It has been almost 13 years since the first episode of the American version of The Office has aired on NBC. The program started as a reboot of the British comedy with the same title created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, but would move on to become a longer-running, and more successful series. Both versions are equally loved by audiences on both sides of the world.
Since 2005, The Office has turned into more than just a comedy series about white collar office workers at a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Office has become one of the most iconic series to date, with relatable quotes and a variety of memes for every situation. From displaying your love for bears, beets, and Battlestar Galactica, to sharing your personal disdain for a certain HR representative - The Office anticipates your meme-needs.
While many of the best jokes are punchy one-liners, others have gone on and on for seasons. No matter how often we rewatch the often dramatic stories revolving around Michael, Dwight, Jim and company, our favorite running gags remain the backbone of the series. So read on to revisit The Office: 20 Insanely Long Running Jokes.
That's What She Said
Michael Scott is the heart of the series. Without his often insensitive and downright inappropriate remarks, the show would not be the same. His remarks are completely out of place in a professional environment, but man do they make us laugh.
A fan favorite, and the longest running joke on The Office period is his remark “That’s what she said.”
Michael uses this line continuously throughout the series to add a suggestive undertone to the dialogue in the office. In the season two episode “Sexual Harassment,” the employees review the policies and find that Michael’s line is considered harassment. This prompts Jim to go on a tangent: “Wow, that is really hard. You really think you can go all day long? Well, you always left me satisfied and smiling”. There really was only one way for Michael to respond.
Jim's Pranks On Dwight
Throughout the years, the audience witnessed Jim playing countless pranks on his desk buddy Dwight. Jim has shown his true colors from the start, quickly establishing their rivalry in the pilot. His very first pranks included putting Dwight’s stapler in jello, but he later went on to put his entire stationery in the vending machine, and tricked him into thinking he was part of a CIA mission.
However, one of the best pranks occurs in one of the later seasons of The Office. In the season nine episode “Andy’s Ancestry,” Jim and Pam ask their asian actor friend, Steve, to take Jim’s place for a day. They go as far as replacing pictures to pull off this coup, and eventually manage to make Dwight question himself.
Angela's Cats
Everybody adores their pets, but Angela Martin takes the love she has for her furry friends a bit too far. Not only does she own at least 15 cats throughout the series, but she goes above and beyond to protect them - for example when she saved Bandit from the fire in the office in season five.
“If you pray enough, you can change yourself into a cat person.”
Her obsession with cats goes even further: she sells her engagement ring from Andy to buy Princess Lady, a $7,000 cat, and also names her son after her favorite cat, Philip. Angela has also freely itted to liking cats better than people, and judges Oscar for being a dog person in season nine.
Michael's Hatred For Toby
In every office there is that one person you simply cannot stand. For Michael, that person is HR representative Toby Flenderson. All throughout the series, Michael bullies Toby into submission either by yelling at him, embarrassing him in front of the whole office, or even threatening to end his life. Michael’s harshest statement to date? “If I had a gun with two bullets, and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice.”
Apparently Michael’s hatred of Toby relates to his agenda of making the office lame, but Toby never seems to respond to the hate he receives. For a short time, Michael is able to replace Toby as HR rep with Holly, who he promptly falls in love with. However in season five, Holly is transferred to Nashua and Toby returns.
Kelly and Ryan's Relationship
Most romantic relationships have their ups and downs, but Ryan Howard and Kelly Kapoor’s rollercoaster romance is a bit too much to handle. What initially started as a fling, at least for Ryan, would turn into one of the longest running gags of the series. Kelly has always voiced her interest in a more exclusive relationship with Ryan, while he would break it off on a whim as he saw fit.
Throughout the series the two break up and make up several times.
Ryan left for New York, then Kelly started dating Daryl, Ryan came back and they became a will-they-won’t-they couple, before Ryan left again for Thailand, and Kelly started dating Ravi. It is only in the final episode that they run away together.
Andy's A Capella Group
As if anyone could forget, Andy Bernard attended the Ivy League college Cornell, and during his studies was an active member of an a capella group. Not only does he constantly mention his vocal talent on the show, we even get a glimpse or two of the musical group. For one, Andy uses their services in season four to serenade Angela, and the season nine episode fittingly titled “Here Comes Treble”, focuses entirely on the group.
In this episode, Stephen Colbert guest stars as Broccoli Rob, a former classmate and member of the a capella group, who turns out to be Andy’s biggest frenemy. Prior to his appearance in the final season, Broccoli Rob had been mentioned several times, for example in relation to a rumor that Andy was gay.
Jim Staring Directly Into The Camera
Some television shows are very conscious not to break the fourth wall - The Office is not one of those. The program is very deliberately following the format of a documentary, with separate individual interviews for each staff member thrown into the mix.
No other occurrence has become such a staple of the series than Jim staring directly into the camera.
Urban Dictionary defines “The Jim Look” as an expression “usually seen when Michael does something ridiculous; or after a successful prank on Dwight; sometimes in look of desperation of normalcy.” Jim even gives his first stare into the camera as early as in the pilot episode after putting Dwight’s stapler in jello, and continues to do so throughout all nine seasons.
Assistant To The Regional Manager
Dwight K. Schrute is nothing if not persistent. He is ambitious, enduring, and hard-working, which has earned him the title of top salesman year after year. However, there is one thing that Dwight couldn’t seem to reach, career-wise. While being Michael’s right-hand man throughout the first few seasons of the series, he remains the Assistant TO THE Regional Manager, rather than the Assistant Regional Manager.
It’s an important distinction for both Michael and Dwight, as it indicates a much lower ranking, and it is frequently mentioned throughout the series. After Michael’s departure, Dwight served as assistant to a variety of characters including Nellie Bertram, Robert California, and even Andy, until he finally takes on the Regional Manager position for himself at the end of the ninth season.
Big Tuna
At the end of season two, defeated by Pam’s rejection and her decision to set a wedding date with Roy, Jim decides to transfer to the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin. He quickly makes new friends there, among them Andy Bernard. In the season three premiere, Jim brings along a tuna sandwich for lunch, which prompts Andy to give him the nickname Big Tuna.
This joke goes on and on throughout the years up until the final season.
Andy does modify his nickname for Jim at times, calling him “Wet Tuna”, “Canned Tuna”, “Tuna Turner”, or “Big Haircut” from the iconic episode in which Jim got a haircut. In the season eight episode “Garden Party,” Andy even gets his brother Walter to call Jim “Big Tuna."
Meredith's True Love
It doesn’t take the audience very long to realize that Meredith Palmer has a problem. While it is not explicitly stated in the first season, her alcoholism becomes more evident starting with the season two episode “Christmas Party,” in which Meredith gets drunk and goes too far in front of Michael. This trend continues in episodes such as “Booze Cruise” or “A Benihana Christmas.”
Her alcoholism has her co-workers worried, and Michael even goes as far as planning an intervention, and when this fails, tries to have her committed into a rehab facility. While Meredith’s addiction is not as fun a gag as others, it is an important personality trait of her character, and often lands her in unexpected yet comical situations.