Watching The Office

Last night’s episode? Awkwaaaard!

A dinner party is in itself an awkward situation, particularly one where the boss tricks you into coming to it. And then to actually witness your boss and his girlfriend’s passive-aggressive dysfunction? Endure three hours of it before actually eating? Play the dumbest game of charades among people from work you don’t actually like? Have the boss’ girlfriend suspect you were once sleeping with her lover? I would really do anything to get out of it!

Unfortunately for Jim and Pam, they had to weather through a night in…hell….where Jan is the devil! At one point Jim schemed to leave the house, claiming there’s been flooding in his house. He was even ready to leave Pam behind.

The Office’s Dinner Party basically had a simple story. There was no poignant plot twists, except for the fact that we now get to see how domestic life is for Michael and Jan.

Jan is struggling with her new candle-making company, Serenity Jan and occupies two rooms of the house for it. In and around the house, we see little of Michael’s stuff. Except for that $200 13-inch (?) plasma TV. And Michael’s sleep area.

Suffice to say, there’s a strain in their relationship. And Jan has taken over Michael’s condominium while he is reduced to this little insignificant space. The couple bicker about plenty of things, personal things like having kids and Michael’s three vasectomies. I wasn’t a guest at that party, but when I heard that? Ugh…cringe!

Meanwhile, Dwight invites himself to the same party despite Michael telling him: it’s a couples party and they only have six wine glasses.

Dwight out did himself and brings not just his own set of wine glass and the date he claims is his babysitter. He even bought his own food! And was eating way before the other hungry guests were.

The reason for his wanting to join? Angela and Andy, the other couple Michael decided to invite. But alas, we don’t see enough of this conflict. Except at one point when Dwight offers Angela his packed beet salad and she coldly refuses him.

We also learn Jan’s former assistant, Hunter, is now a recording artist. Jim steals that very CD upon leaving Michael’s house, by the way. I would probably do the same, too. The music selection of Hunter’s The Hunted? I can’t decide if it’s cheesy or cool. Either way, I’d like a copy please.

It’s great to see this show back. It made me a lot uncomfortable — but that’s good for a show like The Office. So…I’m glad to see the writing is still brilliant and true to form after the forced hiatus!

The Office, The Office Dinner Party, The Office episode recap

Hot Girl is the last episode for Season 1. It aired last April 2005. The Office USA only had 6 episodes in its first season, since it was a mid-season replacement. The episode had actress, Amy Adams as guest and she played, Katy, the bag lady the guys thought was really hot.

The episode opens with a call from Jan informing Michael that Corporate is rewarding top sales people with a prize worth $1000. While choosing over what this prize would be, Pam tells him that someone wants to sell bags in the premises. Michael told Pam to turn this person away but when he saw how pretty she looked, he took it upon himself to welcome her and even allowed her to set shop at the conference room. Michael directly tells the bag lady, Katy, she’s six times prettier than Pam, who is also just standing in front of him. Being the gracious host he is, Michael offers to show Katy around the office, as well as make her a cup of regular coffee, which he blended using the new espresso machine the company bought for whoever wins the reward.

Jim convinces Dwight to go for the girl and even gave him tips on how to get her.

Jim: There’s so much more to talk to this girl about…you’re both salemen.
Dwight: True. Plus I can talk to her about the origins of my last name.
Jim: Just keep talking to her. If you hit a stall, you have a fallback.
Dwight: What’s that?
Jim: You buy her purse.

Of course, this is just one of Jim’s pranks to get Dwight to make a fool of himself. And he actually did buy her purse and even uses it for her to see.

During lunch, Roy convinces Jim to make a go at Katy, too, saying he would probably do the same if he didn’t have Pam. This statement offended Pam and she walked out of the table.

Michael, meanwhile, has offered to bring Katy home when he found out her ride for that day bailed out on her. He was looking forward to this, and had Ryan help him clean up his car. But by some bad luck, Katy ends up going home with Jim instead.

Need more episode recaps? Visit our recap section here.

The Office, The Office episode recaps, The Office Season 1

This is the last episode for Season 1 of The Office UK and it opens with David Brent firing, Allan, a staff from the warehouse. Allan accuses David of discrimination because he was clearly more able-bodied than his midget companion, Antoine, yet David chose to let go of him. Their meeting, however, turned into a discussion of what the difference is between a dwarf, a midget, an elf and a pixie.

