Business School

Season 3, Episode 17, Aired
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Episode Summary

Michael accepts an invitation from Ryan to be a guest speaker at his business school. Dwight battles wits with a bat that gets loose in the office. Pam enters her first art show.
8.9
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Fan Episode Reviews (19)

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  • 317

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Canogaparkcindy, Oct 06, 2010 Report Abuse
    Another amazing episode from season three, that's not surprising considering how amazing this season has been as a whole. A lot of funny moments, and The Office actually brought some emotion to the table, but never stopped being really funny at the same time, and that is hard for shows or sitcoms to pull off, so I commend the Office for that. Pam & Roy back together? It's very eventful but I can't understand why they would pair these two together again after Pam called off the wedding, if anything there was development, but it was development that regressed, which wasn't too impressive but still eventful.

    Pam has an art show and invites everyone meanwhile there is a bat in the office, which is probably one of the most memorable story lines on this show, from Angela freaking out on the floor to Dwight trapping the bat in a bag... over Meredith's head. Creed stole the show as a supporting character here, he was hilarious in every aspect.

    We've got business school, Ryan predicts Dunder Miflin will fail, and Michael moves him back where Kelly sits instead of firing him. No one shows up for the art show except Roy & Michael. Michael says he is proud of Pam, and they share a very emotional hug, but then it went right back to hilarity a second later. A great episode that had a great balance of hilarity and emotion.moreless

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  • Dwight the Vampire Slayer

    10
    "Perfect"
    By sh811a, Jul 04, 2009 Report Abuse
    This is another favorate episode of mine. May'be because of the fact that I'm a Joss Weldon fan (loved Buffy, Angel, Firefly though didn't like Dollhouse much or not now anyway), and I found it to be ironically funny that he did direct this episode.
    But most of all this episode just hits all of the right note.

    Yeah that business with Michael giving the speach to the business class is funny because there is sort of a contrast going on, where all of the students know what their talking about and more about busness than Michael as well as how far Michael's naivity and unawareness of the company's status goes. Loved that part when Michael uses candy bars to create clever word puns and then he throws the bars to some of the students that don't catch them (what's their problem anyway their getting free candy). But I think this also shows the first step in Ryan stepping to the bad side, when we see he is talking beind Michael's back to the class to tell them the awful facts about the company. Some would say Ryan was just warning the students about his experences about the company but he was really just deliberately just hurting and humulating Michael just to inflate his own ego.

    There is even that little thing on Pam which was a little sad when no one came to her art show (not even Jim) and some that came didn't appreciate her artwork. I'll admit her artwork isn't the most exciting to me (I'm into surealist art), but there really looked good all the same and she put effort into it. But it also reflected the state Pam was in in her personal life with Jim which was sort of a limbo, she's in the picture and yet she's not, after all both of them aren't spending much time together as friends which just like her I really miss. But that story had a happy ending because Michael comes in and he acts with appreciation and enthusiasm, Pam brightened Michael's crappy day with a picture of the office she drew. That picture reflect how Michael sees the company not as an awful place as people made it out to be but someplace positive.

    However the highlight of the whole episode is of course Dwight fighting the bat in the Office. I just love how Dwight treats the problem as if it were a serious life and death battle between good and evil. But I love how Jim is teasing Dwight into beliving that he's turning into a vampire, Dwight believes it so much that he litterally made a sharp wooden stake (whether he was really going to use it or not well thats his business). But of course it all comes to the final round when Dwight captures the bat by putting a bag over Meridith's head and then wrestling around and punching it, while Meridith screams in terror, comic gold.moreless

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  • Good not great

    7.5
    "Good"
    By oceanic6, Dec 30, 2008 Report Abuse
    This week the Office goes in three seperate directions; a bat is in the office and Jim leads Dwight to believe that he has become a superhero after being bitten by it, Pam has her first art show and Ryan takes Michael to give a talk in front of his Business School class, little does Michael know that Ryan is setting him up for failure.

    Wheldon's new direction sees The Office taking a different path; for once the stories are more cleverly written and the humor takes a different approach. This does not mean that funny parts are totally absent, Jim and Karen's two - man prank on Dwight is hilarious featuring suitably over - the - top acting found on certain movies i don't want to admit that i've seen.

