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==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
*As Pam pointed out, 스크랜턴 할렐루야 교회 which is on the side of their van actually translates to Scranton Hallelujah Church from Korean. This causes random Korean churchgoers to board the van throughout the episode.
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*Pam correctly points out that the Korean message on the side of their van "스크랜턴 할렐루야 교회" translates as "Scranton Hallelujah Church". This causes random Korean churchgoers to board the van throughout the episode.
 
*The shareholder meeting that Michael points out is coming up for David Wallace is the one Michael is invited to speak at during [[Shareholder Meeting]].
 
*The shareholder meeting that Michael points out is coming up for David Wallace is the one Michael is invited to speak at during [[Shareholder Meeting]].
 
*Pam reveals that she is 30 years old.
 
*Pam reveals that she is 30 years old.
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*When Dwight runs into the kitchen to tell Charles that the Michael Scott Paper Company is broke, nobody is in the conference room, even though it happens while Michael, Pam, and Ryan are supposed to be in there.
 
*When Dwight runs into the kitchen to tell Charles that the Michael Scott Paper Company is broke, nobody is in the conference room, even though it happens while Michael, Pam, and Ryan are supposed to be in there.
 
*Idris Elba's tattoo is visible during the conference room meeting.
 
*Idris Elba's tattoo is visible during the conference room meeting.
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==Behind the scenes==
  +
* [[Andy Buckley]] ([[David Wallace]]) was still working as a financial advisor during the filming of this episode. On the day they shot the negotiation scene, the stock market suffered a record 750-point drop, and Buckley spent all his time between scenes calling clients and calming them down.{{GreeneUntoldStoryCitation|18|Season Five}}
   
 
==Cultural references==
 
==Cultural references==

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"Broke" is the twenty-fifth episode of the fifth season of The Office, and the 97th episode overall. It was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by Steve Carell in his directorial debut. It first aired on April 23, 2009. It was viewed by 7.21 million people.

Cold open

Michael reveals that the Michael Scott Paper Company now runs paper deliveries at 5 am. Ryan, who says he gets sick by mornings now-a-days, is teased by Michael by moving the van when he reaches for the handle. Pam is told goodbye by a very sleepy Jim in his pajamas as Michael's honking disturbs their neighbor. Pam then explains that their delivery van is a repurposed church van that says "Scranton Hallelujah Church" in Korean on the side; the alternative being a school bus which had an owl living in it. Pam asks Michael for coffee and Michael hands her a flask and says "milk and sugar", only for Pam to realize that it contains only milk and sugar, something Michael says he drinks every morning instead of coffee.

Synopsis

Michael, Pam and Ryan visit an accountant to determine whether they can afford to hire a delivery person and discover that not only can they not afford one, but Michael's deep discounts and Ryan's flawed cash flow model mean that the company is on the brink of collapse.

Meanwhile, CFO David Wallace visits the Scranton branch to determine what can be done to stop Michael from stealing Dunder Mifflin's clients. Dwight's bizarre suggestions on how to get rid of the Michael Scott Paper Company cast him in a new light in Charles Miner's eyes.

Wallace realizes that he has to buy out the Michael Scott Paper Company. Jim "investigates" the situation (although he knows from Pam the Michael Scott Paper Company's desperate situation) and thwarts Dwight's efforts to warn David Wallace and Charles Miner that they are offering too much for the company.

Michael shows an uncharacteristic flash of brilliance during the negotiations, first bidding up the offer for his company from $12,000 to $60,000, and then on top of that demanding (and getting) his old job back as Regional Manager of the Scranton branch, as well as jobs for both Pam and Ryan. Wallace is furious that Ryan will be back at Dunder Mifflin considering the enormous damage he caused the company, and Ryan doesn't seem too thrilled to be working there either.

Trivia

  • Pam correctly points out that the Korean message on the side of their van "스크랜턴 할렐루야 교회" translates as "Scranton Hallelujah Church". This causes random Korean churchgoers to board the van throughout the episode.
  • The shareholder meeting that Michael points out is coming up for David Wallace is the one Michael is invited to speak at during Shareholder Meeting.
  • Pam reveals that she is 30 years old.
  • In future episodes it is revealed that Pam is also a terrible salesperson. Given that Ryan has never made a sale, it is suggested that the major clients stolen from Dunder Mifflin were mainly through Michael's efforts.
  • Despite being horrible at negotiating in "The Negotiation", Michael employs good tactics in this episode such as making an unreasonable demand so the real demand is more easily met, by demanding Charles be fired and then asking Pam and Ryan to be hired back as a lower demand.
  • It is revealed that it is David Wallace's idea to have Charles stay at the Scranton branch to learn the ropes since his arrival in "New Boss" as opposed to his own initiative.
  • Ryan pours Pam a glass of champagne to celebrate but neglects to drink himself. In the cold open he previously mentioned that he "got clean."

