The Whale (The Office)

The episode guest stars Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton and marks the return of actress Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson.

The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Meanwhile, Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) convinces several of the men in the office to grow mustaches for "Movember".

The episode was also viewed by 4.16 million viewers and received a 2.1/6 percent rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, ranking fourth in its timeslot.

He is severely sunburned, loses his supply of fresh water in the ocean, and is going mad from lack of human contact after only two days on the boat.

The lesson, which is supported by Nellie Bertram, Erin Hannon, Meredith Palmer, and Phyllis Vance, goes nowhere, with Dwight unable to grasp the concept of simple niceties, and they give up.

However, Dwight remains determined to make the sale, so he has Pam stall while he gets Clark, intuiting that Jan has an attraction to underage boys due to her rumored affair with her 17-year-old former assistant Hunter.

[5] The episode sees the return of Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson, a former character in the series who left after the early part of the fifth season.

[5] Hardin, did however, make two short appearances on the show during the seventh season episodes "Sex Ed" and "Threat Level Midnight".

[8] The official website of The Office included several cut scenes from "The Whale" within a week of the episode's release.

[2] In its original broadcast, "The Whale" was viewed by an estimated 4.16 million viewers and received a 2.1/6 percent share rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.

[16] Damon Houx of Screencrush felt that the entry was rushed, which resulted in "most characters [getting] 2- to 3-minute storylines, or—in most cases—a joke or line or two."

While enjoying the story's main plots—specifically citing Angela and Oscar's "sneak around", and Dwight's endeavor—he was critical of Jim's subplot, writing that "I couldn't care less about the issues he was facing with teleconferencing.

[12] White noted that it "was nice to see Melora Hardin in the role one last time", but wrote that "it's a shame that the show is sticking with the crazy version of the character rather than mellowing her out a bit".

[18] Melora Hardin's performance was later submitted by the producers of The Office for an "Outstanding Guest Actor in Comedy Series" Emmy consideration.