Michael's new company struggles to make early morning deliveries while the office tries to get their expense reports in on time after Angela enforces Dunder Mifflin's policy.
WAR
72.6
Wins Above Replacement
“Broke” ranks #62 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 89.9 — Elite. The episode packs 59 scored jokes at 3.0 per minute, averaging 7.3 on craft and 7.2 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
Michael: Did I ever tell you about the day that Steve Martin died? — Steve Martin's not dead. — I know. But I always thought that the day that he died would be the worst day of my life. And I was wrong. It's this.
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Dwight: I say we fill Michael's office with bees. My apiarist owes me a favor.
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: You know, David? I don't care if Ryan murdered his entire family. He is like a son to me.
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jim · Dwight: What are your top five cases? — I'm gonna answer Charles. — Because you've solved zero cases. — One. Case of the beet bandit. Missing beets from all over the farm. No footprints. Inside job. Mose in socks. Case closed.
Michael: It's 4:30 in the morning. Do you know where your kids are? If you are Ryan's parents or Pam's parents or my parents, you do. They're gonna be in this van. With me. Who am I? Nothing to fear. I am just a 44-year-old guy with a paper route.
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Standout Moments
Dwight: I say we fill Michael's office with bees. My apiarist owes me a favor.
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Did I ever tell you about the day that Steve Martin died? — Steve Martin's not dead. — I know. But I always thought that the day that he died would be the worst day of my life. And I was wrong. It's this.
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Michael: You know, David? I don't care if Ryan murdered his entire family. He is like a son to me.
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch All Jokes — 59 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Michael: It's 4:30 in the morning. Do you know where your kids are? If you are Ryan's parents or Pam's parents or my parents, you do. They're gonna be in this van. With me. Who am I? Nothing to fear. I am just a 44-year-old guy with a paper route.
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael: Time to make the donuts!
Michael · Ryan: Come on. No, I promise I won't do it again. Come on. De-nied!
Ryan: Ever since I've gotten clean, there's something about fresh morning air... that just really makes me sick.
Ryan Deadpan/Understatement Misdirection ★ Rewatch Michael: Time to make the donuts! (second instance)
Michael Running Gag Character Comedy Callback Michael: Boner patrol! Arrest that man! Your donuts make me go nuts!
Michael Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Pam: We got the van at a used car lot. We think it says 'Alleluia Church of Scranton' in Korean. It was either this or an old school bus with an owl living in it.
Pam Deadpan/Understatement Absurdist ★ Rewatch Ryan · Michael: You didn't happen to bring any coffee, did you, Michael? — Milk and sugar. — Awesome. You're a life saver. — Wait, is this just milk and sugar? — That's what I said. — Do you drink this every day? — Every morning.
Ryan Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael · Pam · Ryan: We have 20... Excuse me. Sorry. Sorry, no. It's... It's a paper company now. It's not for the church.
Charles · David Wallace: I'd just like to point out that I have been here less time than these guys. — Why are you telling me this? — I just think the bar should be lower for a newbie. — Is this something you really want to have said? — I don't want to have said that. But I think it's important that you know it.
Angela · David Wallace: I got your memo. Thank you. I'm putting my foot down when it comes to expense reports. Waste not, want not. — Well said, Angela.
Meredith: Been there, done that.
Meredith Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Michael · Pam · Ryan: You know what we need? We need some couches. — We should really consider getting a delivery guy. — You know what you would love? It's if we built a loft. — Why would I love that? — Can we afford a delivery guy? — Like in a dorm room. You put your desk underneath, you have your loft up top. You can sleep up top. — I know what a loft is. — Most dorm rooms don't even have that. — Most do in the magazines.
David Wallace: Stanley, pay attention.
Jim · David Wallace: Maybe, and I don't know, if you had just returned Michael's call, none of us would've lost clients. — I've been wondering that myself lately.
Dwight: Come along, afterthought.
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Ryan: A lame attempt at humor. Swing and a miss.
Ryan Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Ryan · Pam: Right. So... Why don't you explain what that is... So they can under... — Explain what that is. — Explain what you think that is. — Just explain.
Michael · Ty · Ryan: Hold on, hold on. Ty, I would like you to crunch those numbers again. — It's a program. There's no such... — Just crunch 'em, please. — Crunch. Did it help?
Michael: Hi, Jerry. Michael Scott. This is slightly embarrassing. I'm going to have to ask you to pay me a little bit more money for that delivery we dropped off yesterday. We did. We got the check. But we're just going to need a much, much bigger check.
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Michael: When a child gets behind the wheel of a car and runs into a tree, you don't blame the child. He didn't know any better. You blame the 30-year-old woman who got in the passenger seat and said, 'Drive, kid. I trust you.'
Michael Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Dwight · Jim: I say we fill Michael's office with bees. My apiarist owes me a favor. — Really? Does he do good work or... — No, Jim. I use a bad apiarist.
Dwight Jim Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Jim · Pam: I saw you called. — You're just out of business? — We have maybe a month. — I don't know what I'm gonna do. — Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out. We'll be okay. — That's what Michael said. — Only this time we will be okay.
