Meredith Palmer

Meredith Palmer
Biographical Information
Gender	Female
Professional Information
Occupation	Purchasing/Supplier Relations

Meredith Palmer, is a fictional character played by Kate Flannery in the television series The Office

General

Meredith has two kids. Her son is with her. Her daughter ('the good one') is with her ex-husband. In the episode "Take our Daughters to Work Day," she brings her son, who has been suspended from school. He flings candies at Michael while he's trying to talk to Pam, and he also addresses Dwight as Mister Poop. He shows a lot of interest when Pam offers to show him how to shred papers. Meredith's alcoholism sometimes affects her job performance. In one episode she passes out with her head on her desk. In another, after a party in the office, she combines her drinking with her crush on Michael by appearing topless in front of him in Michael's office after everyone else has left. Michael becomes uneasy, says good night, and leaves. Meredith apparently also has some kinky sexual interests based on the scene in the episode when Michael tells the girls that Jan likes some unusual, even "dangerous" sexual practices. Pam says "Normal women don't do those things," and the expression on Meredith's face at this point seems to indicate that she thinks Pam has led a sheltered life.

Season 1:

In the episode "Health Care", it is revealed she had a hysterectomy, and Dwight Schrute is somewhat confused as to what this means, believing her to have no vagina. Michael Scott makes the entire office throw a month-early birthday party for Meredith in "The Alliance", in hopes of boosting morale and relieving the stress from downsizing rumors, although it was not much of a success, especially because Michael makes fun of her age in one of his many unintentionally offensive jokes, which he prepared and wrote down prior to the party. In a deleted scene, a joke about her hysterectomy doesn't go over well, sending her crying into the arms of coworkers. Her alcohol problems are not revealed in the first season. When Michael reads what Jim wrote on Meredith's card, he says that she is an accountant but later she is made out to be the Customer Relations/Purchasing.

Season 2:

In the second season, the writers gradually introduced Meredith's drinking problem to the viewers, although it is hardly a secret to the rest of the Dunder Mifflin staff, who even take advantage of it to manipulate her. Meredith joins Alcoholics Anonymous and attempts to follow through on her New Year's resolutions to quit drinking but does not succeed. She has also made another resolution for 2006 that she would stay away from alcohol "during the week." A scene in which a drunk Meredith lifts her top was deleted from "Email Surveillance," but the writers were so taken with the idea that they incorporated it into her character. She exposes her breasts to Michael in the closing moments of "Christmas Party", and in "Booze Cruise" she is briefly seen topless save for a life preserver. Her son Jake is introduced in Take Your Daughter to Work Day, where she tells the cameras that it works out perfectly having her son there, because he's suspended from school and this way she doesn't have to hire a babysitter. In a deleted scene from "Casino Night" she confesses to not remembering men with whom she has had sex while drunk.

Jim Halpert uses her minivan to drive Michael and Dwight to the hospital in "The Injury". Dwight, who has suffered a concussion, discovers a flask of liquor under the seat and tries to drink it.

Season 3:

In season 3, Meredith is caught eating Angela Martin's waterless hand sanitizer (which is alcohol-based) in the premiere, and her excitement over merger-day champagne was quickly quashed by Michael who says the beverages are for "guests only." In Branch Closing, she recalls a past agreement with a coworker to have sex together on the last day of work, but can't remember who she made the deal with. During a deleted scene from "Back From Vacation," Meredith implies that her tendency to sleep around was worth it because she also "got to see the world." She joins Pam and Karen's party in "A Benihana Christmas" because it has alcohol. She declines the margaritas, saying that they are too sweet, and she takes a bottle of vodka. In "Ben Franklin" she yells "Shut up, Angela!" when Angela says that a male stripper has no business dancing in the office. In "Women's Appreciation," she is seen as a careless driver, with one hand controlling the steering wheel, while the other hand is holding a bag of potato chips over her head, pouring its contents directly into her mouth. Afterwards, she tosses the empty potato chip bag out the window. When Pam, sitting in the passenger seat, cautions her to not be a litterbug, Meredith replies, "My car, my rules." In a later scene at the Steamtown Mall parking lot, she attempts to wedge her minivan into a parking space too small, damaging several cars in the process. In "Beach Games" she accidentally exposes herself to the camera after forgetting she was not wearing her swimsuit underneath her clothes, also in another scene she orders for the bus to stop because she needs to use the bathroom, even though there are no bathrooms in sight, but instead of going behind a bush she instantly squats right in front of the bus which everyone looks away in disgust (except for Creed). In "The Job," she describes Jim's haircut as "sexy-hot" and orders him to turn around so she can see it from all angles. When discussing Jan's breast implants in a talking-head interview, Meredith comments that "in my experience, guys are more interested in the back of you than in the front."

Season 4

In the first episode of season four, Michael strikes Meredith as he drives into work, cracking her pelvis. The entire staff later visits her in the hospital. Michael bothers her to forgive him for the incident and she initially refuses, but after hearing about the "Rabies Awareness Fun Run" he put together in her "honor", she tells him he's forgiven. Upon returning to the office in the third episode of the season, she approaches Jim Halpert and requests that he sign her cast — which is on her crotch — and tells him in a whisper that she especially appreciated him coming to visit her at the hospital, suggesting that she finds him attractive. Jim signs awkwardly while Creed leers on in the background. During the making of Michael's alternative local Dunder-Mifflin ad, Meredith notes that she is not used to making videos "with so many people around" and she later gives Jim a ride home from work when Pam stays late to work on the ad.

Trivia

• Meredith is an alcoholic.
• Meredith is a regular member of the Party Planning Committee, with the exception of her own surprise birthday party (in the episode The Alliance).

Recurring jokes

Meredith exposes her breasts to her co-workers and the camera crew.

• In Christmas Party, a drunk Meredith flashes Michael.
• In Booze Cruise, Meredith appears on the boat during Michael's motivational speech wearing a life vest.
• In Beach Games,, Meredith lifts her shirt to show her bathing suit to the camera crew but inadvertently flashes them.

Appearances

Meredith appears and speaks in all episodes with the following exceptions:

• Pilot - does not appear
• Diversity Day - has no lines
• Basketball - has no lines
• Hot Girl - has no lines
• The Dundies - has no lines
• Halloween - has no lines
• The Fight - speaks only in a deleted scene
• The Client - has no lines
• Performance Review - has no lines
• Email Surveillance - has no lines
• The Secret - has no lines
• The Carpet - has no lines
• Dwight's Speech - speaks only in a deleted scene
• Drug Testing - speaks only in a deleted scene
• Conflict Resolution - speaks only in a deleted scene
• Gay Witch Hunt - speaks only in a deleted scene
• The Coup' - has no lines
• Initiation - has no lines
• Branch Closing - speaks only in a deleted subplot
• Back From Vacation - speaks only in a deleted subplot
• Traveling Salesmen - speaks only in a deleted scene
• The Return - speaks in the Producer's Cut
• Cocktails - speaks only in a deleted scene
• The Negotiation - has no lines
• Safety Training - has no lines
• Product Recall - has no lines
• Dunder Mifflin Infinity - does not appear (character is in the hospital)
• Branch Wars - speaks only in a deleted scene
• Dinner Party - has no lines
• Chair Model - has no lines

References

^ Flannery, Kate. (Actor). 2005. "Christmas Party" [Commentary track], The Office Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.