Meanwhile, David gives his new secretary, Karen, a tour of the office. One of the staff, Malcolm, wondered why he had to hire himself one, when he just had to let go of another staff and David makes an unjustifiable explanation. Malcolm tells him he’s worried it might happen to him, too and David assures him everything will be okay and that he will be meeting with his boss, Jennifer, to discuss the status of the branch.

Tim, who has expressed he was quitting the company, is called to David’s office because David would like to find out his reasons for leaving. David wonders if it was a personal reason (Dawn rejected him when Tim asked for a date. The situation between him and Dawn remain awkward.) Tim says he is not enjoying his job anymore and feels it is a waste of time. David gets a little mad because it was he who trained and taught Tim everything about the paper business, and David feels that he’s throwing it all away.

Jennifer arrives for the meeting with David and she had good news. It turns out, Jennifer is being promoted as partner of the company, leaving her job open. The board has voted 5-2 to in favor of David and his branch (Slough) would have to be absorbed by another (Swindon) and that some of his people would have to be fired.

The staff knew of the meeting and were waiting for word from David after Jennifer left. He breaks the “good news” to them, thinking they would be receptive, but knowing that their jobs are on the line, no one was happy about it, except of course, David. Gareth cries upon knowing David is going to leave Slough, to move to corporate.

Later, everyone is at the bar for some drinks when David arrives and tells them that he has decided not to take the new job offer and that Slough branch will remain as it is and no one is losing their jobs. Everyone thought he did a selfless thing but when Malcolm corners him, we essentially find out that the reason why he had to decline the job offer was because he failed his medical exams.

Tim has also decided to stay. David has given him what sounded like a better job offer. He’s still going to be a salesman, but with better pay, apparently. And he is still very much hung up over Dawn.

Need more episode recaps? Visit our recap section here.

The Office, The Office UK, The Office UK episode recap

There’s going to be a game of basketball in the office today. Michael was telling the documentary crew that this was his idea, after the warehouse guys from downstairs saw him play during lunch break. Apparently, they were impressed by him. Or so he claims.

Dwight has some concerns because Michael has exempted him from the game. He assigned him to another task, which required him to look for someone who could come to work on a Saturday and Dwight agreed since that made him feel powerful.

Michael visits the warehouse with Ryan and introduces him to the guys there. He reminds them about the game. But Daryl, the foreman, tells him something has come up at work so they have to reschedule the game. Michael sees it as a way for them to chicken out of the game, so Daryl wants to disprove him and agrees to start the game at 1 PM.

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Donna arrives at the office rather late, and David, who stands as her guardian, scolds him in front of the staff. While David’s reasons and concern are valid, Donna, being old enough to decide for her life, resents that she is berated like a child in public. So, she answers David back and tells him that she did stay over a boy’s pad and it was a boy from the office.

Despite orders from Corporate to cut back on costs, David is hiring himself a secretary and interviews two new prospects, one guy (Stuart) and one pretty girl (Karen). David is not at all interested on Stuart, but pours all attention on Karen. He conducts an interview with her and it was a moment filled with inappropriateness. David is slightly smitten and acts like a pubescent teenager trying to impress the new girl. His antics failed to impress her, and worse David accidentally pokes her eyes with his elbows.

Tim has openly expressed he’s planning to leave the office to pursue a course in psychology. Everyone still remembers how Dawn rejected him when he asked her on a date, and Tim tries to convince them that he was asking her as a friend. Meanwhile, there is a wave of awkwardness between Tim and Dawn, so right now, they aren’t enjoying each other’s company like before.

Gareth, who harbors a secret crush on Donna, conducts a safety training with her as the lone participant. The training is utterly ridiculous and pointless. His real motive though was to press Donna on the details about her rendezvous with the male officemate, to which Donna cleverly avoided.

Down on their luck with women, the boys decide to unwind after work by prowling for some woman companionship and hitting the club scene. But, as things were, they all ended up not having fun that night.

Need more episode recaps? Visit our recap section here.

The Office, The Office UK, The Office UK episode recap

The Alliance opens with Dwight asking Michael about the possible downsizing. He is concerned, perhaps even threatened, that someone else would be chosen to stay over him. Michael tells him that it is something he shouldn’t be worried about. To the documentary crew, Michael says he takes no pleasure in firing a staff.

