The Banker (The Office)

"The Banker" is the 14th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 114th episode overall.^[2] It was written by Jason Kessler and directed by Jeffrey Blitz.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, an investment banker comes to the office to speak with HR rep Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein), since the company has recently been bought out. The episode is a clip show featuring montages of episodes past, as the banker asks about events in the office.

The episode "The Banker" received mixed reviews from critics and 3.7/9 in the 18-49 demographic.

Synopsis

When an investment banker, Eric Ward (David Costabile), comes to Dunder Mifflin Scranton to check for any discrepancies, Michael (Steve Carell), Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Andy (Ed Helms) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) pull out all the stops in hopes of impressing him with their high-profile contacts. Michael – now the highest-ranking employee of Dunder-Mifflin, since all of Corporate in New York have been removed – flagrantly lies to make the office look more attractive, including having Dwight pretend to be the HR rep to keep Toby (Paul Lieberstein) from telling him about the office's problems. Toby returns to speak with the banker and he struggles to evade the fact-checker's questions. As they go over a list of potential liabilities, viewers are shown plenty of instances where the staff have destroyed property, engaged in dangerous activities and office romance, time wasting and conflict. It ends with clips where the office have come together as a family, including numerous moments in Jim and Pam's romance.

Production

The episode was written by Jason Kessler and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, who directed five previous episodes of the series, including "Stress Relief". "The Banker" is the first clip show of the series.

Cultural references

"Sing" by the Scottish rock band Travis is played near the end of the episode during a montage of flashbacks of Jim and Pam.^[3] Also, Michael references the late 1960s children's television show H.R. Pufnstuf.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "The Banker" was viewed by an estimated 7.29 million households, with a 3.7 rating/9 share in the 18-49 demographic falling 12% from the last episode.^[4]

Dan Phillips of IGN said the episode was "Passable" and gave it a 6.5/10 saying that "If you're a fan of the show, you'll no doubt find it at least somewhat charming and entertaining to re-watch many of the show's funnier moments in rapid succession. I know I did. In the end, though, the biggest shortcoming of 'The Banker' isn't simply that it's a cheap clip show, but that it's not even an inspired take on the clip show."^[5] Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+ saying that "'The Banker' was hardly an episode at all, but rather a clip show. Why does The Office need a clip show now? Are ratings really that low? Perhaps after six seasons and amidst the most rock-solid Thursday comedy line-up in years, people have simply forgotten what's been happening in Scranton and needed a refresher. Whatever. I'll take an Office clip show over almost anything on CBS any day, even though I still think it's a cop-out. (See what I did there?)"^[6] The episode was also voted as the worst episode of season 6 on Office Tally.^[7]

Miscellaneous

During the opening scene, the office is attempting to impress an accountability officer who has come to review Scranton's operations. Michael invites him to a lobster lunch at one of the frequently referenced restaurants in the show—Cooper's—saying they have the world's best Maine lobster. A fictitious robotic voice—provided by Dwight—states that, in fact, the best Maine lobster is to be found at the restaurant Mul HaYAm in Tel Aviv.^[8]

References

External links

• "The Banker" at NBC.com
• "The Banker" at the Internet Movie Database