Initiation (The Office)

Infobox Television episode
Title =Initiation
Series =The Office


Caption =Ryan and Dwight at the beet farm.
Season =3
Episode =5
Airdate =October 19, 2006
Production =03005
Writer =B.J. Novak
Director =Randall Einhorn
Guests =
Episode list =List of The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes
Season list =
Prev =Grief Counseling
Next =Diwali

"Initiation" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series "The Office"—the show's thirty-fourth episode overall.NBC (September 25, 2006) [http://www.nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20060925000000-changes47addition.html CHANGES/ADDITIONS TO THE NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, OCT 12 2006 - THURSDAY, OCT 12 2006] NBC, Retrieved June 24, 2008] Written by B.J. Novak, who also acts in the show as Ryan Howard, and directed by Randall Einhorn, the episode first aired in the United States on October 19, 2006 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).

In the episode Ryan is taken by Dwight on what he believes is a sales call, but instead is brought to Dwight's beet farm for an "initiation". Pam is supposed to keep track of Michael's productivity, but Michael spends his day waiting in line for a pretzel. Jim steals Karen's chair and foils her attempts to get it back.

ynopsis

Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) plans on going to his first sales call with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson). Dwight surprises Ryan by taking him to Dwight's beet farm to both teach and haze. After Dwight tries to force Ryan into a coffin with help from his cousin Mose (Michael Schur), Ryan gets angry and walks out. Dwight apologizes to Ryan and the two go on a sales call which ultimately doesn't work out for Ryan. Irritated, Ryan throws eggs at the building housing the company that refused his sale. Dwight and Ryan go to a bar and then return to the office, where it appears they formed a new bond.

Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) instructs receptionist Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) to keep a log of Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) activity, and throughout the day, she dryly notes Michael's antics, including a Bill Cosby impression for a potential customer and waiting in line with Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) for a free soft pretzel, while hinting to Michael that he should focus on being productive. After consuming his sugary pretzel, Michael emerges from his office and launches into a hyperactive, sugar-fueled speech before falling asleep at his desk. At the end of the day, Pam realizes that Michael's antics secured a large sale.

At Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch, Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) discovers that Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) swapped his chair for hers, but Jim foils her efforts to switch them back. The two flirt for a while before Karen steals Andy Bernard's (Ed Helms) chair. Later that night, Jim, who was trying to call Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner), ends up talking to Pam on the phone for the first time since the two kissed. The two talk for a few minutes and begin to reconnect. Jim misinterprets her parting phrase, and the two awkwardly end their conversation.

Production

This episode was the first full episode of the series directed by Randall Einhorn. Einhorn had previously directed all ten webisodes of the spin-off mini-series "The Accountants". "Initiation" was written by B.J. Novak, who also acts for the show as Ryan Howard.cite web |url=http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/bios/bj_novak.shtml |title= B.J. Novak |accessdate=2008-06-27 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=NBC.com]

The episode was filmed before "Grief Counseling", but it aired after it. There were rumors that "Initiation" was supposed to air before "Grief Counseling", but it turned out the location of the beet farm was only available that week.Fischer, Jenna (October 19, 2006) [http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27753303&blogID=182408565 Tonight - "The Initiation" - A new episode of "The Office"] "MySpace.com", Retrieved June 24, 2008] Although the idea for writer Michael Schur to be Dwight's cousin Mose had been a joke among the writer since the first season, B.J. Novak pitched the idea when writing "Initiation". Schur had to grow out his beard for three months and wear wool clothes on a hot day as part of his character. Mose was based on an actual participant in the UPN reality show "Amish in the City".Tan, Jeannie (July 18, 2007) [http://www.officetally.com/qa-with-michael-schur-part-3 Q&A with Michael Schur: Part 3] OfficeTally.com, Retrieved June 24, 2008]

If the DVD commentary of the episode between B. J. Novak, Rainn Wilson and Leslie David Baker is true and not a joke amongst them, Wilson wrote the scene of Pam and Jim's phone conversation.

Reception

This episode was generally well-received by critics. Abby West of "Entertainment Weekly" stated that "one of the many things I love about the show is how current it is. I love the pop-culture references, like "Lost"'s Dharma Initiative, "Deal or No Deal", and that soon-to-be classic "SNL/Chronicles of Narnia" sketch.West, Abby (October 20, 2006) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1548688,00.html Love Fools] "Entertainment Weekly", Retrieved June 24, 2008] IGN's Brian Zoromski said that although the episode had "a few hit and miss moments", it "was a very well done episode that carried through on three main storylines" and "began and ended beautifully".Zoromski, Brian (October 20, 2006) [http://tv.ign.com/articles/740/740706p1.html "The Office": "Initiation" Review] "IGN", Retrieved June 24, 2008] Aaron from eTV Review said that even if it "wasn’t as good as last week’s episode", it was still "another great one".Aaron (October 20, 2006) [http://www.etvreviewer.com/the-office-initiation/ "The Office": "Initiation" ] eTVReviewer.com, Retrieved June 24, 2008] In a poll done by OfficeTally.com, "Initiation" was ranked by viewers as the thirteenth funniest of the twenty-three episodes of the third season.Tan, Jeannie (September 26, 2007) [http://www.officetally.com/office-survivor-poll#more-1219 OfficeTally Survivor Poll: Season 3] OfficeTally.com, Retrieved June 24, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/episodes/3005_1.shtml#main "Initiation"] at NBC.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0873237/ "Initiation"] , at the Internet Movie Database