Stairmageddon

Everyone in the office grows anxious as the premiere of the PBS TV documentary The Office: An American Workplace draws near. Andy Bernard combines an unflattering appraisal of himself from an early newspaper review of the program and his blunt self-assessment that he is unlikely to remain employed at Dunder Mifflin for very long after it airs, and decides it is time to pursue his dreams of stardom. After many fruitless calls to dismissive talent agencies, he finds himself at the dual talent agency/real estate office run by Carla Fern. Carla agrees to represent Andy, who is thrilled that he only has to pay $5,000 for the privilege.

The office workers are forced to use the stairs while the elevator is being serviced, a situation everyone deems "Stairmageddon". The out-of-shape Stanley Hudson undergoes a painful struggle in climbing the stairs, only to be greeted at the top by Dwight Schrute ordering him to take part in an important sales call. Unwilling to climb the stairs a second time, Stanley refuses. Since the client is a friend of Stanley's sister, Dwight (who is operating without concern for niceties now that the documentary has driven home the point that he will never be the branch manager at Dunder Mifflin) cannot take no for an answer, so after getting Andy's permission to bring Stanley through "whatever means possible," he shoots Stanley with bull tranquilizers. With help from Clark Green, Dwight gets Stanley to the car, injuring him various times in the process. The tranquilizers inexplicably make Stanley intoxicated, and his unusually jolly mood helps them close the sale. When Stanley regains full awareness, he is pleased to learn that he made a sale with no effort whatsoever, but still refuses to take the stairs again. He instead knocks himself out with one of Dwight's darts, leaving Dwight and Clark to figure out how to get him back upstairs.

Jim Halpert talks with Toby Flenderson about his going to marriage counseling with Pam Halpert, and Pam does the same with Nellie Bertram. Toby tells Jim that it is not fair to tell Pam that he needs an indeterminate amount of time before Athlead pays off for the family; Pam vents to Nellie that Jim is always making unilateral decisions involving her and they each agree they are not leaving Philly for Scranton or vice versa. At the end of the day, Nellie and Toby both complain to each other about how exhausting Jim and Pam are, while the Halperts leave the office looking sad and awkward together.

Angela Lipton agrees to be the supportive "good wife" for her state senator husband Robert at a press conference in the aftermath of the documentary's reveal of his affair with Oscar Martinez. Angela assumes this means he intends to deny the affair and reassert his devotion to family values. Instead, Robert tells the press that he is gay and further humiliates Angela by insinuating that his relations with her drove him to homosexuality. Oscar is also dumbstruck when Robert, while openly proclaiming his affair with Oscar, says that he is in love with his chief of staff, Wesley Silver. Kevin Malone happily gloats to the office staff about his keeping Oscar's secret to the very end, and is immensely relieved that he doesn't have to keep it secret anymore.

Image:Paul Feig.jpg, director of fifteen episodes for the series, appeared in a cameo in "Stairmageddon".]]

"Stairmageddon" was written by executive producer Dan Sterling, his second writing credit for the series after the ninth season entry, "The Boat".{{Cite episode | title = The Boat | series = The Office | series-link = The Office (American TV series) | credits = John Krasinski (director); Dan Sterling (writer) |network = NBC | airdate = November 8, 2012 | season = 9 | number = 6}} It was directed by series cinematographer Matt Sohn, his eighth directorial effort for the series, following the ninth season entry, "Suit Warehouse".{{Cite episode | title = Suit Warehouse | series = The Office | series-link = The Office (American TV series) | credits = Dan Greaney (writer); Matt Sohn (director) | network = NBC | airdate = January 17, 2013 | season = 9 | number = 11}} Comedian Roseanne Barr guest stars in this episode. It was announced on January 31, 2013, that she would be doing a two episode arc and would play a talent agent named Carla Fern. Barr began filming her scenes the week following January 31.{{cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|title=Roseanne Barr To Develop & Star In New Comedy Series For NBC|url=https://www.deadline.com/2013/01/roseanne-barr-to-develop-new-comedy-series-for-nbc/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202182040/http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/roseanne-barr-to-develop-new-comedy-series-for-nbc/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2013|work=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=PMC|access-date=March 26, 2013|date=January 31, 2013}} Director Paul Feig also guest stars in the episode, his first time appearing in the series. He previously directed several episodes of the series, with his last entry being "Goodbye, Michael" in season seven.{{cite web|last=Tan|first=Jennie|title=The Office: Stairmageddon Photos|url=http://www.officetally.com/the-office-stairmageddon-photos|publisher=OfficeTally|access-date=March 20, 2013|date=March 20, 2013}}

