Pam trains an attractive temporary worker to take her place while she is on maternity leave, and enlists Dwight's support when she tries to show that Jim finds her replacement attractive. Meanwhile, Robert California surprises Andy, Kevin, and Darryl when he requests to join their band.
WAR
67.3
Wins Above Replacement
“Pams Replacement” ranks #118 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 86.4 — Elite. The episode packs 62 scored jokes at 3.3 per minute, averaging 7.2 on craft and 7.0 on impact, with Dwight landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Erin: Because your mother is dead.
Erin Dark/Subversive Misdirection ★ Rewatch Jim: In my defense, he was grabbing my crotch fairly aggressively at the time.
Jim Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: You were at your most attractive at 24 with a slight gradual decline, a steep drop-off the first time you got pregnant, gradual recovery, and...now, obviously, you're at an all-time low.
Dwight Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Jim Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: Does your husband have very soft erections? Because if not, I grabbed a soft penis for nothing.
Dwight Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Standout Moments
Erin: Because your mother is dead.
Erin Dark/Subversive Misdirection ★ Rewatch Dwight: You were at your most attractive at 24 with a slight gradual decline, a steep drop-off the first time you got pregnant, gradual recovery, and...now, obviously, you're at an all-time low.
Dwight Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Jim: In my defense, he was grabbing my crotch fairly aggressively at the time.
Jim Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback All Jokes — 62 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Andy · Erin: Andy's elaborate scheme to impress a client by staging a fake important phone call that he'll heroically refuse to take
Andy Erin Character Comedy Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Andy · Erin · Client: The back-and-forth where Andy insists his mom isn't dead while Erin doubles down ('She was hit by a bus'), and everyone escalates around the bewildered client
Darryl: It's Darryl. Erin told me to pretend to be a cop and say your mom died.
Darryl Deadpan/Understatement Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Andy · Darryl: Did she have any last words? / That is messed up.
Andy: Erin, please hold all my other calls.
Andy Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Pam · Office workers: That was just me. Pregnant Pam. I make sounds much worse than this. Oh, we know.
Pam: You probably didn't notice, because it's impossible to tell, because I'm so small. But yeah, I'm pregnant.
Pam Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Ryan · Kelly · Other: Asking for a friend. Do you know if that new girl is single? / Doubt it. / Yeah, me too. / You doubt it? / What's that? / Why do you doubt that? / Honestly, I have no idea. / Just figured we'd save her from Ryan.
Ryan · Other staff: Ryan's follow-up: 'Just figured we'd save her from Ryan.' — said by someone else, while Ryan is in the room.
Kevin · Darryl: It's like a porno: Did anybody order a pizza? / It's not pizza. And we're not about to make love.
Darryl · Kevin: Bang out a few tunes / I like the sound of that. Is Kevin in?
Ryan: Word on the street is she has a boyfriend. He's probably a drug dealer. The best way to land a hot girlfriend — you get her hooked on blow.
Ryan Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Oscar · Kevin · Pam: It's gonna be nice to have a healthy, young, fit presence in the office. Aesthetically speaking, strictly. She adds a nice presence. Good energy. / It's gonna be nice to have someone hot at Pam's desk?
Pam: I'd like to point out there's 50 pounds more of me to love. If that's your thing.
Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Kevin: You have this sexy glow. / It's one of the most common fetishes.
Kevin Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Dwight: You know who's gorgeous? Helen Mirren. Have you seen her in a bikini? Amazing. What would be the hottest thing ever is a pregnant Helen Mirren.
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Dwight · Others: Disgusting. You realize what you're saying? Hottest thing ever would be a 66-year-old pregnant woman. / In this case, yes. / No! There are universal biological standards of beauty and attraction. And you are purposefully celebrating the opposite of them to mollycoddle a pregnant woman.
Dwight: Helen Mirren was born Helen Mironoff. That's right, you're fake salivating over a Soviet-era Russian.
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Darryl · Kevin · Andy: Nice scatting, man. I think I said 'doop' instead of 'boop' at one point. / Not bad, fellas. You're better than you look. / Screw you!
Robert California: Robert California walks in on the band: 'What exactly have I stumbled upon here?'
Kevin · Andy: Kevin: 'We're called Kevin and the Zits.' Andy/others: 'That was never agreed upon.'
Robert California: CEOs don't play tambourines. Tambourines are for girlfriends.
Andy · Kevin: Guys, Robert is gonna be a Zit. / Again, never agreed upon.
Andy · Kevin · Darryl: I had given up on hanging out with Robert, and now he wants to be in our band. And in a rock n' roll band, you're bonded for life. Usually that life is short and tragic. / That's okay, right? / Yeah, even cooler.
Jim: I'm not gonna tell my nine-months-pregnant wife that I find her replacement objectively attractive. Like I'm not gonna tell my daughter that violent video games are objectively more fun. It's true, but it doesn't help anybody.
