Fun Run

"Fun Run" is the first and second episode of the fourth season of The Office and the 54th and 55th episode overall. It was written and directed by Greg Daniels and aired on September 27, 2007.

Part One
In a series of interviews, updates are given on the events that have taken place since "The Job". Michael and Jan are still living together, although she apparently puts little effort into the relationship and is usually still asleep when Michael leaves for work. Jim confirms that he broke up with Karen in New York. He says she insisted that she would continue working in Scranton, but disappeared immediately afterward. Jim and Pam indicate that they have been seeing each other socially, but only as friends. Kevin insists that they're secretly dating, since they seem so happy. He even comes up with a nickname for them: "PB&amp;J" which stands for "Pam Beesly and Jim."

As he arrives at work, Michael accidentally hits Meredith with his car, sending her to the hospital for a fractured pelvis. This event alarms the rest of the office, and especially Michael's new direct superior Ryan, who is concerned about a lawsuit. As Meredith's coworkers make plans to visit her, Michael takes over, insisting they should all go together en masse on their lunch break. Angela bows out at first in order to attend to the intense medical regimen of her ailing cat, Sprinkles. Pam insists that Angela, as head of the Party Planning Committee, has a responsibility to be part of the visit. Dwight agrees to care for the cat in her place. Meanwhile, Pam's computer gets a virus necessitating the technical support employee, Sadiq to be called in; it is revealed she got the virus while trying to buy a celebrity sex tape.

The visit to the hospital is awkward, as Michael tries to extract forgiveness from Meredith, and Creed quizzes her about the pain killers she is taking. Upon the group's return to the office, Dwight unceremoniously informs Angela that her cat is dead, but is now "in a better place" (specifically, Angela's freezer).

The combination of Meredith's accident, Sprinkles' death, and the virus on Pam's computer convinces Michael that the office is cursed. He convenes a meeting to determine the cause, where he demands to know everyone's religious beliefs. Michael ultimately comes to the conclusion that "God is dead." Blaming Toby for the "curse," he orders research into mythical animals to which they could offer a sacrifice.

Dwight discovers during his own courtesy visit to the hospital that Meredith has had a precautionary rabies shot due to several recent animal bites (including a bat bite caused by Dwight himself). He informs Michael, who immediately takes credit for saving Meredith's life by sending her to the hospital. With that bit of good news, he decides the curse is over.

Kevin spies in the parking lot to see whether Jim and Pam are secretly getting together outside the office. He is disappointed to find no evidence, but the camera crew discovers Pam pulling over to a curb a block away and picking up Jim. They kiss and drive away.

Part Two
Jim and Pam privately are shown the footage of them taken at the end of Part One. They lamely deny a relationship at first, but Pam finally gives up and acknowledges they are dating. Both confirm things are going well, although they seem to have no immediate intention of telling the rest of the office.

Michael is still feeling guilty about hurting Meredith, so he decides to lead a charity 5K fun run, entitled "Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure" in an attempt to bring awareness to the dangers of rabies. The staff is mostly unsuccessful in getting donations, and nearly all of the $700 raised was donated by Jan (who is actually just donating Michael's money since she is now unemployed). Michael decides to spend $200 of that money on an oversized check, which he wants to present to a "rabies doctor."

Pam inadvertently walks in on Michael while he is changing for the race, even though Michael had said "Come in" in response to her knock on the door. Michael attempts to defend himself: "European offices are naked all the time." In a talking head interview, Pam rejects the advice that if nervous during public speaking one should picture the listeners naked.

Michael insists that everyone in the office participate in the 5K, although few take it seriously. Stanley, Creed, and Oscar take a taxi to grab some beers, returning to the race just feet from the finish line. Jim and Pam mostly walk, hand-in-hand, stopping at an estate sale where Pam buys a lamp. Kevin is quickly drenched in sweat because he forgot to bring running clothes, while Andy suffers from extremely irritated nipples.

Along the way, Angela confronts Dwight with her suspicion that Sprinkles had been deliberately killed. To her surprise, Dwight acknowledges doing so, saying his "farm" attitude is that any animal that is suffering (and cannot pull its own weight) should be put down. Angela is furious, saying that being euthanized prevents Sprinkles from being in "cat heaven."

Toby ends up finishing first thanks to some inadvertent help from Dwight (who slipped Toby Imodium instead of laxatives). His joy is short-lived as he learns that the course Michael created was not circular, leaving everyone five kilometers from the office.

