"Christmas Wishes" is the tenth episode of the
eighth season of the American
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series o ...
'', and the show's 162nd episode overall. The episode originally aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in the United States on December 8, 2011. It was written by executive producer
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...
and was directed by
Ed Helms
Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
in his directorial debut. The episode guest starred
Lindsey Broad,
Ameenah Kaplan
Ameenah Kaplan (born June 17, 1974) is an American actress, musician, and choreographer.
Early life and education
Kaplan was born on June 17, 1974, in Denver, Colorado. She was raised in Atlanta, where she graduated from Avondale High School ...
, and Eleanor Seigler.
The series—
presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
, branch of the fictional
Dunder Mifflin
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a fictional paper and office supplies wholesale company featured in the American television series ''The Office''. It is analogous to Wernham Hogg in the British original of the series, and Papiers Jenning ...
Paper Company. In this episode,
Andy Bernard
Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford br ...
(Ed Helms) attempts to "make everyone's Christmas wishes come true", including those of a drunken
Erin Hannon
Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previou ...
(
Ellie Kemper). Meanwhile,
Dwight Schrute (
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
) and
Jim Halpert (
John Krasinski) are entangled in a prank war in which each tries to frame the other.
"Christmas Wishes" received mostly positive reviews from critics. According to
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
, "Christmas Wishes" drew 5.79 million viewers and received a 2.9 rating/8% share in the 18–49 demographic, staying even with the previous two episodes, "
Gettysburg" and "
Mrs. California." It ranked first in its timeslot, and was the highest ranked NBC series of the night.
Synopsis
Andy Bernard
Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford br ...
(
Ed Helms
Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
) attempts to "make everyone's Christmas wishes come true". At a conference meeting, he vows to keep his promise to make wishes and asks the office members to also be nice to his new girlfriend Jessica (Eleanor Seigler). An emotionally confused
Erin Hannon
Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previou ...
(
Ellie Kemper) tries to be nice to Jessica, but ends up drinking too much at the party.
Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Followin ...
(
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...
) does her part as a friend of Erin's by being mean to Jessica, by accusing her of flatulating in public. In a drunken stupor, Erin tells Andy that her Christmas wish is for Jessica to die. Offended, he tells her to get over their breakup before storming off.
Andy becomes concerned about Erin's behavior, not least because
Robert California
Robert California, also known as Bob Kazamakis, and The Lizard King, is a fictional character on the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by James Spader. In the eighth season, Robert managed to persuade Jo Bennett to appoint ...
(
James Spader
James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scie ...
) has revealed that his marriage is ending, greatly desires sex, and spends a good deal of the party hanging out with Erin and pressures her into drinking shots. When Andy has to drive a drunken
Meredith Palmer
''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments wi ...
(
Kate Flannery
Kate Destiny Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sh ...
) home, he sees Erin getting into Robert's car and he follows them with a look of panic on his face. However, he covertly witnesses Robert being a gentleman and sending Erin off to her apartment with a hug and words of encouragement. Andy subsequently drives away with a wistful smile on his face.
Dwight Schrute (
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
) and
Jim Halpert's (
John Krasinski) pranking has caused
Cathy Simms
''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments wi ...
(
Lindsey Broad) to ask Andy to move her to a different desk. In turn, Andy orders Dwight and Jim to quit their childish behavior. He tells them that the next one to pull a prank will lose their Christmas bonus, and the target of the prank will get the prankster's share. Wanting to double their bonuses, both Dwight and Jim attempt to frame the other. Jim loudly releases his credit card information hoping Dwight will steal it and buy something ridiculous. However, Dwight orders a $200 bouquet of flowers for
Pam Halpert
Pamela Morgan Halpert ( née Beesly) is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom ''The Office'', played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of ''The Office'' is Dawn Tinsley. Pam begins the series as the recept ...
(
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
). Dwight then puts a
porcupine in his desk and blames Jim. However, Jim tricks Dwight into stating the porcupine's name (Henrietta), causing him to inadvertently reveal his intentions. Jim, in retaliation, defaces a picture of his daughter Cece, and blames Dwight. After Andy says such vandalism is grounds for termination, Jim admits he staged the crime. Acknowledging that his plan has backfired, Andy tells Jim that he will not touch their bonuses, and just wants their behavior to not interfere with their job performances. Jim assures him he will tell Dwight, but purposefully neglects to do so. Dwight thus continues to pull pranks on himself, to Jim's amusement.
Production
The episode was written by executive producer
Mindy Kaling
Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...
