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Writer: Steve Hely, Director: B.J. Novak
Summary (NBC): Andy tries to find a way to meet his goal of doubling sales — when Oscar joins a trivia night contest, Andy decides to get the whole office involved. Meanwhile, Dwight visits Sabre headquarters to explore other job opportunities.
The Office Trivia extras
The Office Trivia rating
In a poll conducted January 12-16, 2012, Tallyheads rated this episode: 7.28/10
See all The Office Season 8 ratings.
The Office Trivia quotes
Manually transcribed by tanster. :)
Jim’s sheet of paper: “We’re on the longest silent streak in office history! Nobody has said anything in… 14 min!”
Oscar: You really have to say “oh yeah” every time you eat a candy bar?
Andy: There is an infinity of things that you can do with paper!
Andy: Let’s get high on our own supply!
Dwight: Animals, machines, vast virtual armies. All of these things I’ve successfully managed. The only thing I haven’t managed is people.
Dwight: Like a Spanish conquistador, I have come to Florida to claim what is rightfully mine.
Dwight: I’m not here to be given anything. I’m here to take what is mine.
Dwight: Surrounded by shrubbery. Like a squirrel’s office.
Robert: I don’t know what’s worse, the trip or the destination.
Oscar: Tonight is Triviacalypse.
Darryl: You just made a good idea, a great idea.
Gabe: Not just bagels. All unwanted problems.
Gabe: I am the toilet of this office.
Dwight: God bless you. You are an American classic.
Gabe: C.E.O. to C.O.O. What a difference a letter makes.
Gabe: Hallway phone, Gabe Lewis speaking.
Andy: I’m willing to try anything. Not anything.
Andy: We need an A team, a backup team, and a just have fun team.
Creed: Let’s reverse engineer this. You’re a black singer. Where do you go somewhere where you’re a novelty? Alaska?
Erin: Dogs, canes, signs, manholes, stairs. Piano, darkness.
Kevin’s sign: What is SEE-attle
Jim: Shawn Marion.
Darryl: Yes. Shawn Marion.
Ryan: That doesn’t sound right. I want to say Ladamian Washington.
Jim: Wrong. For so many reasons.
Kelly: It’s Lamar Odom.
Dwight: You’re a perfectly fine toilet. I’m just an extraordinary piece of crap.
Trivia contest host: I’m sure you’re just checking your Grindr account.
Ryan: I can’t not touch it. I want to be with my phone.
Trivia team names
Queerenstein Bears
Joey Triviani
Impish Impresarios
Two Broke Dorks
Jason So-Goy-Kiss
Ladies Gaga
Einsteins
Aesop’s Foibles
Lawrence O-Trivier
Erin: I did my part, babe. I’m just the bell girl.
Robert: I could go to the gym three times a week, or I could wrestle Stu once a month.
Robert: Florida is America’s basement.
Trivia contest host: This 2001 masterpiece from Gilles Paquet-Brenner explores the intricate dynamics of a family in disarray.
Oscar (en français): It’s the film Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly).
Kevin: Les Jolies Choses (Pretty Things). Marion Cotillard exposes herself a number of times in that film.
Dwight: It’s a job interview, not a flea market.
Kevin: A fluke is owned of the most common fish in the sea. So if you go fishing for a fluke, chances are, you might just catch one.
Icon provided by pessimistreader.
Now, this episode sounds like a classic…we’ll finally get to see the Sabre Headquarters, and Dwight gets his own story. Good times!! :)
Sounds like a good one! Hope the momentum is carried over from the Christmas episode, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, I thought Lotto sounded like a good one too, so we’ll see.
Didn’t we already have this same scenerio in The Incentive? I swear they doubled their sales that day in order for Andy to get the tattoo. I’m so ready for an episode to be listed without Andy being the center.
Good to hear they’re finally showing Sabre Headquarters. I felt that the corporate setting was really lost for the last two seasons even with Robert coming in and out. I’m also interested to see what the writers are going to do with Dwight and the trivia contest sounds like it can yield some hilarious moments. Can’t wait!
Asturn, I know many who thought “Lotto” sounded like it was going to be lame, but ended up loving it…other than the Christmas ep there seems to be no consensus this season.
Hopefully we get some good Jim….
