Money

"Money" is the seventh/eighth episode of the fourth season of The Office and the 60th/61th episode overall. It was written and directed by Paul Lieberstein. It first aired on October 18, 2007 and was an hour-long episode. It was viewed by 8.50 million people.

Cold open
The episode begins with a conversation between Pam and Michael, explaining that Michael receives his films from and while watching , he decides to act out that whole movie in the office as  which includes throwing his coat at Pam and yelling for his steak when he is at his desk. When he finishes the movie, he apologizes for his behavior, and references his newest rental, .

Synopsis
Michael and Jan sit in Michael's office talking about renovating their condo, not able to decide which type of flooring they want. When Jan leaves, it is revealed that she still has not gotten a job and that Michael had to trade in his car to buy her a Porsche.

Jim discovers that Dwight and Mose are now running Schrute Farms as a Bed and Breakfast. Jim and Pam decide to spend the night there, finding the operation even stranger than they had imagined. They take part in Dwight and Mose's table-making demonstration, watch Mose produce wine from beets, and even have Dwight read Harry Potter as a bedtime story. Jim also begins to recognize the extent of Dwight's depression over the loss of Angela.

Michael begins leaving the office early, refusing to explain his reasons to Pam (and telling Jan that he's taking a nighttime class). It is revealed that Michael has loads of debt and had to get a second job as a telemarketer, taking the bus there immediately after leaving Dunder Mifflin. There, he works until 1 A.M. In one instance, he calls a "Mr. Hudson." It turns out to be Stanley from Dunder Mifflin, who recognizes his voice (but assumes it's a joke).

Ryan arrives at the office to supervise Michael's first presentation. However, Michael is unprepared. In the process of defending himself, he inadvertently acknowledges that he has taken a second job. As Michael's lack of being prepared for the presentation is seemingly a result of his second job, Ryan orders Michael to quit the other job or face termination. Michael reluctantly agrees.

During the meeting, it is revealed that Kelly is dating Darryl. The relationship turns out to be quite dysfunctional, as Kelly is mainly concerned with making Ryan jealous. Darryl realizes this, but finds that Kelly's scheming actually turns him on. Kelly, on the other hand, is perplexed by the fact that Darryl never seems to have any hidden agenda, but always means exactly what he says.

After Michael devises some desperate schemes to come up with more money, Creed encourages him to just declare bankruptcy. Unaware of what that entails, Michael takes the advice literally and announces "I declare bankruptcy!" to the office, thinking that is all that is required. Seeing Michael's desperation, Oscar agrees to look over his financial situation and finds that he spends a lot of money on stuff "no one ever, ever needs" such as a core blaster extreme exercise machine, professional bass fishing equipment, and multiple magic sets.

Oscar convinces Michael to discuss the situation with Jan over the phone, but she immediately harangues Michael about being irresponsible. In the middle of her diatribe, Michael runs out of the office in a failed attempt to. Jan arrives and attempts to console Michael, saying she appreciates the fact that he was there for her when she was fired. Michael fails to confront Jan about her role in his financial problems, and insists that his lack of money is no reason to have her reversed.

Andy gives Angela a cat he discovered in the Vance Refrigeration office as part of his continuing effort to court her. It is the same cat, named Garbage, Dwight unsuccessfully tried to give her (in Dunder Mifflin Infinity) to make amends for his mercy killing of her cat Sprinkles. This time it works, and she gives Andy permission to ask her to dinner, with several provisos about what they will be eating. After seeing this exchange, Dwight sits alone in the stairway of Dunder Mifflin, crushed. Jim attempts to console Dwight, relaying that the pain of his own rebuffed affection for Pam is what caused him to leave for Stamford, and was so awful that "it is something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy -- and that includes you". On his way back into the office, Jim spends a last moment remembering how much he'd suffered when he couldn't be with Pam. He shakes it off and walks over to passionately kiss her in full view of everyone. Though surprised, Pam responds without a moment's hesitation, and then they discuss eating Italian food for dinner. In an interview Pam says coyly that Jim is passionate about Italian food. Jim responds in his own interview that he is in love with Italian food, implying that he's actually in love with Pam. Soon after, seemingly aided by Jim's outreach, Dwight returns to his desk and resumes his more typical, obnoxious behavior. He silently pushes away Jim's work materials that have started to encroach on his desk and makes a sales call. Jim and Pam share a poignant smile, knowing that they have helped Dwight get over Angela.

