The Office is inundated with intriguing characters and a setting that allows for so much to happen in a believable way. Every actor was perfectly suited to their character. In particular, the main characters kept the series moving forward with entertaining storylines and acted in a way that made audiences feel like the mockumentary was real.
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While much of the series was scripted, some of the lines were off-the-cuff. The performers evidently knew the personalities of their characters so well that they were able to think on the spot. Some of the improvised lines bring humor, while others add to the emotion of a specific scene.
Michael Visits New York
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In "Valentine's Day," Michael has to go to New York for work. Before he gets to the offices, he decides to take a little trip around the city while telling the camera what he's getting up. In the DVD commentary, Greg Daniels explained that filming there wasn't so easy, as people recognized Steve Carell a lot.
I'm gonna get me a New York slice.
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With him being such a familiar face, they couldn't stay in one spot too long. Carell had to keep improvising his lines as they moved around so frequently, so everything he said in that scene was improvised to fit their locations. This is just another reason that Carell is such a highly-rated actor, proving that he was able to adapt to whatever was thrown at him and still make it funny.
Ryan's Initiation With Dwight
Dwight is arguably the weirdest character on The Office. He followed strange traditions and was never deterred by what other people thought. Epitomizing his bizarre antics, in "Initiation," Dwight took Ryan to his farm. He didn't want Ryan to end up like Jim, so he decided to take it upon himself to make Ryan much more like him. Although Ryan thought he was going on a sales call with Dwight, he was actually going to his beet farm to be initiated.
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Just as you have planted your seed in the ground, I am going to plant my seed in you.
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During The Office Ladies podcast, it's explained that one of the funniest lines in the episode was improvised on the spot by Rainn Wilson. One of Ryan's tasks was to plant a seed, which Dwight followed up with his quote. Dwight didn't mean it to sound inappropriate, but that was the brilliance of Wilson's ad-libbing. B.J. Novak noted how he vividly remembered the line being said because it was so great.
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Andy Makes Up a Story
Michael and Andy were very similar to each other because of how cringe-worthy they both could be, combined with the fact that they both wanted to constantly impress people. Audiences got to see what makes them so alike when they went to a sales pitch together. Like Michael often would, Andy said some outlandish things to make himself seem impressive.
Sniped it with a rifle from the crow's nest.
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In the DVD commentary, fans found out that a lot of their scenes were improvised. One particular line that stands out is when Andy claims he used a sniper to kill a shark. The actor who was playing the client that they were meeting with wasn't aware that Carell and Ed Helms would be going off-script, so his reaction was quite genuine. The line perfectly encompassed Andy's personality.
Dwight Gives Details of His Life
Not only is improvisation great for getting natural reactions out of actors and making dialogue appear a lot more natural than scripted words, but in the case of The Office, it also affects narratives and backstories. Wilson was obviously very skillful at improvising. The freedom to get creative gave bizarre but brilliant shape to Dwight's life.
Beet farm.
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During a talking head, Dwight revealed that he was relieved that Michael had taken back his invite for Dwight to live and pay rent in his new condo because he lived on a beet farm. And it stuck. From then on, Dwight's story was heavily based around living on a beet farm, with some episodes revolving around that location, including Jim and Pam staying there on a "romantic" getaway.
Jim Confesses His Feelings
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Jim and Pam's relationship timeline was a big part of The Office. Their love story was complicated at the start before they got together. It was evident from the first episode that the pair had a deep connection, but Pam was engaged to Roy, so nothing could happen. However, it got too much for Jim, and he decided that he needed to tell her how he felt just one time.
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Don't do that.
Jim told Pam he was in love with her, which took her completely by surprise. Pam told him that she couldn't be with him and went on to say how much their friendship meant to her. Mid-sentence, Jim interrupted by saying, "Don't do that," which Jenna Fischer said was improvised when speaking on The Office Ladies. It's an utterly gut-wrenching scene, as Jim is visibly hurt, desperately wanting to be with Pam.
