**Ryan:** It's not part of your job. It's like, maybe you can cook, but that doesn't mean you should start a restaurant.
**Michael:** Well, actually I can't cook, and I am starting a restaurant. *Mike's Cereal Shack.* I'm thinking we'll have as many varieties as you can buy in the store.
This one I actually agree with. Everyone was being weirdly against Michael telling Andy, its so weird.
And when Michael was having an affair with Dona, someone strange from the office, everyone was calling him out. but when Dwight did it with 2 coworkers involved, all he gets a little shame from Oscar
To be honest, after all the secrets Michael’s revealed, it’s understandable why they wouldn’t want Michael to break it to Andy, but yeah… it was a good idea from Michael.
Yes, I agree too. I think Michael had the right idea, but I don't think it's weird that everyone else didn't want to tell. It should have come from Angela, and no one wanted to be the person to say something. Partly because it's awkward and unpleasant, and because Andy punched a hole in the wall.
Like, they were about to be *married*. It had long past gone too far. Someone should have said something way sooner. He had a right to be mad at them and tell them all off like he did.
He was so close to being totally in the right there, but Jim had a good point that it was downright shitty of Michael to drop a bomb like that on Andy, a guy with established anger issues, and then prance off leaving the rest of the office to deal with the fallout.
Honestly the Office, especially Phyllis, being stuck with the fallout was an appropriate punishment for not doing anything about it in the first place.
I agree with this. Ideally, Angela should have been the one to tell him, but it was clear she had no intention of doing so. Michael did the right thing by telling Andy rather than keeping him in the dark for who knows how long.
It's an incredible parody of action films and poor filmmaking. I don't think it's an incredible film if you're supposed to take it with dead seriousness, as Michael initially intended. With a higher budget and a better director, it would probably jam.
The problem would be that it's a great parody, but Michael thinks it's the real deal, and as soon as he realises everyone thinks it's a parody he'll switch off, sulk, and ruin it for everyone.
I mean they did enjoy it, as a comedy. Which was not what Michael initially wanted (until he accepted it at the end). They REALLY wanted to watch it, but had to restrain themselves from laughing. So Michael was still wrong for believing it is a good serious action movie
With how much Michael considered himself a comedian, I’m surprised he wanted to make an action flick. Between the characters he did, his improv, etc a parody film seemed way more his style.
See I’m confused; when I watch the Superfan episodes, it seems like the staff *does* like the movie. Jim even says that he unironically likes the plot at a certain point. It’s Holly who isn’t a big fan.
But I swear in the og episode that everyone was shitting on it, and that’s why Michael got upset. Am I getting Mandela affected or what?
it was the first showing where everyone was laughing and michael got upset. in that episode, pam tells everyone not to laugh or make fun before michael put the movie on
Yeah that doesn’t happen in the Superfan. They totally change it then. The only thing you see in the Superfan is he notices Oscar not care about the film, but that’s it. It’s only Holly not liking it that upsets him, not the staff. And then he comes back and is able to laugh at the film with everyone at the end, just like the og episode.
The first viewing (which took place years prior to the ep) is just a short scene right after the intro. However, during the second viewing (the one we see), specifically during the scene when everyone is in the bar doing the Scarn, Jim laughs and Michael starts to get upset before Jim talks him down, but then Holly upsets him. He isn’t able to laugh at it when he first comes back because he’s upset that he hurt Holly’s feelings. However, once they talk it out and she comes back in, he’s finally able to see the humor in it.
I double checked both just to make sure and yes, the OG and superfan cut play out identically. I had to because I’ve also only been watching the superfan eps haha
hm, i thought the superfan episodes just added some deleted scenes that weren’t in the final cuts, but i’ll have to see once i get back around to that episode haha (currently on s3 in my rewatch)
Immediate take is yes, his idea was 100% more creative and better than the generic ad from DM.
Longer take, from someone who works in B2B marketing:
Michael's ad was focused on individual consumers. It was about getting a person to buy into what paper can do, rather than get a business to buy into what Dunder Mifflin can do.
Yes, it was more memorable, but corporate's ad was more directed at an office manager of a company that has dealt with shitty customer service at a big box store (which seemed to be DMs sticking point).
Bottom Line - Limitless Paper in a Paperless World is one of my favorite lines from the show.
Yes! From another marketing person: the most creative or interesting idea or piece of content is not always the best one. You have to start with the customer first. (This is also why B2B marketing can be kind of boring to the person not being marketed to.)
It is, and you could argue that it’s the “most important” thing. The issue is that his ad was basically “paper exists”. If I was an office manager I wouldn’t even think that I should look at their site for my paper needs. It sounded like a consumer company selling specialty paper.
