Fun Run
Encyclopedia
"Fun Run" is the fourth season
premiere 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 show runner
Greg Daniels
, the episode first aired in the United States
on September 27, 2007 on NBC
.
In the episode, Michael believes the office is cursed after he accidentally hits Meredith with his car. After being taken to the hospital, Meredith is found to have rabies. To try to make amends with Meredith, Michael sponsors a fun run for rabies. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Jim and Pam are dating, while Angela is mad at Dwight for killing her cat Sprinkles.
) moved in with Michael Scott
(Steve Carell
), and Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski
) broke up with Karen Filippelli
(Rashida Jones
), who left Dunder Mifflin Scranton
. Jim and Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer
) claim that they see each other socially but only as friends. The documentary crew catches Pam picking up Jim in her car. They kiss and drive away. When faced with the footage of them kissing, Jim and Pam admit to the documentary crew that they are secretly dating.
As he arrives at work, Michael accidentally hits Meredith Palmer
(Kate Flannery
) with his car, sending her to the hospital for a fractured pelvis. Forced to join a group visit to Meredith in the hospital, Angela Martin
(Angela Kinsey
) leaves Dwight Schrute
(Rainn Wilson
) with complicated instructions on the care of her ailing cat Sprinkles. During the hospital visit, Michael fails to obtain forgiveness from Meredith. When Angela returns to the office, Dwight informs her that her cat is dead. Dwight explains to Angela that he killed her cat because it was suffering, and that this is normal on the farm. Angela is furious, because being euthanized prevents Sprinkles from being in "cat heaven."
The combination of Meredith's accident, Sprinkles' death, and a virus
on Pam's computer (which is cleaned by the company's tech support employee, Sadiq, portrayed by Omi Vaidya
) convinces Michael that the office is cursed. He insists that he is not superstitious, but rather "a little-stitious". Dwight discovers that Meredith has had a precautionary rabies
shot due to several animal bites. Michael immediately takes credit for saving Meredith's life by sending her to the hospital and declares the curse over. But, still feeling guilty about hurting Meredith, Michael organizes a charity five kilometer fun run
to raise awareness of the dangers of rabies. Over half of the money raised is spent on the check presentation ceremony. Few take the race seriously (Creed, Oscar and Stanley sneak off to a bar while Jim and Pam visit a garage sale) and while Toby Flenderson
(Paul Lieberstein
) wins the race, Michael becomes ill, having "carbo-load
ed" (he ate fettucini alfredo before the race) and abstained from water. In the hospital for dehydration
, Michael is visited by Meredith. In recognition of his efforts, she forgives Michael.
and ninth episode directed by him. The episode was the second of the series in which Daniels was both the writer and director. Daniels also wrote and directed the first season
episode "Basketball."
After initially reading the script, Kate Flannery
asked producer Kent Zbornak if Meredith was going to live, to which he replied "This isn't All My Children
." Flannery was nervous about doing her own stunt, so Zbornak did it first to show her that she would be fine. Flannery recalls "[I] kind of got competitive with him, and I thought, 'I can do that. I can do that better than he can.'" At first, Kate would flinch before hitting the glass, until director Greg Daniels was able to get her to not think about it. Kate's arms were bruised, due to having to film the scene multiple times. During the hospital scenes, Flannery and Steve Carell improvised a few times.
was happy about Pam and Jim finally dating, she was critical of them being secret about it, reasoning "I mean, nobody's cheating. Can't the Pam and Jim plotline have a bigger obstacle than self-imposed, weakly enforced secrecy?" TV Guide
s Jack Rodgers was glad "the writers aren’t jerking us around anymore, and the pair are finally busted when Jim hops a ride home with Pam after work."
Reviews for Michael in this episode were a little bit more mixed. Rick Porter said that "there was a little too much Bad Michael in the hour for my taste." Travis Fickett, of IGN
, disagreed, saying that "the best stuff in the episode comes from Steve Carell. There's his reaction to hitting Meredith, how he breaks it to the office, and his fear that the office is cursed." Will Leitch, a writer for New York Magazine, said that Michael hitting Meredith with his car was "one of the most shocking moments in the show’s history" and "nothing that came afterwards could quite top what happened in the first 25 seconds."
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 4
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...
premiere of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy
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 fifty-fourth (and fifty-fifth) episode overall. Written and directed by 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 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...
Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, the episode first aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on September 27, 2007 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 believes the office is cursed after he accidentally hits Meredith with his car. After being taken to the hospital, Meredith is found to have rabies. To try to make amends with Meredith, Michael sponsors a fun run for rabies. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Jim and Pam are dating, while Angela is mad at Dwight for killing her cat Sprinkles.
Synopsis
Over the summer, Jan Levenson (Melora HardinMelora Hardin
Melora Diane Hardin is an American actress, best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's The Office and Trudy Monk on USA's Monk.-Early life:...
) moved in with 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...
), and 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...
) broke up with Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli
Karen Filippelli is a fictional character from the U.S. television series The Office. She is played by Rashida Jones. She is loosely based on the character of Rachel from the original UK version of the show, in that she transferred during the merger of the two branches, and became romantically...
(Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
), who left Dunder Mifflin Scranton
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...
. Jim 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,...
) claim that they see each other socially but only as friends. The documentary crew catches Pam picking up Jim in her car. They kiss and drive away. When faced with the footage of them kissing, Jim and Pam admit to the documentary crew that they are secretly dating.
As he arrives at work, Michael accidentally hits Meredith Palmer
Meredith Palmer
Meredith Elizabeth Palmer is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. She is played by Kate Flannery. She is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office....
