Top 5 ‘The Office’ Cold Opens

TV & Film

Sep 8

The Office poster — Image Source: YouTube

One of the best parts of The Office is their cold opens. Ever since it came out it has been received rather well but not until it was on Netflix did it begin picking up speed and becoming the sensation that it is. Whether you love the show because you see yourself in it or love the show because it is absurd at times, it’s hard not to love a show that is both funny and usually comedy in good taste. There are some memorable moments throughout the show and many of them are found in their cold opens. Busting down a list of the top 5 of these cold opens was one of the more difficult things to do and an “honorable mention” list would be too long to include. However, the top 5 cold opens of The Office are as follows.

5. Season 3 Ep. 12 - Back From Vacation: Dwight’s Recorded Meeting

The Office image — Image Source: YouTube

“I am now chopping off Phyllis’ head with a chainsaw!” In this cold open you learn that Michael Scott is on vacation to Jamaica and Jim Halpert is put in charge in the meantime to make sure the office is still run smoothly. In this scene, the sales staff are in a meeting to get ready for the week and Dwight pulls out a recording device to record the meeting, “For Michael” he says.

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Jim takes advantage of this opportunity to begin clowning on Dwight, making out like Dwight is taking his shirt off, being aggressive towards Jim, and Karen, Phyllis, and the others join in on making fun of Dwight while Dwight simply tries to correct them by speaking to the recorder! Andy makes sure to end the scene in an awkward silence by getting involved. A quality ending to a great scene!

4. Season 2 Ep. 9 - Email Surveillance: Terrorist?

The Office photo — Image Source: theofficetvshow.com

“There’s no time to think about if this is real!” In this cold open Michael is on the phone and notices a man with tan skin and in a turban and he begins to freak out. He proceeds to put the office in a lockdown of sorts without considering the non-threatening look and demeanor of the man walking in who happens to be the IT guy for the office. It is comedically fun although it would not have gone over well in the real world.

3. Season 5 Ep. 11 - Moroccan Christmas: Christmas Desk

“They don’t give black belts for things that are stupid.” This cold open was a classic Jim prank on Dwight. You have the great realization by Dwight that his desk has been tampered with, Jim’s smug response to Dwight’s anger, and then Dwight falling for Jim’s prank on him. Dwight first sees his desk wrapped in wrapping paper, claims it will be easy for him to unwrap it, and proceeds to attempt to sit on the desk to find out that it is not his desk, and he falls through the desk, causing it to collapse. Absolutely hilarious!

2. Season 3 Ep. 21 - Product Recall: Identity Theft

“Identity theft is not a joke Jim!” This is the second most classic cold open in the history of The Office. You have another classic prank that Jim is attempting to pull over on Dwight but one of the best things about it is that Dwight doesn’t realize what is going on until Jim says, “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.” That quote and the one at the beginning of this section have appeared on T-Shirts for a while now and anyone who sees it, immediately sees this scene play in their head again and can laugh once more. But when Jim finally says that line, Dwight freaks out and the prank has officially been pulled but is capped off with Jim running to Michael’s office yelling, “Michael!” in mocking of Dwight, only to have Dwight get up the same and yell “Michael!” the same way. Classic.

1. Season 5 Ep. 14-15 - Stress Relief: Smoking Saving Lives

“Today, smoking is going to save lives.” This was an easy choice to make for many reasons. There are amazing moments such as Andy yelling, “The fire is shooting at us!” when Dwight sets off firecrackers amid the smoke, to Dwight looking at the camera and saying the opening line of this section as he throws a lit cigarette into the little trash can to get the simulated fire started. You have a chaotic scene full of many absurd and hilarious moments from every member of the office whether it is Creed’s face of fright, Oscar climbing into the ceiling, to Angela throwing her cat into the ceiling yelling, “Save Bandit!” That is another quote commonly found on T-shirts and items.

To cap off this scene, Stanley has a heart attack when Dwight says that it was “only a simulation” and Michael responds as you would expect him to. He sticks his wallet in Stanley’s mouth to keep him breathing (maybe?) and then continues to try to shock Stanley awake with some crazy facts. Facts like, “You are black Stanley!” and “Obama is president!” This scene was a hot cold open that had every character being themselves in situations that could only happen if Dwight was a real person. That’s why it is the top cold open in The Office.

You can watch the regular episodes and the superfan episodes on Peacock. Below is a link to the playlist on YouTube of all of the cold opens of The Office and there are a plethora of quality ones not on this small list!

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