Deangelo Vickers

Deangelo Jeremitrius Vickers is a fictional character in the television series The Office. Portrayed by actor Will Ferrell, Vickers was Michael Scott's replacement as Branch Manager during the end of Season 7, since Michael was moving to Colorado with his fiancee Holly. His character debuted in a story arc that lasted four episodes, with the first three episodes being Steve Carell's final three shows and then the first post-Michael Scott episode, "The Inner Circle".
Biography
Despite his affinity for the American Southwest, Deangelo Vickers is originally from Maine. When he was a child, his Mother divorced his Father, and he had to choose between them in court (the same happened to Toby Flenderson). He is a father himself, as he mentions to Jim and Pam that he has four children. At least one of them is a boy, as he mentions a son. However, it seems that he does not have a good relationship with him, as Deangelo he states in a talking-head interview, when referring to his failed attempts to impress Dwight, that "No matter how many times I reach out to Dwight, he doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me. It reminds me of my relationship with my son. Except there, I’m the Dwight". Deangelo has a peanut allergy, something he, describing it as if it were a debilitating mental disorder, says he has dealt with his whole life and feels it is "A part of " (although the allergy is not a matter of life or death, it just makes him itchy). He claims to perform a motivational juggling routine, however this is most likely a lie, as he seems to prefer miming juggling than actually doing it (even though Andy once offered him some of his own juggling equipment, which Deangelo got out of using with the excuse "Sorry, I never touch another juggler's instruments"). Deangelo was once morbidly obese, until he made a pact with himself to get into shape and lost 200 pounds (according to Michael in "Michael's Last Dundies"; however, this conflicts with the NBC biography, which says Deangelo lost 176 lbs).
In "Goodbye, Michael", Deangelo reveals to Andy that he was not hired for his business experience, but because he helped prevent the theft of one of Sabre CEO Jo Bennett's dogs.
Season 7
In "Training Day", when Deangelo comes to the branch, most of the staff are eager to make a good first impression. Kevin wears his toupee, Jim and Pam believe they have started off well by showing him pictures of their baby, and Deangelo designates Andy as the office "funny guy". Dwight, however, is not pleased that he was not selected to replace Michael, making him apathetic to Deangelo. Michael soon becomes irritated with the changes Deangelo starts making, such as how Erin answers the phone, and this causes a strain on their friendship. Deangelo develops a profound love for the antics of Andy, who has resorted to physical comedy when his jokes fall flat, getting to the point where he pours hot coffee on his pants and eats soap because of Deangelo's urging. He becomes annoyed by Jim and Pam, though, and tells them he's had enough of their baby after Pam tries to show him another picture of Cece, though he apologizes right after the comment (but not sincerely). Deangelo's popularity with the employees causes Michael to get jealous and pass out peanut butter sandwiches, despite Deangelo's peanut allergy. Deangelo then assembles the staff in the "multi purpose room", including Dwight, who learned from Gabe that Michael did not put in a recommendation for him and thus snubs Michael after being approached as an ally against the new boss. As Michael is walking away, Deangelo then steps out of his meeting and loudly praises him, saying that he's a good manager and Dunder Mifflin won't be the same without him. The two make up with a reverse hug, and Michael returns to his office while Deangelo conducts his meeting in the conference room. Later, in another effort to impress Deangelo, Jim and Pam bring in Cece, to which he reacts positively. While they celebrate getting back on his good side, he reveals to the camera Cece could star in a show called "Babies Care About".
