Boys and Girls

"Boys and Girls" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of The Office and the 21st overall. It was written by B.J. Novak and directed by Dennie Gordon. It first aired on February 2, 2006. It was viewed by 5.42 million people.

Synopsis

"Corporate" forces the female Dunder Mifflin employees to attend a "women in the workplace" seminar, conducted by Jan in the conference room. Jan later confides to the camera that the real purpose of the seminar is for the company to be able to root out any promising employees for future advancement. Miffed by being excluded, Michael assembles all the men in the warehouse for a "men in the workplace" seminar, which includes having the office staff work the jobs of the warehouse. Ryan comes up with an idea of speeding up the efficiency to which Stanley immediately replies, "This is a run out the clock situation." Michael's seminar inevitably disrupts the warehouse's shipping schedule when Michael (who acknowledges it) stops their work flow. While Jim is nervous about the rumor that has been floating around that he likes Pam, Kevin goes to Jim to show his support if a fight breaks out. But things are smoothed over when Roy approaches Jim under the belief that Jim used to like Pam, which Jim is relieved about (as is Kevin). Darryl and his equally irritated crew are forced to participate in Michael's shenanigans, which culminates in Michael trying to drive one of their delivery machines.

Michael's recklessness behind the controls causes the supply shelves to come crashing down, just as he attempts some more haphazard antics that turns the warehouse into a complete mess while jeopardizing the employees' safety and infuriates Darryl and his men. A streak of 936 consecutive days without a lost time accident comes to an end as we see Madge erase that number and change it to a zero. Michael's plans to hold his own seminar backfires when a conversation about the opposite sex leads to another about the differences in the compensation between the employees of the warehouse and of the office. Trying to relate to them, Michael's seminar only backfires further when the warehouse workers decide to form a union. Michael later tells Jan of their plans, which only angers her to order Michael to quash their idea, but things only get a more tense when the women's seminar turns into "girl talk", with Jan and Michael's fling becoming the topical discussion (highlighted by Kelly). Jan proceeds to visit the warehouse and asks Michael if he dealt with the problem, before she delivers a stiffening blow to Darryl and his men about failed attempts from another warehouse division at Pittsfield where another Dunder-Mifflin branch was shut down because of an attempt to unionize. This caused warehouse employees to lose their life savings in legal fees and resulted in a loss of jobs by everyone at the branch. Michael later buys pizzas for the men as a way to balance everything out, before apologizing for Jan's quick dressing down of the crew.

An excited Jan urges Pam to take a corporate training program in graphic design in New York when Pam reveals that she wants to be a graphic designer, but Roy quashes the idea. Jim, who had encouraged Pam to take the internship, expresses disappointment Pam for listening to Roy when he is clearly wrong and acting selfish, which creates some tension between them. In a talking head, Pam attempts to explain away her dreams, including her interest in design, as "impractical," before she breaks down. As the day comes to a close, the warehouse is in complete disarray (furthered by Michael trying to create snow by spilling out the foam popcorn in front of a fan), and as Michael and the office employees depart, Darryl shouts: "Hey Michael, this ain't over!" as he stands in the middle of a complete mess. Michael shuts the door without responding.

Deleted scenes

The Season Two DVD contained a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include:

Michael asks Pam and Jim for help choosing a ringtone for his expensive new phone. He's looking for the one that sounds like a jackhammer. Jim asks, "Do you mean vibrate?"
Roy and Dwight talk about guns. Roy prefers the Bushmaster; Dwight likes his spud gun.
Dwight demonstrates his spud gun and destroys the window to Darryl's office.
In a talking head interview, Dwight talks about a film about a girl who went on an incredible adventure but eventually realized that "there's no place like home". But he can't remember the movie's title.

Trivia

As of this episode, David Denman (Roy Anderson) and Melora Hardin (Jan Levenson) have joined the main cast.
Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez) is credited but does not appear in this episode
While Darryl says that the warehouse and office staff receive "very different" compensation, the difference was far less than he assumed - a year later, "The Negotiation" revealed that the reasonable raise Darryl asked for would give him a higher salary than Michael.
A scene was shot in which Roy physically confronts Jim for pushing Pam to take the internship. The scene was very intense, but the producers opted not to include it in the episode because there was no comedy in it.^[1]
There's a "do not erase" warning in the blackboard in the warehouse, but Michael erases it anyway.

References to previous episodes

The blow-up doll in the warehouse is the one Michael brought to work (and later threw away) in the episode "Sexual Harassment".

Cultural references

Ally McBeal (1998-2002) was a television dramedy about a young lawyer and her personal life. During its run, the title character became a focal point for the changing face of feminism.
You've come a long way, baby was the motto of "Virginia Slims", a cigarette marketed for women. Its advertisements typically depicted a woman from the early 1900s being treated unfairly, combined with a carefree, stylish modern woman.
Lost is a television drama that takes place on an island. The Others is a mysterious group of island inhabitants.
Brangelina is the nickname created by the media to refer to the relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
The Term Second base means having sexual touches;

1st- making out, snogging, french kissing 2nd- fingering/handjob 3rd- licking out/blow job home run- full sex

Good Will Hunting is a movie about a mathematical prodigy.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a support group to assist people recovering from alcoholism. Members introduce themselves to the group by saying I'm (name) and I'm an alcoholic. Meredith almost says the same thing during the seminar.
Lonny mockingly calls Michael Hasselhoff, referring to actor and singer David Hasselhoff.

Quotes

see Boys and Girls Quotes

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Recurring cast

References

↑ GMMR Exclusive Interview with David Denman

[Denman-1] GMMR Exclusive Interview with David Denman

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