"Lecture Circuit" wasn't as outrageously hilarious as Dwight (Rainn Wilson) destroying the CPR dummy and pretending to be Hannibal Lecter while calling out to Clarice in the episode “Stress Relief” but it was still a testament to how The Office cleverly puts together the right mix of comedy, realism, and odd circumstances.  I particularly liked the fact that Mindy Kaling, who plays my favorite office chatterbox Kelly Kapoor, helmed this two-part episode and allowed her character to be the latest victim of the party planning committee.  Inspired by last week's installment which saw one of the worst (and funniest) efforts of the party planning committee, I've decided to pay tribute to the group's most memorable office events that have made the Scranton branch the funniest subsidiary of Dunder Mifflin.

I've listed my five favorite events planned by the party planning committee in no particular order. You can add yours in the comments below!

For those who are not fans of The Office, the party planning committee is a group that organizes office functions, more often than not, on a very short notice. Originally led by Angela (Angela Kinsey), who was eventually caught by Phyllis having sex with Dwight in “Goodbye, Toby,” Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) has taken the committee's chair but has turned “power hungry” upon blackmailing Angela.  Phyllis has since been replaced by Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight.  Other members include Pam (Jenna Fischer), Meredith (Kate Flannery), Kelly, Ryan (B.J. Novak) and Oscar (Oscar Nuñez).


Kelly's Deferred Birthday Party

Speaking of Jim and Dwight, who have openly shown their disdain as the new heads of the committee, last week's episode has been refreshing change of pace in their unending quest to get on each other's nerves.  While knowing that they are both out of their field of expertise, seeing them working together (and failing to remember Kelly's birthday) gives viewers more reasons to laugh. "Lecture Circuit" shows us how literal-minded Dwight can be as he decorates the conference room with brown and gray balloons because “they match the carpet” and puts little effort into blowing them.


Christmas Party 2005

Christmas is one of those holidays that every office looks forward to.  In true Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch-style, however, the employees celebrate Christmas with Secret Santa presents, drama and a lot of booze.  In the episode “Christmas Party,” Ryan has been added to the part planning committee and gets all the credit from Michael (Steve Carell), much to the dismay of party planning head Angela.  Serving as the highlight of the episode is the Secret Santa gift exchange in which Michael gives Ryan a video iPod, which significantly exceeding the $20 limit.  When Michael gets an oven mitt made by Phyllis, Michael does not see the sentimental value of the gift and turns the Secret Santa exchange into "Yankee Swap," hoping to receive a gift of higher monetary value.  Of course, this ruins the party but Michael tries to save the day by buying 15 bottles of vodka to cheer up everyone.  By the end of the episode, Meredith enters Michael's office and takes her top off, leaving Michael with a traumatized look on his face.


Christmas Party 2006

In “A Benihana Christmas," Angela sets up a meeting with the rest of the party planning committee to talk about the specifics of the office party.  Karen offers several party ideas but Angela immediately rejects them so Karen leaves the committee.  Instead, Karen and Pam form their own margarita-karaoke party, which most of the office employees attend.  Kevin, on the other hand, attends Angela's party because it serves double-fudge brownies, which outweighs the fact that Angela herself will be there.


Launch Party

As part of the new Dunder Mifflin Infinity website, each Dunder Mifflin branch is expected to have its own party connected by webcams.  As expected, the party planning committee is called to organize the event, but seeing how rude and demanding Angela can be, Phyllis googles ways on how to handle difficult people like Angela.  So when Angela lashes out at Phyllis for making a spelling mistake in the sign “Lunch Party” and for buying the wrong plastic utensils, Phyllis tries to calmly reason with her but to no avail.  Sick of Angela's insults, Phyllis crumples all the notes containing Angela's demands into one ball and throws it at Angela's face.  Meanwhile, Michael, who wants to create a better party in Scranton, accidentally orders pizza from the office's least favorite pizza place, which Kevin describes as a “hot circle of garbage.”


Toby's Farewell Party

This may not have been the funniest bash from the party planning committee but it's certainly one of the most successful.  In “Goodbye, Toby,” Michael is determined to have a party to equal the joy in his heart since his nemesis Toby is leaving for Costa Rica.  But Angela bails out at Michael's unreasonable demands so Phyllis takes over the committee.  Unpredictably, Phyllis does a wonderful job organizing the party, ordering carnival rides to the parking lot and hiring Darryl's band.  Jim also contributes to the party planning fund in order to buy some fireworks, which he intends to use for his proposal to Pam.  But before Jim pops the big question, Andy ruins the moment by popping the question to Angela, who responds with an unenthusiastic “OK.”

The party planning committee is part of the reason why I love watching The Office.  While it's not something regularly featured on each installment, it brings out the best and worse in every character, and that's something I always look forward to.  And now that Angela and Phyllis' are disqualified because of their power hungry tendencies, and Dwight and Jim are clearly unsuitable for the job, I'm excited to see who else can take over the much coveted throne.



Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of NBC)