Goodbye, Toby

"Goodbye, Toby" is the eighteenth/nineteenth episode of the fourth season of The Office and is the 71st/72nd episode overall. It was written by Jennifer Celotta & Paul Lieberstein and directed by Paul Feig. It first aired May 15, 2008. It was viewed by 8.07 million people.

Cold open
The episode starts with one of Jim's pranks: he links Dwight's cell phone to his own Bluetooth headset. He also forwards Dwight's office phone to his own office phone. During the prank he pretends to steal a client from Dwight, a throwback to Dwight's stealing a client from him in "Diversity Day". Dwight eventually smashes his phone in frustration as Jim looks to the camera.

Synopsis
Dunder Mifflin Scranton is planning a going-away party for Toby before he leaves for Costa Rica. Michael is determined to make the party match the joy in his heart at Toby leaving, but when Angela balks at his unreasonable demands, such as an anti-gravity machine, Phyllis accepts the duty of planning the party. She does fantastically, ordering carnival rides to the parking lot and hiring Darryl's band, much to Angela's chagrin.

Michael's hatred of Toby seems to have been transferred to the new HR representative, Holly, and he and Dwight plan to haze her. When she shows disdain for Toby, though, Michael suddenly thinks he is falling in love with her. Jim advises him to fight his over-aggressive instincts and play it slow, recounting his story on how he fell in love with Pam. Michael succeeds in warming up to Holly with less-obnoxious small talk and jokes. Michael even tempers Toby's exit interview, which he originally planned to be brutal and insulting, when Holly attends. When Michael's cruel going-away present (a rock with the words "Suck On This") is revealed, Pam cons Michael into giving Toby his sports watch. Dwight continues the hazing, telling Holly that Kevin is mentally challenged and putting a raccoon in her car. When Michael chastises him in front of everyone, Holly is even more receptive. Meanwhile, Kevin misinterprets Holly's praise of his ability to perform mundane tasks that would be difficult for a mentally challenged individual as romantic interest.

Pam is accepted to study graphic design at, for which she will have to go to for three months. A supportive Jim assures her that, while the separation will not be fun, it is still a great opportunity. Meanwhile, when Jim calls Ryan about his huge sale in Job Fair, Ryan instructs him to enter the sale on the company's website before abruptly hanging up. Jim leaves Ryan a voicemail proclaiming that he will fight for his position at Dunder Mifflin, despite Ryan's attempts to push him out. Shortly afterwards, the staff finds a video on of Ryan being arrested for  (though while describing what he'd done in a talking head, Oscar jokes that Ryan's attempt at a beard was his "real" crime). Michael is greatly concerned for his "friend" Ryan, but Jim takes pleasure in the video and leaves Ryan a second voicemail telling him to disregard the last message "since [his] hands are tied."

Jim also contributes to the party-planning fund in order to buy fireworks. He claims it is to give Toby a proper send-off, but later reveals that he has decided to to Pam after recounting his story to Michael. Pam notices the purchase and guesses his intentions in an interview; however, at the party, just before Jim can pop the question, Andy ruins the moment by proposing to Angela (who responds with a halfhearted "Okay"). Dwight is crushed but says, "It's my own fault." Jim puts the ring back in his pocket. In a later interview, Pam is visibly disappointed, thinking she had guessed wrong. Toby gets the pictures he wanted of him and Pam together and leaves the office forever, but Michael gets in a final shot when he has Hank, the security guard escort Toby from the building.

Kevin runs into Jan at the grocery store and calls Michael to come talk to her. Michael discovers that Jan has herself from a  and wants him to be involved in the pregnancy. He initially is indecisive, but eventually calls and agrees to attend class with her in.

Right at the end of the episode, Phyllis returns to the dark office to stow away party supplies with the camera crew and compares party planning to a runner's high, evidently pleased at the success of her party, but on her way in, she hears moaning and walks in on Angela and Dwight having sex at Angela's desk, which is also recorded by the camera crew accompanying Phyllis. Angela slaps Dwight to turn around, and both seem appalled.

