Many commentators particularly praised the chaotic cold open scene, in which Dwight panics his co-workers with a simulated fire as part of a twisted safety demonstration.

Because it aired following the Super Bowl, "Stress Relief" was the most viewed episode of The Office with 22.9 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research during its original broadcast.

Dwight eventually reveals it was just a "test", but things go terribly wrong when Stanley Hudson suffers a heart attack and collapses in the commotion.

Later that day, Dwight is subsequently reprimanded by Dunder Mifflin CFO David Wallace, and Michael strips him of his position as safety officer.

The movie ends with Jack Black visiting Cloris Leachman with flowers and a new walker, only to discover her affair with another young man.

[2] Some criticized the decision to place an episode of The Office, an already established NBC series, after the Super Bowl instead of a new show, and suggested it meant the network lacked any exceptional new material.

"[2] The Office creator Greg Daniels said he felt the episode had to focus on physical comedy and easily accessible set pieces.

Daniels said, "I looked at all the shows that followed the Super Bowl in years past and I feel that a comedy would be a good choice in the current climate.

"[6] The two parts of "Stress Relief" ran an hour long (including commercials), compared to the typical half-hour length of most The Office episodes.

[7][9][10] The opening scene, in which the characters frantically scramble to escape the Dunder Mifflin office due to what they believe is a fire, took about a day-and-a-half to shoot.

[11] Due to the pressure of following the Super Bowl, actress Jenna Fischer said, "I don't think we've ever worked so hard on an episode in the history of our show.

"[13] In anticipation of particularly high viewership due to the Super Bowl, NBC officials encouraged The Office producers to feature celebrity guest appearances in the episode.

[8][9][15] Watching Mrs. Albert Hannaday, Andy says the Cloris Leachman character was originally supposed to be played by the much younger actress, Nicole Kidman, and the last-minute replacement prompted a minor overhaul in the film's script.

[9] The songs "You Make My Dreams" by Hall and Oates, "All Out of Love" by the soft rock duo Air Supply, "Have a Little Faith in Me" by singer-songwriter John Hiatt, and "Lady" by Little River Band play during scenes in Mrs. Albert Hannaday.

[16] In describing the upcoming roast, Michael says he plans to call YouTube, an online video sharing website, to record the event.

[7] During the roast, Pam says Michael's penis is so small, "If it were an iPod, it would be a Shuffle", a reference to the smallest of the Apple Inc. portable media player brands.

[21] Stanley's heart attack in response to Dwight's fake fire drill ranked number 10 in phillyBurbs.com's top ten moments from the fifth season of The Office.

The sequence included scenes such as Kevin looting a vending machine amid the chaos, Michael throwing a nearby projector out of the conference room window to call for help, Oscar's legs crashing through the ceiling as he tries to crawl out, Angela tossing her cat through an open ceiling tile, Jim and Andy using the copier as a battering ram, and the latter's reaction to a series of popping caps: "The fire is shooting at us!

He said the only drawback of the episode was the Mrs. Albert Hannaday subplot, which he felt was an unnecessary gimmick added solely to accommodate the guest stars.

Krone specifically praised the Jim and Pam subplot and Dwight's character, adding, "It's a pretty perfect way to unwind – or, if your team lost, to become reanimated – after the Super Bowl.

"[23] Rick Ingebritson of The Palm Beach Post said the episode "was funny from start to finish", particularly praising Dwight Schrute's role and the Michael Scott roast.

He praised the Black/Leachman film, the trouble Dwight kept getting in, and the Jim and Pam subplot, which he called "a rare Pam-Jim plot point that worked".

Entertainment Weekly writer Whitney Pastorek said the episode started strong with the fire scare scene, but "tapered off into a disjointed plot" that she felt would not win new viewers.

[17] Lorenzo Perez of The News & Observer said the Pam subplot was "overworked" and lacked impact, and the Dwight character was over-the-top, proving The Office writers clearly have no idea how to rein him in.

"[24] USA Today critic Robert Bianco said the plot was extremely thin and the Black and Leachman cameos were humorless and grotesque.