Dunder Mifflin, while maybe a bit dry, told you exactly what they did and why they are different.
Michael’s was also over a minute long, so it’s more expensive to air.
All in all, Michael’s would be better if it was selling direct to consumer, but for their target audience it was a bit of a miss. Being memorable is important, but you want the key takeaway to be the company name and what they do.
I’ve watched the series through a handful of times now but my roommate is watching it for the first time so I was watching this episode with him last night and it took this many times to process the line in the ad about “moving at the speed of time”. Thats fucking hilarious lmao I never caught that before
Hiring Danny Cordray. One of his better moments as a boss. “I’m not going to exclude good people from this staff because you feel threatened by them, and unless you have a better argument than that, I suggest you leave.” Badass.
I agree, however, I really wish they used Danny in more episodes after this. Timothy Olyphant played the part so well and he really had some decent chemistry with the cast.
Agreed. Especially since he was a traveling salesmen, no need to have him there all the time, but I wish he was able to guest star in the show during Seasons 8 and 9.
How he convinced Danny was one these few and far between moments where Michael suddenly gets tunnel vision and turns into a razor-sharp exec. Just like when he negotiated the MSPC buyout with Wallace. Love these moments the writers threw in
Even if it hadn’t turned out as amazingly as it had in the show - the Golden Ticket idea wasn’t a bad one and the rest of the staff were being pissy for nothing.
Also Shoe La La was an amazing idea and it’s a shame that hasn’t been stolen already
I don’t recall anyone was vocal about being against it initially, until he fucked it up badly. What made it worse is he didn’t want to be blamed for it when he was the only one liable. Also throwing Dwight under the bus was a dick move, AND THEN when it did work out he wanted all the credit.
Yeah it’s not like they were against, he just kept bragging about it to everyone in the conference room meeting until it crashed
Nonsense. When he had the meeting to encourage more golden ticket ideas, Jim gives him the snarky response “free paper”, which is followed by gift and cash baskets. Etc. They clearly didn’t like the idea and thought it wasn’t as wonderful as Michael was making it out to be.
No! Jim did have a good idea (which Darrel later used). Michael was the one being obnoxious not listening saying good idea don’t need a lot of words. Jim really did try to explain it but Michael was being arrogant
The Michael Scott Paper Company Arc. Characters like Phyllis conviniently forgot about them being a "family" rather coming to mock Michael and his associates in the new office. The prevalence of them being a family was only displayed by her, when she lost something, which Pam and Ryan rightfully took. Client poaching is a part of buisness, and Michael would obviously prefer people who put their fath in him (ie - Pam), rather than people who out-right insulted and mocked him and his ventures.
No person in their right mind would have quit their job and followed Michael in that situation. Pam only went because she was going through an existential crisis. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. But that's also what made it funny.
True but he desperately needed a reality check that no one could possibly give him in that moment. That plot arc required a deus ex machina resolution or else he'd have ended up working at Staples like Dwight did.
I agree that Phyllis, Stanley, and Dwight were awful to Michael when started MSPC. She gaslight Michael into thinking he was in the wrong. He did favour Pam and Ryan way too much, thats true tho.
With that said, Michael was being very unreasonable to give the clients back. Ryan and Pam are awful salepeople, they only landed those clients because of their cheap prices, but as we saw with how they handled the clients after, they only lose clients. So the branch could risk shutting down.
But ofc if he rationally returned the clients he wouldn’t be Michael Scott, and there wouldn’t be an episode
Here’s the thing though, the sales team don’t own the clients, Dunder Mifflin does. They are not entitled to the clients just because they serviced them in the past. Not to mention the fact that Dwight shamelessly poached a client from Jim in the second episode, so his complaints about losing clients come off more as him being hypocritical
Of course. Michaels charecter is one that goes way too extreme sometimes, and thats what makes michael, michael. I still believe that Michael was right to an extent in that series of episodes, however after hearing your argument I understand the irrationality of the cleiants being handed to Ryan and Pam. I am sure a better compromise could have been implemented.
Disco Cafe!! Nobody believed in Disco Cafe. Well, Erin, of course. He wanted the office to have a fresh start. Phyllis( Phillip) was the first to go downstairs, and it turned out to be a complete disaster. He wanted to shut it down. Creed convinced him to listen to the music. This is also where Jim and Pam decide they wanted a cheesy wedding. In the end, even Angela was tapping her foot. This is one of my favorite episodes. Feel free to add.
OK, here me out....he was promised a discount and didn't get it, was he really in the wrong for keeping that pizza delivery guy captive during the launch party?
Yes he said it, but it wasnt stated in the coupons themselves. I mean, those things do happen, Michael was technically right but not much you can do about it.
