Sexual Harassment

"Sexual Harassment" is the second episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's eighth episode overall. The episode was written by B. J. Novak and directed by Ken Kwapis. The episode first aired in the United States on September 27, 2005, on NBC. "Sexual Harassment" saw the first physical appearance of recurring character Todd Packer (played by David Koechner) after first being heard through a phone call in the first episode. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) is concerned when he believes Dunder Mifflin is targeting him for sexual harassment training. Meanwhile, Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) anxiously awaits the arrival of her mother, and Michael's obnoxious friend Todd Packer (David Koechner) spends the day in the office. Novak was inspired to write the episode after attending an NBC sexual harassment seminar that the cast and crew had to attend before the series began. Many jokes and personal experiences involving sexual harassment were added into the script. This episode aired with a warning that it contained adult content and subject matter, which is rare for a network comedy. Novak explained that he had to fight NBC to get the word "boner" on the air. (Nevertheless, many stations censored the word, and one station refused to air the episode altogether.) "Sexual Harassment" received moderately positive reviews from critics. The episode was viewed by 7.13 million viewers. Plot Michael Scott's (Steve Carell) "best friend forever" Todd Packer (David Koechner) offends the staff with crude gossip about an upper management scandal. Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) informs Michael that he will conduct a review of the company's sexual harassment policies because the CFO resigned after allegations made by his secretary. Michael's indignation that this will put a damper on his easygoing office environment rises to outrage when he learns that the corporate headquarters is sending down a lawyer to talk to him. Michael and the warehouse staff mock the sexual harassment video, but the crude remarks come to a screeching halt when Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin) and the lawyer arrive from Corporate.