False Startup

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Okay, remember Ryan's stupid WUPHF idea? It looks like he's making a go of turning that into an actual internet startup, complete with venture capital and everything. The problem is that his investors are his coworkers. The bigger problem is that he has nine days before bankruptcy. Everyone is freaking out about losing their investments except the majority stockholder, who's standing in the way of an offer to sell because he has a ridiculous man-crush on the founder. Yes, I mean Michael.

Jim's having a great sales run, until he learns that he's hit his "annual commission cap." So with no reason to work, he discovers new heights of time-wasting. Which means one of his most elaborate pranks ever, targeted at Gabe. Poor Gabe.

Part of the reason Dwight's out of Jim's crosshairs is because he's hosting a hay festival in the parking lot. The less said about that, the better -- except that Angela meets a disgruntled fairgoer who looks a bit like Dwight without the catastrophic weirdness (Jack Coleman from Heroes) and the two of them hit it off, prompting Angela to let Dwight out of the baby contract with her that he's been blowing off all day anyway.

Pam gently helps Michael realize that Ryan's taking advantage of him. But Michael already knew that, and insists on believing in Ryan anyway. So he gets to make a big speech, do some grandstanding -- and then keep his money anyway when Ryan finally decides to admit defeat and call it off. Wuphf.

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Everyone's sitting quietly when suddenly the power goes out. Dwight has a typically overblown emergency plan all ready to go, but soon the lights come back, with an admission from Michael that he had a space heater and fan plugged in. But now the server's down, and nobody remembers what the eight-year-old password is. Michael thinks back through all their IT guys, going from "Glasses" and "Turban" all the way to "Fatty," "Lozenge," and "Fatty 2." Someone remembers that Pam was offended when she heard it. "BIGBOOBS" doesn't work, but "BIGBOOBZ" does. "The important thing is, this kept us secure, people," Michael lectures.

Ryan's got a WUPHF.com bumper sticker on his car, but Michael has about a dozen. In Michael's office, they do a little skit ripping off the Mac vs. PC ads, with Michael as Facebook and Ryan as WUPHF (which I'm already sick of typing). It sends messages to home phone, cell phone, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and home screen all at once. Ryan demonstrates, as we've seen him do before.

Erin reports to Pam (as office administrator) that Ryan has been using the color printer a lot, but Pam's cool with it. "Yes, I invested in WUPHF," she talking-heads. She says she knows Ryan's sketchy, but she married Jim. "I've done my part for the nice guy. Now I want a bedroom set."

Michael talks to Ryan about an investor's ski trip (on which he hopes to learn to ski), and Ryan changes the subject to how they need more investors even though he's already getting buyout offers. Which means shaking down everyone in the office. Great plan.

Dwight's having a hay-bale maze set up in the parking lot, inspired by his Uncle Eldred's "Hay World," although the kids called it "Hay Place." "Eventually, lawyers were brought in." But Hay Place is back, baby. He starts greeting visitors: "The petting zoo closes at two, and the goat roast is at three." Angela comes up asking for a roll in the hay. Dwight gets it on the schedule.

Jim gets off the phone, rubs his face, and finally lets out a whoop. He THs that he's on his first hot sales streak, as a result of all the practice he's getting from breaking down Cece's sales resistance. "Let's be honest, if I can make mushed carrots seem better than a boob, I can pretty much sell anything."

Jim goes right over to Kevin to check on his commission for the sale, which is zero. Neither of them gets why, so Angela explains that Jim already hit his commission cap for the fiscal year. New policy. Bad new policy.

Provenance
Original URL
http://www.brilliantbutcancelled.com:80/show/the-office/wuphfcom-1/
Captured
2019-04-06
Page Type
recap (100%)
Wayback Machine
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