In "Michael's Last Dundies", Michael decides to make Deangelo his co-host of the Dundies, so he can host it himself after Michael departs and still carry on Michael's "legacy". Deangelo tries to refuse Michael's offer, but Michael doesn't let him. Michael tries to help Deangelo with banter, but Deangelo proves to be truly terrible (such as asking Jim where he was on September 11th). Michael tries a number of different things to help him (including the therapy used in The King's Speech: putting a walkman on him and having him listen to music with the volume turned all the way up so he can't hear himself talk), but none are effective. When the Dundies begin, the audience is treated to a opening movie where Deangelo is searching for Michael to be his co-host and asks Angela, Jim, and Phyllis where Michael is (all played by Michael himself), before Michael appears to him in a bathroom mirror. After the short video is over though, and the real Deangelo sees the crowd, he runs off into the bathroom. Michael then comes in after him, and after psyching him up, they both return to the stage. Even though he hosts it poorly, Deangelo manages to pull the ceremony off. That is until, it is time for him to give a speech after he gets his own "Best Dundies Host" award. Deangelo, still nervous, puts his walkman on full blast and talks extremely loud, resulting in all of the office workers getting kicked out of the restaurant. Jim and Pam manage to convince Michael to keep the party going, and to host the rest of the Dundies at the office (which Deangelo also thinks is a great idea). On the way to the workplace, Deangelo rides with Michael and Dwight, and witnesses their argument first hand. Michael and Deangelo continue to host the Dundies in the conference room, and Deangelo also participates in serenading the soon-to-depart Michael with an impromptu version of "Seasons of Love" with altered lyrics (singing in falsetto), accompanied by Darrel's keyboards.
In "Goodbye, Michael", when Andy is given Michael's client list as a going-away present, and loses one, he requests the help of Deangelo to retain them. Deangelo nearly screws up a relationship with a client, but Andy gains enough confidence to salvage the sale. Throughout the episode, Deangelo starts to show signs of a nervous breakdown after his desire to start eating junk food again. Deangelo later starts breaking down in front of the entire staff during an office party by sticking his hands into Michael's goodbye cake.
In "The Inner Circle", Deangelo picks favorites among the staff, revealing his true management style. Angela however, views his style as sexist. When the women urge Jim to bring this to Deangelo's attention, he cuts Jim out of his inner circle. After several failed attempts, he finally earns Dwight's respect by yelling at him, as the latter is impressed by his strong leadership. When Deangelo brags about his ability to dunk in basketball, Jim calls him out on the matter, so Deangelo nervously agrees to show his skills. During his lackluster attempt, the entire basketball stand collapses on Deangelo, causing an injury that results in his hospitalization. At the episode's conclusion, Deangelo stumbles into the office still in his hospital gown, his head bandaged, and with an IV hanging out his arm. He tries to tell a joke that comes out as random gibberish, implying he has suffered brain damage. The staff immediately calls the hospital with Jim and Gabe helping escort Deangelo out. As a result, the Scranton branch needs a new manager.
In "", it's revealed Deangelo is in a coma and part of the staff wonder what to get for him. Later, Jo comments that it is unfortunate what happened to Deangelo, commenting that he was a great man.
Season 8
During "The List", Robert California (James Spader) was one of the interviewees for Deangelo's job in "Search Committee", and was revealed to be his replacement before he replaces Jo and becomes CEO of Sabre, appointing Andy as branch manager.
Although, in "Lotto", an unhappy Darryl gets into an argument with Andy over who was supposed to replace Deangelo, with Andy mentioning that Deangelo was helping fund Darryl's college education, which Darryl quit. The two make reference to Deangelo being dead, but only his brain, revealing that he is either still in a coma or is in a persistent vegetative state.
Behind the scenes
Ferrell and Carell have previously worked together in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, as well as the movie version of Bewitched, and both actors are members of the "Frat Pack", a generation of leading Hollywood comic actors who emerged in the late 1990s and the 2000s, including Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson. This is the second Frat Pack member that appeared on the show besides Steve Carell, the first being Jack Black. Ferrell has worked with other Office cast members as well. He starred alongside Jenna Fischer in Blades of Glory and Ed Helms with Semi-Pro and The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, which also featured comic actor Ken Jeong, who has also appeared in The Office. Also, Ferrell starred with Craig Robinson and Paul Lieberstein in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, as well as Zach Woods and Andy Buckley in The Other Guys.
Ferrell's appearance makes him the third main Anchorman cast member to appear on the show. Carell being the first, David Koechner, who plays the vulgar traveling salesman Todd Packer being the second, and Ferrell.
Reception
The Deangelo Vickers character has been met with mixed reviews by critics. In his review for "Training Day", Keith Kuramoto, of Poptimal.com, wrote "Will Ferrell’s addition to the final episodes of this season is a real shot in the arm for the series. And even though his time is limited, or it at least appears that way, time with Will Ferrell is always time well spent".
