document_title: Backhand

question_text: when did the double handed tennis backhand change

text: Backhand

text: Grips[edit]

text: For most of the 20th century, the backhand was hit with one hand using either an eastern or continental grip. The first notable players to use a two-handed backhand were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich. Beginning with Mike Belkin who was the first two-handed backhand player in the United States and Chris Evert in the 1960s, many players began to use a two-handed grip for the backhand. Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg notably switched from the two-handed to the one-handed backhand late in their development.

text: Strengths and weaknesses[edit]

text: This section  possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
Often players choose their backhand type based on their hand dominance—if the player is somewhat ambidextrous, the two-handed backhand might be best.
Starting from the 1970s, many of the greatest players used the two-handed backhand and it has become more popular on the pro tour. Two-handed backhands have some important advantages over one-handed backhands:
The backhands are generally more accurate because having two hands on the racquet makes the contact more stable. This also makes it somewhat easier to impart topspin on the ball (though not as much) allowing for more control of the shot, while one-handed backhands generally require finer motor skills to generate topspin and are less consistent in longer rallies.
Two-handed backhands can more easily hit higher balls.
Two-handed backhands have a chance to be consistently closer in power and/or accuracy to the forehand, possibly even surpassing it, which is not the case with the one-handed. People with a noticeably weaker one-handed backhand tend to get balls returned to them on that wing, giving them a disadvantage, especially with high kick serves and lefty slice serves.
Two-handed backhands can be hit with an open stance, whereas one-handers usually have to have a closed stance, which adds further steps (which is a problem at higher levels of play).
Two-handed backhands can change direction more easily than one-handed backhands, due to having more stability over the shot with two hands, allowing the player to control the shot better and place the ball with more precision.
Two-handed backhands are generally more easy to develop and require less motor skills than a one-handed backhand to perform all the basic shots. Since the 70s, juniors have been taught two-handed backhands more often than the one-handed backhand.
However, one-handed backhands have some other important advantages over two-handed backhands:
One-handed backhands allow greater reach, especially while on the run.
One-handed backhands are able to hit lower balls with more pace and penetration than two-handed backhands. They also can generate more power when properly set up, and can be very penetrating when hit correctly.
One-handed backhand players move to the net with greater ease than two-handed players because the shot permits greater forward momentum and has greater similarities in muscle memory to the preferred type of backhand volley (one-handed, for greater reach). This is why a majority of serve and volleyers employ a one-handed backhand.
One-handed backhands should be hit more in front of the body than the forehand, which allows them to be hit with a deeper hit spot.
One-handed-backhand players are much less likely to develop the habit of playing volleys with two hands, which is better for serve and volley play.
One-handed backhands force players to hit high balls with slice, thus causing them to develop much better slice backhands than two-handed players.
One-handed backhands can be put away more easily than two-handed backhands for finishing shots due to their flatter, more penetrating nature.

text: Generally, both backhands are efficient at what they do. Perhaps the biggest weakness cited by most coaches in regards to the one hander is the fact that it requires more time and steps to be set up properly - it requires an extra half step in order to execute a proper back-swing and have proper control over the point of contact (a one handed backhand is hit from a closed stance with the dominant foot placed in front, whereas the two hander can be hit both from open and closed stance).  This hampers players who use a one handed backhand on fast surfaces as the high speed of most drive shots gives them very little time for preparation and setting up their shot. There are however plenty of players who can set up their shots properly even with little time for preparation and can hit effective backhands with one hand even on fast surfaces (the most notable example is Roger Federer who can hit drives with his backhand on all surfaces with the same consistency as two handers). Stan Wawrinka is another example of a player who hits consistent one hand backhand drives on all types of surface with the same margin of error. The type of backhand a player uses comes down to mostly personal preference and their game style. Since the 1970s however, the two-handed backhand has had a spike in popularity and is now more widely taught than the one-handed backhand.

text: Many tennis greats use the one-handed backhand.[2][3] Such players include Roger Federer, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Justine Henin, Steffi Graf, Gustavo Kuerten, Amelie Mauresmo, Martina Navratilova, Stan Wawrinka, Don Budge,[4] Ken Rosewall[2] and Rod Laver.[5][6]

text: Technique[edit]

