Happy Fifteenth Anniversary To "The Office!"

This kind of slipped past me, what with the End Of The World currently happening and all. March 24 was the FIFTEENTH Anniversary of the premiere of the American version of The Office! Fifteen years! How's that even possible?

It seems like only yesterday that I sat down in front of my TV and watched the first episode. I have to say I honestly wasn't very impressed with it. Why? Welp, at the time I was working at the local newspaper and had a very, very Michael Scott-like boss. One who, just like Michael, thought he was hilarious, wanted to be everyone's pal and spent far more time and effort deciding where to eat lunch than he ever did on actual work. 

Since I was pretty much living the series on a daily basis, the last thing I wanted to do was see it again when I got home. So I ended up ignoring the show.

I don't remember why now, but I decided to give the series another try a year later. I watched the A Benihana Christmas episode, and suddenly I was hooked. I sought out the DVDs to get all caught up, and became a rabid viewer after that.

Apparently back then some people didn't understand the series' "fake documentary" style of shooting. I was once discussing the show with a co-worker who said, "That guy who plays Jim is the worst actor ever! Every week he looks right at the camera and makes a face!" Oy gevalt!

I remained a loyal fan for the series' entire seven year run. You heard me. I said seven. There were only seven seasons of The Office. You may encounter people who insist there were actually nine seasons, but that's just an ugly internet rumor. The series ended with Steve Carell's departure in the Goodbye, Michael  episode.

I have spoken.