I finished watching The Office all the way through for the fourth time about two months ago, so like any fan of the series, I decided to start it all over again. This time as I go through each season, I am putting together a ranked list of each episode in that season in order from my least favorite to my favorite. Keep in mind that these are MY opinions, which means they are 100% correct. Just kidding. Sort of. Let’s start with the season that kicked it all off, Season 1:

6. Pilot: Episode 1

I’ve always considered the very first episode of this legendary tv series a dud. For as much as I love this show, I never really enjoyed this episode, and I always tell that to people whom I recommend the show to. One of the best tv characters of all time, Michael Scott, is more on the annoying side in this episode than he is funny. The mood around the office is a worried one as rumors of downsizing swirl through the office and the whole episode is just a little slow moving. We only really get to see and hear from Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, and a little from Jan and Ryan. All the secondary characters who are so crucial to the show aren’t properly introduced in this episode. We do get to see the very first prank from Jim on Dwight in this episode though, with the classic stapler-in-jello prank.

5. Hot Girl: Episode 6

This episode wasn’t bad by any means, but there was nothing special about it. The plot revolved around an independent vendor who came to the office to sell handbags. She was very attractive (played by Amy Adams), which caused Michael to fall head over heels for her. As expected, Michael said so many weird and awkward things to her, trying to impress her, which were pretty funny. Dwight, being very interested in her as well, was talked (tricked) into buying one of her purses by Jim, to try to impress her by being fashionable with a “man” purse. Anytime Jim is pranking or leading Dwight astray is funny. Other than Jim ending up with her at the end of the episode, not much else really happened. It was better than the slow-moving pilot episode, but didn’t have the storyline the other episodes from the season did that put the characters in funny/interesting/ridiculous situations.

4. Health Care: Episode 3

The third ever Office episode is a decent one with the storyline revolving around Michael putting Dwight in charge of picking the new health care plan for the office because Michael doesn’t want to be the one responsible for cutting benefits and angering the employees. When Dwight cuts way too much, things start to get uneasy around the office, which leads to several funny moments. Jim and Pam making up diseases such as Count Choculitis and Hot Dog Fingers to mess with Dwight is funny, as well as when he thinks anal fissures are also made up and Kevin has to embarrassingly tell him in front of the office that they are real. Michael does what he does best in this episode and finds ways to avoid doing any work. Overall it’s decent, but very raw still as the cast is still learning their characters, which is a theme throughout season one.

3. Diversity Day: Episode 2

After a slow pilot episode, Diversity Day really gets things going. You are introduced to some of the secondary characters, who make this show so great, during the diversity training hosted by Michael after he is miserably disappointed in the professional diversity seminar. And speaking of Michael, he is hilarious in this episode. He is so oblivious of his insensitivity to the other employees of the office, it’s impossible not to laugh. The exercise the office does with the index cards with a particular race or ethnicity written on them is great and this episode gives us an early glimpse of Michael Scott’s wisdom when he tells the camera, “Abraham Lincoln once said if you’re a racist I will attack you with the North. And those are the principles that I carry with me in the workplace.”

2. The Alliance: Episode 4

This episode gives us the first really good Jim prank on Dwight, when he and Pam team up to make Dwight believe he needs to go undercover to find out the secrets that Pam (supposedly) knows about the office downsizing. When Dwight hides in a sealed-up box in the warehouse, and especially when he busts out of it in front of Darryl, is hilarious. Another part I really enjoy is when Michael accidentally donates $25 to Oscar’s Walk-A-Thon charity, not knowing that it’s $25 per mile. We also get the first glimpse of the famous Party Planning Committee in this episode, and Angela’s impossibility to work with in it. The anger from Roy at Jim at the end of the episode over Pam signifies that more problems will arise between the two characters, which is certainly prevalent throughout the next two seasons.

1. Basketball: Episode 5

“Basketball” is one of my favorite episodes from The Office and is my favorite from the first season. What begins as a friendly game of basketball between the sales staff and the warehouse crew turns into a waged game where the losing team has to come into work that Saturday. This episode has so many funny parts. I’ve always loved the part when Michael is fielding his team beforehand and looks at Stanley and says, “Stanley, of course. What do you play, center?” for the simple fact he’s black. And then it turns out Stanley is flat out awful. But Michael is so terrible also, and equally obnoxious about it throughout the game after talking such a big game at the beginning. You have to love the one-handed three pointers not even coming close to the basket, followed by him screaming, “OHHHH C’MON WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME TODAY? I usually hit those!” And Dwight playing super aggressive on the female warehouse worker he is guarding, talking junk to her. You are also introduced to the warehouse workers, including Darryl, who is a great character throughout the entirety of the series. This is a great episode that is so much fun to watch, and one you could easily watch over and over.

Final Words

Overall, season one was decent. I don’t think you would find very many Office fans out there who would put it at the top of their list. First of all, it only had six episodes. Secondly, things are pretty slow moving in these episodes, but that is how it is at the very beginning of a lot of television series. It takes time for the cast to fully get into their characters. Knowing how each of these characters turn out in subsequent seasons, it’s easy to see that they are all still figuring things out and adapting to their beloved roles in this season. The season is far from bad, though. Other than the pilot episode, I thoroughly enjoyed all the other five episodes. There are memorable scenes that stand out for the rest of the series. Season one was just an introduction, basically. It set the stage for one of the greatest television sitcoms of all time.

Garett

The Office: Season One Episodes (Ranked)