Release and Reception
"The Dundies" originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 25, 2005. In its original American broadcast, the episode received a 4.3/10% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 2.4% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 6% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode was seen by 9.0 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the series at the time, sans the show's pilot episode.
"The Dundies" represented a turning point in the series, in which the show found its own tone and differentiated itself from the British version. It received critical acclaim from critics and fans unlike the first season. In its "The Top 10 Moments from The Office", IGN ranked Pam's drunken scene at Chili's as number five. Michael Sciannamea of TV Squad stated that "This season's first episode showed a marked improvement over the final episode from last season", and went on to praise the episode's expansion of supporting characters as one of the main reasons for the improvement. In a Flashback review, Travis Fickett of IGN complemented the episode for creating the personalities of the supporting characters and for the workers affection towards Michael in the episode. He also praised the Jim and Pam moments in the episode. He ultimately gave the episode a 9.0/10. Seb Patrick of Noise to Signal, while comparing the American version of The Office favorably to its UK counterpart, writes that the series "could be finding its feet again over the course of its opening couple of episodes." Jacob Clifton from Television Without Pity gave the episode an A rating.
Read more about this topic: The Dundies
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