Reception
"Safety Training" received a 4.1/11 in the Nielsen ratings among people ages 18–49, meaning that 4.1 percent of all people 18–49 watched the episode, and 11 percent of all people 18–49 watching TV at the time viewed the episode. "Safety Training" received 7.7 million viewers overall.
The episode was almost universally praised by critics. Abby West of Entertainment Weekly complimented the writing of B.J. Novak in the episode, saying that "This was another gem... kept a very nice light touch on the whole love triangle thing, only giving us that one wonderfully uncomfortable moment at Pam's desk when they were betting on how many jelly beans were in the container." IGN's Brian Zoromski rated it 10 out of 10, making it only one of two third season episodes he deemed a "masterpiece". He stated that "Another truly brilliant episode of The Office aired this week, with more humor packed into the half-hour than you get in many feature-length comedies." Zoromski also praised the acting by minor characters, such as Creed Bratton and Mindy Kaling, who portrays customer service representative Kelly Kapoor.
BuddyTV Senior Writer Oscar Dahl stated that "What can you say? The Office is, if anything, only getting better. Last week's super-sized episode was absolutely spectacular, but tonight's might have been even better. Dahl went on to say that both storylines of the episode were the main contributors to the success of the episode. In a poll taken by OfficeTally.com, an Office fansite, "Safety Training" was ranked by viewers of the show as the 19th most popular episode of season three.
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Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)