text: Despite there being many different variations and styles, in general there are three different techniques to hit the one-handed backhand. The first is the slice, the oldest version of the single-handed backhand, which was popularised by many classic players such as Ken Rosewall and was still used up until the 1980s even in the women's tour, with many great women champions such as Steffi Graf having one of the lowest, most effective slice backhands. The slice backhand is considered the most simple and is the easiest to learn technique-wise. However, it is much harder to master. Unlike the slice on its own, the slice backhand refers to a player continuously using slice on their backhand as an ordinary shot, instead of for variety.[7] Most slice backhands are executed with a continental grip, identical to that of the backhand volley. The motion is also simple, and involves a cut at about 45 degrees to the bottom of the ball. The slice action closer to the bottom results in a higher and slower ball, typically used for lobs while a cut closer to the side of the ball results in a faster and lower ball. It is considered hard to be able to consistently pull off deep, low yet quick backhand slices and requires lots of practice and finesse. Such slice backhands often prevent opponents from getting under the ball easily and hitting easy winners. It also slows down the pace of the ball due to the back-spin on it, giving time for the player to anticipate and set up shots. For example, Steffi Graf often used her slice backhand to buy time for her to move around and hit inside-out forehands, her signature shot. It can also act as a good bluff to hit drop-shots or even fake drop-shots.[8]

text: From the 1940s to the 1960s, the flat single-handed backhand was popularised by many players, most famously Rod Laver and Don Budge. He was one of the first players to use a flat single-handed backhand with a hint of top-spin. Although flat or top-spin shots were not rare at the time, they were not common shots and were used mainly for variety only, especially on the backhand side. These shots were generally faster-paced, but were considered harder to learn and execute. Even today, there are still many players who use the flat single-handed backhand, such as Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer, although they have added more top-spin to cope with top-spin from other players as well. However, by the 1980s, the flat single-handed backhand was the norm for most single-handed backhand players, with marquee players such as Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras using it to great effectiveness. The advantages of the flat single-handed backhand include its speed, the angles it can produce and its depth. It is usually executed with an Eastern or Semi-Western grip, and involves a "throw-back" in which the racket is pulled across the player's body, sometimes with the help of the left hand, and a release to hit the ball followed by a much larger follow-through and finish as compared to the slice backhand.

text: While Björn Borg was considered to have had a double-handed backhand, he released his racket with one-hand, and was arguably the catalyst for the evolution and popularity of the double-handed backhand as well as the top-spin single-handed backhand. In the 1980s, when more players were using top-spin, single-handed backhand players found it more difficult to hit flat backhands due to the difficulty of neutralising the spin. Therefore, many players incorporated much more top-spin in their single-handed backhands, which was uncommon at that time. Up til today, many players who are considered to have some of the best single-handed backhands ever, such as Richard Gasquet, use a top-spin backhand. Other current players who use it include Nicolás Almagro and Grigor Dimitrov (Although he is also capable of hitting it flat). This helped single-handed backhand players cope with high spinning balls. The advantages of the top-spin single-handed backhand include consistency, placement, the angles it can produce as well as its ability to cope with high balls. Single-backhand "flicks" also evolved due to the popularisation of the top-spin single-handed backhand. Unlike the flat single-handed backhand, top-spin single-handed backhands are almost always performed with the Semi-Western or even Western Grip. Richard Gasquet, who is considered to have one of the most elegant and efficient single-handed backhands, is known for his long, winding action on his backhand and his elegant follow-through. The top-spin single-handed backhand is probably the hardest to learn. It involves the player employing a Semi-Western or Western grip, and winding the racket around his body and, most importantly, bring it lower than the ball. Then, he has to hit the ball at the middle to bottom of the ball while winding his hand upwards and front of him, in a "window-wiper" action. A mistake that is often made in this execution is not bringing the racket low enough or not having a follow-through.

text: Many great players employ a combination of two or even three different styles. For example, Stan Wawrinka, who is said to have one of the most powerful single-handed backhands ever, can hit extremely flat backhands, but can also apply top-spin to them. Stefan Edberg in the past, along with Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov are able to apply all three, using the slice, flat and top-spin backhands effectively. This variety makes it hard for the opponent to guess what kind of shot they are going to play.[9][10]

text: Great backhands[edit]

text: The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, amateur and professional champion Don Budge,[11] had a very powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and '40s that imparted topspin onto the ball.  He used an Eastern grip, and some pictures show his thumb extended along the side of the racquet for greater support. Ken Rosewall,[12] another amateur and professional champion noted for his one-handed backhand, also used a continental grip to hit a deadly accurate slice backhand with underspin throughout the 1950s and '60s. Connoisseurs of the game also rate Swede Henrik Sundström's one-handed backhand as technically magnificent and as powerful as many forehands, but Sundström's career was cut short by injury,

text: In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer devotes a page to the best tennis strokes he had ever seen.  He writes: "BACKHAND—Budge was best, with Kovacs, Rosewall and Connors in the next rank (although, as I've said, Connors' 'backhand' is really a two-handed forehand).  Just in passing, the strangest competitive stroke was the backhand that belonged to Budge Patty.  It was a weak shot, a little chip. But suddenly on match point, Patty had a fine, firm backhand.  He was a helluva match player."

