Booze Cruise

"Booze Cruise"
The Office episode
Michael announces the "Booze Cruise".
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 11
Written by	Greg Daniels
Directed by	Ken Kwapis
Production no.	02013
Original airdate	January 5, 2006
Guest stars
Amy Adams Rob Riggle Brenda Withers
Season 2 episodes
"The Dundies" "Sexual Harassment" "Office Olympics" "The Fire" "Halloween" "The Fight" "The Client" "Performance Review" "E-mail Surveillance" "Christmas Party" "Booze Cruise" "The Injury" "The Secret" "The Carpet" "Boys and Girls" "Valentine's Day" "Dwight's Speech" "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" "Michael's Birthday" "Drug Testing" "Conflict Resolution" "Casino Night"
List of The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes

"Booze Cruise" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's seventeenth episode overall. Written by Greg Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episode first aired in the United States on January 5, 2006 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The episode featured Rob Riggle and Amy Adams as guest stars.

In the episode, Michael brings the office on a booze cruise and plans on doing some "motivational" speaking. After he learns that the captain of the boat has other plans, a power struggle emerges. Meanwhile, Pam and Roy's previously stagnant relationship blossoms, while Jim and Katy's begins to falter.

Plot

Pam on the deck of the ship

The Dunder Mifflin crew goes on a cruise on a Lake Wallenpaupack ship Princess -- in January. Michael Scott (Steve Carell) plans to use the cruise as both a party and a leadership training exercise, however "Captain Jack" (Rob Riggle) keeps preventing him from giving a business lecture.

The captain puts Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) in charge of a prop wheel, which Dwight thinks is real. Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), who has brought his girlfriend Katy (Amy Adams) on the cruise with him, and Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) share an awkward moment alone on the deck away from their significant others. Michael continually tries to take charge of the event by standing next to the captain and interrupting everything he says. After Michael falsely declares that the ship is sinking, sending the passengers into a panic, the captain ties him to a pole on the deck outside.

After hearing a war story from the captain, a drunken Roy Anderson (David Denman) is inspired to announce a date for his wedding with Pam. Jim is crushed and breaks up with Katy, realizing that he does not want to be with her. He confesses to Michael his feelings for Pam, which surprises Michael, who claims he has a "radar for things like that". As Jim is seemingly ready to give up on Pam, Michael encourages him to pursue her. Jim's facial expression indicates that Michael's endeavors to motivate him in some way might have actually succeeded.

Production

Greg Daniels referred to this episode as "our Scranton version of Jim Cameron's Titanic."^[1] The idea to have the characters go on a booze cruise was from a friend of writer/actor B.J. Novak, who had recently gone on one. Novak told Daniels about the trip, and Daniels then proceeded to write an episode about it.^[2]

The shooting for this episode was very different from most, due to it being shot outside the normal set, and instead of being shot during the day, filming took place from 6pm to 6am.^[3] It was shot in Long Beach Harbor, California.^[4] Due to it being shot on an actual boat, many cast members got sick. Rainn Wilson got especially sick on the second night, while Jenna Fischer and David Denman felt nauseous on the last night of shooting.^[4] While sound mixing the scene in with Jim and Pam on deck, producer Greg Daniels recalls that he had "seen it many, many times, but I was yelling, 'Do it, you idiot! Kiss her!'"^[5]

Reception

Reviews for this episode were mostly good. Michael Sciannamea of TV Squad stated "This sitcom gets better every week" and that "What made this one quite good was that they didn't rely on Dwight too much, although the bits with him "driving" the boat were good."^[6] Monique Marcil of Zap2it said that the "28 seconds of silence between co-workers Jim and Pam capture all the awkwardness and longing of unspoken love better than any words could. And it's these private moments caught on film by the unseen documentary crew that give this otherwise tart sitcom its sweetness."^[7] In a poll done by OfficeTally.com, "Booze Cruise" was ranked as the fifth best episode of the second season.^[8] John Krasinski stated that "Booze Cruise" included his favorite scene to film from the entire series.^[9]

References

External links

• "Booze Cruise" at NBC.com
• Booze Cruise at NorthernAttack.com