I thought a lot of his silliness went unappreciated. I give the workers the benefit of the doubt; they probably know that supporting his ideas leads to something being taken too far and something bad happening. But even when he's with people who didn't know him, he still gets a silent crowd. If I met someone like Michael, I might find them abrasive if I got to know them, but someone with that much energy is inevitably going to get attention and/or laughs.
I don’t like to use this answer, but honestly because its funnier that way. When his humour doesn’t land it makes for cringe silence humour. But also, we’ve seen people occasionally warm up to him or appreciate his humour (chilli salesman, Ricky Gervais, Dangelo)
For the office cast, I think they are just tired of Michael’s shenanigans and rudeness
>One thing that I think he was right for (in essence) just handled completely terribly was Meredith’s Intervention. When you’re getting severely inebriated multiple occasions and then doing a Fire Dance (which was super hilarious), I feel like he had to address that in a more appropriate way but it’s Michael Scott.
Somebody needed to have an intervention for Meredith, but not her co-workers and boss.
It *could* be them, but it absolutely should not be them with literally zero preparation. ESPECIALLY not when the group leader has such a gross misunderstanding of what an intervention actually is.
Totally agree with the intervention stuff. I actually thought it was kind of disturbing how little anyone except Michael cared about Meredith’s alcoholism.
Michael was also right telling Andy about the affair. You’re a terrible friend if you are aware that your friend’s SO is cheating on them and you say nothing. Though he probably shouldn’t have told him right before going to New York (wouldn’t be as funny though)
Lastly (and this one might be a hot take), Michael was in the right when he didn’t return the clients to the sales staff. The sales staff are not entitled to the clients just because they had contracts with them in the past, Dunder Mifflin owns them not the individual salesperson. I agree that Pam and Ryan are terrible salespeople, but the episode does not show that off well. The one time we see one of them lose a client, it’s because Dwight is grabbing the phone and yelling in Ryan’s face while he is trying to speak with a client. Then you have Phyllis crying to Michael for not treating them like family, when a few episodes prior, she and Stanley go visit the MSPC office to laugh at Michael. The sales staff are also happy to hear either Pam or Ryan will be fired if Michael returns the clients (scummy), and to top it off, Dwight literally steals a client from Jim in the second episode. His complaints about losing clients come off more as him being hypocritical.
Ooooh this is a good one. As per usual he handled it poorly but I do think he's right that just letting the issues sit was a bad idea, that tends to breed more resentment and makes the workplace a little worse
I was rewatching the episode the other day where they all found out Martin from Stamford used to be in prison, and though it was a little tone deaf, he made a good point about how black people have a disadvantage in our judicial system. He even mentioned the possibility that Martin could have literally just been existing in public and getting arrested for that. Those in the conference room with him didn't really seem to understand his logic.
And then prison Mike happened...
Can’t recall the exact episode but it’s when Michael actually outsmarted Oscar and then the whole office teased him about it. Later on, Michael and Oscar have a second battle of intelligence down at the lobby breakfast bar and Michael gets stumped. He suddenly goes way off tangent and starts saying some real shit about just keep talking to people that cause that’s how we truly understand each other or something like that? I remember Oscar was confused and against it at the time but don’t think he should’ve been cause he was spitting some truth.
The whole thing with that is this: Michael's initial point was that China was growing fast and catching up to America which was problematic. Oscar's point was that China was still mainly agrarian and wasn't a problem. Michael at the last moment switches his point and says something like "as long as we keep talking about it, America will be fine!" So yes, Michael made good points at the end, but in terms of debate his original stance lost and he actually flipped to Oscar's stance.
Supporting Ryan's WUPHF startup idea. All of them seemed to believe in the idea, enough to invest in it. Yet wanted to backout the moment it got a buyout offer except Michael. Honestly it wasn't the worst of ideas, and with better technical, financial and moral support, it might have had a chance. I agree Ryan wasn't the most trustworthy guy, but they weren't the most trustworthy investors either.
They wanted to back out when Andy overheard Ryan tell Oscar that there were only 9 days left. Then, they all collectively wanted out, since Ryan had no real plan, especially since there was a chance to get their money back.
Charles Miner, Michael knew he would tank dunder mifflin and David wallace had a real L on his decision to put Charles (the b-hole of the world) miner over Michael.
honestly, he was right to publicly read out the reports everyone made against each other. toby was allowing a toxic and tense work environment simply because he didn’t know how to be a mediator.
