Secret Santa (The Office)

"Secret Santa"
The Office episode
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 13
Directed by	Randall Einhorn
Written by	Mindy Kaling
Production code	614^[1]
Original air date	December 10, 2009
Episode chronology

"Secret Santa" is the 13th episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 113th episode overall.^[2] It was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Randall Einhorn. The night the episode premiered, it was immediately followed by an episode of 30 Rock with the same title.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, the office throws a Christmas party, and Michael is upset when Jim allows Phyllis to be Santa, since he has always been the one to dress up. Meanwhile, Oscar develops a crush on a new warehouse worker, and Andy's secret Santa gift to Erin - the 12 Days of Christmas, featuring live birds - does not go as well as planned.

Synopsis

Michael (Steve Carell) comes into the office as Santa and is outraged that Jim (John Krasinski) had already allowed Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) to be Santa at the office Christmas party this year. Everyone seems to enjoy having Phyllis as Santa, but Michael continues to try to steal her thunder, prompting Jim to tell him to cease and desist. Michael then rearranges his costume into a Jesus outfit and starts interrupting Phyllis while she's giving out the Secret Santa gifts. When Jim stops Michael again, Michael calls CFO David Wallace (Andy Buckley) to complain. David asks not to be bothered as someone made an agreement to buy the company, and David and presumably everyone else will lose their jobs after the fact.

Michael calls a conference meeting to try to keep up everyone's spirits but reveals that the company is going out of business, which puts everyone into shock. When Jim asks for confirmation, Michael says that David told him that the company is being sold. Jim notes that being sold could be different than going out of business, so Michael calls back David with everyone listening. David reveals that he meant that only he, CEO Alan Brand, and a few other executives at corporate will lose their jobs, but the branches will stay as they are the only successful aspect of the company. The office then cheers and goes back to the party, where everyone receives their Secret Santa gifts and Michael apologizes to Phyllis for trying to overshadow her.

Oscar (Oscar Nunez) has a secret crush on one of the new warehouse workers Matt (Sam Daly). Pam (Jenna Fischer) tries to play matchmaker and introduces Matt to Oscar. After conversing a while, Matt leaves and Oscar asks Pam to let him pursue Matt by himself. Meanwhile, Dwight explains that his present has been delivered to him in pieces over the course of several weeks. After his first attempt to assemble it, he believes it is a gun. However, after a hint from Michael, he rebuilds it and realizes it is in fact a nutcracker. He is pleased, exclaiming "Oh man! I can use this for so many nuts!" Additionally, Andy (Ed Helms) had asked to have Erin (Ellie Kemper) as his recipient for Secret Santa and decides to give her the Twelve Days of Christmas as his gift to her. However, the gifts, most of which are actual live birds, are causing her physical harm, prompting her to publicly ask her Secret Santa to discontinue. Andy asks Phyllis not to reveal him as Erin's Secret Santa, but Michael reveals that Andy had Erin for Secret Santa and she becomes upset with Andy. At the end of the episode, as the office leaves for the night, they are greeted by the "twelve drummers" in the parking lot. Andy joins them and wishes Erin a Merry Christmas, completing his Secret Santa gift to her. They start drumming and Erin is visibly pleased by the gesture.

Reception

This episode was watched by 8.51 million viewers, with a 4.2 rating and an 11 share in the 18-49 demographic.^[3] IGN's Dan Phillips gave the episode an 8.7/10 saying that "The episode had a lot of great lines; for example Jim eventually shows up with a great line of his own, telling Michael, "You can't yell out 'I need this, I need this!' as you pin down an employee on your lap" and also noting "there have been better, funnier Christmas episodes in the past, but not by all that much".^[4]

Cultural references

When everyone is celebrating, Dwight and Andy do a karaoke of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day.
Jim is seen giving a The Twilight Saga: New Moon poster to a delighted Kelly.
Ryan gives Toby a kite adorned with a rainbow, and Toby assumes it is because Toby is reading The Kite Runner.
Michael sings part of "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People to tell Dwight his PIN.

