Janie BoschmaDuring the school year, many of us find ourselves needing to get away, whether it’s going outside to toss the frisbee, or enjoying our favorite ice cream. My personal favorite, which I’m sure many of you share, happens every Thursday night at 8 p.m. when I sit down with Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam from “The Office.”
This sitcom has become a pop culture phenomenon like an inescapable epidemic. Yesterday, I caught myself nodding off in class only to see the girl sitting next to me watching episodes on her iPod. There are more and more Facebook groups about “The Office,” students have even added the “Office of the day quote” application. Perhaps it has something to do with Steve Carell’s character Michael Scott and his notorious one-liners. Even I catch myself saying “that’s what she said” in every conversational opportunity.
I won’t deny my former obsession before this show; last year you could not pry me away from “Grey’s Anatomy.” Now I find myself taping “Grey’s” to watch “The Office,” which runs at the same time. Instead of debating who I would have save my life, McDreamy or McSteamy, I find myself day dreaming that I might become an employee of Dunder Mifflin. My “secret” crush on Jim Halpert seems to have as much staying power as this clever and witty show and I don’t see it going away anytime soon.
For those of you non-“Office” fans, I have come up with a list of my top 10 favorite episodes in the order they first appeared:
1. “Diversity Day” – When a consultant comes and attempts to teach tolerance and diversity through exercises, Michael butts in suggesting everyone say a race that they are “sexually attracted to,” then stating he will “go last” while pointing at Dwight. Michael ends the day with some inspiration for everyone – “Abraham Lincoln once said that ‘if you’re a racist, I will attack you with the North.’ And those are the principles that I carry with me in the workplace.”
2. “The Dundies” – Everyone’s “favorite” time of the year, when Michael makes up his own award ceremony, acknowledging everyone for their “good work.” The ceremony takes place in a Chili’s restaurant with a parody version of “OPP” by Naughty by Nature performed by Michael assisted by Dwight as the opening act. A few of those who received trophies were, Ryan (hottest in the office), and Kevin (don’t go in after me-“for that time I went into the toilet after you and it really smelled”).
3. “Sexual Harassment” – Notorious for his inappropriate sexual comments, Michael is warned by upper management that he must abide by sexual harassment policies to avoid lawsuits. Michael announces to the staff they can no longer be friends anymore, only work related issues can be discussed and that he would retire from comedy. Skeptical about Michael’s ability to act professionally, Jim decides to test him by saying “That’s going to be really hard. Are you sure you can last all day? I know you always left me smiling and satisfied.”
Michael, straining, said “… that’s what she said!” as he’s ushered back into his office by Jan and his lawyer.
4. “Office Olympics” – While Michael and Dwight are out of the office for the day trying to close a deal on a new condo for Michael, Jim and Pam arrange for the staff to participate in an “Office Olympics.” The workers play invented games such as Dunderball, Hate Ball and Flonkerton. In the end they receive gold, silver or blue medals made of yogurt lids for their valiant skills.
5. “The Injury” – When Michael burns his foot with his George Foreman mini-grill, he demands help from the staff, especially when he finds himself in between a hard place and the toilet. The entire office staff is forced to work around his new injury. Meanwhile, Dwight is being unusually nice and helpful towards Pam. It isn’t until the end of the show we learn the car accident Dwight was in gave him a concussion but everyone was too distracted by Michael’s over dramatized injury to notice.
6. “Casino Night” – In the season 2 finale, the employees of Dunder Mifflin hold a full blown illegal gambling casino night for a “charity event,” where “Lady Fortune” is the boss for the night, deciding everyone’s fate, instead of Michael for once. The staff plunders through the night drinking and gambling. After much anticipation, Jim confesses his love to Pam, who is already engaged to Roy. After a passionate kiss, we are left wondering who Pam will decide to be with.
7. “Grief Counseling” – Learning to cope with the loss of former Regional Manager Ed Truck, Michael struggles to pull the company through this hard time. With Dwight’s assistance, Michael dreams of creating a robot in Ed’s honor, one that is “life-like” but only two-thirds the height, in case he “decides to turn on us.” Michael, at a loss for words and unable to describe his grief, says “I lost Ed Truck … and it feels like somebody took my heart and dropped it into a bucket of boiling tears … and at the same time, somebody else is hitting my soul in the crotch with a frozen sledgehammer …”
8. “Safety Training” – In this episode, all of the employees must undergo a safety training day after Michael accidentally injures Darryl during a practical joke. Meanwhile, Michael and Dwight try dropping watermelons from the building rooftop onto a trampoline for “safety testing purposes.” When taken outside for their safety “demonstration,” Pam and Jim realize Michael may actually “kill himself while pretending to kill himself” if he jumps off the roof onto the blown up toy castle.
9. “Beach Games” – Michael decides to plan a day of “Survivor,” filled with competitions for the staff. The “survivor” would receive Michael’s job as the prize, as he moves to corporate. Some of the events include hot dog eating contests and sumo wrestling. At one point, Andy is knocked into the water and sent floating away in his overweight sumo wrestling suit.
10. “Fun Run” – In the fourth season, the premiere opens with Michael confessing he didn’t get the job at corporate but Ryan, his “brain child,” did. On his way to work, Michael hits Meredith with his car, putting her in the hospital. Chaos ensues the entire day: Jim and Pam confess they are dating, Dwight kills Angela’s cat by putting in the freezer for “humane reasons,” and Michael believes the office is cursed
My love for this show and the relationship I have with it could best be described by Dwight – “We make a great team. We’re like one of those classic famous teams. He’s like Mozart and I’m like … Mozart’s friend. No. I’m like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like … Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart? You’re gonna get a bullet in your head, courtesy of Butch Cassidy.”TM
Gillard is a sophomore broadcast journalism major and guest columnist for The Spectator.