Dwight notices that people are mingling by the water cooler and gossiping. He suspects everyone is talking about the crisis that is looming in the office. Because he is excluded from this, he brings the water cooler by his table, so that he has more access to the office grapevine.

He approaches Jim for a possible secret alliance and Jim goes along for a ride. Jim tells Pam about it, but Dwight calls on him, reminding him that their alliance is supposed to be just between them. Jim reasons out that he is using Pam to get information, since she has access to Corporate, whenever Michael has meetings with them. Dwight buys Jim’s reason.

So Jim and Pam starts messing around with Dwight. First Jim tells him that there is also another alliance in the office and that they intend to have Dwight get the boot. Then Pam approaches Jim with an intriguing story, all within Dwight’s hearing and satisfaction. Next Jim tells Dwight there’s going to be a secret meeting in the basement and he volunteers to spy on that by hiding in one of the boxes.

Sensing that morale is down, Michael plans to hold an office birthday party for Meredith, who is actually celebrating hers the following month. Michael tells Pam to go ahead with the party today, at least it will really be a surprise for Meredith. A big birthday greeting card for Meredith is passed around and Michael agonizes over what to put. He wants his message to be the funniest, because his staff expected this from him. In the end, his message did not turn out to be funny and instead of bringing their spirits up, everyone is even more reminded of the possibility they could lose their jobs.

Towards the end of the day, Jim approaches Pam and excitedly tells her that he has convinced Dwight to spy on the Stamford branch wearing a blond wig. Jim nonchalantly grabs Pam and they are laughing, just as Roy, her boyfriend, walks in and sees them. He accuses Jim of making a move on Pam. Jim tried to explain to Roy saying that this was all because of his alliance with Dwight. But when Roy asked Dwight if this was true, he denied about the alliance.

Dwight: Do I feel bad about betraying Jim ? Not. At. All.
That’s the game, convincing we’re in an alliance, get some information, throw them to the wolves.

That’s politics, baby. Get what you can out of someone then crush them.
I think Jim might have learned a very valuable lesson.

Need more episode recaps? Visit our recap section here.

The Office, The Office episode recaps, The Office Season 1

Today is staff training day and everyone is required to participate in it. David tells the documentary crew that he could have done the training himself, but the company has hired someone from the outside to do it. The training is all about proper customer care.

Meanwhile Dawn and Lee are arguing at the start of the episode and apparently, they decide to call off the wedding. Dawn is crying and Tim is consoling her. Gareth walks in and also tries to console her; but he says something off, “Don’t worry, Monkey Allen down at the warehouse fancies you, even if no one else does”…. Dawn walks away upset and Tim pounces on Gareth for saying something stupid.

Back at the training, Roan the facilitator, introduces himself to the staff while David stands beside him, also acting like the trainor; sometimes even outdoing and outperforming him. Clearly, David is trying to discredit and undermine Roan’s authority as the trainor hired by the company to educate them.
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The show opens with Michael telling the documentary crew that providing care for his workers and their family is a sacred thing for him. And today, Corporate is asking him to pick a new health care plan. At his meeting with Jan, Michael tells her he has picked the plan that offered all the works, like acupuncture, which is part of the Gold Plan. Jan tells Michael he needs to pick a plan that will also save the company money. Michael is uncomfortable about this sensing his employees would be upset with what he’d choose. Michael calls it a suicide mission, so he gives the task to Jim. But he tells Michael, he’s not up to task and then recommends Dwight, who’s more than willing to take over and decide for the company.

Dwight is a bit overzealous about his task, and demanded a temporary office. Michael situates him in the conference room. Dwight calls this the Dwight Schrute Workspace. Later, Dwight passed around a memo and the staff weren’t too pleased with what was on it. Dwight’s plan has no dental, no vision, with a 1200 salary deduction.

Dwight: In the wild, there is no healthcare. In the wild there is…”Ow, I hurt my leg. I can’t run. A lion eats me, and I’m dead.” Well, I’m not dead. I’m the Lion. You’re dead.

