Episode 20 - New Leads
23 March 2010
Review
Synopsis: Sabre's corporate culture is very sales focussed. As a result the sales team become overbearing and arrogant. Sabre pays a lot of money for some new leads and when they arrive Michael decides to take a stand. To teach sales a lesson he gives the leads to all the non-sales staff. One of the batches of leads ends up at the dump and Michael and Dwight head over there to find it.
The Good: The switch in corporate cultures is a believable change of dynamic in the workplace. The new power of the sales team is a logical development and to build a story around that makes sense. Michael's response to change and losing respect was understandable and predictable. His attempt to teach Jim a lesson with clues and maps seemed right up his alley and it's good to see the continuity of their relationship. During the co-managers storyline they had to work together far more closely than ever before so it makes sense that Michael still treats Jim as if he wants his respect and support.
Andy and Erin are continuing their fun chemistry and starting to become one of the best parts of the show. Andy's awkward, hot-under-the-collar miscommunication over where she had hidden his leads was a fun moment well acted. Then later on when he needs some practical advice on how to appease the non-sales staff I loved her head-in-the-clouds response that people "like shells from far away beeches."
Stanley taking sides in Ryan and Kelly's latest fight (in order to get his leads back) was a funny moment. "The Kardashians are a good show" he says without a hint of sincerity.
The Bad: This episode would have been far more effective if Jo had laid down the "Salesmen are King" concept in the previous episode. As plausible as it is that this change would lead to arrogance on the part of the regular characters it seemed unconvincing for its swiftness at times. Several jokes could have used a lot more build up such as Andy wrestling with Darryl over a pencil. It looked contrived and made you wonder why Andy couldn't walk three feet to someone else's desk. Similarly if we had seen Phyllis growing in arrogance then perhaps her calling Michael "numnuts" would have been much funnier.
That's not to say that this was a bad episode or a bad story at all. But throughout there was something forced about it and I think a little forward planning could have made this an enjoyable story arc instead of a one-episode gag. Instead we got Darryl being reduced to zero subtlety as he persuades Michael that the sales team ruined his sandwich. Then in one of those horribly scripted lines Dwight thought "trash" was a metaphor for Meredith who happily took off her clothes immediately, a moment that had no credibility. The final resolution didn't quite work as well as it should either. Again if the story had had more time to sink in then the punch line where the rest of the office accepts cake instead of cash as a peace offering would have been much funnier. There could have also been some interesting moral questions posed especially with Jim on one side, but as it is he was happy to keep his money and the joke fell flat.
The Michael and Dwight storyline had little going for it either. Although you can trace the dislocation of their friendship back through the regime changes in the office, it seemed like they were fighting just for the cheap laughs. The unconvincing dump background did not help those scenes either, drawing the viewer's eye away from the content.
Comic Highlight: Nice guy Gabe has played his role really well so far, acting trapped and obedient throughout. Here we only hear him on the phone trying to reason with Michael. As he gallantly plays along with one of Michael's wandering metaphors he says genuinely "I don't want to incentivise murder."
That's what I said: This episode was a little off, the story and the jokes didn't land because of a lack of build up. But we are back to inter-office stories here and that may bode well for the rest of the season.
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