The American version of “The Office” has been finished for over a year now, but since it will forever have a huge place in my heart and I know it better than any other show, I thought it’d be a great place to start. As I have never really accepted the fact that it has ended, it’ll give me some type of closure too, until the next time I decide to binge watch it over a weekend. If you haven’t seen an episode, clip, gif, or meme of the office, you’re probably lying, but we’ll just pretend for a second that you’re not. The original British version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and unlike many other American renditions of British shows, this one worked. The “mockumentary” style TV show hadn’t been widely popular before The Office, but these days, it’s everywhere. Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, Reno 911 and Arrested Development, just to name a few. Before The Office, sitcoms had laugh tracks; every joke was at center stage and distinctly pointed out with the audience’s reaction. One of the great things about the mockumentary format is that there’s the possibility of more than one joke at a time because not all the cameras are pointed at the same scene. Dwight could do something funny, but what’s almost always funnier is the dead pan to Jim’s reaction. Another aspect that really sets mockumentaries apart is the “confessional” style interviews. As far as I know, The Office started this trend that moved TV shows away from the Sitcom style of an audience being heard, but never acknowledged to acknowledging a silent audience in camera-to-face confessionals. The confessionals also add more jokes than a regular sitcom would be able to give. Unless, of course, the character is Zack Morris and he can stop time to tell viewers what is REALLY going on. The Office is also incredibly relatable for most people. I know when I started my first job, I could pick out the Stanley, the Angela, the Jim and the Pam in my office too, making the show more entertaining when I noticed The Office characters acting similar to my real-life coworkers. Thankfully, that first job didn’t have a Michael Scott, but if it had, I’m sure he would’ve been the World’s Best Boss.