The Office"Survivor Man"
Original Air Date: November 9, 2007
Lauren - TwoCents Staff Writer
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In the opening segment, several employees are captivated as Toby talks about a wilderness retreat he went on with Ryan and some other branch managers. This is a combination of Michael’s two least favorite things; Toby and being left out, so of course he’s frustrated to the point where he interrupts Toby’s talking head to tell him no one cares. (Does anyone else feel like the cold openers have been steadily declining since the Launch Party “bouncing box”, or is it just me?)
So how does Michael respond to being left out of the wilderness retreat? The way he always responds; by creating his own retreat to go on. After Jim refuses to go (he has to donate blood . . . again), Michael decides to tough it out a la “Survivor Man. Equipped only with a knife (from Dwight’s arsenal of weapons that he keeps hidden in the office) and duct tape, Michael puts Jim in charge, and leaves with Dwight to be taken deep into the Pennsylvanian wilderness. Michael explains that a “true survivor man” simulates a disaster (in his case, a serial killer is taking him into the wilderness to leave him for dead). He then blindfolds himself so he would have no idea where he’s going, but opts not to be unconscious despite Dwight’s suggestion.
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Original Air Date: November 9, 2007
Lauren - TwoCents Staff Writer
Link to The Office Conference Room will be here soon.
In the opening segment, several employees are captivated as Toby talks about a wilderness retreat he went on with Ryan and some other branch managers. This is a combination of Michael’s two least favorite things; Toby and being left out, so of course he’s frustrated to the point where he interrupts Toby’s talking head to tell him no one cares. (Does anyone else feel like the cold openers have been steadily declining since the Launch Party “bouncing box”, or is it just me?)
So how does Michael respond to being left out of the wilderness retreat? The way he always responds; by creating his own retreat to go on. After Jim refuses to go (he has to donate blood . . . again), Michael decides to tough it out a la “Survivor Man. Equipped only with a knife (from Dwight’s arsenal of weapons that he keeps hidden in the office) and duct tape, Michael puts Jim in charge, and leaves with Dwight to be taken deep into the Pennsylvanian wilderness. Michael explains that a “true survivor man” simulates a disaster (in his case, a serial killer is taking him into the wilderness to leave him for dead). He then blindfolds himself so he would have no idea where he’s going, but opts not to be unconscious despite Dwight’s suggestion.
Back at the office, Angela tells Jim that she needs to order a cake for Creed’s birthday. Jim explains to the camera how irritating the birthday parties are at Dunder Mifflin with Michael always singing the high part to “Happy Birthday”, making some kind of inappropriate comment, and scaring people with his surprise birthday tactics. Jim suggests to Angela that they just have one big birthday party for everyone, but Angela naturally doesn’t approve. Pam is a bit surprised to see Jim shaking things up, but Jim is confident that it’s a good idea.
Dwight leads Michael deep into the “Wilderness” and leaves him there; though in actuality he’s camping out a couple hundred yards away to keep an eye on Michael. Michael starts a video log of his survival adventure where he determines the time by the position of the sun (and a quick glance at his watch) and demonstrates the various things he can make out of the bottom half of his pant legs.
Jim’s communal birthday party idea hits a snag as several people come to him with cake requests and he retreats to Michael’s office so he can get some work done. No one really likes his birthday idea, but no one has the guts to tell that to Jim’s face since he is the boss for the day.
After taping his pants back together with duct tape, Michael talks about his need to find food (while Dwight cooks up some eggs at his own campsite). Michael makes a (rather pathetic) spear, and then sings Happy Birthday for Creed (the high part, of course). He further demonstrates what he can do with his pants by making a tent out of them. In other words, he tents his pants.
Things get a little weird for Jim as he sits at Michael’s desk, listening (and being irritated) with Toby pleas to be included in the birthday party. Jim walks out into the main room to talk about the party. Pam suggests the conference room, but Jim insists on solving it right then. He simply states that since everyone has a problem with the birthday party, they just shouldn’t do it. As people discuss what will become of the birthday cakes, Phyllis slips and calls Jim “Michael”, something Jim says will always haunt him.
In the woods, Michael’s quest for food seems solved when he finds some mushrooms, but as he stuffs them into him mouth, Dwight darts towards him, tackles him and forces him to spit the mushrooms out. Michael’s wilderness retreat is over as Dwight drives him back to Dunder Mifflin, just in time to join in singing “Happy Birthday” to Creed. He determines that there’s a reason man became civilized, and he doesn’t need the woods, fresh air, or wide open spaces when he has a wood desk, air conditioning, and a Grand Canyon desktop on his computer.
Jim tells Michael about his communal birthday idea, and Michael confesses that he made the same “rookie mistake” but Jim will learn in the next ten years or so. Jim firmly says he doesn’t plan on being at Dunder Mifflin in 10 years, but his face falls when Michael says “That’s what I said”. Michael follows up his comment with a misplaced “That’s what she said” and tells Jim that he just says stuff like that to “lighten the tension when things get hard.” Jim replies with a better timed “That’s what she said,” and Michael is impressed with his “young ward.”
I found this to be a very solid episode. Michael’s personal wilderness retreat was a bit “out there” in terms of being realistic (even though it made perfect sense if I use Michael-logic), but the birthday party antics back at the office balanced it out well. My personal favorite moment was Jim’s talking head with footage of past birthday parties; it had an old “Office” feel that I think many fans have been longing for (plus a couple shots of Pam with her cardigan and “Pam-hair” which I’ll admit I miss a little bit). Like many “Office “ episode titles, “Survivor Man” has a dual meaning as we watch Michael (kind of) surviving in the wilderness, and Jim simply surviving until the end of the work day. These characters have an inexplicable connection, and it’s intriguing to watch their storylines parallel each other as they both seem to be searching to find acceptance and a sense of place in their lives. It appears that Jim is being set up to go on his own Pam-in-Season-3-like journey to become “Fancy New Halpert” and I’m definitely interested to see how that will pan out for ol’ Jimmy. This episode also had good secondary character support. Creed got in his hilarious 15 seconds (every episode needs that 15 seconds of Creed to be truly complete), and the break room scene with everyone complaining about Jim was a nice reminder of what makes The Office so good; it’s fantastic ensemble acting.
Favorite moment: The past birthday parties segment
Favorite quote: Angela: “I’m not a machine, Jim, you can’t just change plans willy-nilly and expect these little magic party elves to do your bidding.”
Episode grade: B+