"Pilot" was filmed almost six months prior to beginning of filming on the second episode of the season, " Diversity Day". Although later reshot, a scene in which Jim tapes pencils to his desk was originally filmed as a parallel to a scene in the British version, in which Tim Canterbury stacks up cardboard boxes in front of Gareth Keenan to restrict Keenan's view of Canterbury. Jokes such as Dwight's stapler being put in Jell-O by Jim were transferred verbatim from the original series, while others were only slightly changed. Although the episode was primarily adapted from the first episode of the British series, it was partially re-scripted in an attempt to " Americanize" it. Daniels had decided to go through this route because "completely starting from scratch would be a very risky thing to do" due to the show being an adaptation.
The pilot is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the British version.
#THE OFFICE SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 FULL SERIES#
The episode debuted the series as a midseason replacement for the 2004–05 season. "Pilot" was based on the original first episode of the British version of The Office, created by Ricky Gervais (pictured) and Stephen Merchant. Although the episode was a ratings success, receiving a 5.0/13 in the Nielsen ratings among people aged 18–49, and garnering 11.2 million viewers overall, the episode received mixed reviews, with many critics criticizing it as a complete copy of the original. The episode was primarily adapted from the first episode of the British series, although it was partially re-scripted in an attempt to " Americanize" the new show. "Pilot" debuted The Office as a midseason replacement for the 2004–05 season. Novak) as a temporary worker, while Jim Halpert ( John Krasinski) pranks antagonist Dwight Schrute ( Rainn Wilson). The office also gets new employee Ryan Howard ( B. Manager Michael Scott ( Steve Carell) tries to paint a happy picture in the face of potential downsizing from corporate. In this episode, a documentary crew arrives at the Scranton, Pennsylvania offices of Dunder Mifflin to observe the employees and learn about modern management. The episode's teleplay was adapted by Greg Daniels from the original script of the first episode of the British version written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on March 24, 2005. " Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the American comedy television series The Office.