Michael and Dwight go undercover to do a bit of industrial espionage on a paper company competitor. Meanwhile, the rest of the office holds a debate to settle the question: is Hilary Swank hot?
WAR
46.1
Wins Above Replacement
“Prince Family Paper” ranks #54 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 81.5 — Elite. The episode packs 48 scored jokes at 2.7 per minute, averaging 7.1 on craft and 6.8 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
Dwight: Dwight to Mr. Prince's son: 'Get rid of this guy. That's my son. I'm your son now, you can visit him on holidays.'
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael sees Hilary Swank photo and immediately says 'Oh, she's hot' then 'Damn it!'
Michael Callback Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Dwight: Michael: 'There are clouds. Bad for business.' Dwight: 'Only if they were altocumulus, not cirrostratus.'
Dwight: Dwight reveals he bought 500 feet of red wire at a flea market for $20
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Mr. Prince: Michael to Vietnam vet: 'Vietnam. I hear it's lovely.'
All Jokes — 48 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Dwight · Jim: Dwight obsessing over a random red wire, Jim dismissing it as normal computer parts
Dwight Jim Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Dwight: Dwight reveals he bought 500 feet of red wire at a flea market for $20
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael: 'Fax? Why don't you just send it over on a dinosaur?'
Michael Observational Character Comedy Stanley · Kevin · Phyllis: Office debate about whether Hilary Swank is hot begins
Jim · Office: The Hilary Swank vote ends in a 5-5 tie
Dwight · Jim · Others: Multiple people volunteering to seduce the fictional daughter of Prince Paper
Michael: Michael's alias is 'Michael Scarn'
Michael Character Comedy Running Gag ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Dwight: Dwight vs Michael Denny's vs IHOP argument
Dwight: Dwight's elaborate surveillance analysis of Prince Paper's storefront
Dwight Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael · Dwight: Michael: 'There are clouds. Bad for business.' Dwight: 'Only if they were altocumulus, not cirrostratus.'
Michael · Dwight: The 'danger signal' is licking lips, demonstrated awkwardly
Michael: Michael's talking head about the food chain ending with 'single-cell shark'
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Michael · Mr. Prince: Michael to Vietnam vet: 'Vietnam. I hear it's lovely.'
Kevin · Stanley: Kevin: 'A painting can be beautiful, but I don't want to bang a painting.' Stanley: 'TMI.'
Michael: Michael demonstrates drinking from a cup like he's never seen one before
Michael Physical/Slapstick Character Comedy Michael: Michael: 'Laughter is my job. Tears are my game. Law is my profession.'
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Dwight: Dwight to Mr. Prince's son: 'Get rid of this guy. That's my son. I'm your son now, you can visit him on holidays.'
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jim · Kevin: Jim's elaborate Kevin fantasy scenario about Hilary Swank
Jim Kevin Setup/Punchline Cringe/Discomfort Kevin: Kevin's extended silent reaction to the Hilary Swank scenario
Kevin Reaction Beat Awkward Silence ★ Rewatch Dwight · Michael: Dwight badmouthing his boss (Michael) to Mr. Prince, not knowing Michael is listening
Michael · Linda: Michael asking Linda (the grandmother) to pose for a picture
Michael: Michael helping the kid with math, getting confused by exponents
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Kevin: Kevin: 'I kept expecting a plot twist where Hilary Swank was actually a boy'
Kevin Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Angela: Angela: 'Hot is a temperature, people' but then declares Hilary Swank hot
Angela Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Angela: Angela: 'She's a female Boris Becker'
Angela Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Dwight · Michael: Dwight asking for a ride after claiming he took the bus
Michael · Dwight: Michael and Dwight's excited celebration: 'We struck the mother lode!'
Michael · Dwight: Michael and Dwight backing over something while fleeing
Karen: Karen: 'If you're saying Hilary Swank isn't hot, you're saying I'm not hot, because obviously I'm not as hot as Hilary Swank'
Karen Character Comedy Escalation Callback Mr. Prince · Michael: Mr. Prince fixing Michael's car for free after they damaged his property
Jim: We don't give Kevin full internet access
Jim Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Oscar: Oscar's scientific explanation using 'koinophilia' to prove Hilary Swank is not hot
Oscar Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael calling the coffee 'disgusting' instant coffee after accepting their hospitality
Michael Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael: 'Good-bye Prince family. Should be called the Sucker family.'
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's extended shark metaphor about helping their victims
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: Dwight: 'Wallace would use that information to destroy them' delivered matter-of-factly
Dwight Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Dwight: Dwight's series of nature metaphors about animals devouring each other
Dwight Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Dwight: Dwight: 'Save your heart for love and use your brain for business'
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Stanley: Stanley: 'I have less' (than 20-30 years) due to family history
Stanley Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Stanley: Stanley's final verdict: 'She is... hot' with dramatic pause
Stanley Escalation Deadpan/Understatement Callback Michael: Michael comparing business to Lord of the Rings: 'If Frodo hadn't destroyed the ring, goodness itself might have died'
Michael Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Michael · Dwight: Michael running away with the client list while Dwight chases him
Michael · Dwight: Michael: 'Those people will be ruined!' Dwight: 'It's business! It's not personal!'
Michael: Michael: 'I'm not a shark'
Michael Character Comedy Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Jim: Jim: 'That's the thing about debating. People just get entrenched in the view they had in the first place'
Jim Observational Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael: 'It is bitter because I slightly destroyed a wonderful little family'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael: 'That's why I hate bittersweet chocolate. Why not just sweet? Who are you helping?'
Michael Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael sees Hilary Swank photo and immediately says 'Oh, she's hot' then 'Damn it!'
Michael Callback Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback ⏩ The part you fast-forward
Our scorer flagged 14:30-15:30 as the stretch with the fewest or weakest comedic moments. Everything else lands harder.
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