Charity

"Charity"
Red Nose Day
Episode no.	Episode 11
Original airdate	28 October 2002 (BBC 2)
Written by	Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant
Directed by	Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant
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Charity is the fifth episode of the second series of The Office.

Plot

It’s Red Nose Day in the office as they raise money to fight famine for Comic Relief. Dawn offers kisses for ₤1, Keith dresses up as Ali G, and Neil and Rachel perform a choreographed dance that goes down a storm. David Brent, feeling jealous of all the attention given to Neil, tries to match it with a dance of his own. It is not received as well, resulting in awkward silence with some applause. Yet David continues to feel he is climbing the ladder toward fame, especially after his management training seminar. Gareth’s mates, Jimmy the Perv, and the Oggmonster stop by to get a kiss from Dawn and David ends up insulting Oggy about his height. Neil and Jennifer give David a verbal warning since he spent his time devising a quiz show rather than finishing reports. Dawn talks to Keith about her possible plans to move to America. Tim pays ₤1 to kiss Dawn, causing a noticeable change in his demeanor and resulting in a tense moment with Rachel. Neil and Jennifer once again speak with David in his office and offer him a redundancy package. David is upset that they gave him such bad news on Red Nose Day and predicts his staff will start a mutiny when they hear the news. He immediately tells the staff after Neil and Jennifer leave; no one seems that bothered.

Quotes

• David: Who says famine has to be depressing?
• David: I sort of fused Flashdance with MC Hammer shit.
• David: Oh bloody hell. What’s the weather like up there?
  Oggy: Oh, I’ve heard that one before.
  David: Parents put you in a growbag when you were little did they?
  Oggy: That’s an old one.
  David: Let’s grow ourselves a little lanky goggle-eyed freak
  Oggy: Alright calm down there’s no need to get offensive.

Neil and Rachel's Dance.

• David: Imagine a cross between Telly’s Addicts and Noel’s House Party. You’ve just imagined Upstairs Downstairs, a new quiz show devised and hosted by David Brent.
  Neil: David, I just don’t understand this.
  David: Well the contestants run upstairs and they get a clue…
  Neil: No, not the game show.
• David: Do it yourself I’ve gotta save some Africans!
• Gareth: Where’s my tiny tanks? How am I supposed to work?
  Tim: You’ll just have to hop to it.
• Keith: Word of warning then. Out there they call them fanny packs cause fanny means your ass over there… not your minge…

Trivia

• The character of Oggy is played by the co-writer of the series, Stephen Merchant.

Cultural References

• Red Nose Day - a yearly event where Comic Relief raises money for famine relief. It involves wearing plastic or foam red noses after giving a donation and is considered a semi-holiday in England.
• Ali G – a character from the Channel 4 show, Da Ali G Show, starring Sacha Baron Cohen. Keith dresses up as Ali G and he uses his well known catchphrase “Booyakasha” to answer the phone.
• Saturday Night Fever – a film from 1977 starring John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney. The dance performed by Neil and Rachel comes from a popular scene. They dance to the song “You Should be Dancing” by the Bee Gees which the characters Tony and Stephanie also danced to in the film.
• Lenny Henry - a British comedian who is married to Dawn French. He hosted the first Red Nose Day on 5 February 1988.
• Rod Hull - a popular entertainer on British television who often appeared with his puppet, Emu; a gag that David Brent copies at the end of the episode.

Gallery

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  Booyakasha.

• 

  Squeel, Piggy!

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  Red Nose Monkey.

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  Suave Neil.

• For more images go to: Gallery:TheOffice_Charity

External links

• BBC episode guide: "Charity"
• Video for Comic Relief featuring Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant