CASINO NIGHT (THE OFFICE EPISODE)

'"Casino Night"' is the 22nd (and final) episode of the second season of ''The Office'' (U.S. version). It is written by Steve Carell and directed by Ken Kwapis. It first aired on May 11, 2006.
The finale was advertised on NBC as a "supersized" episode and featured 28 minutes and 20 seconds of content rather than the standard 20 minutes and 30 seconds.

Contents

Synopsis

Deleted scenes

Notes

References

External links

Synopsis

The Dunder Mifflin warehouse is converted into a full-blown gambling hall for the Scranton Business Park's Casino Night. Michael invites Jan to the Casino Night, but she declines. Afterwards, he announces to the office that the employee with the highest chip count will get a mini-fridge and $500 to donate to the charity of their choice. Jim explains to the documentary crew that he met with Jan about the sales position in Stamford because he has "no future here." Michael's real-estate agent Carol calls to set up an appointment to sign his insurance papers for his mortgage and he asks her to come to Casino Night. In the middle of the call, Michael takes a call from Jan, who tells him that she has decided to come to the casino night after all. When he returns to Carol's call, she also accepts his invitation.
Carol arrives at the warehouse. Dwight states that he is in charge of keeping Jan away from Carol. Creed reveals that he is a kleptomaniac, stealing chips, money, and various items from work and at Casino Night. Dwight wins at craps and kisses Angela on the cheek. She slaps him and walks away with a grin on her face (Dwight has a smirk, too). At the bar, Jan and Carol share an awkward conversation.
Jan asks Jim if he has thought about the transfer, which he says he has. Jan suggests that he talk to someone in the office about it.
Roy leaves the party early despite Pam's requests that he stay. Jim then tells Pam that he is in love with her. After a stunned pause, she states she cannot be with him. He tells her he wants to be more than friends, but she is sorry he "misinterpreted things." Tearing up, he states he is sorry he misinterpreted their friendship and discreetly wipes a tear from his cheek as he walks away.

Pam calls her mother to talk about what just happened with Jim. Jim enters the office and Pam abruptly ends the phone conversation. He approaches her, and she starts to say something but Jim kisses her, and she returns the kiss. The episode ends with them staring at each other in awkward confusion.

Deleted scenes

★ Michael calls a conference and asks for parts of speech for a homemade version of Dunder Mifflin Mad Libs.

★ In separate talking head interviews, Dwight and Jim reveal the charities they've chosen.

★ In a talking head interview, Dwight cautions that Jim should use his telekinetic powers wisely.

★ Michael reassures Darryl that the company can reimburse for any damages to the warehouse. In a talking head interview, Michael admits that "our numbers are down" but that Jan is on his side.

★ In a talking head interview, Pam admits that planning a wedding by herself is stressful.

★ The casino dealer recognizes Meredith, who, embarrassed, admits that she doesn't remember people she's had sex with. The dealer explains, "I'm your vet." He then adds, "We had sex in the parking lot."

Notes

★ During the editing of this episode, producer Greg Daniels publicly addressed NBC in an interview, stating, "I’d like to get a supersized episode, because it’s a really long script with a lot of good stuff."^[1] In response, fans of the show set up an online petition to "supersize" the season finale. The website generated over 2,800 signatures. On April 20, NBC announced it would be extending the season finale by ten minutes.^[2]. However, it should be noted that they also presented expanded episodes of ''Will & Grace'' and ''My Name Is Earl'' on the same night, so it is unclear whether the petition actually had any influence in their decision, but in interviews, cast members David Denman^[3] and John Krasinski^[4] do credit the petition for the extended time and partly responsible for the other two shows getting extended times as well.

★ Angela Kinsey stated on her MySpace blog that she slapped Rainn Wilson at least 13 times in their scene at the craps table. "His poor cheek was red by the time we finished that scene," she continued, "One time I missed and got his ear and glasses."^[5]

★ On July 6, 2006, NBC aired a repeat of the episode edited down from its original supersized version. While there were many small pieces removed, several larger scenes were missing as well. The biggest changes were the omission of Jim showing Dwight his telekinetic powers, Darryl and Michael's "dinkin' flicka" scene and the employee's discussion of "Afghanistanis with AIDS." On September 14, 2006, a week before the premiere of season three, they again aired the super-sized version.

★ Michael references former World Series of Poker main event champion Phil Hellmuth by saying, "If luck weren't involved, I'd always be winning." Hellmuth infamously coined a similar phrase at the 2004 World Series of Poker.

★ The casino portion of the episode was filmed on a charter boat in the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California.

★ Michael references the song "Let's Get It Started" by saying it is performed by "The Black Eyed Crows." The song is performed by the Black Eyed Peas, but Michael is confusing the name with the Black Crowes, thus combining the two.

★ Kevin reveals that he won the "$2500 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw" World Series of Poker tournament in 2002. This is an actual tournament, though the buy-in was $5000 rather than $2500. It was won in 2002 by Allen Cunningham.

★ Toby's line "I'm gonna chase that feeling" after winning at poker was originally intended to lead to a story line wherein Toby develops a gambling addiction. This storyline was later abandoned.^[6]

★ Oscar apparently does not support the Boy Scouts, an organization that prohibits the registration of homosexuals as members or leaders. Oscar was revealed to the viewers to be gay in the second season episode "The Secret."

★ Creed steals a Gertrude Hawk chocolate bar from the vending machine. Gertrude Hawk chocolates are made locally, in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. The chocolate bars are very common fund raisers in the area. He shows it to the camera, revealing that it is an almond bar. The wrappers indicate the flavors: red for almond, brown for milk chocolate, orange for caramel, etc.

References

1. Ryan, Maureen (February 23, 2006). 'Office' promotions pay off in a big way, ''Chicago Tribune''
2. NBC (April 20, 2006) NBC Announces Super-sized episode, ''NBC.com''
3. Denman, David (June 17, 2006) Credits fan petition for extended time, ''Givememyremote.com''
4. Krasinski, John (July 6, 2006) Credits fan petition for extended time, ''Officetally.com''
5. Kinsey, Angela (May 12, 2006)
6. Daniels, Greg (Producer). 2006. "Casino Night" [Commentary track], ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.

External links

★ "Casino Night" at NBC.com

★ Jenna Fischer's Blog on "Casino Night" at TVGuide.com

★ "Casino Night" at NorthernAttack.com

★ Memorable Quotes From "Casino Night" at QuotesFromTheOffice.com