TripAdvisor review of Schrute Farms

 * See main page: Schrute Farms

Reason for Michael's financial trouble
Despite initial appearances, Michael's money troubles are not due to Jan spending extravagantly. Oscar points out that a reasonable proportion is spent on necessities and a few luxuries but most of the income is spent on things "no one could ever ever need." In a deleted scene, Michael is shown to have substantial credit card debt. It is likely that Michael had spent most of his income on whimsical items such as professional bass fishing equipment, various exercise equipment and magic sets. In a deleted scene, we learn that instead of saving his extra money, he used it to buy music CDs (confusing them with certificates of deposit).

At the start of the episode Jan purchases a couch as Michael only owns a futon. Michael's problems begin after Jan convinces him to spend his money on necessities such as furniture. Michael had been living very close to the limit of his income, almost paycheck-to-paycheck. Since he didn't cut down on his whimsical spending, Jan's extra spending pushed him over the edge.

Deleted scenes

 * Michael notes that he used to get credit card offers in the mail with enticements like "don't pay for six months", but they stopped coming. Dwight is distracted and isn't paying attention.
 * Oscar asks Michael if he has retirement funds he can borrow from. Michael explains that he has a large portfolio of CDs. Oscar is hopeful until he learns that Michael meant music CDs (compact discs), not savings CDs (certificates of deposit).
 * Michael talking head in which he says that he has been investing in music CDs for years, even buying music he didn't like.
 * Sitting on the train, Jan tries to convince Michael that they can find a solution.
 * Andy confides in Jim and Dwight that he is "dying of lovesickness and horny-sickness" about Angela. Dwight tries to discourage him, but Phyllis (overhearing) says, "Maybe this is one of those situations where you just have to do her to get her out of your system."
 * Andy asks out Angela, but she turns him down before he even finishes.
 * Jim confirms with Pam that it's okay to take the shampoo from the room, which is a full-sized bottle.
 * Mose serves a huge plate of bacon breakfast to Jim and Pam. They ask him where Dwight is, and he says that Dwight is in "his day place." When Pam asks about Angela, he quietly walks away.
 * Jim and Pam watch Dwight make a table while Mose does trampoline tricks.

Connections to other episodes

 * The movie Million Dollar Baby is also referenced in the episode "Grief Counseling." During the group "counseling" Pam describes how the main character in the movie dies, but pretends that it happened to her aunt.
 * Michael emulates Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada. In "The Job", he compared himself to Meryl Streep, "the best actor around."
 * Dwight hosts Pam and Jim at his bed and breakfast, even though in the episode "Casino Night," Dwight tells Jim, "I would never, ever serve you. Not in a million, billion years." (The relationship between Dwight and Jim has evolved in the intervening years.)
 * While the cats are different, the cat Andy found was supposed to be Garbage, the barn cat that Dwight attempted to give Angela in "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" and then abandoned in the building. In a talking head interview, Andy explains that he found the cat outside of Vance Refrigeration, which is where Dwight left the cat, as shown by the door with the Vance Refrigeration logo in the background when this happens in "Dunder Mifflin Infinity."
 * In "Office Olympics", Dwight says that he lives in a nine bedroom farmhouse, but in this episode it appears the only rooms are Dwight's room, Mose's room (assuming he has a room), Irrigation, America, and Nighttime. It's possible that the other bedrooms are being used for other purposes or are simply not available to guests.
 * In "Office Olympics", Dwight also says that he only has one bathroom, under the porch. However, in this episode, Mose uses an outhouse in the middle of a field. (Dwight may have constructed the outhouse in the interim, or he may not consider an outhouse to be an actual "bathroom".)
 * Jan tells Michael, "My whole family still won’t even talk to me, on the advice of counsel." In a deleted scene talking head from "Cocktails", Jan notes, "I’ve made some decisions that I’m not proud of: My marriage, being overly litigious with my family."

