Traveling Salesmen

Dwight Schrute arrives several hours late to work one morning, due to driving to New York City to help out Angela Martin.

Michael Scott has the sales department pair up for sales calls. Andy Bernard chooses Michael, Phyllis Lapin chooses Karen Filippelli, and Stanley Hudson chooses Ryan Howard, leaving Dwight with Jim Halpert, who he used to do sales calls with. Andy learns that Dwight does Michael's laundry as punishment for meeting with Jan to take over the branch. During their sales call, Andy sabotages the meeting, setting up an opportunity to later apologize to Michael, stating that he had really "Schruted" the situation, a further attempt to deride Dwight.

While the salespeople are out, Angela tells Pam Beesly how "Kurt" saved "Noelle" ("Kurt" and "Noelle" being Dwight's and Angela's middle names, respectively) by delivering the quarterly tax forms to New York.

At first, Jim's and Dwight's sales call appears to be a fiasco, but it is soon clear that the joint force of Jim's straight-and-honest sales approach, along with Dwight's aggressive, erratic tactics, is a very successful partnership. Ryan asks Stanley if he could lead on their call so Stanley can critique him. Stanley obliges. However, Ryan freezes up and fails when he realizes that Stanley's clients are all black. Stanley laughs at an annoyed Ryan during the entire trip back to the office. Phyllis and Karen first stop at a beauty parlor, emerging with gaudy makeovers. Their sales call is a success because, as Phyllis knew, the client likes women with that kind of look, as evidenced by the photo of his wife. Returning to the office, Phyllis tells Karen that she's pleased that Jim got over his crush on Pam. Karen confronts Jim with this information, and he reassures her that his crush has passed.

Upon returning after the sales call, Andy steals Dwight's keys, breaks into his car, and finds the toll booth ticket to New York City. Andy gives the evidence to Michael, who then accuses Dwight of disloyalty, and Angela prevents him from clearing his name because it would expose their relationship. Dwight resigns and hugs Jim on his way out. Andy gloats over his success, but the documentary camera catches Angela in the background glaring at him.

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"Traveling Salesman" was written by Michael Schur, Lee Eisenberg, and Gene Stupnitsky,{{cite episode |title=Traveling Salesmen|series=The Office |series-link=The Office (American TV series) |credits=Greg Daniels (director), Michael Schur (writer), Lee Eisenberg (writer), Gene Stupnitsky (writer) |network=NBC |airdate=January 11, 2007 |season=3 |number=13}} while co-creator and executive producer Greg Daniels directed.{{Cite news|work=The Windsor Star |title=Filmmaker offers diverse opinions about Mozart |first=Alex |last=Strachan |date=January 11, 2007 |id = {{ProQuest|254686065}}}} {{subscription required}} Daniels shot "Traveling Salesmen"{{Cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrity-blogs/January-11-2007-19748.aspx |work=TV Guide |title=January 11, 2007: "Traveling Salesmen" |first=Kate |last=Flannery |author-link=Kate Flannery |date=January 11, 2007 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531024142/http://www.tvguide.com/celebrity-blogs/January-11-2007-19748.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2009 }} and "The Return" in mid-November 2006 before the cast and crew began an eight-week break.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrity-blogs/January-18-2007-19749.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913034407/http://www.tvguide.com/celebrity-blogs/January-18-2007-19749.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |first=Kate |last=Flannery |author-link=Kate Flannery |work=TV Guide |date=January 17, 2007 |title=January 18, 2007: Oscar's Return |access-date=January 26, 2012 }}

John Krasinski enjoyed the episode because he believed it was the first real glimpse of Angela and Dwight's relationship, with Rainn Wilson noting that the audience gets "to see how Dwight becomes her hero".{{cite video |people=Krasinski, John, Rainn Wilson, Rashida Jones, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Dave Rogers (film editor) |date=2007 |title=Audio commentary for "Traveling Salesman/The Return" | medium=DVD |publisher=Universal Studios Home Entertainment }} The Office: Season Three Disc 3 As with other Office episodes, a number of scenes in "Traveling Salesmen" were improvised and unscripted, including Andy and Michael's sales pitch and Stanley laughing at Ryan in the car.

