The Office

Season 2

The Dundies

1. Greg Daniels has said that The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) was a huge part of the process where the show went from being promising but very erratic in Season 1 to a huge hit that would win the Best Comedy Series Emmy in 2006 and run for seven seasons after that. The reason for this is that Steve Carell's performance in Judd Apatow's film gave them a guide for how to make Carell's Michael Scott into a more nuanced and likable character (even as Michael was not intended to be, and wasn't, as nice or good a person as his Andy character from the film). One of the major problems with Season 1 was that Michael Scott was often mean or menacing, and keying into Carell's other work helped re-calibrate Michael Scott into more of a well-meaning person who was still often ridiculous and/or incompetent.
2. Chili's public relations department was unhappy that Pam was shown getting drunk at their restaurant and wanted the producers to remove the Chili's name from the episode. To assuage them, the writers added a line from an actor playing a Chili's employee, saying that Pam had violated their rules by taking drinks off other tables and was now banned from the franchise.
3. In "The Dundies" and "The Client," some characters go to Chili's for various things. Michael says it is just a few blocks down the road, but the closest Chili's to Scranton is actually 15 miles away.
4. The end of this episode includes a Chili's employee announcing that Pam (Jenna Fischer) had been banned by the franchise for her drunken antics. In 2017, Fischer tweeted a photo of herself outside a Chili's, asking if she should go in. Chili's later sent out a mock press release, saying: Effective immediately, Chili's® Grill & Bar has removed the longstanding ban on a Scranton, Pennsylvania woman who allegedly caused a disturbance during a company awards party held at a Chili's near the Pennsylvania town of Scranton. "After reviewing the good conduct of Pam, I have decided to lift the now 11-year ban," said Kelli Valade, President of Chili's. "Pam is an inspiration to many and we welcome her with open arms."
5. First episode where Jim and Pam kiss.
6. In Michael's Dundies monologue, he tells a made-up story about being in a relationship with a woman from HR. Michael's future wife, Holly Flax, was a woman from HR.

Sexual Harassment

1. Michael's uses his infamous "that's what she said" running joke for the first time.
2. The cast and crew have widely credited the show's popularity via downloads on iTunes with first saving it from an early Season 2 cancellation (at a point where NBC had only green-lit six S2 episodes and had pointedly refused to discuss if there would be any more) and then making it into a big hit as word of mouth spread from people who watched episodes on non-TV platforms. John Krasinski talked in one interview about seeing someone watching the "Sexual Harassment" episode on an iPod and then looking up, seeing him and saying "Hey, it's Jim! Hi!"; this made Krasinski feel like the show had broken through to become a success.
3. The episode originally aired with an 'adult theme' warning, because of the use of the word "boner".
4. The first time John Krasinski makes his signature to-the-camera-face.
5. When Michael is asking the warehouse guys for a new joke and they berate him, for some reason the sound of a sheep "baaing" is heard.
6. When Michael is rushing his lawyer out of his office, a microphone can be seen in the top right corner of the screen.
7. Todd Packer's license plate reads "WLHUNG".
8. The actress that plays Pam's mom in this episode did not reprise her role in future episodes.

Office Olympics

1. The first episode in the series to have a minor gag before the opening theme.
2. Nancy Carell, wife of Steve Carell, appears as Michael Scott's realtor and eventual love interest beginning in this episode.

The Fire

1. Michael says, "Much advice you seek" in a Yoda voice, which Ryan mistakes for Fozzie Bear. Both characters are voiced by Frank Oz.
2. Pam's favorite movies are Fargo (1996), Dazed and Confused (1993), The Breakfast Club (1985), The Princess Bride (1987) and Edward Scissorhands (1990). Her guilty pleasure movie looks to be Legally Blonde (2001).
3. Dwight mentions that in the count off Ryan can be number 14 as "Marjorie isn't here", this is the only mention of Marjorie in the show. However, he may be referring to Madge from the warehouse, as Madge is a short form of Marjorie.

Halloween

1. Jim reveals that Michael Scott's middle name is Gary.
2. When Michael is attempting to fire Creed, Creed convinces him otherwise and then concludes the conversation with a subtle version of the infamous slurping of Anthony Hopkins's Hannibal whilst remembering liver and Chianti.

The Fight

1. In the final shot, the actor playing the sensei who judges Michael and Dwight's fight can be seen breaking character and struggling to hide laughter.
2. When everyone gets off the elevator after the fight, Rainn Wilson struggles not to smile after running into the door.
3. Ryan has a different phone in this episode (a flip phone) than he did in the episode, "The Fire," in which he has a Palm Treo 650 smartphone.
4. When Dwight calls his sensei, Ira, He gets cut off before saying "Arigato Goazai Mashta" which is an incorrect pronouncation. The correct form for what he is meaning to say is "Arigatou gozaimashita" which is a thanks to something that has been done to you. For instance you could say it to a teacher after a lesson. Along with "Sempai" which should be "Senpai" and Michael falsely identifying a Kanji as "California Roll" are just a few of the moments satirizing Dwight and Michaels "fighting knowledge".
5. When Michael gives his reasons for beating up Dwight, he says that Dwight lied about going to a dentist appointment. In the season 3 episode, the coup, Dwight uses the excuse of a dentist appointment to go meet Jan in order to take Michael's job.