Producer's cut

Five days after the episode first aired on television, Hulu added the producer's cut of the episode to their website. This version includes 9 extra minutes, bringing the total length of the episode to 29:43.^[5]

References

↑ Wilson, Rainn (December 13, 2012). "Remember all of these? #FinalSeason". Facebook.com. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
↑ "The Office 6.13 - Secret Santa". NBC Universal Media Village. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
↑ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/12/11/broadcast-finals-survivor-csi-mentalist-community-parks-office-30-rock-leno-all-down/36012
↑ http://tv.ign.com/articles/105/1054601p1.html
↑ http://www.hulu.com/watch/116475/the-office-secret-santa-producers-cut

External links

"Secret Santa" at NBC.com
"Secret Santa" at the Internet Movie Database

The Office (U.S. series)

Episodes

Seasons	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Webisodes	The Accountants Kevin's Loan The Outburst Blackmail Subtle Sexuality The Mentor The 3rd Floor The Podcast The Girl Next Door

Characters

Primary	Michael Scott Dwight Schrute Jim Halpert Pam Beesly Ryan Howard Andy Bernard

Secondary	Angela Martin Jan Levinson Roy Anderson Stanley Hudson Phyllis Vance Kevin Malone Oscar Martinez Kelly Kapoor Creed Bratton Meredith Palmer Toby Flenderson Darryl Philbin Erin Hannon Gabe Lewis Robert California Nellie Bertram Pete Miller Clark Green Holly Flax

Recurring	Todd Packer David Wallace

Other

The Office (U.S.) episodes

Season 1	"Pilot" "Diversity Day" "Health Care" "The Alliance" "Basketball" "Hot Girl"

Season 2	"The Dundies" "Sexual Harassment" "Office Olympics" "The Fire" "Halloween" "The Fight" "The Client" "Performance Review" "Email Surveillance" "Christmas Party" "Booze Cruise" "The Injury" "The Secret" "The Carpet" "Boys and Girls" "Valentine's Day" "Dwight's Speech" "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" "Michael's Birthday" "Drug Testing" "Conflict Resolution" "Casino Night"

Season 3	"Gay Witch Hunt" "The Convention" "The Coup" "Grief Counseling" "Initiation" "Diwali" "Branch Closing" "The Merger" "The Convict" "A Benihana Christmas" "Back from Vacation" "Traveling Salesmen" "The Return" "Ben Franklin" "Phyllis' Wedding" "Business School" "Cocktails" "The Negotiation" "Safety Training" "Product Recall" "Women's Appreciation" "Beach Games" "The Job"

Season 4	"Fun Run" "Dunder Mifflin Infinity" "Launch Party" "Money" "Local Ad" "Branch Wars" "Survivor Man" "The Deposition" "Dinner Party" "Chair Model" "Night Out" "Did I Stutter?" "Job Fair" "Goodbye, Toby"

Season 5	"Weight Loss" "Business Ethics" "Baby Shower" "Crime Aid" "Employee Transfer" "Customer Survey" "Business Trip" "Frame Toby" "The Surplus" "Moroccan Christmas" "The Duel" "Prince Family Paper" "Stress Relief" "Lecture Circuit" "Blood Drive" "Golden Ticket" "New Boss" "Two Weeks" "Dream Team" "Michael Scott Paper Company" "Heavy Competition" "Broke" "Casual Friday" "Cafe Disco" "Company Picnic"

Season 6	"Gossip" "The Meeting" "The Promotion" "Niagara" "Mafia" "The Lover" "Koi Pond" "Double Date" "Murder" "Shareholder Meeting" "Scott's Tots" "Secret Santa" "The Banker" "Sabre" "The Manager and the Salesman" "The Delivery" "St. Patrick's Day" "New Leads" "Happy Hour" "Secretary's Day" "Body Language" "The Cover-Up" "The Chump" "Whistleblower"

Season 7	"Nepotism" "Counseling" "Andy's Play" "Sex Ed" "The Sting "Costume Contest" "Christening" "Viewing Party" "WUPHF.com" "China" "Classy Christmas" "Ultimatum" "The Seminar" "The Search" "PDA" "Threat Level Midnight" "Todd Packer" "Garage Sale" "Training Day" "Michael's Last Dundies" "Goodbye, Michael" "The Inner Circle" "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager" "Search Committee"

Season 8	"The List" "The Incentive" "Lotto" "Garden Party" "Spooked" "Doomsday" "Pam's Replacement" "Gettysburg" "Mrs. California" "Christmas Wishes" "Trivia" "Pool Party" "Jury Duty" "Special Project" "Tallahassee" "After Hours" "Test the Store" "Last Day in Florida" "Get the Girl" "Welcome Party" "Angry Andy" "Fundraiser" "Turf War" "Free Family Portrait Studio"

Season 9	"New Guys" "Roy's Wedding" "Andy's Ancestry" "Work Bus" "Here Comes Treble" "The Boat" "The Whale" "The Target" "Dwight Christmas" "Lice" "Suit Warehouse" "Customer Loyalty" "Junior Salesman" "Vandalism" "Couples Discount" "Moving On" "The Farm" "Promos" "Stairmageddon" "Paper Airplane" "Livin' the Dream" "A.A.R.M." "Finale"

Webisodes	The Accountants Kevin's Loan The Outburst Blackmail Subtle Sexuality The Mentor The 3rd Floor The Podcast The Girl Next Door

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