Deleted scenes

 * Michael attempts to embarrass Toby by making him come up and give a speech, however the group laughs at all his jokes, and it is quite heartfelt. Quite amusingly, he mentions going out for beers every Tuesday with the office (much to Michael's shock and discomfort).
 * Toby introduces Holly to Pam and Jim. Holly reveals that Toby said many good things about Pam but that the only positive thing Toby said about Jim was that he's "a good salesman". This comment hints at Toby's disdain of Jim for dating Pam.
 * Following the above revelation, in a talking head interview, Jim remarks that he and Toby are friends, but they are unlikely to stay in touch after Toby leaves. "I'll probably get updates on him from Pam."
 * Phyllis becomes increasingly frustrated by her difficulties in planning the party. Jim drops in and asks her how she's doing. She replies, "Jim, I'm so f—d."
 * In a talking head interview, Phyllis remarks that her mother told her she could be anything. "A teacher's aid, nurse's assistant, some kind of volunteer. But now, I'm not so sure."
 * Bob Vance gives Phyllis extra money to enable her to purchase everything she wanted for the party.
 * In a talking head interview, Toby shows a postcard of a beach in Costa Rica which he has been carrying around for years. Whenever he gets stressed out, he looks at it. When he learned that condominiums were being built, he bought one. "Right where those trees are."
 * Toby returns to work with an expensive camera he just bought and talks with Jim and Pam at reception. He asks, "Mind if I get a picture?" and Jim and Pam pose for a photo together. Disappointed, Toby takes the picture and retreats to the annex, barely audibly muttering, "Waste of money..."
 * Jim tries to log his sales into the website but the site is down. It was also down yesterday. Dwight suspects that the website is busy conspiring with other websites.
 * Troy stops by the office to talk to Michael. He's cagey about why he came to Scranton instead of Ryan, saying that he now reports directly to David Wallace. After the YouTube video is discovered, Dwight asks him if he knows anything about the arrest. He merely says, "Maybe I do."
 * Oscar and Stanley share an appreciation for corn dogs.
 * Angela tells Andy to announce that the party is a disaster. Andy thinks the party is going well, but he'll go along with her. He ostentatiously tries a fried Twinkie (so he can announce how bad it tastes) but is overcome by how good it is.
 * Kevin offers to have his band play at the party, but Phyllis soundly rejects him because at her wedding, they played "30 Police songs in a row, all off key, off tempo, and you forgot at least half the lyrics." Kevin is deeply hurt. "Sorry I ruined your wedding." Angela overheard the conversation and pops her head in the room, sarcastically telling Phyllis, "Nice job."

Scenes not on the DVD:
 * After Pam explains that Michael is describing a New Orleans funeral, Michael says, "If that's appropriate, then that's what I want. I want something that says, oh, wow, okay. Oh, God, thank God." Angela: "A prayer? You want a prayer party?" Michael: "If the devil were to explode and evil disappeared, that's the kind of party I want to throw."
 * After Michael puts Phyllis in charge of the party, there is a talking head interview with Angela. She begins with a huge fake laugh, adding, "I was going to let Phyllis be in charge of cups today, and even then I have a stack of cups standing by in my trunk."
 * Holly and Michael are in the kitchen at the same time, drinking coffee and doing Cookie Monster impressions.
 * As Michael and Holly reach the top of the Ferris wheel, Holly shakes the gondola and scares Michael, and they both start laughing.
 * Phyllis asks Angela to get more barbecue sauce, and Angela says, "I got it. No problem." Phyllis checks later, and Angela says, "Oh, oops. I forgot. Now you know what it's like working with some who's an incompetent assistant." This leads to the scene in which Phyllis asks Kevin to go to the store.
 * Oscar talking head: The Finer Things Club now has an opening, but the choices are Kevin, Stanley, Angela, Kelly, Meredith, and Creed. "We may have to change it to just 'The Things Club'."
 * Angela talking head: She shows off a giant yellow diamond engagement ring with a huge inclusion and explains that having options makes her anxious, and she prefers order and answers. "Great. Done. Let's get married. I love you, too."
 * Jim calls Pam's mother and leaves a message saying that he's been trying to call her, "Just need to get a hold of you.
 * The episode concludes with a Phyllis talking head: "You're looking at the new head of the Party Planning Committee. I think I'll make Angela my assistant so I don't have to do all the boring stuff. If she doesn't like it, I'm going to sing."

