Michael comes to believe the office might be cursed in the wake of a freak accident. After scrutinizing each of his staffers' religious beliefs, he organizes a charity 5K "fun run."
WAR
153.5
Wins Above Replacement
“Fun Run” ranks #18 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 93.1 — Elite. The episode packs 107 scored jokes at 2.7 per minute, averaging 7.5 on craft and 7.4 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Creed: Creed: 'I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.'
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Dwight · Jim · Toby: Dwight put Imodium in Toby's coffee before the race — then: 'Wait, Imodium or Ex-Lax?' / Toby's subsequent talking head: 'I'm making great time. Usually, I'd have to take a bathroom break halfway through a race like this, but not today.'
Michael: Michael's talking head: 'Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked, but it's not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised.'
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Dwight · Angela: Dwight returns from Angela's apartment: 'Hey, monkey. Any problems? / Well, you left the TV on, and your cat is dead.' / 'What? / Sparkles, the white one, is dead.' / 'Sprinkles.' / 'That was the sick one, right?'
Michael: Michael's talking head about his flaws: 'I sing in the shower. Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I'll hit somebody with my car. So sue me. No, don't sue me.'
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Standout Moments
Michael: Michael's talking head: 'Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked, but it's not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised.'
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Creed: Creed: 'I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.'
Creed Character Comedy Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Dwight · Jim · Toby: Dwight put Imodium in Toby's coffee before the race — then: 'Wait, Imodium or Ex-Lax?' / Toby's subsequent talking head: 'I'm making great time. Usually, I'd have to take a bathroom break halfway through a race like this, but not today.'
All Jokes — 107 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Michael: Michael's opening monologue: 'I did not get the job in New York, but I got the real prize, domestic bliss. Jan made me breakfast this morning. Well, she bought the milk. It's soy. This is why I do it.'
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's talking head: 'Jan is at home. Jim is back. My protégé Ryan is at corporate. Andy and Dwight are rocking the sales team. I feel very blessed.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Kevin · Oscar: Kevin got a virus clicking on a celebrity sex tape offer online; refuses to say what kind of celebrity or how much he paid: 'It all happened so fast.'
Jim: Jim's talking head about Karen: '...but the next day her desk was empty.' Followed immediately by Jim saying 'I am single now and looking. So, if you know anybody...'
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Oscar · Angela · Other Office Workers: Office workers debating whether Jim and Pam are together: 'Are you kidding me? Pam and Jim are totally hooking up. All they do is smile. They're just keeping it a secret. Right? / I don't know. There is no evidence of intimacy. They've been in remarkably good moods. It could be other things.'
Jim · Pam: Jim and Pam casually coordinate weekend plans in front of the whole office while the co-workers debate their relationship status — they talk about the flea market and mountain biking separately, acting like just friends.
Jim Pam Irony/Sarcasm Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Michael · Office: Michael announces Meredith was hit by a car with dramatic phrasing: 'The doctors tried to save her life. They did the best that they could... and she is going to be okay.'
Michael: Michael says Meredith has 'a slight pelvical fracture' — a made-up word for 'pelvic'
Michael Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Michael · Office: Michael reveals he was the one who hit Meredith: 'I was able to be on the scene so quickly because I was in the car that hit her.'
Michael · Office: Reaction beat: long pause after 'Who was driving?' — the camera presumably holds on Michael's face before he answers
Oscar: Talking head: 'One day Michael came in complaining about a speed bump on the highway. I wonder who he ran over then.'
Oscar Deadpan/Understatement Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Office Workers: 'It's only Meredith.' / 'Yeah, it's only Meredith.' / 'Thank God.'
Dwight · Kevin · Andy: Dwight, Kevin, and Andy pile on Michael with increasingly absurd theories for why he hit Meredith: 'Was she talking back? Just got sick of that face? Did she owe you money? Is this downsizing? Did she spurn your advances?'
Dwight · Kevin · Pam: Dwight and Kevin teasing Jim about visiting Meredith: 'Oh, I bet Jim goes, too.' / 'Yeah, I haven't asked him yet.' / 'Oh, I bet you ask.' / 'I was planning on it.' / 'I bet you were. Subtle.'
Angela · Pam: Angela declining to visit Meredith: 'I can't. Sprinkles is sick... Who will she eat lunch with? / Can't your other cats keep her company? / There's bad blood, jealousies, cliques...'
