The Office Gets Down to Business in Season Two

This past Christmas, my brother received the first four seasons of The Office on DVD. He didn't have to head back to college until mid-January, so we got a fair bit of viewing in during that time, and he managed to get us completely hooked. While the first season is a fun introduction to the characters, it's so short, at only six episodes, that it seems more like a mini-series that kicks things off than a full season. Season two really plunges into the characters, letting us scrutinize all the quirks and foibles of the employees of the Scranton branch of the Dunder-Mifflin paper company.

The fearless leader is Michael Scott, played to the zany hilt by Steve Carell. Michael is a boss who is desperate to be liked by all of his employees, though he often sabotages his efforts to ingratiate himself by cluelessly making inappropriate remarks. He excels at wasting time, and the logic behind his thought processes tends to be truly baffling. In this season, one of his primary preoccupations is Jan Levinson-Gould (Melora Hardin), a hard-nosed superior with whom he unexpectedly shares a tender moment. Convinced that there's more to their relationship than one tipsy encounter, he pursues her for the remainder of the season, even as he puts the moves on Carol (Nancy Walls), the real estate agent who sold him his house. Meanwhile, he manages to wreak havoc with his staff time and again, whether he's proving himself inept at keeping a secret, leading uncomfortable seminars or handing out office awards that nobody really wants.

Michael's second-in-command is Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), an aggressively anti-social beet farmer whose off-the-wall remarks are among the strangest on the show. While Dwight is often maddeningly self-serving, he becomes more sympathetic this season as he embarks upon a covert relationship with uptight accountant Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey), a devout Christian and cat lover who relishes her role as head of the party planning committee, and reveals greater depths of geekiness, making allusions to the likes of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and LOST. In the fourth episode, The Fire, Dwight demonstrates the extent of his oddness when Jim initiates a "What three books would you bring with you to a desert island?" game. His answer? "Physician's Desk Reference - hollowed out. Inside: waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket and, in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. No, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." This was the moment when I declared my allegiance to Dwight for the rest of the series.

Perhaps the most normal people in the office are salesman Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and receptionist Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer). They make the drudgery of their jobs bearable by collaborating on elaborate pranks, of which Dwight is almost always the victim. They're young, attractive and totally into each other. There's just one problem: Pam is engaged to the boorish Roy Anderson (David Denman), a warehouse worker who isn't really a bad guy but who certainly doesn't seem like a good match for Pam. The gradual resolution of the romantic tensions between Jim and Pam reminds me of the long-deferred Niles-Daphne relationship on Frasier; in both cases, the heart of series lies largely in wanting these star-crossed lovers to finally have a shot at real happiness together.

With the main players already well established, season two delves more deeply into the less prominent but still crucial characters. The only other woman in Pam's age bracket is Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling), a customer service representative of Indian descent who is scarily skilled at speaking at Micro Machine Man speeds. She has her eye on Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak), the fresh-out-of-college temp on whom Michael fawns, much to Ryan's discomfort. Kelly is ditzy, while Ryan has plenty of book smarts and a pretty high opinion of himself, though when it comes down to it his value to the company is rather limited, especially since he considers himself above many of the tasks Michael assigns him.

Sharing the accountants' corner with Angela are articulate, well-coiffed Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez), an underused character who has a moment in the spotlight late in the season, and pudgy, lethargic Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner), who reacts to the shenanigans of his office-mates with an elementary school mentality. Back in the annex with Kelly is sad-sack Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein), the human relations guy who is constantly butting heads with Michael over his management style. Consequently, Toby is the one employee who Michael detests, which adds to the pervasive exhaustion reflected in the bags under Toby's eyes.

Middle-aged saleswoman Phyllis Lapin (Phyllis Smith) generally brings a kind, maternal presence to the office, though party planning encounters with Angela bring out some less admirable aspects of her personality. Her demeanor tends to be quiet but cheerful, while fiery-haired alcoholic Meredith Palmer (Kate Flannery) comes across as sour and oversexed. Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton), the oldest member of the staff, first makes a big impression in Halloween, when he talks Michael, who has been pressured into laying off an employee, into letting him stay. In charge of quality control, he rarely plays a significant role in the workings of the office, but this creepy, out-to-lunch renaissance man can often be counted on for a hilariously random aside.

Down in the warehouse with Roy is Daryll Philbin (Craig Robinson), a no-nonsense black man who is leery of Michael interfering with his team's productivity and enjoys yanking Michael's chain by feeding him phony ghetto phrases. Up in the office, the only black employee is Staney Hudson (Leslie David Baker), a grumpy bulldog of a guy whose rolled eyes and terse statements make it very clear that he doesn't take kindly to Michael's interruptions, which could cost him sales. When that interference comes in the form of mandatory meetings, Stanley expresses his disdain by ignoring the presentation and working crossword puzzles.

This season gives all of these characters opportunities to interact with one another in ways that are sometimes meaningful and always amusing. The mockumentary style of the series allows for frequent instances of characters directly addressing the camera; some of the funniest bits of dialogue and most revealing character details come out in these short soliloquys. Several episodes take characters into a different setting, whether it's the Chili's where Michael hands out the annual Dundies awards, the ice skating rink where he holds his birthday party or the warehouse he so gleefully infiltrates. The office itself takes on a different flavor at times, too, particularly when Jim institutes a competition consisting of all the games that people have made up to stave off boredom and when various employees bring their children and step-children to work with them.

No matter what the circumstances, this show is full of surprises, with every episode guaranteed to have loony lines that will catch you off guard. With 22 episodes, there's a lot more to chew on here than in the first season, not to mention that there are more - and funnier - deleted scenes for each episode than for any series I've seen on DVD, with the possible exception of Freaks and Geeks, the other series produced by Paul Feig. Other special features like PSAs presented by various characters and a series of short scenes dealing with an accounting mystery add to the set's value.

When I started watching The Office, my friend informed me that season two was her favorite, and I can understand why. In terms of establishing character, it's the cornerstone of the series, and there is still plenty of new territory to explore at this point. It's also pretty easy to pick up the series here without having watched the first season, as my dad did; in later seasons, there are some pretty substantial plot twists that might throw new viewers for a loop, but if you want to dive into The Office with a full set of episodes, season two won't leave you confused. Still, I recommend catching it from the beginning, especially if you're a Netflix member, as the first four seasons are not only rentable but also available for instant viewing. Just be warned: It's mighty addictive!