But for a different perspective, here's another list which was published earlier tonight (it was my idea though! Dibs! Dibs! Dibs!): http://verticalfx.blogspot.com/2013/06/top-ten-office-episdoes.html
10. Branch Closing (Season 3)--It was obvious to anyone with even the slightest sense of the business of television that Dunder Mifflin Scranton was not going to close. Like, the show had at least the remaining two-thirds or so of a season to run. What were they going to do--write Michael out and have that guy from Whose Line Is It Anyway? be the star of the show? Obviously not, but this episode was fascinating to me because they were willing to tell a big story. They later did things like having Michael start his own company, which similarly showed ambition, but this was the first to do it and thus it caught me off guard. Even a moment which wasn't particularly funny (on purpose)--Josh essentially doing what David Brent attempted to do in the UK original series by forcing his branch to shut down for his own personal benefit--was interesting. Aside from relatively broad moments outside David Wallace's house from Michael and Dwight, the humor primarily comes from little things: The brilliant character of Creed selling off his computer equipment, Ryan being relieved that he has an excuse to break up with Kelly and then being disappointed when his job is saved, and in spite of Karen admitting to liking Jim (more on why this is horrible later), the episode is funny and interesting throughout.
9. The Injury (Season 2)--Slightly overrated by many (this is one of the two episodes that usually tops these lists) but nevertheless very funny, this episode was a silly break in the action between "Booze Cruise" (which is for reasons I don't understand considered a classic episode) and "The Secret". Which is nice--right in the middle of the Jim and Pam subplot threatening to rid the show of its humor, a total nonsequitur of an episode. Michael's self-importance carries most of the episode, though Rainn Wilson's brilliant performance as Concussed Dwight (who, aside from obvious lapses, turns into a pretty grounded and nice guy) cannot be ignored. As was often the case in Season 2, my favorite scene came from the conference room, where the following strange things happen--Michael confuses the most iconic image of Big with Philadelphia, Kelly for some reason knows who Robert Loggia is, and Michael is heartbroken to hear that the (actually) disabled Billy Merchant takes about thirty seconds to execute the simple task of brushing his teeth (since that's three times as long as it takes Michael). Pure silly fun.
8. The Client (Season 2)--I started watching The Office between the starts of Seasons 3 and 4 (this is probably a large contributing factor to my list's lean towards earlier episodes) and thus didn't have the shock value of Michael and Jan, but this episode works not only because there are hilarious bits, both in the a-story and the b-story (this is the one where Pam finds Michael's screenplay--you know, 'Dwigt'), but because it does a tremendous amount in establishing the Michael character. Michael Scott is basically a live-action Homer Simpson--it's not that he doesn't care, he actually cares a lot. He's just stupid, that's all. But he's something of a savant--he's actually really good at sales. It's actually one of the more realistic elements of the show--Michael was good at his job so he got promoted to something he is terrible at, but he still has his sales tricks. Good for him. And way to get the girl.
7. Women's Appreciation (Season 3)--In my opinion, this is the most underrated episode of the show. Personally, I love the female characters of the show--there are so many terrible sitcoms where the women are about the same age, have the same ambitions, and exist in some kind of weird groupthink mentality. And the attempts (and relative successes) by Michael to get these very different women that barely get along to help him through his destructive relationship with Jan. There are classic nuggets of humor throughout--Angela buying new clothes by purchasing clothes for oversized colonial dolls, the sad moment of Pam getting excited about buying towels for Victoria's Secret so that she can cut them up for hand towels, the absolutely horrifying behavior of Michael in the episode's very beginning (laughing about Phyllis being flashed in the parking lot because "Did he even get a good look at Pam, or Karen from behind?"). Also, this episode has what might be my favorite exchange in the show.
Michael: What do you think of roleplay?
Phyllis: It can be fun.
Michael: Jan has this schoolgirl fantasy...
Karen: That's a common one.
Michael: Yeah, I just don't feel comfortable wearing the dress.
Humor of the uncomfortable was this show's specialty. I laugh and cringe so, so much whenever I hear this.
6. The Convict (Season 3)--There were two amazing Michael sequences in back-to-back episodes in which he's trying to impress the Stamford people right after the merger. The first was "Lazy Scranton", which is terrific, but the rest of the episode isn't quite up to that standard. "Prison Mike", though, is an absolute classic. I refuse to give any quotes here--just, if you for some reason are reading this list and don't know Prison Mike, look it up. Even with no context whatsoever, it's hilarious. It's also the rare Season 3 episode where Andy Bernard isn't just absolutely obnoxious--I get easily bored with Jim's pranks but when they're on Andy I tend to be more responsive. His intentionally bad advice on how to woo Pam leads to the strangely zen climax of Andy singing in a high falsetto voice while playing banjo to impress Ms. Beesly.