To create the old picture of Jim and Dwight, an actual high school photograph of Krasinski was photoshopped along with a 1991 image of Wilson while Wilson was on tour with an acting company. While standing in the parking lot, the cast had to pretend to shiver in {{convert|85|F}} weather. Krasinski actually slapped Wilson at Wilson's request, which Krasinski considered "one of the craziest acting experiences I've ever had". Before deciding on singing to a melody from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Ed Helms and Daniels shot 50 different versions. Another Willy Wonka reference includes Andy's mention of a chocolate factory and not wishing "to fall into any chocolate river".{{cite web|url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the_office/traveling_salesmen.php |publisher=Television Without Pity |title=Traveling Salesmen |access-date=January 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723231738/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the_office/traveling_salesmen.php |archive-date=July 23, 2009 }}

"Traveling Salesmen" was later rebroadcast with "The Return" as a combined hour-long episode on March 15, 2007, with four minutes of previously unseen footage added.{{cite web|url=http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2007/03/03/the-office-paley-festival/ |publisher=Give Me My Report |date=March 3, 2007 |first=Kath |last=Skerry |title=The Office Paley Festival |access-date=January 26, 2012 }} Greg Daniels explained that it was both an attempt to attract a larger audience and "it's about giving something extra to our wonderful fans…their loyalty must be rewarded somehow, and we don't have the budget for 10 million muffin baskets".{{cite web|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-office/a-new-treat-from-the-office-4891.aspx |publisher=Buddy TV |date=March 12, 2007 |first=Kris |last=De Leon |title=A New Treat from The Office |access-date=January 25, 2012 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s155/the-office/news/a43842/nbc-plans-office-newpeats.html |publisher=Digital Spy |date=March 12, 2007 |first=James |last=Welsh |title=NBC plans 'Office' "newpeats" |access-date=January 26, 2012 }} As part of the editing process, Pam is seen winning an art contest, four scenes of Andy searching through Dwight's things were condensed, and a scene with Angela offering Pam one of her cat's kittens as well as an extended scene of Andy going to anger management were added.{{Cite news |last=Zoromski |first=Brian |title=The Office Newpeats: Worth Watching? |publisher=IGN |date=March 16, 2007 |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/773/773267p1.html |access-date=January 26, 2012}} The third season DVD contains a number of deleted scenes, such as Michael using his computer, "Harvey", to hit on Pam (this scene was the cold open for "Traveling Salesman" on its original broadcast; the combined hour-long version of "Traveling Salesman" and "The Return" has no cold open). Notable cut scenes included Andy dramatically illustrating to Karen that they are the only two Stamford employees remaining, Jim and Dwight surreptitiously planning their sales tactic, Pam offering to get coffee for her co-workers, and Dwight emotionally giving away selected items to others in the office.{{cite video |date=2007 |title=Traveling Salesman/The Return: Deleted Scenes | medium=DVD |publisher=Universal Studios Home Entertainment }} The Office: Season Three Disc 3

"Traveling Salesmen" was first broadcast on January 11, 2007 in the United States on NBC. According to Nielsen Media Research, an estimated 10.2 million viewers tuned in,{{Cite news|work=The New York Times |title=Grey leads for ABC |first=Benjamin |last=Toff |date=January 13, 2007 |id = {{ProQuest|433493374}}}} {{subscription required}} making it only a handful of other episodes of The Office to reach over 10 million viewers, the others being the show's pilot episode, "The Injury", "The Return," "Ben Franklin" and "Stress Relief," of which the latter reached over 20 million viewers.{{cite press release |title=Jan. 17, 2007 Press Release ("Traveling Salesmen")|url= http://www.nbcumv.com/entertainment/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20070117000000-nbcratingsresults.html|publisher=NBC|date=27 February 2007|access-date=January 23, 2012 }}{{dead link|date=May 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} [http://www.officetally.com/the-office-nielsen-ratings/2 Alt URL]{{Cite news |last=Gorman |first=Bill |title=Updated: The Office Draws 22.905 Million Viewers Following the Super Bowl |publisher=TV by the Numbers |date=February 2, 2009 |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/02/02/the-office-draws-220-million-viewers-following-the-super-bowl/12010/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501074747/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/02/02/the-office-draws-220-million-viewers-following-the-super-bowl/12010 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |access-date=January 26, 2012}}

