Prince Family Paper

"Prince Family Paper" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season The Office and the show's 85th episode overall. It was written by B.J. Novak and directed by Asaad Kelada. The episode aired in the United States on January 22, 2009. It was viewed by 8.74 million people.

Cold open
The episode begins with Dwight finding a red wire connected to his monitor that was not there previously. Dwight traces the wire throughout the office and even out of the building into the parking lot. Jim then explains that he bought 500 feet of red wire at a flea market for 20 dollars, as the camera pans to the window showing Dwight climbing a telephone pole while still tracing the red wire. Jim assures the camera crew that he is confident Dwight will be fine, since he made the same climb himself to put up the red wire.

Synopsis
CFO David Wallace enlists Michael to report on the success of a small family-owned local paper competitor named Prince Paper (company) as he wishes to expand the company. Michael brings Dwight along to help gather information. Michael goes to the owner as a potential customer under his alias "Michael Scarn" while Dwight goes in as himself requesting a job. Michael succeeds in getting the customer list from the already struggling family business, run by a Vietnam War veteran. They use the client list as a reference for future sales and he and Dwight leave victorious. However, Michael breaks the bumper off his car trying to get out of the parking space, which catches the attention of the Prince family. They come out to help fix the bumper as much as they can as Michael watches. Michael is visibly moved by their kindness and has a change of heart regarding giving the customer list to Wallace, while Dwight remains unmoved.

Back at the office, Dwight tries to convince Michael that he can't let his heart get in the way of business. Michael obliges to send the list to Wallace, but not before he tries to escape back to Prince Paper to give them back the list. Dwight manages to chase Michael down and take the list from him, causing him to finally give in. David Wallace calls Michael to congratulate him on getting him the list. Michael then explains he feels "bittersweet" about the ordeal, bitter because he potentially ruined a decent family, and sweet because he satisfied Wallace, and afterward claiming that as the reason for not liking bittersweet chocolate.

Meanwhile, the rest of the office start arguing over whether or not Hilary Swank is hot. Half of the office say she is while the other half say she isn't. The argument gets heated at various points. Jim temporarily convinces Kevin to say she is by having him imagine Hilary kissing him, only to have him switch back when he says the debate is whether or not she is hot, not if he would have sex with her. Angela, initially reluctant to join the debate, takes the "hot" side stating Kevin deserves to lose for saying that he thought it would be revealed in Boys Don't Cry that Hilary was actually a male.

Kelly gets emotional when Toby says she isn't, making Kelly feel like she herself is not hot. Pam claims they shouldn't let the Kevins of the world decide who is hot or not, mentioning that they don't give Kevin full internet access. Oscar is seen in the board room giving an overhead presentation about the structure of Hilary Swank's facial features, ending by saying, "not hot". Stanley gives an uncharacteristically inspiring speech on how hot she is. At the end of the debate the sides are still tied, with Oscar noting there isn't much of a point to debating as people would still stay on their sides. At the end of the episode, Michael, oblivious of their debate, looks at photos of Hilary on the wall, saying she's hot, casting the deciding vote.

Deleted scenes

 * Darryl casts the tie-breaking vote in favor of Hilary Swank's hotness, but Toby objects because "the warehouse is a separate thing." Since Darryl didn't poll the warehouse, Andy says that Darryl should not have the right to vote. Pam points out that Darryl does work at the office, so Andy offers half a vote. Darryl sarcastically asks, "Or three fifths." He then excuses himself to go to the whites-only restroom. Watch it.

Connections with other episodes

 * Michael's fondness of IHOP was previously established in "Goodbye, Toby".
 * Pam mentions that they do not give Kevin full internet access. Kevin's habit of browsing pornography on his work computer was first mentioned in "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" and seen as a consistent trait of the character, especially in "Whistleblower" and "Finale".
 * Pam mentions that they do not give Kevin full internet access. Kevin's habit of browsing pornography on his work computer was first mentioned in "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" and seen as a consistent trait of the character, especially in "Whistleblower" and "Finale".

