Casino Night
"Casino Night" | |
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The Office episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 22 |
Directed by | Ken Kwapis |
Written by | Steve Carell |
Cinematography by | Randall Einhorn |
Editing by | |
Production code | 2021[1] |
Original air date | May 11, 2006 |
Running time | 28 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Casino Night" is the
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, the office hosts a casino night, to which Michael Scott (Carell) inadvertently invites two dates. Meanwhile, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) decides to transfer to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch and reveals to Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) his feelings for her.
The episode was the first of the series to run as a "supersized" episode, featuring twenty-eight minutes and twenty seconds of content rather than the standard twenty minutes and thirty seconds. In addition, the episode was the first of the series to be written by Carell; he had suggested the idea for the episode to executive producer Greg Daniels, who thoroughly enjoyed the idea and green lit the script. "Casino Night" also introduces the musical exploits of Kevin Malone, played by Brian Baumgartner. The episode received wide acclaim from television critics and earned a Nielsen rating of 3.9 in the 18–49 demographic, being seen by 7.7 million viewers. It is generally considered by both critics and audiences to be one of the show's greatest episodes.
Plot
During Casino Night, Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) wins a game of craps and kisses Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) on the cheek, disregarding their attempts to keep their intimate relationship a secret. She slaps him and walks away, with the two quietly enjoying the experience. Jan and Carol share an awkward conversation when they realize Michael has invited them both. Jim tells Jan that he's made a decision about the transfer. After Roy leaves, Jim tells Pam that he is in love with her. After a stunned pause, she states she cannot be with him. He tells her he wants to be more than friends, but she claims he "misinterpreted things." Heartbroken, Jim apologizes for misinterpreting their friendship and discreetly wipes a tear from his cheek as he walks away. Jan leaves Michael and Carol, noticeably upset from the night's events, and it is revealed she packed an overnight bag in her car, implying she had planned to spend the night with Michael. Pam returns to the office and talks to her mother over the phone about Jim's confession. Jim enters the room and approaches her as she hastily hangs up. She begins to say something but Jim kisses her, and after hesitating, she returns the kiss, ending with the two staring at each other in silence.
Production
"Casino Night" was the first episode of the series written by Steve Carell.
The episode was the fifth episode of the season and the seventh of the entire series directed by Ken Kwapis.[3][6] During the editing of the episode, executive producer Greg Daniels publicly addressed NBC in an interview, stating, "I'd like to get a supersized episode, because it's a really long script with a lot of good stuff."[7] In response, fans of the show set up an online petition to "supersize" the season finale. The website generated over 2,800 signatures. On April 20, NBC announced it would be extending the season finale by ten minutes.[2] Although other NBC shows Will & Grace and My Name Is Earl that aired on the same night had extended episodes, cast members David Denman and John Krasinski credited in interviews the petition for the extended time. Denman and Krasinski both believed that the petition was partially responsible for the other two shows getting extended times as well.[8]
The filming of the episode's ending caused a "huge divide among the writing staff and the director and the cast".[9] Carell, Kwapis, and the actors wanted the moment when Pam and Jim kiss to "follow the characters and the emotion of the moment" by having the action captured in full by the show's cameramen. The writing staff, on the other hand, wanted Pam and Jim's moment to be private and only heard via the mics; Daniels explained, "The writing staff was itching to do something kind of weird [with the scene] and have it be a private moment that the doc crew didn't know was going to happen and so only heard on their mics and came running around the corner to film."[9]
The episode features Kevin Malone playing the drums in a band, which had been an idea circulated since the first season, when allusions to him being in a Steve Miller tribute band were written; the scenes had to be removed from the series due to issues negotiating with the singer. The crew later decided to have Kevin be in a Police tribute band called Scrantonicity because he "talks so low, and has very little expression, and there is no band that sings higher and with more expression than the Police."[10] While Kevin was always intended to be the band's lead singer, executive producer Greg Daniels approached Baumgartner about possibly playing an instrument, but the actor replied he could not play anything. Daniels and Baumgartner then discussed instruments that would be "funny" to play and brought up harmonicas, saxophones, and drums. They ultimately decided on drums because they deemed a "drumming lead singer [to] be the funniest choice," regardless of the fact that the actor had "absolutely no drumming experience, and it's a difficult instrument."[10]
The Season Two DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include Michael creating Dunder Mifflin Mad Libs, Dwight and Jim choosing their charities, Dwight considering Jim's telekinetic powers, an extension of Michael's scene with Darryl, Pam finding planning a wedding stressful, Meredith and the casino dealer sharing a past.[11]
Cultural references
On the phone with Jan, Michael compares the performance of the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin to the biblical story of
When Michael mentions donating money to "Afghanistanis with
Reception
Ratings
"Casino Night" originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 11, 2006.
Reviews
"Casino Night" received widespread critical acclaim from television critics. Michael Sciannamea of
References
- ^ "Shows A–Z – Office, The on NBC". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "NBC Announces Super-sized episode" (Press release). NBC. April 20, 2006.
- ^ a b c Fischer, Jenna. "Supersize Office Finale, Supersize Blog!". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ Rosen, Lisa (May 10, 2006). "'Office' Manager Takes on New Task". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- Universal, retrieved May 12, 2008
- ^ "Ken Kwapis". TV.com. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen (February 23, 2006). "'Office' promotions pay off in a big way". Chicago Tribune). Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
- ^ "John Krasinski Chat Transcript". OfficeTally. June 16, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Stanhope, Kate (January 17, 2013). "The Office Boss on a Firing, the Scranton Strangler's Return and Series Finale Surprises". TV Guide. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ^ a b Snierson, Dan (February 8, 2007). "Dunder Struck". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment. 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cliffton, Jaco. "Casino Night". Television Without Pity. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ "The Office – Seasons – Season 2 – Episode Guide". NBC. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ a b c "May 16, 2006 Press Release ("Casino Night")" (Press release). NBC. February 27, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2012.[dead link] Alt URL
- ^ "WGA Awards". WGA.com. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on July 4, 2007. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ Huffpost TV. Archived from the originalon August 20, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Zoromski, Brian (May 12, 2006). "The Office: 'Casino Night'". IGN. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ Flynn, Gillian (May 25, 2006). "'Office' Romance". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ "The Office All-Time Fan Favorite Poll, 2011". OfficeTally.com. September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
External links
- "Casino Night" at NBC.com
- "Casino Night" at IMDb