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So we’re back to revisiting and recapping old episodes for both versions of The Office. And today, it’s Episode 3 of UK’s first season, originally aired in July of 2001. It opens with Tim saying to the cameras that today is his birthday…

Thirty year old Tim shows the documentary crew the present from his Mum:

He also receives a card from Dawn, as well as, an unusual present:

The inflatable cock, as Tim calls it, amused their manager, David. He cracks a couple of green jokes in front of them but went too far and got offensive. David tells the documentary crew that there are limits to his “comedy” and he would never make a joke about the handicapped.David gives Tim some words of wisdom about turning 30.

David: It could get worse. This neighbor of mine, he’s 32 and still lives with his parents.
Tim: I live with my parents…
David: Cherish them…really. Because you’ll miss them when they’re not around.

To celebrate Tim’s birthday, Dawn tells everybody there will be drinking and dancing at the bar in the evening. But today is also a special day for David Brent, so there could be a conflict in schedules. The office holds its annual quiz competition tonight and David’s always a participant. He and his partner, Chris Finch, has won this competition for several years and he’s confident he’s going to win again and wants everybody there. So they’re doing the celebration together.

One of David’s competition this year is the newbie, Ricky. David learns Ricky is a master at trivia games. In fact, he’s already won in a TV quiz competition before. So, David tries to test how good he is and at the same time, prove to Ricky he’s in for a stiff round. Unfortunately, David does learn Ricky is good at this game, so he David has to do his homework.

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Some of my best-loved moments from The Office’s season four so far. In no particular order:

Meredith falling on Michael’s windshield. Why it belongs on this list isn’t to make fun of an accident like this. But it’s a very important scene, one that would set off an event that would open Season 4 — the Fun Run. The whole episode is a special one, in fact. It would be the first one-hour show The Office has done.

Jim and Pam stealing a moment. They were seen secretly holding hands during the Fun Run, signaling to PB & J shippers (and much to their delight) that, yes, Jim and Pam are indeed together.

The Whomever/Whoever debate. It’s a scene that had all of the characters contributing something to make it probably one of the funniest moments in the history of the series. It’s like watching a basketball match, with each character throwing their lines and someone else catches it just at the right time, and delivers an answer. Perfection.

Creed dyeing his hair black using the printer ink. Creed is THE man!

Meredith asking Jim to sign her cast. Nothing beats that It’s one of those scenes where you have to not turn your head away from the television or blink because you’d miss it pretty quickly. It’s one of those wacky little things about this show, an absurd and awkward scenario, which doesn’t fail to make me laugh everytime.

Dwight crying and Jim is there to console him. It’s touching to watch, but at the same time it’s also funny. Only this show and those actors can deliver both so well. I can’t imagine Dwight showing any human emotion, but there it was.

Kelly trash talks Pam. How did that go again? “Hey, hey, you, you! I don’t want your boyfriend, coz he sucks at pingpong!”

Mose encounters at the Schrute’s bed and breakfast. In this particular scene, Dwight was telling his guests a bedtime story and Mose freakishly looks on to the vacationing couple, Jim and Pam. Just so funny!

Michael in the deposition, after hearing what Jan has to say about his performance as boss. He was basically disappointed his girlfriend had little faith in his capabilities as regional manager. You can see the hurt in his eyes. Steve Carell did an awesome job here.

Andy serenades Angela.

The Office, The Office Top 10 Moments Season 4, The Office best moments

Someone from Corporate is coming into the office today to hold a Diversity seminar, following an incident where Michael does the Chris Rock routine (involving racial puns) that lead some of the staff to file a complaint against him. Everyone is required to undergo the seminar, including Michael, who isn’t used to having to listen to someone else on the floor. He disrupts the situation by almost taking over the trainer’s role. Michael suggested, or rather, imposed, a different kind of activity, but Mr. Brown interjects…

Mr. Brown: Michael, I would love to have your permission to run the session. Can I have your permission? And it would also help me if you are seated….

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First Aired on British TV: July 16, 2001

The episode opens with all the staff in the conference room in meeting with David who is still assuring them that there will be no one losing their jobs. We also see the introduction of young Donna, the latest staff to join their office and who happens to be the daugher of one of David’s best friends. David tells them Donna is staying at his place, so she is his responsibility. But as a joke the men on his staff make sexist remarks that David thought was funny; except for one who David took offense and asked to leave the room.

