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{{for|the political catchphrase|Lecture circuit}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series =[[The Office (American TV series)|The Office]]
| season =5
| episode =16/17
| airdate =
* {{Start date|2009|02|05}} (Part 1)
* February 12, 2009 (Part 2)
| production =514/515<ref name=Sneakpeak>{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Rainn|title=Remember all of these? #FinalSeason|url=https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100191630757268|publisher=[[Facebook]].com|access-date=December 13, 2012|date=December 13, 2012}}</ref>
| length = 42 minutes
| director = [[Ken Kwapis]]
| writer = [[Mindy Kaling]]
| photographer ={{Plainlist|
*Matt Sohn (Part 1)
*[[Randall Einhorn]] (Part 2)
}}
| editor = [[David Rogers (film editor)|David Rogers]]
| guests ='''Part 1'''
*[[Rashida Jones]] as [[Karen Filippelli]]
*
*[[Erica Tazel]] as Julia
'''Part 2'''
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| next = [[Blood Drive (The Office)|Blood Drive]]
}}
<!-- THIS IS THE 16TH AND 17TH EPISODES OF THE SEASON. HOUR-LONG EPISODES ARE CONSIDERED TWO EPISODES. PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE EPISODE NUMBERS IN THIS ARTICLE. -->
"'''Lecture Circuit'''" is a two-part episode of the American comedy television series ''[[The Office (
During both episodes, [[Michael Scott (The Office)|Michael]] and [[Pam Beesly|Pam]] visit the various branches of [[Dunder Mifflin]] to make business lectures, and in particular visit the Utica branch – where [[Jim Halpert|Jim]]'s ex-girlfriend [[Karen Filippelli]] is regional manager, and the Nashua branch, where Michael's ex-girlfriend and the love of his life, [[Holly Flax|Holly]] is an H.R. rep. In both episodes, Jim and [[Dwight Schrute|Dwight]] hit a snag as the new heads of the Party Planning Committee when they forget [[Kelly Kapoor|Kelly]]'s birthday. In the first episode, [[Andy Bernard|Andy]] develops a crush on a customer, and in the second episode, [[Angela Martin|Angela]]'s unhealthy obsession with her cats is spotlighted when she installs a nanny cam.
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===Part one===
[[Michael Scott (The Office)|Michael Scott]]
Back in Scranton, Jim and [[Dwight Schrute]]
[[Andy Bernard]]
===Part two===
Michael and Pam arrive at the Nashua branch, only to learn Holly is away on a human relations retreat. They also learn Holly is dating one of the Nashua salesmen named [[List of characters from The Office (U.S. TV series)#A.J.|A.J.]]
In Scranton, the party planning continues to go poorly. Dwight publicly and loudly confronts Kelly about her time in juvenile hall, which turns out to be for stealing the boat of an ex-boyfriend when she was 14. Kelly also declares she hates the cake Jim picked for her, which is completely blank; he later decorates it and ends up spelling her name incorrectly as "Kelley". When Kelly insists the party needs a theme, Jim and Dwight are unable to think of anything. Despite a rough start to the party, they finally settle on offering her one hour of napping or one hour of watching television by putting a [[Chiclets|Chiclet]] on the cake to represent a pillow or TV. She loves the idea and chooses the nap.
Angela appears much happier than usual because she bought a new $7,000 cat with the money she received from selling Andy's engagement ring. She has also set up a [[nanny cam]] so she can monitor the cats from work. However, she is horrified to see one of her other cats having sex with the new cat, and rushes home to stop it. Later, [[Kevin Malone]]
==Production==
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==Continuity and cultural references==
Michael handing out candy bars during his lectures is a reference to the [[The Office (U.S. season 3)|third season]] episode, "[[Business School (The Office)|Business School]]", in which Michael passed out chocolate bars during his speech to a business school classroom.<ref name="Sepinwall1" /> Michael expresses regret for insulting [[List of characters from The Office (US TV series)#Tony Gardner|Tony Gardner]], the heavyset man who briefly transferred from the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin to the Scranton branch, who Michael drives to quit by trying to lift onto a table for an orientation demonstration in the third
Angela said she sold Andy's engagement ring on [[eBay]], an online auction website.<ref name="EWeekly2" /> Creed gives Andy romantic advice and says, "This is how I got [[Squeaky Fromme]]", a reference to the [[Charles Manson|Manson family]] member who tried to assassinate [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Gerald Ford]]. A picture of President [[George W. Bush]] appears on a [[Fake denominations of United States currency#.243|fake three-dollar bill]] Creed gives Jim to pay for the party.<ref name="Sepinwall1" /> Creed suggests Kelly watch ''[[The Bonnie Hunt Show]]'', a syndicated talk show hosted by actress [[Bonnie Hunt]].<ref name="AVClub2" /> Andy puts [[Splenda]], an artificial sweetener, into Stanley's coffee because he has [[Diabetes mellitus type 2|adult onset diabetes]], a disorder characterized by high blood glucose.<ref name="AVClub1">{{Cite news |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |title=The Office: Season 5: Episode 14: "Lecture Circuit" |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=February 5, 2009 |url=
==Reception==
