Michael was in crisis mode at Dunder-Mifflin when a disgruntled employee at the paper mill put an obscene watermark on one of their most popular orders of paper. Michael called the staff into a meeting and pointed the blame on Creed, who was responsible for quality assurance at the paper mill and blew it off.
WAR
113.8
Wins Above Replacement
“Product Recall” ranks #3 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 97.1 — Elite. The episode packs 72 scored jokes at 3.5 per minute, averaging 7.6 on craft and 7.5 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Jim: 'Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.'
Jim Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Creed: Creed confessional: 'The difference between me and a homeless man is this job. I will do whatever it takes to survive. Like I did... when I was a homeless man.'
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Dwight · Karen: Dwight (as Jim): 'Wanna get together later and have sexual intercourse, 'cause you're my girlfriend? Do you?' Karen: 'No.' Dwight: 'Okay. I'm good. Thanks.'
Creed: Creed passes around a farewell card and collection for Debbie Brown — who was fired because Creed framed her
Creed Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Creed: Creed confessional: 'I feel terrible about Debbie Brown. She got fired because of Dwight.' — completely wrong about who caused it
Creed Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Standout Moments
Jim: 'Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.'
Jim Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Creed: Creed confessional: 'The difference between me and a homeless man is this job. I will do whatever it takes to survive. Like I did... when I was a homeless man.'
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Dwight · Karen: Dwight (as Jim): 'Wanna get together later and have sexual intercourse, 'cause you're my girlfriend? Do you?' Karen: 'No.' Dwight: 'Okay. I'm good. Thanks.'
All Jokes — 72 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Jim: Jim's camera is blurry, then adjusts — the cold open reveals Jim dressed as Dwight, complete with glasses and mustard-yellow shirt, doing the Dwight bit before the reveal
Jim Visual Gag Misdirection ★ Rewatch Jim: Jim (as Dwight): 'Question. What kind of bear is best?' / 'Dwight' (Jim): 'It's a ridiculous question.' / 'False. Black bear.'
Jim Character Comedy Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Dwight: 'Identity theft is not a joke, Jim! Millions of families suffer every year!'
Dwight Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Michael · Dwight: Michael laughing at the prank and saying 'Oh, that's funny.' while Dwight protests
Michael: The obscene watermark described as 'a beloved cartoon duck performing unspeakable acts upon a certain cartoon mouse that a lot of people like'
Michael Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Michael: 'I've never been a fan.' — Michael about the 'certain cartoon mouse that a lot of people like'
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Michael · Jim · Other: Michael yells 'Cry-Man Squaw, F and C, double time!' — then has to spend 30 seconds explaining what it means
Jim · Employee · Jim: I think you could make the argument that it wastes time. / Yeah, she has a good point. / For example, with the last thing you said, by the time you explained it, it actually took up more time.
Creed: Creed confessional: 'Every week, I'm supposed to take 4 hours and do a quality spot-check at the paper mill. And, of course, the one year I blow it off, this happens.'
Creed Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Kelly: 'This day is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.' Kelly starts spelling it and then continues into the next scene
Kelly Character Comedy Running Gag Dwight: Dwight doing the 'money beets' speech to the assembled women — 'First rule in roadside beet sales: put the most attractive beets on top... Those are the money beets.'
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Michael · Jim: Jim: 'That's what she said. No time! But she did. No time!'
Michael Jim Running Gag Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Jim: Yeah, I'm definitely gonna go alone.
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Michael: 'That's what happened to O.J.' — Michael's example of a company that waited for the story to control them
Michael Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Michael: Michael's imagined newspaper headline: 'Scranton-area paper company, Dunder-Mifflin, apologizes to valued client. Some companies still know how business is done.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Creed: Creed's confessional: He calls the paper mill to find out who was supposedly supposed to be there for his inspection, using the call itself to construct an alibi by getting the name 'Debbie Brown' and the date
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Creed: Creed calls the paper mill pretending he WAS there for the inspection and gets them to give him the name of the absent manager to cover his tracks
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Kelly: Kelly tells the accountants 'I know the reason you became accountants is 'cause you're not good at interacting with people. But guess what? From now on, you guys are no longer losers. So give yourselves a round of applause.'
Kelly Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Oscar: Oscar: 'I wonder how many phone calls you're missing while you're teaching us to answer it.'
Oscar Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Kelly: Kelly: 'I know. Probably a lot.' — responding to Oscar's point about missed calls
Kelly Character Comedy Reaction Beat Kelly · Kevin · Angela: Kelly's Bridget Jones impression and the accountants' Australian role-play: 'I like ice cream. I need a boyfriend.' / 'I like ice cream, too, mate. Alli-gators and dingo babies.'
Jim · Andy: Jim: 'Beer me.' Andy: 'What's that?' Jim: 'Hand me that water. I always say beer me. Gets a laugh, like, a quarter of the time.'
Jim Andy Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential Andy · Jim: So how's what's-her-name? / You know her name. / Who, Karen? Yeah, she's only one of my oldest friends.
Andy Jim Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Andy: Andy's forced small talk with Jim: 'How's the apartment hanging? / Check out this sunshine, man. Global warming, right?'
Andy Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Jim · Andy: Jim's girlfriend's mix tape plays — we don't hear what it is but Andy says 'I was thinking more like a CD or... a CD?' suggesting it was something profoundly awkward
Jim Andy Reaction Beat Awkward Silence Andy: My girlfriend made an awesome mix. Beer me that disc.
Andy Character Comedy Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Jim: 'Lord, beer me strength.' — Jim quietly to himself before entering the school with Andy
Jim Character Comedy Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Andy · Jim: Andy tries to figure out which student is his girlfriend — 'Oh, is she that teacher in the white?' Jim: 'No, she's a part-time frozen yogurt chef.'