Trivia

 * When Jim answers Dwight's call on his phone, he makes it sound as though he is talking to Dwight's mother, although she is deceased ("Fun Run").
 * Michael threatens to kill Toby if he reveals to Holly his mistreatment of him. Toby, however, shrugs to the camera that he has made it long enough without disclosing Michael's behavior and that it is pointless to do so. Toby still gets revenge after he exposes Michael's insulting farewell gift and Pam makes him give up his watch to Toby.
 * Writer Paul Lieberstein provided the lyrics to "Beers in Heaven" and "Total Eclipse of the Fart" in an online chat on NBC.com following the episode's premiere. Read them here.
 * Phyllis is assigned to plan Toby's going-away party, despite only speaking to him once on camera ("Sexual Harassment").
 * Paul Lieberstein wrote this episode, thus writing off his own character. This served a practical purpose, as Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta were taking over as showrunners from Greg Daniels, who left to develop Parks and Recreation. Lieberstein himself admitted, "I have always felt uncomfortable writing for myself, so it was easy and I'm surprised I didn't do it earlier."
 * A sticker can be seen on the vending machine when Pam tells Jim that she's been accepted to Pratt Institute
 * Michael mentions that he's worked with Toby for 12 years, meaning he's been there at least 1 year after Michael first started at the office.
 * Phyllis' discovery of Dwight and Angela's intimate relationship makes her the fourth person to be made aware of it, after Pam, Jim and Ryan.
 * Michael mentions using, which explains his new, thicker hair at the start of the second season.
 * Although Toby moves to Costa Rica, he returns in "Frame Toby."
 * Michael buys "" from Amazon. In "A Benihana Christmas," he sampled the song "" from iTunes. Between the third and fourth seasons, NBC stopped distributing its episodes over iTunes in favor of Amazon Unbox.
 * The characters drink WPop at the goodbye party. WPop is the generic soda of, a popular Rochester, New York based supermarket with many regional stores, including three around the Scranton area.
 * The 20th Michael Scott absent in cold open.

