The Office slipped in a callback to “Dinner Party” several seasons later

“Dinner Party” is a classic Office episode. Not only does it provide our first glimpse into the bizarre, emotionally toxic home life of Michael Scott and Jan but we also get a great look at the depressing condo they share. The charades scene alone is enough to make this episode a fan favorite. As it turns out, the show’s writers were big fans too. Recently, someone on the r/DunderMifflin subreddit noticed a reference to “Dinner Party” that the writers managed to slip into the show several seasons later.

The above screenshot is from the season 7 episode “Garage Sale,” in which Michael is selling off a bunch of old junk in the office, including an embarrassingly small and very broken plasma TV. This is, of course, the same TV we see Michael showing off in “Dinner Party” in a scene that was featured heavily in the show’s blooper reel that season. None of the actors could seem to hold it together while Michael described the “surround sound” capabilities of the 12 inch, wall-mounted flatscreen, and the TV was cemented as an iconic Office artifact.

Given how sentimental Michael Scott is, it makes sense that he held on to the crappy little TV even after Jan shattered it with a Dundie Award. And the fact that the writers remembered to reference it later on just further solidifies what a cohesive comedic world The Office created.

[via Mashable]