text:
On the men's pro tour, dramatic changes have occurred since then. In the 1980s, many great players such as Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Henrik Sundström and John McEnroe were leading the charge with their one-handed versatile backhands.
But a new wave of players, such as Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg and Mats Wilander, started to show the world that two-handed backhands could also offer major advantages. Players could now increase the speed and control of their two-hander in key defensive shots, such as returns, passing shots and lobs.
Since then, many players followed this trend. Among the main ones are Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Sergi Bruguera, Marat Safin, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Nalbandian (owning the fastest recorded backhand at 110 mph (171 km/h)),[citation needed] Nikolay Davydenko, Lleyton Hewitt, and Gilles Simon.
However, the one-handed backhand is still used effectively by a few players like Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Mikhail Youzhny, Tommy Haas and Grigor Dimitrov. Justine Henin's backhand was considered on par with the men's, with John McEnroe saying "Justine Henin has the best single-handed backhand in both the men's and women's game. Henin's backhand is described as a deadly weapon which is spontaneous, accurate and powerful. She can hit drop shots with her deadly back hand."[13]

text:
On the women's pro tour, one of the great rivalries of the 1980s was symbolized by two different backhand styles: Martina Navratilova's smooth one-handed sliced backhand versus Chris Evert's perfectly controlled two-handed backhand.
Many different styles of backhand arose in the late 1980s, including Steffi Graf's exceptional sliced backhand, and Monica Seles' two-handed backhand, characterized by its rapidity of execution.
The two-handed backhand began to gain popularity over the one-handed backhand in the 1990s (even though there had been great tennis champions whose backhand was two-handed, Chris Evert being an example). Some of the greatest two-handed backhands of the modern game include Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, and Jelena Janković.
Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova possess double-handed backhands that are considered the best and most powerful on tour. They can damage their opponents from any corner of the court with their backhands, being able to create angles that are much more difficult to create with a one-handed backhand.[citation needed]


document_title: The Office (U.S. TV series)

question_text: who wrote the theme song to the office

question_tokens: who wrote the theme song to the office

root

text: The Office (U.S. TV series)

text: Production[edit]

text: Crew[edit]

text: List of showrunners throughout the series' run:

tag: p

text:
Season 1–4: Greg Daniels
Season 5–6: Paul Lieberstein & Jennifer Celotta
Season 7–8: Paul Lieberstein
Season 9: Greg Daniels

tag: ul

text: Greg Daniels served as the senior series showrunner for the first four seasons of the series and developed the British series for American television. He then left the position when he co-created the comedy series Parks and Recreation with fellow Office writer Michael Schur and divided his time between the two series.[3] Paul Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta were named the series showrunners for the fifth season.[4] Celotta left the series after the sixth season and Lieberstein stayed on as showrunner for the following two seasons. He left the showrunner spot after the eighth season for the potential Dwight Schrute spin-off, The Farm, which was eventually passed up by NBC.[5][6] Daniels returned to the showrunner position for the ninth and final season.[7] Other executive producers include cast members B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling.[8][9] Kaling, Novak, Daniels, Lieberstein and Schur made up the original team of writers.[10] Kaling, Novak, and Lieberstein also serve multiple roles on the series, as they play regular characters on the show, as well as write, direct, and produce episodes.[11] Credited with twenty-four episodes, Kaling is the most prolific writer on the staff.[11] Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who created the original British series, are credited as executive producer and wrote the pilot and the third-season episode, "The Convict."[12] Merchant later directed the episode "Customer Survey" while Gervais appeared in the episodes "The Seminar" and "Search Committee."[13][14]

text: Randall Einhorn is the most frequent director of the series, with 15 credited episodes.[11] The series also had several guest directors, including Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams, Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon,[15][16] both of whom are fans of the series,[17][18] and filmmakers Jon Favreau, Harold Ramis, Jason Reitman, and Marc Webb.[11] Episodes have been directed by several of the actors on the show including Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Ed Helms, and Brian Baumgartner.[11]

text: Development and writing[edit]

text: Prior to the second episode airing, the writers spent time researching in offices.[19] This process was used for Daniels's other series King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation.[19] The pilot is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the original British series.[20] Daniels chose to go this route because "completely starting from scratch would be a very risky thing to do" owing to the show being an adaptation.[20] He had briefly considered using the idea for "The Dundies" as the pilot episode.[21] After the writers knew who the cast was, they were allowed to write for the actors, which allowed the show to be more original for the following episode, "Diversity Day".[20] Following the mixed reaction toward the first season, the writers attempted to make the series more "optimistic" and to make Michael Scott more likable.[22] They also established the supporting characters of the series more, giving them actual personalities. They also made the lights in the office brighter, which allowed the series to differentiate itself from the British series.[22]

