Reddit Names The Office's Perfect Episode For First-Time Viewers
What would you do if you wanted to dive into the depths of a TV show universe which is totally new for you?
Some would prefer to start watching right from Season 1 Episode 1. Perhaps it does make sense if the series is relatively short – about three seasons or so. But if it is a long-lasting franchise spanning over a period of several years this could be questionable.
The fans of NBC's The Office series believe Stress Relief, which is a two-part episode (E14 and E15) of Season 5 is what every first time viewer needs as a good starter.
Redditors share their thought on why this is particularly the case and what they say is quite reasonable.
The episode shows us the best in class humor with iconic jokes. Like ones from the CPR scene for example. One commentator said whenever they have friends at their place who have never watched The Office, they play Stress Relief to get people addicted to the series. Some users say they keep re-watching the episode every now and then, and every time it is as funny.
Actually, the episode was meant to hook as many new viewers as possible because it was aired right after the Super Bowl, which traditionally has massive viewership. It is said that the showrunners shot the episode on higher-quality cameras to get a "sexier" picture.
Even the episode's budget was bigger, and a sublot served to the purpose as well – a movie-within-the-show that Andy was showing to Jim and Pam. That B-plot is there so that they could advertise big-name guest stars such as Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman in the promos.
And as if to support it another user says that Stress Relief was the first episode of the show they ever watched. And it happened right after the Super Bowl. Bingo! The episode is still their favorite after all these years.
The numbers also speak for themselves; Stress Relief got 3 times more viewers – that is around 22 million – than most episodes of The Office. Some even think the whole two-parter was the best episode ever in the history of TV shows, let alone The Office series. This is quite a grand statement to make, but Season 5 of The Office enjoys 9.7 out of 10-star rating on IMDB.
The NBC sitcom series about a group of office workers who go through hilarious misadventures aired from 2005 to 2013 and brought Steve Carell, who played their boss Michael Scott, to international fame.