The Office (US) S1 E1 - 'Pilot' Mini-Review

Bring It On.

'Pilot' is a grotesque yet somewhat amusing doppelganger of the very first episode of The Office (UK), sharing many of the same lines and extremely similar characters, albeit with different names. There are a few chuckles spread throughout this hit and miss first episode, however the English scripted humour doesn't quite sit naturally in an American format. The show needs to forge its own path if it can hope to reach the levels of understated drama and hilarity that its British counterpart achieved. Jim and Pam are at least far more realistic than Tim and Dawn, and Michael Scott is more likeable than David Brent, but thankfully just as inappropriate. I'm sure time will help the viewer grow closer to the plethora of characters, as this pilot simply served as an introduction to the crew of Dunder-Mifflin.

WHO IS WHO?!
How do the characters from the American Office fit into their British counterparts?

Michael Scott = David Brent
Jim Halpert = Tim Canterbury
Pam Beesley = Dawn Tinsley
Dwight Schrute = Gareth Keenan
Ricky Howard = Ryan Howard
Jan Levinson-Gould = Jennifer Taylor-Clark
Roy Anderson = Lee

There are various other background characters, however most are new personas to what we encountered in The Office (UK)

DID YOU KNOW?!*

• Jenna Fischer, who won the role of Pam Beesley, prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible. The look that Fischer wore to her audition became her character's signature look
• Michael asks Ryan, the temp, if he has ever seen "Punk'd" (right before Michael tricks Pam into thinking she is fired). B.J. Novak (who plays Ryan) began his career as a cast member of "Punk'd"
• Angela Kinsey originally auditioned for the role of Pam Beesley. The producers felt that Kinsey was "too feisty" for the character, and called her back for the role of Angela Martin, which she won
• John Krasinski accidentally insulted Greg Daniels while waiting to audition for the series by telling him, "I hope they [the show's developers] don't screw this up," as had been done to many British series adapted to American television. It was at this point that Daniels introduced himself to Krasinski as one of the show's developers
• Kate Flannery, who would go on to play Meredith Palmer beginning with the second episode, auditioned for the role of Jan Levinson-Gould which went to Melora Hardin.
• The first time Dwight is on screen, he is humming/singing "Do you hear what I hear?/Little Drummer Boy" even though the carol is rarely heard outside of Christmas time. It is, however, Angela's favorite song
• B.J. Novak was cast as Ryan Howard after Greg Daniels watched his stand-up act
• Actor Paul Giamatti was offered the lead role of Michael Scott, which he declined
• Paul Lieberstein, a writer for The Office, was suggested to play HR Director Toby Flenderson by B.J. Novak, who plays Ryan Howard and writes for the show as well
• According to a business card that came with the Dunder Mifflin Severance Package DVD box set, Dunder Mifflin's address is "1725 Slough Ave. Scranton. PA 18540". Slough is the city in which the original BBC version was located
• According to Jenna Fischer, the episode took nine days to film, with the cast devoting 12 hours a day to the episode
• Rainn Wilson was an avid viewer of the British series prior to his audition for "The Office." He originally auditioned for the role of Michael Scott, which he referred to as a "terrible [Ricky] Gervais impersonation." The casting directors preferred his audition as Dwight Schrute and cast him in that role instead
• Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin Malone, originally auditioned for the role of Stanley Hudson
• Stanley is standing during the conference room meeting, the only time he ever does. Throughout the series when there's a meeting and chairs are available in future episodes he sits
• Phyllis Smith was a casting associate for the show when Ken Kwapis, the director of the pilot, had her read scripts with the actors. Kwapis liked her reading so much, that he had her join the cast
• The building shown in the pilot is different from the building they chose to shoot in
• Only episode of the show where Meredith (Kate Flannery) doesn't appear
• At the time of the pilot episode, Michael has been at Dunder Mifflin for 12 years, the last four as regional manager
• Todd Packer, played by David Koechner in all other episodes, is voiced by Toby Huss in the Pilot episode, over the phone with Michael and Jan

RATING: 7.2/10





*Trivia taken from IMDB