I hope this doesn’t mean Dwight is leaving the show too…
He needs to be on when this show ends for good. Don’t pull a Steve Carell.
I’ve noticed over the years that the U.S. series usually only swipes from the British version about once per season … could “Trivia” be this year’s swipe? There was a whole episode of the U.K. series about a trivia contest.
yay! My set visit was during this episode. It’s really awesome! Some great classic moments in it.
Wow Anne! That’s so cool, and it does sound like a classic episode. When they film do they actually do it with one camera from 2 different angles at different times or are there 2? Just something I’ve always wondered.
This episode is one of the best episodes of the season!
Such a great ensemble episode and everyone is great!
Upset Pam and Angela aren’t there, but it’s still a hilarious episode. Dwight and Gabe subplot is so funny!
Loved the cold open too. Just thought it was a little ruined by Andy’s over-the-top charades.
Still such a great episode! 9/10
It was all fun and games, but… I miss Pam. =(
Definitely not the best episode. I’m SO tired of everyone being the opposite of themselves. Take Jim for example.. why did he leave is wife, who JUST had a baby, and CeCe who’s only two years old home while he went to a bar with his coworkers? Doesn’t sound like something season 1,2,3,4,5 Jim would’ve done. The cold open was the only part of the episode I actually enjoyed. :(
Steve Carell was made a cameo as a member of the queerenstein bears. Only once he is shown for a brief second though. NO JOKE
I thought it was a good episode. Loved Dwight twisting Gabe’s arm around and demanding he take him to robert. Thought the rest of the cast did a good job. Yes, no Pam sucks, but I’m guessing she’ll be back after the “pool party” episode.
I think the minimal screen time of Robert California really helped. Felt like the cast was able to breathe a bit more and be like themselves.
Just can’t let it go that Pam’s ignored again. Even if Jenna isn’t seen or heard (which I get and have no problem with) Jim should still acknowledge her existence. Driving off to Philly without even a thought to his wife and infant son and toddler daughter defies belief to me. Snip that fact out of my brain and it’s not a bad episode. But I just can’t accept the premise.
I hated the lack of Pam, but Kevin was SO quality in this episode. “SEE-attle.”
That’s all that needs to be said.
I agree Robert, it’s pretty ridiculous that a major character like Pam has been so easily ignored. It’s so anti everything this show once was for me.
I kind of felt sorry for Dwight but I’m glad he’s still got that ambition it really brings out the funny in him. Also good on the writers to finally explain why Robert and Gabe are always in Scranton. That aside I thought the trivia was really funny although it was kind of obvious that the Einsteins would win. Also, can anyone confirm that Steve Carell did a cameo this episode because that Queerestein Bear member looked liked him?
Steve Carell looking very Evan Almighty-esque tonight as a Queerenstein Bear! My daughter & I literally screamed when we saw him! Not sure why…must’ve been that unabashed glee as when you see an old friend after a long time apart. Maybe that’s how we’ll feel when we finally see Pam again :(
@Zach, on my second viewing of the episode, I’m pretty sure you’re exactly right, Steve was the second guy on the right…hilarious! I’d like to hear the story behind that cameo (he probably just stopped by the set to say hi and somebody put that beard on him!)
Enjoyed the episode! The Robert/Dwight interactions reminded me of their first meeting in “Search Committee.” As to everyone’s issues with Jim, I’m sure he didn’t go to Philly without calling Pam first…we don’t see EVERY second of their lives on the show. And I work with people who don’t mention their spouses EVERY day, so why should Jim? I miss Pam, but just because she’s not mentioned doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist anymore.
They could at least acknowledge Pam had the baby, but otherwise it was a good episode.
I enjoyed this episode. I thought the cold open was a little weak, but really liked the Dwight-Gabe-Robert plot line (nice to see corporate…WOW what an office); it was great to finally learn what Gabe does at corporate and to find out why Robert avoids the main office…he hates living in Florida.
Did the trivia question announcer sound like John Krasinski to anyone else????? Kind of looked like him, too. Odd. But a great episode.
Finally getting to watch the new episode and I got to know! Was that Steve Carell? Come on we need confirmation!
There is a debate going on that one of the members of Queerenstein Bears was actually played by Steve Carell.
see this screen cap
I think it was Steve because first of all, it looks like him wuth a fake beard and fake eyebrows. Plus, later on in the show when they showed that table again, he is the only member of that group that isn’t seen. That could be an indication that Steve came to visit, did the cameo and didn’t hang for the whole filming.