Michael, who had decided to "carbo-load" on fettuccine alfredo and abstain from water, quickly becomes ill, but is convinced by Jim and Pam to continue. He considers reaching the finish line a major accomplishment, and is given Pam's lamp as a trophy.

Michael's poor dietary choice puts him in the hospital for dehydration, where he is visited by Meredith. In recognition of his attempt to make up for the car accident, she forgives Michael.

Deleted scenes
Deleted scenes on the DVD:
 * Michael infuriates those in the break room by suggesting Meredith was drunk at the time. Kevin feels 9 in the morning is too early "even for her". (In an intercut talking head, Meredith essentially admits as much, insisting that you can't get drunk off Kahlua because it's just a kind of coffee.) When people object to Michael's accusation that Meredith was drunk, he suggests "Maybe I was drunk, did you ever think of that?" but that just makes things worse.
 * Talking head with Michael where he reverses the accusation and suggests that "maybe she hit me. I don't know whose fault it was. I wasn't exactly looking at the road."
 * Pam finds Kelly lying under her desk, tissues and candy wrappers strewn all over the floor.
 * Toby reveals that Kelly has been so upset since the breakup that "she can't even talk", breaking into a smile.
 * Kelly lies face-down under her desk, telling the camera crew that she doesn't want to talk about Ryan. "Please go away!"
 * A long scene in Meredith's hospital room.
 * Angela complains that it's not fair the vet doesn't have technology as good as the hospital.
 * Michael asks everyone to share a memory of Meredith. Michael says he likes Meredith's jumpers because they remind him of kindergarten. Kevin remembers Meredith's back, since that's all he can see, and her red hair. He imagines that it's, who could turn around and tell a joke at any moment.
 * Andy tells everyone about the cemetery visible from the window.
 * As everyone leaves, Creed steals Meredith's pills.
 * Michael insists on staying until Meredith forgives him. She doesn't, and he gives up and leaves.
 * Meredith discovers that her pills are missing.
 * When Michael says the office is cursed, Jim asks "Conference room?" suggesting that Michael call a meeting. Michael misunderstands him and believes he's starting a list of cursed locations. He then calls a meeting in the conference room.
 * Talking head with Michael in which he is relieved that the curse applies to the whole office, not just him.
 * In the conference room, Dwight and Michael try to find the source of the curse. Oscar explains that he was raised Catholic but is now a secular humanist. Michael scoffs, and Oscar accuses Michael of not know what secular humanism is. Michael produces an eloquent definition of secular humanism, and Oscar is embarrassed.
 * In a talking head interview, Dwight explains that Mose's best friend was a dog. Dwight shot the dog dead after finding it foaming at the mouth. The dog had actually eaten a cream pie, but Dwight is unapologetic. "That's how you deal with a thief."
 * Michael admits that the charity is having some financial problems and compares himself to Paul Newman, both in terms of facial similarity and the fact that they both make salad dressing. Michael mixes Newman's Ranch with Newman's Italian and sells it at flea markets at a slight loss. He says he could make a profit if he changed one of the ingredients to Wishbone, but he won't do it.
 * Michael mocks Phyllis and Bob during the run as he passes them. Phyllis shouts, "Go get him, Bobby!" Bob Vance sprints ahead and races Michael.
 * Michael and his pediatrician:
 * Michael's pediatrician tells him he'll be fine. He's just dehydrated.
 * In a talking head interview, the pediatrician explains that dehydration is simple and could have been treated by anyone, even just a water bottle.
 * In a talking head interview, Michael says that his insurance won't cover the hospital stay and he'll be paying out of pocket. "I kinda wish I'd been hit by a car."
 * As the pediatrician leaves, Michael asks if he forgot something. The doctor takes a lollipop from his pocket and gives it to Michael.

