Drug Testing (The Office episode)
Encyclopedia
"Drug Testing" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the twenty-sixth episode overall. It was written by Jennifer Celotta
and directed by Greg Daniels
, who is also an executive producer
, and the series' show runner
. It first aired in the United States on April 27, 2006 on NBC
.
In the episode, Dwight finds pieces of a joint in the parking lot, and begins an investigation to find the owner. Michael, worried that he may not pass a drug test, pressures Dwight for a cup of clean urine to pass the drug test
. Failing to find the culprit and guilty over providing the urine to Michael, Dwight resigns as a volunteer sheriff. But later, Michael assigns Dwight the title of "Honorary Security Adviser".
(Rainn Wilson
) finds half of a joint
in the parking lot of the Scranton, Pennsylvania
branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and takes advantage of his volunteer sheriff deputy
status to investigate its source. Meanwhile, when Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski
) and Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer
) say the same thing simultaneously, Pam calls "jinx
", meaning that Jim cannot talk until he buys her a Coke
. Unfortunately, the vending machine is sold out. When Dwight sets up urine testing, Michael Scott
(Steve Carell
) worries that a "clove cigarette
" he smoked at an Alicia Keys
concert will show up.
Michael conducts an anti-drug meeting for the entire office in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the drug test. Jim continues to hold up his end of the jinx, even as Pam teases him. When she says "you can tell me anything", an awkward silence follows. Michael pressures Dwight for a cup of his "clean" urine, which he uses to pass the drug test. Dwight turns in his volunteer sheriff badge, feeling guilty for helping Michael. Pam buys Jim his Coke, which he buys off of her so she can find out what's been happening with Dwight the whole day. Michael feels guilty, so he makes Dwight an "Honorary Security Advisor" for Dunder Mifflin Scranton.
The episode ends with talking head interview with Jim, discussing Dwight's actions for Michael. There is a quick cut-away to a visual of Jim talking to Pam in the breakroom. He states, "I just don't get it. What does he get out of that relationship?" - likely a writer's reference to his own relationship with Pam, and why he went through with the jinx all day.
and directed by show runner
and executive producer
Greg Daniels
. Jim's impression of Stanley in this episode was inspired by John Krasinski
's actual talent of doing impressions on the set.
Michael has a bandage around his finger in this episode because Steve Carell
hurt his finger during the week and was unable to remove his wedding ring due to the swelling. Instead of cutting off his ring, the crew simply wrapped a bandage around it.
When Michael tells Pam to "write this down", Jenna Fischer
's response to the camera was improvised. "I thought it was funny that I didn't have a pad of paper but Michael was telling me to take notes," she explained in her MySpace
blog, "so I just looked to the camera and showed my lack of pen and paper."
This was the final episode of the season to be filmed (though not the last to air). According to Jenna Fischer, everybody on the set was excited like students on the last day of school. The giddiness particularly shows in Fischer's performance: Pam skips after Jim into the break room, she bounces on her toes at the end of the "fake crying" talking head, and she taps the soda can three times to get Jim to release the jinx.
, Dwight interrogating the workers in the Office after finding the joint in the parking lot ranked 15th. A Seattle Times report stated "...With last week's "Drug Testing" (in which Rainn Wilson's supercilious Dwight paraded around the office wearing a Smokey Bear hat and carrying a coffee cup filled with undrinkable liquid) and tonight's "Conflict Resolution," "The Office" has finally made The Leap." In a poll done by OfficeTally.com, an Office fansite
, "Drug Testing" was ranked as the fourth best episode of the second season by voters.
Jennifer Celotta
Jennifer Ann Celotta is an American television producer and writer. Among her credits are Home Improvement, Malcolm in the Middle, Greg the Bunny, Andy Richter Controls The Universe and The Office...
and directed by Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, who is also an executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, and the series' show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
. It first aired in the United States on April 27, 2006 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
In the episode, Dwight finds pieces of a joint in the parking lot, and begins an investigation to find the owner. Michael, worried that he may not pass a drug test, pressures Dwight for a cup of clean urine to pass the drug test
Drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen – for example urine, hair, blood, sweat, or oral fluid / saliva – to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites...
. Failing to find the culprit and guilty over providing the urine to Michael, Dwight resigns as a volunteer sheriff. But later, Michael assigns Dwight the title of "Honorary Security Adviser".
Synopsis
Dwight SchruteDwight Schrute
Dwight Kurt Schrute III is a character on NBC's The Office portrayed by Rainn Wilson. He originally exactly resembled Gareth Keenan from the original UK version of The Office. Dwight is the top salesman and former acting manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and has won numerous awards for...
