booze cruise episode

Booze Cruise

• View history
• 1 Cold open
• 3 Deleted scenes
• 4 Amusing details
• 6 Behind the scenes
• 7 Cultural references
• 9.1 Main cast
• 9.2 Recurring cast
• 9.3 Guest cast
• 10 References

Cold open [ ]

The episode opens with Dwight, who is incensed that Jim has put all of his possessions in the vending machine . Pam puts in some money and buys Dwight's pencil cup, to his great dismay.

Summary [ ]

Michael sends out a vague memo telling the staff to pack a number of random items, including a swimsuit, a toothbrush, rubber-soled shoes and a ski-mask, in preparation for the company's first quarter leadership training trip. The surprise trip turns out to be a "booze cruise" on Lake Wallenpaupack, and the staff is not happy--it's January, and much too cold for a cruise. Michael tells the staff: "Leader... ship. The word "ship" is hidden inside the word "leadership," as its derivation. So if this office is, in fact, a ship, as its leader, I am the captain!" When they arrive on the boat, however, Michael immediately feels threatened by the ship's captain, Captain Jack , who declares that he will be the ship's "party captain" for the evening. A hilarious battle for top authority on the ship ensues, with Michael echoing everything Captain Jack says.

Jim brings Katy , his new girlfriend, (played by Amy Adams ) as his date, and Pam brings Roy along. The four soon start talking, and it becomes clear that Katy and Roy enjoy each other more than they do their respective partners. Pam and Jim are left alone together, and the romantic tension is palpable. As the party inside begins, Michael tries unsuccessfully to motivate his staff and is disappointed when Captain Jack does a better job.  The awkwardness Michael creates is magnified by the fact Dunder Mifflin's group is not the only group on the boat. When Dwight volunteers to hold the limbo stick, Captain Jack sends him outside to "steer the ship." Angela asks Dwight to come inside and talk to her, but he refuses, saying "I can't. Do you want us to run aground, woman?!" (The wheel Dwight is so seriously manning turns out to be fake). When Captain Jack leaves the festivities with Meredith , Michael claims wildly that the ship is sinking and will be at the bottom of the lake in mere minutes. At first no one believes him, but soon people start to panic and one passenger jumps overboard. Captain Jack returns and, after discovering what Michael has done, handcuffs him to the railing outside to prevent him from causing any more trouble. Roy, motivated by Captain Jack's stories about commitment (and slightly drunk), announces to Pam that it's time to set a date for their wedding. He suggests June 10th, and Pam happily accepts. After seeing this, Jim becomes depressed and soon breaks up with Katy, who is shocked and upset. Jim then admits to Michael that he has strong feelings for Pam. Michael more surprised than anything tells him he usually has a radar that kind of thing. Jim looks down and seems ready to let Pam go, Michael tells him that if he really likes her then he shouldn't give up. Michael also tells Jim: "engaged ain't married," encouraging him never to give up on Pam.

Deleted scenes [ ]

The Season Two DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode. Notable cut scenes include:

• Jan and Brenda meet with Michael in his office. When Michael asks Brenda for a moment alone with Jan, she responds that Jan had specifically told her to say no if he asked that question - when he asks again soon after, Brenda is happy to comply before Jan tells her not to. After Jan leaves, Michael offers to make Brenda a fake ID.
• Toby intentionally arrives late to the booze cruise. Michael , of course, refuses to have the boat go back to get him - though as the boat pulls away from the dock, Toby smiles and jokingly says that stopping to have dinner might not've been a good idea.
• Michael tries to play guitar with the band, but fails. Creed offers to play and begins playing very well. A goof exists in this scene, as Michael is seen hitting the high-E string on an upside-down left-handed guitar, but the notes sound as if he were playing the low-E string.
• Creed explains how he was a member of the band, The Grass Roots , which is the real band the real Creed Bratton played with.
• Dwight states he was conflicted between Michael and Captain Jack as he boarded the boat, but now "he will follow Captain Jack to hell and back."
• Michael gives Ryan useless advice on how to study in the current situation.
• In separate shots Ryan and Meredith throw up.
• A drunken Darryl orders a drink. Angela says that maybe he had enough to which he responds, "What you say, bitch?". He immediately admits she might be right and walks away guiltily.
• In a scene after Roy has announced a date for his and Pam 's wedding, Katy tells Jim he should make a toast. Despite him saying he doesn't want to, Katy tells everyone on the boat that he wants to make a speech. He stumbles through the beginning and then begins talking about how amazing Pam is. He is then cut off by a very drunk Dwight who "steals" one of Michael 's jokes.
• In an extended version of the scene where Michael convinces Jim not to give up on Pam , Michael asks Jim for a hat. Jim gives him one then walks away, and Michael then realizes he can't get the hat on because his hands are tied to the railing. He still tries and eventually gets it on his head, but only barely.