text: A common problem with the scripts, according to Novak, is that they tend to run too long for the regular 22-minute time slot, leading to several cuts.[23] For example, the script for the episode "Search Committee" was initially 75 pages—10 pages too long.[23] A complete script is written for each episode; however, actors are given opportunities to improvise during the shooting process. Fischer said, "Our shows are 100 percent scripted. They put everything down on paper. But we get to play around a little bit, too. Steve and Rainn are brilliant improvisers."[24] This leads to a large number of deleted scenes with almost every episode of The Office, all of which are considered part of the show's canon and storyline by Daniels.[25] Deleted scenes have sometimes been restored in repeats to make episodes longer or draw back people who have seen the episode before to see the bonus footage. In an experiment, a deleted scene from "The Return" was made available over NBC.com and iTunes, explaining the absence of a character over the next several episodes.[25] Daniels hoped that word of mouth among fans would spread the information, but he eventually considered the experiment a failure.[25]

text: Casting[edit]

text: According to Jenna Fischer, the series used an unusual casting process that did not involve a script. The producers would ask the actors several questions and they would respond as the characters they were auditioning for.[26] NBC programmer Kevin Reilly originally suggested Paul Giamatti to producer Ben Silverman for the role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined. Martin Short, Hank Azaria, and Bob Odenkirk were reported to be interested in the part.[27] In January 2004 Variety reported that Steve Carell, of the Comedy Central program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, was in talks to play the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC midseason replacement comedy, Come to Papa,[28] but the series was quickly canceled, allowing his full commitment to The Office. Carell later stated that he had only seen about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned. He did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais's characterizations.[29] Other people who were considered or auditioned for the role included Ben Falcone, Alan Tudyk, Jim Zulevic, and Paul F. Tompkins. Rainn Wilson was cast as power-hungry sycophant Dwight Schrute, and he watched every episode of the British series before he auditioned.[30] Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael, a performance that he described as a "terrible Ricky Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him. Seth Rogen, Matt Besser, Patton Oswalt, and Judah Friedlander also auditioned for the role.[30]

text: John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were virtually unknown before being cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the central love interests. Krasinski had attended school with B.J. Novak, and the two were friends.[31][32] Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the original Pam hairstyle.[33] In an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Fischer recalled the last stages of the audition process for Pam and Jim, with the producers partnering the different potential Pams and Jims (four of each) together to gauge their chemistry. When Fischer finished her scene with Krasinski, he told her that she was his favorite Pam, to which she reciprocated that he was her favorite Jim.[26] Adam Scott and John Cho both auditioned for the role of Jim, and Kathryn Hahn also auditioned for the role of Pam.[34]

text: The supporting cast includes actors known for their improv work: Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Melora Hardin, and David Denman.[35] Kinsey had originally auditioned for Pam. The producers thought she was "too feisty" for the character, but they called her back for the part of Angela Martin, which she won.[36] Flannery first auditioned for the part of Jan Levinson-Gould, before landing the role of Meredith Palmer.[37] Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley, but was eventually cast as Kevin.[38] Ken Kwapis, the director of the pilot episode, liked the way Phyllis Smith, a casting associate, read with other actors auditioning so much that he cast her as Phyllis.[39] At the beginning of the third season, Ed Helms and Rashida Jones joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford. While Jones would later leave the cast for a role on Parks and Recreation, in February 2007, NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular.[40]

text: Four of the show's writers have also performed in front of the camera. B.J. Novak was cast as reluctant temp Ryan Howard after Daniels saw his stand-up act. Paul Lieberstein was cast as human resources director Toby Flenderson on Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts.[35] Greg Daniels was originally unsure where to use Mindy Kaling on-screen in the series until the opportunity came in the script for the second episode, "Diversity Day," where Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. "Since [that slap], I've been on the show" (as Kelly Kapoor), says Kaling.[39] Michael Schur has also made occasional appearances as Dwight's cousin Mose, and consulting producer Larry Wilmore has played diversity trainer Mr. Brown. Plans were made for Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman, and Lucy Davis, from the British series, to appear in the third season,[41] but those plans were scrapped due to scheduling conflicts.[42][43]

text: Filming[edit]

text: The Office was filmed with a single-camera setup in a cinéma vérité allowing the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track, allowing its "deadpan" and "absurd" humor to fully come across.[44] The primary vehicle for the show is that a camera crew has decided to film Dunder Mifflin and its employees, seemingly around the clock.[44] The presence of the camera is acknowledged by the characters, especially Michael Scott, who enthusiastically participates in the filming.[45] The characters, especially Jim and Pam, also look towards the camera when Michael creates an awkward situation.[26] The main action of the show is supplemented with talking-head interviews or "confessionals" in which characters speak one on one with the camera crew about the day's events.[26] Actor John Krasinski shot the footage of Scranton for the opening credits after he found out he was cast as Jim. He visited Scranton for research and interviewed employees at actual paper companies.[46]