    Watching Michael making a fool of himself in front of the Business School (tearing up kid's books, throwing candy at the kids, showing inability to answer any questions) will appeal to most but you really do pity Michael because behind the goofiness he really is just a nice guy who tries his best and Ryan putting him on show like that was cold. His funny punishment at the end settles the score though. This episode sees a few interesting pointers on some of the characters; Roy tries vainly not to screw up his revived relationship with Pam even if his compliments are lame, Ryan has been keeping his views on Dunder Mifflin close to the chest and finally voices them here; as he always been this sceptical or does the company bring it out in him? Also Andy is still MIA, i guess punching a hole in the wall takes it out of him. Pam's laugh - free storyline is probably the weakest point of the episode and watching her art getting the critical version of a slap in the face doesn't belong on a comedy show. The ending is what redeems it; Pam and Michael strangely connect at the end in a touching scene. Both of them go through humiliation in this episode and despite an awkward end to their hug, for the first time they really click. There's never really been an episode that has a strong message and this one being about the importance of paper and a warning of the domination of technology is especially poingnant and Pam's drawing being in the Office will be a perpeptual reminder of this. And for once, Michael's closing monologue isn't an embarressing display of him trying to appear smart but it really comes from the heart. At the end; the morals of this episode is what dominates over the comedy.moreless

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  • Ryan takes Michael to school for extra credit while Dwight battles a bat and Jim makes Dwight think Jim's turning into a vampire.

    7.5
    "Good"
    By MileyRocks91, Apr 19, 2007 Report Abuse
    Funny episode. I like at the end where Michael tells Ryan to move his stuff to sit near Kelly. I was laughing so hard. This eppy rocks. It's so enjoyable. I love the parts where Kim was making Dwight think he was a vampire. It's classic Office. Great eppy to watch. I love the pranks JIm always pulls on Dwight. It's just so hillarious. I love this eppy and this eppy proves why people should watch. It is awesome. Definit;ey watch it when its on. Take it from me. I don't like everything so this is means it's good. I love it.moreless

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  • Perfect 10 for one reason. Dwight and the bat.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By scottieGGGG, Apr 10, 2007 Report Abuse
    Ok.. so Michael talking for Ryan's class was great. A perfect situation to put the character into and watch the humor unfold.

    The office mates visiting Pam's artshows, also had it's dynamic which gives "The Office" its feel.

    But .. by far... Dwight and the bat was awesome. Jim's prank with the vampire was amazing. The way these characters work off each is what makes this show happen. Then, when Dwight enters the lunch room and uses the bag to catch the bat, I was laughing out loud while rewinding my TiVo to watch it again! Haven't had a TV-watching moment like that in a LONG time.

    Thanks Office for another great episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • One of the students asks Michael about how Dunder Mifflin's Herfindahl Index has decreased since the merger. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index is an actual economic measure of company size and competition within an industry. In the US, the Department of Justice will use this statistic as part of the decision to allow or deny a merger of companies. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The French episode title is "La chauve-souris", meaning "The Bat". The Italian title is "Scuola commerciale", and the Spanish title is "Escuela de negocios", both exact translations. Edit
    • Music: Brandenburg Concerto No.2 In F major, BWV 1047 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Edit
    • Though credited, Phyllis Smith does not appear in this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Dwight: I don't have a lot of experience with vampires, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got to it, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog. Edit
    • Dwight: If a vampire bat was in the U.S., it would make sense for it to come to a "-sylvania"—like Pennsylvania. Edit
    • (Jim pretending he is affected by a bite from the bat) Jim: Ow! Karen: What happened? Jim: That bread on your desk... I just picked it up. It's white hot! Karen: But, Jim this garlic bread is cold. Jim: No... it burned me. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • When Michael in in front of Ryan's class, he begins his presentation by ripping out pages from another student's text book and telling them that they cannot learn from books and to replace those pages with 'life lessons'. The scene is one of the better remembered ones from Dead Poets Society. Edit

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