Reception
"Phyllis's Wedding" first aired on February 8, 2007 in the United States on NBC. According to Nielsen Media Research, an estimated 8.8 million viewers watched the episode, and it earned a 4.4/11 ratings share among adults aged 18 to 49. In other words, it was seen by 4.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 11 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.
AOL TV's Jay Black called the episode "amazing", partly because he believed the out-of-office setting made Michael's "social awkwardness and emotional neediness a lot more enjoyable." Black observed that the "main romantic plotline had some nice movement tonight as well," and praised the Pam-Roy and Jim-Karen storylines in particular for their realism. Writing for IGN, Brian Zoromski rated "Phyllis's Wedding" with 7 out of 10, an indication of a "good" episode. He asserted that the episode contained some "great moments" such as Jim's Altoid prank on Dwight and Michael's conversation with Phyllis' amnesiac uncle. In contrast to Black however, Zoromski believed Michael's "over-the-top cartoonishness" actions stretched "the believability of the show's" illusion as reality, especially because they occurred outside of the office.
Give Me My Remote's Kath Skerry speculated that after several episodes of a "semi-normal" Michael, the writers "were aching to bring back cringe worthy Michael." She criticized the decision, calling his behavior "borderline ridiculous (and not in a good way). It just seems implausible that someone could be so very clueless that they would act like that in public." Skerry however did find high points, such as the opening sequence and any scene with Dwight and Angela. Television Without Pity graded the episode with an "A".
Entertainment Weekly columnist Abby West praised Smith for "again proving how sly her seemingly diffident character really is" by manipulating Michael. West also noted that she ended up "feel a little sorry" for Michael after the episode, due to the revelations learned from his childhood. Carell later recalled that many fans "hated" Michael for disrupting Phyllis's wedding. For his work in the episode, Whittingham won a NAACP Image Award in the "Directing in a Comedy Series" category. Along with two other Office episodes, for her work on this episode, Caroline Williams was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay – Episodic Comedy.
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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)
“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)
“To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)