(Rainn Wilson
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his role as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office...
) finds half of a joint
Joint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...
in the parking lot of the Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, and takes advantage of his volunteer sheriff deputy
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
status to investigate its source. Meanwhile, when Jim Halpert
Jim Halpert
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert is a fictional character in the United States version of the television sitcom The Office, played by John Krasinski. The character is based on Tim Canterbury from the original version of The Office...
(John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
) and Pam Beesly
Pam Beesly
Pamela Morgan "Pam" Halpert is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom The Office, played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Dawn Tinsley....
(Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer is an American actress and director. She is most widely known for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of Pam Halpert on the NBC situation comedy and mockumentary The Office, and has also appeared in several films, including Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,...
) say the same thing simultaneously, Pam calls "jinx
Jinx (children's game)
A jinx is a children's game with myriad highly varied rules and penalties that occurs when two people unintentionally or intentionally speak the same word or phrase simultaneously.- Rules :...
", meaning that Jim cannot talk until he buys her a Coke
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. Unfortunately, the vending machine is sold out. When Dwight sets up urine testing, Michael Scott
Michael Scott (The Office)
Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
(Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
) worries that a "clove cigarette
Kretek
Kretek are cigarettes made with a blend of tobacco, cloves and other flavors. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves. Haji Jamahri, a resident of Kudus, Java, created kreteks in the early 1880s as a means to deliver the eugenol of cloves to the...
" he smoked at an Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
concert will show up.
Michael conducts an anti-drug meeting for the entire office in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the drug test. Jim continues to hold up his end of the jinx, even as Pam teases him. When she says "you can tell me anything", an awkward silence follows. Michael pressures Dwight for a cup of his "clean" urine, which he uses to pass the drug test. Dwight turns in his volunteer sheriff badge, feeling guilty for helping Michael. Pam buys Jim his Coke, which he buys off of her so she can find out what's been happening with Dwight the whole day. Michael feels guilty, so he makes Dwight an "Honorary Security Advisor" for Dunder Mifflin Scranton.
The episode ends with talking head interview with Jim, discussing Dwight's actions for Michael. There is a quick cut-away to a visual of Jim talking to Pam in the breakroom. He states, "I just don't get it. What does he get out of that relationship?" - likely a writer's reference to his own relationship with Pam, and why he went through with the jinx all day.
Production
"Drug Testing" was written by Jennifer CelottaJennifer Celotta
Jennifer Ann Celotta is an American television producer and writer. Among her credits are Home Improvement, Malcolm in the Middle, Greg the Bunny, Andy Richter Controls The Universe and The Office...
and directed by show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
. Jim's impression of Stanley in this episode was inspired by John Krasinski
John Krasinski
John Burke Krasinski is an American actor, film director, and writer. He is most widely known for playing Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom The Office...
's actual talent of doing impressions on the set.
Michael has a bandage around his finger in this episode because Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
hurt his finger during the week and was unable to remove his wedding ring due to the swelling. Instead of cutting off his ring, the crew simply wrapped a bandage around it.
When Michael tells Pam to "write this down", Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer is an American actress and director. She is most widely known for her Emmy-nominated portrayal of Pam Halpert on the NBC situation comedy and mockumentary The Office, and has also appeared in several films, including Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,...
's response to the camera was improvised. "I thought it was funny that I didn't have a pad of paper but Michael was telling me to take notes," she explained in her MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
blog, "so I just looked to the camera and showed my lack of pen and paper."
This was the final episode of the season to be filmed (though not the last to air). According to Jenna Fischer, everybody on the set was excited like students on the last day of school. The giddiness particularly shows in Fischer's performance: Pam skips after Jim into the break room, she bounces on her toes at the end of the "fake crying" talking head, and she taps the soda can three times to get Jim to release the jinx.
Reception
"Drug Testing" was generally well received by critics. On a list of the top 25 moments (up to October 2007) from The Office Published by Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Dwight interrogating the workers in the Office after finding the joint in the parking lot ranked 15th. A Seattle Times report stated "...With last week's "Drug Testing" (in which Rainn Wilson's supercilious Dwight paraded around the office wearing a Smokey Bear hat and carrying a coffee cup filled with undrinkable liquid) and tonight's "Conflict Resolution," "The Office" has finally made The Leap." In a poll done by OfficeTally.com, an Office fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
, "Drug Testing" was ranked as the fourth best episode of the second season by voters.
External links
- "Drug Testing" at NBC.com