Michael · Andy: Andy greets Michael with 'My lord, my liege!' before Michael delivers a talking head comparing himself to 'top dog in a fairly large pond' versus Ryan as 'a little fish in a big pond.'
Michael · Toby: Michael tells Toby about the accident: 'It happened on company property with company property, so double jeopardy. We are fine.' / 'I don't think you understand how jeopardy works.' / 'Oh, right, I'm sorry. What is 'We're fine'?'
Ryan: Ryan's talking head: 'People keep calling me a wunderkind. I don't even know what that means. I mean, I know what it means. It means very successful for your age. So I guess it makes sense, but it's a weird word.'
Ryan Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Angela · Dwight: Angela gives Dwight an elaborate list of medical instructions for Sprinkles: diabetes shot, ACE inhibitor, omega fatty acids, kidney medicine, and finally — fungal cream under the cat's tail.
Office Workers · Michael: Office guesses Michael's announcement: 'You pushed Darryl out the window? / No. / You shot Dwight? / No, no. That is not funny.'
Michael · Stanley · Office: Michael announces they're going to plant a tree to distract from the Meredith accident. Stanley: 'At least we don't have to work.' / 'So, like, a freedom tree.'
Michael · Stanley: Stanley: 'You ran a woman over this morning.' Michael: 'Everyone inside the car was fine, Stanley!'
Michael: Michael's talking head about his flaws: 'I sing in the shower. Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I'll hit somebody with my car. So sue me. No, don't sue me.'
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's talking head: 'I hate hospitals. In my mind, they are associated with sickness.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Dwight: Hospital room: Michael says 'She looks like an angel.' Dwight replies 'She looks awful.' Michael: 'No? Okay, she always looks like that.'
Michael · Office · Meredith: Michael brings balloons to the hospital room, one gets loose and gets tangled in Meredith's IV tubes/medical equipment — chaos ensues with nurses being called.
Michael: Michael rattles off an exhaustive list of painkillers to Meredith: 'Codeine? Vicodin? Percocet? Fentanyl? OxyContin? Palladone?'
Michael Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Michael · Meredith: Michael asks Meredith to forgive him in front of everybody: 'You know what they say in the Bible about forgiveness? Forgiveness is next to godliness.' / 'No, that's not what they...'
Dwight · Angela: Dwight returns from Angela's apartment: 'Hey, monkey. Any problems? / Well, you left the TV on, and your cat is dead.' / 'What? / Sparkles, the white one, is dead.' / 'Sprinkles.' / 'That was the sick one, right?'
Dwight · Angela: Dwight on Sprinkles' location: 'She's in a better place.' / 'Actually, the place that she's in is the freezer, because of the odor.'
Michael: Michael listing the day's problems: 'The computer crashes with the porn, and then Meredith with the accident, and then... Prinkles! God... That's three things.'
Michael Character Comedy Escalation Callback Michael: 'I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.'
Michael Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael · Office: Michael asks if anyone violated an Indian burial ground: 'Like what? / Like park on it. Or dig up a body.'
Michael · Toby: Toby: 'I had some good luck recently. Alfredo's Pizza picked my business card out of the basket. So, I get a week of free pies.' Michael: 'So our tragedy is your good luck. Satan.'
Dwight: Dwight on cats: 'Cats do not provide milk or wool or meat.'
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Dwight: Dwight agrees to visit Meredith in the hospital: 'I do not respect her, but I will go.'
Dwight Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Michael · Toby: Michael starts polling the office on their religious beliefs for curse-breaking purposes; Toby objects: 'Michael, you can't ask about religious beliefs.' Michael: 'Satan is a master of lies. Everything he says is the opposite. All right, well then you CAN ask about religious beliefs.' Toby: '...' Michael: 'Psych.'
Phyllis: Phyllis announces she and Bob are different religions: 'I'm a Lutheran and Bob is a Unitarian. It keeps things spicy.'
Phyllis Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Kelly: Michael to Kelly: 'Kelly, you are Hindu, so you believe in Buddha.' / 'That's Buddhists.' / 'Are you sure?' / 'No.'
Darryl: Darryl's talking head: 'Well, if you're going to reduce my identity to my religion, then I'm Sikh. But I also like hip-hop and NPR, and I'm restoring a 1967 Corvette in my spare time.'