The Client

1. In this episode, Dwight is seen using a NASA blanket, which is one of the items he listed to take with him on an island during The Fire (episode 4, Season 2).
2. First episode introducing the idea of Michael and Jan, and Michael's spy screenplay, "Threat Level Midnight."

Performance Review

1. At the opening, on Dwight's desk is a Froggy 101 bumper sticker. That's the area's country music station, 101.3.
2. When Dwight lists the reasons why he deserves a raise, he says he's never missed a day of work due to illness, even when he had walking pneumonia. In season 1 episode 3 he states he has never been sick.

E-Mail Surveillance

1. Jim's yearbook photo is actually John Krasinski's real life yearbook picture.
2. In this episode Michael is obesseed with pulling a gun during scenes in his improv class. Steve Carrel says that this was inspired by a former student who, in his own improv days, always used to pull a gun during scenes.
3. After Michael's Improv class, he overhears the group is going to Bernie's. That would be Bernie's Tavern, 1902 Jackson St. in West Side (Scranton).
4. In this episode, Michael talks about his days in college. In the episode "The Fire", Micheal admits that he never went to college.
5. In Jim's room you can see a guitar on the other side of the bed, in a later Episode Jim makes an avatar for "second life" that has a guitar on his back. Pam askes Jim if he really plays guitar and Jim tries to steer the conversation in the different direction saying no he doesn't.
6. Jim's roommate is named Mark.
7. First episode where Dwight and Angela are together.

Christmas Party

1. For the original Secret Santa: Kelly got Oscar a shower radio, Oscar got Creed a shamrock keychain, Creed got Jim an old shirt, Jim got Pam a teapot with sentimental gifts inside, Pam got Meredith a picture of the office, Meredith got Dwight four shot glasses, Dwight got Phyllis 200 paintball pellets with 2 free lessons with himself, Phyllis knitted Michael an oven mitt, Michael got Ryan a video iPod, Ryan got Toby a book of short stories, Toby got Angela a poster of babies posing as adults, Angela got Stanley a picture frame and Stanley got Kelly a "Kelly" nameplate.
2. Phyllis's boyfriend (Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration) works on the same floor as she does, in fact when Michael steps out of the office after getting her Christmas gift, you can clearly see Bob's office.
3. For the gift exchange, Oscar is giving Creed an Irish key chain. In a talking head, he holds the gift up and refers to it as a Shamrock key chain; in fact, it has a four-leaf clover on it. (Shamrocks have only three leaves.)

Booze Cruise

1. Steve Carrell and Rob Riggle, who both appear in this episode, both served as correspondents on The Daily Show.
2. The name of the vending machine guy, whom Jim is friends with, is Steve.
3. When Jim talks to Michael about his crush on Pam, Michael gives the advice, "Never, ever, ever give up." This is the same advice (with the exact wording) that Tim gives Dawn in the UK version of The Office, which is what ultimately wins her over.
4. When Roy and Pam set the date of their wedding, the captain of the ship says he'll marry them right away. Pam disagrees with this because she wants her parents at her wedding. However, when Pam and Jim get married, they secretly marry on board "Maid of the Mist" without either of their parents present.

The Injury

1. This episode is B.J Novak's (who plays Ryan, and is a writer for the show) favourite episode of The Office.
2. Jim has a framed picture of himself holding a baby on his desk
3. Dwight's middle name is Kurt.

The Secret

1. During the talking head scene where Michael is explaining why he spent so much on magic items, you can see the fake thumb on his hand. It seems he was going to use the prop but it got cut from the final edit.
2. When Michael tells Jim "my lips are sealed" about keeping the secret, he sings the titular line from the song "My Lips Are Sealed" and says "Bangles." Michael wasn't correct--the song is actually done by The Go-Gos.
3. Dwight catches Oscar faking being sick. So for Dwight to not tell Michael he says Oscar owes him a huge favor whenever he wants. Later in the series, Dwight holds a funeral at his farm and invites no one from the office except for Oscar. This is the big favor but Dwight doesn't actually say that it's the favor.

