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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]]

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| guests ='''Part 1'''

*[[Rashida Jones]] as [[Karen Filippelli]]

*[[Adam Jamal Craig]] as [[List of The Office (U.S. TV series) characters#Rolando|Rolando]]

*[[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 (American TV series)|The Office]]''. They constituted the sixteenth and seventeenth episodes of the [[The Office (U.S. season 5)|fifth season]], and the 88th and 89th overall episodes of the series. The first episode originally aired on [[NBC]] on February 5, 2009, and the second on February 12.

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]] ([[Steve Carell]]) is asked to visit the [[Dunder Mifflin]] branches to lecture about his success in [[Scranton]]. He and [[Pam Beesly]] ([[Jenna Fischer]]), who is coming along as his assistant and driver, plan to visit every branch except [[Nashua, New Hampshire|Nashua]] because Michael is not ready to face his ex-girlfriend [[Holly Flax]], who works there. They first visit the [[Utica, New York|Utica]] branch, where former Scranton employee [[Karen Filippelli]] ([[Rashida Jones]]) is now regional manager. Pam, who is engaged to Karen's ex-boyfriend [[Jim Halpert]] ([[John Krasinski]]), fears the encounter will be awkward. However, she is pleasantly surprised upon learning Karen is now married and pregnant, and the two get along very well – when Pam reveals her and Jim's engagement, Karen even offers genuine congratulations. Michael's lecture in Utica proves to be a disaster when he pretends to receive a call saying that his father has died, has Pam throw [[Mounds (candy)|miniature sized Mounds]] at the audience, and tries to teach the employees a trick for how to memorize names but ends up insulting everybody. Nevertheless, Pam is ecstatic to have found closure with Karen. Later, on the road, Michael tells Pam that he never found closure with Holly and, at Pam's suggestion, they decide to blow off the other lectures and drive to Nashua to find Holly.

Back in Scranton, Jim and [[Dwight Schrute]] ([[Rainn Wilson]]) have been named the reluctant heads of the Party Planning Committee by Michael due to [[Moroccan Christmas|previous fights]] between [[Phyllis Vance]] ([[Phyllis Smith]]) and [[Angela Martin]] ([[Angela Kinsey]]). Jim and Dwight prove terrible at the job, and when an upset [[Kelly Kapoor]] ([[Mindy Kaling]]) chastises them for forgetting her birthday, they try to make it up to her by throwing a party but they do a poor job - Dwight chooses brown and gray balloons (because they "match the carpet") and doesn't blow them up all the way, uses toilet paper as streamers, and his banner simply states "IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY." Jim does just as poorly when he cannot get anyone to contribute money, forgets Kelly's age, and how to spell her name. Dwight reads her file and learns that Kelly spent time in juvenile hall, but is disappointed to learn it does not affect her job performance.

[[Andy Bernard]] ([[Ed Helms]]) finds himself attracted to Julia, a female potential client who is talking with [[Stanley Hudson]] ([[Leslie David Baker]]). Andy repeatedly acts awkwardly in front of Julia and accidentally sets off her car alarm while trying to look inside and find out what music she likes. After failing to hit on her by singing to the tune of [[Feist (singer)|Feist]]'s "[[1234 (Feist song)|1234]]", Andy admits his attraction to her to Stanley, who then gives the potential client over to Andy in exchange for two of his clients. After walking her out to the car, Andy tries to kiss her, but is immediately rebuked. Andy apologizes and mentions that he just got out of a relationship. Julia claims she also just got out of a relationship and Andy starts feeling a connection, but she still rejects him and he loses the account.

===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.]] ([[Rob Huebel]]). Deeply upset, Michael is at first unable to go forward with the presentation, but Pam tries to comfort him by telling him that she felt the same way when Jim was dating Karen. She encourages Michael to do the best presentation possible so people will tell Holly about it. He starts the presentation, but it falls apart when Michael starts asking A.J. intimate questions about his relationship with Holly. Michael leaves in the middle of the talk, leaving Pam to awkwardly finish the rest of the presentation. When Michael goes to Holly's desk he cuts a sleeve off her sweater, and notices a document on her computer called "Dear Michael", which he copies onto his flash drive. Later, at a diner, Michael tells Pam about the letter, but she insists reading it would be violating Holly's trust. Pam herself reads the letter and deletes it right after. She does not tell him the exact contents, but she reassures him Holly still has feelings for Michael and it is not over, giving an ecstatic Michael the closure he sought.

