Office Olympics
Encyclopedia
"Office Olympics" is the third episode of the second season of the American comedy
television series
The Office, and the show's ninth episode overall. Written by Michael Schur
, and directed by Paul Feig
, the episode first aired in the United States on October 4, 2005 on NBC
.
In the episode, Michael and Dwight leave the office to buy a condo. Meanwhile, Jim organizes office games and gets his co-workers to play them.
(Steve Carell
) leaves with Dwight Schrute
(Rainn Wilson
) to sign closing papers for his new condominium, the staff fills out their expense reports. Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski
) "dies" of boredom, and Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer
) revives him by calling him to the reception desk and throwing objects into Dwight's coffee mug. Jim discovers that his co-workers have their own office games, and he and Pam organize the Games of the First Dunder-Mifflin Olympiad, competing for medals made of yogurt lids and paper clips.
Dwight finds a variety of things wrong with the condominium, and Michael gets cold feet
but relents when he learns that backing out of the deal will cost him a substantial amount of money.
A coffee cup race quickly dissolves when Michael and Dwight return, and the office returns to normal. Michael isolates himself in his office, still upset over the closure of his condo. Undeterred, Jim and Pam organize the "closing ceremonies", awarding Michael the gold medal for closing on his condo. They also award Dwight the silver medal for unknown reasons (though it is assumed that it is due to him accompanying Michael in the condo deal). Michael feels touched by this and thanks everyone for the honor.
. Feig had previously directed episodes of Arrested Development and Undeclared
. "Office Olympics" was written by Michael Schur
.
Producer Greg Daniels
said the idea for the Office Olympics stemmed from The King of the Hill Office Olympics (created and run by his former assistant Tim Croston and the show's two production assistants at the time, Tony Gennaro and Seranie Manoogian) which were held in the King of the Hill
offices (for which he is also executive producer), stating "Like, who’s going to get off the elevator first and races in chairs. The funny thing is then it became a TV episode and it has now gone full circle and I hear offices are doing it all over."
When choosing Michael's car for the episode, producer Kent Zbornak brought in pictures of various cars and had the writers choose which one they thought Michael would most likely own. The writers ended up choosing a Chrysler Sebring convertible, because according to B. J. Novak
"we figured it's the showiest car that he could afford". While shooting the scene in Michael's car, cameraman Randall Einhorn
accidentally broke the back window, which ended up costing $859 to replace.
Writer Mike Schur made a cameo appearance in the episode, playing Dwight's Amish
cousin Mose. The idea for Schur to be Dwight's Amish cousin had been a joke among the writers since the first season. Mose was based on an actual participant in the UPN
reality show Amish in the City
.
The Yogurt Lid Medals reappear in the third season finale, The Job
. Receiving the lid and a note from Pam is the catalyst of Jim's decision between Pam and Karen.
. This means that 3.9 percent of all households with an 18 to 49 year old living in it watched the episode, and nine percent had their television tuned to the channel at any point. "Office Olympics" was watched by 8.3 million viewers.
"Office Olympics" received mostly positive reviews. Michael Sciannamea of TV Squad wrote that "The Office has turned the corner into separating itself from the British version
." Sciannamea went on to say that "although Michael still garners the most attention, the other characters are beginning to break out." His only criticism of the episode was that "Dwight is too creepy", Sciannamea suggested that the writers "tone down his insanity a bit". "Miss Alli" of TelevisionWithoutPity.com graded the episode with a "A-". In a poll done by Office fansite OfficeTally.com, viewers ranked "Office Olympics" as the ninth most popular episode out of the twenty-two episodes of season two.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
The Office, and the show's ninth episode overall. Written by Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
, and directed by Paul Feig
Paul Feig
Paul S. Feig is an American director, actor and author. Feig is known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as Tim a camp counselor on the hit kids movie Heavyweights...
, the episode first aired in the United States on October 4, 2005 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, Michael and Dwight leave the office to buy a condo. Meanwhile, Jim organizes office games and gets his co-workers to play them.
Plot
While Michael ScottMichael 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...
) leaves with Dwight Schrute
Dwight 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...
) to sign closing papers for his new condominium, the staff fills out their expense reports. 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...
) "dies" of boredom, 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,...