I’m probably reading WAY too much into the cameo if that was really Steve, but what if that wasn’t “Steve Carell”? What if it was actually Michael Scott going undercover to spy on his old employees? I mean he did take improv acting classes……
That is NOT Steve Carell. Doesn’t even look like him, and do you really think NBC wouldn’t have promo’d the shit out of a Steve Carell appearance? It just wouldn’t make any sense.
Best episode of the season hands down, though. Really great. It seems like they’re working off the feedback from the first half of the season.
Thought the episode was pretty good! Got some good laughs here and there. Great start to 2012 for The Office! And I have to re-watch the episode to truly find out if one of Queerenstein Bears was Steve haha. Looking forward to Pool Party!
Rating: 8/10
This is the first episode of the season where I laughed out loud a lot! I thought it was hilarious! Nice job!
that is totally steve.
Such a fantastic episode IMO. Really funny, lots of laugh out loud moments. I just wish there was more Jim – but there is never enough for me ;)) and I miss Pam too :(
My vote: that’s not Steve.
Considering my low expectations, I really liked this episode. It certainly wasn’t a “great” episode, but it was very well-done and hilarious. Did anyone else notice the massive amount of copies of Jo’s autobiography at the Sabre office? As for the “Steve Carell appearance”, my guess is that when the producers saw that that extra looked like Steve, they added a little in-joke where the cameras focus on him, only to realize that that isn’t actually Michael. The producers have done this before.
has anyone noticed that the group name ‘Joey Triviani’ Was a Pun with Joey Tribbiani , by Friends. Haha , really awesome.Also Laughed a lot with the ladies gaga. haha!
Great Episode.
That isn’t Steve.
That was Steve carell Wikipedia even said so
It definitely wasn’t Steve. It’d be great if it was, but they would’ve played it up a ton more if it were actually him.
Speaking of cameos, was the raccoon in the opening scene the same one that appeared in Goodbye Toby? ;)
Unless someone from the show confirms it is, that’s not Steve. If he were to ever come back to the show (*fingers crossed), it’d be as Michael Scott, not an unnamed Queerenstein Bear. Fun little sight gag though, does make you wonder whether your eyes are deceiving you.
@39 James Powell: The Wikipedia thing was unsourced and has since been removed.
But wait! From Steve Carell’s Twitter last night: “Team Queerenstein Bears!”
I didn’t get a chance to watch the episode until today but that was one of my favorites of the season. It flowed really well and was actually funny.
I was so excited to see this cameo! It is 100% him, so funny and so Carell…genius. Thank you to everyone who thought this was a good (random) idea!
I think it looks like him, maybe with even a fake nose. NBC doesn’t need to promote it if they don’t know it’s him. Maybe Steve stopped by the set to say hi and they convinced him to go undercover, inside joke (“love to be part of one someday”). Either that, or it’s his look-alike stand-in.
p.s. @remember to call – I don’t think Steve has a Twitter account that he’s currently using.
Yup, good episode. xxxx
i don’t think it’s steve. looks a lot like him, but i don’t think it’s him.
i think he looks like the love child of steve carell and robin williams, if such a thing were possible.
[ from tanster: lolol ]
LOOOVED This one!!!!!! sooo good(like all the eps this year!!!), the cold open was the best of the season! it was hilarious, although i didn’t like that nobody was in the office, it was great. I do feel like there should have been a heartfelt moment at the end, with andy and erin, or andy and jim, or something. Maybe they should have shown jim calling to check on pam(although-as much as i love pam-she certainly wasn’t missed in these eps, besides christmas)!!!!
@Darth Scranton
He may have called to TELL her he was going to Philly. He definitely didn’t call to ASK if he could go. As soon as Andy mentioned trivia in Philly he and Darryl said yes they were going. The Jim I know doesn’t ditch his wife and babies without making sure they’re ok. He doesn’t agree to a five hour round trip plus trivia time without a Hall Pass. For further proof of this see the preview for Pool Party. A diffrent writer actually has him mention that he needs to get home soon. Just another horrible example of incontinuity in characters.
It looks like Steve’s nose!