In Alan Sepinwall's review of "Michael's Last Dundies", he partly blamed the episode's quality on Deangelo, writing that "Some of can be blamed on having to spend so much time giving Will Ferrell stuff to do, as two episodes into his arc, nobody has come up with a good reason for him being here other than that he's Will Ferrell. I enjoy Ferrell unnecessarily raising his voice as much as the next guy (or pulling a Ron Burgundy and reading everything on the cue card), but he's adding very little and taking away from what should be the focus of Carell's final episode". Cindy White, of IGN, wrote "Now, I like Will Ferrell. I enjoy his goofy, improvisational style and I admire the way he absolutely commits to his roles, often sacrificing his own dignity for the sake of a joke. And his chemistry with Carell is undeniable. But I still don't feel like I have a handle on Deangelo Vickers. Compared to the rest of the staff of Dunder Mifflin (and I realize this is probably an unfair comparison), he seems downright normal, practically boring. I get that uncomfortable comedy is the hallmark of The Office, but there was a dual level of discomfort between Deangelo being forced into the hosting role and the audience having to witness his spectacular flame-out".
In his review of "Goodbye, Michael", Rob Sheffield, of Rolling Stone, wrote "Will Ferrell was pure magic this episode, whether he was attacking a cake or just hanging out in the break room, whistling "Music To Watch Girls By" as he heats lasagna on the coffee machine", as well as writing that Deagelo reminded him of Jack Warden's character in Shampoo. Myles McNutt, of The A.V. Club, wrote in his review that "In an episode that had an immense sense of history and purpose, the D’Angelo stuff was a momentum killer. As we all expected, it turns out he is a terrible salesman, and we’re even told (complete with shelter dog-aided demonstration) that he only has a job because he rescued Jo’s dogs from a would-be dognapper. It’s a silly, uninteresting story development that simply lays the groundwork for Ferrell’s inevitable exit, adding nothing of value to the character in the process". In her review of the episode, Cindy White wrote "We got more insight into Deangelo Vickers in this episode, too, and there's trouble on the horizon. I always knew that his time on the show was limited to four episodes, but it's too bad they waited until the last half of Will Ferrell's arc to give him some juicy quirks to play with".
In Sepinwall's review of "The Inner Circle", he wrote that "Deangelo gets his fourth personality in four episodes, perhaps with shades of earlier ones (particularly his first appearance), but still suggesting that at no point was there any kind of plan for this guy beyond, "Hey, it's Will Ferrell; he'll make it funny." Two weeks ago, Deangelo suffered from crippling stage fright in circumstances where he wasn't making a formal work presentation; here, he can't wait to mime an elaborate juggling routine - that just went on and on and on and on - for the entire staff. Last week, he seemed grossly incompetent, unqualified and borderline crazy, and even Jim could tell something was wrong; yet here Jim was defending Deangelo's sexist, elitist, obnoxious inner circle gatherings to Pam by insisting Deangelo is really good at his job". In New Yorks Phoebe Reilly's review, she wrote that "Deangelo’s bizarre, Evanescence-scored act with imaginary balls served as a metaphor for the string of Will Ferrell episodes. Like the Dunder Mifflin staff, the audience wondered: What the hell is going on?", and also added that "Ever since Ferrell joined the show, commenters have complained about the inconsistency of his character. At first, he seemed like a little bit of a prankster, but with a mean streak. Next, he was losing his lunch owing to pre-Dundie jitters. Last week, he took Andy on a sales call that hinted at his possible derangement and positive ineptitude. Last night — well, maybe by the end of this recap we’ll have figured out what to make of the episode, because we begin with no clue except to say that by drawing Deangelo as an unpredictable person who defies logic, the writers freed themselves up to put Ferrell in what felt like a series of SNL skits". However, in White's review, she praised the writing for Deangelo's character, writing that "Ferrell is much better carrying the show on his own than being second banana to Carell. It seemed like he was having more fun with the role in this episode".
In Sepinwall's review of "Search Committee", he recalls that he was "Worried that Ferrell's presence would be a distraction during Steve Carell's final episodes", a fear that he, as he writes, was "Unfortunately correct" about.

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