Safety Training (The Office)

Last updated

"Safety Training"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 20
Directed by Harold Ramis
Written by B. J. Novak
Cinematography by Randall Einhorn
Editing by David Rogers
Production code320
Original air dateApril 12, 2007 (2007-04-12)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Negotiation"		Next →
"Product Recall"
The Office (American season 3)
List of episodes

"Safety Training" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's forty-eighth episode overall. Written by B. J. Novak, who also acts in the show as sales representative Ryan Howard, and directed by Caddyshack and National Lampoon's Vacation director Harold Ramis, the episode aired in the United States on April 12, 2007, on NBC. [1]

Contents

In the episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) attempts to prove life in an office is dangerous after Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) berates him about the dangers of the warehouse. The attempts lead him to the roof of the building, where he tries to show that depression caused by an office can lead to desperate circumstances. Meanwhile, gambling between the other employees of the office leads Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) to discover that she is still an outsider.

Plot

When Michael Scott repeatedly disrupts Darryl Philbin's warehouse safety training session, Lonny Collins and Darryl mock the office workers' safety session in retaliation, claiming that office work does not entail physical danger. Offended by Darryl's disdain for office safety training, Michael decides to demonstrate the risk of depression and suicide by jumping off the roof, landing on a hidden trampoline. When Michael tests out the trampoline by dropping a watermelon from the roof, it bounces off and hits an office worker's car, prompting it to be replaced by a bouncy castle hidden from the general view of the parking lot. From the roof of the building, Michael talks dramatically about the dangers of depression. When the bouncy castle is discovered, Jim and Pam realize that Michael is "going to kill himself pretending to kill himself." The employees collectively talk Michael down from the roof, with Darryl doing most of the talking, to assure Michael that he is brave simply by living as himself. At the end, the car that was hit by the watermelon is revealed to be Stanley's, who is shocked to see the mess.

Meanwhile, the office staff begins betting on various things, from counting the jelly beans in Pam Beesly's candy dish to whether Creed Bratton will notice that his apple has been replaced with a potato. Karen Filippelli loses every bet, realizing that she is not yet as familiar with the office as she thought she was. Also, Andy Bernard is back after several weeks in anger management training, determined to make a fresh start with his co-workers. His attempts to go by the name Drew are unsuccessful, and Dwight Schrute decides to shun Andy for three years, although he often "unshuns" him to inform him of Michael's plans.

Production

"Safety Training" was the second episode of the series directed by Harold Ramis. Ramis had previously directed the episode "A Benihana Christmas" earlier in the third season. The episode was the sixth of the series written by B. J. Novak, though Novak has downplayed his role, described the script as "a group effort" involving significant contributions from everyone in the writing staff and from Ramis. [2] Novak also acts in the show as Ryan Howard. The main plot idea, conceived during The Office's second season, was inspired by the true story of a football player and coach who pretended to get into a fight and threw a dummy off of a roof. The writing staff thought this seemed like something the character Michael Scott might do to pretend to commit suicide, and worked backward from there. [2]

The writers were concerned about hitting the right emotional tone with the episode, and elements of the script were reworked right until the end of production. Writers Michael Schur and Greg Daniels argued at length just over Ryan asking Dwight if he would be okay wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt outside; Schur wanted the line cut because he thought it was unclear whether Ryan was being sarcastic or not. [2] Brian Baumgartner, who portrays accountant Kevin Malone, stated concerning how director Harold Ramis impacted the show, "...our structure and how the show is written is all there and pretty much doesn't change. Harold [Ramis] might have ideas or specific changes that would change a moment." [3] The idea of Dwight Schrute "shun"ing and then "un-shun"ing Andy Bernard came from staff writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, while the accompanying hand movement was improvised by actor Rainn Wilson. [2] [4] The cast and crew of The Office were so intimidated by actor Patrice O'Neal's massive size when he first guest-starred on the series that someone likened him to a sea monster; this ended up working its way into the script for "Safety Training". [2]

Jim actor John Krasinski had changed his haircut to be in the movie Leatherheads , so for this episode he wore a hairpiece with a more reddish color than his natural hair. [2]