5. The Job (Season 3)--Let me be very, very clear: While there were funny episodes over the six seasons which followed this episode, the finale of Season 3 should have been the last episode of the show. It is an absolutely perfect culmination of everything that happened up to this point. It's a double episode yet it is covered with great jokes--so many, in fact, that a brilliant scene in which Creed made thousands of copies of Schrute Bucks to redeem for cash value under threat of causing Schrute Buck superinflation was cut. The episode is that good. Jan, one of my favorite characters, runs a wide range--ultra-confident upon revealing her breast enhancement, angry upon her dismissal from Dunder Mifflin (my favorite line of this scene is when she tells her assistant Hunter "Good luck with your band"), and her utter breakdown on the way to Scranton. Dwight's bizarre, brief regime as Regional Manager included the aforementioned Schrute Bucks and the appointment of Pam as the secret assistant to the regional manager (this would be the last good Pam episode, as the writers decided to ruin one of the show's best characters by giving fans the stupid outcome they wanted by having her and Jim get together). I mean, Michael plays a cassette tape for what in his world should lead to a montage and this isn't among the five funniest moments of the episode. But all loose ends are tied up and you're left wondering what would happen with all of the characters you care about. While laughing. Nice combo.
4. Diversity Day (Season 1)--Michael Scott sees himself as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and within minutes is asking Kelly if she would "like some googy-googy". Really sums up the character. The main problem with Michael is that he truly believes that not only is he entertaining but that it is his job to be entertaining--just as he constantly tortures Toby, he feels the need to question any authority which implies that he should, you know, act professionally. It doesn't make sense that anyone would believe that hurling racial stereotypes at people would be a positive step towards racial harmony but because of how demented Michael is, we're willing to believe it. And although Kevin drawing himself in Secret Santa in the next season was a nice taste of serendipity, nothing tops Stanley drawing "black" as his race. This was the second episode of the show and it isn't really that much of a stretch to say that it is the reason the show managed to gain a captive audience and eventually build up 200 episodes.
3. Dinner Party (Season 4)--If the entire Jim and Pam romance is the way that The Office makes you want to fall in love and get married and have babies and whatnot, the Michael and Jan romance makes you want to stay inside and never interact with anyone ever again. And Dinner Party, the last great episode of the show, is the ultimate conclusion of this. The episode is so uncomfortable, so unpleasant, yet so thoroughly hilarious. It was the first episode back from the writer's strike and what a way to start the ball rolling again. I know that it contradicts my "End the show after Season 3" stance but this was just too much. Michael's TV, Jan's belief that Pam and Michael used to date, Dwight's date, charades, Hunter's song--a disturbing brilliant mess of an episode. Also, the episode highlights what a true douchebag Jim Halpert is when he tries to bail on his girlfriend from the horrible dinner party. Obviously, these incidents can't hold a candle to his ultimate jackassery--dumping Katy (the one played by Amy Adams) WHILE ON A BOAT AT A COMPANY EVENT so that she could not, like, leave within the next several hours. God, Jim is a terrible jackass of a person. I hate him oh so much.
2. Casino Night (Season 2)--This is probably the most beloved episode of the show because of the Jim/Pam kiss at the end, though the kiss does nothing for me (I mean, the awkward emotion of the few moments after Jim admits his feelings for Pam are the good love part anyway, right?). The episode, however, is one of the great quotable episodes of the show. Let me demonstrate.
Toby: I didn't think it was appropriate to invite children since it's...you know...there's gambling and alcohol and it's in our dangerous warehouse and it's a school night and, you know, Hooters is catering. Is that enough? Should I keep going?
Michael: Why are you the way that you are? Honestly, every time I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to be.
Creed: Oh I steal things all the time. It's just something I do. I stopped caring a long time ago.
Michael: Two queens on Casino Night. I'm going to drop a deuce on everybody.
1. The Dundies (Season 2)--The perfect episode, one which combines all elements of a great show. The premise is admittedly bizarre--Michael hosts an awards night for employees and is basically a gigantic tool throughout the whole thing every year. He parodies "O.P.P." and "Tiny Dancer" and it's impossible to know why. It's hilarious though obviously horrifying to all involved. And then reality breaks through and some onlookers mock Michael's stupidity. And then, in the midst of the hilarity, something genuinely heartwarming happens--(an extremely intoxicated) Pam begins to cheer. And then Jim begins to cheer. And then everybody begins to cheer (also, Pam kisses Jim, in what seemingly should be the more monumental kiss between the two since SHE is the one who is engaged and SHE is the one who isn't seeking him). And the show goes on and everybody laughs and has a good time. I'm totally stealing this from the DVD commentary for this episode though I doubt this sentiment is original--the office are like family. They can all think Michael is a tool all they want but when outsiders question him or his methods, they stand up for him. It's a very sweet episode, but it's also an episode in which Phyllis receives a trophy for "Bushiest (meant to be Busiest) Beaver" and the most timid character on the show gets so hammered that she is banned from all Chili's restaurants. Awesome.