, who also portrays
Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Followin ...
on the series, her 24th writing credit for the series. This marks her first writing credit as an executive producer. Before this, it was speculated that she might not return to the series as a writer, before she confirmed that she would be writing the Christmas episode. She has also written the previous two Christmas episodes: "
Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift giver is to remain a secret and should not be revealed.
Deriving from the ...
" and "
Classy Christmas". The episode was directed by cast member
Ed Helms
Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
, making his directorial debut. The episode also marks the fourth appearance of
Lindsey Broad who plays
Cathy
''Cathy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life—food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes f ...
, Pam's replacement during her
maternity leave
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...
.
She appeared in a recurring role for the season and she initially appeared in "
Pam's Replacement
"Pam's Replacement" is the seventh episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the show's 159th episode overall. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on November 10, 2011. It was written by ...
".
Due to
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
's actual pregnancy, Pam did not appear in the episode.
The Season Eight DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include shoots of several of the staff members’ Christmas wishes being revealed, Dwight and Jim's pranks start turning on Cathy, and Meredith hitting on a newly single Robert.
Cultural references
Midway through the party, Dwight enters the conference room and sets up his own speaker system to play "
Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24
"Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" is an instrumental medley of " God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and " Shchedryk", first released on the Savatage album ''Dead Winter Dead'' in 1995 as "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)." It was re-released by the Trans-Si ...
", a heavy metal medley of traditional Christmas songs performed by
Savatage
Savatage () was an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album '' Sirens'' (1983), they changed t ...
and the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...
. The song acts as a backdrop to a brief montage of various scenes of members of the office exchanging gifts while shots of Dwight, Nate, Creed, and Gabe air-guitaring along are interspersed.
[
]
Reception
Ratings
"Christmas Wishes" originally aired on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in the United States on December 8, 2011. The episode was viewed by an estimated 5.79 million viewers and received a 2.9 rating/8% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 2.9% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 8% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode matched the ratings with the previous episode, " Mrs. California." Despite this, the episode ranked first in its timeslot, beating CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
drama '' Person of Interest'' which received a 2.8 rating/7% share in the 18–49 demographic, Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
drama series ''Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
'' which received a 2.4 rating/6% share, and ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
reality series ''America's Funniest Home Videos
''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan''. The show featur ...
'' which received a 1.9 rating/5% share. Despite place third, all three of these shows received more total viewers than "Christmas Wishes". For the week of November 5 – December 11, 2011, "Christmas Wishes" placed twenty-third in the ratings among all prime-time broadcasts in the 18–49 demographic.
Reviews
"Christmas Wishes" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Hollywood.com
Hollywood.com is an entertainment news website covering popular culture topics including movies, television, music and celebrities. Hollywood.com is principally owned by Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie S. Silvers, who previously founded Sci-Fi Ch ...
writer Hannah Lawrence enjoyed the episode, writing, "as an episode, Christmas Wishes'had that certain… 'spirit' that I enjoy from ''Office'' episodes." She also complimented the Erin-Andy relationship arc. IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
writer Cindy White, although noting that the episode "had some big obstacles to overcome" with the absences of both Michael Scott and Pam Halpert," concluded that the episode had a "high rewatch factor." She wrote, "If my Christmas wish was to watch an episode of ''The Office'' that made me laugh a lot, consider that wish granted." She ultimately gave the episode 8.0/10. M. Giant of Television Without Pity
Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedy, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarca ...
gave the episode a "B+". Margaret Lyons from '' New York'' wrote a mostly positively review, saying Christmas Wishes' filled me with holiday cheer, proving that there's still some juice left in this show," before noting that "There are still some issues left, too, though." What Culture! reviewer Joseph Kratzer praised Mindy Kaling and Ed Helms' writing and directing work, and said, "If this is what happens when cast members... take the reins then the writing and directing duties should be kept in house much more often."
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
reviewer Myles McNutt wrote a slightly more critical review, noting the episode's lack of structure. He wrote that " Christmas Wishes'is not a terrible episode of television, but it's formless to the point where it avoids having to make any sort of statement." He did, however, positively comment on the Andy and Erin subplot and suggested that the episode was "positioned as a transition point," featuring an Andy-Erin-Jessica love triangle and a darker Robert California. He ultimately gave the episode a "B−". Many reviews considered "Christmas Wishes" to be the best episode of the first part of the season.
References
External links
"Christmas Wishes"
at NBC.com
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
*
{{The Office US Episodes
The Office (American season 8) episodes
2011 American television episodes
American Christmas television episodes
Television episodes written by Mindy Kaling