Sexual Harassment (The Office)
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{{Office episode|
name = Sexual Harassment|
image = [[Image:TheOffice(US)2-02.jpg|225px]]<BR/>Jim reveals his office love when the office discusses "Sexual Harassment".|
ep_num = 8 |
prod_code = 02002 |
date = [[September 27]] [[2005]] |
writer = [[B.J. Novak]] |
director = [[Ken Kwapis]] |
guest_star = Melinda Chilton<br>[[Shannon Cochran]]<br>R.F. Daley<br>[[David Koechner]]<br>[[Karly Rothenberg]]<br>Keith Valcourt |
season = 2|
}}
'''"Sexual Harassment"''' is the second episode of the second season of the television series ''[[The Office (U.S. TV series)|The Office]]'' (U.S. version). It was written by [[B.J. Novak]] and directed by [[Ken Kwapis]]. It originally aired on [[September 27]], [[2005]].
==Synopsis==
<!-- Per Wikipedia "television episode" guidelines [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EPISODE#Plot_summaries], the summary should not exceed ten words per minute of screen time. This is a 20-minute episode, so the limit is 200 words. -->
[[Michael Scott (The Office)|Michael]]'s "best friend forever" [[Characters from The Office (US)#Todd Packer|Todd Packer]] offends the staff with crude gossip about an upper management scandal. Meanwhile, [[Pam Beesly|Pam]] waits with anticipation for her mother to arrive from out of town.
[[Toby Flenderson|Toby]] informs Michael that their CFO resigned because of sexual harassment and that he will conduct a review of the company's sexual harassment policies. Michael's indignation that this will put a damper on his easygoing office environment rises to outrage when he learns that Corporate is sending down a lawyer to talk to him.
Michael and the warehouse staff mock the sexual harassment video, but the crude remarks come to a screeching halt when [[Jan Levinson|Jan]] and the lawyer arrive from Corporate. Michael angrily announces that he can no longer be friends with his staff and that he will never tell another joke again. Jim goads Michael into breaking his vow immediately. Michael's attitude suddenly changes when he realizes that he's not in trouble, that the lawyer's job is to protect him.
Pam's mother arrives and asks in whispers (shushed by an embarrassed Pam) which one is Jim. Michael stops Todd Packer when he tries to share another inappropriate joke and concludes with his misguided thoughts on sexual harassment.
==Deleted scenes==
The Season Two DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include:
<!-- Per Wikipedia "television episode" guidelines [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:EPISODE#Plot_summaries], the summary should not exceed ten words per minute of screen time. The re are 4 minutes of deleted scenes, so the limit is 40 words. -->
*Michael is baffled by a casual compliment from Pam.
*Dwight becomes obsessed with contaminated soda cans.
*Michael takes over Toby's sexual harassment training.
*In a talking head interview, Michael bad-mouths Toby.
*Pam apologizes to Jim for using the winking-face emoticon.
==Notes==
{{Trivia|date=July 2007}}
*Having both worked in [[office]] environments prior to filming The Office, [[Jenna Fischer]] and [[Angela Kinsey]] both noted that on the days of sexual harassment seminars, they would be harassed by other members of the office as a joke.<ref>Novak, B. J. (Writer/Actor). 2006. "Sexual Harassment" [Commentary track], ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: [[Universal Studios|Universal]].</ref> The exact same thing happens to Pam's character in this episode.
*This episode aired with a warning that it contained adult content and subject matter, which is rare for a network comedy. Writer B.J. Novak explained that he had to fight [[NBC]] to get the word "boner" on the air because the replacement ("schwing") didn't have, according to Novak, "the same redemption for Michael at the end." The disclaimer was a compromise. A station in [[Kentucky]] nevertheless refused to air this episode.<ref>Chun, Wing. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060515033047/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cgi?show=56&story=8897 "The B.J. Novak Interview"] ''Televisionwithoutpity.com'' Page 8. Retrieved March 2, 2006.</ref>
*This episode introduces Michael's catchphrase "That's what ''she'' said," which writer B. J. Novak says was something he heard repeated in college. ("What has two thumbs and X? This guy." also comes from Novak's college days.)<ref>Novak, B. J. (Writer/Actor). 2005. "Diversity Day" [Commentary track], ''The Office'' Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: [[Universal Studios|Universal]].</ref>
*This episode was inspired by the [[NBC]] [[sexual harassment]] seminar that the cast and crew had to attend before the series began.<ref>Carell, Steve (Actor). 2005. "Diversity Day" [Commentary track], ''The Office'' Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: [[Universal Studios|Universal]].</ref> Writer B.J. Novak took notes during the seminar and incorporated them into the episode. The borrowing came full circle when NBC inserted clips from this episode into their training materials, including the "Pam's Mom" rule.<ref>[http://www.usc.edu/webapps/events_calendar/custom/32/index.php?category=Item&item=0.861695 ''Office'' Politics] panel discussion, USC, [[July 30]], [[2006]].</ref>
*When Dwight asks Toby about female anatomy, actor [[Rainn Wilson]] improvised the line "Where is the clitoris? The website says it is at the crest of the labia. What does that mean?"<ref>Fischer, Jenna. August 14, 2006. blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27753303&blogID=155751758&MyToken=477178e4-204a-4259-b079-24480b13306b "Need to Kill Time? Check out this Blog.", ''MySpace.com''</ref>
* In Kevin's e-mail inbox, Pam's last name is misspelled "Beasly". Also, Dwight's last name is misspelled as "Shrute".
* The episode is shown as part of the Civil Rights Law curriculum at the University of Notre Dame Law School. Professor Jennifer Mason McAward originally showed a clip available at nbc.com during the first administration of the course in the Fall 2005 semester, but the clip was later removed from the site. In order to continue to use the episode in class in subsequent semesters, Professor McAward had to request that the law library purchase the entire second season of The Office. The request was approved, and the DVDs are now part of the library's permanent collection.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/episodes/season2/202/ "Sexual Harassment"] at NBC.com
*[http://www.tvguide.com/News/Insider/default.htm?cmsGuid={3877F7CD-69AE-4EE6-AD86-3773B90D220C} BJ Novak's Blog on "Sexual Harassment"] at [http://www.tvguide.com/ TVGuide.com]
{{Theofficeus}}
[[Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes]]
[[Category:2005 television episodes]]