"The Fire" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series o ...
'', and the show's tenth episode overall. Written by
B. J. Novak and directed by
Ken Kwapis
Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Presen ...
, the episode first aired in the United States on October 11, 2005, on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. The episode features
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
as Jim's girlfriend, Katy.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
branch of the fictional
Dunder Mifflin
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a fictional paper and office supplies wholesale company featured in the American television series ''The Office''. It is analogous to Wernham Hogg in the British original of the series, and Papiers Jenning ...
Paper Company. In the episode,
Michael Scott (
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in ''The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Ca ...
) takes it upon himself to teach
Ryan Howard (
B. J. Novak) about business, but soon everyone is forced to evacuate the office due to a fire. While outside, Michael continues to show an interest in Ryan, causing
Dwight Schrute (
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
) to be jealous. Meanwhile,
Jim Halpert (
John Krasinski) organizes games to play outside.
According to B. J. Novak, the episode was "a fun one to film". Although the cast and crew appear to be cold in the finished episode, "The Fire" was filmed in 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius) weather; thus, the actors "couldn't look hot" and had to pretend to shiver. The firemen in the scene were played by actual firemen, and their costumes were designed in order to look like authentic Scranton firefighters.
Plot
Pam Beesly (
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
) learns that
Jim Halpert (
John Krasinski) and
Katy Moore (
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
) have started dating.
Michael Scott (
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in ''The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Ca ...
) gives
Ryan Howard (
B. J. Novak) a glowing checkpoint review. When Ryan expresses his interest in starting his own business someday, Michael takes it upon himself to teach Ryan the "ten rules of business". The fire alarm sounds, and while
Dwight Schrute (
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
) and
Angela Martin (
Angela Kinsey
Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...
) both attempt to take charge of the evacuation, Michael pushes others out of the way in his escape out of the building.
The employees play games to pass the time, including "Desert Island Picks" and "Who Would You Do?" When Ryan reveals that he is attending business school at night, Michael becomes enamored of his newfound protégé. Dwight becomes noticeably jealous of Ryan's favor with Michael, and he is seen sulking in his car to the tune "
Everybody Hurts
"Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993. It peaked at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top ...
" by
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
When Michael mentions that he left his cell phone in the office, Dwight rushes back into the building to fetch it.
Michael asks Ryan to call his cell phone to help Dwight find it. The phone rings, which happens to be in Michael's pocket. Dwight emerges, coughing, from the building and reveals that the fire was started by Ryan, who left a
cheese pita in the toaster-oven set to "oven" instead of "toaster". Dwight and Michael mock Ryan and dub him "The Fire Guy" by doing a song parody of the
Billy Joel song "
We Didn't Start the Fire
"We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song written and published by American musician Billy Joel. The song was released as a single on September 18, 1989, and later released as part of Joel's album '' Storm Front'' on October 17, 1989. A list song, i ...
".
Production
![Amy Adams (29708985502) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Amy_Adams_%2829708985502%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
"The Fire" was the fourth episode of the series directed by
Ken Kwapis
Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Presen ...
. Kwapis had previously directed "
Pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
", "
Diversity Day", and "
Sexual Harassment". "The Fire" was written by
B. J. Novak, who also acts on the show as
Ryan Howard.
Novak had previously penned the episodes "
Diversity Day" and "
Sexual Harassment".
"The Fire" featured the second appearance of Katy, portrayed by
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
. Adams thoroughly enjoyed her work on the show.
[ In an interview with Advocate.com, she said, " 'The Office''was the best work experience. I loved that show and that cast so much. I don’t know if they believe me, but every time I see them I’m like, 'Oh my gosh, I’ll do anything to come back.'"][Alt URL]
/ref>
Novak described the episode as "a fun one to film". The episode was filmed in 100-degree weather, but according to cast member B. J. Novak, they "couldn't look hot". The area outside the building was shot in Van Nuys, California
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, ...
in what Novak called a "bad area": he later noted that they "had to pretend we weren't scared, even though every car that is left next to our set overnight is stripped to the bone for parts." Greg Daniels noted that during the filming of "The Fire", the cast and crew kept being interrupted by the sound of helicopters. The firemen in the scene were played by actual firemen. The crew of ''The Office'' had someone in Scranton take photographs of local firefighters' uniforms, so the costumes would be accurate. However, in an interview with the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...
