Gay Witch Hunt

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"Gay Witch Hunt"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 1
Directed by Ken Kwapis
Written by Greg Daniels
Cinematography by Randall Einhorn
Editing by David Rogers
Production code301
Original air dateSeptember 21, 2006 (2006-09-21)
Running time22 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"The Convention"
The Office (American season 3)
List of episodes

"Gay Witch Hunt" is the third-season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's twenty-ninth episode overall. Written by executive producer and show runner Greg Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episode first aired in the United States on September 21, 2006, on NBC.

Contents

The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) discovers that Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) is gay. Michael tries to show Oscar that he is accepting of his sexual orientation, but only ends up insulting him. After kissing Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) transfers to Stamford. In addition, Pam calls off her engagement with Roy Anderson (David Denman).

An estimated 9.1 million viewers watched the episode, a 23 percent increase from the previous season premiere "The Dundies". "Gay Witch Hunt" received positive reviews from television critics.

Plot

After calling Oscar Martinez "faggy", Michael Scott learns that Oscar finds the word offensive because he is homosexual. While attempting to apologize, Michael inadvertently outs Oscar to the entire office. Jan Levinson berates Michael for his behavior, after Michael's seminar on homosexuality is a disaster. When Oscar threatens to quit, Michael attempts to reconcile with Oscar, first by hugging him, and then kissing him on the lips. Oscar is given three months paid vacation and use of a company car in exchange for not suing Dunder Mifflin.

It is revealed that after their kiss, Pam Beesly confirmed to Jim Halpert her intention to marry Roy Anderson. However, a few days before the wedding, Pam got cold feet and called it off. She moved into her own apartment and began taking art classes. Pam's rejection sent Roy into a downward spiral, hitting rock bottom with a drunk driving arrest. When being interviewed by the camera crew, Roy makes a vow to win Pam back.

Jim transfers to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch, and his old job is taken by Ryan Howard, now a permanent employee. Jim meets smug co-worker Andy Bernard, who brags about his wild college days at Cornell University. Jim tries to prank him like he targeted Dwight, but becomes scared of Andy's more violent temper. Sales representative Karen Filippelli is disconcerted by Jim's smirks to the camera.

Production

"Gay Witch Hunt" was the eighth episode of the series directed by Ken Kwapis. Kwapis had previously directed "Pilot", "Diversity Day", "Sexual Harassment", "The Fire", "The Fight", "Booze Cruise", and "Casino Night". "Gay Witch Hunt" was written by executive producer and show runner Greg Daniels. [1]

The kiss between Michael and Oscar in the conference room was scripted to be on the cheek, but according to Paul Lieberstein, "One take, [Michael actor] Steve [Carell] just won't let Oscar [Nunez] turn away. He got closer and closer and it just got creepy." The other cast members were laughing during the kiss but because the camera stays focused on Carell and Nunez, the scene was still usable. [2] Nunez has said that the scene was shot a couple times without Carell kissing him at all. [3]

At Paleyfest in early 2007, Steve Carell later recalled that he enjoyed the episode "because it spoke to the fact that Michael is not a homophobe; he just doesn't understand the world. They are two very different things. It's not that he's intrinsically racist or homophobic or sexist, he just doesn't have a frame of reference. He's not capable of understanding. And once he does glean some understanding he misinterprets it into something altogether. But I think at least the way I feel about the character is he's a decent heart, a decent person and he's just trying his best." [4]

The third season DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode, including Karen pulling a prank on Jim by programming the "9" button on his office phone to speed dial a Hong Kong number and then rebuffing his attempt to establish camaraderie, Andy demonstrating his vertical leap to Jim, Michael suggesting Pam use a body pillow as a surrogate for Roy, Jim explaining why he prefers Josh as a boss, and Michael updating the documentary crew on his relationship with Carol. [5]

Reception

"Gay Witch Hunt" first aired on NBC on September 21, 2006. The Nielsen ratings for "Gay Witch Hunt" indicated that it was watched by approximately 9.1 million viewers, a 23 percent increase from the second season premiere "The Dundies". [6] During its timeslot, "Gay Witch Hunt" ranked second among men ages 18–49 and 24–54, and first among men ages 18–34. [7]

"Gay Witch Hunt" generally received praise from critics. TV Guide's Matt Roush admitted that he "loved Oscar's self-deprecating reaction to his newfound notoriety". [8] Roush said that when watching Michael "you can't help but forgive the idiot, while wondering how in the world he manages to keep his job," and that the kiss between Michael and Oscar was "horrifically funny". [8] Brian Zoromski of IGN rated the episode with a 9 out of 10, an indication of an "amazing" episode. He observed that the episode's best scenes "show the impact of Jim and Pam being in different offices," and thought Andy's reactions made the audience appreciate Dwight more. [9]

Steve West of Cinemablend stated that "the balance between laughing at Michael’s ineptitude and the discomfit of Oscar was handled so deftly that it’s a wonder the show became successful when similarly great writing in Arrested Development did nothing to garner viewers." [10] For his work on this episode, Greg Daniels won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. [11] Ken Kwapis also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on this episode as well, but lost to Ugly Betty 's Richard Shepard for his work on the pilot episode. [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "Gay Witch Hunt". TV.com . Retrieved June 24, 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ Goldman, Eric (March 5, 2007). "Paley Fest: The Office". Zap2it . Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  3. ↑ Horwitch, Lauren (December 21, 2006). "Method to 'The Office' Madness". Backstage . Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ Ford Sullivan, Brian (March 5, 2007). "Live at the Paley Festival: NBC's "The Office"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ Deleted scenes for "Gay Witch Hunt" (DVD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2007.The Office: Season Three Disc 1
  6. ↑ Westbury, Anna (May 17, 2012). "Infographic: The Lifespan of The Office". Paste Magazine . Wolfgang's Vault. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  7. ↑ Tan, Jeannie (September 26, 2006). "The Office Nielsen Ratings". OfficeTally.com. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  8. 1 2 Roush, Matt (September 22, 2006) "A Gay Old Office Time". TV Guide . Retrieved June 25, 2008 Archived May 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Zoromski, Brian (September 22, 2006). "The Office: Gay Witch Hunt Review". IGN. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  10. ↑ West, Steve (September 22, 2006) "TV Recap: The Office Season Premiere". Cinemablend. Retrieved June 25, 2008
  11. ↑ "Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series 2007". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences . Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  12. ↑ "The Office". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences . Retrieved December 20, 2012.

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