tv meme, day 27: best pilot episode

It was a toughie to choose just one particular pilot episode out of many great ones among my favorites on the tube, but the one that stuck out in particular was that of NBC's The Office, a great comedic start to what would become the envy of comedies on network and cable television alike.

Though somewhat panned by critics (strange turn-around as it's now such a massive success in retrospect), I found the pilot episode terribly fun. Perhaps it's because I'd never seen an episode of the original British incarnation of the series. From establishing the rivalry between prankster Jim and straight-laced (to a degree) Dwight with the classic "stuff in Jell-O" battle, to cementing Michael Scott as the epitome of both well-meaning and funny but ultimately useless boss extraordinaire (along with cementing Steve Carell's future career as go-to funnyman), the pilot of this future comedy classic may not be as outwardly zany or manic as some other more well-liked episodes became, but it certainly altered American television for good. It's subdued form of hilarious awkwardness has now become the norm, nearly doing away with laugh tracks and predictable 20-minute storylines in network programming. Watching it now, it's hard to believe that there was a time when the supporting players (now a television treasure - yes, that means you, Angela, Phyllis, Creed, Kevin, etc.) were never in the foreground. And a time when Jim's mop-top was quite so moppy or Pam's pallid demeanor was quite so homely. All in all, though it's undergone some major changes since its humble beginnings, but this pilot predicted great things for the future of this show, and it's more than met my expectations in the six seasons since.