"Stairmageddon" originally aired on April 11, 2013, on NBC. In its original American broadcast, the episode was viewed by an estimated 3.83 million viewers and received a 1.9 rating/5 percent share.{{cite web|last=Kondolojy|first=Amanda|title=Thursday Final Ratings: 'Hannibal' & 'American Idol' Adjusted Up|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/12/thursday-final-ratings-hannibal-american-idol-adjusted-up/177499/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414211727/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/12/thursday-final-ratings-hannibal-american-idol-adjusted-up/177499/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 14, 2013|work=TV by the Numbers|publisher=Zap2it|access-date=April 12, 2013|date=April 12, 2013}} This means that it was seen by 1.9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 5 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a slight increase in the ratings from the previous episode, "Promos".{{cite web|last=Bibel|first=Sara|title=Thursday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory', 'American Idol', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Two and a Half Men', 'The Office', & 'Wife Swap' Adjusted Up; 'Scandal' & 'The Mindy Project' Adjusted Down|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/05/thursday-final-ratings-the-big-bang-theory-american-idol-greys-anatomy-two-and-a-half-men-the-office-scandal-the-mindy-project-adjust/176649/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408011940/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/05/thursday-final-ratings-the-big-bang-theory-american-idol-greys-anatomy-two-and-a-half-men-the-office-scandal-the-mindy-project-adjust/176649/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 8, 2013|work=TV by the Numbers|publisher=Zap2it|access-date=April 5, 2013|date=April 5, 2013}} The Office ranked second in its timeslot, being beaten by an installment of the Fox series Glee which received a 2.4/6 rating.

"Stairmageddon" received mixed reviews from television critics, with praise going to the drama in the Jim-Pam storyline, while the zaniness of other storylines received more mixed opinions. The A.V. Club reviewer Erik Adams complimented the drama between Jim and Pam, writing that it has "been given just the right amount of weight". He criticized the episode for being "one of the loudest tonal clashes in the history of The Office", comparing it negatively to the previous episode, "Promos". He said that the other storylines seemed crammed into the episode, particularly due to the writers' decision to flesh out the supporting cast. Adams gave the episode a C.{{cite news|last=Adams |first=Erik |url=https://www.avclub.com/articles/stairmageddon,96353/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414210658/http://www.avclub.com/articles/stairmageddon%2C96353/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 14, 2013 |title="Stairmageddon" | The Office |newspaper=The A.V. Club |date=April 11, 2013 |access-date=April 26, 2013}} M. Giant of Television Without Pity awarded the episode a "B".{{cite web |last=Giant |first=M. |url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-office/stairmageddon-9x19.php |title=The Office TV Show – Stairmageddon – The Office Recaps, The Office Reviews, The Office Episodes | TWoP |publisher=Television Without Pity |date=April 11, 2013 |access-date=April 26, 2013 |archive-date=April 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418064859/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-office/stairmageddon-9x19.php |url-status=dead }}

Roth Cornet of IGN called "Stairmageddon" an "odd one" for feeling like both a standalone episode that utilized the full ensemble, but also "one of the final five episodes of this nine-year series", due to the Jim-Pam and Dwight-Angela storylines. He praised the Jim-Pam storyline for its realism and depth, but worried that their eventual reconciliation would not feel earned, due to the few episodes left in the series. He praised the Dwight-Clark-Stanley storyline, writing that "the true comedy in the episode came primarily from Dwight" and called it Clark Duke's "strongest appearance to date". Cornet gave the episode a 7.8 out of 10, calling it "Good".{{cite web|author=Cornet, Roth |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/12/the-office-stairmaggedon-review |title=The Office: "Stairmageddon" Review |website=IGN |date=April 12, 2013 |access-date=May 3, 2013}} Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic called the episode "the funniest episode on television this week", considering it a "gem" from the season. Forcella also praised the Jim-Pam-Dwight dynamic throughout the episode and the humor coming from Andy's storyline. He awarded the episode 5 stars out of 5.{{cite web|last=Forcella |first=Dan |url=http://origin.tvfanatic.com/2013/05/the-office-review-assistant-to-the/ |title=The Office Review: Assistant to the... – TV Fanatic |publisher=TV Fanatic |access-date=May 3, 2013}}

Roseanne Barr's performance was later submitted by the producers of The Office for an "Outstanding Guest Actor in Comedy Series" Emmy consideration.{{cite web|last=Tan|first=Jennie|title=The Office Emmy Ballot Submissions|url=http://www.officetally.com/the-office-emmy-ballot-submissions-2013|publisher=OfficeTally|access-date=June 14, 2013|date=June 10, 2013}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130416154054/http://www.nbc.com/the-office/episode-guide/season-9/619674/stairmageddon/episode-919/732087/ "Stairmageddon"] at NBC.com
• {{IMDb episode|2669736}}

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Category:2013 American television episodes

Category:The Office (American TV series) season 9 episodes