Prince Family Paper

Dunder Mifflin CFO David Wallace enlists Michael Scott to report on the success of a small family-owned paper company named Prince Paper, that works in an area where Dunder Mifflin has never acquired clients. Michael brings Dwight Schrute to help gather information. Michael visits posing as a potential customer named "Michael Scarn", while Dwight pretends to request a job. The owner, Roger Prince, gives Michael the company's customer list to use as a reference, and Michael and Dwight leave triumphantly. However, Michael damages his car while exiting his parking space, which catches the attention of the Prince family. They come out to help fix the car. Michael is moved by their kindness and has a change of heart regarding giving the customer list to David, while Dwight is instead amused. Back at the office, Dwight tries to convince Michael he cannot let his heart get in the way of business. Michael agrees to send the list and his information to Wallace, but then tries to get rid of the list. Dwight chases Michael down and takes the list from him, causing Michael to give in. David calls Michael to congratulate him on getting the list. Michael claims he is feeling a "bittersweet" moment: bitter because he potentially ruined a decent family, but sweet because he satisfied David Wallace. The rest of the office debates whether Hilary Swank is "hot", feeling they cannot resume work until a majority takes one side or the other. Kevin Malone leads the group voting she is not hot, claiming she looks like a "monster". Jim convinces Kevin to switch sides by having him imagine Hilary kissing him, only for Kevin to switch back, saying the debate is whether she is hot, not whether he would have sex with her. Angela Martin votes "hot" to spite Kevin and his crude remarks. Kelly Kapoor, who believes herself less attractive than Swank, gets emotional when Toby Flenderson defends his "not hot" vote. Pam Beesly argues they should not let the Kevins of the world decide who is hot. Oscar Martinez gives a presentation about the structure of Swank's facial features, concluding she is "attractive... not hot." An uncharacteristically uplifting Stanley Hudson votes hot, saying that pointing out flaws is no way to live life. The sides remain tied until Michael, oblivious of their debate, passes by the pictures on the wall and casually calls her hot. ==Production==

, who also plays Ryan on the show. "Prince Family Paper" was directed by Asaad Kelada and written by B. J. Novak, who also plays Ryan Howard on the show. The episode portrays capitalism as Darwinistic in nature, particularly through its portrayal of the larger corporation Dunder Mifflin threatening the small mom-and-pop business Prince Family Paper, as well as societal definitions of beauty in the differing arguments regarding the hotness of Hilary Swank. Dan Bakkedahl, a comedian best known as a correspondent from the Comedy Central comedy program The Daily Show, made a guest appearance as Robert Prince, Jr., the son of the Prince Paper owner. When Michael infiltrates Prince Family Paper, he identifies himself as Michael Scarn. This is a reference to the second season episode "The Client", in which Pam discovers an action film screenplay starring a character based on himself named Agent Michael Scarn. ==Cultural references==

Robert Prince tells Michael he started his business after Vietnam, a reference to the Vietnam War, but Michael mistakes it for a reference to the country itself and says he has heard it is a nice place. When Angela votes that Hilary Swank is hot, she declares her "a female Boris Becker", a reference to the German professional tennis player. Michael plans to meet Dwight at the IHOP pancake eatery after they visit Prince Family Paper, but Dwight insists IHOP is "socialist" and prefers the American restaurant chain Denny's. ==Reception==

Ratings In its original American broadcast on January 22, 2009, "Prince Family Paper" was watched by 8.74 million overall viewers, about a five percent increase in viewership over the previous episode, "The Duel". "Prince Family Paper" received a 5.3 rating/14 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 4.6 rating/11 share among viewers between 18 and 49. It was outperformed by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS, which was seen by 17.53 million households, and ''Grey's Anatomy on ABC, which was seen by 14.25 million households, although commentators said The Office still fared well against the tough competition. "Prince Family Paper" earned higher ratings than the Fox series Bones'', which moved to Thursday for the first time and drew 7.5 million viewers. TV Squad writer Jay Black praised the main plot, and wrote, "I was delighted that the trip to the Prince Family Paper Company became a test of Michael's morals rather than the usual exercise in his stupidity." Black said Dwight's attempts to get Michael to give up the client list were among the best set of scenes for the season. However, Black said the Hilary Swank subplot suffered in comparison, and felt like a vain attempt to find something for the supporting cast to do. Hilary Swank's reaction Hilary Swank said of the episode in an interview with Time magazine: "I'm not a big television watcher, but definitely everyone made me aware of it. It's flattering anytime someone mentions you. But I don't think of myself in terms of that." She elaborated later in the interview: "There is so much [emphasis] put on the way we look, which is interesting, going back to the Office question. Are you hot, or are you not? It really does a disservice. There's so much more to life than looking a certain way." ==References==