work experience

The Office Series 1, episode 2. First aired 16/07/01

in this episode...

David hires Donna, his lodger and the daughter of his best friend. While showing her round the office he discovers a doctored pornographic image of himself. Gareth, due to his covert operations skills, is told to catch the culprit.

Jennifer Taylor Clark visits from Head Office and wants to know what cutbacks David has made. David, displaying a genius crucial in a managerial role, invents a warehouse employee called Julie Anderton that he has fired. Jennifer is impressed until a tour of the warehouse makes it clear that Julie’s existence was entirely fabricated.

Brent-ism of the episode
"If you were to ask me to name three geniuses, I probably wouldn’t say Einstein, Newton...you know. I’d go Milligan, Cleese, Everett. Sessions."

Meanwhile Gareth’s investigations have revealed that the pornographic image was made on Tim’s computer. In a show of authority for Jennifer’s benefit, and a last ditch effort to claw back his reputation, David reprimands Tim in front of the whole office. So far so good. That is until he is told that the image is actually the work of his good friend Sales Rep. Chris Finch.

too good to miss out...

Gareth: "In this room, I have special-"
Tim: "Needs?"
Gareth: "No, I am a special-"
Tim: "Needs child?"
Gareth: "No. And that’s not even funny"

Gareth: "You know the phrase softly softly catchy monkey? …I could catch a monkey - if I was starving I could. I’d make poison darts out of the poison off deadly frogs. One milligram of that poison can kill a monkey. Or a man. Prick yourself, you’ll be dead within a day. Or longer. Different frogs, different times."