text: In order to get the feel of an actual documentary, the producers hired cinematographer Randall Einhorn, who is known for directing episodes of Survivor, which allowed the show to have the feel of "rough and jumpy" like an actual documentary.[45] According to producer Michael Schur, the producers to the series would follow the documentary format strictly.[47] The producers would have long discussions over whether a scene could work under the documentary format.[47] For example, in the fourth-season episode "Did I Stutter?," a scene featured Michael going through a long process to go to the bathroom and not pass by Stanley. The producers debated whether that was possible and Einhorn walked through the whole scene in order to see if a camera man could get to all the places in time to shoot the whole scene.[47] Despite the strict nature in the early years of the series, later seasons seem to have loosened the rules on the format, with the camera crew often going into places that actual documentary crews would not, which also changed the writing and comedy style of the series.[48] This inconsistency has received criticism from critics and fans.[48][49]

text: Music[edit]

text:
The Office theme

The song was written by Jay Ferguson and performed by The Scrantones.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

tag: table

text: The theme song for The Office was written by Jay Ferguson and performed by The Scrantones.[50] It is played over the title sequence, which features scenes of Scranton, various tasks around the office and the main cast members. Some episodes of the series use a shortened version of the theme song. Starting with the fourth season, the theme song is played over the closing credits, which previously rolled in silence. The exteriors of buildings in the title sequence are actual buildings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and were shot by cast member John Krasinski.[51] The mockumentary format of the show contains no laugh track, and most of the music is diegetic, with songs either sung or played by the characters or heard on radios, computers, or other devices.[52] However, songs have been played during montages or the closing credits, such as "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John ("The Dundies") and "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton ("E-mail Surveillance").[21] Featured music tends to be well known, and often songs reflect the character, such as Michael's attempt to seem hip by using "Mambo No. 5" and later "My Humps" as his cell phone ringtone.[52] Daniels has said that it does not count as film score as long as it already appeared in the episode.[21]

text: Characters[edit]

text: The Office employs an ensemble cast. Many characters portrayed by The Office cast are based on the original British series. While these characters normally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its generally large cast size, with many of its actors and actresses known particularly for their improvisational work. Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott, regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on David Brent, Gervais's character in the British series, Scott is a well-intentioned man whose attempts at humor, while seemingly innocent to himself, often offend and annoy his peers and employees, and in some situations lead to reprimanding from his superiors. Rainn Wilson portrays Dwight Schrute, who, based upon Gareth Keenan, is a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, a fictional title created by Michael.[53] John Krasinski portrays Jim Halpert, a salesman and, in later seasons, co-manager who is often known for his wittiness and his hijinks on Schrute (often accompanied by Pam Beesly). Halpert is based upon Tim Canterbury, and is known to have feelings for Pam, the receptionist.[54] Pam, played by Jenna Fischer, is based on Dawn Tinsley. She is shy, but in many cases a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight.[55] B.J. Novak portrays Ryan Howard, who for the first two seasons is a temporary worker but is promoted to sales representative in the third season. He later ascends to the position of vice president, North East Region and director of new media until his treachery was exposed for corporate fraud and he was fired. After this, he gets a job in a bowling alley and then briefly works for the Michael Scott Paper Company. After all this, and a stint in rehab, he eventually ends up again as the temporary worker at the Scranton branch.[56]

text: The accounting department features Angela Martin, an admitted uptight and hypocritical woman who wishes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as serious as possible; Kevin Malone, a lovable, but dim-witted man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges himself with gambling and M&Ms; and Oscar Martinez, who is intelligent but often patronizing and whose homosexuality and Hispanic heritage made him a favorite target for Michael's unintentional off-color comments. Rounding out the office are the stern salesman Stanley Hudson, who barely stood for Michael's constant references to his Black American heritage (he also doesn't like to take part in time-wasting meetings and sometimes sleeps in them or works on crossword puzzles); eccentric quality assurance representative Creed Bratton; the kind and caring saleswoman Phyllis Lapin-Vance, who marries Bob Vance from Vance Refrigeration across the hall from the office; Andy Bernard, a salesman introduced in season three after the closing of the Stamford, Connecticut, branch of Dunder Mifflin and the merging of the two; the bubbly and talkative customer service representative Kelly Kapoor; the promiscuous alcoholic supply relations representative Meredith Palmer; human resources representative Toby Flenderson, who is admittedly hated by, and often the target of abuse by Michael Scott; warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin; warehouse dock worker and Pam's ex-fiancé Roy Anderson, who was fired in the third season; and Michael's former love interest and former vice president for regional sales for Dunder Mifflin Jan Levinson (Jan Levinson-Gould until her divorce in season 2).