) revives him by calling him to the reception desk and throwing objects into Dwight's coffee mug. Jim discovers that his co-workers have their own office games, and he and Pam organize the Games of the First Dunder-Mifflin Olympiad, competing for medals made of yogurt lids and paper clips.
Dwight finds a variety of things wrong with the condominium, and Michael gets cold feet
Cold feet (metaphor)
Cold feet is apprehension or doubt strong enough to prevent a planned course of action.The origin of the term itself has been attributed to American author Stephen Crane, who added the phrase, in 1896, to the second edition of his short novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.The behaviour may be...
but relents when he learns that backing out of the deal will cost him a substantial amount of money.
A coffee cup race quickly dissolves when Michael and Dwight return, and the office returns to normal. Michael isolates himself in his office, still upset over the closure of his condo. Undeterred, Jim and Pam organize the "closing ceremonies", awarding Michael the gold medal for closing on his condo. They also award Dwight the silver medal for unknown reasons (though it is assumed that it is due to him accompanying Michael in the condo deal). Michael feels touched by this and thanks everyone for the honor.
Production
This episode was the first episode of the series directed by Paul FeigPaul Feig
Paul S. Feig is an American director, actor and author. Feig is known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as Tim a camp counselor on the hit kids movie Heavyweights...
. Feig had previously directed episodes of Arrested Development and Undeclared
Undeclared
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season...
. "Office Olympics" was written by Michael Schur
Michael Schur
Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer and writer, best known for his work on the NBC comedy series The Office and Parks and Recreation, the latter of which he co-created along with Greg Daniels...
.
Producer Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
said the idea for the Office Olympics stemmed from The King of the Hill Office Olympics (created and run by his former assistant Tim Croston and the show's two production assistants at the time, Tony Gennaro and Seranie Manoogian) which were held in the King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
offices (for which he is also executive producer), stating "Like, who’s going to get off the elevator first and races in chairs. The funny thing is then it became a TV episode and it has now gone full circle and I hear offices are doing it all over."
When choosing Michael's car for the episode, producer Kent Zbornak brought in pictures of various cars and had the writers choose which one they thought Michael would most likely own. The writers ended up choosing a Chrysler Sebring convertible, because according to B. J. Novak
B. J. Novak
Benjamin Joseph Manaly “B. J.” Novak is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on the US version of The Office, as well as appearing in Inglourious Basterds...
"we figured it's the showiest car that he could afford". While shooting the scene in Michael's car, cameraman Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn
Randall Einhorn is an American television director and cinematographer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.Einhorn is best known for his work on The Office . He also directed The Accountants, a ten-part webisode spinoff of The Office which appeared online between the second and third seasons...
accidentally broke the back window, which ended up costing $859 to replace.
Writer Mike Schur made a cameo appearance in the episode, playing Dwight's Amish
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
cousin Mose. The idea for Schur to be Dwight's Amish cousin had been a joke among the writers since the first season. Mose was based on an actual participant in the UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
reality show Amish in the City
Amish in the City
Amish in the City is an American reality television series by Stick Figure Productions and UPN...
.
The Yogurt Lid Medals reappear in the third season finale, The Job
The Job (The Office)
"The Job" is the third season finale of the U.S. version of The Office, and the show's 52nd and 53rd episode overall. It aired in the United States on April 19, 2007 on NBC. It is the season's second hour-long episode...
. Receiving the lid and a note from Pam is the catalyst of Jim's decision between Pam and Karen.
Reception
"Office Olympics" received 3.9/9 in the ages 18–49 demographic in the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. This means that 3.9 percent of all households with an 18 to 49 year old living in it watched the episode, and nine percent had their television tuned to the channel at any point. "Office Olympics" was watched by 8.3 million viewers.
"Office Olympics" received mostly positive reviews. Michael Sciannamea of TV Squad wrote that "The Office has turned the corner into separating itself from the British version
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
." Sciannamea went on to say that "although Michael still garners the most attention, the other characters are beginning to break out." His only criticism of the episode was that "Dwight is too creepy", Sciannamea suggested that the writers "tone down his insanity a bit". "Miss Alli" of TelevisionWithoutPity.com graded the episode with a "A-". In a poll done by Office fansite OfficeTally.com, viewers ranked "Office Olympics" as the ninth most popular episode out of the twenty-two episodes of season two.
External links
- "Office Olympics" at NBC.com