While Michael Scott was primarily responsible for many of The Office’s series finale for a surprise Michael cameo, which brought memories of the beloved character rushing back, including his favorite “that’s what she said” joke.
Some of Michael’s best moments are the ones that are the most difficult to watch, typically because of the repulsiveness of his actions. At the same time, these moments tend to stick out as both fan and cast favorites, which ties into how The Office’s comedy continually broke boundaries. From the cringe-fest of “Scott’s Tots” to his racism in “Diversity Day”—which is John Krasinski’s favorite episode—Michael Scott is responsible for many of the show’s best gags, and none would be accomplished without the comedy prowess of TSteve Carell.
In a fundraiser for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation on YouTube, Steve Carell answered that his favorite episode from The Office is season 3’s “A Benihana Christmas,” which is also a favorite among the fanbase. When explaining his answer, Carell recalled that Michael does an especially “gross” thing where he marks the two Benihana waitresses he brings back to Dunder Mifflin so that he can tell them apart. This is ed as one of Michael’s worst moments, as he not only acts particularly racist by saying he can’t tell the Asian waitresses apart, but he also decides to cancel Christmas because his girlfriend Carol broke up with him. “A Benihana Christmas” was The Office’s very first two-part episode, which meant it was loaded with even more Michael-isms and cringe moments than usual.
While Carell recalled Michael’s “gross” moment when discussing his favorite The Office episode, the actor ed his answer by saying the episode was particularly memorable for its director. The Office was known for bringing in plenty of accomplished Hollywood figures for its episodes, including Jason Reitman, JJ Abrams, Bryan Cranston, and “A Benihana Christmas” director Harold Ramis. Carell remarked at how excited he was that the Caddyshack director was recruited to helm The Office’s Christmas episode, as the actor had long been a fan of his work. Carell mentioned that Ramis came in and completely understood the show’s chemistry, humor, and tone perfectly, which is hard for many outside of the show’s usual players to accomplish.
The two-part episode made a significant impact on Steve Carell for Harold Ramis’ direction and fun memories from shooting, with Ramis even returning later that season to helm the high-rated episode “Beach Games.” The Office’s “A Benihana Christmas” may be Carell’s favorite episode, but the actor has also mentioned often that his favorite filming moment was in season 4’s “Dinner Party,” which is widely regarded as The Office’s best episode. Both Carell and John Krasinski have recalled that it was nearly impossible to film the “Dinner Party” scene in which Michael exhibits his micro-flatscreen TV by showing how much more space the room gets when he barely pushes it into the wall. Krasinski and Carell often how many takes were ruined by the cast breaking into laughter, which is proven by The Office’s bloopers from the fan-favorite episode.