Throwback Thursday [Season 1, Episode 5]

Ah, BASKETBALL! This episode is my dad’s favorite. We can’t watch it enough times! “Basketball” is awesome for a lot of reasons. One is that, if you watched the episodes in the order they aired, you finally understand what then-temp Ryan Howard was holding up in the opening credits. Two, and possibly more importantly, we have a Jim-Roy showdown on the court! Speaking of those two, did you know that the nose-elbowing incident was an unscripted accident? David Denman felt terrible and John Krasinski had to miss a photo shoot the next day because of it! Three, we get to see Kevin and Phyllis show off their skills.

This episode was aired between #4, “The Alliance,” and #6, “Hot Girl,” which was also the Season 1 Finale. The idea for it came from a cut Pilot scene in which Michael brags about hooping in the warehouse. It brings the Jim/Pam/Roy triangle into plain view by pitting the office workers against the warehouse workers in a competition where the loser will come in on Saturday. Pam’s plans are up in the air: will it be shopping with Jim or jet-skiing with Roy? Speaking of jet skis, does this have anything to do with the Season 3 confusion about the jet skis? Just a thought…if someone could clarify, that would be fab! Michael is his typical sexist-, homophobic-, racist-remarking self, calling the game when he knows the office team is up over an accidental foul. But when he feels a little pressure from the warehouse guys, he immediately backs down, saying the office staffers will come in on Saturday. He caves again, however, figuring that the Scranton branch is in enough trouble. That’s the attitude, Michael!

Yeah…Season 1 is not my favorite season, but there are some awesome, awesome moments, and Basketball has definitely got several of them.

Deleted Scenes:

Further Reading:
1. Wikipedia entry
2. “Basketball” [Commentary track], The Office Season One (US/NBC Version) [DVD], Los Angeles, CA: Universal.
3. Brian Baumgartner’s blog
4. OfficeTally on Basketball

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