Goofs

 * Just before Dwight answers the phone call for Schrute Farms, Pam is smiling, out of character. Jenna Fischer was unaware that the cameras were rolling.
 * At the end of Dwight's phone call about Schrute Farms, he says "Auf Wiedersehen" even though "Auf Wiederhören" is the correct term when talking on the phone. (To be fair, Dwight's German is of questionable fluency, and in the episode "Two Weeks", he explains that it is "pre-industrial and mostly religious.")
 * Michael says that he traded in his and Jan's cars to get the Porsche. However, Michael's Sebring was a company lease.
 * When Michael talks about the Die Hard films to the other employees at the telemarketing office, he talks about how John McClane jumps a motorcycle into a helicopter. It was actually a cop car that McClane jumps into a helicopter, destroying it in Live Free or Die Hard.
 * When Dwight reads Harry Potter to Jim and Pam, he reads the dialog "Harry" in the voice of the old man writhing in agony. In the story, however, the word is spoken by Hermione, a young woman. (See Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows chapter five.)
 * When Jan asks, "What's going on?" when she finds Michael on the train, a camera man is visible in the back left of the empty boxcar.

Trivia

 * Director Paul Lieberstein (who also wrote the episode), earned an Emmy nomination for his directorial debut.
 * Michael watches the movie '. John Krasinski would later date and marry . Steve Carell would later co-star with in '. Rainn Wilson worked with  on an episode of .  would appear on The Office as Alex. And, the author of the book, was born in Scranton.
 * Michael's second job is with Lipophedrine Diet Pill Company. There is no actual drug named Lipophedrine. A similarly-named drug can be used for weight loss.
 * Michael takes on several habits of his Dunder Mifflin employees while at the telemarketing firm. He makes jokes and is well liked by his coworkers, like Jim. He is also unable to make any sales, like Ryan.
 * Michael had planned to drive to his second job but is forced to take a bus because Jan took the car.
 * Even though Michael was trying to keep his second job a secret, it seems that he left his microphone on, as the camera crew was able to get audio of Michael while going into the telemarketing building.
 * Michael's sales technique is not well-suited to telemarketing. All companies need a paper supplier, and the challenge is to be the supplier they choose. To do this, Michael develops long-term relationships, which is appropriate for an ongoing paper supply contract. However, telemarketing as Nick says is a numbers game that involves talking to people you'll never talk to again and selling them something they don't want. It is not a long-term business relationship.

