Viewing Party

Synopsis

Kevin Malone calls Gabe Lewis Michael Scott's boss, which bothers Michael. Erin Hannon and Gabe invite the office to Gabe's house for a Glee viewing party. When the show begins, Michael and Gabe disagree on the volume. Michael goes to Gabe's bedroom, expecting his coworkers to follow.

Pam Halpert has trouble getting her daughter Cece to sleep at night, but Dwight Schrute picks Cece up and she calms down. Jim Halpert switches the channel to check sports scores. Oscar Martinez asks him to change it back, but Erin forgot to record the episode. To escape his coworkers' anger, Jim goes to the bedroom and finds Dwight holding a sleeping Cece.

Angela enters and demands Dwight meet her outside for sex. To fix Cece's "reverse cycling," Pam convinces Dwight to stay with the baby if Jim gives him pizza and beer while Pam tells Angela that Dwight is unavailable. Ryan Howard tells Andy Bernard that a Chinese virility supplement in Gabe's room is very strong. Alone, Andy drinks the whole bottle, gets intoxicated, and tells Phyllis Vance he is jealous of Gabe's relationship with Erin.

Phyllis offers to ask Erin if she is having sex with Gabe, but Phyllis is also drunk and instead gives a graphic description of her own sex life with her husband Bob, which embarrasses Erin. Andy becomes sick, goes to Gabe's room, and vomits on the bed. Gabe comforts him by playing his own soundscapes. Annoyed that no one followed him out of the room, Michael goes outside and disconnects the cable, cutting off the show.

Panic breaks out, and Michael feels awkward. He goes outside to fix the cable, where Erin finds him. Erin has been trying all evening to get Michael to bond with Gabe. Michael, still upset that his office sees Gabe as his boss, is annoyed by her efforts but eventually understands that Erin sees him as a father figure.

He jokes and tells her to go to her room, and she plays along. As he leaves the party, Michael includes Gabe in the joke by threatening to kill him and his family if Gabe breaks Erin's heart.

Production

The episode was written by Jon Vitti, a long-time writer on The Simpsons, marking his first writing credit for The Office after joining the show in the seventh season as a consulting producer. It was directed by Ken Whittingham, who had previously directed several episodes of The Office. The Season Seven DVD includes deleted scenes such as Gabe inviting Stanley to his party with an uncharacteristically elated reaction, Michael making fun of Gabe, and Michael comparing himself to Tom Hanks in the 1988 film Big and Gabe to Hanks in the 1993 film Philadelphia.

Cultural references

During the viewing party, Gabe likens the Scranton Strangler to the Waco siege, which Erin mishears as "wacko." Jim compares the Strangler car chase from the cold open to "Balloon Boy" and Michael Jackson's funeral. The group watches the Glee season two episode "Duets." Michael tells someone to "turn it up to eleven. Spinal Cord," botching the reference to This Is Spinal Tap. He also declares his favorite Glee character is "the invalid," meaning Artie Abrams, a role played by Kevin McHale, who previously appeared on The Office as the pizza delivery boy in "Launch Party."

Reception

"Viewing Party" aired on NBC on November 11, 2010, and was viewed by an estimated 7.15 million viewers, receiving a 3.6 rating/10 percent share among adults 18-49. The night the episode aired, the NBC affiliate in Baltimore carried the Ravens vs. Falcons NFL game, lowering regular Thursday NBC programming ratings. Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B", comparing it to the earlier seventh season episode "Sex Ed" and criticizing the narrative structure as "a bit cheap".

He felt the Dwight, Jim, Pam, and Cece subplot was successful and that the actual viewing of the Glee episode was a highlight. Bonnie Stiernberg of Paste magazine awarded the episode an 8.4 out of 10, calling it "a solid episode" with a surprising amount of character development. Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic awarded four out of five stars, complimenting the main plot and feeling empathy for Michael. Alan Sepinwall gave a critical review, calling the episode "dreadful" and "lifeless", though he noted Ellie Kemper and Steve Carell almost saved it in the closing moments.