The crew anticipated that they would need CGI effects to create the shot of the watermelon bouncing off the trampoline onto Stanley's car, but in one of the takes, the real watermelon bounced onto the car as scripted, eliminating the need for CGI. [2]

Reception

"Safety Training" received a 4.1/11 in the Nielsen ratings among people ages 18–49, meaning that 4.1 percent of all people 18–49 watched the episode, and 11 percent of all people 18–49 watching TV at the time viewed the episode. "Safety Training" received 7.7 million viewers overall. [5]

The episode was almost universally praised by critics. Abby West of Entertainment Weekly complimented the writing of B.J. Novak in the episode, saying that "This was another gem... [Novak] kept a very nice light touch on the whole love triangle thing, only giving us that one wonderfully uncomfortable moment at Pam's desk when they were betting on how many jelly beans were in the container." [6] IGN's Brian Zoromski rated it 10 out of 10, making it one of only two third-season episodes he deemed a "masterpiece". [7] He stated that "Another truly brilliant episode of The Office aired this week, with more humor packed into the half-hour than you get in many feature-length comedies." Zoromski also praised the acting by minor characters, such as Creed Bratton and Mindy Kaling, who portrays customer service representative Kelly Kapoor. [8]

BuddyTV Senior Writer Oscar Dahl stated that "What can you say? The Office is, if anything, only getting better. Last week's super-sized episode was absolutely spectacular, but tonight's might have been even better." Dahl went on to say that both storylines of the episode were the main contributors to the success of the episode. [9]

Related Research Articles

"The Injury" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's eighteenth episode overall. The episode was written by Mindy Kaling, who also acts in the show as Kelly Kapoor, and directed by Bryan Gordon. "The Injury" first aired in the United States on January 12, 2006, on NBC. The episode guest starred Marcus York as Billy Merchant.

"The Alliance" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series The Office. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on April 12, 2005. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Bryan Gordon, marking their first credits for the show.

"The Convention" is the second episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's thirtieth episode overall. The episode was written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired on September 28, 2006 on NBC in the United States.

"The Coup" is the third episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's thirty-first episode overall. It first aired on October 5, 2006, on NBC in the United States.

"Initiation" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the show's 33rd overall. In the episode, Ryan Howard is taken by Dwight Schrute on what he believes is a sales call, but instead is brought to Dwight's beet farm for an "initiation." Pam Beesly is supposed to keep track of Michael Scott's productivity, but Michael spends his day waiting in line for a pretzel. Jim Halpert steals Karen Filippelli's chair and foils her attempts to get it back.

"Branch Closing" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 35th overall. It was written by co-executive producer Michael Schur and directed by Tucker Gates. An edited version of the episode first aired on November 9, 2006, on NBC; later that night, a longer "producer's cut" edition was released, with deleted scenes edited into the full episode and broadcast on the website NBC.com. This uncut episode is the version included on the Season 3 DVD set.

"The Merger" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 36th overall. It was written by consulting producer Brent Forrester and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired on November 16, 2006, as a special "super-sized" 40-minute episode on NBC.

"A Benihana Christmas" is the tenth and eleventh episodes of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth episodes overall. It was written by Jennifer Celotta and directed by Harold Ramis. The episode originally aired in the United States on December 14, 2006, on NBC.

"Traveling Salesmen" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the show's 41st overall. The episode was written by Michael Schur, Lee Eisenberg, and Gene Stupnitsky, and it was directed by series creator and executive producer Greg Daniels. It first aired on January 11, 2007 in the United States on NBC.

"The Return" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the show's 42nd overall. In the episode, the office celebrates the return of Oscar Martinez who had been on vacation since the first episode of the season. Meanwhile, a recently departed Dwight Schrute finds a job at Staples.

Ben Franklin (<i>The Office</i>) 15th episode of the 3rd season of The Office

"Ben Franklin" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's forty-third episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling, who also acts in the show as Kelly Kapoor, and directed by Randall Einhorn, the episode first aired in the United States on February 1, 2007, on NBC. "Ben Franklin" received 5.0/13 in the ages 18–49 demographic of the Nielsen ratings, and was watched by an estimated audience of 10.1 million viewers, and the episode received mixed reviews among critics.