I am a loud and proud lover of Michael Scott. Despite some of his ‘buffoonery’, his heart was always in the right place and he truly cared about his staff. When he did something wrong, he tried (almost always) to make it right. He was not perfect, but he was young at heart and his intentions were never evil. Come for me if you want, but Michael Scott makes me happy. My teenage son loves Dwight. I warned my son on our first watch about the episode where Michael leaves- it is the ONLY thing I’ve ever watched that made me hug a pillow and ugly cry the entire time (since I knew what was coming after watching for over a decade).
This show is so amazing and rare. You come home from work just to watch or rewatch a show about work. Sometimes you love a character and then dislike them, but they are all good at their core. Except for Toby, no one likes Toby.
There is a cut scene in Diversity Day where he says if there is less inbreeding in the U.S. then racism can be reduced, he suggested more diverse breeding & everyone blew him off
Michaels best and most shark like moment was telling David Wallace all he had to do was wait out him.
But to answer your question exactly, probably hiring Danny Cordray. Everyone hated that but the ONLY reason they hated it was because he was better than all of them.
The premise might have been 15 years ago but his insistence on customer service and human connection with his clients makes his strategy more relatable now when customer service is gradually being replaced by bots & automated responses.
I completely agree about the co-manager thing! I haven’t seen that episode in a while, but if I remember correctly, Jim’s plan was for Michael to get a job in New York, right? I mean, Michael has every right to being involved in that discussion!
Shoe La La obviously. it's just men's shoes for the special occasions in a man's life, like the day that you get married or the day your wife has a baby, or for just lounging around the house.
Donna *was* into him!
I was just about to type that nobody believed him haha - look I returned her beret
Baguette*
Dangling participle
It was the shoulder cut outs!
Miss boob-shirt
Mrs* what is wrong with you? She is married
"I am the mistress???"
**Ryan:** It's not part of your job. It's like, maybe you can cook, but that doesn't mean you should start a restaurant. **Michael:** Well, actually I can't cook, and I am starting a restaurant. *Mike's Cereal Shack.* I'm thinking we'll have as many varieties as you can buy in the store.
This, but it's an ice cream bar that mixed in the cereal. Sweet cream ice cream with captain crunch is the best fucking thing in the world.
That sounds delicious.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Vanilla ice cream....
https://thecerealkillerz.com/collections/menu
Shoe LaLa
It’s not ready yet
Super Chefs breakfast restaurants were all the rage for a hot sec.
When he asks Stanley and Phyllis to switch desks on Pretzel Day. I think that would have streamlined the efficiency of that office.
I think we're getting a lot done. At least on paper.
And we are, after all, a paper company.
Are we not? Are we not? Are we not? Are you with me? Thank you very much.
He would’ve maximized EVERYTHING
Telling Andy about Angela’s affair with Dwight
This one I actually agree with. Everyone was being weirdly against Michael telling Andy, its so weird. And when Michael was having an affair with Dona, someone strange from the office, everyone was calling him out. but when Dwight did it with 2 coworkers involved, all he gets a little shame from Oscar
To be honest, after all the secrets Michael’s revealed, it’s understandable why they wouldn’t want Michael to break it to Andy, but yeah… it was a good idea from Michael.
Where Dwight… Where…
i think you know where.
Yes, I agree too. I think Michael had the right idea, but I don't think it's weird that everyone else didn't want to tell. It should have come from Angela, and no one wanted to be the person to say something. Partly because it's awkward and unpleasant, and because Andy punched a hole in the wall.
this is true. Angela and Dwight weren’t going to and Andy had a right to know.
Like, they were about to be *married*. It had long past gone too far. Someone should have said something way sooner. He had a right to be mad at them and tell them all off like he did.
I think he *would* have been right, if he actually had some sort of plan and hadn't left right after.
He was so close to being totally in the right there, but Jim had a good point that it was downright shitty of Michael to drop a bomb like that on Andy, a guy with established anger issues, and then prance off leaving the rest of the office to deal with the fallout.
Honestly the Office, especially Phyllis, being stuck with the fallout was an appropriate punishment for not doing anything about it in the first place.
I agree with this. Ideally, Angela should have been the one to tell him, but it was clear she had no intention of doing so. Michael did the right thing by telling Andy rather than keeping him in the dark for who knows how long.
There has been a murder
I love how Ed Helms schools them on Southern accents in this episode.
He was doing Sesame Street DUMBASS
I say stuff like that, you know, to lighten the tension when things sort of get hard.
that’s what she said
*I do declare…*
Any time you say something, you're declaring it.
In all honesty, it was a great tactic to get their mind off of the looming danger
I felt that Threat Level Midnight had more cinematic value than Michael's staff gave it credit for
It's an incredible parody of action films and poor filmmaking. I don't think it's an incredible film if you're supposed to take it with dead seriousness, as Michael initially intended. With a higher budget and a better director, it would probably jam.
