Watching the first season of The Office was pretty jarring, only because of the reminder of what the show use to be instead of what is has become as the series wore on. This season is the complete opposite of what The Office (Season Eight) is now. Getting a chance to revisit ground zero for the show was fun because suddenly I was extremely uncomfortable with the character Michael Scott (Steve Carell). I mean reeeeeeeeally uncomfortable. So much so I kept squirming in my seat which is something I haven't done in such a long time while watching The Office.

Steve Carell is just an absolute revelation here and I can't quite put my finger on how he morphed into such a lovable character over the years when starting from a character that no one in their right mind would like. Maybe it was because I got use to his antics that it lost its squirm-inducing factor. I dunno. I loved the original UK version and looking back now I can see why this version worked so well. Sadly, the first season only has 6 episodes.

I highly recommend this as a Buy.

Nice to go back to where it all started for the American version of The Office. If you are a true fan of the show, then you are most likely a fan of the BBC version with Ricky Gervais and will immediately pick up on the fact that the Pilot is literally a translation of the BBC episode. From the way this was filmed, the jello gag and some of the ad-lib improvisation, you will feel right at home here. I love both versions for sure, but the American version of the show wouldn't really start to find itself until the second episode. Many people, myself included have criticized the Pilot as being a blatant ripoff of the BBC episode. That was my thought when I first saw the remake. But over the years I have soften quite a bit to actually really liking this one for many reasons.

I gotta point out something while watching this episode. I think it was the Season 5 DVD which had a Q&A Session with the cast of The Office and Steve Carell had mentioned that he has never seen an episode of the BBC version because he didn't want to be influenced by anything that Gervais had done. But while watching the Pilot, there are some words that Carell said that were vintage 'David Brent'. They both say the word 'Kinky' exactly the same way. I dunno, I think Carell definitely has seen some of the original Office or it was a major coincidence.

Another instant classic and highly entertaining episode that has Dwight in charge of picking a new Health Care plan for The Office. Um, why on Earth would anyone allow him of all people to pick a Health Care plan? We all know he will do anything it takes to save money for the company all in an effort to look good to corporate in the hopes that he will get a promotion. Some great sight gags and one-liners here, especially the "diseases" they use on their forms like spontaneous dental hydroplosion and killer nano-robot technology. Easily an A+.

Epic. One of the most popular and instantly recognizable episodes of The Office. There's really no plot in this one. It's more about sight gags than anything else, but the gags are very memorable. Stanley "dribbling" a basketball. Dwight drinking water with his face guard still on. Michael's "shooting" technique. Jim making Roy look like an idiot on the court. You just can't find anything wrong about this episode at all. Love it.

With these little mini reunions with the cast fresh in my mind, I had an overwhelming need to jump back into the world of The Office. I didn't realize that it has been 5 years since I last did an Office Marathon. Just finished the First Season, just started the Second Season.