The Office (DVD) Review

One of the most refreshing new comedy series on TV- The Office catalogues the inner-workings of a fictional Pennsylvania paper company called Dunder-Mifflin. The name itself alludes to some sort of bureaucratic labyrinth administered by dunderheads- and in reality- it is. Unfortunately- what makes The Office so hilarious is the ability of viewers to relate to the onscreen office culture. The branch office of Dunder-Mifflin viewers are privy to is managed by the politically-incorrect- borderline lunatic Michael Scott (Steve Carell). Using twisted logic to set company policy- worn out clichés as a substitute for leadership- and an endless array of corny group activities to lift employee morale- he creates an office atmosphere that makes the career of Dilbert seem desirable in contrast.

Carell- star of the recent box office hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin- shines in the role of the nutty and eccentric office manager- and his talents are well complimented by Rainn Wilson who plays the part of Michael’s butt-kiss- rule-Nazi lackey- Dwight Schrute. Dwight’s over-the-top antics conflict with the rest of the office- particularly co-worker Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) whom Dwight would like to fire. A charming unspoken office crush between Jim and Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer) makes for an interesting and recurring subplot. Both Jim and Pam epitomize the remainder of the cast of Dunder-Mifflin employees who come across as logical- well-reasoned- and normal individuals. Normal people stuck in a bizarre world where idiots like Michael and Dwight preside over their working hours. Similar in theme to the equally funny feature film Office Space- The Office provides us with a much more excitable Bill Lumbergh lording over an army of Peter Gibbons-like worker bees. For creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant- who first experienced success with the concept in the UK- it’s a recipe for pure- unadulterated laughter.

The Office (Season 1) DVD features six hilarious episodes including the season premiere in which a camera crew arrives at Dunder-Mifflin in order to film a documentary. Naturally- Michael tries to portray himself as a brilliant steward of office productivity- while office enemies Jim and Dwight engage in a series of desk battles. Viewers also get a glimpse of the regular flirtations between Jim and Pam. Other notable episodes include “Diversity Day” in which Michael engages in a feeble and half-hearted attempt to shed light on office diversity- while alienating most of his employees in the process- and “Health Care” in which Michael- afraid of bearing bad news- delegates his authority to Dwight who creates an utter fiasco of the company health care plan.

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Below is a list of episodes included on The Office (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (Pilot) Air Date: 03-24-2005

The Office (DVD) Review

The Office (DVD) Review

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