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''The Office'' (alternate title: ''The Office: An American Workplace'') is a Television Comedy about the day-to-day lives of office employees of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania . It is filmed In The Style Of A Documentary , as interviews are given by the characters throughout and the presence of the camera is often acknowledged on the show. There are two common elements to the various plots for each episode. The ineptitude of boss Michael Scott and his comedic attempts to get laughs from his employees is one of the recurring plots. The second is the relationship between sales representative Jim Halpert and receptionist Pam Beesly , and their respective crushes on each other, conflicting with Pam's three-year engagement to Roy, who works in Dunder Mifflin's warehouse. Based on the , 2006. It is co-produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions , in association with NBC Universal Television Studio . The show is currently broadcast by NBC in the United States , Global TV in Canada , and BBC3 in the United Kingdom . CREATION After the original British series won two Golden Globes , a U.S. version of '' The Office '' was commissioned by NBC. Though it retains the same title and premise, the U.S. version of the show has a new cast and crew and changes the locale to Scranton, Pennsylvania . NBC has described it as a faster-paced version of the original; Gervais jokingly said before the premiere that it would probably have actors with better teeth. To write the series, producers hired screenwriters Michael Schur , Larry Wilmore , Gene Stupnitsky , Lee Eisenberg , and Jennifer Celotta . Along with these writers, three others were hired to be central writers and performers (''see Casting ''). Paul Feig , of '' Freaks And Geeks '' fame, directed some of the episodes and Ken Kwapis , who established his ability with the genre in '' The Larry Sanders Show '' and '' Malcolm In The Middle '', directed the pilot and has produced/directed several episodes. Casting All the original characters have been renamed and re-cast with American actors. In January 2004, ''. Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the current Pam hairstyle at her first audition for the show.Fischer, Jenna (February 9, 2006). "''The Office'' Presents: "Valentine's Day"" ''TVGuide.com'' The supporting cast has been filled with actors known for their improv work ('' February 24 , 2006: 24-25. Three of the show's writers were also cast as performers: B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling , and Paul Lieberstein . Novak was seen by Daniels doing Stand-up Comedy and was cast as reluctant temp Ryan Howard and Lieberstein was cast as HR Director Toby by Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts. Greg Daniels originally wasn't sure where to use Kaling, who is an Indian-American, on screen in the series until the point came in the second episode's script where Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. "Since then, I've been on the show" (as the chatty Kelly Kapour ), Kaling stated in a February 2006 interview. CHARACTERS See Also: Characters from The Office (US) Michael Scott, the head of the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, feels he is the life of the office; his employees feel otherwise. Sales representative Jim Halpert has a crush on close office friend and pretty receptionist Pam Beesly. Unfortunately for Jim, she is engaged (and has been for the past three years) to warehouse employee Roy, a simple, protective blue-collar worker who doesn't bond with Pam the way Jim does. Another employee in the office is Dwight Schrute, who works hard to make the best impression and make the other employees look bad in the process. There is an ongoing rivalry between Jim and Dwight, whose differing personalities often cause them to be at odds with each other. The final lead character is Ryan Howard, a temp who has little desire to stay with the office any longer than he needs, but fears he will end up doing just that. The accounting department features the uptight Angela Martin , who wishes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as serious as possible; Kevin Malone , a slow-witted, overweight man who revels in juvenile humor; and Oscar, whose timidity and Hispanic heritage make him a favorite target for Michael's off-hand comments. Rounding out the office are the stern salesman Stanley Hudson , who barely stands for Michael's constant references to his African-American heritage; the free-flowing Creed ; the innocent and timid Phyllis Lapin ; the bubbly and talkative Kelly Kapoor ; and the depressed alcoholic single mother Meredith Palmer . Other characters outside the office include Michael's corporate boss Jan Levinson , and Roy's cynical co-workers in the warehouse. SYNOPSIS First season ", the controversial second episode of the series that dealt with racism in the office.]] The first episode of the U.S. series contained many scenes taken from the first episode of the British series almost word for word, with names and cultural references changed and a few small extra scenes. Ryan the