Amusing details [ ]

• Kevin wears the requested ski mask to the booze cruise. It obscures his vision so much, he bumps into Michael as he walks up the ramp.
• When Katy sits and pouts after being dumped by Jim , Kelly is behind her with her head on the table, sleeping. Making the situation worse is that Katy knows no one else on the cruise, so she just has to sit by herself. And she has no ride home afterward.
• After Roy finally sets a date for his and Pam 's wedding, Captain Jack offers to marry them aboard the ship. Pam politely declines, saying she wants her parents to be present. Spoiler : Four years later, in " Niagara ", she and Jim slip away from the wedding and get married on a boat, without any relatives present.
• A real January booze cruise on Lake Wallenpaupack would be impossible. The lake is frozen over, and all boats must be removed from the lake by October.
• The official name of the ship is Lake Wallenpaupack Princess .
• Captain Jack claims to have been a captain of a US Navy PC-1 Cyclone class patrol ship during Operation Desert Storm.
• Actor Rob Riggle (plays Captain Jack) served as an Officer in the Marine Corps from 1990 until 2013.
• During the cruise, Michael gets seasick. Brenda notices that and he explains to her that he's on medication. When pressed for its name, he says, "Vomicillin". This is clearly a made-up name, a portmanteau of "vomit" and "penicillin", implying that it's some sort of antibiotic that makes you vomit.

Behind the scenes [ ]

• The idea for this episode came from B.J. Novak who came up with a simple two-word pitch: "Booze Cruise". [1] :52:40
• According to Greg Daniels ' DVD commentary, the original script included a storyline depicting Oscar as a nasty drunk. It was cut for time.
• It was during filming of this episode that the secondary cast members learned that they had been promoted to series regulars. Up until that point, they had been hired week-to-week. [2] A photo of Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer celebrating is on Pam's desk in the episode " Take Your Daughter to Work Day ".
• Jenna Fischer recorded a "behind the scenes" Booze Cruise Video Blog. Links to it come and go. YouTube . Reddit .

Cultural references [ ]

• Michael 's recitation which begins Stanley Bo-Banley is a verse from " The Name Game " adapted to Stanley 's name.
• Tony Robbins is an author and motivational speaker who conducts seminars around the country.
• The -ship suffix in the word leadership is not part of its derivation as Michael claims. It is merely a noun-forming suffix meaning "the qualities of".
• The idiom all in the same boat means that everyone shares the same problem and needs to work together to solve it.
• The idiom to bowl over means to make someone happy by overwhelming with surprise . One can be bowled over by a gift, for example. Michael's use of the idiom in to bowl over the competition is somewhat misguided; one would more likely wish to bowl over one's customers. The phrase originates from the sport of cricket , although Michael is more likely to have taken his employees bowling .
• Michael fails to recognize that Darryl is making a pun on sales and sails .
• Titanic is an Oscar-winning blockbuster film about the ship RMS Titanic , which sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. The film is well known for Leonardo DiCaprio ' s line "I'm the king of the world!", shouted while standing on the prow of the ship, a scene which Michael re-creates.
• The Hunt for Red October is a film (based on a book of the same title ) about a Soviet submarine whose captain wishes to defect to the United States.
• Pam is Mary Ann , a sweet, innocent girl.
• Jim is The Professor , a genius who could make anything out of coconuts .
• Katy is Ginger Grant , a movie star.
• Angela is Mrs. Howell , a millionairess.
• Kelly is a native from a nearby island.
• Stanley is a Globetrotter , referring to the African-American exhibition basketball team who appeared in The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island , one of one of many sequels to the television show.
• Michael is The Skipper , the captain of the ship that ran aground.
• Dwight is Gilligan , the bumbling first mate whose ineptitude ruins many attempts to escape the island.
• Nebulose is not a real word. Michael intended to say nebulous .
• Michael uses a variation of the slang saying If the van's a-rockin', don't come a-knockin' . In the saying, the van is rocking because the occupants are having sex.
• Bishop O'Hara is a high school in nearby Dunmore.
• Pan Am is a now-defunct airline. Before airline security became more stringent, pilots would occasionally allow young children to visit the cockpit and let them pretend to fly the plane. They likely discontinued this practice for safety reasons.
• Dwight sings What do you do with a drunken sailor? , a traditional sea shanty.
• A snorkel shot is a drinking game invented for this episode. It appears to consist of drinking a shot of liquor through a snorkel tube.
• Operation Desert Storm is another name for the Gulf War .
• Michael offers to give away the bride at Pam's wedding. This is a role traditionally played by the bride's father.
• BFD , short for Big F—ing Deal , is a derisive expression.
• I hope I die before I'm old are lyrics from the song " My Generation " by The Who .
• The Grass Roots was a real group, a successful folk rock act active from 1966 to 1975 who garnered 29 hit singles on the Billboard Top 100, and sold over 30 million records. Creed Bratton is portrayed by the actor of the same name , who was the group's guitarist. Creed appears to exhibit a level of bitterness over his 'fall from grace'.
• Songs played on the cruise were "Get Busy" by Sean Paul and "Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers.

