Grab Your Popcorn — You've Got the 10 Best Episodes of The Office to Watch

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at this spectacularly uncomfortable dinner party. Steve Carell's Michael Scott is in fine form, with his visibly pained grin frozen on for the majority of the episode, which puts his dysfunctional relationship with Jan front and centre. With every strained "babe" they exchange with one another, the tension between Michael and Jan bubbles up at a smartly timed pace. You're on the edge of your seat, wondering what the ultimate breaking point will be, and during the hysterically awkward 22 minutes, we're treated to some amazing factoids, like Jan's side hustle creating candles and Michael's prized possession, a plasma TV with a display that's not much bigger than a laptop screen, and the fact that he will sometimes "just stand here and watch television for hours."

In case you ever feel like you're terrible at flirting, this is a great episode to put things in perspective. Michael Scott's awkwardness is taken to the next level when he's in the presence of a woman he fancies and when that woman happens to be Katy, an attractive handbag seller played by Amy Adams. Prepare to cringe like you've never cringed before. Right off the bat, Michael demonstrates his extreme lack of self-awareness by referring to her as "the new-and-improved Pam" . . . in front of Pam, which sets us up pretty nicely for the escalating discomfort that ensues. This episode also reveals the flip side of Michael's less-than-stellar flirting, which is that he's really just a romantic at heart. He spends the episode earnestly trying to woo Katy, and when she agrees to let him give her a ride home at the end of the day, he enlists Ryan to clean out his car and basically excitedly counts down the seconds until 5 p.m.

This is the episode that blessed us with "Prison Mike," complete with do-rag and a slew of inappropriate comments meant to hearken back to his hard-knock days as an inmate. It's Michael's effort to prove to his staff that Dunder Mifflin is in fact not worse than prison after they hear about what jail time was like for a new employee. But just to really drive home the point, he also locks them in the conference room.

There are plenty of excellent moments in "The Job," i.e., watching Michael Scott flex his interviewee skills and tell David Wallace how he's never really been a fan of the name "Dunder Mifflin" and why not go with something like "Super-Duper Paper" instead. But what earns this episode a spot in the top 10 is that it finally gives us the Jim and Pam relationship jump-start we had been gunning for since season one. After interviewing for the corporate job in New York, Jim has his epiphany moment (finally) of wanting to make it work with Pam, and, really, the rest is history.

Just as "The Job" delivered the long-awaited turning point in Jim and Pam's relationship, "Baby Shower" gives us Michael and Holly making it first-date official. After finding out about Jan's pregnancy via sperm donor, Michael is still determined to treat this baby like his own, or, as Jim so aptly put it, "This baby will be related to Michael through . . . delusion." Of course, that means throwing a baby shower in the office, but — plot twist — Jan shows up having already given birth. Never one to be discouraged, Michael forges on with the shower, as well as with his plan to prove he is completely disinterested in Holly to avoid hurting Jan's feelings. After Jan flat-out tells Michael to not date Holly, without any explanation, he proves that he does in fact always remain true to his feelings, and so we get the start of our happy ending.

Michael Scott channelling his inner Willy Wonka = iconic. His "Golden Ticket" idea that initially seems to be a complete disaster but turns out to be a genius marketing move = even more iconic.

Meet The Michael Scott Paper Company Dream Team: Pam, Ryan, and . . . Vikram; each specifically identified by Michael for their unique talents. Beyond giving us yet another instance in which Michael's unbridled optimism keeps the boat afloat, "Dream Team" is also a love letter to the underdog. It's Michael's belief in second chances and unquestioning faith in people that he cares about that adds to his endearing persona.

For all the doubters out there, "Broke" proves that Michael Scott is, albeit unintentionally, a savvy businessman. Watching Michael play hardball against David Wallace is one of the most delightfully entertaining exchanges in all nine seasons and a testament to the fact that there is, in fact, a method to Michael's madness.

"Broke" proves that Michael Scott actually has his masterful business moments, in his own unique way. Similarly, "Body Language" proves that his way of flirting can actually be quite successful. Michael spends the entire episode valiantly attempting to make a potential client (and love interest) named Donna fall in love with him. And even though all hope seems lost toward the episode's end, Michael is intuitive enough to recognise the signs, i.e., the fact that Donna left her barrette behind. Trust him.

It is meta, features cameos from Dunder Mifflin employees past and present, and includes the legendary Michael Scarn dance sampled in Billie Eilish's single "My Strange Addiction." Eleven years in the making, Threat Level Midnight is Michael's pièce de résistance, a movie that quite honestly just has to be seen to be believed.