Amusing details

 * Michael tells Dwight that he hates it when people say things just to agree with him. He previously mentioned hating "yes-men" in "The Return".
 * In a deleted scene, it's revealed the entire office likes to go out for beers on Tuesday without Michael (which he was unaware of) despite the fact that Michael has tried to hang out with them several times.
 * In the cold open, Jim forwards calls from Dwight's cell phone to his earpiece. When Jim receives Dwight's cell phone call, he appears to be selling paper to Dwight's client, however a client seeking to buy paper would call Dwight's work phone, not his cell phone. Dwight's business card includes his cell phone number, so it might be a client who is accustomed to contacting Dwight that way.
 * Michael says "n3p" instead of "mp3".
 * At the beginning of the episode, Michael dances around the empty office. He says, "Today is Toby Flenderson's last day. I couldn't sleep last night. I came in extra early. So much energy. There are certain days that you know you will remember for the rest of your life. And I just have a feeling that today is one of those days." Not only is it Toby's last day at Dunder Mifflin; it is also the day Michael meets Holly.
 * Pam takes notes during Toby's exit interview. Actor Jenna Fischer wrote "Who are you?" and "Toby" (or sometimes "He's Toby"). She imagined that she might be asked to transcribe the interview later.
 * Phyllis has a circular bandage under her left eye near her nose. It is barely noticeable. Perhaps the best look at it is in the scene in which Jim gives Phyllis money for fireworks.
 * When Toby leaves and has Michael's watch, it starts going off. In the beginning of the episode, Michael sets a watch alarm so he can celebrate the exact moment Toby leaves for good.
 * Bob Vance proudly stands in the parking lot when everyone walks out to see the party set up. His employees are seen helping to barbecue food and pump the space bounce.
 * Michael says, "Holly is the best thing that has ever happened to Dunder Mifflin since World War II! Fifty years!" This is likely referring to when Dunder Mifflin was a supplier of metal brackets in WWII. However, World War II was much longer ago than fifty years.
 * This is the only time that Michael attempts to be attractive to a woman and succeeds.
 * Although Michael attempts to take Jim's advice to take things slow with Holly, his antics still slip through. Rather than be repelled, Holly finds them charming. In "Weight Loss" it's revealed that she is equally as silly as Michael.
 * Jan glances at Kevin with contempt several times when she realizes he called Michael.
 * Michael suggests that Jan made him wear two condoms for extra precaution. This actually increases the chance of it breaking.
 * Angela has many bottles of beer in front of her at the party, even though in past episodes she mentions abstaining from alcohol. In "Ben Franklin," she spits out her champagne when she realizes that it isn't the sparkling cider she thought it was. The beers are likely not hers, but rather are left over from those who sat at the table before her.
 * Not only is Holly's first name that of, so is her last name . However, it should be noted that "Holly" is actually short for "Hollis", as shown by her nameplate in later episodes.
 * Michael plays "" on his computer while trying to build a mix CD for Holly. This song is doubly inappropriate: Not only does Michael consider a song with "crash" in the title for Holly to listen to in her car, but the song itself is about a.
 * During Pam's talking head where she guesses that Jim may propose, a reflection of Kevin playing in the bouncy house is seen in the window.
 * Holly drives a convertible, the same impractical car that Michael drove for the first three seasons.
 * Michael's ring tone is a standard ringing sound rather than "My Humps", his usual ring tone. Presumably he changed it so as have a good impression for Holly.
 * When Toby returns with a camera to take a picture with Pam, it's not a cheap disposable camera but an expensive camera which is a Canon Rebel XTi. This makes sense with the theory that he went out to buy the cheapest good camera (probably to use in Costa Rica also), and at the time this was recorded, the XTi was the cheapest Canon dSLR equipped with an EF 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, which is the lens that comes with the camera (if bought in a kit).
 * Andy reveals he has been carrying an engagement ring for 6 years, suggesting that his proposal to Angela is not due to love for her, but instead for the sake of proposing itself. Michael appears to suspect this, saying he would not be surprised if Andy proposed to Oscar instead.
 * In the final scene, Angela's hair is loose and her top button undone, which for her character is scandalously disheveled.
 * During Dwight and Angela's intimate scene at the end of the episode, Angela Kinsey (Angela) was eight months pregnant. She later complained in an interview that Rainn Wilson (Dwight) had eaten a tuna sandwich before the scene and because she was pregnant and extra sensitive to smell she had a hard time kissing him.
 * Director Paul Feig also directed "Email Surveillance", which was the first time Dwight and Angela were caught on camera in a compromising position.

Connections to other episodes

 * This is the second time Dwight destroys his cell phone because of Jim's pranks. The first time was in "A Benihana Christmas," in which Jim and Pam convinced Dwight the CIA accepted him for a mission and then ordered him to destroy his phone.
 * Kevin keeps his M&Ms hidden so other people won't take them. In "The Merger," Kevin shows Jim his secret M&M hiding place. Kevin's preference for M&Ms also appeared in "Office Olympics."
 * Michael has once again forgotten that Jim and Pam are still dating. He previously did so in "Night Out," when he thought Jim was single.
 * This is the second time Michael makes a Yoda impression. The first time was in "The Fire."
 * As Holly enters the conference room to sit in on Toby's exit interview, Michael asks her if she has seen the baler, introduced in "Safety Training."
 * In "Take Your Daughter to Work Day", Toby returns Michael's watch to him after his daughter took it. In this episode, Toby gets Michael's watch for real.
 * Dwight reassures Meredith that the raccoon is not rabid, recalling her run-in with rabies in "Fun Run."
 * Holly's final talking head interview begins with "It was a good day." This phrase has been used by Jim ("Diversity Day") and Pam ("Michael's Birthday") in talking head interviews at the end of days that were personally meaningful to them.
 * Michael calls Hank "security guard" when he is taking Toby out, referencing a previous episode, "Night Out," where nobody can recall Hank's name except Creed.
 * Dwight and Angela's intimate scene after Angela has become engaged to Andy mirrors the earlier intimate scene between Jim and Pam while Pam was engaged to Roy. This reflection has Pam and Jim's foils on the show taking their places.
 * In "Ben Franklin", Angela protested, "Under no circumstance should a man strip off his clothes in this office." She has apparently changed her opinion on the matter.
 * In a deleted scene, Toby mentions his fight to have the building tested for radon gas.