Main cast [ ]

• Steve Carell as Michael Scott
• Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
• John Krasinski as Jim Halpert
• Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly
• B.J. Novak as Ryan Howard

Recurring cast [ ]

• David Denman as Roy Anderson
• Amy Adams as Katy
• Leslie David Baker as Stanley Hudson
• Brian Baumgartner as Kevin Malone
• Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton
• Kate Flannery as Meredith Palmer
• Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor
• Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin
• Paul Lieberstein as Toby Flenderson
• Oscar Nunez as Oscar Martinez
• Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin
• Phyllis Smith as Phyllis Lapin
• Joanne Carlsen as Teri Hudson

Guest cast [ ]

• Rob Riggle as Captain Jack
• Brenda Withers as Brenda Matlowe
• Eliza Coleman as Passenger
• Roger Huse as Tequila Man
• R.C. Ormand as Panicked Man

References [ ]

• ↑ Kinsey, Angela and Jenna Fischer . Episode 33: Initiation with B.J. Novak and Rainn Wilson . " Office Ladies " podcast, June 24, 2020.
• ↑ Baumgartner, Brian. Episode 4: A Million Things Have to Go Right , An Oral History of The Office podcast. July 21, 2020.
• 1 Jim Halpert
• 2 Andy Bernard
• 3 Pam Beesly

Screen Rant

The true story behind the office's iconic "booze cruise" episode.

The true story of The Office season 2 episode "Booze Cruise" reveals two major milestone for the sitcom—and some of the cast being stranded at sea!

Two veteran cast members of  The Office   have spilled the beans on the classic early episode, "Booze Cruise", revealing a true story that includes a major milestone for the series, a real-life celebration, and several series regulars almost getting lost at sea.  The Office  season 2, episode 11 famously saw the  characters of Dunder Mifflin embark on a late-night "motivational" cruise on Lake Wallenpaupack—in the dead of winter. Directed by Ken Kwapis, "Booze Cruise" was an important episode for the cast and crew when it premiered in 2006, marking several key changes that would allow  The Office  to move past the anxiety-ridden uncertainty of being a young, unproven sitcom in its early years.

The popularity of "Booze Cruise" has endured thanks to its many entertaining plots, both big and small, each amplified by the unique setting of  The Office 's first on-location shoot. Among the season 2 episode's more memorable scenes are Roy (David Denman) finally setting a date for his wedding with Pam (Jenna Fischer), Jim breaking up with short-term girlfriend Katy (Amy Adams) in a surprisingly cold response, and of course Jim (John Krasinksi) and Pam 's uncomfortable 27 seconds of silence on the deck of the ship. Lighter gags include Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) awkward dance, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) fake-steering the boat, and the ship captain—played by actual Marine Corps veteran Rob Riggle—sneaking away to make out with Meredith (Kate Flannery).

Related: The Office: The Weird True Story Behind Sprinkles The Cat

While  The Office season 2 classic "Booze Cruise" features no shortage of scenes permanently burned into the minds of long-time fans, the behind-the-scenes details might be even more interesting than the episode itself. A new book from Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey,  The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There , is an expansion of the duo's popular podcast and provides some fascinating insight into the  early seasons of  The Office . This includes an entire chapter dedicated to "Booze Cruise", which Fischer and Kinsey reveal was shot over three long nights aboard a boat "just outside of Long Beach harbor" , as the actual Lake Wallenpaupack experiences frigid temperatures in January. In addition to making several cast members seasick, the episode was also a major turning point for  The Office  and everyone involved.

The Office Cast Members Actually Had A Reason To Party

Due to working every day from 3:00 PM to sunrise, the cast of  The Office  was understandably exhausted during filming for "Booze Cruise", but an unexpected wave of phone calls quickly turned the environment into a party scene. Prior to and including  The Office  season 2, episode 11 the majority of the sitcom's actors were still technically considered  "guest stars" , which according to Jenna Fischer meant that  "NBC was under no obligation to include their characters in all the episodes, and they could be written out of the show at any time."  The only  members of  The Office   under contract as series regulars were Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, and Fischer herself. However, NBC sent out notice mid-shoot offering  The Office 's cast members new contracts as full-time series regulars going forward, prompting immediate calls from everyone's representation.

"I was standing on the dance floor of the boat with Kate [Flannery] and Brian [Baumgartner], waiting to do a scene, when suddenly our phones started buzzing," recalls Angela in The Office BFFs  book. "Our agents were calling us all at the same time. I immediately wanted to find Jenna and tell her. She would know more than anyone what this meant to me. I saw her standing on the dock outside, and I ran down the gangway toward her hollering and waving my arms. The whole set was one big joyful celebration."  Taking on the rest of the show's cast as series regulars represented an important change for  The Office ,  but surprisingly, it wasn't the only milestone that "Booze Cruise" reached in 2006.

