Season 4 Premiere: The Fun Run

What an excellent start to the season! I have waited for months for The Office to start again, and it finally has with one of my favorite episodes ever. Not only were there hysterical moments during the show, but it also involved some major plot developments between many of the characters that we have come to know and love.

The show opens with Michael showing how his day begins: he eats his breakfast which was homemade by Jan (well actually, she bought the milk.... it's organic!), he says goodbye to the now jobless Jan who is still sleeping, and he drives to work. On the way to work he hits Meredith, one of his employees.

Then, Jim tells us that he has broken up with Karen and she no longer is working is Scranton. He claims he's single, but he has been spending more time with Pam and they both look happier than ever. Kevin is immediately suspicious that they are a couple, even though Oscar says that there is no evidence for this.

Michael announces that Meredith was hit by a car (which he happened to be in.... and driving!) and that she has only suffered a crack in her pelvis. The office is obviously shocked and appalled with Michael (even though Dwight reassures him, "It's only Meredith")

Michael informs Ryan, now working at corporate, about what just happened and Michael tries to ensure him that everything is okay ("We're in double jeopardy so we're fine.... I mean 'What is we are fine'")

The whole crew, with the exception of Dwight who must feed and give medications to Angela's sick cat sprinkles. Meredith looks very bad (causing Kelly to say, "She looks awful" and Michael to reply that "she looked that way before I hit her"). Michael asks for her forgiveness but Meredith refuses.

Everyone returns to the office including Dwight who informs Angela that Sprinkles is dead. Angela is heartbroken and Michael announces that the office must be cursed! Therefore, Michael calls a staff meeting to determine what can be done to eliminate this curse (make a sacrifice to "Like a giant buffalo. Or some sort of monster... something with the body of a walrus with the head of a sea lion, or something with the body of an egret. With the head of a meer cat. Or just the head of a monkey with the antlers of a reindeer. With a body of.... a porcupine." ) and Dwight goes to visit Meredith in the hospital. While he is there, he not only tries to unplug her because the amount of energy being used to keep her alive "could power a small fan for two days", but also because he is a farmer and he believes in putting animals in pain out of their misery (hint, hint, for later in the episode). Dwight also discovers that Meredith may have been exposed to rabies (when Dwight put a bag over her head that contained a bat during Season 3, when she was bitten by a rat, or when she was bitten by a racoon).

By end of that day at work, Pam and Jim both claim they are single and Kevin finally gives up on the thought that they are together. However, the cameramen catch a clip of Jim getting into Pam's car and they KISS! FINALLY!! The next day in the office, they are shown the clip by the cameramen. At first they deny that they are together, but then Pam blurts out, "WE'RE DATING!" and they both say that they have not told anyone but it has been really great. AGAIN... FINALLY!

Dwight tells Michael this news and Michael believes that he saved Meredith by putting her in the hospital because other wise she might not have found out that she has been exposed rabies. He decides to have his own fundrasier called Michael Scott's Dunder-Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Fun Run Race for the Cure. The entire office is raising money for the fundraiser and then they will be running (Andy is taking special precautions to prevent nipple chaffing).

Pam has to tell Michael something, so she knocks on his door, he says come in, and so she does. Then she catches him naked... with a certain part exposed (poor Pam... that could scar someone for life). Later, they discover that they have raised seven hundred dollars for rabies ($500 from Michael and Jan, and some money from Dwight who was told that it was going towards bat birth control). However, two hundred dollars is spent on a giant check and $160 spent on a stripper dressed a nurse for them to give the check too (there were no rabies doctors or nurses available).

Before the race, Jan tells Pam to stay away from Michael because he is hers (she heard that Pam had walked in on him) and Michael downs a ton of Fettucine Alfredo (one minte before the race.... the wrong time for carb overloading). Then, the race begins. Dwight tells Michael that he gave Toby Immodium (oops! He meant laxatives so that Toby would have to stop often), but instead Toby runs without having to stop to go the bathroom unlike he usually does. Jim and Pam decide to walk, enjoy their day, and stop at an estate sale. Kevin and Stanley decide to go to a restaurant and then drive to the finish line. Angela believes that Dwight killed her cat and Dwight then admits that he did because he could not stand watching the animal suffer. He sang her her favorite song and put her in the freezer. Angela is infuriated and she hits Dwight.... uh, oh.... I hope they do not break up. Michael runs so fast that by the end he cannot go any farther and it is up to Pam and Jim to encourage him to keep going. They do and he makes it to the finish line. He "pukes his guts out," but he "never pukes his heart out." Then is taken to the hospital for dehydration where he runs into Meredith who forgives him because he tried to help (with the fundraiser).

The highlight of the episode was that Jim and Pam are finally together.... I have waited long enough, but now that it has finally happened.... it is so worth it.

I cannot wait until next week!