Written yesterday afternoon before the airing:
Tonight is the last night of "The Office." If you have followed my blog long enough, you would have appreciated that I have a special place in my heart for this show (
here &
here). It might actually be the first show that I've stuck with. In fact, many people don't know this about me but I didn't start watching "The Office" from the beginning in 2005...gasp! I know, shocking. I was a senior in undergrad when my roommates allowed me to start watching the entire series (Seasons 1-3) on DVD. I'd come home from class or work,walk up the three flights of stairs and sit on the living room floor doing homework to an entire DVD of "The Office." From that point, I was hooked. So we are talking about a 5 year old relationship, at least.
Written after the airing:
When I was preparing for my
"The Office" birthday party, I re-watched all of the seasons again on Netflix just to determine the activities, the menu and select my favorite moments to share with the attendees. Here are my top 10 favorite office moments of all time:
1. The Injury.
A hysterical early office episode where Michael grills his foot by stepping on his George Foreman grille. He claims to enjoy waking up to the smell of bacon so he sets an alarm, places bacon on the grill and goes back to sleep (since he can't afford a butler). On this particular occasion, he steps on the grill and spends the remainder of the episode feigning a handicap while Dwight suffers from a concussion.
2. Michael's Last Dundies.
Michael's last Dundies episode will ring in my brain forever as the entire office finished the episode with a parody of "Season of Love" from rent.
3. Casual Friday.
Meredith was a staple character with her off-the-cuff style and crazy antics. Of course, she would be one of the "rule breakers" on casual Friday. Her carefree absence of undergarments was hysterical!
4. Niagara.
The marriage of Jim and Pam was a company-wide affair. In the midst of an emotional breakdown, Pam takes a mental picture of Jim who comes to her with an alternative plan of how they should get married. I remember seeing this episode the first time with my husband before we were even married.
5. The Alliance.
Again, a brief moment in this Office episode takes the cake. Dwight and Jim form an alliance over this "downsizing" issue. Jim and Pam use this opportunity to prank Dwight. Dwight hides in a box in the warehouse and Pam fakes a phone call discussing her knowledge of the downsizing. Dwight inches closer and closer to her, finally tipping the box and Pam runs off cracking up hysterically. I do too.
6. The Golden Ticket.
Andy Bernard tries so hard to figure out the final bit of the "Kit Kat" jingle. From football cream to Chrysler car the episode ends with him finally thinking he solved it. Nailed it.
7. The Surplus.
Small moments such as the opening of the episode, where Oscar is trying to explain to Michael what a "surplus" is and why it is important to spend the budget is what made The Office a classic. Oscar finishes his 5 minute explanation using a lemonade stand as a metaphor and Michael responds with,"Ok, now explain it to me as if I was three."
8. The Merger.
Dunder Mifflin is bought out by this new printer company in Tallahassee, FL called Sabre (truly pronounced saber) but in preparation for the welcoming of a new employee and Sabre representative, Gabe, Andy and Erin write a parody welcome song to the tune of "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Turns out, the phonetic pronunciation rhymed better turning into an awkward rendition! This episode is just fantastic, chocked full of great scenes such as when Michael and David Wallace hang out in the hot tub and talk about David's groundbreaking idea for a childhood toy vacuum, "Suck It." The Sabre H.R. video with Christian Slater also is full of laughs.
9. Dwight's Speech.
Dwight wins salesman of the year and panics over the speech he must deliver. Jim, faking a public speaking major, coaches him through examples of dictators and their poignant historical speeches. Dwight opens with my favorite line from the entire episode: "Blood Alone Moves the Wheels of History."
10. The Finale.
The final scene where Pam takes her watercolor painting of the business park off of the wall just where Michael placed it in the beginning brought tears. Jenna Fischer, the actress who played Pam Beasley Halpert, commented in a recent interview that this picture would be one of the souvenirs that she wanted from the set. I would select that too. And maybe a dundie.
The Office has grown to mean so much to me as a show, as an outlet on Thursday nights, as a hobby and it pains me to watch the very last, new episode. Videos and Sporcle games were played in preparation. Tears were anticipated. And they were achieved because Michael came back. I knew he would.
