‘The Office’: ‘Koi Pond’ Scene Was Inspired by an Embarrassing Real-Life Moment

TL;DR:

• The Office koi pond moment really happened to one of the show’s writers.
• The writers shared how the real-life embarrassing moment played out.
• The scene cost the show $12,000 total.

When Michael Scott fell into a koi pond on The Office, it seemed slightly absurd. The pricey scene was actually inspired by a real-life moment and required two takes to get right.

‘Office Ladies’ discuss ‘The Office’ episode ‘Koi Pond’

During the March 9 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey discussed The Office Season 6 episode “Koi Pond.”

At one point in the episode, written by Halsted Sullivan and Warren Lieberstein, Michael (Steve Carell) falls into a koi pond in an office lobby. It’s later revealed that Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) didn’t help Michael and security camera footage shows Jim actually leaning back out of the way.

Fischer and Kinsey revealed that the moment is based on a real-life situation that happened to Lieberstein.

“Guys, the plot of Michael falling into a koi pond while on his way to a meeting is based on a real-life event,” Fischer shared.

Kinsey confirmed, “This happened to Warren, you guys — the writer of this episode. Warren and Halstead together went on a meeting and Warren fell into a pond in a lobby.”

The writers explained how the real-life fall unfolded

Lieberstein and Sullivan retold the story for the Office Ladies listeners. “The idea for the story stemmed from my falling into a koi pond,” Lieberstein said. “What had happened was our agents set up a meeting for Halstead and I on the west side of Los Angeles.” Sullivan shared how he went to talk to the receptionist while Lieberstein threw away his gum.

“I see a trash can by the staircase off the corner, so I walk over,” Lieberstein recalled. “After I toss my gum in the trash, I turn and pivot on my right foot. My right foot somehow, though, doesn’t reach the floor.”

Sullivan recalled checking in at the reception desk and hearing “this huge splash.”

Lieberstein said he lost his balance and fell backward. It was disorienting to him, to say the least, but he realized he had fallen into a koi pond. “I am drenched. And all I can say over and over again is, ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.'”

The situation got them plenty of attention, as people came out of their offices to see what had happened. Though they were offered an opportunity to reschedule the meeting, they decided to keep their appointment because returning at another time would be “a traffic nightmare.”

They went to a nearby sporting goods store where Lieberstein got a change of clothes. “But we take the meeting,” he said. “And of course, all we can really talk about is me falling into the koi pond.”

There was plenty of ribbing at his expense, he said. “And then after the meeting, my agent called and said, ‘I heard you made a splash at the meeting,’ which is a line that Erin says in the show,” Lieberstein said.

The koi pond scene cost ‘The Office’ $12,000

Fischer and Kinsey later discussed how much went into the koi pond scene. The show rented a nearby warehouse and they constructed the pond that held a thousand gallons of water and built the walkway across it. There were real koi fish used for filming and they also employed the animal training company’s koi wrangler.

“The total cost for the fish, the holding tanks, the pumps, the filters, and all the labor was $12,000,” Fischer said.

As for Carell, he had to do the stunt twice because one of the cameras set to capture the moment missed the action on the first take. It turns out they didn’t use that footage, however.