Amusing details

 * When Dwight answers the phone for Schrute Farms, his computer screen shows what appears to be actual work, unlike Jim's screen, which shows just the Dunder Mifflin wallpaper, or Creed's, who is playing solitaire.
 * One of the telemarketing employees (in the gray Scranton t-shirt) has fallen asleep on the job. He can be seen when Michael (working as a telemarketer) says, "I think it's crazy that the coach won't play him."
 * When Michael gets into Jan's Porsche after work, he accidentally closes the door on his coat.
 * Like Dwight, Michael's boss at the telemarketing firm has a Froggy 101 bumper sticker on his desk.
 * Dwight's desk at Schrute Farms has an iMac on it.
 * Angela asks Dwight for her cherub figurine she left on his nightstand, but Dwight tells her that she took it. When Jim enters the room while Dwight is crying, Dwight is holding the cherub figurine.
 * In a deleted scene, it appears Pam and Jim have pushed their twin beds together at Schrute Farms.
 * The employee in the telemarketing call center appears to be wearing the same gray Scranton t-shirt that Jim was wearing in "Basketball."
 * Among the employees in the telemarketing call center are a very pregnant woman and her boyfriend, who are very affectionate with each other. The couple's behavior was scripted, and the actor playing the woman was not actually pregnant.
 * Michael's ability to bond well with his coworkers in the telemarketing job continues his ironic trait of being likeable when he isn't trying to be. Michael does not care about this telemarketing job and is too tired for his usual antics. His coworkers even like him enough to ask him to hang out with them after work.
 * After reviewing the Die Hard movies with his coworkers at his telemarketer job, Michael tells them he is writing a spy thriller movie which is a reference to Threat Level Midnight, a script Michael wrote first featured in "The Client" and later shown in Season 7, finished. (Coincidentally, Steve Carell starred as inept spy Maxwell Smart in the comedy movie Get Smart, which came out a year after this episode aired.)
 * The morning of the PowerPoint presentation, Jim, Pam, and Dwight are yawning and exhausted along with Michael. While Michael is exhausted from his telemarketing job, the trio are exhausted due to being up all night from Dwight crying.
 * Oscar tries to stay out of Michael's affairs until he realizes Michael believes shouting bankruptcy solves his problems.
 * When Oscar comes to Michael's office to talk about bankruptcy, all of the credit cards on Michael's desk have yellow Post-It notes on them. We get a closer look at the notes in a deleted scene:
 * First Unity: $709
 * (name obscured): $290
 * Pantone International: MAX ( is a system for matching colors)
 * National Express: MAX (a pun on )
 * First Monument Bank: $1200
 * (name obscured): $315
 * (name obscured): $680
 * (name obscured) Gold Card: MAX
 * Porter Credit Union: $1005
 * National (remainder obscured): $1110
 * Emerican Bank: MAX
 * N(obscured) Will's: MAX, looks like a store credit card
 * Lighthouse Federal Credit Union: MAX
 * When Michael is quitting in Nick Figaro's office, there is a yellow take-out menu for "Terry's Diner" posted on the wall. The same menu is on the wall behind Darryl when he argues with Kelly in his office. This is a real diner in Scranton, and they continue to get calls from fans.
 * In a talking head interview, Creed notes that he transfers his debt to his other identity known as "William Charles Schneider" whose passport he then holds up. That is actor Creed Bratton's real passport, with his birth name (William Charles Schneider) and real birthday (February 8, 1943).
 * When Creed talks with Michael, he has the sugar bowl in front of him.
 * Pam mentions that she considered setting Andy and Angela up together since both have a history of anger issues, but then says it would be horrible for Dwight, Angela and Andy. Angela and Andy's relationship did result in turmoil for all 3 parties including Dwight due to Angela having an affair with him.
 * One of Angela's conditions for allowing Andy to take her to dinner is "no vegetables", which is an odd requirement since the character is a vegetarian.
 * Dwight tries to hug Jim for comfort, just as he did when he resigned in "Traveling Salesmen".
 * Jan wears new brand sneakers, another nod to her expensive tastes. They are most noticeable in the shot of Jan's and Michael's feet dangling out of the train.

Behind the scenes

 * The scenes inside the telemarketing call center were filmed on the 10th floor of the Los Angeles Times Building.
 * The exterior of the telemarketing call center was 13005 Saticoy St.
 * The railroad scenes were filmed at Fillmore Western Railway.
 * John Krasinski played a prank on Jenna Fischer when they drove up the Schrute Farms driveway: He surreptitiously turned on Jenna's seat heater, and she never figured out why she was so uncomfortably hot until the scene was done. Krasinski learned this prank from George Clooney, who pulled it on him during the filming of Leatherheads.
 * The script called for Mose to run alongside the car "like a dog".
 * For the arrival scene, Michael Schur had to catch up to the car (which was going 15 to 20 mph), appear by the driver's side window, then fall behind the car, then run up to the passenger side window, and then run approximately 100 yards to the farmhouse, all while running with his arms at his side. Even though he wasn't the focus of the scene, Schur had to stay in character and keep running just in case he was caught on camera in the background. He estimates that they did 11 takes, and he was thoroughly sore the next day.
 * In the original script, Michael was supposed to tear up the dollar bill, but the scene was changed when the writers realized that doing so is a violation of federal law.​​​​​​
 * When Andy asks Pam for advice on courting Angela, his odd stance was an acting choice by Ed Helms.
 * Writer Lee Eisenberg came up with Michael's dramatic declaration of bankruptcy.
 * The window of the conference room set is fake. The footage of the train tracks in the distance was taken from Paul Lieberstein's office, which has a view of the train tracks across the street from the studios. The footage was spliced together, hidden by the whip pan.
 * The discussion between Michael and Jan about her implants was improvised.

