Golden Ticket

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"Golden Ticket" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the show's ninety first episode overall.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Amusing details 3 Connections to previous episodes 4 Cultural references

[edit] Synopsis

Michael is seen making offensive jokes around the office but is later insulted himself by a joke made by Dwight regarding about the KGB. After doing so, Michael changes the joke from "knock knock" to "doorbell", with Jim making the joke, only to have Michael and Dwight fight over who gets the door. Eventually, Jim slaps Dwight the same way he had slapped Michael as a part of the joke.

Michael comes to work dressed up and starts to impersonate Willy Wonka, after being "inspired" for a idea that is sure to bring up sales of paper. His idea is to place golden tickets in shipments of paper for the customers to be eligible for a 10% lifetime discount. In addition to his excitement, Michael also holds a "marketing conference" in the office. However, his idea backfires, as the company's major customer, Blue Cross Hospital, receives a ticket, which Oscar claims that even a 10% discount given to the hospital is a harmful to the company. The news worsens when the hospital receives all the golden tickets, making the hospital eligible for a 50% off on all paper purchases. To make matters worse, it is revealed that Michael had completely forgot to note "per one customer each". Michael, at first, berates Darryl for not properly labeling the shipments for the customers, although Darryl made it clear that Michael had to know that shipments close to each other meant they were headed to the same customer. Embarrassed, Michael disposes of his Willy Wonka attire and returns with Andy's blazer, and starts a conference to get the branch out of the problem. However, all the employees are disgruntled and are also furious for reasons of their own, such as Jim blaming Michael for not paying him enough after his mortgage turned for the worse after buying his parents' home. Soon Michael receives call from CEO David Wallace, who is also furious and demands an explanation on the perpetrator responsible for the idea and why the idea was approved. Michael, not admitting that it was his idea, claims it was an "inside job" and blames it on one of the employees: Dwight. Soon, Dwight is seen talking with Michael, fighting over who was responsible for the idea, which Dwight clearly explains was Michael's fault, with the help of his diary. Dwight and Michael are seen walking around, discussing loyalty and what Dunder Mifflin had offered Dwight. Michael also explains that true loyalty is to take the blame from Wallace and risk losing his job. Dwight reluctantly obliges, only to change his mind in the last minute after Jim explains he cannot endanger his job. As Wallace comes in, Michael, expecting Dwight to get fired, is appalled when he hears the golden ticket idea was an excellent idea and had customers rushing to buy paper. Dwight, in response to being forced to lose his job, takes the credit and is encouraged to receive cheers from the office and even meet the board of marketers over the phone. Michael becomes furious and complains that it was his idea and fights with Dwight to take credit. However, Wallace becomes annoyed with the two and leaves prematurely. Dwight and Michael later discuss to the camera about whose idea it was in their own words and begin to fight over Dwight's diary. In the end, Dwight also continues his KGB joke with Jim, only to be stood up after Jim states "I'm taking a shower, can you come back later?"

Meanwhile, Kevin, when going out for a date, asks advice from Jim, Pam and Andy. However, the three begin to fight over what is true and whose idea is more practical, only to frustrate Kevin to take matter in his own hands. Kevin asks his date out in his own method and is successful.

[edit] Amusing details

• After disposing of his Willy Wonka costume, Michael wears Andy's blazer for the remainder of the day.
• It is revealed that when he was a child, Dwight wasn't allowed to consume candy or sugary confectioneries or even see movies.
• Michael's dream business was to open up a shoe department known as "Shoe La La", which he would have sold shoes for all occasions.

[edit] Connections to previous episodes

• The last time Pam hugged Dwight was The Injury, another Mindy Kaling episode.
• Michael couldn't remember the name of the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in Goodbye, Toby.
• Kevin drinks out of the mug from Kelly's America's Got Talent party in Customer Survey.
• Michael also misused the phrase "No harm, no foul" in the episode Women's Appreciation.

[edit] Cultural references

• A knock-knock joke is a joke pattern popular among children. The joke pattern is demonstrated at the start of the episode when Michael tells a knock-knock joke to Pam. The ding-dong joke was invented for the episode.
• The KGB was the state security agency of the former Soviet Union.
• Michael's Golden Ticket idea and his Willy Wonka costume are taken from the children's movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
• The Golden Girls was a long-running American sitcom from the late 1980's.
• Golden Grahams is a brand of breakfast cereal.
• Michael is allegedly attending a civil rights rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC (over 200 miles away).
• Another of Michael's excuses is attending an Obama fashion show. Barack Obama was President of the United States when this episode aired.
• Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania is a health insurance company based in nearby Wilkes-Barre. They also have an office in Scranton.
• Michael claims that he had a colonoscopy to prevent talking with Wallace. A colonoscopy is the examination of the Colon with a small Camera.