Health Care (The Office)

Infobox Television episode
Title =Health Care
Series =The Office


Caption =Dwight in his temporary workspace in "Health Care".
Season =1
Episode =3
Airdate =April 5, 2005
Production =R1105
Writer =Paul Lieberstein
Director =Ken Whittingham
Guests =Charlie Hartsock
Episode list =List of The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes
Season list =
Prev =Diversity Day
Next =The Alliance

"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 the National Broadcasting Company. [ [http://www.pazsaz.com/office.html "The Office" Episodes] Pazsaz Entertainment, retrieved February 27, 2008] 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 an enthusiastic volunteer in 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 Levinson-Gould (Melora Hardin) 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. 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.

Production

"Health Care" marked the first episode written by writer/actor Paul Lieberstein, [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/usversion/article.shtml About The U.S. Version of "The Office"] BBC, retrieved March 2, 2008] 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." [ [http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting={82122406-75AF-49F5-AC8C-675AE461D908} "The Office" Revisits a "Health" Scare] "TV Guide", retrieved July 2, 2008] The episode was rebroadcast on March 29, 2007 as part of an "Human resources Nightmares" marathon hosted by Paul Lieberstein. [ [http://buzzsugar.com/191924 TV Tonight: Human Resources Night on "The Office"] BuzzSugar, retrieved July 2, 2008] 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. [ [http://www.hollywoodnorthreport.com/article.php?Article=1638 "The Office" - Season One] Hollywood North Report, retrieved July 2, 2008]

Reception

"Health Care" received a 2.9/7 in the Nielsen Ratings 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. [ [http://www.officetally.com/the-office-nielsen-ratings/4 "The Office" Nielsen Ratings] OfficeTally.com, retrieved July 2, 2008] 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". [Citation | last1 = Goldman | first1 = Eric | last2 = Zoromski | first2 = Brian | url = http://tv.ign.com/articles/733/733879p1.html | title = The Top 10 Moments from "The Office" | date = 2006-09-20 | accessdate = 2008-03-01 | publisher = IGN] 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." [ [http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/officeusseason1.php" The Office" (U.S. Version): Season One] "DVD Verdict Review", retrieved July 2, 2008] In a poll taken by an "Office" fansite Officetally.com, fans ranked the episode as the second best of season one. [ [http://www.officetally.com/officetally-survivor-poll-season-1 OfficeTally Survivor Poll:Season 1] Officetally.com, retrieved July 2, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/episodes/season1/105/ "Health Care"] at NBC.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0664517/ "Health Care"] at IMDB.com