🌆📺The Sitcom Café☕🛋️

I know what most are thinking – we don’t discuss the first season of The Office (U.S.). We all know that when trying to introduce someone to the TV show The Office (U.S.), we often say something along the lines of, “You can skip the first season, though.”

I love The Office and have expressed those exact words before. However, I have made the decision to stop ignoring Season 1. Sure, it’s cringy and not the best season of the show by far. There are fewer funny scenes, and it tries to mimic the dry British humour of The Office (U.K.). Nevertheless, I believe it is essential to watch, especially for those who have never seen it before. They should endure it until the end because what we gain from the first season provides valuable insights into the characters we grow to love and watch over the following eight seasons.

Let’s dissect the season by examining each episode to uncover what is crucial for understanding these characters, along with some humorous moments that are often overlooked when recalling the infamous first season.

Episode 1: The Pilot

Images (Above) Daniels, Greg, et al. “The Pilot.” The Office (U.S.), season 1, episode 1, NBC, 24 Mar. 2005.

The Pilot is probably one of the most skippable episodes for those who have already seen the show and are rewatching it. I get it, I have been there too, but coming from the perspective of someone who has already watched the series several times I must say that it is refreshing to see how far the characters have come from the very first episode. Even the lighting and the feel of the office are all different. I do find this happens with most pilot episodes for sitcoms, the first episode simply does not match either the rest of the season or in this case the rest of the whole series.

In fact, it feels like the darkest episode, literally, all the office workers have long faces, no joy, they seem droned out and miserable. This is what we’re supposed to view them as at the base level so when there is humour we are rooting for them to keep going with it – we want them to find joy in this meek environment as maybe we all would if we worked there.

What’s great about this Pilot, however, is that it establishes the foundation for what is now expected from the show. It is evident that this is not your typical sitcom, devoid of a laugh track guiding your laughter or relying on catchy one-liners and common catchphrases. Instead, it adopts a mockumentary style, serving as a satirical portrayal of office life, where individuals strive to amuse themselves and endure the day. This theme resonates throughout the series, and if you pay attention to computer screens in various episodes, you’ll often notice the characters usually playing Solitaire—a game notorious for being a distraction from work and a pastime for the bored.

Episode 2: Diversity Day

Diversity Day is probably my least favourite episode due to the discomfort it brings. Simply watching it fills me with second-hand embarrassment. Nonetheless, I make a genuine effort to find the jokes within and laugh along in order to lighten the mood. I understand the intention behind this episode—it aims to capture that cringeworthy, awkward dad-like humour that can be embarrassing. If we take a step back and view Michael Scott’s humour in this context—as a clueless, well-meaning father figure attempting to bring laughter but ultimately failing—we can find some amusement in his remarks. The sheer awkwardness he embodies in this episode reveals his character, making it important to witness episodes like this.

We also see how oblivious Michael is to his own faults, the meeting was directed more towards him after an incident where he impersonated Chris Rock causing some controversy. When explained directly to him that this day was more geared toward correcting his past mistakes, Michael childishly does not understand the severity of his actions. Michael shows throughout the episode the racism in him, and the more he proves he is not, the more we see how he is and simply cannot see it. We see he does not take this seriously when he does end up signing the paper for corporate at the end but signs it Daffy Duck, thinking it’s hilarious and not realizing the importance of the whole situation.

Michael Scott clearly has a lot to grow from, this shows his beginnings and who he was supposed to be, while the other seasons show this type of humour it is definitely toned down compared to the first season.

Episode 3: Health Care

The Health Care Day episode is probably my second least favourite episode, as I find it a little more on the annoying side, we see Dwight take charge of distributing the news of the new health care plan and he tries to give them as little benefits as possible. Everyone is pissed off and he hosts a meeting to show why he stands by these changes.

In this episode we get to understand Dwight’s character a little better, Dwight is a brownnosing, suck-up to the boss and he is constantly trying to prove himself as smart and better than others because of the way he views progress at work. We see Dwight’s strong and overbearing personality towards everyone at the office and as we see this is a guy we personally would not like to work with – we root for Jim whenever he messes with him.

Dwight’s character is needed in a work environment like this, he is the cause for a lot of side interviews among the other characters and we get to see how everyone feels about co-workers that act like a micromanaging manager. How can we truly appreciate Dwight in the following seasons without seeing his beginning scenes in the office and how cold and direct he can be with his fellow workers?

Episode 4: The Alliance

Images Above: Daniels, Greg, Mindy Kaling, et al. “The Alliance.” The Office (U.S.), season 1, episode 4, NBC, 12 Apr. 2005.

“The Alliance” is undoubtedly one of the standout episodes of Season 1. It showcases a delightful blend of workplace antics and avoids the discomfort caused by overly serious jokes. In this episode, Jim takes it upon himself to play a prank on Dwight by orchestrating a false sense of conspiracy, making Dwight believe that people are plotting against them and colluding to gather inside information. However, the truth is that nothing of the sort is actually happening. It’s more likeable humour and a good set-up after we saw from the first few episodes that Dwight isn’t well-liked at the office so watching Jim (a more likeable character) mess with him is quite funny.

