Tommy Olsen: May 2013

When I was in high school I didn't really watch much TV. It's not that I was doing homework, because homework in high school was something I avoided like the plague, but it was usually because I was out with my friends or playing sports of some kind. I loved movies, but I never really got around to watching TV, (except for a little Spongebob here and there) One night though when I was a junior in highschool I found myself bored at home on a Thursday night with nothing to do so I turned on the TV and started channel surfing. After a few minutes my brother Myke walked in and asked if he could turn on a show called The Office. I had never heard of it and I wasn't really watching anything so I said sure. As we started watching I was a little perplexed by this show, it was like no other TV show I had ever seen. The characters felt and looked like really people. The only recognizable face was Steve Carrell, and I only knew him then as Brick from Anchorman. After about 10 minutes of watching I was hook.

image from here

Over the next few weeks I started tuning in every Thursday night to watch The Office, and each week the episodes got funnier and funnier. One thing that's great about this show is that it's not just a comedy, but it's has a lot of heart. This show felt like I was getting to know a group people and the more I watched the more I got to know them. I felt like I had become connected to the characters, almost like they were old friends.

It's been so fun to watch the characters change and evolve or the last 9 years. Not only have I been entertained by this show, but I've also learned a few things along the way. In the last few seasons the show hasn't been quite as good as the first seasons, but it's still been enjoyable to see how each of the characters end up.

image from here

With the season finale premiering tomorrow night, I wanted to give a shout out to some of my favorite episodes of the series. It was hard to narrow it down but I picked 10 of my favorite episodes, and here they are:

10. Basketball- Season 1

Synopsis:
Michael and the office staff take on the workers in the warehouse in a basketball game.

Things I love about this episode:
Michael thinking he's a baller
When Michael assumes Stanley is good at basketball
Dwights facemask
The Jim and Roy rivalry begins

9. Beach Games- Season 3

Synopsis:

Michael thinks he is getting a job in corporate so he holds beach games to find a successor to take over the position of manager.

Things I love about this episode:
Jim names his team Voldemort
The Sumo Wrestling Suits
Andy getting stuck in a Sumo Suit in the lake
Pam's Speech

8. Branch Closing-Season 3

Synopsis:
The Dunder Mifflin gang are told that their branch is being closed, only to be told later that they are actually merging their branch with another. Before Michael is told about the merger he and Dwight set off on a quest to stop corporate from closing their branch.

Things I love about this episode:
Michael telling everyone about the branch closing before he's suppose to
Dwight creeping out Michael while them reminisce about old times
Jim and Pam wondering if they are going to see each other again
Michael and Dwight celebrating thinking they got their branch back

7. Goodbye Michael- Season 7

Synopsis:
Michael prepares to leave for Colorado, and spends his last day in the office saying goodbye to everyone individually.

Things I love about this episode:

Deangelo and Andy's sales call

Jim's goodbye to Michael
Michael's good bye to the warehouse
Michael and Dwight's paintball fight

6. Niagara-Season 6

Synopsis:
Jim and Pam's wedding!

Things I love about this episode:
Jim and Pam finally get married
Kevin's hair and kleenex box shoes
Michael and Dwight trying to find dates
Michael spending the night in the ice machine room
Andy's dancing incident

5. Conflict Resolution- Season 2

Synopsis:
Michael realizes that there are a lot of unresolved conflicts in the office, and goes about trying to resolve them, and somehow turns out making things worse than they were.

Things I love about this episode:
Michael's determination to resolve all the office conflicts, even the ones that have already been resolved
Jim and Dwight's conflict resolution
Jim making Dwight a security threat

4. The Fire- Season 2

Synopsis:
A fire starts in the office causing all the employees to spend the rest of the day in the parking lot.

Things I love about this episode:
Michael thinking Ryan is his new protégé

Dwight getting jealous of all the attention Michael is giving Ryan
The "Ryan started the fire" song

3. The Injury-Season 2

Synopsis:
Michael burns his foot on a George Foreman grill and is upset when no one is giving him special treatment.

Things I love about this episode:
Dwight's car accident
Dwight's new friendly personality
Michael's self pity
The car ride to the hospital
Michael thinking a foot injury is more serious than a head injury

2. Casino Night- Season 2

Synopsis:
Michael organizes a casino night for charity, and accidentally invites two dates, meanwhile Jim finally confesses his love to Pam.

Things I love about this episode:
Jim convincing Dwight that he has telekinetic powers

Creed's confession of his love for stealing things
Dwight being Michael's wingman
Michael's two dates
Jim finally confesses his love to Pam

1. Safety Training-Season 3

Synopsis:
Michael feels embarrassed when, during a safety training course, the warehouse employees make fun of him for having a safer work environment. This then causes him to want to show the warehouse guys that office life can be dangerous.

Things I love about this episode:
Andy's return from anger management
Dwight shunning and re-shunning Andy
Dwight and Michael's watermelon experiment
Creed eating a potato
Michael's fake suicide speech
Stanley's watermelon covered car