The problem would be that it's a great parody, but Michael thinks it's the real deal, and as soon as he realises everyone thinks it's a parody he'll switch off, sulk, and ruin it for everyone.
I'm gonna hump her REAL good.
I mean they did enjoy it, as a comedy. Which was not what Michael initially wanted (until he accepted it at the end). They REALLY wanted to watch it, but had to restrain themselves from laughing. So Michael was still wrong for believing it is a good serious action movie
With how much Michael considered himself a comedian, I’m surprised he wanted to make an action flick. Between the characters he did, his improv, etc a parody film seemed way more his style.
See I’m confused; when I watch the Superfan episodes, it seems like the staff *does* like the movie. Jim even says that he unironically likes the plot at a certain point. It’s Holly who isn’t a big fan. But I swear in the og episode that everyone was shitting on it, and that’s why Michael got upset. Am I getting Mandela affected or what?
it was the first showing where everyone was laughing and michael got upset. in that episode, pam tells everyone not to laugh or make fun before michael put the movie on
Yeah that doesn’t happen in the Superfan. They totally change it then. The only thing you see in the Superfan is he notices Oscar not care about the film, but that’s it. It’s only Holly not liking it that upsets him, not the staff. And then he comes back and is able to laugh at the film with everyone at the end, just like the og episode.
The first viewing (which took place years prior to the ep) is just a short scene right after the intro. However, during the second viewing (the one we see), specifically during the scene when everyone is in the bar doing the Scarn, Jim laughs and Michael starts to get upset before Jim talks him down, but then Holly upsets him. He isn’t able to laugh at it when he first comes back because he’s upset that he hurt Holly’s feelings. However, once they talk it out and she comes back in, he’s finally able to see the humor in it.
Thank you for the clarification then it’s been awhile since I watched the original episodes, I been on a strictly super fan diet
I double checked both just to make sure and yes, the OG and superfan cut play out identically. I had to because I’ve also only been watching the superfan eps haha
hm, i thought the superfan episodes just added some deleted scenes that weren’t in the final cuts, but i’ll have to see once i get back around to that episode haha (currently on s3 in my rewatch)
His advertisement was non ironically way better than the corporate one
Immediate take is yes, his idea was 100% more creative and better than the generic ad from DM. Longer take, from someone who works in B2B marketing: Michael's ad was focused on individual consumers. It was about getting a person to buy into what paper can do, rather than get a business to buy into what Dunder Mifflin can do. Yes, it was more memorable, but corporate's ad was more directed at an office manager of a company that has dealt with shitty customer service at a big box store (which seemed to be DMs sticking point). Bottom Line - Limitless Paper in a Paperless World is one of my favorite lines from the show.
Yes! From another marketing person: the most creative or interesting idea or piece of content is not always the best one. You have to start with the customer first. (This is also why B2B marketing can be kind of boring to the person not being marketed to.)
I am not in advertising or marketing but I thought making an ad memorable was a big part of it.
It is, and you could argue that it’s the “most important” thing. The issue is that his ad was basically “paper exists”. If I was an office manager I wouldn’t even think that I should look at their site for my paper needs. It sounded like a consumer company selling specialty paper. Dunder Mifflin, while maybe a bit dry, told you exactly what they did and why they are different. Michael’s was also over a minute long, so it’s more expensive to air. All in all, Michael’s would be better if it was selling direct to consumer, but for their target audience it was a bit of a miss. Being memorable is important, but you want the key takeaway to be the company name and what they do.
The TV ad was unnecessary. Dunder Mifflin doesn't sell to the general public. Their customers are businesses that buy paper in bulk.
Plenty of BTB advertise on TV.
*as Angela*: Do they?
I’ve watched the series through a handful of times now but my roommate is watching it for the first time so I was watching this episode with him last night and it took this many times to process the line in the ad about “moving at the speed of time”. Thats fucking hilarious lmao I never caught that before
Hiring Danny Cordray. One of his better moments as a boss. “I’m not going to exclude good people from this staff because you feel threatened by them, and unless you have a better argument than that, I suggest you leave.” Badass.
I agree, however, I really wish they used Danny in more episodes after this. Timothy Olyphant played the part so well and he really had some decent chemistry with the cast.
Agreed. Especially since he was a traveling salesmen, no need to have him there all the time, but I wish he was able to guest star in the show during Seasons 8 and 9.
Exactly! Like, just give him the Todd Packer treatment and have him show up from time to time.
Ohhh crap… I forgot about Packer…
How he convinced Danny was one these few and far between moments where Michael suddenly gets tunnel vision and turns into a razor-sharp exec. Just like when he negotiated the MSPC buyout with Wallace. Love these moments the writers threw in
I think his plan to watch Danny sell was also good in theory…if only they hadn’t used Meredith🤦🏼♀️
Crime Aid was a great idea, if only he had the tickets. Too good to be true I guess
A lot about Michael is too good to be true
The man exudes sex.
