F1. The Cold Open of Stress Relief
Number 3 of my top 5 favorite Office episodes is the two part episode “Stress Relief.” It has by far my favorite cold open. Dwight takes it upon himself to teach everyone about fire safety through example. He creates an all too realistic fire by cutting the phone lines, heating the handles of the doors, locking or blocking all exits, and even throwing a lit cigarettes into a trash can full of lighter fluid and newspaper claiming “today smoking is gonna save lives.” This fake fire cause panic amongst the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton employees resulting in Kevin smashing the vending machine to steal the snacks, Oscar crying into the ceiling to try to get help, Angela grabbing her hidden cat and throwing it after Oscar, it promptly falling back down through the ceiling, Michael throwing the projector out the window to call for help, Jim and Andy slamming the copier into a door to try to break it down, Andy screaming “the fire is shooting at us” when Dwight sets of small fireworks, Oscar falling through the ceiling, and finally Dwight having a heart attack from the stress of the situation. The entirety of the cold open can be watched in the video above.
Stanley’s heart attack leads Michael to hire an instructor to come teach his employees in CPR. As everything else on The Office, Michaels plan does not work out and chaos ensues. Michael and Andy sing the Bee Gee’s “Staying Alive” while Kelly dances and Dwight cuts open the CPR dummy to “harvest the organs.” This stresses Stanley out and while everyone is trying to calm him down, Dwight takes the opportunity to cut the face off of the dummy in and place it on his own in an attempt to copy Silence of the Lambs.
F2. Dwight wearing the face of the dummy and terrifying everyone
Dwight’s actions reach the ears of corporate and he is required to apologize to his coworkers and get their written acknowledgement of his apology. Dwight tricks everyone into signing his form after no one agrees to do so willingly. Michael tries to ease the stress of everyone in the office to which he learns he is the cause. He decides then to host a roast of himself to help ease the stress of his employees but ends up with his feelings hurt as they bring up Michael’s most embarrassing moments from the show. The next day, Michael does not show up and takes a personal day due to his hurt feelings.
F3. Michael being sad at the park on his personal day
He later comes into the office to tell his employees what he thinks of them. “Jim, you’re 6’11”, and you weigh 90 pounds. Gumby has a better body than you. Boom. Roasted. Dwight, you’re a kiss-ass. Boom. Roasted. Pam, you failed art school. Boom. Roasted. Meredith, you’ve slept with so many guys you’re starting to look like one. Boom. Roasted. Kevin, I can’t decide between a fat joke and a dumb joke. Boom. Roasted. Creed, your teeth called, your breath stinks. Boom. Roasted. Angela, where’s Angela? Well, there you are. I didn’t see you behind that grain of rice. Boom. Roasted. Stanley, you crush your wife during sex and your heart sucks. Boom. Roasted.” Michael gets Stanley laughing and continues on to a few more employees.
Despite all this craziness, we also get a very sweet Jim and Pam moment. Pam is dealing with her parents splitting and Jim tries to help by telling her dad just how he feels about Pam. It turns out Pam’s father never felt as deeply about Pam’s mom as Jim does for Pam. She later says that that her and Jim’s children will be right about thinking their parent are soulmates.
Your blog posts are such a fun read! The office is definitely a special type of humor that is so entertaining to watch. I love all of the pictures from the scenes, especially the ones of Micheal at the park. I also like how the episode included a nice contrast from chaos to Jim and Pam. Their love story is a great part of the series!
I absolutely love everything about this Office episode. It’s so chaotic, and some of the shows most iconic moments are packed into such a short time span. The fire scene is definitely one of my favorites, I always love seeing Dwight’s antics and watching him cross the line on this one was horrifying but hilarious to watch. And, of course, Micheal’s roasts! It’s such a legendary moment and cracks me up every time. Loving your list so far, I can’t wait to see what you add next!
ANGELA THROWING HER CAT. IT GETS ME EVERY TIME!!! I think this entire episode is a great one to just introduce someone to the US Office with because it really encapsulates what the whole show can be like. It’s ridiculous, fun, campy, and sincere. Honestly the part where Michael then goes off on the CPR dummy not having hands is one of the funniest things I have ever seen on TV.
I have only seen the entire series once through, however I ALWAYS come back to this episode whenever I need a good time! This episode is also the one I always show people that don’t understand why people love the humor of The Office so much. I actually forgot just how much was packed into this episode, so I think that means I’m going to find a way to watch it again soon! This was a great post, and honestly I have no idea what you’re going to have as number 1 and 2!
This episode is iconic, to say the least. There are so many moments from this episode that have been plastered all over the internet in GIF form, and for good reason, like the one with Dwight’s CPR dummy mask . I’ve only seen the Office the whole way once or twice, but this series definitely makes me want to curl up in bed and binge watch a couple dozen episodes.