"Business School" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the show's 45th overall. In the episode, Michael Scott is invited by Ryan Howard to speak to his business school class. When many of the students question the usefulness of paper in a computerized world, Michael attempts to inform the class of how essential paper is. Meanwhile, a bat becomes trapped in the office, leading Dwight Schrute on a mission to protect the employees.

"The Negotiation" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's forty-seventh episode overall. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Roy Anderson tries to attack Jim Halpert for kissing Pam Beesly in "Casino Night", only to be pepper-sprayed by Dwight Schrute. Jim repeatedly tries to thank Dwight for his actions, but each attempt is rejected. Meanwhile, with Roy fired, Darryl Philbin asks for a raise and is astounded when he learns that this raise would cause him to be paid more than his boss, Michael Scott.

"Back from Vacation" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 40th episode overall. It first aired on January 4, 2007, on NBC, and it was the first episode to air after the December holiday hiatus. "Back from Vacation" was the first script written by Justin Spitzer for the series. Julian Farino served as the episode director.

"Beach Games" is the twenty-third episode of the third season of the American version of The Office and the 51st of the series. In this episode, the office goes to a nearby lake for some "beach games". It is revealed that Michael is being interviewed for a position at corporate and that the winner of the beach games will become regional manager. Meanwhile, Dwight and Angela sabotage Andy, and Pam spends her day taking notes of the office workers' activities.

"Branch Wars" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-third episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Joss Whedon, the episode originally aired in the United States on November 1, 2007, on NBC. The episode marks the return of season three recurring actor Rashida Jones, who plays Jim's former girlfriend Karen Filippelli, now Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Utica.

The Deposition (<i>The Office</i>) 12th episode of the 4th season of The Office

"The Deposition" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-fifth episode overall. Written by consulting producer Lester Lewis and directed by Julian Farino, the episode originally aired in the United States on November 15, 2007, on NBC. "The Deposition" was the last original episode of the show to air before the show went on hiatus due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike.

<i>The Office</i> (American TV series) season 3 Season of television series

The third season of the American sitcom The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 21, 2006, and concluded on May 17, 2007. The season had a total of 25 half-hours of material, divided into 16 half-hour episodes, five 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour episodes. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series as a mockumentary portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The season stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, with supporting performances from Melora Hardin, David Denman, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, and Phyllis Smith.

<i>The Office</i> (American TV series) season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on September 27, 2007, and concluded on May 15, 2008. The season consisted of 9 half-hour episodes, and 5 hour-long episodes to comprise the 19 total episodes of material created. The Office is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name, and is presented in a mockumentary format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The season was originally set to include 30 episodes, but due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, production was called to a halt, in result, the season was shortened to 19 episodes. It stars Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and B. J. Novak, with supporting performances from Melora Hardin, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, and Phyllis Smith.

"The Cover-Up" is the twenty-fourth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy series The Office. It aired on May 6, 2010 on NBC in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ "NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY, APR 8 2007 – SATURDAY, APR 14 2007". NBC. March 23, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2007.[ dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Novak, B. J., Mindy Kaling, Harold Ramis (2007). Audio commentary for "Safety Training" (DVD). Universal Studios Home Entertainment.The Office: Season Three Disc 4
  3. ↑ "IGN Interview: The Office's Brian Baumgartner". IGN . Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
  4. ↑ Wilson, Rainn (Actor). 2007. "Safety Training" [Commentary track], The Office Season Three (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal, retrieved May 12, 2008
  5. ↑ NBC RATINGS RESULTS FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 9–15 [ permanent dead link ] NBC, retrieved July 6, 2008
  6. ↑ You Bet Your Life Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine Entertainment Weekly , retrieved July 2, 2008
  7. ↑ "The Office: Season 3". IGN. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ The Office: Safety Training Review Archived 2008-09-29 at the Wayback Machine IGN, retrieved July 2, 2008
  9. ↑ The Office: "Safety Training" Recap Archived 2008-04-24 at the Wayback Machine BuddyTV, retrieved July 2, 2008

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.