Darryl Character Comedy Observational Dwight: Dwight's talking head on Meredith: 'As a farmer, I know that when an animal is sick, sometimes the right thing to do is to put it out of its misery. With the electricity we're using to keep Meredith alive, we could power a small fan for two days. You tell me what's unethical. Blink once if you want me to pull the plug.'
Dwight Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Dwight · Intern: Dwight asks the intern/doctor: 'Are you a doctor or a male nurse?' / 'I'm an intern, which makes me a doctor.'
Dwight: Dwight reviewing Meredith's chart: 'Her chart doesn't indicate that she had a hysterectomy. But she did, or at least she got time off for one. So that is where her uterus went.'
Dwight Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Dwight · Meredith · Intern: Meredith's chart reveals she was previously bitten by a bat (trapped by Dwight in a bag against her head), a raccoon, and a rat — 'Separate occasions.'
Michael: Michael's talking head: 'You spend your whole life trying to get people to like you, and then you run over one person with your car, and it's not even one of the popular ones, and everybody gets on your case. It doesn't make any sense.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Kelly: Kelly: 'God is dead. If there was a God, then Ryan and I would be married by now.'
Kelly Character Comedy Absurdist ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael improvising alternative deities to sacrifice to: 'Maybe there's some sort of animal... like a giant buffalo, or some sort of monster, like 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 meerkat. Or just the head of a monkey with the antlers of a reindeer with the body of a porcupine.'
Michael Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Michael · Jim · Office: Michael panicking about rabies contagion: 'Oh, God, rabies? I was in the hospital room with her. How contagious is that? Is that like an STD?' / 'No. You've got to be bitten by something.' / 'This place is so cursed.'
Michael: Michael reframes his car accident as heroism: 'Before that happened, Dwight endangered her life by putting a garbage bag over her head that had a bat in it. Six of one, really.' / 'Thanks to me, she went to the hospital and that saved her life. Curse is broken.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael: 'Is there a God? If not, what are all these churches for? And who is Jesus' dad?'
Unknown Co-worker: Talking head reaction: Someone (implied to be a co-worker) reacts to seeing Jim and Pam together: 'Oh well, if they aren't together now, then they probably never will be. I thought they'd be good together, like PB and J. Pam Beasley and Jim. What a waste.'
Jim: Jim's talking head: 'I told you I'm not dating anyone... when I do fall in love, like, when it's for real, the last person I'm going to talk about it to is a camera crew or my co-workers.' / 'Almost marrying Roy Anderson was as close to Pamela Anderson as I ever want to be. Trust me, when I fall in love, you'll know.'
Jim Irony/Sarcasm Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Michael · Pam: The full name of Michael's charity run: 'Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Fun Run Race for the Cure. Pro-Am.'
Michael: Michael on why he's hosting the rabies awareness run: 'A woman shouldn't have to be hit by a car to learn that she may have rabies, but that is where we are in America.' / 'To raise awareness of the fact that there is a cure for rabies, a disease that has been largely eradicated in the US, but not very many people know that.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Michael: 'No, rabies. Babies would be a good idea. Can I put you down for a dime?'
Michael Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Michael · Jim: Jan pledges $500 to Michael's run. Jim: 'And isn't that your money?' Michael: 'It is for a good cause.'
Michael · Stanley · Kevin · Jan: Stanley has zero sponsors. Michael: 'Come on, man, got to step it up.' Then: 'Jan called this morning and pledged $500.' Kevin: 'And isn't that your money?' Michael: 'It is for a good cause.'
Michael: Michael's pre-run talking head: 'I'm petrified of nipple chafing. Once it starts, it is a vicious circle. You have sensitive nipples, they chafe. So they become more sensitive, so they chafe more. So I take precautions.'
Michael · Jim · Pam: Discussion of finding a 'rabies doctor' to hand the check to: 'There is no such thing as a rabies doctor.' / 'What about a rabies nurse?' / 'I don't think so.' / 'You know what, though? I've actually seen ads for nurses that you can hire by the hour for parties and bachelor events.' / 'That's possible. Look into that. It's going to cost a couple hundred bucks and... Actually more with tips.'
Michael: Someone suggests setting up a college fund for Meredith's son instead of the ceremony. Michael: 'Have you met that kid? Not going to college.'
Michael Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Michael: Michael: '5K means five kilometers, not 5,000 miles.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Pam: Michael is found completely naked in his office changing for the race. Pam walks in after he says 'Come in!' — 'You said, come in!' / 'No, I didn't!' / 'Just, please, get out.'
