(S01E15) "I'm going to rebuild the army... Pass the paprika." - Tony

Finally, the season-long game of Sam trying to hide his demon hunting gig from Andi comes to a head. It was a welcome event in my little corner of TV land. I had taken issue with their relationship early in the season as it started to feel like we were in a rut and watching the same scene play out over and over. These last two weeks with the two of them together have done a lot to repair that chink in the Reaper armor. But wait, would finding out about Sam's special gift send us right back into that old familiar loop? Ours is not to spoil above the fold, so read on for thoughts on that, and a boatload of other goings on down by the 'Bench.

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(S01E02) Betty Suarez continues to charm the heck out of me. I just can't get over how America Ferrera brings such confidence and resilient spirit to the role, and her charm is what makes Ugly Betty so watchable (Heck, America even makes the act of nuking empanadas look charming). It doesn't hurt that the "Betty and Daniel against the world" plots are also very engaging.

I'm just starting to wonder whether the campy dramatic aspects of the show, including the machinations of Fey and Whilhelmina, the bitchiness of Amanda and Marc, and the secretiveness of Daniel's father Bradford Meade, are going to eventually drive me away. Every time those soapy scenes came up, I could only think of one thing: "I want to see more Betty."

(S02E06) I think this episode features one of Ricky Gervais' best dramatic performances. Yeah. Dramatic. As David begged to Neil and Jennifer to not make him redundant, his eyes glazed over with tears and his voice gently cracked. It was subtle and heart-breaking and, in that one instant, my views of David completely turned around. It also reminded me of how tragic this entire series is. I don't think I've ever seen a comedy series with such emotionally-realistic characters.

(S02E04) Although I still obnoxiously quote it all the time, this episode kind of bugs me. I mean, it's hysterical in every way, but I've always thought that it stepped a little too far from reality. The beauty of The Office has always been the fact that all actions, all words, all awkward looks to the camera are realistically justified. David's ego is just larger than life in this episode. It got a little too sitcom-y with his training seminar storyline. Eh. Maybe it was just me.

(S02E03) This episode focused mostly on David's growing disgust/jealousy toward Neil and the near-breakdown of Tim and Dawn's friendship. The constant jokes about David's heeled boots were great because I really do see men wearing those around... It was just the right amount of ridiculous. Wearing a knock-off version of Neil's jacket was the icing on the cake. We learned that David's idea of being bad-ass is slightly different from the rest of the world's...

David: You know that old thing... "Live fast, die young"? Not my way. Live fast, sure. Live too bloody fast sometimes! But... die young? [shakes his head] Die old. That's the way I -- I'm not orthodox. I don't live by "the rules".

(S02E02) There was major development in the Tim/Dawn relationship (or lack thereof), thanks to a budding romance between Tim and one of the new girls. David's seething jealousy towards Neil also hit a new high. Plus, Keith's appraisal is in this episode. In other words, this episode is jam-packed with awesome.

(S02E01) First of all, everyone that loves Mackenzie Crook (Gareth) needs to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It is a tremendously fun film, with loads of face-time for Mackenzie Crook (he plays the guy with the wooden eye). Seriously, go see it. Okay, okay. On to the episode!

The second season started with a really strange/adorable moment. Gareth, David, and another employee enthusiastically hummed the Mah Nà Mah Nà song rom The Muppet Show (watch the Muppet version here, the Office version here) as Tim silently looked on, completely confused. The way that David pops out of his office and starts chiming in gets me every time.

(S01E05) Although this episode had its share of funny moments, the amount of character development cannot be ignored. This half-hour took Brent's desperation, Tim's exhaustion, Dawn's confusion, Finch's perversion, everyone's everything to a higher level. Plus, we got to see some of Slough's rocking night-life. Sweet.

(S01E04) Not counting the Christmas specials, this episode is my hands-down favorite. There are so many glorious (and musical) moments that perfectly capture the spirit of The Office, I find hard to believe it's all contained in less than half an hour. This is why I always choose to show Episode 4 when I am attempting to drag another ignorant innocent into a state rabid fandom. It'd be wrong for me to paraphrase the really good moments because every single word is important for the joke. So, I'm going to be doing a lot of quoting. Consider this fair warning.

(S01E03) The thing I really like about this episode is how all the events leave a terrible taste in my mouth. It's bitter and frustrating and everything good that happens dies a slow and painful death. Brilliant.

The episode starts off with Tim explaining to the camera that it's his 30th birthday and his mother woke him up (I love that he lives with his parents) to give him his present, HatFM, a radio to wear on the head! Meanwhile, David's all excited for the annual pub quiz (it's like Trivial Pursuit with a lot of people... at a bar) and calls up his quiz buddy, Chris Finch (the guy that indirectly made an appearance in the last episode). Finch tells him a joke over the phone, which Brent simultaneously repeats for the cameras. "What's black and slides down Nelson's Column?" Brent repeats, before pausing for an answer. "Winnie Mandela?..."

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(S01E02) In the very beginning of this episode, we saw David Brent showing a hot, new, female employee (whom we'd later know as Donna) around his office. To work his humor, he pretended to throw his office answering machine out the window, jokingly frustrated with all the messages. As he started to set it back down, the machine slipped out of his hand and fell on the floor, clattering next to the trash can. The sheer seamlessness of this brief moment (and Brent's frantic mumbling) still throws me into hysterics. I love it when a moment looks so organic that I can't tell if it was improvised, accidental, or geniusly scripted.

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(S01E01) In the beginning, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant decided to create a mockumentary comedy about the painful emptiness of office life. And it was good.

The Office debuted in England in 2001 and later aired on BBC America, where I promptly fell in love with the show. I think I was watching Monty Python's Flying Circus on BBCA when a commercial popped up, promoting the premiere of The Office. It featured a scrawny fellow named Gareth (played by Mackenzie Crook, who would later be the wood-eyed pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean) talking about office relationships. He had a horrible bowl haircut and dark circles under his eyes, and yet I thought he was the most hilariously adorable thing I had ever seen. At that moment, I promised myself to watch. Little did I know I would soon have a new favorite show.

I suggest you American-version fans rent or buy the DVDs and watch along. You might even notice that this episode bears a striking similarity to the American pilot. That's because a large portion of the US script was pulled out from this episode word-for-word (save for a few Americanizations, like changing "Camilla Parker-Bowles" to "Hillary Rodham-Clinton").