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In a desperate attempt to stop his sales tailspin, Andy holds a seminar in the conference room, with support from other members of the sales team. But Jim bails to avoid someone he doesn't want to see. And when Stanley, Phyllis, and Dwight see the losers Andy's raked in, they're out too, leaving Andy stuck with Kevin, Creed, and (when Ryan bails) Kelly. As the day wears on, the real salespeople realize they might be missing out, but advice from Darryl gives Andy the wherewithal to go on alone, and he ends up making three actual sales. Go, Andy!
It turns out the reason Jim missed it was because he wanted to avoid a childhood friend whom he clumsily dissed in third grade, and even hiding in the parking lot all day doesn't preclude an awkward reunion.
Michael's part in the seminar is to be the "plant," and after a random encounter with a fellow improv-lover (Ricky Gervais as David Brent), he's doing an over-the-top "Greek" character. Holly's reluctant to get in on the act, but she can't resist for long. Now we're talking.
Erin's trying to beat Gabe at Scrabble so she doesn't have to watch another horror movie with him, and with a little help from Pam and an overinvested Oscar, she almost does. And just when Gabe's offering a "compromise" in the form of a movie about a killer robot, Andy casually lends her Shrek 2. Looks like he might be closing more deals soon, if you know what I mean.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Michael is waiting for the elevator and nearly bumps into none other than the ur-Michael Scott himself, David Brent, who says, "Sorry, mate." Ricky Gervais is sorry, everyone! Now can we move on to the more urgent issue of what's going to happen at year's Golden Globes? Picking up on his accent, Michael says he's working on an English character named, what else, "Reginald Pooftah," David introduces himself and says he's got characters of his own, like a Chinese guy named Ho Lee Fuk. Michael laughs and mentions his own late, unlamented Ping, sympathizing with David's complaint that the world doesn't appreciate politically incorrect humor. David agrees that "comedy is where the mind goes to tickle itself. That's what she said!" Michael is so moved he gives him a hug before letting him go on his way. Somehow the physical contact between the two of them fails to short-circuit the space-time continuum.
Andy's running a seminar today in the conference room. We get to see a copy of the flier on a bulletin board somewhere, which also bills an introduction by Jim Halpert, "small business expert" Phyllis Vance, and "special guest speaker" Dwight Schrute, which should be a big draw for everyone who witnessed his triumph at the sales convention in 2006. It's part of Andy's plan to lure clients, an idea he got after being suckered into buying an Idaho timeshare. Erin directs a few visitors into the conference room, and in walks Michael, dressed as his idea of a Greek guy named Mykonos. He's so convincing Erin's almost fooled, which is to say, not very. Michael talking-heads to us that he's "the plant," the person who asks leading questions and laughs at all the jokes. While helping Andy warm up, Jim spots one of the attendees, clearly recognizes him, and abruptly bails on the seminar. Andy physically tries to restrain him before admitting in a TH that this needs to go well. "I'm a terrible salesman. And I haven't been making very many sales lately. Or ever." We get a quick look at the sales board, which shows him below even warehouse employees like Madge, Glenn, and Hidetoshi, and he says he might lose his job. "Which would suck, because this is the only job I've ever been good at." Jim asks Pam to tell him when the seminar's over, and when Pam asks if he knows that guy, he claims he has a meeting. On his way out, he nearly runs into Dwight, who asks Erin, "How are the marks?"