Michael's Company Doesn't Get Off to the Best Start
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Michael had a lot of hilarious lines throughout The Office. Deciding to set up his own company, called the Michael Scott Paper Company, was a huge leap, considering he didn't really know what he was doing and only had Pam on board with him at the start. Pam had also taken a big risk, which really hit home when she went to Michael's home and found him having doubts about what they were doing.
I have egg in my crocs.
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The two begin to bicker, and Pam struggles to get through to him. He ends up spilling eggs all over himself. Midway through a rant about being an idiot for giving up his job, he pointed out that he has egg in his crocs, which Carell improvised. It was a classic Michael line. Just when he seems to be getting overwhelmed by something, he breaks the tension with a sentence that he says seriously, but is so funny for viewers.
Michael Gets a Surprise Before He Leaves
This next one isn't quite a quote that was improvised, but Carell's reaction was totally on the spot. Michael leaving meant that the character was being written out of the show, and Carell's time on The Office had come to an end. The series was known to be hilarious, but it also had the tendency
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to make fans very emotional .
9,986,000 Minutes
Before Michael leaves, the characters sing a moving song to him, with words that express what he meant to them. Carell didn't know it was going to happen, and his tears were real. The whole scene is deeply touching and rounds off what Michael had always wanted: people to see him and show that they cared. He just didn't realize that people had loved him all along.
Angela Wasn't Interested in Jelly Beans
Dwight and Angela had an on-off relationship, but they were always meant for each other. Dwight proved how much he cared for Angela when he drove to New York to deliver some papers that Angela was supposed to submit by a certain deadline, but she missed. When she's waiting for him to arrive back, she goes to Pam's desk and makes small talk.
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I don't want these.
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Angela takes a handful of jelly beans from Pam's sweet pot before Dwight walks back in. Upon his arrival, Angela suddenly has no interest in Pam and dumps the jelly beans back on her desk, which was completely improvised. It was a fantastic moment to highlight how anxious Angela was and that she only cared about if Dwight managed to get to the city in time.
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Dwight Caused Some Upset With His Health Care Plan
The office workers became angered when Dwight was appointed the job of sorting out a health care plan and, of course, it was outrageous. To try and make amends, he tells his co-workers to write down any conditions that they'd like covered in the plan, and he would review them. This was the perfect opportunity for Jim and Pam to prank him.
Hot dog fingers
Reading out the list of crazy illnesses wasn't all scripted. Wilson came up with "Hot dog fingers" on his own, which got some of the cast laughing. It's a memorable part of the episode, which is made even better knowing that it was Wilson's quick wit that added to the comedy.
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Michael kisses Oscar
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Michael could sometimes put people in such awkward situations. When he found out that Oscar was gay, he was supposed to keep the information to himself. However, he ended up telling the whole office. In an attempt to make everyone see that he was totally accepting of gay people, he got everyone in the conference room.
In the script, Michael would go in to kiss Oscar but pulls away at the last minute.
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After rambling on and only making things worse, he got Oscar to stand in front of everyone with him. Eventually, he kissed Oscar, which was both hilarious and so uncomfortable. Michael made such a fool of himself. As it turns out, Carell had improvised the kiss. The unscripted element made the whole scene almost unbearably awkward, but it was typical of Michael.
The Office
Comedy
Drama
Sitcom
A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.
Release Date March 24, 2005
Cast Mindy Kaling , Jenna Fischer , Kate Flannery , Ed Helms , Craig Robinson , Paul Lieberstein , Ellie Kemper , B.J. Novak , Angela Kinsey , Oscar Nunez , Rainn Wilson , Brian Baumgartner , Phyllis Smith , Leslie David Baker , Creed Bratton , Steve Carell , John Krasinski
Rating
Seasons 9
Creator
Production Company
Story By Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Writers Mindy Kaling , Paul Lieberstein , Michael Schur , ricky gervais , Greg Daniels , B.J. Novak
Network NBC
Franchise(s) The Office
Directors Greg Daniels , Paul Lieberstein , Paul Feig , Randall Einhorn , Ken Kwapis
Showrunner Greg Daniels
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