dbo:abstract
- "Company Picnic" is the fifth season finale of the American comedy television series The Office, and the 100th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 14, 2009. In the episode, Michael plans to win back his ex-girlfriend Holly at a Dunder Mifflin company picnic, while the rest of the Scranton office get involved in a competitive company volleyball tournament. The episode was written by Paul Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta, and directed by Ken Kwapis. It marked return appearances of former guest stars Amy Ryan as Holly Flax and Idris Elba as Charles Miner. Actress Jenna Fischer is not as talented a volleyball player as she is portrayed in the episode, so some of her scenes were modified with computer-generated imagery. The scene in which Jim and Pam discover the pregnancy includes no dialogue, and is a homage to a similar scene in the original British version of The Office, where Tim Canterbury silently proclaims his love for Dawn Tinsley. The episode also features a sketch about the history of Dunder Mifflin which parodies the film Slumdog Millionaire. "Company Picnic" received generally positive reviews, particularly for the return of Holly and the scene in which Jim discovers Pam is pregnant. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was watched by 6.72 million viewers. It was the lowest-rated episode of the season and had the lowest original episode rating for The Office in two years, which reviewers said was especially surprising given that it was a season finale episode. (en)