Goofs

 * Jim appears to talk on the phone with Dwight's mother. Dwight's mother is no longer alive; she is buried at the east field of Schrute Farms ("Fun Run"). Jim may have been faking the call, however.
 * Pam has used the word "perfect" before: In "The Fight," she describes the situation as "The Perfect Storm". Although in this episode, she uses it in context.
 * As Michael and Hank arrive to escort Toby, there is nothing on the wall of his cubicle behind him, but after he's shown a second time the wall has papers tacked to it.
 * Michael's watch alarm goes off just as Toby leaves, even though Toby reset the watch to Costa Rica time, a two-hour difference during the summer months. However, this could be explained if Michael had set the alarm for 5 P.M. to mark the end of Toby's last day, as the alarm could be going off at 7 P.M. Scranton time.
 * In the deleted scene with Andy and the fried Twinkie, the people in the background change. Initially, it's Glenn and Hidetoshi. Later in the scene, Hide has been replaced with Kelly.
 * Although Jim claims that his and Pam's first kiss occurred "right outside" the office, their technical first kiss captured on film took place at a Chili's restaurant during The Dundies when Pam drunkenly kisses him after winning her Dundie. However, their first kiss in the context of a romantic relationship occurs in the office, as the kiss at the Dundies could be a friendly kiss between friends due to Pam's drunkenness.
 * At the intro to his marriage proposal, Andy introduces his parents who are inexplicably at Toby's going away party. He introduces his father as Andrew Bernard but we learn later in the series that his father's name is Walter; that Walter Bernard Jr. was Andy's given name for six years. When Andy's younger brother was born they felt he "better exemplified the Walter Jr. name" and gave it to him. His parents then picked Andrew out of a baby name book and changed his name.
 * Writer Jennifer Celotta explained that Andy's parents in this episode were just extras. When the characters returned in a more substantial role later in the series, they went through the casting process. As for the other inconsistencies about Andy's parents: The writers just wrote what they thought was funniest and didn't realize that they had established so much.
 * Although Phyllis is seen planning the party in the conference room during office hours, the other members of the office are still able to use the conference room for their talking heads.