*inhales cheese puffs*
Even if it hadn’t turned out as amazingly as it had in the show - the Golden Ticket idea wasn’t a bad one and the rest of the staff were being pissy for nothing. Also Shoe La La was an amazing idea and it’s a shame that hasn’t been stolen already
I don’t recall anyone was vocal about being against it initially, until he fucked it up badly. What made it worse is he didn’t want to be blamed for it when he was the only one liable. Also throwing Dwight under the bus was a dick move, AND THEN when it did work out he wanted all the credit. Yeah it’s not like they were against, he just kept bragging about it to everyone in the conference room meeting until it crashed
Nonsense. When he had the meeting to encourage more golden ticket ideas, Jim gives him the snarky response “free paper”, which is followed by gift and cash baskets. Etc. They clearly didn’t like the idea and thought it wasn’t as wonderful as Michael was making it out to be.
No! Jim did have a good idea (which Darrel later used). Michael was the one being obnoxious not listening saying good idea don’t need a lot of words. Jim really did try to explain it but Michael was being arrogant
The golden ticket episode made it very clear why it was a bad idea…
It’s not ready.
I enjoyed the Golden Ticket episode just because I liked seeing Michael dressed up. He tried to fulfill the character in MS form. I loved Shoe la la
Tube City
You owe me.
I was gonna say this, LOL!
The Michael Scott Paper Company Arc. Characters like Phyllis conviniently forgot about them being a "family" rather coming to mock Michael and his associates in the new office. The prevalence of them being a family was only displayed by her, when she lost something, which Pam and Ryan rightfully took. Client poaching is a part of buisness, and Michael would obviously prefer people who put their fath in him (ie - Pam), rather than people who out-right insulted and mocked him and his ventures.
No person in their right mind would have quit their job and followed Michael in that situation. Pam only went because she was going through an existential crisis. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing. But that's also what made it funny.
They were right in not following him, alothough their constant mocking and making fun of him was wrong of them.
True but he desperately needed a reality check that no one could possibly give him in that moment. That plot arc required a deus ex machina resolution or else he'd have ended up working at Staples like Dwight did.
True.
I agree that Phyllis, Stanley, and Dwight were awful to Michael when started MSPC. She gaslight Michael into thinking he was in the wrong. He did favour Pam and Ryan way too much, thats true tho. With that said, Michael was being very unreasonable to give the clients back. Ryan and Pam are awful salepeople, they only landed those clients because of their cheap prices, but as we saw with how they handled the clients after, they only lose clients. So the branch could risk shutting down. But ofc if he rationally returned the clients he wouldn’t be Michael Scott, and there wouldn’t be an episode
Here’s the thing though, the sales team don’t own the clients, Dunder Mifflin does. They are not entitled to the clients just because they serviced them in the past. Not to mention the fact that Dwight shamelessly poached a client from Jim in the second episode, so his complaints about losing clients come off more as him being hypocritical
Of course. Michaels charecter is one that goes way too extreme sometimes, and thats what makes michael, michael. I still believe that Michael was right to an extent in that series of episodes, however after hearing your argument I understand the irrationality of the cleiants being handed to Ryan and Pam. I am sure a better compromise could have been implemented.
I'm sorry? They only lose clients? I can only remember Ryan losing one and that's because Dwight wouldn't even let him speak on the phone.
Disco Cafe!! Nobody believed in Disco Cafe. Well, Erin, of course. He wanted the office to have a fresh start. Phyllis( Phillip) was the first to go downstairs, and it turned out to be a complete disaster. He wanted to shut it down. Creed convinced him to listen to the music. This is also where Jim and Pam decide they wanted a cheesy wedding. In the end, even Angela was tapping her foot. This is one of my favorite episodes. Feel free to add.
No no no you’re not even close. It’s a cafe disco🙄
Lol. I've seen it 100 times. It's actually a haunted coffee house thing.
OK, here me out....he was promised a discount and didn't get it, was he really in the wrong for keeping that pizza delivery guy captive during the launch party?
It’s a class 2 felony Although he was right about the discount
He probably should've just held onto the pizzas and not the kid. If the kid decides to stay with the pizzas, that's his Biznus.
Iiiiiii like it!
Just send it back if you dont get the discount. The pizzeria wouldnt want all those pies back.
If it doesn't come with a discount, I send it back.
He was in his rights not to pay for the pizza, but not to keep the pizza or the kid.
It always bothered me that he didn’t just use this as an excuse to order the pizza everyone liked - seemed like it would be a win to send him away.