Dwight: Dwight grants the reporter Level 3 security clearance: 'Don't get too excited. That's out of 20.'
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Oh, dear God. (Michael's reaction to seeing it's just a local lifestyle reporter)
Andy · Jamie: Andy runs into his girlfriend at the high school and realizes she's a student: 'You never told me you're in high school.' / 'This is weird. I gotta go to Spanish.'
Andy Jamie Cringe/Discomfort Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Andy · Jamie: Andy's girlfriend is revealed to be a high school student: Jamie saying 'Yeah' and 'I gotta go to Spanish'
Andy Jamie Cringe/Discomfort Misdirection ★ Rewatch Callback Jim: Jim: 'Well... that's not gonna hold up in court.' — after Andy says he had no idea his girlfriend was in high school
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Andy: 'We didn't do anything illegal. Except knock over a mailbox with her friends.'
Andy Character Comedy Escalation Creed: Creed's elaborate false alibi confessional: invented a dentist appointment story to cover for Debbie Brown, who actually called in sick
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: 'Mrs. Allen is our most important client. Because every client is our most important client.' — then immediately: 'Even though she's a pretty unimportant client, really.'
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Michael: I would like to present you with this novelty check for six months of free paper, or 25 reams, whichever comes first.
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Andy · Jim: Andy staring after the boy at Jamie's locker: 'Who was that guy?' Jim: 'Not important. Because you're not dating her. Because it's a felony.'
Andy Jim Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Callback Andy: 'One of your students is a bitch.' — Andy blurting this at the principal/teacher during the meeting
Andy Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Jim: Jim's talking head: 'Andy is having a real rough day today.' — Jim directly to camera, completely deadpan
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Principal · Andy: The issue with the watermark is very serious. / You don't teach it well enough. / One of your students is a bitch.
Jim: 'I wanna take out an ad in your yearbook. A full page, two words.' — Jim to Andy, implying a message to Jamie
Jim Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Andy: Andy: 'That's not what I had in mind.' — in response to Jim suggesting 'Good luck' for the yearbook ad
Andy Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Kelly · Oscar: Kelly coaching Oscar via earpiece — Oscar robotically relays Kelly's words verbatim: 'And the company has already apologized, so you can take that apology or not.'
Andy: I think he had Tourette's or something. (Andy, after his outburst, explaining himself to Jim)
Andy Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Michael: Michael: 'May I point out that the sex appeared to be consensual. Both animals were smiling.'
Michael Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Dwight: Dwight: 'I grew up on a farm. I have seen animals having sex in every position imaginable. Goat on chicken, chicken on goat. Couple of chickens doing a goat. Couple of pigs watching.'
Dwight Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Michael: May I point out that the sex appeared to be consensual. Both animals were smiling.
Michael Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Dwight: 'Whoever drew this got it exactly right.' — Dwight's conclusion of his barnyard testimony
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael · Mrs. Allen: Mrs. Allen demands Michael resign; Michael says 'I'm a regional manager!' as if this is the relevant distinction
Michael: 'Yeah, well, I'm calling the Ungrateful Bee-otch Hotline!' — Michael's retort as Mrs. Allen threatens the Better Business Bureau
Michael Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Michael: This is spinning out of control, Pam. No, then Newsweek picks it up. And then CNN does a story about it. And then YouTube gets a hold of it.
Pam: 'Michael likes me to run the camera when he makes his apology videos. He says he needs a woman's touch.'
Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Michael's apology video script includes the phrase 'our embarrassing watermark boner'
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Michael: Michael's apology video: 'I am not leaving this office. It will take a SWAT team to remove me from this office, and maybe not even that.'
Dwight: Dwight's tactical analysis of how a SWAT team would defeat Michael: 'They would flank you, throw in a concussion grenade. You'd be on the ground...'
Dwight Character Comedy Reaction Beat Michael · Dwight: Michael: 'Cut.' / Dwight: 'Cut.' / Michael: 'I'm asking Pam to do it.' / Dwight: 'Cut.'
Kevin · Angela: Kevin/Angela payroll argument: Kevin: 'You didn't know that when you filled out this payroll form.' Angela: 'Yes! Facial!' — then 'You two are apes.'
Angela · Kevin: Angela: 'I'm sorry. That you're both morons.' / Kevin: 'But you still said I'm sorry.' / Angela: 'I called you morons.' / Kevin: 'Still said it, so...'
Michael: Michael's second apology video: 'They are trying to make me an escape goat.'
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's apology video: '...they are trying to make me an escape goat'
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Michael: Michael's threat in his video: 'I swear to God that every single piece of copier paper in this town is going to have the F-word on it. The F-word. You have one day.'
Dwight · Michael: That was your best apology video ever. / I thought so too.
Dwight · Michael: Dwight: 'One day for what?' Michael: 'That's... they always give an ultimatum.'
Creed: Creed passes around a farewell card and collection for Debbie Brown — who was fired because Creed framed her
Creed Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Creed: Creed confessional: 'I feel terrible about Debbie Brown. She got fired because of Dwight.' — completely wrong about who caused it
Creed Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight · Jim: Dwight tells Jim he looks nice today; Jim says 'I look like an idiot'
Dwight Jim Reaction Beat Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight · Karen: Dwight approaches Karen: 'Hey, Karen. Hey, Dwight. Lookin' sharp.' — Dwight realizes compliment, starts to reveal he's Jim
Dwight: Dwight's confessional as Jim: 'Spot on. Blah, blah, a little comment. Yeah.'
Dwight Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Callback Top Episodes — The Office