text: Toward the end of season five, the bubbly and naive Erin Hannon is introduced as Pam's replacement at reception following Pam's short stint at the Michael Scott Paper Company and her subsequent move to sales. A story arc at the end of season four has Holly Flax transferred to the office as Toby's replacement. She acts as a love interest for Michael, as they share very similar personalities. Jo Bennett is the CEO of Sabre and Gabe Lewis, introduced in the middle of season six, is a Sabre employee who is assigned to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch as the regional director of sales. In season nine Clark Green and Pete Miller joined as two new customer service representatives to attempt to catch up on the ignored customer services complaints that Kelly had dismissed while she worked at Dunder Mifflin. Clark is later moved to sales.

text: Initially the actors who portray the other office workers were credited as guest stars before they were named series regulars during the second season.[57] The show's large ensemble has been mainly praised by critics and led to the series winning two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.[58] Carell was reportedly paid $175,000 per episode starting with the third season.[59] Krasinski and Fischer were paid around $20,000 for the beginning of the series.[59] Starting with the fourth season, the two started getting paid around $100,000 per episode.[59]

text: Season synopsis[edit]

text: A typical episode for a half-hour time slot runs 20-and-a-half minutes.[60] The final episode of season two introduces the first of what would be several super-sized episodes that are approximately 28-minute running time for a 40-minute time slot.[61] Season three introduces the first of occasional hour-long episodes (approximately 42-minute running time; suitable for being shown as two separate normal episodes).[62]

text: Season 1[edit]

text: The first season consists of six episodes.

text: The series starts by introducing the office's workers via a tour given by the branch manager Michael Scott for both the camera crew and a first-day temp Ryan Howard.[63] The audience learns salesman Jim Halpert has a crush on receptionist Pam Beesly, who helps him play pranks on co-worker Dwight Schrute, even though she is engaged to Roy, who works in the building's lower-level warehouse. News spreads throughout the office that Dunder Mifflin's corporate headquarters is planning to downsize an entire branch, leading to general anxiety, but Michael chooses to deny or downplay the realities of the situation in order to maintain employee morale.

text: Season 2[edit]

text: The second season is the series' first 22-episode season, and has its first 40-minute "super-sized" episode.

text: Many workers seen in the background of the first season are developed into secondary characters, and romantic relationships begin to develop between some of the characters. Michael spends the night with his boss Jan, in the wake of the latter's divorce, but does not sleep with her.[64] Dwight and Angela become romantically involved,[65] but keep the relationship a secret from everyone else. Kelly develops a crush on Ryan, and they start dating. When Roy sets a date for his wedding to Pam,[66] Jim grows depressed and considers transferring to the Stamford, Connecticut branch, but tells Pam in the season finale that he loves her, even though Pam still insists she will marry Roy. The two kiss, but Jim transfers to the Stamford branch soon after.[67] The general threat of downsizing continues throughout the season as well.

text: Season 3[edit]

text: The third season consists of 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour episodes.

text: The season starts with a brief flashback to the last episode of season 2, "Casino Night", when Jim kissed Pam and confessed his feelings for her. Jim briefly transfers to Stamford branch after Pam confirms her commitment to Roy. Corporate is later forced to merge the Stamford branch and staff into the Scranton branch.[68] Michael takes this merger very seriously. Included in the transfer to Scranton are Karen Filippelli, with whom Jim has developed a relationship, and the anger-prone Andy Bernard. The rest of the Stamford branch are irrelevant considering they all quit within the first few episodes of them being there. Pam is newly single after calling off her marriage and relationship to Roy prior to the merger, and Jim's unresolved feelings for her and new relationship with Karen lead to shifting tensions amongst the three. Meanwhile, Michael and Jan's relationship escalates which causes them both to behave erratically on the job. On the other hand, Dwight and Angela continue their steamy secret relationship. In the season's finale, Jim, Karen, and Michael interview for a corporate position that turns out to be Jan's, who is fired that day for poor performance. Jim wins and rejects the offer off-screen,[69] opting instead to return to Scranton without Karen and ask Pam out on a date, which she joyfully accepts. In the final scene, we learn Ryan has been awarded Jan's job due to his business school credentials.[70]

text: Season 4[edit]

text: NBC ordered a full fourth season of 30 half-hour episodes, but ended with only 19 due to a halt in production caused by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[71][72] The season consists of 9 half-hour episodes, and 5 hour-long episodes to make up the 19 total episodes of material created.