Staff: Wouldn’t mind escaping out her tunnel.
David: … Get out…… (staff leaves the room)…I will not have her tunnel bounded around at this office willy-nilly….

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First Aired on NBC: March 25, 2005.

The episode opens with Michael Scott, the regional manager, talking to Jim Halpert, one of his sales people, inside his office. Michael is showing Jim how a good sale is done, establishing that he’s one hell of a salesperson (that, I really believe to be true despite his shortcomings). He tells the documentary crew doing a story on them, that he’s been with Dunder Mifflin, the paper company for 12 years. He then introduces Pam Beesly to them. Like the British version, Michael inadvertedly makes an offensive comment about her, believing he was being funny. Pam gives Michael his fax message from Corporate and he tells here where to keep it: in the waste basket.

He tells the documentary crew he’s been told he’s the best boss around, and proudly shows a mug that says it is so (he actually bought it at Spencer’s Gifts).

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First Aired on British TV: July 2001

The place: Slough in Southeast England.
The setting: Wernham Hogg paper company.

David Brent, the office manager who thinks he’s one likeable person, is interviewing someone applying for a job at the company’s warehouse. The first minutes of this scene already shows the viewers the kind of character he is: one who tries to be friendly with his co-workers, but ends up irritating them instead.

In the next scene, we meet lovely Dawn Tinsley, the receptionist. David also introduces her to the “documentary film crew” who, as viewers soon find out, will be following them around the office for the entire series. David says something that he intended to be funny, but was in fact derogatory.

David Brent: “I’d say at one time or another, every bloke in the office worked at ‘the crack of Dawn’”.

Dawn did not find that amusing.

She gives him the fax message from Head Office and David tells her it was supposedly filed in the special filing cabinet: the waste paper basket.

David lounges around the receptionist area, telling Dawn about the night he had with his buddy Chris Finch, the company’s traveling salesman. David likes to show people he has a social life (non-existent) and he’s at the prime of his years (he isn’t). He tells Dawn that there was an elder man at the bar last night who couldn’t handle his liquor. Dawn alludes that he has also been drinking too much and this quickly upsets David and goes off on her.

David: You seem to know a lot about my drinking…it’s offensive, huh. It’s a little bit personal. Imagine if I start doing that to you. I look at you and I start becoming witty and biting like you’re bit. But I don’t. Coz I am professional.

Dawn looks a bit stunned as David walks away.

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Guess what I’ve decided to do over the weekend? I watched old episodes from The Office Season 1, for both the USA and the UK versions! I’m taking it all in. I’m doing my best to take notes of even the very little things about the series, things and tidbits I completely ignored when I was watching it before.

This site, WatchingTheOffice went live on October of 2006, which was the start of the show’s third season. And in rewatching the episodes this week, I’m hoping to shoot two birds with one stone — 1) fill the void left by the show’s absence since the strike; and 2) fill this blog with back episode recaps and notes.

To start with, every fan of the show knows that the series originally began airing on British Television in 2001. The concept was simple: a camera follows an everyday man at the office and their story is told documentary style.

The British version was actually the first one I saw, nearly a year before the USA version would premiere its pilot episode (2005). My first reaction to the original production was actually — pleasant disbelief. I kept asking friends who’ve seen it before I did (and who were the ones who’ve recommended it) if it was an actual office and if those in the cast aren’t actors. What the UK version brought was a very realistic portrayal of the average person; and the embarrassing situations their boss goes through was nothing I’ve seen on television before. I sometimes couldn’t get the British references, I have to admit, but taking that out of the equation, I still found the the show watchable and very entertaining.

When the USA version premiered, Coupling (which was another British Series adapted for the USA-audience) had just an unsuccessful run in America. Hence, I didn’t have very high expectations from The Office USA. But maybe it was because they did the pilot episode exactly like its British counterpart, that it made me actually want to tune to the next episode…and then the next…and then the next…to see how they would treat the “adaptation”.

So that’s when it all began for me.

This week, I’ll do my best to put in mini-recaps of each of the episodes from Season 1. In the meantime, I’d like to hear about your first time watching this series (any version).

When was it and was it good (or bad) for you? —> This phrase feels like it needs a “That’s what she said!” comeback! Bwaha.

The Office, The Office USA, The Office UK, Coupling, The Office British Version