Other deleted scenes:
 * Much to the office's horror, Michael jokes that he got "25 points" for hitting Meredith, as seen in the film Death Race 2000 - though in a talking head, Creed, who has played the game for years, insists that Meredith is not worth 25 points.
 * Darryl erases the number on a poster in the warehouse saying how long it has been since an accident caused someone to miss work.
 * As Pam tries to organize a hospital visit, Stanley doesn't see the point since he barely knows her - he claims he would visit Phyllis in that situation, but looks into the camera and shakes his head.
 * Michael asks why Sadiq is there - when he answers that Pam's sex tape crashed hard drives, Phyllis whispers not to worry, because "we all do it".
 * Dwight compares his relationship with Angela to various different farm needs.
 * Michael tries to find a rationale where he is not subordinate to Ryan.
 * Ryan boasts that Michael can no longer protect himself by sleeping with his boss, only to recoil in horror as various memories from his time in Scranton come back to him.
 * As Oscar looks on, Kevin offers to set Jim up with a non-existent friend, but Jim plays along and asks to meet her, leaving Kevin desperate to find such a person.
 * Sitting in on the Cursed Office meeting, Sadiq asks Kevin if this really is what they do all day.
 * Kelly does a talking head where she makes up terrible things about Ryan.
 * Dwight says that, if Meredith does have rabies, she can only be treated with a silver bullet - and pulls out a silver bullet.
 * Jim and Pam talk more about their relationship to the documentary crew after being shown the footage of Jim kissing Pam in her car.
 * Dwight IMs Angela to try and get her to cheer up.
 * Michael has a typically awkward conversation with Billy Merchant before the race.
 * Phyllis and Bob Vance walk up to Angela. Bob Vance asks if the cat (Sprinkles) on Angela's shirt is the one that bit Meredith. Angela responds by spitting towards Bob Vance and storms off avoiding Dwight.
 * Talking heads of Oscar, Creed, and Stanley talking about the 5K. Oscar had done several charity fun runs over the summer and is spent. Creed talks about how taking a cab can shave minutes off your time. Stanley says his feet swell up like two bags of pot roast when he runs, and no one wants to see that.
 * In a talking head interview, Dwight talks about how his "sorry"s mean nothing to Angela and how animals can't understand sorry.
 * In a talking head interview, Dwight talks about forgiveness. If Meredith can forgive Michael for hitting her with a car, maybe his friend will be able to forgive him.

Trivia

 * Creed Bratton and Craig Robinson are now a part of the Main Cast starting with this episode.
 * As of this episode, the end credits are no longer silent.
 * In a deleted scene at the hospital, Andy mentions he can see a cemetery from the hospital. That could mean they're at Commonwealth Health Regional Hospital, the only hospital near a cemetery in Scranton. (Although it's unclear if you could actually see the cemetery from the hospital.)
 * An old name for rabies is "hydrophobia". In advanced stages of the disease, it is said that the patient has a fear of liquids, though this is a result of being unable to swallow without pain so they belligerently refuse to drink.
 * Despite what is stated in the episode, there is no cure for rabies, there is a post-exposure vaccination. The vaccination only prevents the disease from getting a solid foothold in the neurological system. If untreated after neurological symptoms have developed (usually 10 days), the death rate among the afflicted is 100%.
 * The writers seem to have confused rabies and tetanus. In the hospital, the doctor asks if Meredith has recently had a tetanus shot from being bit from a bat. Dwight later describes lockjaw as being a symptom of rabies. Lockjaw is actually a symptom of tetanus, not rabies.
 * The religious affiliations of many characters are revealed in this episode.
 * Darryl and Pam are Presbyterian.
 * Phyllis is a and Bob is a.
 * Sadiq is a.
 * Creed has been in many cults, both as a leader and a follower. According to Creed, "You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader."
 * Stanley is.
 * Kelly is.
 * A deleted scene reveals that Oscar was raised Catholic, but now identifies as an agnostic atheist.
 * It appears that 1st Place was to Toby Flenderson and 2nd goes to Calvin. Last place went to both Jim and Pam.

Connections to other episodes

 * Phyllis sews three squares of a 'rabies quilt' on Michael's orders. In "Safety Training," Dwight suggests that a 'depression quilt' be made as a visual aid.
 * Meredith's medical history indicates she got a tetanus shot when she was bitten by a bat, an event that took place in the episode "Business School."
 * While trying to convince Michael to let him off doing the run, Kevin mentions that Michael didn't do a run for him when he thought he had skin cancer. Kevin awaiting the results of a skin cancer test was a plot point in "Michael's Birthday."
 * In a deleted scene, Dwight and Angela are using IM. Dwight's profile picture is the anime girl from the episode "Basketball."
 * The "nurse" that comes to accept the check is the stripper Elizabeth from "Ben Franklin." Michael recognizes her and incorrectly thinks she gave up stripping and went to nursing school.

