Here Comes Treble

Did You Know?

• The episode guest stars former NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman as one of the investors in Jim's meeting.
• The episode was directed by Claire Scanlon, who had served as an editor on the series for several seasons.

Synopsis

On Halloween, Andy Bernard invites the current roster of his Cornell University a cappella group, Here Comes Treble (portrayed by the University of Virginia Hullabahoos), to perform at the office party. He secretly hopes they will ask him to lead a performance of George Michael's "Faith". Andy grows frustrated when the group shows no interest in his past with the group, and after learning that former bandmate Broccoli Rob has claimed Andy's nickname "Boner Champ", he complains to Rob via video chat and to Erin Hannon.

Erin sees the issue as trivial but still demands the group sing "Faith" for Andy. Jim Halpert meets with investors for his new job; despite the investing window closing, he insists on participating and offers $10,000 under pressure, far more than he and Pam had agreed. During the group's performance, Jim tells Pam about this, and they begin arguing. When the group performs "Faith", Andy is surprised to see Rob appear via video to sing the lead; the group had mistakenly thought the song was dedicated to Andy and contacted Rob.

After the concert, Andy continues arguing with Rob until Erin ends the video chat. Andy considers moving to Cornell to preserve his legacy, but Erin redirects him toward using his family's money to create a scholarship for young a cappella singers. When he calls his mother to arrange it, she informs him the family has lost all their money. Meanwhile, Dwight Schrute finds an anti-anxiety pill on the floor and searches for the office "madman".

Nellie Bertram admits the pill is hers; she partners with Dwight in the investigation to avoid suspicion but eventually confesses. Dwight, experiencing anxiety from work and caring for his cousin Mose, asks Nellie to share pills, pretending they are for Mose. At the end, Oscar Martinez is shown secretly kissing Angela Lipton's husband, Senator Lipton.

Cultural references

Many characters wear Halloween costumes referencing cultural figures. Meredith Palmer dresses as Scarlett Johansson's version of Black Widow from the 2012 film The Avengers. Kevin Malone is dressed as Charlie Brown from the Peanuts comic strip. Angela is dressed as former First Lady Nancy Reagan, and her husband State Senator Robert Lipton wears a Ronald Reagan mask.

Oscar Martinez dresses as a dinosaur but states he is "the Electoral College." Andy is dressed as George Michael. Rainn Wilson's character is dressed as a pig; Wilson noted the writers "really just wanted to torture me by having me in a pig's nose for an entire week of shooting." The a cappella group performs several songs: Rose Royce's "Car Wash," Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon," Edwin McCain's "I'll Be," and Cornell's alma mater.

Pam and Jim argue about the 1962 novelty song "The Monster Mash." During a Skype argument, Broccoli Rob mentions collaborating with Trey Anastasio, frontman of Phish; this was previously referenced in the seventh season episode "The Sting."

Broadcast and reception

"Here Comes Treble" aired on NBC on October 25, 2012, and was viewed by 4 million viewers, receiving a 1.9 rating/5 percent share among adults aged 18–49. At the time, it was the lowest-rated episode of The Office, surpassing the eighth season entry "Fundraiser" which had 4.17 million viewers. It finished third in its time slot, behind an episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy (3.0/8 percent) and a CBS Person of Interest entry (2.9/8 percent), but was the highest-rated NBC program of the night.

Reviews were mixed. Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave a "B−", criticizing Andy's characterization as having "hit a plateau" and being "a grinning puppet" with Michael Scott's leftover tics, but praising the subplots and Erin's portrayal. Damon Houx of ScreenCrush called it a "surprisingly strong Erin episode" and noted Dwight's antics were well used. Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic awarded three-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a nice enough holiday episode" but critical of the Jim and Pam subplot.

IGN's Cindy White gave a 7.9 rating ("good"), writing that while the story had limitations, "little lines and bits helped elevate" the episode.