Whether or not it was really Steve Carell, Wikipedia’s article on Michael Scott mentions that Michael “has mentioned an unseen brother.” Could this unseen brother be gay and living in Philadelphia?
I’ve reviewed the scene in question multiple times and decided that there is no way I can look into this guy’s eyes and say “He’s not Steve” unless someone from the cast/crew says it isn’t Steve. Also, later on, I swear I heard Steve’s voice.
And those who claim NBC would “promo the heck outta it”, consider that NBC, well they spoiled the guest stars in Search Committee last year, has a history of keeping surprises quiet. Consider Diane’s first appearance on Frasier, or Andy and April’s wedding in Parks and Rec.
Finally got to watch this and what a wonderful, hilarious episode it was – it had me smiling the whole time! I loved Gabe’s attempt to hold back laughter during Dwight’s pitch; Ryan wanting to be with his phone; Robert California offering drinks while in a pretzel with the wrestler guy; and, the awesome win by team Einstein. Great episode – well written and directed, well acted and just good classic Office.
Let’s see- bags under the eyes..check
Very thick, dark chest hair..check.
hair..check.
Good to see you, Steve.
I loved this!! Laughed out loud several times. Hilarious.
Anyone notice that the medal Robert gave to Dwight was also on the back wall of Gabe’s shrubbery office?
@Robert, you make some excellent points, but we don’t KNOW that his phone call wasn’t, “Hey, Swiss Cheese, could your mom come help you with the kids tonight?” The baby is, at this point, two months old, he’s probably spent tons of hours helping, and Pam isn’t the kind of wife to deny him some Jim time every now and then (unless he’s trying to abandon her at a dinner party). And as great a guy as Jim is, he’s also a guy, and not all guys will say, “Let me ask my wife first,” when they’re making plans with two guy friends. Doesn’t mean he’s not going to, he just doesn’t say it out loud to Darryl and Andy.
Either way, we’re both making a lot of assumptions, and you’re exactly right about different writers showing/telling different things. I think it’s just a good example of how, over the years, they’ve done such a good job creating the characters that we care enough to have a friendly debate like this.
I really liked this episode. I thought it was funny, clever, edgy and not too over the top. Cali can be funny and is always insteresting to watch. I think once Pam was featured more it became more of a romantic comedy in a way, just not as funny as from season 4 on. But this was different, and not until l read the comments did I know why, no Pam. Fun, interested Jim. Good episode, reminded me of the earlier years, Dwight included.
I think the fact that no one’s confirmed or denied it was Steve drives it home that it was, in fact, him. Don’t you think they’d (cast/crew) come right out and say ‘that was just an extra’ if it wasn’t?
[ from tanster: maybe I can find out when I visit the set this week. :) ]
You guys really don’t like giving episodes good ratings anymore, do you?
Tanster…it would be great if you could settle the ‘was it or was it not’ Steve debate during your set visit. Thanks…and have fun!
[ from tanster: i’ll definitely ask! ]
Anyone Notice, I did notice that Gabe had the same medal displayed behind his desk…LOL! Robert must have a whole drawer full of those; obviously his spiel to Dwight is one he has used before to side track an employee. Gabe took the bait, but Dwight saw through it and declined to be influenced by Robert’s diversion. I loved Spader’s expression when Dwight declined the medal…irritated that his ploy failed and the knowledge that Dwight’s goals will not be side tracked by a little bit of verbal voodoo.
I think the hairy bear was in fact Steve. Re Steve’s alleged tweet: note that the Twitter account in question (a) doesn’t have a Verified badge and (b) misspells Steve’s last name. Highly unlikely that it’s legit.
NBC Confirms that it was not Steve Carell to the Washington Post
Link
[200-word limit]
After years of debate, (and no one wanting to listen to the fact that my ears can hear mis-alignment of phase, and frequency within hundredths of a decimal point) I ran the OBVIOUSLY SIMILAR “extra’s” voice through a spectral analyzer. It is 100% his vocal pattern and range. (Down to areas of him pinching his voice, as he does in “Despicable Me”) Don’t take my word for it…run the test yourself. There are plenty of free trial DAW’S that will allow you to see the pattern yourself. The sheer amount of blind followers of press releases, and their own perceptions…is pretty staggering. The REAL question is: how many (if any) of the cast actually knew it was him?