Behind the scenes

 * The role of Holly Flax was written with Amy Ryan in mind. The writing staff are fans of the television program , on which she appeared. Coincidentally, when Amy Ryan's agent asked her what she'd like to do next, she said "The Office". (She specifically said she wanted a single-camera comedy.) She had just been nominated for an Oscar and was afraid of being typecast as "single drug-addicted mothers."
 * Amy Ryan and Paul Lieberstein worked together on , and Lieberstein and Ryan's agent contacted each other almost simultaneously.
 * Amy Ryan was originally booked for this episode, plus the first six episodes of Season 5. At the time, the writers weren't sure whether Michael's relationship with Holly would be temporary or long-term.
 * The initial cut of the episode came in at 72 minutes and had to be cut to 40 minutes for airing.
 * During the filming of this episode, Angela Kinsey began having contractions three weeks before her due date and was sent to the hospital. The show scrambled to cover for her unexpected absence, hiring Melissa Barker (photo) to serve as her body double in any scene in which her face is not visible. The contractions proved to be false, and the show rearranged the shooting schedule so Kinsey could return for a half day of filming, with Barker filling in everywhere else. The crew focused on keeping Angela Kinsey comfortable, and not trying particularly hard to hide her pregnancy from the camera.
 * In the cold open, Michael's office door is shut. This allowed Steve Carell to avoid coming to the set for those scenes. As a courtesy, Steve Carell was always given either Monday or Friday off so he could have a long weekend with his family.
 * Pushing Michael's "foot money" away with a pen was an acting choice by Angela Kinsey.
 * In the scene in which Phyllis calls looking for antigravity machines, many fans believe that the voice on the phone is Amy Ryan. It was actor Molly Hagan, who has played, among other roles, Angel on .
 * The script called for Toby to shout for a camera "louder than he's ever been".
 * Brian Baumgartner repeatedly laughed when Holly points out that he has a button among his coins. He's stifling a laugh in the version that made it into the episode.
 * The script describes Holly "sitting cutely on the floor" when Michael finds her with her chair disassembled.
 * Amy Ryan was not familiar with Yoda prior to filming the episode. She had to find video clips of Yoda online in order to learn the voice.
 * Due to her pregnancy, Angela Kinsey could not bend over quickly to pick up the shredded vendor list. The wastepaper basket was placed on a hidden box so she could just reach down and grab it.
 * In the script, Michael was supposed to make a throat-slitting gesture with his finger instead of mouthing "I'll kill you."
 * The video of Ryan's arrest was uploaded to a private account on YouTube, and the show used the actual YouTube web site in the episode. The video was released to the public after the episode aired. The video is still online, under the account "alittlekidlover", a reference to Michael's online dating profile in "Take Your Daughter to Work Day".
 * The employees huddle around Jim's computer to watch the video of Ryan's arrest. The video is silent because the only computer on set that was wired for sound was Oscar's.
 * Brent Forrester wrote the talking head where Michael thinks Holly worked in a bakery. It was the result of a "blitz" exercise, where all the writers separately come up with their own ideas, and then get together to find the best one. Writer Jennifer Celotta considers it one of her favorite parts of the episode.
 * The party in the parking lot took one day to set up and two days and nights to film. The Ferris wheel was provided by a company called Awesome Events and cost $7500 to rent for three days. For insurance reasons, no cast members were allowed to ride the Ferris wheel unless the script called for it. The writers were excited about riding it but none of them ended up doing so.
 * In the shooting draft, Jan brags to Michael that she got tennis star 's sperm. Roddick was friends with Rainn Wilson, and he came to visit the set. He has a good sense of humor, and the writers may have figured he'd get a kick out of being the father of Jan's baby.
 * In the original script, Dwight put a badger in Holly's car. It was hard to find a trained badger, so they changed it to a raccoon. The animal was supposed to attack Meredith in the car. The show hired a stunt double for Kate Flannery, but it was clear that the "trained" raccoon (from a company called "Critters of the Cinema") was too dangerous even for a stunt person. Instead, the producers instructed Kate Flannery to pretend to fight off a raccoon, with the intention of adding the raccoon later via computer graphics. The raccoon attack was ultimately not used in the episode, although Meredith has red scratch marks for the remainder of the episode.
 * The members of Darryl's band are members of Craig Robinson's actual band: His brother Chris Rob on bass, drummer Asa Watkins, and guitarist David "Sampsonic" Sampson.
 * The writers chose the song  because it sounded romantic and would inspire a proposal. The specific words were not intended to suggest anything.
 * Extra on-set security was employed for the scenes with Jan, so as not to reveal the pregnancy plot twist.
 * The idea of Jan being pregnant had been on a card on the idea board for quite some time. The writers also considered writing Angela Kinsey's pregnancy into the show, but couldn't fit it into the story line.
 * The fireworks were real and cost $11,000.
 * Director Paul Feig suggested shooting the final scene at Angela's desk, since the partition would hide Angela Kinsey's belly. Kinsey and Rainn Wilson explored other possible locations, such as the copy machine, Creed's desk, Michael's desk, on the floor by the file cabinets (which Feig found hilariously absurd), before returning to Feig's original suggestion.
 * The writers decided to have Dwight keep his glasses on in the final scene, to ensure no doubt as to who Angela was with. It was Rainn Wilson's idea to have Dwight take off his shirt.
 * The final scene was originally planned for the Season 4 Christmas episode. However, that episode was canceled due to the.