"Booze Cruise" Marked A Comedy Milestone For The Office

Prior to  The Office  season 2, episode 11 the show originally ran during NBC's Tuesday night block in the 9:30 PM timeslot. Jenna Fischer noted that "ratings were a struggle"  during those first two seasons, and the timeslot didn't help the perception that the network could cancel the attempted U.S. reboot at any moment. "Booze Cruise" helped change all that, as  The Office  moved from Tuesday nights to NBC's coveted Thursday night comedy lineup.  Fischer added, " Over time, our numbers improved, and with the move to Thursday, it felt like we were hitting the big time. Cheers, Seinfeld, Friends, Will and Grace, Scrubs... these are all successful comedies that aired on Thursday nights on NBC. The move indicated to all of us that NBC might just have confidence in our little show."

Related: Every The Office Actor In Brooklyn 99

Jim & Pam's 27 Seconds Of Silence Almost Didn't Happen

"Booze Cruise" is a crucial episode for Jim and Pam early in The Office 's run. Until that point their feelings for one another were largely kept to the many flirtatious interactions that took place at Pam's desk. Jim's obviously emotional reaction to her engagement and rather immediate breakup with Katy turned the show's many teases into a full-blown problem for the two that they would have to address. Towards the end of the episode, Jim and Pam meet on the deck of the ship and share a strikingly elongated and awkward moment, lovingly dubbed by fans as the The Office 's "27 seconds of silence". However, the famous season 2 scene could have easily turned out differently, as the episode's script only said "they looked at each other" , with no further notes.

Showrunner Greg Daniels and the episode's directors had encouraged Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski to take their time filming the scene, and allow it to play out naturally. Fischer reflected on the moment, stating, "There is no dialogue, but a lot goes on in those twenty-seven seconds. You see Jim thinking, but not saying, so many different things. You see Pam trying to signal to him that she wants to hear his feelings, but she doesn't say anything either." Daniels actually had to fight the network to keep the entire scene in the episode as-is, and it ended up becoming one of Pam and Jim's most crucial early moments together.

The Office Cast Nearly Got Lost At Sea During "Booze Cruise"

While the first two nights of shooting for "Booze Cruise" took place with the boat docked in the harbor, the final night saw  The Office  cast and crew head out to the open seas in order to secure the episode's external boat scenes. The aforementioned awkward silence between Pam and Jim was the last scene on the schedule, meaning that the rest of the cast had already wrapped for the week, but remained on board waiting to go home. In an effort to accommodate the cast, an offer was made to transport people back to land in small boats described as "little dinghies" with small, hand-steered motors. Only four members of  The Office  actually took up the offer to head back early using the precarious little rafts: Rainn Wilson, Brian Baumgartner, Phyllis Smith, and Angela.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the crew still aboard the boat, those four stars almost got lost at sea! The whole trip back to land was supposed to take a total of 10 minutes, but about halfway through the dinghy's engine died, leaving The Office actors  all stranded. "It was pitch-dark, and the water around us looked like black glass," noted Angela. Funny enough, showrunner Greg Daniels was only aware that Phyllis had gotten on one of the small boats, and had no idea the others were also missing. After drifting for about 20 minutes, huddled together for warmth, a rescue dinghy came to take them all back to the boat, presenting its own set of obstacles as the actors had to carefully fllop from one dinghy to the next without falling into the ocean in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for The Office   star Angela Kinsey, her transportation issues didn't end there, as her 12-year-old Chevy Blazer broke down in the middle of an intersection shortly afterward—but at least it all made for a compelling end to a chapter in her book many years later.

Next: Is Dexter Connected To The Office? Season 6's Sabre Printer Explained

Booze Cruise - The Office (Season 2, Episode 11)

It opens with a classic prank: Jim puts Dwight's office supplies in the vending machine. (Jim knows the vending machine guy.) Dwight, who is broke, has no way to buy his supplies. Jim hands him a baggie full of nickels.

The staff eagerly awaits for Michael to come to work and tell them where they are going this afternoon. You see, Michael sent out a memo stating that the staff should pack for their "first quarter camaraderie event" and to bring a toothbrush, a swimsuit, rubber soled shoes and a ski mask.

Michael eventually confesses that it is a cruise (in January) on Lake Wallenpaupack, and it will be a party, a leadership training exercise, and a mind-blowing experience.

Jim bets the camera that Michael will stand on the front of the boat and yell "I'm king of the world" in the first hour.

While boarding the ship, the captain quickly pulls rank and deflates Michael. Jim wins his bet as Michael does yell, "I'm king of the world".

Jim, Katie, Roy, and Pam are sitting together. Roy and Katie are getting along great and Pam and Jim keep giving each other looks.