'', Scranton firefighter Art Franklin pointed out that the uniform is actually tan, instead of the black ones seen on the show.
Cultural references
When lecturing Ryan, Michael compares himself to Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until it ...
and Mr. Miyagi. When he later attempts to do a Yoda voice, Ryan misinterprets it as an impression of Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear is a Muppet character best known as the insecure and comedically fruitless stand-up comic on ''The Muppet Show.'' Fozzie is an orange-brown bear who often wears a brown pork pie hat and a pink and white polka dot necktie. The char ...
(notably, both characters are portrayed by puppeteer Frank Oz
Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker.
He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
). When Dwight is dejectedly listening to music in his car, he is playing "Everybody Hurts
"Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993. It peaked at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top ...
" by R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
Dwight and Michael's "Ryan Started the Fire" is a thinly veiled song parody of the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire
"We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song written and published by American musician Billy Joel. The song was released as a single on September 18, 1989, and later released as part of Joel's album '' Storm Front'' on October 17, 1989. A list song, i ...
".
During the game of desert island, many of the employees reference specific films and books. Angela says she would take The Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, ''A Purpose Driven Life
''The Purpose Driven Life'' is a bible study book written by Christian pastor Rick Warren and published by Zondervan in 2002. The book offers readers a 40-day personal spiritual journey and presents what Warren says are God's five purposes for h ...
'', and ''The Da Vinci Code
''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...
'', but only to burn the latter. Dwight notes that he would take the '' Physicians' Desk Reference'', but hollow it out and fill it with supplies; he also states he would bring ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the '' Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers ...
'' or ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and is the third in the '' Harry Potter'' series. The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of ...
'' in case he got bored. Meredith later reveals that she would bring '' Legends of the Fall'', ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding
''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Joel Zwick and written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in the film as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with White Anglo-Sax ...
'', ''Legally Blonde
''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...
'', '' The Bridges of Madison County'', and "just the pottery scene" from ''Ghost'' to watch. Pam picks '' Fargo'', ''Edward Scissorhands
''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American fantasy romance film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Antho ...
'', '' Dazed and Confused'', ''The Breakfast Club
''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...
'', and ''The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to:
* ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman
William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...
''. After asking what Dwight would bring, he says '' The Crow''.
Reception
"The Fire" originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 11, 2005. The episode was viewed by 7.6 million viewers and received a 3.7 rating/9% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 3.7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 9% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode won its timeslot.[Alt URL]
/ref> An encore presentation of the episode, on June 6, 2006, received 1.9 rating/6% share and was viewed by over 4.6 million viewers.[Alt URL]
/ref>
"The Fire" received mostly positive reviews from critics. TV Squad
Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
's Michael Sciannamea wrote that "The Fire" was "another good episode." Sciannamea went on to write that "show has definitely improved and it's nice to see the other characters emerge". "Miss Alli" of Television Without Pity
Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedy, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarca ...
graded the episode with a "B+". Dwight's reinterpretation of "We Didn't Start the Fire" inspired fans of ''The Office'' to make their own song parodies. One version, aptly titled "Ryan Started the Fire", lists several events from ''The Office'', much like the original. After posting the song, Margaret Lyons from ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' wrote, "Yay for the Internet!"
Erik Adams of ''The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' awarded the episode an "A−", noting that "'The Fire' is not the second season’s funniest half-hour, but I love it for its simplicity."[ Writing that the episode bore similarities to a bottle episode, he enjoyed the way that the conversations among the employees allowed the audience to more fully understand all of the individual characters better. Adams also praised the interaction between Carell and Novak, as well as the performance of Wilson, which he called "unsettling".]
References
External links
"The Fire"
at NBC.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire, The
2005 American television episodes
Fiction about fire
The Office (American season 2) episodes