My ’The Office’ Story

Intro 

Welcome to Belated Binge the rebinge podcast that doesn’t take itself or the series too seriously. Which is perfect for this one. My name is Zac and I’m stoked to kick off a new binge here on the feed today. So as has become customary on this podcast, I’ll start by sharing my The Office story. 

(Liner)

Before we get started every episode of Belated Binge may have spoilers and adult language. 

Today I’m excited to introduce another new Binge to the feed. If you’ve been listening to the Harry Potter Binge you’ll remember that I kicked that off by sharing my Harry Potter story. When I got into it, why I was so late, why I like it and all that. 

I want to kick these new binges off that way as well. So today I’ll be sharing my The Office story. 

First off the office ran on television from March of 2005 until may of 2013. It ran 9 seasons and I didn’t see a single episode during that time. It then became popular on Netflix some years later. I honestly don’t even know when that happened. But I do know that around 2016-2017 it was all anyone at work was talking about. 

At that time I was at my first job in my current career. My radio says were over. I had moved to the big city and I was finally working in the field I went to college for in the first place. I felt like I was a little behind, but I wasn’t. That’s just something we do to ourselves in America to constantly put pressure on ourselves to be successful in life with that success being measured by income and job title. In reality, I was a few years out of college, maybe 24 years old. I had experienced things most don’t get to. Like for instance. The year before I was on stage at the biggest country music festival in the region hyping a crowd of thousands of people and introducing famous musicians. And getting paid for it. 

But you know, now I was at a cubicle, so I was really making it… Now because I don’t really talk about my professional life on this podcast, I’ll spare you the details. Honestly, you wouldn’t find them exciting anyways. But in a nutshell, I do Paid advertising on the internet for companies. And at this time of my life I was just starting that career journey. I was working at a startup agency with a hand full of people around my age. And these people were obsessed with watching the office on Netflix. 

I have never been the guy who’s watching the  popular show when it’s popular. I also don’t often watch the things people tell me is great. I think it’s just some want to be rebel inside of me that doesn’t want to follow the trends. Or maybe I’m just busy in some deep rabbit hole of another series I’m binging that I probably didn’t engage with when it was the popular thing people said I should do. Either way. I wasn’t watching it. 

But after awhile, I decided to try it. 

I hated it. 

For some reason I tried again. 

Hated it. 

I could NOT figure out why the hell people liked this show. It was terrible. 

Eventually on my 3rd or 4th try because my wife actually told me it was worth it… I kept watching. I still didn’t get it. And then something happened. 

Around half way through season 2 I think it was… I laughed. And I kept laughing. Something had clicked and I became as obsessed with the office as everyone, well at the office. 

I’ve told this story I think but the first Halloween after my wife and I got married we did our first and only couples costume at a friends party. We went as Jim and Pam. Ironically, the moment I stepped in this house a drunk guy I didn’t know screamed out Harry Potter and for the rest of the night I was Harry Potter or Daniel Radcliffe to this dude. But I was Jim dammit. I shaved and everything. 

I’m not sure what that says about us as a couple that we just had shit in our closet that worked for a Jim and Pam couples costume. But you know what… it’s fine. 

When the pandemic hit and we started working from home the office was one of the things I’d throw on in the background some days while I worked. It’s sort of a comfort show at this point and I nearly missed it. But I will say that it’s been awhile since I’ve watched it aside from bits and pieces of an episode on Comedy Central or something and I haven’t watched any of the super fan stuff at all so I can’t wait to get started on this one. 

Here’s what we’re going to do. And I hope when I say we I mean me and you. Together. Otherwise this is going to be a lonely binge. 

I’m going to start this rewatch with the super fan edition on peacock. That means we’ll have the extended episodes, deleted scenes and whatever else they include in that. And it’s been so long since I’ve seen the original series, I think it’ll be fun if I try to guess what parts of the super fan episodes weren’t in the original. And of course I expect to get a shit ton of it wrong and you get to make fun of me all along the way!!

We’ll do that as long as they keep making them. Right now the first 6 seasons are available. So I hope by the time we get that far, the last 3 will be available in super fan editions too. 

I’ll throw some other funny bits in and my general thoughts on each episode, but we’ll spend most of the podcast going through the notes I take while watching the episodes. 

I’ll probably play with how many episodes to cover at one time. And if I get a guest we might do just 1 episode so we can ramble on about it and not rush through it. When I’m flying solo I’ll probably try a few different ways. Maybe 2 maybe 3 episodes at a time and hopefully you’ll tell me what you prefer along the way as we dial it in. 

That’s about all I got on this one I think. I’m excited to get started and I hope you are too! If nothing else, it’s an excuse to watch the office again. So let’s go!

Welcome to belated Binge - the office.