Jim Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Jim · Pam: Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. — My new 'Dwight' ring. — I like it. — Good, right? — Idiot, we're starting back up. This is Dwight, by the way.
Jim Pam Character Comedy Running Gag ★ Rewatch Pam: So Jim and I are getting married and the wedding's really expensive, so I tried to get a job on the weekends to earn extra money. I applied to Old Navy, Target and Walmart. None of 'em called me back. Not even for an interview.
Pam Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Ryan · Pam: I never went to Thailand. — Really? — I went to Fort Lauderdale. — Was it nice? — Yeah, it was amazing. There was a great pad thai place, though. — I love pad thai. — You never had pad thai.
Ryan Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Pam: There's a lot I haven't done.
Pam Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Dwight: There is a hive of bees outside the front door. We kidnap the queen, extract her alarm pheromones, place them on a flushable wipe, put that in his bathroom.
Dwight Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback David Wallace: I can't believe I'm about to say this, but... the cheapest option... is to make Michael an offer.
Jim: But you didn't. Oh, man!
Jim Reaction Beat Character Comedy Dwight · Jim: If only Michael had children. That's how you really apply the pressure. — What is wrong with you?
Michael · Jim: We're not hiring. — Actually here for something else. — I can't make you laugh right now.
Michael Jim Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael · Ryan · Pam · Jim: Are you being serious? — He's bluffing. — What you don't understand is that this company's worthl... — We don't have... — I'm here to learn as little information as possible.
Michael · Pam · Ryan · Jim: Maybe. — Three yes.
Michael · Jim · Ryan: We're not only tight-ends, we are also quarterbacks. — Missed the last part. — That's a pun. — Got it.
Michael · Ryan · Pam: OK, so you're not going to reveal in any way that we're broke. Of course not. That we're having any problems at all. Just to reiterate, none of us is going to say anything that might indicate we are going broke. There is no way in hell that I'm going to say that we're broke. — I'm really worried I'm gonna say it.
Michael: How the turntables...
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch David Wallace · Michael · Ryan: In order to expedite these negotiations, we are prepared to make you a very generous offer. — And we are prepared to reject that offer. — You haven't even heard... — Never accept their first offer. — What is your second offer? — $12,000.
Michael: I'll see your situation and I'll raise you a situation. Your company is losing clients left and right. You have a stockholder meeting coming up and you're going to have to explain why your most profitable branch is bleeding. So they may be looking for a little change in the CFO. I don't need to wait out Dunder Mifflin. I think I just have to wait out you.
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Michael · Pam · Ryan: $60,000? — We are so... — rich. — Jerry, the one that got away.
Pam: May I ask why you're leaving the Michael Scott Paper Company? — Really? — Please hold.
Pam Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Charles · David Wallace: May I have your attention? The Michael Scott Paper Company is broke. — What? How'd you hear that? — They've been calling their clients and begging them to pay more money. They're desperate. — Which can only mean one thing. They're total failures.
Jim · Dwight: Great work. I mean, great detective work. 'Cause this must be the first case you've ever cracked. — You don't crack a case. That has a pejorative connotation. Like calling a policeman a cop. You solve a case, and yes, I've solved plenty.
Jim · Dwight: What are your top five cases? — I'm gonna answer Charles. — Because you've solved zero cases. — One. Case of the beet bandit. Missing beets from all over the farm. No footprints. Inside job. Mose in socks. Case closed.
Charles · Dwight · Jim: Do not go anywhere near the conference room. — Done. — Because you have embarrassed me for the last time today. — Got it? — I'm not following you. — You two are morons. — Got it. — Get out.
Michael · Ryan · Pam: How could you do this to me? You just cost me $60,000. — Why would you get the whole thing? It's a lot of money. — But we need money coming in every week. We need jobs. — Wouldn't you rather have a fishing pole than a fish? — I would rather have $60,000, honestly.
Michael · David Wallace: I want my old job back. I want my old parking space back. I want a Sebring. — They don't make them anymore.
Michael · David Wallace · Charles: And I want Charles gone. — I am not firing Charles. He's very valuable. — That's very kind of you to say. — I need him gone.
Michael · David Wallace: I need him gone. — Then I want Pam back. — You already have a new receptionist. — Sales. — Pam's not a salesperson. — Yes, she is. At the Michael Scott Paper Company, in its heyday. — That's right.
Michael: And dental this time.
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Michael · David Wallace: These are our demands. Your company cannot be worth that much. — Our company is worth nothing. That's the difference between you and I. Business isn't about money to me, David. If tomorrow my company goes under, I will just start another paper company. And then another and another and another. I have no shortage of company names. That's one of 'em!
David Wallace: This is a lot more than 60 grand. It's a multi-million dollar buyout.
Michael: Our balls are in your court.
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Michael: There are certain defining moments in a person's life. The day he is born. The day he grows hair. The day he starts a business. And the day he sells that business back to Dunder Mifflin.
Michael Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Michael: What have I learned from all of this? It is far too early to tell. I am flying high and I don't even want to think about it. I just want to enjoy it.
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Unknown Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement Top Episodes — The Office