Trivia

 * Roger Prince owns a "World's Best Dad" mug, and Roger Prince Jr owns a "World's Best Son" mug, similar to Michael Scott's "World Best Boss" mug.
 * B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard) is credited but does not appear in this episode.
 * If one looks closely, Jim can be seen laughing while Stanley is giving his speech about Hilary Swank.
 * The show has referenced the Hilary Swank movie Million Dollar Baby twice before, in "Grief Counseling" and "Money".
 * When Michael introduces himself at Prince Family Paper he says his name is Michael Scarn which is the name of the protagonist in his movie Threat Level Midnight.
 * Michael's car, as well as the other cars in the Prince Family Paper parking lot, is covered in winter road grime.
 * Nobody attempts to get Dwight's opinion on Hilary Swank.
 * The following employees think Swank is hot: Stanley, Kelly, Angela, Michael, Jim, Creed, Pam.
 * The Not team: Kevin, Toby, Oscar, Meredith, Phyllis, Andy.
 * While in the car before going into the Prince Paper building, Dwight says it would mean rain if the clouds in the sky were altocumulus and not cirrostratus. While he is right about cirrostratus not producing rain, altocumulus don't produce rain either.

Amusing details

 * Michael confuses the 1973 James Bond film  with the phrase, "live and let live."
 * All the scenes at the Prince Family Paper office were filmed through the window, because the documentary crew's presence would blow Michael and Dwight's cover.
 * Michael does not realize that Roger Prince came back from the Vietnam War.
 * Michael takes a picture of the map of the locations of the customers of Prince Paper Company while pretending the subject is Linda.
 * The small 2 Michael refers to is probably a ² (or 2) used to denote the square of a number. Also, the x is probably not "times" (i.e. multiplication), but the variable x.
 * The side of the office that voted Hilary Swank as "not hot" likely brought Toby into the discussion after Angela attempts to be the tie breaker to the discussion.

Behind the scenes

 * Writer B.J. Novak got the idea for the Hilary Swank debate when he was on a plane and the two in-flight movies were ' and ', both Hilary Swank movies. Swank herself was unaware of the story line in advance and found it flattering, "but I don't think of myself in terms of that." She also believes there is too much emphasis on women's looks.

Cultural references

 * Michael says, "What you talkin' about, Wallace?" The question, "What you talkin' about, Willis?" was a catch phrase on the television show .
 * is an American actress. She won Academy Awards for her portrayals of a transgendered man in ' and of a female boxer in '. Kevin refers to her role in Boys Don't Cry when he says that he expected a second plot twist where her character is revealed to be male.
 * and are American restaurant chains.
 * Michael and Dwight imitate music from , a movie about a shark that terrorizes a resort town.
 * Mr. Prince said that he started the company after returning from Vietnam, meaning his return from serving in the . Michael assumes that Mr. Prince was in Vietnam on vacation.
 * is a tennis player who shot to stardom when he won the Wimbledon men's singles title in 1985.
 * and are types of clouds.
 * is an evolutionary hypothesis that animals are likely to choose mates with minimal mutant features.
 *  is a James Bond film. The title is a play on the adage, "Live and let live", meaning "Accept others as they are."
 * Dwight recaps a story to Michael, ending with "If Frodo hadn’t destroyed the ring, then goodness itself might have died." He is referring to The Lord of the Rings.
 * As Dwight chases Michael for the "client list", his shout of "It's business! It's not personal!" is a paraphrase of the memorable line "It's not personal. It's strictly business." from the 1972 crime epic .
 * In a deleted scene, Darryl suggests that his vote be worth three fifths. In the United States Constitution, slaves for the purpose of establishing seats in the House of Representatives. The clause was repealed by the.
 * Darryl then excuses himself to go to the whites-only restroom, referring to, in which facilities were labeled as "whites-only". The practice was rendered illegal in a series of cases in the late 1950's and 1960's.

Main cast

 * Steve Carell as Michael Scott
 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly

Supporting cast

 * 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
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance

Recurring cast

 * Andy Buckley as David Wallace (Voice Only)

Guest cast

 * Dan Desmond as Roger Prince
 * Sharon Blackwood as Linda Prince
 * Dan Bakkedahl as Roger Prince, Jr.
 * Emily Rae Argenti as Rebecca Prince