The Office: The Hilarious True Story That Inspired “Koi Pond”
"Koi Pond" featured one of the funniest scenes from The Office, and the accident in focus actually happened to one of the show's writers. The eighth episode of season 6 was directed by Reggie Hudlin and aired in October 2009. The installment was written by writing partners Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein; the latter of which is the brother of Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby Flenderson on the NBC sitcom. Here's what happened in "Koi Pond," and how the episode wasn't a complete work of fiction.
The season 6 episode focused on Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Michael Scott (Steve Carell) attending a meeting with a special client. After Jim set up the meeting, the client specifically requested that Michael joined along. When the two men return to the workplace, Michael was sopping wet. It was later revealed from security footage that Michael slipped and fell into a koi pond located in the lobby of the site of the meeting. Not only did Michael accidentally step on one of the fish, but it was proven that Jim deliberately stepped back rather than helping his coworker. The intense mocking led to a day of sensitivity training. "Koi Pond" has since become more noteworthy considering it originally featured a Halloween-themed cold open that was later cut from the Netflix version.
As explained in The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, an oral history written by Andy Greene, many of the writers from The Office used real-life experiences as the inspiration behind key storylines or gags. Some examples included Stamford branch's Call of Duty obsession, Dwight's Princess Unicorn stockpile, and Jim walking in on someone sitting on a toilet. One of the best incidents to make the jump to The Office was the "Koi Pond" event. Rather than Jim and Michael, the real-life koi pond incident occurred to season 6 writers, Sullivan and Lieberstein — but the outcome was essentially the same.
Sullivan and Lieberstein documented the hilarious accident in Greene's book. Before working on The Office, the pair had a meeting with an executive in a fancy building. The lobby had marble floors and was built like an open atrium. Lieberstein walked away to throw out the gum he was chewing, but he was having trouble adjusting his eyes in the bright sunlight inside the lobby. After finding the trashcan, Lieberstein turned as his back foot missed the ground, forcing him to fall right into the building's koi pond. Sullivan and Lieberstein described it as a full "Nestea Plunge" as the man was completely drenched from falling backward.
Lieberstein figured that the meeting would need to be rescheduled due to the commotion and extreme embarrassment. Instead, he rushed to a nearby sporting goods store to buy a dry outfit, and the pair carried through with the meeting. The incident became a much-talked-about story in the years leading up to their hiring at The Office. It then became a focal point for a key episode much to the dismay of Carell. The actor was a good sport, but he wasn't a fan of filming the pond sequence. He even questioned if the situation was realistic, causing Lieberstein to bashfully recount his tale. Thankfully, NBC released an extended version of the scene, featuring Michael flailing around in the shallow pond, which can be found on the show's YouTube channel.