Annoyed with Dwight, Captain Jack asks Dwight if he'd like to steer the ship. Dwight is excited. Captain Jack shows Dwight to the front of the boat where there is a fake wheel. Dwight is pleased.

Katie and Darryl cheer on Roy as he does his snorkel shot. Pam, not impressed, refuses to do one and asks Roy to go somewhere quieter. Roy, drunk, doesn't budge. He needs to see Darryl do his snorkle shot. So Pam and Jim leave together to go to the deck.

On the deck, Pam confesses that she just doesn't get Roy. Jim looks around to make sure they are alone and then he and Pam make eye contact. They stare at each other for several seconds until Pam breaks it to tease Jim about Katie. Clearly, Jim doesn't want to lose this moment and continues to stare into her eyes. He wants to say something. Pam, sensing this may be the case, says she's cold and goes inside. Jim is disappointed.

In talking to Captain Jack, Roy seems to have a moment of drunken clarity and takes the microphone and declares a wedding date. Pam is thrilled.

While outside, watching everyone slow dance, Katie askes Jim if he thinks they'll ever get married. Jim very quickly answers no and Katie is upset. Jim breaks up with her.

Meredith and Captain Jack go at it, sexually, pretty good in the steering room. However, Michael with his business / ship metaphors, scares the non-employee passangers on the ship and they start jumping overboard. This interrupts Captain Jack and Meredith so he puts Michael in the brig.

On the deck, Jim, heartbroken, confesses his feelings for Pam to Michael. Michael does what he has tried to do all night. He motivates Jim to not give up. Engaged ain't married.

Best Funny Quotes From The Office - Booze Cruise

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The Office : “Booze Cruise”/“The Injury”

The A.V. Club launched TV Club in 2007, which meant we missed out on recapping earlier seasons of a few of our favorite shows. In some cases—like the retrospective recap that follows—we’ve gone back to fill in the gaps.

“Booze Cruise” (season two, episode 11; originally aired 1/5/2006)

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In which, you know what? Jim would save the receptionist …

(Available on Hulu and Netflix .)

There are passages of The Office ’s second season that alleviate any sense that the employees of Dunder Mifflin are trapped, episodes like “Office Olympics” or “Christmas Party” that bring out the aspects of the Scranton Business Park that aren’t slowly sucking away its inhabitants’ souls. There needed to be a hint of escape in the show. Their onscreen lives revolve around the workplace, but as subsequent seasons explored (to varying degrees of success), there’s more for them outside the parking-lot gates.

And yet “Booze Cruise” derives so much of its power from confinement. There’s only one way out of Michael’s nautical team-building exercise: Into the chilly depths of Lake Wallenpaupack. The episode differentiates itself from other on-location Office s because the characters have no choice but to come face-to-face with uncomfortable situations. Fittingly, this felt most acutely by the character who feels most confined by his job. With nowhere else to go but the freezing exterior of the boat, Jim is forced to watch as Roy and Pam finally set a date for their wedding. He then makes matters worse for himself by being the jerk who dumps a woman (Amy Adams in her final appearance as Katy) while they’re both, essentially, stranded on a large body of water. These are the types of stressors he can’t relieve by raising his eyebrows at The Documentarians.

Both parts of this week’s Office doubleheader illustrate the show’s shifting priorities. They’re both gut-bustingly hilarious at times, but with “Booze Cruise” in particular, the show’s heartfelt, relationship-drama side is coming into bloom. The tension in that “What’s it like dating a cheerleader?” scene between Jim and Pam is ’shipper catnip, so adept at toying with emotions that even Greg Daniels (who based the episode’s script on an anecdote from B.J. Novak) found himself screaming “Kiss her!” in the editing bay.

With all that going on, “Booze Cruise” is also a reminder that, at certain points, The Office was Steve Carell’s show. The episode affords the actor and his character two lengthy spotlight sequences—the “leader-ship” talk in the conference room and the dance contest aboard the Lake Wallenpaupack Princess —where Michael isn’t so much imparting wisdom to his employees as he is milking his camera time. The dance-contest scene is a fine use of the documentary setup, and it’s also the one truly great sequence with a direct analog in the U.K. Office . They’re deployed for similar purposes: In “Charity,” David Brent dances to upstage corporate slickster Neil; in “Booze Cruise,” Michael wants to get back in front of the office retreat for which he was too cheap to book a private cruise. In the process, he’s playing to two audiences—the people on the boat and the imagined audience of the documentary—convinced that both will by impressed by his wild gyrations and dictionary definition of “dancing.” The unspoken reactions of his fellow passengers tell a different story.

Challenges to Michael’s authority often lifted Carell’s performance to new heights, so it makes sense that he’s especially good when those challenges are coming from multiple angles. There’s Captain Jack and his effortless leadership, but there’s also Brenda, the mostly silent emissary from corporate who’s looking over Michael’s shoulder throughout “Booze Cruise.” The character exists in a nebu-los space herself, serving the same role as Jan but not contributing enough to the story to make any sort of impression. Part of me wonders if Melora Hardin was unavailable; another part makes me thinks adding some Michael-Jan drama would lock up a well-oiled machine of an episode. And then there’s the part of me that knows the way The Office liked to draw these things out and thinks “Oh yeah—Brenda needs to be there as a knock-off Jan because the genuine article is putting as much space between herself and Michael as possible.”

And besides, there’s a more appropriate one-off foil being played by Rob Riggle, who manages to spark an immediate and satisfying rivalry with The Office ’s star. Captain Jack taps directly into Michael’s control issues, bringing out a heightened version of the guy who fights so desperately to steer every discussion in the conference room. There’s a bit of a conference-room vibe to the declarations Michael tacks on to Captain Jack’s announcements, starting with a claim he could almost back up (“And I’m your party captain, too!”) before veering into outright lies (“I can marry you as regional manager of Dunder Mifflin!”). By the time he’s mixing motivational analogies with Titanic plot lines, it’s evident that the rest of the world isn’t prepared for the Michael Scott style of management.

Michael spends all of “Booze Cruise” trying to motivate his staff, but he’s going about it the wrong way. He’s not Captain Jack, and he’s not the boss of dancing—he’s a guy who did a job well enough to receive a promotion, but the regional manager’s chair is the largest seat of authority he’s qualified to fill. And even then he’s usually out of his depths, relying on hackneyed analogies and borrowed advice to lead his troops. If there’s anything about Rob Riggle’s character that truly gets under his skin, it’s the fact that Jack has legitimate guidance to offer, informed by different life circumstances than Michael’s. When he’s giving pointers to Roy, he’s doing so to someone he doesn’t even know—Michael can’t speak half that knowledgeably to people with whom he spends 40 hours a week.

Except, that is, when he’s speaking from the heart. The most important moment of “Booze Cruise” isn’t the dance contest or Roy setting the wedding date or Dwight “steering” the ship—it’s Michael putting all his bullshit aside to motivate, inspire, and cheer up a colleague. Hands tied, captain’s cap stripped away, all he has are his instincts. His advice to Jim—“Never ever, ever, ever give up”—still reeks of cliché, but it also hits the target Michael’s been aiming for all episode. The next line—“It’s a fake wheel, dummy”—consciously cuts through the treacle, but the sentiment lingers. “Booze Cruise” is a culmination of several threads, but it’s the beginning of a new phase in Jim and Michael’s relationship. The pair strikes a very, very delicate balance Michael tests almost immediately, but their conversation makes good on weeks of knowing glances and similar experiences between manager and employee.

But those classifications are irrelevant. The scene became a crucial part of Office lore not because of what it meant to Michael’s management acumen, but what it meant to his ability to be a friend. At a deeper level, that’s the aim he truly cares about.

“The Injury” (season two, episode 12; originally aired 1/12/2006)

In which Michael doesn’t (read: does) want to be treated any differently …

To play off an analogy from “Booze Cruise”: If a building containing all of modern American pop culture was burning down, I’d save the TV sitcom. Sure, I might humor myself into thinking I’d grab soul, funk, and rap (I could get by with strictly European contributions to rock and electronic music) or an armful of movies produced from the height of the studio system’s power to, say, Ghostbusters . But if I’m being completely honest, my heart and soul belong to the situation comedy. And that’s because of episodes like “The Injury,” half-hour stories packed with fine-tuned jokes (and a little warmth) told by characters that beg to be visited on a weekly or nightly basis—no matter how obnoxious some of them may be.

Revisiting and reviewing these first three seasons of The Office is a particular challenge to my critical faculties, because with the possible exception of Arrested Development and Twin Peaks ’ complete runs, there’s no chunk of TV I’ve watched and rewatched more times. These are works I love unconditionally and to which I’ve attached many fond remembrances. I will never not chuckle at Dwight, in the throes of a concussion, saying to Jim “I don’t work in this van!” Depending on the day, I might go as far as to call “The Injury” my favorite episode of any TV show I’ve seen.

So take this with a grain of salt, but I’m also resolute in thinking that “The Injury” is an ideal example of its form. Nothing is wasted, all the jokes land, and it’s premise-driven enough that a drop-in viewer could enjoy it with little to no background information on The Office . With no exposition, it’s easy enough to glean what’s funny about the way Michael and Dwight are behaving: Michael’s speaker-phone cries for help sell the concept that he’s selfish and a little bit starved for attention. There are enough cues from Jim and Pam to get a grasp on Dwight’s day-to-day personality and understand how his bonkers conduct in “The Injury” deviates from that personality. All that’s needed to get Ryan and Michael’s relationship is the way B.J. Novak walks into frame during the cold open and immediately backs out. And who could resist the comic hook of the phrase “I burned my foot, very badly, on my Foreman Grill”?

