The Convention (The Office)

"The Convention" is the second episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's thirtieth episode overall. The episode was written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired on September 28, 2006 on NBC in the United States.

In the episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) from the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, as well as Josh Porter (Charles Esten) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) from the Stamford branch, leave for Philadelphia for the annual office supply convention. Michael, angry at both Jim for leaving the Scranton branch, as well as Josh for being superior to him, tries to one-up Josh at every opportunity. Meanwhile, Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) sets up Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) on a double date with her neighbor which goes nowhere. Toby Flenderson's (Paul Lieberstein) interest in Pam is piqued, beginning an unrequited crush on his part.

The first draft of the script included a scene suggesting that Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) was pregnant with Dwight's child, but this was cut by showrunner Greg Daniels. Initially, there were plans for the cast members from the British version of The Office to appear in this episode, but due to scheduling conflicts, this fell through. The episode was seen by an estimated 7.8 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research. It was received generally well by critics.