Goofs

 * When camera crew discovers Pam pulling over to a curb a block away and picking up Jim, a palm tree can be seen on the left hand side of the shot, despite the setting of the series being in Scranton, PA.
 * At the end of the episode when Michael is making his final effort to the finish line, a palm tree can be seen in the background, despite the setting of the series being in Scranton, PA.
 * As Jim and Pam begin the Fun Run, a sign can be seen with a phone number bearing area code 818, which is not used in Scranton but is the primary area code in the San Fernando Valley, which lies almost entirely within the city of Los Angeles. The building they shoot in is at 13928 Saticoy Street, Los Angeles, California.
 * The Mountain (the geographic feature itself and not the ski resort) is and has always been Montage Mountain.
 * Michael tells Ryan that the incident happened in the parking lot on company property. In "The Duel", it is revealed that the parking lot is actually not part of company property.

Amusing details

 * During the argument between Karen and Jim, both Phyllis and Angela look towards the reception desk as if to say "This is your fault."
 * Jim says "It was a little awkward when she came back from the city", referring to Karen and their interaction after the breakup. In "The Job," Jim and Karen ride together to the interview. This implies that Jim left New York without Karen and she had to find her own way back to Scranton, which is approximately a 2 1/2 hour drive.
 * Karen cleared everything off her desk, including her computer and phone (which belong to Dunder Mifflin).
 * Angela says that Sprinkles has an infection "under her tail" and that medicine goes "at the base of her tail"; in other words, on her anus.
 * As Angela lists the many ailments that Sprinkles has, Dwight solemnly looks at the camera, likely making up his mind to kill the cat.
 * Michael knows the names of Angela's cats and is visibly upset that Sprinkles is dead.
 * Michael tells Dwight to go pay respects to Meredith. Paying respects is usually for the deceased.
 * Michael believes that Hindus worship Buddha. When Kelly tells Michael that's not true, she cannot confirm it as Michael asks if she is sure. Her lack of knowledge on her culture is shown in "Diwali".
 * One of the bizarre creatures Michael suggests the office could make a sacrifice to has "the body of a walrus and the head of a sea lion". Since these creatures resemble each other closely, this would likely just have the appearance of a regular sea lion.
 * Angela sighs as Michael says that there is a God who has a plan for all of us. She is likely taking comfort that there is a reason for Sprinkles' death.
 * Angela shows pictures of Sprinkles where she feeds her grapes and coffee. These two items are harmful to cats and a possible source of Sprinkles' many ailments.
 * Michael is not much farther than 100 meters from the finish line when he is convinced by Jim and Pam to continue.
 * Michael says, "I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitous," thinking that the "super" at the beginning of the word is separate from the rest of the word. He does the same exact thing in "The Convention", when Jan says that she underestimated Michael, and he responds, "Yeah? Well maybe next time you should estimate me, Jan."
 * Angela does not appear to believe in marrying people of different religions.
 * Andy sits closer to Michael than Dwight does, implying that he is still trying to get ahead.
 * Darryl is at the conference room meeting, for no apparent reason.
 * Dwight believed that the money raised was for bat birth control.
 * Dwight suggests that they set up a college fund for Meredith's son Jake, but Michael says Jake is likely not going to college. Everyone in the room nods in agreement.
 * Jan believes that Pam purposefully peeked on Michael, she will maintain a belief that Pam is interested in Michael.
 * The nurse costume contains a white cross on a red background. The Red Cross logo is trademarked, and they frown upon its use in fictional content.
 * Michael wears a pair of women's running shorts during the run, similar to his wearing a women's suit during "The Negotiation."
 * Instead of a starter pistol, Dwight uses a 6", a revolver chambered in the powerful , the same caliber used by.
 * Darryl opts to chat with Elizabeth the stripper instead of running.
 * Toby is taking the run very seriously, to the point of throwing his still full water cup back at Jan.
 * Dwight shouts "It's okay I'm robbing her!" while arguing with Angela on the run. Apparently that is better than anyone else knowing they are in a relationship.
 * Angela wears black for the rest of episode after Sprinkles dies to show she is in mourning.
 * By an odd coincidence, the day after this episode aired, September 28, 2007, was the first annual World Rabies Day, a global health observance to raise awareness of rabies.
 * In a deleted scene, Dwight tries to cheer up Angela via instant message. Angela's username is Monkey, and her avatar is a happy cartoon monkey. Dwight's user name is MonkeyTrainer, and his avatar is Konikotaka. Picture.