Yet the more it moves past the premise and digs more into Michael’s petulance and the Bizzaro World where Pam and Dwight are “kinda” friends, the more “The Injury” finds its bearings within the universe of The Office . The reveal that title applies equally to the regional manager and the assistant to the regional manager isn’t the episode’s first bait-and-switch—“The Injury” sets itself up as an old-school, high-concept laffer, then shows its true, character-driven stripes. There are moments where the pacing of the episode is so propulsive, it seems more like a perfect sitcom episode and less like a perfect episode of this particular sitcom. But then the action arrives at something like the gorgeously patient sequence between Ryan, Toby, and Michael in the kitchen—captured by director Bryan Gordon in a single take and a handful of whip pans—and the episode finds its feet firmly planted in familiar, Scrantonian soil.

“The Injury” is an out-of-character moment for The Office , but the show needed such an episode at this point in the second season. It’s a breathlessly paced breather from the kind of material “Booze Cruise” runs on, a digression that breaks from the Jim-Pam romance and puts the brakes on Jim coming to understand Michael. My only real criticism of “The Injury,” and it’s a minor one, involves the jarring inclusion of Jim’s “I’d like to clamp Michael’s face in a Foreman Grill” so soon after those two have their bonding moment on the boat. (He’ll have a much better reason to feel that way next week.) It still retains some ties to ongoing arcs, however, sneakily integrating scenes about Dwight and Angela’s relationship without coming out and saying, “Yes, you haven’t been imagining Dwight and Angela’s relationship.” (Again: Next week.)

Much as “Booze Cruise” belongs to Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson runs away with “The Injury.” The episode is a departure for The Office in general and Wilson specifically, granting him the chance to play a softer, less severe version of his character—one that’s the result of a head injury, sure, but these are still different notes that Wilson plays splendidly. They hint at the fact that there’s something human behind those wire-rim specs, a person who could legitimately befriend Jim and Pam if he didn’t always have his guard up. Concussion Dwight gets the kind of information out of the character that would typically come out in a talking head; it’s great to see the show circumvent a convention it was always in danger of using as a crutch. Wilson’s performance even stays fun and funny after the script requires him to go full-on loopy. If “that’s what she said” wasn’t already established as part of the Office lexicon in “Sexual Harassment,” it certainly was by the time Concussion Dwight steals Michael’s favorite joke—and actually manages to get a laugh with it.

Everything lines up just as it should in “The Injury”: Tremendous performances, a great script packed with quotable lines (“Part of my duties are to”), bold directing choices—just one of these qualities would make for an episode worthy of repeat viewing. The episode initiates a “rising tides lift all boats” scenario, where even a throwaway line like “I found the pudding cups you wanted at a gas station in Carbondale !” has stuck with me through the years. (It’s all in Novak’s reading on that one, his sarcasm masking the fact that Ryan clearly loves having the excuse to get out of the office.) The Office would never deliver another episode this funny, which is not to say it peaked too soon: Being wall-to-wall funny was already becoming less important to the show at this point. That’s not to say humor is the only measure of quality for the ideal sitcom episode, either. “The Injury” gets in its emotional beats, too—hear the tinge of sadness in Jenna Fischer’s voice when Pam says “goodbye” to Concussion Dwight? Fortunately, we never have to say anything similar to “The Injury.” It’s always there, ready to zoom toward your television screen like Dwight’s Trans Am into a telephone pole.

“Booze Cruise”: A-

“The Injury”: A

Stray observations:

• I imagine “Booze Cruise” was a fairly costly episode—it can’t be cheap to rent a boat of that size for multiple nights of shooting. It was shot in Long Beach Harbor—maybe the city cut them a deal on the location fee?
• Brenda is played by Brenda Withers, one-time writing partner of Mindy Kaling with whom she collaborated on and starred with in the theatrical satire Matt & Ben . It’s about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck happening upon the Good Will Hunting script (when it falls from the ceiling of their apartment)— here’s an excerpt from the play presented by the old ESPN morning show Cold Pizza . And if you want to spill further down the YouTube rabbit hole, here’s the intro to Mindy And Brenda , a pilot written by Kaling and Withers that failed to square their comedic sensibility with a multi-cam, live-studio-audience format. It wasn’t picked up, and you’ll understand why the minute Noureen DeWulf takes a stab at talking like Mindy Kaling.
• Ryan and Michael’s “gas station in Carbondale” exchange demonstrates the important role that specificity plays in a gag like that. Mentioning the gas station is in another town makes the trip seem that much more arduous—even if Google Maps lists the longest route between Scranton and Carbondale as being 35 minutes long . Carbondale just sounds far away—like it’s practically in a different century.
• Favorite tip-off that Dwight’s suffered some sort of traumatic injury to the noggin: I’ve always loved the visual gag of him typing “DWIGHT DWIGHT DWIGHT” over and over (as the name of a folder on his desktop, nonetheless), but there’s a subtlety to calling Pam “Pan” that gets me every time. It helps that Pam’s slow-burning in-scene reaction mirrors the viewer’s: “Pan?”