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]] ([[Brian Baumgartner]]) and [[Oscar Martinez (The Office)|Oscar Martinez]] ([[Oscar Nunez]]) watch Angela arrive home on the nanny cam screen, and become incredibly disgusted when Angela starts licking the cat to help clean it. Angela eventually returns to work and coughs up a hairball. Oscar claims the image will haunt him for the rest of his life; both the psychological issues that go behind licking a cat as well as the hairball.

==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-season episode, "[[The Merger (The Office)|The Merger]]".<ref name="ScrantonTimes2" /> Among the Dunder Mifflin branches Michael visits is [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], where Holly works,<ref name="NyMag1">{{Cite news |last=Leitch |first=Will |author-link=Will Leitch |title=''The Office'': Sets Up Amy Ryan's Return! |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=February 6, 2009 |url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/02/the_office_sets_up_amy_ryans_r.html |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> and [[Utica, New York]], where Karen works. Michael said he can only prepare for his lectures by listening to "silence or [[Sam Kinison]]", an American stand-up comedian known for his extreme and vulgar sense of humor.<ref name="Sepinwall1" /> Michael said he learned the [[Pledge of Allegiance (United States)|Pledge of Allegiance]], the lyrical oath of loyalty to the [[Flag of the United States|United States flag]], by setting the lyrics to the rhythm of "[[Old McDonald Had a Farm]]", a children's song about the various animals on a farm.<ref name="EWeekly1">{{Cite magazine |last=Pastorek |first=Whitney |title="The Office" Recap: On the Road |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 6, 2009 |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20257378,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122215340/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20257378,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 22, 2013 |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> When learning the name of Holly's boyfriend, Michael asks, "What kind of name is A.J.? What, do you race cars?" - a reference to famed racing driver [[A. J. Foyt]] and others. During one lecture, Michael and Pam both do impressions of the protagonist from ''[[Forrest Gump]]'', the 1994 film starring [[Tom Hanks]] as a mentally handicapped man.<ref name="Sepinwall2">{{Cite news |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |title=The Office, "Lecture Circuit, Part Two": She'll be back |work=[[The Star-Ledger]] |date=February 12, 2009 |url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/02/the_office_lecture_circuit_par_1.html |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> Michael also uses the title from the films ''[[Good Morning, Vietnam]]'' (at his Nashua lecture by saying "Good morning, Vietna...shua!")<ref name="ScrantonTimes2">{{Cite news |last=McAuliffe |first=Josh |title="Lecture Circuit, Part II" Recap |work=[[The Times-Tribune (Scranton)|The Times-Tribune]] |date=February 13, 2009}}</ref> ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'', ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' and ''[[Jerry Maguire]]'' in his lectures.<ref name="EWeekly2">{{Cite magazine|last=Pastorek |first=Whitney |title="The Office" Recap: It's a celebration |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 13, 2009 |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20258960,00.html |access-date=February 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214163424/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20258960%2C00.html |archive-date=February 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Holly's computer has a [[screensaver]] with images of [[Ed Grimley]], the nerdy character with a cowlick played by comedian [[Martin Short]] in the comedy shows ''[[Second City Television|SCTV]]'' and ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref name="AVClub2">{{Cite news |last= Rabin |first=Nathan |title=The Office: Season 5: Episode 15: "Lecture Circuit Part 2" |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=February 12, 2009 |url=httphttps://tvwww.avclub.com/the-office-lecture-circuit-part-2-1798205799 |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref>

