Night Out

"Night Out" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The Office. It was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Ken Whittingham. It first aired April 24, 2008.

Synopsis

The episode begins with Ryan Howard arriving at the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and noticeably friendlier than on his previous visits. Ryan shows the staff at the branch the new Dunder Mifflin website, "Dunder Mifflin Infinity 2.0", the previous version of which was shut down because sexual predators had invaded the social networking component of the site. As Ryan leaves, he tells Michael Scott of the women he meets in clubs in New York City. Michael and Dwight Schrute subsequently decide to go to New York, locate Ryan, attend parties with him, and try to meet women while doing so.

In New York, Michael and Dwight locate Ryan after discovering which club Ryan frequents; the latter appears to be under the influence of drugs (stimulants) but Michael and Dwight do not notice. Later, Michael, Dwight, Ryan, and Ryan's colleague, Troy Undercook (Noel Potek) wait outside another club, but fail to get in because they do not have dates. Dwight comes to the rescue when he manages to pair each of them with members of a women's basketball team, who are also waiting in line. Inside the club, Ryan's dancing becomes erratic and agressive, and he accidentally hits a girl, prompting her friends to attack Ryan. Dwight and Michael escort him out of the club, and after Troy advises them not to take Ryan to a hospital, he runs off. Michael and Dwight bring Ryan back to his apartment, where he tells them that he thinks "his friend Troy" has a drug problem, and asks what he should do about it. Michael, oblivious to the fact that Ryan is obviously referring to his own drug addiction, gives him hypothetical advice involving a wiretap and snitching on a drug dealer.

Nightout2 — Jim, Pam and Toby locked in the building

Back in Scranton, the rest of the employees are going to be forced to work on a Saturday to record their own sales as the website's sales, which is, according to Ryan, "a temporary procedure to increase the legitimacy of the website". With no one eager to participate, Jim Halpert decides to ask everyone to stay in the office overtime instead of coming in for the Saturday. They all agree to the plan, and after working until 9:00 pm, they are shocked to find the parking lot gates locked. Jim had forgotten to tell the security guard that they were staying overtime. They are unable to return to the office because Pam Beesly locked the door from the inside, and Dwight, miles away in New York, has both the spare and master keys. Sitting in the lobby area waiting for the security guard to arrive, the employees exchange jokes and during a moment of levity, Toby Flenderson affectionately places his hand on Pam's knee. After an awkward silence, Toby proclaims that he is moving to Costa Rica; he then hops the parking lot fence and runs away. Jim repeatedly calls Hank Tate, the security guard, but he fails to show up. At the end of the episode, the cleaning staff arrives and lets the group out.

Deleted scenes

Michael and Dwight take Ryan home, but the taxi pulls over when Ryan vomits in the back seat.
In a talking head interview, Ryan's friend Troy denies responsibility for taking care of him. "Friends are there to help you have a good time, and to sell you the stuff you need to have a good time."
In an attempt to cheer him up, Michael expresses his admiration for Ryan's life, including his awesome apartment building they are sitting in front of. Ryan corrects him: They are sitting on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Michael prevents Ryan from sleeping by asking him question like, "Do you ever miss us?"

Trivia

Due to a mix-up, the actress playing the basketball player ("Tall Girl #1") did not know that her character would have a make-out session with Dwight until the day of filming. Even though the casting sheet requested someone 6'1" or taller, the actress is only 5'11" but she is a former basketball player.^[1]
While Jim and Ryan are talking in the kitchenette, the latter says that the former talked to Wallace about his doubts with DMI during the Christmas Party. A Christmas episode was written, but never filmed due to the WGA Strike.
Oscar speaks Spanish with a Cuban dialect, even though he is Mexican. Actor Oscar Nunez is actually from Cuba.
When Hank finally arrives at the office, the camera sweeps over a parking lot that is empty with the exception of the cleaning crew's van. However, Toby (presumably) drove to work and ran home, meaning his vehicle should have still been there as well. It is possible that the car was simply not in view.
The nightclub scenes were shot at The Edison in downtown Los Angeles.
The song played during the nightclub scene is from LCD Soundsytem - Tribulations^[2]

Amusing details

Creed, who regularly forgets the names of his coworkers, is the only one to remember Hank's name. Jim doesn't believe him most likely due to all his past name failures. Ed Helm's character shouts out "Eddy" when Jim asks for the security guard's name.
Ryan has a giant flat-screen television on the wall right next to his bed. Aside from this extravagance, he lives in a comparatively run-down apartment.
In this episode, Dwight fails to detect Ryan's drug use even though he professed great skill at detecting drug use in the episode Drug Testing.

Connections to previous episodes

Toby formerly expressed a desire to move to Costa Rica in Branch Closing.

Cultural references

Peanut butter is effective at removing gum from hair. Dwight, however, goes overboard and uses far too much.
Michael orders a Midori sour. The drink is very sweet and is a stereotypical "girly" drink.
There is no such college New Jersey State.
The Wire is a show on HBO. Michael says he doesn't understand it, presumably because of the street language commonly used on it.

Cast

Main Cast

Supporting Cast

Recurring Cast

Hugh Dane as Hank Tate
Noel Petok as Troy Undercook

Guest Cast

Kelsea Button as Girl in club (tattoo girl)
Taji Coleman as Tall Girl #2 (basketball player)
Cassie Fliegel as Tall Girl #1 (basketball player)
Jennifer Peo as Girl in club (dog groomer)
Kate McDaniel as Girl at bar (uncredited)
Kim Stodel as ???
Ashley Walsh as ???

References

↑ Office kiss and tell: Actress who plants one on Dwight tonight grateful for big break
↑ The Office: Faux documentary style is harder than it looks, Mix magazine, October 1, 2008.

[1] Office kiss and tell: Actress who plants one on Dwight tonight grateful for big break

[2] The Office: Faux documentary style is harder than it looks, Mix magazine, October 1, 2008.

[1]

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