(Kate Flannery
Kate Flannery
Katherine Patricia "Kate" Flannery is an American actress best known for playing the role of Meredith Palmer on the NBC hit series The Office.-Personal life:...
) with his car, sending her to the hospital for a fractured pelvis. Forced to join a group visit to Meredith in the hospital, Angela Martin
Angela Martin
Angela Noelle Martin is a fictional character from the US television series The Office played by American actress Angela Kinsey. She is an original character, and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
(Angela Kinsey
Angela Kinsey
Angela Kinsey is an American actress. She currently appears as the uptight accountant Angela Martin on the hit NBC television series The Office.-Personal life:...
) leaves 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...
) with complicated instructions on the care of her ailing cat Sprinkles. During the hospital visit, Michael fails to obtain forgiveness from Meredith. When Angela returns to the office, Dwight informs her that her cat is dead. Dwight explains to Angela that he killed her cat because it was suffering, and that this is normal on the farm. Angela is furious, because being euthanized prevents Sprinkles from being in "cat heaven."
The combination of Meredith's accident, Sprinkles' death, and a virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
on Pam's computer (which is cleaned by the company's tech support employee, Sadiq, portrayed by Omi Vaidya
Omi Vaidya
Omi Vaidya is an Indian American actor who is best known for his performance as Chatur Ramalingam or "The Silencer" in the 2009 Bollywood film, 3 Idiots. In addition, Vaidya has directed two short films and worked as an editor on others. He has also appeared in a number of television programs and...
) convinces Michael that the office is cursed. He insists that he is not superstitious, but rather "a little-stitious". Dwight discovers that Meredith has had a precautionary rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
shot due to several animal bites. Michael immediately takes credit for saving Meredith's life by sending her to the hospital and declares the curse over. But, still feeling guilty about hurting Meredith, Michael organizes a charity five kilometer fun run
Fun run
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors providing the revenue to cover organisational costs...
to raise awareness of the dangers of rabies. Over half of the money raised is spent on the check presentation ceremony. Few take the race seriously (Creed, Oscar and Stanley sneak off to a bar while Jim and Pam visit a garage sale) and while Toby Flenderson
Toby Flenderson
Toby Wyatt Flenderson, M.S.W. born 1971 is a character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Paul Lieberstein. He is an original character and has no equivalent in the British version of the show, The Office.-Overview:...
(Paul Lieberstein
Paul Lieberstein
Paul Bevan Lieberstein is an American screenwriter, actor and television producer. An Emmy Award winner, he is most widely known as a writer, producer, and as supporting cast member Toby Flenderson on the U.S...
) wins the race, Michael becomes ill, having "carbo-load
Carbohydrate loading
Carbohydrate loading, commonly referred to as carbo-loading or carb-loading, is a strategy used by endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, to maximize the storage of glycogen in the muscles....
ed" (he ate fettucini alfredo before the race) and abstained from water. In the hospital for dehydration
Dehydration
In physiology and medicine, dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism...
, Michael is visited by Meredith. In recognition of his efforts, she forgives Michael.
Production
"Fun Run" was the eighth episode of the series written by Greg DanielsGreg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
and ninth episode directed by him. The episode was the second of the series in which Daniels was both the writer and director. Daniels also wrote and directed the first season
The Office (U.S. TV series) season 1
The first season of the American television comedy The Office premiered in the United States on NBC on March 24, 2005, concluded on April 26, 2005, and consists of six episodes...
episode "Basketball."
After initially reading the script, Kate Flannery
Kate Flannery
Katherine Patricia "Kate" Flannery is an American actress best known for playing the role of Meredith Palmer on the NBC hit series The Office.-Personal life:...
asked producer Kent Zbornak if Meredith was going to live, to which he replied "This isn't All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
." Flannery was nervous about doing her own stunt, so Zbornak did it first to show her that she would be fine. Flannery recalls "[I] kind of got competitive with him, and I thought, 'I can do that. I can do that better than he can.'" At first, Kate would flinch before hitting the glass, until director Greg Daniels was able to get her to not think about it. Kate's arms were bruised, due to having to film the scene multiple times. During the hospital scenes, Flannery and Steve Carell improvised a few times.
Reception
Pam and Jim finally getting together went over well with most critics. Zap2It's Rick Porter thought "the show handled the PB&J (Pam Beesly and Jim) stuff as well as it always has, underplaying the romance as much as the NBC marketing folks overplay it." Although, Christine Fenno from Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
was happy about Pam and Jim finally dating, she was critical of them being secret about it, reasoning "I mean, nobody's cheating. Can't the Pam and Jim plotline have a bigger obstacle than self-imposed, weakly enforced secrecy?" TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
s Jack Rodgers was glad "the writers aren’t jerking us around anymore, and the pair are finally busted when Jim hops a ride home with Pam after work."
Reviews for Michael in this episode were a little bit more mixed. Rick Porter said that "there was a little too much Bad Michael in the hour for my taste." Travis Fickett, of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, disagreed, saying that "the best stuff in the episode comes from Steve Carell. There's his reaction to hitting Meredith, how he breaks it to the office, and his fear that the office is cursed." Will Leitch, a writer for New York Magazine, said that Michael hitting Meredith with his car was "one of the most shocking moments in the show’s history" and "nothing that came afterwards could quite top what happened in the first 25 seconds."
Deleted Scenes
- Phyllis teases Pam about the pornography on her computer: "It's okay, Pam. We all do it."
- Michael is treated for dehydration by his pediatrician
External links
- "Fun Run" at NBC.com