Pam · Jim: Pam processing what she saw: 'So I closed the door but the image of his... Baguette? ...dangling participle still burned in my eyes.'
Pam Jim Wordplay/Pun Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Jim: Jim demonstrates the correct way to enter a room — knock, wait, receive permission — while Michael's question: 'On average, how many hours a day do you spend naked in your office, just ballpark?'
Michael · Pam: Michael defends his nudity by citing European office norms: 'European offices are naked all the time.' / 'They're so not.'
Michael · Pam: Michael to Pam: 'Pam, you're an artist, right? Think of me as one of your models.' / Pam: 'Okay, you know what? I don't want this to detract from what we really need to be thinking about today. It's not fair to people with rabies.'
Michael: Michael's advice: 'They say if you're nervous around someone, you should picture them naked. I do not recommend this strategy. Try picturing them with more clothes on, or a funny coat.'
Michael Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Callback Jim · Toby: Jim mocks Toby's pre-race stretching via talking head: 'Oh, I'm sorry. Is this a working office? And not a French beach?' — then the camera pans to Toby stretching as Jim narrates 'Look at me. I'm Toby. I'm stretching. I know what I'm doing.' / 'Why is he even here?'
Jim Toby Character Comedy Reaction Beat Jan · Pam: Jan's apparent jealousy about Pam seeing Michael naked: 'So I heard that you were peeping on Michael.' / 'What? No, it was not...' / 'Look, I don't know what your deal is, but he's mine, okay? So, hands off.'
Jan Pam Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Callback Michael: Michael's pre-race speech: 'Myth: three Americans every year die from rabies. Fact: four Americans every year die from rabies.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael · Dwight: Michael asks the crowd how many know someone affected by rabies, counts a few hands and declares 'Too many to count. It is truly the silent killer.' / Dwight: 'No, it is the foaming, barking killer.'
Michael · Darryl: Darryl feeds a peanut to a squirrel during Michael's speech. Michael: 'Darryl, what are you doing?' / 'I'm giving him a peanut.' / 'No, don't give him... Just... Did you hear anything I said?' / 'Look how happy he is.' / 'He's happy because he's insane. You know what? That's a perfect example of the kind of awareness we need to generate.'
Michael · Darryl: Darryl feeding peanuts to the dog at the awareness event. Michael: 'No, don't give him... Did you hear anything I said?' Darryl: 'Look how happy he is.' Michael: 'He's happy because he's insane.'
Michael · Elizabeth: The charity nurse turns out to be Elizabeth the stripper from a previous office party. Michael: 'Oh, hey, I know you. Elizabeth? Yeah! Right? Wow! Very cool. You went back and got your degree.'
Michael: Michael hands the charity check to Elizabeth: 'I would like you to accept this check for $340, made out to 'Science.''
Michael Absurdist Character Comedy Callback Michael: Michael carbo-loads on fettuccine Alfredo immediately before the race: 'Fettuccine Alfredo. Time to carbo-load.'
Michael Character Comedy Visual Gag ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's running strategy: 'I'm like Forrest Gump, except I am not an idiot.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Stanley: Stanley's talking head: 'Oh, yes, I will work out today. I will work out a way to avoid running for a stupid cause.'
Stanley Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Creed: Creed's race strategy: 'Key is drafting, eliminate wind resistance.' Shown presumably walking or barely moving.
Creed Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Jim: Michael refuses water during the race in solidarity with rabies victims: 'No water for me! Not while rabies causes fear of water! Solidarity!' / Jim: 'Michael, that's irrational.' / Michael: 'Rabies victims have to live with an irrational hatred of water their entire lives. So, the least I can do...'
Michael: Michael mid-race: 'Oh, God, my nipples. It's starting.'
Michael Character Comedy Callback Callback Dwight · Ryan: Dwight: 'I put Imodium in Toby's coffee before the race.' Ryan: 'Excellent! Simpsons.' Dwight: 'Wait, Imodium or Ex-Lax?' Ryan: '...'. Cut to: Toby running very well.
Dwight Ryan Dark/Subversive Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Jim · Pam: Jim and Pam stop at an estate sale during the 5K race: 'I'm really committed to winning.' / 'Okay, but what if I told you that all the money you spend here goes to preventing a disease that's already been cured?' / 'Yes. That's what I thought.' / 'Let's do some good.'