text: Karen has left the Scranton branch after her breakup with Jim and becomes regional manager at the Utica branch.[73][74] A self-employed Jan moves herself and her candle business in with Michael, until the dissolution of their relationship midway through the season. After Dwight's crude (though well-intentioned) method of euthanasia of Angela's ailing cat without her permission,[75] she leaves him for Andy, leading Dwight into depression. Ryan, in his new corporate life in New York City, attempts to modernize Dunder Mifflin with a new website for online sales; he also learns that his boss, David Wallace, favors Jim, and thus Ryan attempts to sabotage Jim's career. Ryan is soon arrested and fired for committing fraud related to the website's sales numbers. Toby, embarrassed after accidentally revealing affection for Pam and resting his hand on her leg, announces he is moving to Costa Rica, and is replaced by Holly Flax, who quickly shows fondness toward Michael. In Holly's first full episode, she is led to believe, by Dwight, that Kevin is suffering from some sort of intellectual disability. Pam decides to follow her artistic interests and attends a three-month graphic design course at the Pratt Institute in New York City. In the season finale Andy proposes to Angela, who reluctantly agrees. Phyllis then catches Dwight and Angela having steamy sex in the office.[76]

text: Season 5[edit]

text: The fifth season consists of 28 half-hours of material, divided into 24 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes, one of which aired after Super Bowl XLIII.[77]

text: Jim proposes to Pam at a gas station halfway between them because he could not wait. Pam ultimately returns from New York to Scranton, where Jim has bought his parents' house for the two of them. Having avoided jail and only been sentenced to community service, Ryan dyes his hair and starts working for a bowling alley. Michael initiates a romance with Holly until she is transferred to the Nashua, New Hampshire, branch and the relationship ends. When Andy is made aware of Dwight and Angela's continued affair, both men leave her.[78] Newly hired Vice President Charles Miner implements a rigid managerial style over the branch that causes Michael to resign in protest.[79] Michael opens the Michael Scott Paper Company, enticing Pam and Ryan to join as salespeople, and though his business model is ultimately unsustainable, Dunder Mifflin's profits are immediately threatened.[80] The members of the Michael Scott Paper Company enjoy throwing cheese balls into each other's mouths and they have a morning cheer to boost morale. In a buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Company, the three are rehired with Pam promoted to sales and Ryan returning as a temp. During the chaos, new receptionist Erin is hired to fill the vacancy originally left by Pam. The season ends with a scene that obviously announces Pam's pregnancy.

text: Season 6[edit]

text: The sixth season consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 22 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes.

text: Jim and Pam marry and have a baby named Cecelia Marie Halpert.[81] Meanwhile, Andy and Erin develop mutual interest in one another, but find their inherent awkwardness inhibits his attempts to ask her out on a date. Rumors of bankruptcy begin to surround Dunder Mifflin, and by Christmas, Wallace announces to the branch that Dunder Mifflin has accepted a buyout from Sabre Corporation, a printer company. While Wallace and other executives are let go, the Scranton office survives due to its relative success within the company. In the season finale, Dwight buys the office park. Michael agrees to make an announcement to the press regarding a case of faulty printers. When Jo Bennet, Sabre CEO, asks how she can repay him, Michael responds that she could bring Holly back to the Scranton branch.[82]

text: Season 7[edit]

text: The seventh season consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 21 half-hour episodes, one "super-sized" episode, and two hour-long episodes.[83]

text: This is the final season for Steve Carell, who plays the lead character Michael Scott, as Carell wanted to move on after his contract expired during this season.[84] Beginning with this season, Zach Woods, who portrays Gabe Lewis, was promoted to a series regular.[85] Erin and Gabe have begun a relationship, much to Andy's chagrin, and Andy attempts to win Erin's affection back. Michael's former girlfriend, Holly, returns to Scranton to fill in for Toby who is doing jury duty for the "Scranton Strangler" trial. Michael and Holly eventually restart their relationship. After the two get engaged, Michael then reveals he will be leaving Scranton to go to Colorado with Holly in order to support her elderly parents. Angela starts dating the senator, while Pam and Jim are still adjusting to parenthood. After Michael's replacement (Will Ferrell) is seriously injured, Jo creates a search committee to interview candidates and choose a new manager for the office.

text: Season 8[edit]

text: The eighth season consists of 24 episodes.