Jim Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Dwight: Breasts are large, waist is small, reproductive health in ample evidence. And facial symmetry... come on.
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Pam · Dwight: Dwight, am I hot right now? / Why would anyone think that you're hot right now? I can't impregnate you, the driving force behind attraction.
Pam Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Dwight: Rule one: Our only loyalty is to the truth. Rule two: We stop at nothing. Rule three: Don't fall in love.
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Dwight · Pam: And then we will destroy the man himself. / Let's just see how we feel when we get there.
Dwight Pam Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Kelly · Pam: You don't want to end up like Elin Nordegren. / You wish you had her life. No offense, Pam. / None taken.
Kelly Pam Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Dwight: It is called the matchmaker test, and it is very powerful. Pam, ask Jim which of his friends he'd set up with Cathy. If Jim picks a really hot friend, then we know that he thinks Cathy's hot.
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist Pam: Jim's on to me. Jim barely talks to Mike. We went through two levels of friends to even find his profile. Jim picked someone just unattractive enough to shut me up without tipping it. Just ugly enough to have deniability.
Pam Character Comedy Observational ★ Rewatch Callback Jim: If that was for the matchmaker test, I think I'm in the clear. If that wasn't for the matchmaker test, then...
Jim Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight · Pam: Jim may be lying with his words, but he can't lie with his body. The male reveals attraction through unconscious and involuntary physical signs. The puffing of the chest, mirroring, increased blood flow to the crotch. We start there. / With the crotch? / With the crotch.
Dwight · Pam: We're not here. / Who said that? / Exactly.
Dwight · Pam: Dwight and Pam hide and observe Jim and Cathy: 'We're not here.' 'Who said that?' 'Exactly.'
Pam · Dwight: Is he puffing out his chest? / I can't tell. It's unnaturally sunken.
Pam Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Dwight · Pam: Busted. He just was mirroring. Did you see that? / No. Maybe he just said something funny. / Jim has no sense of humor. You should know that.
Pam: Why's he making her laugh so much? Just gonna walk over here... I'm slipping and falling! Stumbling, I need something to grab on to! / Are you okay? / I'm fine, I'm totally fine.
Pam Physical/Slapstick Cringe/Discomfort Jim · Pam: Why? / I'm sorry, I fell down, Mr. Balance.
Jim Pam Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Dwight: Does your husband have very soft erections? Because if not, I grabbed a soft penis for nothing.
Dwight Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Pam: Why was he making her laugh so much?
Pam Character Comedy Reaction Beat Callback Jim · Cathy: That line from Zoolander? It was from a deleted scene. / So we were both right. / Told you.
Pam · Jim: Pam directly to Jim: 'Just admit that she's attractive. It's annoying that you won't say it.'
Pam Jim Cringe/Discomfort Observational Dwight: She called it crazy? Man, that's insulting. All I did was propose a makeshift lie-detector test monitoring his blood pressure, pulse, perspiration, and breathing rate. Yeah, it's nuts. But I don't know what else to do. And she called it nuts? Seriously, that was hot.
Dwight Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Robert California: I think the music left without you.
Jim: Stop grabbing my penis. Grow up.
Jim Character Comedy Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Callback Jim: You have to share the machine with others. That's what they taught me in my 19th-century kindergarten.
Jim Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Jim: This reminds me, Cece needs a new toothbrush.
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Darryl · Andy · Kevin: We had to leave because of creative differences. / Yeah, they kind of had a specific sound that didn't really fit in with our thing. / Guys, this means... They're Kevin and the Zits now. / No, man... We are.
Unknown · Jim: I have a new heart, you know. / Do you really, Tin Man?
Jim: Because this lie isn't for me, it's for Pam. And when she gets her body back and her confidence back... yes, I will tell her the truth. That... I had feelings for a co-worker today, that I haven't had in years.
Jim Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Dwight · Pam · Jim: Yep, he's lying. / See, was that so hard? / I am not lying. / Really? / Are you really gonna listen to his stupid homemade test? / I would listen to it, because your husband is lying. In fact, he's lied about every question. Even his name. Who are you really?
Dwight: Dwight announces Jim failed the lie detector: 'In fact, he's lied about every question. Even his name. Who are you really?'
Dwight Character Comedy Absurdist Dwight · Pam · Jim: Look at the numbers. Every single time, it's come up 150 over 100. Your husband is a pathological liar. / You have high blood pressure. / He is definitely attracted to her. / Doesn't your dad have it? / Yeah, but I don't smoke. / When have you been to the doctor? / I don't know.
Dwight · Pam: It's important to go every month and get your prostate checked. You can do it at home with your finger, you just stick it... / Dwight, stop.
Jim · Dwight: Trust me, I'm around for the long haul. / It's not really your choice, is it? Death waits for no man.
Dwight · Pam: Doesn't it worry you in the slightest that Jim is not his real name? Just go home. It doesn't matter.
Jim Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Top Episodes — The Office