Behind the scenes

 * The writers spent an evening pitching that Meredith would be killed in the accident: A spy camera would catch Michael accidentally hitting Meredith with his car. Thinking no one saw the accident, he backed over her to make sure she was dead. Another pitch was that Michael would get a from his trunk and club her to death and hide the body. Greg Daniels said that the more violent endings were not seriously considered, but some writers were in favor.
 * The hospital intern is played by writer Justin Spitzer, who got the role because Greg Daniels liked his performance at the table read. The joke to camera was actually a mistake: Spitzer misunderstood the instructions from director Greg Daniels, but Daniels decided to keep it.
 * Elizabeth's nurse costume was custom-made for this episode.
 * After the episode aired, NBC's marketing department got so many requests for Dwight's "Schrute Farms" shirt that they asked her for her art files, but there were none. It was created by wardrobe designer Carey Bennett by just spray-painting with a stencil in the parking lot right before they started shooting.
 * The start of the Fun Run was filmed along Saticoy Street, near the studios.
 * The residential neighborhood portion of the Fun Run was filmed in Sherman Oaks mostly along Longridge Avenue between Chandler Boulevard and Magnolia Boulevard. When Toby says, "I'm making great time," he's running west on Margate Street at the intersection with Ethel Avenue. The estate sale was filmed at 5306 Longridge Ave, a block further down the road. (Another block down the road is Oscar's house from "The Secret".)
 * The finish line of the Fun Run was filmed near the North Hollywood Recreation Center: The brick building at 11437 Chandler Boulevard is quite prominent in the background.
 * Steve Carell improvised the lollipop exchange scene. The moment of hesitation from Meredith was real hesitation from actor Kate Flannery.

Cultural references

 * Kevin insists that Jim and Pam are hooking up, slang for having sex.
 * A flea market is a disorganized marketplace for inexpensive products. A  is an outdoor movie theater wherein customers watch the movie from their cars. Montage Mountain is a local ski resort.
 * Michael calls Ryan a little fish in a big pond, turning around the idiom a big fish in a small pond (meaning an important person but only within a small group). He also uses the idiom top dog (meaning the most important person in a group).
 * Michael tries to reassure Ryan by using the phrase double jeopardy incorrectly. ' is putting a person on trial a second time for the same offense, something prohibited by the United States Constitution. Double jeopardy is also the name of a round in the game show '. The gimmick of the game show is that it reverses the question/answer format of traditional quiz shows. Contestants are given the answer, and they must ask the appropriate question, usually of the form What is X?
 * Angela says that she has to visit the alky, slang for alcoholic.
 * Dwight suspects that Meredith pretended to injure herself at work to get worker's comp, short for .
 * Shotgun is a nickname for the front passenger seat.
 * Michael asks if anybody did anything involving an Indian burial ground. According to popular culture, one becomes cursed if one shows disrespect to an (American) Indian burial ground.
 * Toby wins a week of free pizzas from Alfredo's Pizza, a Scranton pizza restaurant.
 * Michael says, "," a quotation associated with philosopher.
 * Michael taunts Toby with the shout, Psych!, a term used when the speaker successfully fooled someone.
 * Michael asks if rabies is like an STD, short for.
 * Jim says, Six of one, the first half of the idiom, "Six of one, a half dozen of the other," meaning that the two items under discussion are basically the same.
 * Kevin coins the term PB&J to describe Pam and Jim. The term PB&J is more commonly used as an abbreviation for peanut butter and jelly, a popular type of sandwich.
 * Pam uses "" as a euphemism for Michael's penis.
 * Pam asks Michael how much time he spends naked, "Just ballpark." A "ballpark" estimate is a very rough estimate.
 * Michael compares himself to, "except I am not an idiot." Gump is the low-intelligence title character in the movie (and book) of the same name. He is an avid runner.
 * Michael says Excellent! in the style of the evil nuclear power plant owner on .

Main cast

 * Steve Carell as Michael Scott
 * Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
 * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
 * Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly
 * B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard

Supporting cast

 * Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson
 * Ed Helms as Andy Bernard
 * Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
 * Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
 * Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
 * Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
 * Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
 * Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
 * Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
 * Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
 * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
 * Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Vance

Recurring cast

 * Rashida Jones as Karen Filippelli
 * Bobby Ray Shafer as Bob Vance
 * Omi Vaidya as Sadiq
 * Marcus A. York as Billy Merchant
 * Jackie Debatin as Elizabeth (The Stripper)
 * Calvin Tenner as Calvin (Uncredited)

Guest cast

 * Justin Spitzer as Hospital Intern
 * Sylvia McClure as Nurse
 * Takayo Fischer