Survivor Man

Last updated

"Survivor Man"
The Office episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 11
Directed by Paul Feig
Written by Steve Carell
Cinematography by Randall Einhorn
Editing by David Rogers
Production code411
Original air dateNovember 8, 2007 (2007-11-08)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Branch Wars"		Next →
"The Deposition"
The Office (American season 4)
List of episodes

"Survivor Man" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-fourth episode overall. Written by Steve Carell, who also acts on the show as Regional Manager of the fictional paper company Dunder Mifflin, Michael Scott, and directed by Paul Feig, it originally aired on NBC on November 8, 2007. [1] The episode aired during NBC's week of "green episodes", which lasted from November 4 through November 10, 2007. [2]

Contents

In the episode, Ryan excludes Michael from a company nature excursion, prompting Michael to try to prove to himself and his peers that he can survive in the wild. Dwight drops Michael off in the middle of a local wooded area and contrary to Michael's wishes, stays behind to monitor Michael. Meanwhile, Jim spends the day as boss, but his plan to incorporate multiple birthdays into one combined event ends up alienating the entire office against him.

Plot

Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) invites the regional branch managers and Dunder Mifflin Scranton Human Resources representative Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) to a corporate wilderness retreat, but does not invite Michael Scott (Carell), because "they already knew everything they needed to know about him". To show that he is capable of surviving in the wilderness, Michael leaves Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) in charge of the office and instructs Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) to abandon him deep in the forest with merely a knife and a roll of duct tape. Contrary to Michael's wishes, Dwight stays behind and surreptitiously monitors his condition from a distance. Michael proves to be completely incapable of living out in the wild by himself, with him spending most of the day filming himself cutting off his pants to use as a bandana, then a tent, and then ducttaping them back into pants. Dwight is forced to come out of hiding to save Michael when he tries to eat wild mushrooms.

Jim's plan to consolidate three employee birthdays into a combined birthday party encounters several complications, and his constant adjustments incur the ire of Party Planning Committee chair Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey). Later, Jim discovers that no one likes his idea for a combined party, realizing the depth of his error when Phyllis Vance (Phyllis Smith) mistakenly refers to him as Michael, and he returns to the original plan of having separate parties. Michael and Dwight return lightening the mood amongst the employees and for the lighting of Creed Bratton's (Creed Bratton) birthday cobbler (due to it actually being his birthday), with Michael expressing that he no longer has any desire to return to the wilderness and Jim expressing his relief that Michael has returned to run the office.

Production

"Survivor Man" is the second episode written by Steve Carell. Carell also wrote the second season finale "Casino Night". The episode is the fifth episode directed by Paul Feig, and his first since the second-season episode "E-mail Surveillance". "Survivor Man" is the second episode to feature birthdays as a plot line. The episode was the next to last episode to be aired before the effects of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike halted production.

The episode's title and plot share similarities with Survivorman , a television show in which the host is placed in the wilderness with little or no supplies for survival. The producers contacted Survivorman host Les Stroud to obtain permission to parody his work. Stroud revealed in a 2020 interview with GQ [3] that he "couldn't have been more honoured" at the idea of the episode, and went on to state that he considered this episode to be the "highlight of his career".

Reception

"Survivor Man" received a 4.9/7 in the Nielsen ratings, meaning that 4.9 percent of households were tuned in at any given moment and seven percent of all televisions in use were tuned in to the program. The episode was watched by 8.29 million viewers and achieved a 4.3/10 in the ages 18–49 demographic. [4] Travis Fickett of IGN stated that "Overall, this isn't a terrific episode, but holds up the show's usual standard. Steve Carell is hilarious as usual. Watching him attempt to make shelter and clothing out of his suit over the span of only a few hours is great fun." Fickett also stated that a good portion of the humor in the episode came from in-jokes that required previous knowledge of the series, specifically pointing out the parallel comparison between Michael and Jim's lives. [5] Like Fickett, Christine Fenno of Entertainment Weekly praised the episode's comparison between Michael and Jim. Fenno also went on to praise other points of the episode, stating she also enjoyed the overall episode for its "just outdoorsiness with Michael and Dwight, and infighting among the rest of the staff." [6] Oscar Dahl, a Senior Writer for BuddyTV, stated that "What seems like a one and done episode without much character work at first turns into much more by the end." Dahl went on to praise the episode, stating that it was "lighter" in comparison to Carell's previous episode "Casino Night". [7]

Related Research Articles

The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series that depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It aired on NBC from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. Based on the 2001–2003 BBC series of the same name created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the show was created by Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons. It was co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Daniels, Gervais, Merchant, Howard Klein and Ben Silverman, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.

"Office Olympics" is the third episode of the second season of the television series The Office and the show's ninth episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur and directed by Paul Feig. It originally aired on October 4, 2005 on NBC. The episode guest starred Nancy Carell, the real-life wife of series star Steve Carell, as Carol Stills.