Jim: “OK, listen, we need to assume that everyone in the office is forming an alliance and is therefore trying to get us kicked off.”

Dwight: “God… Damn it! Why us?!”

Jim: “Because we’re strong, Dwight. Because we’re strong.”

Daniels, Greg, Mindy Kaling, et al. “The Alliance.” The Office (U.S.), season 1, episode 4, NBC, 12 Apr. 2005.

Throughout the entire episode, we are treated to glimpses of the extent to which the prank unfolds. Jim even enlists Pam’s help, providing us with an opportunity to witness how they interact with each other in a more fun vibe. This allows us to observe their friendship and provides insights into the dynamics of Pam’s relationships with her fiancé, Roy, and Jim. In fact, this episode effectively portrays the discontent within Pam and Roy’s relationship, while highlighting the closeness shared between Pam and Jim. Roy’s lack of kindness towards Pam and his disapproval of Jim growing closer to her are evident. If we are to root for Jim and hope he ends up with Pam, it becomes crucial for us to develop negative feelings towards the person she is currently involved with, and this episode successfully accomplishes that.

Episode 5: Basketball

The Basketball episode is a fun episode, you get to see the workplace engaging in their first activity in the show that does not involve working at their desks. The importance of this episode is to again, share more character development. In this case, we see Michael and how he behaves as a winner and as a loser. Both seem undesirable and we get back to his awkward humour, but instead of an awkward silence after something said that’s usually controversial we see Michael’s childlike attitude towards sportsmanship. We see this when he instigates the warehouse guys into a basketball match.

We get to see what the warehouse workers are like, they seem to have a chill, respectful vibe amongst them, unlike the workers up in the office. Compared to the upstairs office workers, the warehouse staff exudes a more laid-back demeanour, fostering a genuine sense of friendship and camaraderie among themselves. Michael can’t help but see this and feels he needs to win to show them they are superior in general, though his team is clearly not having fun and he chooses to not see the talent in others as he believes people who are tall, good-looking and, well, black are more suitable for the team. While it is difficult to watch, we all may know someone like Michael and this is who Michael is trying to embody.

Episode 6: Hot Girl

In the episode “Hot Girl,” we get to meet guest star Amy Adams as she plays a purse salesperson that visits the office in hopes to sell her merchandise. At first, the thought of her job was dismissed by Michael, but after seeing how attractive she looks he allows her to stay and set up shop for the day in the conference room. This disrupts the office as there is a new person – a new hot person, someone that took caught the interest of Michael, Dwight, Kevin and even Jim. Although it can be cringy to see Michael and Kevin pining over her trying to shoot their own shot in there, we do get to see some comedy from Dwight and Jim. Jim encourages Dwight to go for it with her and even goes as far as convincing him to buy a purse from her. Jim watches and laughs with Pam from afar, and here you can really see how Pam and Jim love joking around together.

There are other moments outside of the “hot girl” situation in the office area. We get to see Michael and Ryan have their moments in Michael’s messy car.

Ryan: “What about this bottle of power drink?”

Michael: “Uh, what flavor?”

Ryan: “Blue.”

Michael: “Blue’s not a flavour.”

Ryan: “It says flavor: Blue Blast.

Michael: Oh, Blue Blast. Yes, put that in the trunk…”

Daniels, Greg, Mindy Kaling, and Ricky Gervais. “Hot Girl.” The Office (U.S.), season 1, episode 6, NBC, 26 Apr. 2005.

This is the last episode of the first season, and while we are still struggling with trying to laugh along with the small gems of funny scenes throughout the episode, it does not feel as dark, literally, as in the first episode, we see it lighten up, and the possibility of more workplace misadventures. We love to see how people find time to waste while at work because doing paperwork at the end of the day is kind of boring. We are also introduced to a new dynamic, as we see Jim ask out the hot girl, something we might not have expected since we see that he is clearly into Pam. The way Pam reacts is not what one would expect from an engaged person, she almost seems surprised, maybe even jealous? This is interesting to the viewers as we do not know whether to root for them (Jim and Pam) 100% or not yet – we just are hoping she doesn’t end up with Roy. We also feel bad for Jim, to desire someone who is getting married is hard to watch so when we see him trying to date other women we do hope all goes well for the guy.

In conclusion, this season effectively captures the essence of an office environment. The dim lighting from fluorescent lights, the evident conflicts with an eccentric boss, and the collective desire to simply pass the time until the workday is over and they can return to their personal lives — only to repeat the cycle the following day. It encapsulates the repetitive nature of office life and the longing for freedom outside of those walls. This season was perfect to start with, knowing it could only go up from there. I’m glad they didn’t stick with this theme but instead enhanced and grew from it. This season shows they add some office humour mixed with awkwardness and we love to witness it from a documentary-style view and we are prepared to see what happens next.

Do you agree? Let me know what you think in the sit-comments below! 🙂

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