Chair Model

"Chair Model" is the tenth episode of the fourth season The Office (U.S. version). It was written by B.J. Novak and directed by Jeffrey Blitz. It aired on April 17, 2008.

Synopsis

While browsing an office chair catalogue, Michael becomes enamored with one of the female chair models (who happens to have very similar features as Jan). As a result, he decides to resume dating with the help of the office employees. No one in the office wants to set up any of their friends with Michael, but Pam takes pity and sets him up on a blind date with her landlady, which doesn't go well. With Michael busy, Kevin and Andy work to reclaim stolen parking spaces, as they arrange a meeting with the bosses of the "Five Families" of the office park. The spaces are retrieved and Kevin feels happy to have won one, as Stacy broke off their engagement and it's been a hard time for him. Jim reveals he is ready to propose to Pam, even going as far as telling her that he is not going to do it at work ("because that would be lame") and when he does it, it will "kick [her] ass", and Pam isn't sure if he's joking. Alone with the camera, Jim reveals that he wasn't joking and shows an engagement ring that he bought "the week after we started dating." At the end of the show, while walking back to his car, he stops and gets down on one knee. When Pam stops and looks he says he has a question to ask her. After a second or so of hesitation, he asks her is if she will wait while he ties his shoes. She laughs and they continue walking hand in hand.

After Michael learns that the Chair Model had died in a car crash some time ago and admits his own blind date was a failure, Dwight convinces him that he needs closure on this person he loved who is gone. The two end up in a cemetery at the grave of the chair model where Michael "grieves". At the end of the episode, Michael and Dwight are seen singing "American Pie" and dancing in the same cemetery at night, presumably having never left.

Reception

"Chair Model" received a 5.8 Nielsen Rating and a 9% Share. The episode was watched by 9.81 million viewers and achieved a 4.9/13 in the key adults 18–49 demographic.

Notes

• This episode's original title was "Parking" but was changed to "Chair Model" before it aired.
• B.J. Novak does not appear in this episode, despite having written it. This corresponds to a general Season 4 trend of the show's writer-actors (Novak, Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein) having little or no acting work in episodes they write.
• Melora Hardin also does not appear in this episode, although her voice is heard when Michael accidentally calls her while on his blind date.
• Michael's love of caramel, since "Initiation", is referenced with his coffee order.
• Kevin's blind date for Michael was actually Wendy's Restaurant.
• In a deleted scene, Michael reveals it has been a month since he and Jan broke up; he has been staying at Schrute Farm, and Jan is visiting her sister in Scottsdale.
• The number shown on the screen during the introduction of W. B. Jones who is a member of the "Five Families" is an actual phone number. When called you hear a brief message by Jones containing heating and AC related tips to help the environment.

External links

• Scranton Business Park Five Families
• Interview with "Cool Guy" Paul Faust