Garden Party (The Office)

Synopsis

Andy Bernard, hoping to win over his parents and Robert California, decides to host a garden party at Schrute Farms and drills his coworkers on proper party etiquette. He feels overshadowed by his younger brother, Walter Bernard Jr., who gets all their father’s attention, and believes a lavish party will finally earn his father’s approval. The event starts well enough. Andy proposes a toast to Robert, expecting his employees to return the favor and show his family and California how much they respect him. Instead, the staff toasts Robert more enthusiastically, and Robert’s own toast makes light of how easy the manager’s job is. To shift focus, Andy attempts a duet of “More Than Words” with his father. This backfires when his father corrects his guitar playing and singing, then chooses to sing with Walter Jr. instead. Frustrated, Andy grabs his guitar and storms off.

His father follows him for a private talk. When Andy admits he’s been trying to gain his father’s affection, his father responds coldly, saying he is not proud of Andy’s achievements and is tired of his constant need for approval. The entire conversation is accidentally broadcast through a baby monitor that Jim and Pam Halpert brought for their daughter. Pam quickly shuts it off to spare Andy’s dignity. Later, Darryl Philbin and Oscar Martinez tell the camera they now understand why Andy always feels the need to prove himself. After Andy’s family leaves, a defeated Andy says goodbye to the office, believing he is unwanted by both his family and coworkers. The staff turns the garden party into a barbecue, but Darryl and Oscar convince him to stay by offering a cheeseburger and a beer.

Meanwhile, Dwight Schrute sees the party as a chance to make Schrute Farms more upscale and attract new clients. He buys a book online called The Ultimate Guide to Throwing A Garden Party, which was actually written by Jim under the fake name “James Trickington.” The book gives ridiculous instructions: announcing each guest’s name loudly upon arrival, staging a tableau vivant of The Last Supper during the meal, dancing with his party staff, and performing a fire court dance as the finale. Dwight follows every single one of these steps exactly.

Production

For "Garden Party," Justin Spitzer wrote the script, marking his tenth contribution to the series. David Rogers, the show's editor, directed the episode for the fourth time. Mindy Kaling was promoted to executive producer starting with this installment, following earlier speculation she might not return as a writer. The episode introduced Andy's family, with Stephen Collins, Dee Wallace, and Josh Groban playing his father, mother, and brother. Kaling reached out to Groban on Twitter to ask if he would appear; he agreed, and the filming week aligned with a Los Angeles concert on his Straight to You Tour.

Reception

When "Garden Party" first aired in the United States on October 13, 2011, about 6.05 million people tuned in. Among viewers aged 18 to 49, it earned a 3.2 rating and an 8 percent share, meaning 3.2 percent of all adults in that age bracket and 8 percent of those watching TV at that time saw it. While its total audience grew by 3.8 percent from the prior episode, "Lotto," its demo rating stayed the same. It finished third in its time slot, beating "Person of Interest" (2.7 rating, 7 percent share) and "The Secret Circle" (0.8 rating, 2 percent share), but losing to "Grey's Anatomy" (3.4 rating, 9 percent share) and "The X Factor" (3.6 rating, 10 percent share).

Critics were split on the episode. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix thought it "offered more laughs than some of this season's other episodes," but he took issue with the main plot involving Andy, noting that unlike Michael Scott, whose power made him funnier, Andy had "somehow become less funny since the promotion." Chris Plante of New York called it "funny, weird, touching, and unpredictable. A gem, really." Barry Hertz of the National Post compared it to "Booze Cruise," "Beach Games," and "The Search." M. Giant of Television Without Pity gave it a B-minus. Several reviewers praised the return of former Office writer Michael Schur as Mose Schrute; Hertz said the sight gag of him "running atop a field of cars like a watered-down Evel Knievel was enough to give this episode an easy A."

On the negative side, Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club gave it a C, writing that the episode could have hinted at new directions beyond Andy as the well-meaning but hapless boss and the pregnancies of Pam and Angela, but instead offered "variations on those storylines with no new angle either narratively." IGN's Cindy White gave it a 7.0 out of 10, calling it better than "Christening" and "Phyllis' Wedding" but worse than "Niagara" and the classic "Booze Cruise." She criticized the main plot for recycling earlier storylines.