"Beach Games" is the twenty-third episode of the third season of the US version of The Office, and the 51st of the series. In this episode, the office goes to a nearby lake for some "beach games". It is revealed that Michael (Steve Carell) is being interviewed for a position at Corporate and that the winner of the beach games will become regional manager. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Angela (Angela Kinsey) sabotage Andy (Ed Helms), and Pam (Jenna Fischer) spends her day taking notes of the office workers' activities.
The episode was written by Jennifer Celotta and Greg Daniels and directed by Harold Ramis. Filming took place at a fake beach near Hansen Dam, as it was "the bleakest lake find." The crew had to deal with hot temperatures during the day and "frigid" weather at night. One of Helms' scenes involved him being trapped on a lake in a sumo wrestling outfit, forcing him to wear a harness and be pulled by a boat manned by a crew member. For the fire walk, orange and yellow gels and lava rocks were used, and gas lines were installed to produce flames.
An estimated 7.2 million viewers watched "Beach Games" on its first American broadcast on May 10, 2007, resulting in the episode placing fourth for the night in its timeslot. It received mainly positive reviews from television critics, and many cited the sumo suit scenes as particular highlights. Most critics praised Pam's speech at the end of the episode, though one found it out of character.
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Famous quotes containing the words beach and/or games:
“The seashore is a sort of neutral ground, a most advantageous point from which to contemplate this world. It is even a trivial place. The waves forever rolling to the land are too far-traveled and untamable to be familiar. Creeping along the endless beach amid the sun-squall and the foam, it occurs to us that we, too, are the product of sea-slime.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Whatever games are played with us, we must play no games with ourselves, but deal in our privacy with the last honesty and truth.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)