The Coup (The Office)

Office episode
name = The Coup


ep_num = 31
prod_code = 03002
date = October 5 2006
writer = Paul Lieberstein
director = Greg Daniels
season = 3

"The Coup" is the second filmed and third aired episode of the third season of "The Office" (U.S. version). It was written by Paul Lieberstein and directed by Greg Daniels. It aired on October 5, 2006.

ynopsis

Jan berates Michael when she discovers that he calls the entire office into the conference room every Monday to watch a movie. Angela prods Dwight to ask Jan to give him Michael's job. After the awkward meeting with Dwight, Jan calls Michael and demands he get his branch under control.

The Stamford branch plays "Call of Duty" under the guise of a team-building exercise. New to the game, Jim's play is poor and he draws the ire of his teammates. As he leaves for home, Jim pretends to toss a grenade at Karen, who responds by creating a pretend explosion with paper clips. Karen longingly watches Jim leave.

Kelly insists that Pam perform a lunchtime fashion show to show off a new sweater. When it draws unwanted attention, Pam concludes that it is too revealing.

Michael leads Dwight to believe that he has been given control of the branch before revealing the ruse. Dwight begs for his job and for Michael's forgiveness, offering to do his laundry for a year. Dwight quickly returns to being Michael's loyal right-hand man, but Michael, still harboring resentment, forces him to stand atop a box with a "LIAR" sign dangling from his neck.

Deleted scenes

The Season Three DVD contains a number of deleted scenes. Notable cut scenes include:
*Dwight describes the conflict between his paternal Schrute blood (which is loyal) and his maternal Manheim blood (which knows when to cut and run).
*Creed reveals that he sleeps under his desk four nights a week.
*Dwight and Angela flirt in the break room after he tries to persuade her to join Movie Monday.
*Michael becomes suspicious when Pam interrupts to tell him that he has a phone call.
*Pam responds to Kevin's unwanted attention to her neckline.
*Phyllis, Meredith, and Creed respond to having Dwight as the new boss.
*Jim is surprised when Jan is not upset to find him playing a video game.

Notes

*The characters in the Stamford office play the expansion pack "".
*Andy's "Call of Duty" screen name is "Here Comes Treble" after his a capella group mentioned in the season premiere.
*Karen's screen name is "KarentheJimSlayer", a spoof of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
*Pam said that Michael once made the office watch a single episode of "Entourage" six times. Michael says Ari Gold's famous line "Let's hug it out, bitch" is how men make up, but that the line does not go over well with women.
*Rainn Wilson appeared in a second season episode of "Entourage", entitled "I Love You Too", as a slimy film critic out to discredit Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier).
*This is the first episode of the series in which Ryan has no lines.
*During the voiceover in which Pam says that she will keep her clothes, the shipping label on the package is addressed to "Pam Beesley" rather than "Beesly". This is another instance of the spelling of her last name changing. See Pam Beesly for more details.
*The scene where Michael first confronts Dwight after his secret meeting with Jan is a parody of the television show "The Shield". Michael offers Dwight some M'M's in the same inquisitive and passive aggressive manner that Lt. Kavanaugh offers gum to suspects in the show.

Behind the scenes

*Angela Kinsey did an alternate talking head that didn't make the show. Angela (her character) talks about a "friend" of hers that introduced her to "". "Well, there is this guy named Spock and he is very honorable and brave," Kinsey paraphrases, "And he stands up for what he thinks is right. And she just wishes that 'someone' in the office could be more like Spock." Kinsey continues, "I thought it was a cute glimpse into Dwight and Angela's courtship. I can see her being very resistant to sci-fi but she watches these "Star Trek" episodes because they are important to Dwight." [Kinsey, Angela. October 14, 2006. blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=32799810&blogID=180363911&Mytoken=EAFA6276-75ED-40CE-9C0B975FEF96535A52549839 Grief Counseling, The Coup and what not., "MySpace.com"]

References

External links

* [http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/episodes/3002_1.shtml#main The Coup] at NBC.com