Amusing details

  • When Michael honks the horn to pick up Pam, a light turns on in the neighbor's house.
  • Charles says he has no idea how to inspire the Scranton branch. Ironically, inspiring everyone was what Michael saw as his main goal as regional manager.
  • Dwight enthusiastically yells David Wallace's name as Charles walks out of the conference room. This is likely a pre-arranged signal between the two to let Charles know when David Wallace is there.
  • It is revealed that Charles is eager to please David Wallace in the same manner that Andy and Dwight were eager to please Michael.
  • Charles looks visibly stunned after Dwight suggests filling the Michael Scott Paper Company with bees. Beforehand, to David's surprise, Charles says that he has found Dwight to be a dependable right hand man.
  • Michael once again botches a saying, confusing "how the tables have turned" with "how the turn tables."
  • The buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Company came just as they ran out of cheese puffs.
  • Michael's fish is different yet again, implying he was unable to keep his previous fish alive.
  • During the conference between Charles, David Wallace, Jim, and Dwight, the two sides dress similarly: David and Jim both wear light blue shirts with dark ties, Charles and Dwight wear white/off-white shirts with striped ties.
  • When Jim leans into Pam to give her a kiss on the cheek, Pam puckers her lips in preparation for a kiss on the lips.
  • Despite having an MBA and being a former corporate executive, Ryan is as clueless as Michael and Pam about what a variable price model is.
  • Angela stands up whenever Charles leaves the conference room.

Connection to previous episodes

  • Michael cuts off Charles and prevents him from saying his goodbyes to the Scranton branch, just as Charles did to him in "Two Weeks".
  • Ryan was previously revealed to have committed fraud while being an executive of Dunder Mifflin in "Goodbye, Toby" with David Wallace expressing his hatred of him in a deleted scene from "Weight Loss".
  • It is revealed that Charles has been living in the Scranton Radisson throughout his time in Scranton. Karen similarly stayed at the Radisson before finding an apartment after her move to Scranton.

Goofs

  • When Dwight runs into the kitchen to tell Charles that the Michael Scott Paper Company is broke, nobody is in the conference room, even though it happens while Michael, Pam, and Ryan are supposed to be in there.
  • Idris Elba's tattoo is visible during the conference room meeting.

Behind the scenes

  • Andy Buckley (David Wallace) was still working as a financial advisor during the filming of this episode. On the day they shot the negotiation scene, the stock market suffered a record 750-point drop, and Buckley spent all his time between scenes calling clients and calming them down.[1]

Cultural references

  • Michael asks, "It's 4:30 in the morning. Do you know where your kids are?" This is a slight misquote of the public service announcement popular in the United States in the 1960s to the 1980s. At 10pm or 11pm, a brief announcement came on the television set: "It's (time). Do you know where your children are?".
  • A paper route is a job typically held by teenage children delivering newspapers to houses early in the morning.
  • Michael says, "Time to make the donuts!", the catch phrase from a series of television commercials for donut chain Dunkin' Donuts featuring Fred the Baker waking up before dawn muttering the phrase to himself.
  • Ryan says "Ever since I've gotten clean..." To get clean is slang for to stop taking drugs.
  • Michael shouts, "Boner patrol!" Boner is slang for a male erection.
  • Michael, Pam, and Ryan sitting on the floor of their "office" sharing confessions echoes a similar scene from The Breakfast Club.
  • Fort Lauderdale is a coastal city in Florida.
  • Pad Thai is a Thai dish.
  • Jim addresses Michael, Pam, and Ryan as "Titans of Industry" when asking if they would be receptive to a buyout. This is a common phrase applied to industrial giants such as Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan. It was also the less common name given to Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction-era Knights of the Guild. Michael misunderstands Jim and informs him that "not only are [they] tight ends, [they're] also quarterbacks," referencing two positions in American football.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Special guest star

Recurring cast

Guest cast

  • Kurt Scholler as Ty Platt
  1. Greene, Alan. "Season Five." The Office: The Untold Story of the Great Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History. Dutton, 2020.