Here Comes Treble (Episode)

"Here Comes Treble" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of The Office and is the show's 181st overall. It was written by Owen Ellickson and directed by Claire Scanlon. It aired on NBC on October 25, 2012 and was viewed by 4 million people.

It's Halloween in the office and Andy invites his college a cappella group to perform, which leads to a confrontation with his frenemy Broccoli Rob. Meanwhile, Dwight finds evidence that a madman is loose in the office and tries to track him down, and the first meeting of Jim's new job causes a fight with Pam.

Synopsis
In order to play a Halloween prank on his coworkers, Dwight wears a jack-o'-lantern on his head and succeeds in scaring Erin. When he tries to take it off however he realizes it is stuck! Jim tries to pull it off but it doesn't work. Jim then later demonstrates using a baseball bat and a jack-o'-lantern how he can smash it off Dwight's head, but Dwight runs away in fear. Dwight spends the rest of the day trapped inside it and mentions how it will probably come off in a few months.

As the characters come in they explain their costumes. Pam explains how she is Cinderella since her daughter likes princesses, but she is also a doctor so as to set a positive example for her. Jim explains he is not in costume since he has an investors meeting today.

Meanwhile, Andy is very excited as he has gotten the current members of Here Comes Treble, his former a cappella group at Cornell, to come and perform. Andy tries to act as though he is a hero to them and that he was a singing legend, but much to Andy's annoyance he learns that his old friend Broccoli Rob has claimed credit for Andy's college nickname as well as his signature songs. Erin, while somewhat disgusted at some of Andy's college stories, decides to help him by convincing the a capella members to sing Andy's favorite song in front of the office so Andy can do his signature solo and impress the office staff.

Angela brings her husband, The Senator, to the Halloween party and he seems happy to see Oscar. He tries to display affection towards him, but Oscar doesn't seem comfortable doing that in front of Angela.

Dwight meanwhile discovers a pill on the floor. He looks it up and realizes that the pill is used for treating anxiety disorders and believes that someone in the office is deranged. Nellie tries to convince Dwight it is nothing serious as she later reveals the pill belongs to her and it's for a minor anxiety disorder. To prank him, she plays along with his theory of someone in the office being insane and decides to help him catch the owner.

Jim goes to lunch with the other investors and feels pressured to invest $10,000, but he appears quite reluctant and worried in doing so despite gaining the approval of his fellow friends. He seems worried what Pam will think.

Dwight and Nellie leave the pill on a plate in the kitchen and wait with a giant butterfly net to capture anyone who claims it. Dwight notices that Darryl expresses interest in it and pretends to act insane hoping Darryl will follow suit. Darryl decides to prank Dwight and tricks him into smearing peanut butter all over his face before denying he had any logic in making him do so. Meredith enters and immediately recognizes the pill, and Dwight captures her in the net thinking that he's found his psycho junkie. Nellie then admits the pill is hers and Dwight is forced to let Meredith go.

Andy gathers the office staff in the conference room and the a cappella group begin their song. Jim and Pam meanwhile discuss Jim's plan to invest and they end up arguing throughout the whole song. The a cappella group then surprises Andy with the song "Faith", but just as Andy starts his solo Broccoli Rob appears via webcam and begins singing it, completely upstaging Andy.

Jim and Pam continue to argue about how much Jim invested. When Jim tries to change the subject to the song "Monster Mash" Pam uses it as a metaphor for Jim's decision. Kevin believes they are actually arguing over the song however.

Andy and Broccoli Rob continue to argue over the true history of their college days before Erin has heard enough and pulls the plug on the monitor Broccoli Rob was talking through. She convinces Andy that his college days are over and while he probably can't relate to the new members he could be sort of a mentor to them. She proposes that Andy have his parents donate money to the group rather than just exist in stories to them. Andy calls his mother and disturbingly learns that his parents are in fact broke.

Dwight, feeling a lot of stress lately and still bothered by the fact that Philip was not his baby, asks Nellie if he could get a prescription for "Mose". Nellie, knowing that Dwight really wants them, agrees she can get Dwight a prescription. Toby meanwhile, who seems to have fallen in love with Nellie, realizes that this is only because she is dressed like him and once she takes the wig off, Toby realizes that he is making a mistake.

Oscar and the Senator are seen talking behind the building and suddenly begin to kiss. The Senator walks away, but Oscar notices the cameras and walks away looking very guilty and regretting this action.