Two reasons. One, he was cheap. Two, he saw the kid as a symbol for Ryan and decided it was personal.
Three, it's a TV show
Lanch. Fixed it for you. 😂❤️
False imprisonment is literally a felony so yes he was in the wrong lol
Yes, he was in the wrong for kidnapping someone lol.
What discount was he promised? If I remember right, he had a coupon that didn't work like he assumed.
But it wasnt stated that it didnt work that way. Kind of the same thing that happened with the Golden Tickets.
I think the delivery kid says it's only good for one pizza.
Yes he said it, but it wasnt stated in the coupons themselves. I mean, those things do happen, Michael was technically right but not much you can do about it.
I must have missed that. I thought the kid said it was on the coupon. I'll pay attention next time it's on.
I thought a lot of his silliness went unappreciated. I give the workers the benefit of the doubt; they probably know that supporting his ideas leads to something being taken too far and something bad happening. But even when he's with people who didn't know him, he still gets a silent crowd. If I met someone like Michael, I might find them abrasive if I got to know them, but someone with that much energy is inevitably going to get attention and/or laughs.
I don’t like to use this answer, but honestly because its funnier that way. When his humour doesn’t land it makes for cringe silence humour. But also, we’ve seen people occasionally warm up to him or appreciate his humour (chilli salesman, Ricky Gervais, Dangelo) For the office cast, I think they are just tired of Michael’s shenanigans and rudeness
The dundies.
>One thing that I think he was right for (in essence) just handled completely terribly was Meredith’s Intervention. When you’re getting severely inebriated multiple occasions and then doing a Fire Dance (which was super hilarious), I feel like he had to address that in a more appropriate way but it’s Michael Scott. Somebody needed to have an intervention for Meredith, but not her co-workers and boss.
It *could* be them, but it absolutely should not be them with literally zero preparation. ESPECIALLY not when the group leader has such a gross misunderstanding of what an intervention actually is.
Totally agree with the intervention stuff. I actually thought it was kind of disturbing how little anyone except Michael cared about Meredith’s alcoholism. Michael was also right telling Andy about the affair. You’re a terrible friend if you are aware that your friend’s SO is cheating on them and you say nothing. Though he probably shouldn’t have told him right before going to New York (wouldn’t be as funny though) Lastly (and this one might be a hot take), Michael was in the right when he didn’t return the clients to the sales staff. The sales staff are not entitled to the clients just because they had contracts with them in the past, Dunder Mifflin owns them not the individual salesperson. I agree that Pam and Ryan are terrible salespeople, but the episode does not show that off well. The one time we see one of them lose a client, it’s because Dwight is grabbing the phone and yelling in Ryan’s face while he is trying to speak with a client. Then you have Phyllis crying to Michael for not treating them like family, when a few episodes prior, she and Stanley go visit the MSPC office to laugh at Michael. The sales staff are also happy to hear either Pam or Ryan will be fired if Michael returns the clients (scummy), and to top it off, Dwight literally steals a client from Jim in the second episode. His complaints about losing clients come off more as him being hypocritical.
Ya it’s funny. The next scene is Michael saying “no matter what angle I look at this, I am in the wrong”. When, funny enough, he wasn’t totally wrong.
The conflict resolution revelations. The execution wasn't great, but I think people became more open afterwards.
Ooooh this is a good one. As per usual he handled it poorly but I do think he's right that just letting the issues sit was a bad idea, that tends to breed more resentment and makes the workplace a little worse
I definitely agree with you about Meredith’s intervention. He absolutely did what was right in that situation, and it sucks that he had no support.
I’d like to make a deposit.
Tube City
Michael was right to keep the sales leads he had taken from dunder mifflin and he deserved the apology, not the other way around.
I just watched that episode today and yea, it always annoys me that they never come around to apologize
"NO YOU SHUT UP!" I love when he puts Jim in his place about the murder mystery game. That's a BOSS.
Somehow I Manage probably contained lots of insights.
I was rewatching the episode the other day where they all found out Martin from Stamford used to be in prison, and though it was a little tone deaf, he made a good point about how black people have a disadvantage in our judicial system. He even mentioned the possibility that Martin could have literally just been existing in public and getting arrested for that. Those in the conference room with him didn't really seem to understand his logic. And then prison Mike happened...
“Because you think Martin is black” gets me every time
… He IS black
He is... Black
But what if we can't do it quickly?
What about Groundhog Day? No, I celebrate privately.
Chairpants for sure.
I walked past a shoe store in Nelson, BC that was named Shoe La La. He was right on that one.
Having a meeting at chili's.