Cultural references

 * Dwight's ring tone is Gärdebylåten (pronounced roughly "YARE-deh-bee-law-ten"), a traditional Swedish (not German) folk tune. The title translates as "The song of Gärdebyn", a town in Sweden.
 * Jim wears a . The size and shape is typical of the time period in which the episode was filmed. He says that he "paired" Dwight's phone to his headset, a Bluetooth term meaning that a mutually trusted connection has been established between the two devices. Phyllis also wears a Bluetooth headset later in the episode.
 * is a private university in New York.
 * are a part of New Orleans culture.
 * Jim refers to Dwight's Mutter and Vater, German for mother and father, a nod to the Schrute family's German heritage.
 * In , Holden Caulfield's doddering grandmother has been sending him birthday money multiple times per year, just like Michael's mother. According to writer Paul Lieberstein, this connection was unintentional.
 * Michael wants an anti-gravity machine he saw in a movie. "You drink a potion, and then you just start floating all around." The children's movie  contains a scene in which two characters drink a "Fizzy Lifting Drink" and begin floating around the room.
 * Selling someone a fake elevator pass is a standard hazing prank.
 * Michael mentions the movie , a science fiction movie from the 1980s featuring a friendly alien visitor trapped on earth.
 * Creed is trying to remember his job title, "Quality assurance".
 * Michael mentions hanging holly from the ceiling and kissing beneath it. Holly is a traditional Christmas decoration, but it is under which one traditionally kisses.
 * Michael asks Holly if she is a Holly-gram, a pun on.
 * Michael thinks the musical group  is from Scranton. They are from Ireland.
 * Michael tells Jim that he's creating a CD mixtape. A is  (hence the name) or other audio medium containing a series of songs, carefully selected to reflect a particular sentiment. They are typically used as expressions of affection among younger people.
 * Michael and Holly do impressions of ' and '. Holly quietly identifies the actor as.
 * Michael tells Jim that he's laying a base, a confused reference to the adolescent.
 * Cruisin' for a bruisin' is a slang description for someone who is behaving in a manner that will lead to physical retaliation. Captain Bruisin is a term Michael just made up.
 * Michael mentions parody lyrics for "Beers in Heaven" ("") and "Total Eclipse of the Fart" ("").
 * Kevin goes to , a Scranton-based supermarket chain.
 * Michael mentions the drugs ' (a hair growth drug) and ' (an medication), exposure to both of which can cause birth defects.
 * Michael mentions that the whole toilet seat thing is a myth, referring to a teen legend that one can get pregnant from sitting on a toilet seat.
 *  is a national chain of breakfast restaurants, specializing in pancakes. The joke is that Jan is playing up how selective the sperm bank is, only to reveal that it is next to an inexpensive chain restaurant.
 *  is a large city in Pennsylvania, approximately 70 miles from Scranton.
 * An is a common occurrence when an employee leaves a company. Companies typically use them to find areas where they can improve.
 * is a childbirth technique.
 * Darryl's band plays  by as the fireworks go off.
 * The Glider Diner is a Scranton restaurant open 24 hours a day. It serves burgers and sandwiches.

Main cast

 * Steve Carell as Michael Scott
 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly
 * B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard

Supporting cast

 * Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson
 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
 * Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance

Recurring cast

 * Amy Ryan as Holly Flax
 * Bobby Ray Shafer as Bob Vance
 * Hugh Dane as Hank Tate
 * Michael Schur as Mose Schrute
 * Noel Petok as Troy Undercook (deleted scenes)
 * Lee Eisenberg as Gino
 * Gene Stupnitsky as Leo
 * Calvin Tenner as Calvin (Uncredited)
 * Hidetoshi Imura as Hidetoshi Hasagawa (Uncredited)

Guest cast

 * Molly Hagan as Woman on phone (uncredited)
 * Chris Rob as Bass Player in Darryl's band (uncredited)
 * Asa Watkins as Drummer in Darryl's band (uncredited)
 * David Sampson as Guitar Player in Darryl's band (uncredited)
 * Ace ??? as Andrew Bernard (uncredited)
 * Robin ??? as Ellen Bernard (uncredited)