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=httphttps://tvwww.avclub.com/the-office-lecture-circuit-1798205735 |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> Andy sings Julia [[1234 (Feist song)|a song]] by [[Feist (singer)|Feist]], the [[Canada|Canadian]] singer and songwriter, after he spots a Feist CD in her car.<ref name="EWeekly1" /> Michael takes a document file from Holly's computer that was created with [[Microsoft Word]], the [[Microsoft]] word processing program.<ref name="NyMag2">{{Cite news |last=Leitch |first=Will |author-link=Will Leitch |title=''The Office'': The Cat Lady, Redefined |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=February 13, 2009 |url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/02/the_office_the_cat_lady_redefi.html |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> Pam said she hates the notion of even [[Al-Qaeda]] hating her, a reference to the [[Islamism|Islamist]] terrorist organization that organizedcommitted the [[September 11 attacks]] against [[New York City]].<ref name="EWeekly1" /> Kelly confesses she went to juvenile detention in [[Berks County]], [[Pennsylvania]],<ref name="ScrantonTimes1">{{Cite news |last=McAuliffe |first=Josh |title="Lecture Circuit" Recap |work=[[The Times-Tribune (Scranton)|The Times-Tribune]] |date=February 6, 2009}}</ref> at age 14 for doing something "like ''[[Thelma & Louise]]'', but with a boat", a reference to the 1991 [[road movie]] starring [[Geena Davis]] and [[Susan Sarandon]] on the run from their troubled, caged lives.<ref name="EWeekly">{{Cite magazine |last=Labrecque |first=Jeff |title="The Office" Recap: Love Hurts |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=March 6, 2009 |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20263502,00.html |access-date=February 24, 2010 |archive-date=April 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427071247/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20263502,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Jim said during a birthday trip to a museum at age seven, his father bought him a plastic toy [[triceratops]], a three-horned [[dinosaur]] from the Late [[Cretaceous|Cretaceous Period]], which Dwight insists is not a good dinosaur.<ref name="EWeekly2" /> Pam remembers the name of one audience member by comparing her to [[k.d. lang]], the Canadian singer known for her extremely short hair.<ref name="ScrantonTimes2" />

==Reception==

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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 "[was not] nearly as inspired" by the Jim and Dwight subplot.<ref name="NyMag1" /> Leitch also enjoyed the second episode, particularly the "legitimately sweet moment" when Pam tells Michael that Holly still has feelings for him. Leitch was less praiseworthy of the Angela subplot involving her cats, and said the character "appears to have officially gone batshit insane."<ref name="NyMag2" /> Travis Fickett of ''[[IGN]]'' criticized the first episode and said, "I'm starting to wonder if the show is showing signs of winding down." Fickett said the idea of Michael giving awkward lecture tours felt old and familiar, so much so that "I was convinced it was a repeat". He also said the Jim and Dwight idea was funny, but "nothing the show hasn't tapped before".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fickett |first=Travis |title=The Office: "Lecture Circuit, Part 1" Review |work=[[IGN]] |date=February 6, 2009 |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/951/951961p1.html |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> Likewise, Fickett described the second episode as "average ''Office'' and feels overly familiar without really blazing any new ground." He also said it was disappointing Holly did not appear, and that Angela felt like a "caricature" in her subplot.<ref name="Fickett">{{Cite news |last=Fickett |first=Travis |title=The Office: "Lecture Circuit, Part Two" Review |work=[[IGN]] |date=February 13, 2009 |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/954/954257p1.html |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref>

The scene with Angela licking her cat was heavily criticized by reviewers,<ref name="NyMag2" /><ref name="Fickett" /><ref name="Hernandez0409">{{Cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Lee |title="Office" Talk with Oscar Nuñez |work=[[Latina (magazine)|Latina]] |url=http://www.latina.com/blogs/vivo-por-tivo/office-talk-oscar-nu%C3%B1ez?quicktabs_1=0 |access-date=February 23, 2010}}</ref> prompting some observers to describe it as the moment when ''The Office'' [[Jumping the shark|jumped the shark]], a phrase used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful television show.<ref name="Hernandez0409" /> When asked about this during an interview, actor Oscar Nuñez responded, "No show is 'Jump the Shark'-proof, but there have been other moments on ''The Office'' that I think were more 'Jump the Shark' than that." He did not specify what other moments he meant.<ref name="Hernandez0409" />

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[[Category:2009 American television episodes]]

[[Category:The Office (American TV series) season 5) episodes]]

[[Category:The Office (American TV series) episodes in multiple parts]]

[[Category:Television episodes written by Mindy Kaling]]