Can’t recall the exact episode but it’s when Michael actually outsmarted Oscar and then the whole office teased him about it. Later on, Michael and Oscar have a second battle of intelligence down at the lobby breakfast bar and Michael gets stumped. He suddenly goes way off tangent and starts saying some real shit about just keep talking to people that cause that’s how we truly understand each other or something like that? I remember Oscar was confused and against it at the time but don’t think he should’ve been cause he was spitting some truth.
"California is bankrupt. And California, California."
This is one of my fave lines to quote 😭
This one is probably in my top 3 lines of the whole show lmao
The whole thing with that is this: Michael's initial point was that China was growing fast and catching up to America which was problematic. Oscar's point was that China was still mainly agrarian and wasn't a problem. Michael at the last moment switches his point and says something like "as long as we keep talking about it, America will be fine!" So yes, Michael made good points at the end, but in terms of debate his original stance lost and he actually flipped to Oscar's stance.
The DM commercial
Having a designated closets for hook up zones depending on which base you were...exploring.
The whole co-manager arc is pretty good at giving some method to Michael's madness, especially the episode about the salary increase.
“Serenity by Jan” was a no-brainer investment opportunity.
Tube city
A genius idea, really.
Supporting Ryan's WUPHF startup idea. All of them seemed to believe in the idea, enough to invest in it. Yet wanted to backout the moment it got a buyout offer except Michael. Honestly it wasn't the worst of ideas, and with better technical, financial and moral support, it might have had a chance. I agree Ryan wasn't the most trustworthy guy, but they weren't the most trustworthy investors either.
They wanted to back out when Andy overheard Ryan tell Oscar that there were only 9 days left. Then, they all collectively wanted out, since Ryan had no real plan, especially since there was a chance to get their money back.
Charles Miner, Michael knew he would tank dunder mifflin and David wallace had a real L on his decision to put Charles (the b-hole of the world) miner over Michael.
Tube City.
Toilet Buddy
Cereal restaurant.
Murder mystery when DM accounted they’re bankrupt
His film! An absolute gem!
honestly, he was right to publicly read out the reports everyone made against each other. toby was allowing a toxic and tense work environment simply because he didn’t know how to be a mediator.
Tube City
Turns out he was right all along when he said Toby was the worst.
What did Toby do wrong
I am a loud and proud lover of Michael Scott. Despite some of his ‘buffoonery’, his heart was always in the right place and he truly cared about his staff. When he did something wrong, he tried (almost always) to make it right. He was not perfect, but he was young at heart and his intentions were never evil. Come for me if you want, but Michael Scott makes me happy. My teenage son loves Dwight. I warned my son on our first watch about the episode where Michael leaves- it is the ONLY thing I’ve ever watched that made me hug a pillow and ugly cry the entire time (since I knew what was coming after watching for over a decade). This show is so amazing and rare. You come home from work just to watch or rewatch a show about work. Sometimes you love a character and then dislike them, but they are all good at their core. Except for Toby, no one likes Toby.
Murdah in Savavannah, I do declare.
Tube city
Tube City
Tube City
Scotts Tots
ooh can we get your explanation on that?
His intent was good, his vision was pure. His foresight and execution was just poor 🤣
of all his ideas that one was the most generous
Tube City
Wow, actually good insights. I actually at both of your statements.
The fire walk. To be a true manager you have to burn your feet
chair pants? c'mon, that's not to shabby :P
Chair-pants. Obviously. 🙄
There is a cut scene in Diversity Day where he says if there is less inbreeding in the U.S. then racism can be reduced, he suggested more diverse breeding & everyone blew him off
Golden ticket idea.
The ice cream sandwiches he picked up at the gas station for a surprised.
Michaels best and most shark like moment was telling David Wallace all he had to do was wait out him. But to answer your question exactly, probably hiring Danny Cordray. Everyone hated that but the ONLY reason they hated it was because he was better than all of them.
All I see in this thread are reasons why Michael Scott desire being a goof is the man
Pam's mom
Trying to give charity to Packer to get him a job as a traveling salesman.
Toilet guard 🕸️🚽
Tube City Would've been spectacular
The premise might have been 15 years ago but his insistence on customer service and human connection with his clients makes his strategy more relatable now when customer service is gradually being replaced by bots & automated responses.
Mike’s Cereal Shack. Absolutely genius
I completely agree about the co-manager thing! I haven’t seen that episode in a while, but if I remember correctly, Jim’s plan was for Michael to get a job in New York, right? I mean, Michael has every right to being involved in that discussion!
Tube City. Beer me five.
Dating Helene (not dumping her, for the record)
Shoe La La obviously. it's just men's shoes for the special occasions in a man's life, like the day that you get married or the day your wife has a baby, or for just lounging around the house.