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Health Care (The Office episode)
Encyclopedia
"Health Care" is the third episode of the first season of the American comedy
television series
The Office. Written by Paul Lieberstein
, who also acts in the show as Toby Flenderson
, and directed by Ken Whittingham
, the episode first aired in the United States on April 5, 2005 on NBC
. Charlie Hartsock guest stars in the episode as a travel guide.
The episode follows Michael as he is given the task of choosing a new and inexpensive health care plan. He immediately hands it off to enthusiastic volunteer Dwight. Dwight ruthlessly cuts nearly all benefits in the new plan, angering the rest of the office staff. Michael then promises the staff a surprise to apologize for the new plan.
) gives Michael Scott
(Steve Carell
) the task of picking a new and inexpensive health care
plan. Unwilling to upset his employees, Michael gives the job to Dwight Schrute
(Rainn Wilson
), who cuts practically all benefits. When cornered by the employees, Michael tells Dwight to alter his plan. He also promises a surprise at the end of the day. Michael leaves the office to try to find a surprise, eventually trying to persuade a travel guide (Charlie Hartsock) for a free trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey
. Dwight hands out anonymous illness forms as Michael tries and fails to find a suitable surprise for his employees. When Jim Halpert
(John Krasinski
) and Pam Beesly
(Jenna Fischer
) write false and imaginary diseases on their forms, Dwight demands to interview every employee to find out who is responsible.
When Jim locks Dwight in the meeting room, Dwight calls Jan for permission to fire him. Jan finds out that Michael passed along his health care plan duties, and demands to speak to Michael as soon as possible. When Michael's attempt at a surprise of ice cream sandwiches falls flat, he then promises that the surprise is still coming. Dwight reads the diseases aloud to find out which are real, with embarrassing results. He finally picks a plan that eliminates benefits to the point where Oscar Martinez
(Oscar Nunez
) likens it to a pay decrease. The employees wait for Michael's surprise, which he awkwardly never delivers, and they all leave in an angry silence. Dwight then tells Michael to call Jan regarding the Health Care plan.
Jenna Fischer stated that "Health Care" was her favorite episode of season one. Fischer went on to say that "We laughed a lot while making this episode. Particularly during the scene where Dwight confronts everyone in the office about who has been writing fake diseases on their health forms. Rainn Wilson kept improvising new fake diseases, and we didn't know what he would say next." The episode was rebroadcast on March 29, 2007 as part of an "Human resources
Nightmares" marathon hosted by Paul Lieberstein. Lieberstein's character Toby Flenderson is the Human Resources Representative for the Scranton, Pennsylvania
branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, where The Office is set. "Health Care" was one of two first season episodes, the other being "Hot Girl", to not contain commentary by members of the cast and crew on the season DVD.
among people aged 18–49, meaning that 2.9 percent of all 18–49 year olds viewed the episode and seven percent of all 18–49 year olds watching TV viewed it. The episode garnered 5.8 million viewers overall. As many of the first season episodes, "Health Care" received mixed reviews among critics. IGN
praised the episode, and even put Jim and Pam's prank of creating fake diseases as ninth in its "Top Ten Moments from The Office". In a review by DVD Verdict, Mike Pinsky stated that "Turning the third episode over to such a character, when Michael passes off responsibility for picking a corporate health care plan to Dwight, is meant to draw laughs out of his megalomania. But it just is not that funny." In a poll taken by an Office fansite Officetally.com, fans ranked the episode as the second best of season one.
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. Written by 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...
, who also acts in the show as 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:...
, and directed by Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham
Ken Whittingham is an American television director.His most notable directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Suburgatory, The Middle, Parenthood, The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, My Name Is Earl,...
, the episode first aired in the United States on April 5, 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...
. Charlie Hartsock guest stars in the episode as a travel guide.
The episode follows Michael as he is given the task of choosing a new and inexpensive health care plan. He immediately hands it off to enthusiastic volunteer Dwight. Dwight ruthlessly cuts nearly all benefits in the new plan, angering the rest of the office staff. Michael then promises the staff a surprise to apologize for the new plan.
Plot
Corporate Manager Jan Levenson-Gould (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:...
) gives 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...
) the task of picking a new and inexpensive health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
plan. Unwilling to upset his employees, Michael gives the job to 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...
), who cuts practically all benefits. When cornered by the employees, Michael tells Dwight to alter his plan. He also promises a surprise at the end of the day. Michael leaves the office to try to find a surprise, eventually trying to persuade a travel guide (Charlie Hartsock) for a free trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. Dwight hands out anonymous illness forms as Michael tries and fails to find a suitable surprise for his employees. When 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...
) 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,...
) write false and imaginary diseases on their forms, Dwight demands to interview every employee to find out who is responsible.
When Jim locks Dwight in the meeting room, Dwight calls Jan for permission to fire him. Jan finds out that Michael passed along his health care plan duties, and demands to speak to Michael as soon as possible. When Michael's attempt at a surprise of ice cream sandwiches falls flat, he then promises that the surprise is still coming. Dwight reads the diseases aloud to find out which are real, with embarrassing results. He finally picks a plan that eliminates benefits to the point where Oscar Martinez
Oscar Martinez
Oscar Jual Paul Martinez is a fictional character from the US television series The Office. He is played by Oscar Nunez.-Overview:Oscar Martinez is an accountant at the paper distributor Dunder Mifflin. He is a first generation Mexican-American. Oscar is also openly homosexual after being...
(Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez
Oscar Nunez , sometimes credited as Oscar Núñez, is a Cuban American actor and comedian.He currently appears as Dunder Mifflin's paper supply accountant, Oscar Martinez, on NBC's The Office.-Career:...
) likens it to a pay decrease. The employees wait for Michael's surprise, which he awkwardly never delivers, and they all leave in an angry silence. Dwight then tells Michael to call Jan regarding the Health Care plan.
Production
"Health Care" marked the first episode written by writer/actor Paul Lieberstein, who would go on to write several other episodes. It also marked the first episode directed by Ken Whittingham, who would go on to direct several other episodes.Jenna Fischer stated that "Health Care" was her favorite episode of season one. Fischer went on to say that "We laughed a lot while making this episode. Particularly during the scene where Dwight confronts everyone in the office about who has been writing fake diseases on their health forms. Rainn Wilson kept improvising new fake diseases, and we didn't know what he would say next." The episode was rebroadcast on March 29, 2007 as part of an "Human resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
Nightmares" marathon hosted by Paul Lieberstein. Lieberstein's character Toby Flenderson is the Human Resources Representative for the Scranton, Pennsylvania
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...
branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, where The Office is set. "Health Care" was one of two first season episodes, the other being "Hot Girl", to not contain commentary by members of the cast and crew on the season DVD.
Reception
"Health Care" received a 2.9/7 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...
among people aged 18–49, meaning that 2.9 percent of all 18–49 year olds viewed the episode and seven percent of all 18–49 year olds watching TV viewed it. The episode garnered 5.8 million viewers overall. As many of the first season episodes, "Health Care" received mixed reviews among critics. 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...
praised the episode, and even put Jim and Pam's prank of creating fake diseases as ninth in its "Top Ten Moments from The Office". In a review by DVD Verdict, Mike Pinsky stated that "Turning the third episode over to such a character, when Michael passes off responsibility for picking a corporate health care plan to Dwight, is meant to draw laughs out of his megalomania. But it just is not that funny." In a poll taken by an Office fansite Officetally.com, fans ranked the episode as the second best of season one.
External links
- "Health Care" at NBC.com