Jim admits that he is dating Karen. Angela discovers the branch receives money for hiring an ex-convict. Michael gets concerned when the ex-con paints a rosy picture of life in a minimum security prison to his co-workers and calls a meeting to discuss the situation. Andy tries to find a date in the office, and Jim decides to prank him.
Notable as the only episode Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant wrote for the American version.note
Air date: November 30, 2006
Tropes
- Abhorrent Admirer: Jim's prank on Andy deliberately invokes this. In giving Andy advice on how to woo Pam, Jim tells him everything that Pam supposedly loves, but are in fact her pet peeves. Once she realizes what's happening, she plays along.
- Bait-and-Switch: Michael sees Hannah's baby and asks "May I?" Hannah assumes he means "May I hold the baby". He obviously means, "May I hide under a desk and pretend the baby is speaking with my voice".
- Big Damn Heroes: Toby, of all people, gets a moment of this. After Michael locks everyone in the conference room, Toby calmly explains to him that what he did was Disproportionate Retribution when the employees were just kidding around. They don't really think prison would be better than Dunder Mifflin. Michael accepts this as In-Universe Jerkass Has a Point and lets them out.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Michael providing a voice for Hannah's baby.Michael: Hey Mom! I'm thirsty! I'm thirsty, Mama! I want some milk! And you know where milk comes from.(beat)Michael: Breasts.
- Dwindling Party: The Stamford employees are quitting or being fired, one by one.
- Even the Guys Want Him: Prison Mike warns Ryan that he'd be considered "da belle of da ball" in prison.
- Everyone Has Standards: Michael drops his entertainer persona during the first part of the episode, as he feels that Martin’s past in prison isn’t anyone’s business but his own, and even tried to stop Dwight from antagonising him.
- Fridge Logic: In-Universe. "Prison Mike" keeps talking about how horrible his prison experience was while at one point saying he's never been caught for his crimes. After he says this, there's a shot of Jim giving a look to the camera showing that he clearly caught this but doesn't care enough to bring it up.
- Hypocritical Humor: Prison Mike tells the employees that "your boss is nice" and "you got a good life", then less than a minute later Michael locks them up in the conference room out of spite.
- Jive Turkey: Michael thinks "yo, that's shizzle!" is common street slang.
- Luxury Prison Suite: Martin's prison sounds better than Dunder-Mifflin.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: A Played for Laughs example. You can tell Prison Mike is an exceptional example of Michael craziness because Stanley briefly stops doing his crossword to watch.
- Oh, Crap!: Jim gives a quick Aside Glance when he realizes how personally Michael took all those jokes about prison being better than the office, and the ends to which Michael might go to convince everyone that the opposite is true.
- Pig Latin: Andy thinks this is one of the things Pam can't resist, thanks to Jim pulling his leg.
- Pink Means Feminine: Hannah brings her son to the office while dressed in pink, leading Pam to think that he is a girl.
- Prison Rape: Mentioned multiple times in Prison Mike's diatribe.
- Sarcasm-Blind: Toby has to explain to Michael that the employees were kidding around and don't actually think Dunder Mifflin is worse than prison.
- Scare 'Em Straight: After Martin makes prison sound better than the office, Michael puts a bandanna on his head and gives a presentation as "Prison Mike," trying to scare everyone away from prison. He fails miserably.
- Scary Minority Suspect: Played with. While trying to figure out who served time, Kevin suggests Martin, who happens to be African-American. Michael criticizes Kevin for automatically assuming the Black guy went to jail, then it turns out Kevin was right. However, Martin went to jail for insider trading, and served time in a cushy minimum security facility.
- Shout-Out: To Look Who's Talking, the Six Flags' ads, several prison shows, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. "Prison Mike" also seems like some kind of an attempt at a Joe Pesci impression. The episode ends with Andy singing "Rainbow Connection" in a ridiculous falsetto.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Michael's presentation doesn't remind Martin of his time in jail.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Upon the arrival of Prison Mike, Angela says what everyone in the room is thinking, but Michael is extraordinarily committed to the character.Angela: Do you really expect us to believe you're somebody else?Prison Mike: Do you really expect me not to push you up against the wall, BEEYOTCH?(disapproval and commotion)Prison Mike: Hey, hey, hey! Dat's just da way we talk in da clink!
