And yes, Sticious, when I saw that someone got hit with the ball I was sure it was Meredith!

  24. Some people still have two grandmas…it’s tough when you’re that age though. Might be why he calls her Nana, because he already has a “Grandma”.

  25. I never expected everyone to stay in the office when they’re so unhappy with their job. True it’s a job but I would hope they would want more for themselves. I like the story lines because it’s going back to the fact that this is their work. Sometimes you have to suck up and be unhappy and sometimes you have to quit when you can’t handle it anymore. I think that’s very, very realistic.

  26. Wow, am I the only one upset about the time slot on this and the fact that I missed it?

  27. LOVE THE SECOND HALF OF THIS SEASON!!!! I love the roundness of the characters! Dwight’s not JUST the idiot. Andy’s not JUST the doof. Jim isn’t JUST the calm, cool, collected one. Stanley isn’t JUSt the bored slacker. And I can again count on squirmy, uncomfortable The Office-ness.

  28. I just watched it again and noticed 2 things…sorry if they have been brought up before.
    1. Michael replaced his plasma TV
    2. There is an available office in the Scranton Business Park.

  29. I’m really upset about Charles. I don’t know what the point of his character is, but he’s not funny. He just makes me sad for people that work under his authority.

  30. This episode was definitely different but still enjoyable. I like seeing Pam and Michael interact. He would waffle on his decision, and then she would. My favorite part of the episode was near the end where she was still sitting in his car and he was standing outside the car giving her a pep talk. Deep down, I still feel like they will both return to DM, but Michael will return more appreciated by his “family.”

  31. i’m enjoying the other side to jim, but i feel the past two episodes the writers have left us hanging with his story. they showed him getting prepared for the soccer game and the beginning of the game but what happened? they showed jim trying to figure out what a “rundown” was but what happened?

  32. Charles is a great addition. He’s not supposed to be funny . He’s the ‘regular army’ guy taking command of the 4077th. He’s Col. Potter in the first few episodes of MASH after he replaced Henry Blake.

    I love his relationship with Jim.

    He helps answer a great question: What happens to the office staff when a typical, serious, boss takes over?

    Plenty of creative possibilities.

  33. Brilliant. I love where the writers are taking this! Bringing back Ryan? Hilarious.

  34. Not my favorite episode, but better than ‘Two Weeks’. It was really original and different, but overall the funniest quote was “I have eggs in my crocs.”

    7.5/10

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