Tallahassee (The Office)

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

In this episode, Dwight returns to Tallahassee to meet with the president of Sabre's special projects, Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate).

According to Nielsen Media Research, "Tallahassee" drew 4.38 million viewers and received a 2.3 rating/6% share in the 18–49 demographic, marking a 12% drop in ratings from the previous episode, "Special Project", and becoming the lowest-rated episode of the series to air, beating the previous record holder, "Hot Girl."

Dwight Schrute, Jim Halpert, Stanley Hudson, Cathy Simms, Ryan Howard and Erin Hannon travel to Tallahassee as part of a team picked for Sabre's new project.

Jim, used to waking up at four AM to take care of his children, uses the extra time to stage a murder scene in his room, in order to prank Dwight.

After nearly butchering a slide-show presentation, he finally impresses Nellie by telling the audience that the only element of marketing that matters is "desire."

With the rest of the staff similarly declining to answer the phone, Andy is left with no choice but to take on the receptionist's role himself, and performs the job with unexpected gusto.

Pam and Darryl Philbin attempt to talk him out of his newfound enjoyment, believing it to be linked to his lingering feelings for Erin, to no success.

[4][5] Her character, Nellie is re-introduced as the Head of Special Projects for Sabre, and subsequently works in the Scranton office from "Get the Girl".

[7] The episode also marks the ninth appearance of Lindsey Broad, who portrays Cathy, Pam's replacement during her maternity leave.

[12] "Tallahassee" received largely positive reviews from critics, with many noting that the Florida story-line gave the series a focus.

"[13] Brian Marder from Hollywood.com wrote a largely positive review, noting that "Overall, tonight represented a significant step back in the right direction – and hope that maybe the series still has hope... More promisingly, the humor was top-notch, funnily similar to the effortless comedy of early seasons and refreshingly dissimilar to the forced, uncharacteristic stuff that has pervaded season 8.

[15] In addition, he noted that episode did not feature any hints of Erin's desire to stay in Florida or Cathy's attempt to seduce Jim, a move he hoped would be permanent.

"[17] The Filtered Lens reviewer Matt Dougherty called the episode "solid" and noted "While 'Tallahassee' was not quite as good as last week, it still is a step in the right direction for this struggling show.

[21] He wrote that, "I would argue, though, that [undeveloped characters are] part of the show’s problem right now" and noted that Tate's performance was expanded "little ... beyond her initial appearance last season.

"[21] In a review for the subsequent episode, "After Hours", however, McNutt acknowledged that, "If I'm being honest with [sic], last week's probably should have been above a 'C-,' but I went with my gut and have to stand by that decision.