Halloween costumes

 * Andy - George Michael (mistaken for Adam Lambert)
 * Pam - Dr. Cinderella
 * Jim - Nothing (lied about being a Men in Black agent)
 * Kevin - Charlie Brown
 * Stanley - Usain Bolt
 * Dwight - Cerebus The Aardvark
 * Darryl - Cowboy
 * Meredith - Black Widow
 * Angela - Nancy Reagan
 * Oscar - Dinosaur/The Electoral College
 * Erin - Puppy (mistaken for a Dog)
 * Phyllis - Cheerleader
 * Nellie - Sexy Toby
 * Pete, Clark, and Toby - Didn't dress up
 * Creed - Blood splattered shirt (he didn't know it was Halloween)

Connections to previous episodes

 * During the seventh season episode "The Sting," Andy mentioned that Broccoli Rob and Anastasio had collaborated on a song together. During their Skype-argument Broccoli Rob confirms that.
 * Meredith's line, "Stop baggin' my head!" is in reference to the episode "Business School," in which Dwight "bags Meredith's head" in his attempt to capture a bat that has appeared in the office.
 * It is once again implied by Creed that he has killed someone.
 * Andy is shown wearing his earring in the "gay" ear, bringing back the recurring theme of his sexuality being questioned throughout the series. This also references his fear of Kelly piercing him in the "wrong" ear, which she did. George Michael, whom he is dressed as, was gay.
 * Darryl and Pam both jokingly question that Andy went to Cornell and was in an a cappella group, as Andy on multiple occasions has stated he sings a cappella and went to Cornell.
 * This is the second time Andy has brought in a group of people to sing, the first was the cast of Sweeney Todd in "Andy's Play."
 * Clark always complimenting Here Comes Treble is a continuation of him and Pete repeatedly clapping for anything Andy does to the point where he legitimately thinks Andy and everything he does is awesome.
 * The shirt Darryl is wearing for his cowboy costume is the same shirt he wears to impress DeAngelo in "Michael's Last Dundies."

Amusing details and trivia

 * After Dwight makes Erin laugh about Jim being a nerd, she walks away holding her crotch and you can see a stain on the floor as Dwight finds the pill.
 * This is the first Halloween where Dwight doesn't dress up as a character from a science fiction movie or computer game to smuggle in weapons.
 * When Here Comes Treble is singing "I'll Be," Clark exclaims, "Wait. Wait, hold on. Where's the band? Cuz there's no way you guys are making this magic with just your mouths!" In the background, Creed is seen mouthing, "That's what she said."
 * When Jim is trying to remove the pumpkin from Dwight's head, he's holding Dwight's hands to the pumpkin, so Dwight could've easily removed the pumpkin if he'd asked anyone else.
 * Jim, Pete, Clark and Toby are the only ones to not dress up for Halloween.
 * Erin spells out B-O-N-E-R rather than say it, though she has no problem saying "penis" and "pecker."

Behind the scenes

 * Writer Carrie Kemper and some other writers suggested a story line in which one of the original members of "Here Comes Treble" had died while they were in school, and it becomes clear that Andy and his friends killed him, although Andy has no memory of this because he was too drunk. Andy was unwittingly part of a murder silence pact.

Cultural references

 * Meredith is dressed as 's version of the superhero from the 2012 superhero film .
 * Kevin is dressed as, the protagonist in the comic strip  by.
 * Angela is dressed as former, with her husband Senator Robert Lipton wearing a  mask.
 * Oscar is dressed as a dinosaur, but states that he is "the ".
 * Andy is dressed as.
 * Here Comes Treble sings the 1976 single "", the 1983  song "", and 's 1998 hit "". The group also sings Cornell's alma mater, "".
 * Pam and Jim later get in an argument about the 1962 novelty song "".
 * is the frontman for the jam band.
 * Erin says, "You all go to Cornell. You're like eight ."
 * Russell, from the a cappella group, thought Andy was dressed as.
 * Broccoli Rob says, "..and they said they needed 20 CCs of George Michael stat so just, wham!.." which is a direct reference to George Michael's group "WHAM!".
 * Dwight is possibly dressed like Cerebus The Aardvark (the main character of the same named Canadian comic book)

Main cast

 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Halpert
 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard

Supporting cast

 * Catherine Tate as Nellie Bertram
 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Clark Duke as Clark Green
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Lipton
 * Jake Lacy as Pete Miller
 * Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance

Guest cast

 * Stephen Colbert as Broccoli Rob
 * Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton
 * Daniel Amerman as Russell
 * Adam Lustick as Athlead Employee
 * Sam Richardson as Colin, Athlead Employee
 * Ben Silverman as Isaac (Investor)