15 of the Most Memorable Episodes of ‘The Office’

12. The Promotion

Okay, so most peoples’ list would include “Niagara,” which is Jim and Pam’s wedding, but in Season 6 I’ll take the plot about Jim’s brief tenure as office co-manager over the couple’s nuptials any day of the week. “The Promotion” is a great example of that plot working very well, when the office discovers that Jim and Michael are using candy beans to determine the specific percentage of every employee’s raise.

11. Dwight’s Speech

This one has to go down as one of Jim’s best pranks. When Dwight wins the award for Dunder Mifflin’s Top Salesman, Jim convinces him that the best way to win over a crowd is with half-shouts and erratic gestures that mimic some of history’s greatest dictators. It’s hard to pinpoint the most wonderful moment the episode; Michael’s jealousy at Dwight’s accomplishment or the fact that Jim’s prank actually works out in Dwight’s favor. Those dictators got put in charge for a reason, Jim.

10. Goodbye, Michael

Late in the seventh (and last good) season, Michael must finally take off to his new life in Boulder, where he and his wife Holly will finally get to settle down in relative peace. Touching and funny in equal parts, Michael spends his last day in the office saying individual goodbyes to all his favorites. The decision for Michael to take off a day earlier than he’d announced was both great for subduing the schmaltz and as a sign of just how far Michael had come from his manic need for attention in the earlier seasons.