Diversity Day
| "Diversity Day" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Office episode | |||
1-02.jpg) Michael takes a question from Dwight on "Diversity Day". The episode guest starred writer Larry Wilmore as the Diversity Day trainer Mr. Brown. |
|||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 2 |
||
| Directed by | Ken Kwapis | ||
| Written by | B. J. Novak | ||
| Production code | 101 | ||
| Original air date | March 29, 2005 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
|
|||
| Episode chronology | |||
|
|||
| List of The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes | |||
"Diversity Day" is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's second episode overall. Written by B. J. Novak and directed by Ken Kwapis, it first aired in the United States on March 29, 2005, on NBC. The episode guest stars Office consulting producer Larry Wilmore as Mr. Brown.
In this episode, Michael's (Steve Carell) controversial imitation of a Chris Rock routine forces the staff to undergo a racial diversity seminar. A consultant (Larry Wilmore) arrives to teach the staff about tolerance and diversity, but Michael insists on imparting his own knowledge—aggravating both the consultant and the entire office staff—and creates his own diversity seminar. He eventually assigns each staff member an index card with a different race on it, causing tempers to slowly simmer until they finally snap. Meanwhile, Jim struggles to keep hold of a lucrative contract extension, but Dwight makes the sale for himself.
"Diversity Day" was the first episode of The Office to feature predominantly original writing, as the "Pilot" contained many jokes from the British series pilot. The episode guest starred Larry Wilmore, who plays the sensitivity trainer Mr. Brown. Wilmore, a writer for the show, had to formally audition with other actors because of stipulations with the Screen Actors Guild. The episode received a 2.7/6 in the Nielsen ratings among people aged 18–49 garnered 6.0 million viewers overall, losing almost half of its audience from the previous week. Despite this setback, the episode received positive reviews.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell)'s controversial imitation of a Chris Rock routine forces the staff to undergo a racial diversity seminar. Michael refuses to allow Mr. Brown to control the seminar, instead attempting to assist him in teaching, much to Brown's chagrin. However, when confidentially informed by Brown that the seminar was not meant for the staff, but instead only for Michael, he decides to create his own seminar.
Michael hastily fashions his own more ambitious and improvisational program, under the name "Diversity Tomorrow" ("because today is almost over"). He first asks the employees to detail their particular ethnicities, helpfully offering that he is a "virtual United Nations" of English, Scottish, Irish, German and "2/15 Native American Indian" origins.
Michael assigns each staff member an index card with a different race written on it. They are not allowed to read the card, wearing it on their foreheads for others to see. He then compels the employees to interact and "mix up the melting pot." Thus, Michael reasons, they will learn how it is to "be a minority" (Scott has no card for "Arab" or "Muslim", because, he explains, it would be "too explosive").
Salesman Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) desperately tries to close on an important annual sale that makes up about 25% of his annual commission. In the chaos of the day, it is Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), another salesman, who closes the sale for himself. Nevertheless, when Jim's love interest, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), falls asleep on his shoulder at the end of the meeting, he concludes that it was "not a bad day."
[edit] Production
Larry Wilmore, who plays the sensitivity trainer Mr. Brown, is a writer for the show. At the table-read for this episode, they had not cast the part yet and Daniels had Wilmore read for the role to fill in. After the read, producer Greg Daniels thought he was perfect for the role.[1] However, because of stipulations with the Screen Actors Guild, producers still had to have Wilmore formally audition with other actors for the role.[2] Daniels was also not sure where to use Mindy Kaling on screen in the series until the point came in this episode's script when Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. Her character in this episode, however, is far from the bubbly, chatty character that Kelly later becomes.[3][4] The second episode of the series was the first to feature predominantly original writing, as the "Pilot" contained many jokes from the British series pilot.[5] During one of Michael's impersonations, a racial expletive spoken by Michael had to be censored by the producers for NBC.[6]
[edit] Reception
[edit] Ratings
"Diversity Day" premiered on NBC on April 5, 2005.[7] While the pilot episode garnered over eleven million viewers,[8] the second episode lost over half its viewing audience from the previous episode.[9][10] The episode received a 2.7/6 in the Nielsen ratings among people aged 18–49, meaning that 2.7 percent of all 18–49 year olds viewed the episode and six percent of all 18–49 year olds watching TV viewed it.[7] The episode garnered 6.0 million viewers overall.[7] The episode, airing after Scrubs, retained 90% of its lead-in 18-49 audience.[7] In addition, "Diversity Day," along with the other first season episodes of The Office helped NBC score its highest-rated Tuesday night slot since February 1, 2005.[7]
[edit] Reviews
Entertainment Weekly gave the episode positive reviews, stating that "Think of the toss-off racism of the original, plopped into a PC-gone-wrong showcase that might be entitled The Accidental Bigot. As when the African-American diversity trainer introduces himself as Mr. Brown, and Scott assures him, 'I will not call you that.'"[11] Ricky Gervais, who was the lead in the British series, stated that, in comparison to the British version, "It is as good. I love the fact that, apart from the first one, the scripts are all original. You've gone back to the blueprint of what the characters are and you've started from there, as opposed to copying anything."[12] The episode was nominated for the 2006 Writers Guild of America Television and Radio Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a Comedy Series.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ Carell, Steve (Actor). 2005. "Diversity Day" [Commentary track], The Office Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.
- ^ Daniels, Greg (Producer). 2005. "Diversity Day" [Commentary track], The Office Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.
- ^ Wolk, Josh. "The Drudge Report: A Visit With 7 More 'Office' Mates." Entertainment Weekly February 24, 2006: 24-25.
- ^ "'Office' promotions pay off in a big way", Chicago Tribune, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ It's not as warped as the original, but The Office is painfully funny The Boston Globe, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ Daniels, Greg (Executive Producer). 2005. "Diversity Day" [Commentary track], The Office Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.
- ^ a b c d e "April 5, 2005 Press Release ("Diversity Day")" (Press release). NBC. 27 February 2007. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. http://www.officetally.com/the-office-nielsen-ratings/4. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Strong showing for Office remake BBC News, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ Stunning tumble for NBC's 'The Office' Media Life, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ US remake of The Office loses half its audience Media Guardian, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ The Office Entertainment Weekly, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ Ricky Gervais Defends American Office Celebrity Spider, retrieved February 11, 2008
- ^ 2006 Writers Guild Awards Television and Radio Nominees Announced Writers Guild of America, retrieved February 12, 2008
[edit] External links
- "Diversity Day" at NBC.com
- "Diversity Day" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Diversity Day" at TV.com
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