Buddy TV senior writer Oscar Dahl remarked, "It didn't make me laugh out loud and, yet, I still loved it." He shed a negative light on Andy's behavior towards Dwight, calling it "annoying and not that funny". Dahl hoped Dwight would be reappearing soon, and concluded "Overall, a crucial story episode with a nice cliffhanger. Even if wasn't as funny as last week or even most episodes this season, The Office still entertains."{{Cite web|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-office/the-office-traveling-salesman-2996.aspx |publisher=Buddy TV |title=The Office: Traveling Salesmen |first=Oscar |last=Dahl |date=January 12, 2007 |access-date=January 25, 2012 }} AOL TV's Michael Sciannamea lauded the episode, writing "I cannot remember ever guffawing over every single line in a single sitcom episode as I did watching this one. If the performances in this particular one don't garner the actors in this show a plethora of Emmys, there ought to be an investigation." Sciannamea continued that he believed it was Steve Carell's best series performance thus far because he "displayed the full range of his personality—jokester, arrogant jerk, charming salesman, sensitive soul, and added a new one—anger."{{Cite web |url=http://www.aoltv.com/2007/01/11/the-office-traveling-salesmen/ |publisher=AOL TV |title=The Office: Traveling Salesmen |first=Michael |last=Sciannamea |date=January 11, 2007 |access-date=January 25, 2012 |archive-date=October 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026041422/http://www.aoltv.com/2007/01/11/the-office-traveling-salesmen/ |url-status=dead }}

Entertainment Weekly writer Abby West commented of Dwight's ouster, "There's no way Rainn Wilson is off the show, but it was a bold move to let him appear to be bested by the (slightly) more Machiavellian Andy. I can't wait to see how they play out this storyline." West referred to "Phyllis' expert psychological move" with the makeovers as her favorite subplot of the night, and appreciated the spotlight on the sales pairings; she expanded on this latter point, "The trip out of the office was also a great reminder of what these Dunder Mifflin-ers actually do and how good most of them are. Isn't it interesting that as much as they normally clash, Dwight and Jim make a very effective sales team, while the seeming bond that Michael and Andy share did nothing to keep Andy from punting their pitch? When Dwight started using the client's phone, Jim didn't skip a beat. They'd either used the ploy (of dialing the competition's customer service number and showing how long the wait time was) before, or Jim is comfortable going with Dwight's flow, at least in that kind of setting. They essentially played good cop/bad cop... or good cop/weird cop."{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20008318,00.html |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |title=Elimination Scheme |first=Abby |last=West |date=January 14, 2007 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607171425/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20008318,00.html |url-status=dead }} Other television critics also praised the various sales call pairings.{{Cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/755/755053p1.html |publisher=IGN |title=The Office: Traveling Salesmen Review |first=Brian |last=Zoromski |date=January 12, 2007 |access-date=January 28, 2012 }}

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121113212143/http://www.nbc.com/the-office/episode-guide/season-3/59065/traveling-salesmen/episode-313/59261/ "Traveling Salesmen"] at NBC.com
• {{IMDb episode|0934246}}

{{The Office US Episodes}}

Category:The Office (American TV series) season 3 episodes

Category:2007 American television episodes

Category:Television episodes directed by Greg Daniels

Category:Television episodes written by Michael Schur