Deleted Scenes From The Office's Booze Cruise Episode Showcase Creed's Musical Talent

Despite sharing the screen with laughably eccentric characters like Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), Michael Scott (Steve Carell), and later Robert California (James Spader), there's no question that the most ridiculous (and most mysterious) character in "The Office" is Creed Bratton , played by the actor of the same name.

A former guitar player and singer for the rock band The Grass Roots, actor and musician Creed Bratton plays a fictionalized version of himself within "The Office." With a heavy emphasis on fictionalized . Throughout the series we see Creed display a wide array of bizarre behavior and seemingly criminal activities. Once, he admitted to leading (and following) several cults, and another time he claimed to have stolen the identity of "Creed Bratton" from somebody who had wronged him. On one memorable occasion, he even showed up to the office drenched in blood, though luckily he was able to pass it off as a Halloween costume.

The series makes it abundantly clear that there's a lot going on with Creed, most of it illegal, though oddly enough they don't really make use of his real-life musical talents until the very finale. That said, there is one incredible deleted scene that shows Creed rocking out on a guitar during the  episode "Booze Cruise."

Creed rocked out on stage during Booze Cruise

The season 2 episode "Booze Cruise" saw the members of the office going out for a company bonding exercise on a cruise across Lake Wallenpaupack, which Michael Scott had inexplicably booked for the middle of January. Most of the episode is devoted to Michael's futile attempts to give a leadership seminar in spite of the ongoing party aboard the ship, though Creed Bratton says that there was another scene that didn't make the final cut which would've shown off some of his skills on the guitar.

"In season 2, on the deleted scenes on the DVD, I play a guitar in the episode 'Booze Cruise.' It was just too long for the episode," said Bratton in an interview with Vanity Fair . "Everybody was disappointed because it really turned out cool. Michael was on the guitar, playing 'Smoke On the Water' just horribly. I say, 'Hey, let me take a shot.' And Michael says, 'The thing's not even in tune, Creed. It's a defective ax, my friend.' And of course, I rock my ass off, you know, and he gets all upset."

Unfortunately, it seems like this particular scene isn't available on YouTube or Peacock, though it has actually been uploaded to TikTok courtesy of nick_the_it_guy. Just as Creed described, the scene is extremely long but shows off just how much he can rock — much to Michael's annoyance. Although the extended length of this clip probably justified its removal from the episode, it's still an amazing display of talent from the hilarious Creed Bratton.

The Booze Cruise

• TV comedy drama
• 2003 - 2006
• 3 episodes (1 series)

When a group of unlikely friends go on a cruise to France, they form bonds that they never thought would've existed. Stars Martin Clunes , Neil Pearson , Mark Benton , Brian Murphy , Anne Reid and more .

Key details

• Yorkshire Television

Additional details

Website links, broadcast details.

• Sunday 28th May 2023 at 10:00pm on ITV3 - Episode 1
• Tuesday 11th April 2023 at 12:10am on ITV3 - Episode 3
• Saturday 8th April 2023 at 11:00pm on ITV3 - Episode 3

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The Office Soundtrack

S2 E11 - (8 Songs)

Order By Name

Order by artist.

The Name Game

The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle

Sean Paul - Dutty Rock

What Do You Do With A Drunken Sailor

Just the two of us.

Bill Withers & Grover Washington - Love's Greatest Hits

Smoke On the Water

Deep Purple - Now That's What I Call Classic Rock

Bill Withers & Grover Washington, Jr. - Love's Greatest Hits

Bill Withers - Bill Withers' Greatest Hits

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Song previews provided courtesy of Apple Music and Spotify.

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The Booze Cruise

Five men take a booze cruise to France. Nothing goes as planned. Meanwhile, their wives go about their business back in Kent. Five men take a booze cruise to France. Nothing goes as planned. Meanwhile, their wives go about their business back in Kent. Five men take a booze cruise to France. Nothing goes as planned. Meanwhile, their wives go about their business back in Kent.

• Paul Minett
• Brian Leveson
• Martin Clunes
• Neil Pearson
• Mark Benton
• 12 User reviews
• 2 Critic reviews
• 1 nomination

• Clive Rainer

• Dave Bolton

• Leone Sewell

• Ruth Rainer

• Cath Bolton

• (as Elsa Kikoine)
• Chloe Rainer

• Customs Officer

• (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Connections Followed by The Booze Cruise II: The Treasure Hunt (2005)

User reviews 12

• Sep 12, 2021
• September 7, 2003 (United Kingdom)
• United Kingdom
• Cheers and Tears
• Yorkshire Television (YTV)
• Water Lane Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours

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