Cultural references

 *  is an online movie rental service. At the time the episode aired, the service was build primarily around mailing DVDs to customers, who mailed them back when they were finished.
 * Michael copies 's character from the movie . Her character is arrogant and mistreats her employees, yet Michael is under the mistaken impression that she is the hero of the movie rather than its villain.
 * Michael calls Pam, Mo Chuisle, the nickname for 's character Maggie Fitzgerald in . At the end of the movie, Maggie's trainer euthanizes her with a lethal injection.
 * Mose wears a Jurassic Park T-shirt.
 *  is a computer program for creating slide shows, usually to accompany business presentations.
 * Dwight returns Angela's mask. Angela does not fit the typical profile of sleep apnea sufferers, who are more likely to be male, over 65 years old, and obese.
 * Pam calls Dwight's B&B the Beets Motel, a reference to the Bates Motel, the setting of 1959 novel  as well as , which was based on the novel.
 * Pam also calls it The Radish Inn and The Embassy Beets, which are respectively puns of and, both are international chains of luxury hotels.
 * Jim calls it The Borscht Inn, which might be a reference to . Also, is a Ukrainian soup made from beetroot.
 * Michael compares Die Hard with Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth movie in the series.
 * Dwight reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to Jim, Pam, and Mose.
 * Michael's fist in the air after quitting his telemarketing job echoes an identical gesture by the character John Bender in the final scene of the movie .
 * Michael discusses the , an idealized life in which one has achieved success through hard work. Michael misinterprets the word "dream" to mean a literal sleep dream.
 * Andy claims to have ed past Angela's desk several times, referring to a dance move in which his legs suggest forward motion, but his body moves backward. The move was popularized by.
 * Andy tells Pam he comes from a line of WASPs so long it "goes all the way back to Moses". This is consistent with the wealth and influence of his family. Andy was using  when he said that the WASP lineage goes back to : Moses existed 3000 years before the creation of Protestantism in the 16th century. He was not white, Anglo-Saxon, or a Protestant.
 * Michael asks Kevin if he plays the ponies, slang for betting on horse races.
 * Darryl is watching Charlotte's Web with his daughter.  is a renowned children's novel, and was released the year before this episode aired.
 * After knocking Darryl's files to the floor, Kelly makes a series of hand gestures. The "W" gesture means "", meaning roughly "I don't care." The "L" gesture on the forehead means "". The "" gesture represents someone being killed, often used as a threat.
 * Kevin tries to seem knowledgeable about women by gesturing to hit fists with Stanley after saying, "Women be shopping." This phrase is part of the Reggie (Dave Chappelle) character's comedy routine in Eddie Murphy's 1996 movie The Nutty Professor. The extended fist is a failed . For an example of a fist bump, watch Michael and Craig greet each other in the episode "Valentine's Day."
 * is an actor who came to prominence as the stereotypical "dumb blonde" character in.
 * To declare  is to obtain legal relief for one's debts. In the United States, there are many kinds of bankruptcy, each with their own terms.
 *  is a board game in which players take the role of real estate developers and try to bankrupt their opponents. A well-known card in the game is the, which has become a metaphor for something that allows one to escape punishment. Creed believes that such cards have powers in reality.
 * The  establishes new identities for people who testify against organized crime, to protect them from retaliation.
 * When going over Michaels' spending, he finds a purchase from ', an online retailer. Michael purchased a DVD set of ', a comedy television series featuring.
 * Michael's "Core Blaster Extreme" is a fictitious exercise machine. The "core" refers to the muscles in the torso. Michael erroneously refers to "arm core". Michael also believes that the  uses it, presumably based on the similarity in pronunciation.
 * Michael calls Oscar a "tool", slang for "a stupid, useless, or socially inept person".
 * Dwight plays "" by on his recorder.
 * Michael sings "", a song by rock band.
 * Michael confuses with, both of which go by the common abbreviation "CDs". Case Logic is a brand that manufactures  for holding music CDs. Michael confuses this with an , which is a collection of investments.
 * In a deleted scene, Andy invites Angela to see a  between 's  and  teams. Lacrosse is a sport popular in Canada and the Northeastern United States. In the United States, the sport is associated with upper-class private high schools ("").

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

 * Michael Schur as Mose Schrute

Guest cast

 * Allan Wasserman as Nick Figaro
 * Ramny Chowdhry as Vikram
 * Mary Kathleen Gordon as Telemarketer (Green Sweater)
 * Nick Lashaway as Telemarketer (Gray Scranton T-shirt)
 * Daniel Lindsay as Telemarketer (Partner of Pregnant Woman)
 * Miki Ann Maddox as Telemarketer (pregnant woman)