temp was hired by Dunder Mifflin in this episode, but everyone else in the office had been working there for quite some time. Since the series was a mid-season replacement, only six episodes were filmed for the first season, so few new elements were established. Besides the continuing love story, the main plot this season was that corporate wanted to downsize and they told Michael that the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin was facing a possible closure. Although he avoided the subject, word about the downsizing quickly spread around the office. In the final episode of the season, Jim began dating Katy, a saleswoman who visited the office, to Pam's subtle concern. Second season The second season started out with an office awards show held at a local Chili's restaurant, where Pam gets drunk and kisses Jim on the lips. Although it goes no further than that, Jim ends the night with a smile on his face. Michael's best friend Todd Packer (previously only heard in phone calls) makes his first appearance in the office. Dwight tags along as Michael purchases a condo; meanwhile Jim organizes an office Olympics. Ryan the temp accidentally starts a small fire in the office's kitchen, giving him the office nickname "The Fire Guy". As Michael fights Dwight at a karate dojo, Jim's flirting goes a little far for the engaged Pam, making their office friendship briefly awkward. After Michael and Jan close a deal with a new client at a Chili's, Michael and a recently-divorced Jan share a kiss in the parking lot, igniting Michael's interest. Jim holds a party and invites everyone in the office except Michael, who shows up anyway. At the party, Meredith's alcohol addiction is revealed and a new relationship between Dwight and Angela develops, though coworkers remain unaware of the latter. At the office Christmas party, the staff is introduced to Phyllis' boyfriend, a refrigerator salesman. Jim makes his personal gift to Pam less personal before she receives it. "]] A big turning point in the season occurred on the office "booze cruise", when Jim fully intended to reveal his feelings to Pam. Unfortunately, before he can do that, Roy announces to everyone including Pam that he wants to marry her on June 10th, which she celebrates. Jim is crushed and dumps Katy the same night. He also reveals his feelings for Pam to a similarly crushed (but for different reasons) Michael, who tells him to continue his pursuits. Unfortunately, Michael spills Jim's secret to the employees. Jim acknowledges the rumors to Pam, but tells her his feelings ended long ago. Michael hints differently when Pam approaches him about it, leaving her unsure of the status of their relationship. Dwight takes it upon himself to check up a purportedly sick Oscar and is oblivious to Oscar's Homosexuality . Meanwhile, Jan suggests to Pam that she take a Graphic Arts internship with the company in New York City , and while she is encouraged to pursue the venture by Jim, Roy quashes the idea. Kelly develops a crush on Ryan and pursues him as he regrets ever "hooking up" with her the day before Valentine's Day . Michael attends a company meeting in New York regarding downsizing and another branch surprisingly gives a worse presentation than him. Jan again kisses Michael as he leaves and it's again caught on camera, much to her embarrassment. Awarded Dunder Mifflin Salesman of the Year, Dwight gives a rousing speech at the ceremony. Jim plans a vacation to Australia , which overlaps with Pam's wedding, much to her disappointment. A video of his childhood television appearance causes Michael to regret being a childless bachelor. At his self-planned ice rink birthday party, Michael runs into Carol, his real estate agent and entertains her children. Jim and Pam share a fun, flirtatious day at the grocery making purchases to cheer up Kevin during a brief Skin Cancer scare. The Dwight-Angela relationship slowly evolves throughout the season. Kelly and Ryan begin an undefined relationship, with Ryan wanting something very casual and Kelly wanting something much more long term — leaving both parties unsatisfied. Dwight retires his volunteer Sheriff Deputy duties when he gives his urine to Michael to help him pass random office drug testing (that he instated), but Michael makes him Honorary Security Advisor for the branch to make up for it. There are two episodes left in the season, which is scheduled to end May 11 . IMPROVISATION Differing from many other Mockumentaries , much of ''The Office'' is scripted. In a March 2006 interview, B.J. Novak stated, "We do script it to sound very natural, because we are writing a fake documentary, but the actors are very talented ... Steve and Rainn add a lot in improvisation, and usually the last few takes of a Talking Head will be, at that point, fully improvised." Novak continued, "maybe twenty percent of the stuff we shoot is at least partially improvised ... and then it's ten percent of the finished show."Chun, Wing. March 2, 2006. "The B.J. Novak Interview" , Page 7. ''Televisionwithoutpity.com''. Jenna Fischer has stated, "Our shows are one hundred percent scripted. They put everything down on paper. Our glances