The Carpet

1. Dwight is calling Rock 107 asking if he's the 107th caller for a CD box set. Rock 107 (106.9, WEZX) is the area's classic rock station. They frequently have contests where the 107th caller wins various things.
2. Early in the episode, Michael admits to being a fan of Joe Rogan. Coincidentally, Rogan was raised in the same part of Massachusetts (Newton, MA) as both B.J. Novak and John Krasinski.
3. The plot of this episode resembles the second episode of the original British series, where a prank is also pulled on the boss, who is prepared to punish the responsible employee until he finds out it was done by his traveling salesman best friend.
4. In certain interview shots with Michael, a picture of a sandwich can be seen in the background with a few words blocked out that reads, "The Big Stinky." This is a reference to the plot of this episode.

Boys and Girls

1. The genesis for the episode came from an idea Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin) and Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) had while spending time together on the set of the series.
2. The math problem Michael gives, 13579 divided by 8724, equates to 1.56.

Valentine's Day

1. Michael goes to New York on a business trip and thinks he spotted Tina Fey on the streets. Of course, he was wrong and while obsessing about whether it was Tina Fey or not, Conan O'Brien walks past and he fails to notice that. Tina Fey and Steve Carell later went on to appear together on a movie called Date Night in 2010.
2. First appearance of David Wallace (Andy Buckley).
3. The person who delivered the bear is a writer for the show.
4. This is the first and only time we see Pam wearing her hair down until again in the beginning of season 4.
5. At the end of Michael's financial presentation where he does a movie-of-sorts of his office staff, we can see the pictures of Robin Williams and Steve Martin together at the end.
6. Charles Esten appears in this episode as Stamford Branch manager Josh, Charles (also known as Chip) used to be a regular cast member on the popular improv comedy show 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' which is one of Michael Scott's favourite TV shows.

Dwight's Speech

1. When Michael shows off his awards, there is a photocopy of Jan on the inner door.

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

Michael's Birthday

1. According to Michael Scott, his birthday is March 15th, the same as Eva Longoria.
2. When they arrive at the ice rink, you can see the logo of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins, which are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.
3. When Michael heard that the test result of Kevin is negative, he reacts like he's devastated. Because he thinks 'negative' is bad. Same thing happens to George Costanza from an other TV series Seinfeld, in the episode 'The Pilot'. Writers may have inspired from that moment of Seinfeld.

Drug Testing

1. Jim's impression of Stanley in this episode was inspired by John Krasinski's actual talent of doing impressions on the set.
2. Michael has a bandage around his finger in this episode because Steve Carell hurt his finger during the week and was unable to remove his wedding ring due to the swelling. Instead of cutting off his ring, the crew simply wrapped a bandage around it.
3. This was the last episode of the season to be filmed, but not the last to air.
4. Hank the security guard's name tag says "Tate"; meaning his full name is Hank Tate.
5. In episode 2.20 (Drug Testing), Michael makes a list of illegal drugs as follows: Crack, Cocaine, Pot, Blow, Acid, Hookah, Heroine, Speed. Although Michael spells heroin like it says above, the actual spelling is h-e-r-o-i-n, without the 'E'.

Conflict Resolution

1. When everyone was discussing the poster, there's a Certificate of Participation for Marc Christie framed on the wall behind Michael. Marc Christie was the Best Boy grip, and the Key grip, during the first three seasons of the series.

Casino Night

1. In this episode, Michael says he's donating his money to Comic Relief, even though it no longer exists. This was an homage to the original British series, where an entire episode (#2.5) was devoted to raising money for Comic Relief.
2. In "Casino Night" Creed is shown stealing from a vending machine. He holds up a candy bar. This a bar made by Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, a company founded in Scranton.
3. Creed mentions the excellent pea soup at the soup kitchen. He would be referring to the St. Francis of Assisi Soup Kitchen at 500 Penn Ave. in Scranton (right across the street from the Penn Paper building shown in the opening credits of the show). The soup kitchen is for the homeless.
4. In his beginning monologue to the camera, Michael states that he considers himself to be an accomplished "philanderer." This word is often applied to men who engage in sexual relationships with multiple women simultaneously. The word he should have used is "philanthropist," which is more aligned with people who support charities.
5. Michael's line, "Jan Levinson, I presume", is a reference to Journalist Henry Morton Stanley's reported first words to adventurer Dr. David Livingstone, "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume", when the former found the latter in Africa.
6. After Michael makes his speech to get casino night started, he says "let's get it started--- black eyed crows". He is referencing to the song by the Black Eyed PEAS "Let's Get It Started" but has the group name wrong. This was a deliberate but subtle joke.
7. Michael says he's donating his money to Comic Relief. In the British version of The Office, Comic Relief is referenced in the very first episode.
8. In "Casino Night" Dwight tells Pam & Jim his tux belonged to his grandfather & that he was buried in it. He again wears it in the beginning of the episode "The Farm", when announcing the death of his Aunt Shirley. However, according to Schrute tradition, they shoot their dead before burial to make sure they are "completely dead". If his grandfather had been buried in this tux, there should've been bullet holes.