Jim Pam Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael mid-race, suffering from the fettuccine: 'Oh, God. Alfredo sauce. I'm getting a stitch.'
Michael Character Comedy Callback Callback Michael · Kevin: Kevin cheers Michael during the race and somehow touches his nipple area. Michael screams: 'Watch the nipples, Kevin! Back off me.'
Dwight · Angela: Angela confronts Dwight about Sprinkles. Dwight: 'I sang her her favorite songs.' / 'You put her in my freezer.' / 'It was beautiful and gentle and respectful. I fed her antihistamines and she gradually fell asleep.' / 'Well, then, she barfed them up in the freezer and tried to get out.'
Dwight Angela Cringe/Discomfort Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: Dwight: 'I expected a hug.' after Angela discovers he killed her cat.
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: Dwight: 'Cat heaven is a beautiful place, but you don't get there if you're euthanized.' / 'I know a great taxidermist. I'll pay to have her stuffed. Well, he's not great, but he's pretty good.'
Dwight Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Dwight · Angela: Dwight: 'Or we can have her buried out at the east field, by mother.' — Angela stops dead.
Jim · Pam: Jim and Pam at the estate sale; Pam shows Jim a lamp: 'You like it?' / 'It's kind of designy and cool.' / 'It was $8.' / 'Oh, and I get to carry it.'
Jim Pam Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Toby: Race winner announced: 'And the winner is Toby Flenderson.' — Toby presumably appears and sits down while someone writes it. The race is over.
Toby Character Comedy Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Callback Jim · Pam: Jim realizes the race ended far from where it started: 'Where are we?' / 'I don't know, like five kilometers from the office.' / 'He couldn't have made it a circle?'
Jim Pam Character Comedy Observational Michael: Michael hits the wall during the race: 'I am not going to finish. I can't beat rabies. Nobody can beat rabies. Rabies has been around for a thousand years and I was a fool to think that I could beat it.'
Michael · Jim: Michael's mid-race crisis monologue: 'There are people all over the world with all sorts of problems and afflictions and diseases. They're deformed and they're abnormal and they're illiterate and ugly. Symphonies don't have any money. Public TV is bust... And rabies wins. Wow! You are a downer.'
Pam · Michael: Pam: 'Michael, you don't have rabies, and chances are you're not going to get it anytime soon. So, you don't really have to think about it too much.' / Michael: 'Pam, if everybody felt that way, nothing would get done.' / Pam: 'Yeah, but there's other, better people out there who are helping.'
Jim · Michael: Jim shows Michael the $8 lamp: 'Hey, Michael, look at this lamp. $8.' Michael: 'That's a good deal.'
Jim Michael Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Callback Michael · Pam: Michael's comeback: 'I know you, Michael. I saw you naked.' / Michael: 'You've just seen my penis. I can make a difference.'
Michael Pam Character Comedy Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Callback Pam · Michael: Pam: 'I know you, Michael. I saw you naked.' Michael: 'You've just seen my penis. I can make a difference.'
Pam Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael vomiting at the finish line — a visual moment implied by the dialogue 'No! No!' followed by the end of the race sequence and Michael's subsequent talking head about his triumph.
Michael Physical/Slapstick Callback Callback Michael: Michael's post-race talking head: 'Finishing that 5K was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I ate more fettuccine Alfredo and drank less water than I have in my entire life. People always talk about triumphs of the human spirit. Well, today, I had a triumph of the human body. That's why everybody was applauding for me at the end, my guts and my heart. And while I eventually puked my guts out, I never puked my heart out. I'm very, very proud of that.'
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Meredith: Michael visits Meredith in the hospital and frames their situations as ironic parallels: 'It's ironic, isn't it? I mean, I'm in the hospital for not getting enough water and you're in it for a disease that causes a fear of water.' / Meredith: 'I'm in because you hit me with your car.'
Michael · Meredith: Meredith says she's not mad anymore; Michael says he's not mad either. The scene's absurd equivalence — as if Michael had anything to be mad about — is played straight.
Michael · Meredith: Final scene: Michael and Meredith eat together. Michael gestures to share food with her. She starts to refuse, then accepts. Michael: 'I'm not really sick.' She puts the food down. End scene.
Michael · Meredith: Michael and Meredith share food at the hospital. Meredith: 'I'm not really sick.' Michael: 'No, I'm good.'
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