‘Carell’s Kids’ instead of ‘Scott’s Tots’: Steve Carell does what Michael Scott couldn’t in ‘The Office’s cringiest episode
“Hey, Mr. Scott, what you gonna do? What you gonna do, make our dreams come true!”
Most people who have heard the above song never want to hear it again, as it is attached to one of the most cringy episodes of any sitcom ever. I speak, of course, of “Scott’s Tots,” a season 6 episode of the U.S. version of The Office that makes audience members tremble as they seek to overcome the tsunami of secondhand embarrassment.
“Scott’s Tots” is about a foolish promise made by Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, one of the greatest sitcom characters ever conceived. Once, on a whim, he promised the students of a local school—the titular Scott’s Tots —that if they were to graduate high school, he’d pay for their college tuition. Ten years later, he predictably doesn’t have the funds required to fulfill such a gargantuan promise. So, he has to go to the school and break the news to them while they’re busy throwing a celebration in his honor. Once he confesses, he tries to soften the blow by offering them all free laptop batteries. Yikes.
But where Michael Scott failed (so, so badly) Steve Carell has stepped up! He’s doing something nice for a group of high school students who were affected by the LA wildfires, which killed 29 people and destroyed countless buildings. He’s not sending them to college, but he is sending them to prom.
Carell and the charity Alice’s Kids teamed up to make some real-life dreams come true. Yesterday, they jointly released a video of Carell explaining the good news. Six high schools were shown the video of the comedy superstar in their auditoriums.
“Attention. Attention, all seniors. This is Steve Carell with a very special announcement,” Carell deadpanned in the video. “I work with a wonderful charity based out of Virginia called Alice’s Kids, and Alice’s Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets. And if you have already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you for your prom tickets. It’s a pretty good deal. Have fun. Enjoy the prom, and remember, this is Steve Carell.”
We can only imagine the reaction that took place among the kids once they were shown the video, but it was probably the polar opposite to the reaction Michael Scott got in “Scott’s Tots.”
Everyone is making the same The Office joke
“Scott’s Tots” is so ingrained in the public consciousness that everyone had to joke about it once the prom news hit. The first comment on the Instagram video is, of course, that annoyingly catchy “Hey, Mr Scott” song from the episode.
Users on X think the situation is hilarious as well. “Steve Carell has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever,” wrote one user. “I was really hoping it would be lithium laptop batteries,” quipped another, referring to the consolation prize Michael tries to give the devastated students. A third said, “I’m thinking this time we call them ‘Carell’s Kids’ instead of ‘Scott’s Tots.'”
Whatever you want to call them, kids in a tough situation will get to go to prom and enjoy themselves thanks to Carell and Alice’s Kids—and there isn’t a single laptop battery in sight.
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