Email Surveillance
"Email Surveillance" | |
---|---|
The Office episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 9 |
Directed by | Paul Feig |
Written by | Jennifer Celotta |
Featured music | "Side" by Travis |
Cinematography by | Randall Einhorn |
Editing by | David Rogers |
Production code | 2008[1] |
Original air date | November 22, 2005 |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Email Surveillance" is the ninth episode of the
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, the company tech support employee gives Michael Scott (Steve Carell) the ability to read his employees' emails, causing him to find out that Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) is throwing a party that Michael was not invited to. Meanwhile, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) begins to suspect that Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) might secretly be having a relationship.
Ken Jeong explained that, while all the scenes were scripted, the actors were allowed to improvise their lines during the improv shots. Omi Vaidya revealed that, during the party scenes, the cast were allowed to drink real
Plot
Dunder Mifflin's tech support employee,
After ruining an
Production
"Email Surveillance" was written by Jennifer Celotta, making it her first writing contribution to the series.[2] This episode was the fourth episode of the series directed by Paul Feig. Feig had previously directed the episodes "Office Olympics", "Halloween", and "Performance Review".[3][4][5]
When filming the scene with Michael in the improv class, Ken Jeong, who played Bill, said that "they (the crew) would shoot the scenes as scripted the first few takes, and then we would improvise after that." For example, "the scene where I (Ken Jeong) say 'Good job' to Michael and he says 'Nice job, Bill... not' was improvised."[6] Jeong, who had previously taken part in an actual improv class, noted that "Anyone who's ever taken an improv class appreciates that bit [with Michael starting every session with a gun]."[6]
The episode guest starred Omi Vaidya, who played the part of Sadiq, the IT assistant. Vaidya later explained that, originally, "a lot of people auditioned for that role, bigger Indian American actors". However Vaidya, who had watched the British version and was familiar with the camera style, "took a scarf, created a turban out of it and walked to the audition room with it on" because he thought that "that was what was needed for the character and the show".[7] He later called his guest appearance "one of the best productions in the United States that I have been a part of".[7] Vaidya said that he enjoyed shooting the party scenes the most because they got to drink real beer (rather than a stand-in liquid) and play video games on the then-unreleased Xbox 360 gaming console.[8] Vaidya said that "it was like being at a real party with everyone from The Office except that we had to shoot a few scenes while we were chatting and relaxing."[8]
Cultural references
After Oscar confronts Michael about reading the staff's emails, Michael references
Reception
"Email Surveillance" originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 22, 2005.
"Email Surveillance" received generally positive reviews from television critics.
Erik Adams of
References
- ^ "Shows A–Z – Office, The on NBC". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- The Office. Season 2. Episode 9. NBC.
- The Office. Season 2. Episode 3. NBC.
- The Office. Season 2. Episode 5. NBC.
- ^ Larry Wilmore (writer); Paul Feig (director) (November 15, 2005). "Performance Review". The Office. Season 2. Episode 8. NBC.
- ^ a b Jeong, Ken. "Two Cents & Five Questions With..." TheTwoCents. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ a b Kumar, Vivek (February 8, 2010). "Omi Vaidya: The Fourth Idiot". India Currents. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ a b Vaidya, Omi. "Two Cents & Five Questions With..." TheTwoCents. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Giant, M. (November 22, 2005). "Email Surveillance". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ "The Office – Seasons – Season 2 – Episode Guide". NBC. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ "Nov. 29, 2005 Press Release ("Email Surveillance")" (Press release). NBC. February 27, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2012.[dead link] Alt URL
- ^ "June 20, 2006 Press Release ("Email Surveillance")" (Press release). NBC. February 27, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2012.[dead link] Alt URL
- ^ Sciannamea, Michael (November 22, 2005). "The Office: "Email Surveillance"". TV Squad. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
- ^ Phillips, Dan (February 18, 2010). "The Office: Top Ten Awkward Moments". IGN. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ Adams, Erik (August 6, 2013). "'Email Surveillance'/'Christmas Party' | The Office | TV Club". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
External links
- "Email Surveillance" at NBC.com
- "Email Surveillance" at IMDb