Business School (The Office)

Ryan Howard invites Michael Scott to speak at his business-school class. Michael is excited, but Ryan admits in a talking head interview that he has only invited Michael because his professor promised to bump up the grade of any student who brings their boss into class. During his introduction of Michael, Ryan predicts that Dunder Mifflin will become obsolete within five to ten years. However, Michael could not hear him and proceeds to ruin the event with his antics, including tearing pages out of a student's textbook to prove you "can't learn from textbooks" and only managing non-sensical answers to business-related questions from Ryan's classmates. When one student asks for Michael's opinion of Ryan's prediction, Michael is infuriated and hurt and proceeds to rant about how Ryan has never made a sale, then storms out. When Michael and Ryan return to the office, Michael punishes Ryan by relocating his desk to the "annex" where Kelly Kapoor works. Although Ryan insists it's only temporary, Kelly quickly becomes obsessed. Meanwhile, Dwight Schrute discovers a bat in the ceiling. It flies through the office, sending the employees scurrying. Jim Halpert and Karen Filippelli exploit Dwight's paranoia, and pretend that Jim was bitten by the bat and is turning into a vampire. Jim calls animal control, but Dwight insists on catching the bat himself even after 5 p.m. passes and the other employees go home, except Meredith, who continues to hide in the breakroom for fear of the bat. Dwight catches the bat with a garbage bag after it lands on Meredith's head. Pam Beesly invites her co-workers to her art show after work. At the show, Oscar Martinez and his partner Gil critique her art, with Gil dismissing it as "motel art," not realizing that she is standing right behind them. None of her other co-workers show up, leaving her feeling rejected and sad. Roy comes by and compliments her work, but obviously just as a boyfriend's gesture with no sincere appreciation. The general attendees show little interest in her drawings, and she begins to doubt her abilities. As she begins to take her work down, Michael arrives, having been delayed by the trip back to the office to move Ryan's things. He expresses sincere awe for her work and asks to buy her drawing of the office building, saying that he is very proud of her. Pam embraces him as her eyes tear up. Michael hangs Pam's drawing on the wall next to his office. == Production ==

. "Business School" was the second Office episode written by Brent Forrester. However, Forrester did not come up with either the business school plot or the bat plot; he was handed these ideas on two 3-by-5 index cards and told to write an episode around them. Forrester had previously written "The Merger." The episode was the first of two to be directed by Joss Whedon. Whedon, who is a friend of both producer Greg Daniels and Jenna Fischer, and also met most of the production staff prior to the episode, stated that he chose to direct the episode "because I already know the writing staff and a bunch of the cast, and I adore the show." When informed that the episode was about a bat entering into the office and one of the characters pretending to be a vampire, Whedon thought that it was a joke; in reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he quipped to the crew, "Didn't I just leave this party?" In an interview featured on the third season DVD, Whedon joked that the "Business School" episode and his former TV show were very similar because "Buffy…was sad and depressing but…it was funny. Especially when people died. And a lot of people do die in ['Business School']." But upon completing the episode, Whedon said, "That was just coincidence. But that's how that happened. God, it was fun." The bat suffered a minor injury during the production, falling from the ceiling and landing on the carpet. Northridge students and teachers served as the extras for these scenes. Michael's candy bar routine was a last-minute addition to the script by Jennifer Celotta. ==Reception==

"Business School" first aired on February 15, 2007, in the United States on NBC. According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was watched by an estimated 8.84 million viewers. The Office garnered a 4.4/11 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. This means that it was seen by 4.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode received generally good reviews from critics. Brian Zoromski of IGN stated that Business School' was an exercise in what works best in an Office episode." Abby West of Entertainment Weekly stated that "This show has always been able to turn on a dime and take the comedy to a soul-stirring dramatic climax with just the lightest of touches, and last night was no different." In a retrospective review of the show's third season, Erik Adams of The A.V. Club awarded the episode an "A". Adams highlighted Carell's acting, writing, "On this rewatch, I found myself slack-jawed at how deep Carell gets into Michael's 'saying something without saying anything' style." ==References==