to camera, our hesitations... everything. It is the actor's job to make it seem fresh and natural. But we get to play around a little bit, too. Steve (Carell) and Rainn (Wilson) are brilliant improvisers."Fischer, Jenna. February 16, 2006. "''The Office'': Your Questions Answered!" , MySpace.com.. RESPONSE Before the show aired, Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers. "I think people are always gonna be wary of a remake — it's a tradition," he stated in a March 2005 interview, "But this remake is aimed at the 249 million Americans who didn't see the original TV show. There's not gonna be many Texas farmhands going, 'Eccch, not another version. I can't believe it.'"Wolk, Josh. "''The Office'' bosses on bringing the Brit hit to NBC" , ''Entertainment Weekly'' March 14 , 2005. Writer/performer B.J. Novak recalled almost a year after the show premiered, "There was this very rough period at the beginning, where not only did mainstream viewers have no interest in us, but the type of people that should have and ultimately did come to our defense hated us even more, because we were remaking the British ''Office''."Chun, Wing. March 2, 2006. "The B.J. Novak Interview" , Page 3. ''Televisionwithoutpity.com'' Critical reviews Indeed, prior to its first airing, the '' 2005. Fortunately for Carell and the series, based on reviews and ratings, that's what has happened as the second season progressed. Come December, ''Time Magazine'' remarked, "Producer Greg Daniels created not a copy but an interpretation that sends up distinctly American work conventions ... with a tone that's more satiric and less mordant. ... The new boss is different from the old boss, and that's fine by me."Poniewozik, James. "Best of 2005: Television" ''Time Magazine'', December 16, 2005 '' Entertainment Weekly '' resonated these sentiments a week later, stating, "Thanks to the fearless Steve Carell, an ever-stronger supporting cast, and scripts that spew American corporate absurdist vernacular with perfect pitch, this undervalued remake does the near impossible — it honors Ricky Gervais' original and works on its own terms."Harris, Bob. "2005's 10 Best Shows" ''Entertainment Weekly'', December 22, 2005 Months later, '' A.V. Club'', March 29, 2006 Ratings Airing on Tuesday nights, the first episode caught the curiosity of 11.2 million viewers in the US, winning its time slot.. Unfortunately, by the second episode, it lost nearly half its audience with only 5.9 million viewers.Deans, Jason. US remake of The Office loses half its audience ''Guardian Unlimited'' March 31 , 2005 The viewership averaged around that amount for the rest of the first season. As the second season started, the show slowly started gaining a cult following. Growing viewership seemed promising enough to NBC that they moved the series, along with its pre-show comedy '' My Name Is Earl '', to the coveted " Must See TV " Thursday night slot at the start of 2006. Here, the ratings continued to grow. Late March Nielsen Ratings have listed the show at an average between 7 and 8 million viewers weekly.City News Service. Weekly Television Ratings , CalendarLive.com The series was cancelled in , 2005 , ''Sydney Morning Herald'' CAST BLOGS Many members of the cast keep online blogs on TV Guide .com and MySpace , where they have posted updates (sometimes as often as every week) on behind the scenes happenings and post on-set photographs of the show. Jenna Fischer is the most active blogger of the cast, posting a weekly blog at MySpace as well as every Thursday during the second half of the show's 2005-06 season on TVGuide.com. She took over the latter blogging duties from B.J. Novak, who also has a MySpace page. Rainn Wilson also writes a blog in character called "Schrute Space" on NBC.com, which is updated periodically.Interview: Rainn Wilson (March 14, 2006). '' The Tonight Show With Jay Leno '', NBC. Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, David Denman, Craig Robinson, Brian Baumgardner and Kate Flannery, also maintain MySpace pages, and the latter two occasionally blog in character. AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS Steve Carell won a Golden Globe in 2006 for his portrayal of Michael Scott (in the category "Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy"). Creator Ricky Gervais had received the same award for his performance in the original version in 2004. The series was nominated for three Writers Guild Of America Awards for Television in 2005, including "Best Comedy Series", "Best New Series", and "Best Episodic Comedy" (" Diversity Day "). EPISODES See Also: List of The Office (US) episodes ONLINE AND DVD RELEASES Online Episodes from ''The Office'' were among the first programs available for download from the , 2006. DVD The first season DVD set (ASIN: B0009VBTP0) was released on " (dual tracks), " Diversity Day ", " The Alliance ", and " Basketball ". The runtime of the set is 135 minutes. TRIVIA ". Rainn Wilson based Dwight's hair on his own hairstyle when he was 16.]]
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
Official Cast Blogs
Myspace.com Cast Blogs
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