In its original American broadcast on February 5, 2009, the first part of "Lecture Circuit" was seen by 8.4 million viewers, according to [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen Media Research]].<ref name="LC1Rate">{{Cite news |last=Gorman |first=Bill |title=Thursday Ratings: With CBS Away, ''Grey's'' and ''Practice'' Come Out To Play |work=TV by the Numbers |date=February 6, 2009 |url=http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/02/06/thursday-ratings-with-cbs-away-greys-anatomy-and-private-practice-come-out-to-play/12299 |access-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913115900/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/02/06/thursday-ratings-with-cbs-away-greys-anatomy-and-private-practice-come-out-to-play/12299/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The original broadcast for the second part on February 12 was seen by 8.89 million viewers. The second episode received a 4.3 rating/11 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 3.8 rating/9 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49, numbers which were close to the season's average rating.<ref name="LC2Rate">{{Cite news |last=Gorman |first=Bill |title=Thursday Ratings: ''Survivor'' Returns Well, ''Grey's'' Boosts ''Practice'' To Demo Beatdown |work=TV by the Numbers |date=February 13, 2009 |url=http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/02/13/thursday-ratings-survivor-returns-well-greys-and-practice-deliver-demo-beatdown/12787 |access-date=February 23, 2010 |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913115938/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/02/13/thursday-ratings-survivor-returns-well-greys-and-practice-deliver-demo-beatdown/12787/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first episode received a 5.0 rating/14 share among viewers aged between 18 and 34, and a 4.3 rating/11 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. Both ratings were three-tenths of a drop from the previous episode, "[[Stress Relief (The Office)|Stress Relief]]", which was heavily viewed because it immediately followed the broadcast of [[Super Bowl XLIII]] on NBC. The drop in ratings led some media outlets to speculate that the post-Super Bowl ratings boost was only temporary and would not help ''The Office'' in the long run.<ref name="LC1Rate" />
{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center |width=215px |align=right | quote = Both parts of ''Lecture Circuit'' were nearly perfect, and if we were to take them together ... they'd easily constitute the finest hour-long episode in this show's history. [Writer Mindy Kaling] nailed the characterizations, the interactions, the tossed-off one-liners, the weird-yet-realistic scenarios. I wonder how much it helps that she's out on the acting floor every day, getting attuned to her costars' rhythms? | source = '''Henning Fog<br> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'''''<ref name="EWeekly2" />}}
Both episodes of "Lecture Circuit" received generally positive reviews. Whitney Pastorek of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' described them as "nearly perfect", calling them the two best episodes of the season so far: "[Writer Mindy Kaling] nailed the characterizations, the interactions, the tossed-off one-liners, the weird-yet-realistic scenarios...I wonder how much it helps that she's out on the acting floor every day, getting attuned to her costars' rhythms?"<ref name="EWeekly2" /> Josh McAuliffe of ''[[The Times-Tribune (Scranton)|The Times-Tribune]]'' of [[Scranton, Pennsylvania|Scranton]], [[Pennsylvania]], said the first "Lecture Circuit" episode was his favorite episode of the fifth season so far, which he said provided several laugh-out-loud moments and a poignancy with Michael's decision to find Holly.<ref name="ScrantonTimes1" /> McAuliffe described the second episode as a "satisfying wrap-up" and said Michael's outburst during the lecture was "one of the most painful Michael meltdown moments in the show's history".<ref name="ScrantonTimes2" /> Alan Sepinwall of ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'' said the first episode perfectly balanced drama and comedy. He particularly complimented the chemistry between both Carell and Fischer and between Krasinski and Wilson, and said he was particularly pleased to receive closure over the Karen character.<ref name="Sepinwall1" /> But Sepinwall said the second episode felt padded with "material I would have been fine seeing as deleted scenes". Although he described Carell's reaction to the news that Holly still has feelings for him as a "wonderful performance", Sepinwall also said the subplot involving Angela's cat was particularly unfunny and that subplot with Jim and Dwight, "so brilliant last week, ran out of steam quickly here."<ref name="Sepinwall2" />
Nathan Rabin of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' said the episode "was full of laughs but had a bit of a bittersweet aftertaste" and had "one hell of a cliffhanger" ending. Rabin praised the Jim and Dwight teaming in the first episode, but said the plot line of Michael's lectures were predictable and "promised more than it delivered".<ref name="AVClub1" /> Rabin said the second episode "wrapped up everything up nicely [and] delivered larfs aplenty"; he particularly enjoyed the subplot involving Angela's cats, and the fact that it "left the door open for Holly's return".<ref name="AVClub2" /> [[Will Leitch]] of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine praised the cliffhanger ending of the first episode and said he was pleased the Holly character was still in the show's equation. Leitch also praised Ed Helms, who "is nailing the right combination of ridiculous and sad-sack pathos", although he said he "[
The
==References==
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{{wikiquote|The Office (US)#Lecture Circuit .28Part 1.29 .5B5.16.5D|Lecture Circuit (Part 1)}}
{{wikiquote|The Office (US)#Lecture Circuit .28Part 2.29 .5B5.17.5D|Lecture Circuit (Part 2)}}
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110824140349/http://www.nbc.com/the-office/episode-guide/season-5/59811/lecture-circuit/episode-516/60085/ "Lecture Circuit (Part 1)"] at [[NBC|NBC.com]]
* {{IMDb episode|1248737|Lecture Circuit (Part 1)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110824135824/http://www.nbc.com/the-office/episode-guide/season-5/59811/lecture-circuit-part-2/episode-517/60104/ "Lecture Circuit (Part 2)"] at [[NBC|NBC.com]]
* {{IMDb episode|1248738|Lecture Circuit (Part 2)}}
{{div col end}}
{{good article}}
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[[Category:2009 American television episodes]]
[[Category:The Office (American TV series) season 5
[[Category:The Office (American TV series) episodes in multiple parts]]
[[Category:Television episodes written by Mindy Kaling]]
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