"Halloween" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's eleventh episode overall. It was written by executive producer and showrunner Greg Daniels and was directed by Paul Feig. The episode first aired on NBC in the United States on October 18, 2005. Guest stars in this episode included Devon Abner, Hugh Dane, George Gaus, Annabelle Kopack, Ava Nisbet and Alec Zbornak.

"Email Surveillance" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's fifteenth episode overall. Written by Jennifer Celotta, and directed by Paul Feig, the episode first aired in the United States on November 22, 2005 on NBC. The episode guest starred Ken Jeong and Omi Vaidya.

"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.

"Michael's Birthday" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's twenty-fifth episode overall. Written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham, the episode first aired in the United States on March 30, 2006 on NBC. The episode guest stars Nancy Carell as Carol Stills.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Levinson</span> Fictional character

Janet Levinson is a recurring fictional character from the US television series The Office, portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, directly supervising central character and Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch, Michael Scott. Her character is notable for the dysfunctional relationship she enters with Michael following the second-season episode, "The Client", until the fourth-season episode "Dinner Party". Michael and Jan's personas contrast to much humor in the series, particularly in their professional attitudes and social interactions, although Jan's erratic and sexually-domineering state of mind leads to her firing. Her counterpart in the British version is corporate manager Jennifer Taylor-Clarke, who was played by Stirling Gallacher.

"Fun Run" is the first and second episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth episode overall. Written and directed by executive producer and showrunner Greg Daniels, the episode first aired on NBC in the United States on September 27, 2007.

"Money" is the seventh and eighth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixtieth and sixty-first episode overall. It first aired on October 18, 2007, on NBC, and was the last of four consecutive hour-long episodes that opened the fourth season. The episode was written and directed by Paul Lieberstein, who also acts on the show as Human Resources Representative Toby Flenderson. "Money" marked Lieberstein's directorial debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Ad</span> 9th episode of the 4th season of The Office

"Local Ad" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-second episode overall. The episode was written by B. J. Novak, who also acts in the show as Ryan Howard, and directed by Jason Reitman. It originally aired in the United States on October 25, 2007, on NBC.

"Dunder Mifflin Infinity" is the third and fourth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh episode overall. It was written by Michael Schur, who also acts in the show, and directed by Craig Zisk. It first aired in the United States on October 4, 2007, on NBC.

"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.

"Dinner Party" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-sixth episode overall. Written by the writing team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Paul Feig, the episode originally aired on NBC on April 10, 2008. Guest stars in the episode include Beth Grant, Steve Seagren, and Gary Weeks.

Night Out (<i>The Office</i>) 15th episode of the 4th season of The Office

"Night Out" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's sixty-eighth episode overall. The episode was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired in the United States on April 24, 2008 on NBC. "Night Out" was viewed by a measured audience of over 7.5 million people, bringing in the lowest number of estimated viewers that The Office received among 12 episodes. "Night Out" received mixed reviews from critics.

<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.

"Goodbye, Toby" is the fourth season hour-long finale of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's seventy-first and seventy-second episodes overall. Written by Paul Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta, and directed by Paul Feig, the episode first aired in the United States on May 15, 2008, on NBC.

"Weight Loss" is the collective name for the first and second episodes of the fifth season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's 73rd and 74th episodes overall. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and directed by Paul Feig, the episode first aired as a single 60 minute show in the United States on September 25, 2008, on NBC. "Weight Loss" guest stars Amy Ryan as Holly Flax, Dale Raoul as Ronni, and Rich Sommer as Alex.

"Dream Team" is the twenty-second episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office and the 94th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. In the episode, Pam Beesly and Michael Scott try to keep each other motivated as the two form their new paper company together. Michael recruits Ryan Howard for the company, which sets up a new office in the same building complex as Dunder Mifflin. Meanwhile, Jim Halpert tries to impress new boss Charles Miner by claiming to be a soccer enthusiast, but it backfires when Dwight Schrute convinces the two to face each other in a game.

References

  1. ↑ Michael Goes on a Survival Adventure Next Week on The Office Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Celebrity Spider, retrieved May 20, 2008
  2. ↑ "Survivor Man" Archived February 3, 2013, at archive.today Futon Critic, retrieved May 20, 2008
  3. ↑ "Survivalist Les Stroud Breaks Down Survival Scenes from Movies | GQ - YouTube". YouTube . Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, November 8, 2007". Your Entertainment Now. Retrieved November 9, 2007.[ dead link ]
  5. ↑ The Office: "Survivor Man" Review Archived November 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine IGN, retrieved May 18, 2008
  6. ↑ The Office: Green With Envy Archived November 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Entertainment Weekly, retrieved May 20, 2008
  7. ↑ The Office: Episode 4.7, "Survivor Man" Recap Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine BuddyTV, retrieved May 20, 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.