Several aspects of NBC’s hit sitcom, The Office, still hold up today. The show had a hilarious cast and a sharp kind of humor that is pretty rare to come by. This off-beat mockumentary is still very beloved today and is still considered to be one of the best shows on TV.
Living on in reruns, The Office is certainly a series that viewers enjoy to binge-watch again and again. The series premiered in 2005 and ended in 2013, and it really never gets old.
But despite how hilarious The Office often was, does the hit sitcom truly survive the test of time? Being an early 2000s series, many elements of this series would now be considered dated. Let’s take a look at 10 episodes of The Office that really wouldn’t do that well today.
10. CHINA (SEASON 7, EPISODE 10)
Season 7 is mainly known for the fact that it is Michael Scott’s last season on the show. Because of this, the entire season had a kind of poignant vibe to it, as all fans knew that Steven Carell’s departure was imminent.
China is an episode that’s not considered to be very memorable today and given a rewatch, it’s clear why that is. The episode is one that really doesn’t look good today, and the jokes don’t land as well as they would have back in 2007. Considering the entire episode’s plot revolves around some politically offensive and culturally incorrect facts about China.
9. HOT GIRL (SEASON 1, EPISODE 6)
Amy Adams makes her first appearance as her recurring character, Katy Moore, in the season 1 finale. The first season of The Office was not very well received by audiences and critics, and thus, the series came pretty close to cancellation. Considering that the first season has some of the most outdated episodes of the series, it is understandable that The Office was almost given the ax.
Hot Girl is exactly how it sounds; an attractive saleswoman (Amy Adams) visits Dunder Mifflin, Michael and Dwight act inappropriately toward her, and that’s pretty much it.
8. DIVERSITY DAY (SEASON 1, EPISODE 2)
Diversity Day is probably considered one of the most controversial episodes of The Office. It was only the series’ second episode ever, and it featured Michael Scott at his fullest and most inappropriate. The thing about Michael is that he almost always means well in the things he does and the activities he makes his employees partake in.
But like all of Michael’s plans, his idea of a “diversity day” falls flat and becomes offensive for pretty much everyone.
7. SEXUAL HARASSMENT (SEASON 2, EPISODE 2)
From the title of the early season 2 episode, one might guess that the topics it touches on and the jokes it features have not aged well in the many years since it first aired. In all honesty, several aspects and comedic moments from Sexual Harassment, are considered to be iconic today. But that doesn’t mean that the entire episode has survived the test of time.
First of all, the episode introduced the character of Todd Packer, Michael’s friend who somehow manages to be even more offensive and obnoxious than Michael himself. While Sexual Harassment is considered to be a classic Office episode, watching it today might make one cringe.
6. VALENTINE’S DAY (SEASON 2, EPISODE 16)
Undoubtedly, this episode had some absolutely hilarious aspects to it, including Angela giving Dwight a bobblehead figure of himself as a gift. This episode was also the start of Michael’s infamous romance with Jan Levinson.
This episode focuses on what Valentine’s Day looks like in Dunder Mifflin’s mundane Scranton headquarters. Most aspects of this episode still remain hilarious today, and only a small portion has become slightly cringeworthy.
5. WOMEN’S APPRECIATION (SEASON 3, EPISODE 22)
Right from the very beginning, this episode touches on some pretty sensitive topics. Phyllis is flashed in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot and is understandably horrified. The whole storyline isn’t necessarily handled that well, but it gets worse.
For the better part of Women’s Appreciation, Michael takes some of his female employees (including Angela, Pam, and Meredith) to Victoria’s Secret. He offers to buy them all some clothes. These scenes were awkward back when the episode air, and look way worse now.
4. DID I STUTTER? (SEASON 4, EPISODE 16)
This is the episode in which Stanley coined the phrase, “did I stutter”, and as a result, it became completely iconic and one of the most quoted lines from The Office. But that’s not all there is to this episode.
Did I Stutter? is still an unforgettable and hilarious episode of the series - and one of the most famous - but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some aspects of it that didn’t age well. The episode largely revolved around the tense relationship between Michael and Stanley, so they had many interactions, some of which just weren’t handled as well as they could have been.
3. BOYS AND GIRLS (SEASON 2, EPISODE 15)
This episode is probably one of the most cringey episodes of The Office to date. It gets back into that old season 1 vibe where everything feels kind of awkward. This is actually a pretty brilliant aspect of the show, because it makes it appear more like a real documentary.
The plot mainly revolves around Jan conducting a women’s seminar for the female office employees, and the thing that makes this episode kind of weird these days is the fact that Michael literally can’t stand the fact that they are having a seminar without him.
2. THE CARPET (SEASON 2, EPISODE 14)
This episode has gotten worse with age by its pure gross-out factor alone. It features the character of Todd Packer at his absolute worst, and this is conveyed by the fact that he leaves something absolutely disgusting in Michael’s office. What exactly it is that Packer leaves on Michael’s carpet is not directly revealed, but from the implications of the episode, we can surmise that it’s pretty vile.
1. GAY WITCH HUNT (SEASON 3, EPISODE 1)
Oscar was the first - and one of the only - LGBTQ+ characters to appear on The Office. His sexuality was revealed early on in the series, and the season 3 premiere focused heavily on it. Gay Witch Hunt, as you might have guessed from the title, is about the Dunder Mifflin employees - primarily Michael - trying to figure out which worker is gay.
The concept alone of with episode just looks terrible now, and almost all of the jokes created in Gay Witch Hunt have aged pretty badly.