text: James Spader reprises his role as Robert California, the new CEO of Dunder Mifflin/Sabre.[86] Andy is then promoted to regional manager and works hard to make a good impression on Robert, and asks Dwight to be his number two.[87] Pam and Jim are expecting their second child, Phillip, at the start of the season, to coincide with Fischer's real-life pregnancy.[88] Angela is pregnant with her first son, also named Philip, with State Senator Robert Lipton (although it is implied that Dwight Schrute is actually the child's biological father). Darryl starts falling for new warehouse foreman, Val.[89] Dwight is tasked with traveling to Tallahassee, Florida, to assist Sabre special projects manager Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate) in launching a chain of retail stores, along with Jim, Ryan, Stanley, Erin, and new office temp Cathy Simms. Cathy is also revealed to have ulterior motives for the trip, as she intends to seduce Jim, but fails.[90] Robert later kills the retail store project, and Erin decides to stay in Florida as an elderly woman's live-in helper. Andy goes to Florida and wins back Erin, but this allows Nellie to claim the manager position as her own. Robert tells Andy that he has been demoted back to a salesman, but he refuses to accept the news, which causes him to be fired. Andy becomes motivated to begin a Dunder Mifflin comeback and joins with former CFO David Wallace to buy Dunder Mifflin back from Sabre, putting Sabre completely out of business and giving Andy the manager position once again.

text: Season 9[edit]

text: The final season consists of 25 episodes.

text: Andy, recently returning from Outward Bound manager's training, reverts to his arrogant earlier season personality, abandoning both Erin and the office to travel around the Caribbean with his brother. In his absence, Erin strikes up a romance with new customer service rep Pete, who along with Clark, another new character, replaces Kelly, who left for Ohio with her new husband (Ryan also moves to Ohio for "unrelated reasons"). Meanwhile, Jim receives an exciting opportunity from an old college friend, who offers him a job at Athlead, a sports marketing company based in Philadelphia. Darryl also jumps on board, but the distance and dedication to Athlead hurts Jim's relationship with Pam. Angela also must deal with her husband's infidelity with Oscar. She also deals with her lingering attraction to Dwight, who inherits his family's beet farm. Dwight receives more good news when David Wallace handpicks him to be the new manager after Andy quits to pursue an acting career, which quickly ends when he embarrasses himself at an a cappella singing competition that turns into a viral web sensation. Dwight later makes Jim his assistant to the regional manager and the two officially end their grudge. After Jim reconciles with Pam, choosing to stay in Scranton over Philadelphia, Dwight professes his love for Angela and finally marries her. In the series finale, taking place one year after the release of the documentary, the employees reunite for Dwight and Angela's wedding, for which Michael returns (with help from Jim who was the person Dwight first asked to be his best man) to serve as the best man. Kelly and Ryan run away together, Nellie now lives in Poland and "adopts" Ryan's abandoned baby, Erin meets her birth parents, Andy gets a job at Cornell, Stanley retires to Florida, Kevin and Toby are both fired with the former buying a bar and the latter moving to New York City to become an author, Oscar runs for state senate, Jim and Pam, at her persuasion, move to Austin to open a new branch of Athleap (previously Athlead) with Darryl (Dwight "fires" them to give them both severance packages), and Creed is arrested for his many crimes.

text: Product placement[edit]

text: The Office has had product placement deals with Staples[91] and the Olympic balers,[92] as well as mentioning in dialogue or displaying clear logos for products such as Sandals Resorts, HP, Apple, and Gateway computers, and Activision's Call of Duty video game series. In "The Merger", Kevin Malone uses a Staples-branded shredding machine to shred a Staples-branded CD-R and many other nonpaper items, including a salad.[91] As with HP, Cisco Systems, a supplier of networking and telephone equipment, pays for product placement, which can be seen on close-up shots of the Cisco IP telephones. Some products have additional branding labels attached; this can be clearly seen with the HP photo printer on Toby's desk in season 6, and less noticeably with the Cisco phones.[93] In "The Secret" Michael takes Jim to Hooters[94] to discuss Jim's feelings for Pam.

text: Many products featured are not part of product placement agreements, but rather inserted by writers as products the characters would use to create realism under the guise of a documentary. Chili's restaurants were used for filming in "The Dundies" and "The Client," as the writers believed they were realistic choices for a company party and business lunch.[95][96][97] Though not an explicit product placement, the producers of the show had to allow Chili's to have final approval of the script before filming, causing a scene of "The Dundies" to be hastily rewritten when the chain objected to the original version.[96] Apple Inc. received over four minutes of publicity for the iPod when it was used as a much-desired gift in "Christmas Party," though the company did not pay for the placement.[98] The travel website TripAdvisor.com was featured during Season 4 when after a visit to Dwight's "agritourism" bed and breakfast, Schrute Farms, Jim and Pam post an online review about their stay. The show reportedly approached the travel review website about using their name on the show and TripAdvisor set up a review page for the fictional B&B, which itself received hundreds of reviews.[99] The appearance of Second Life in the episode "Local Ad" was rated eighth in the top ten most effective product placements of 2007.[100]

text: Reception and legacy[edit]

text: Critical reviews and commentary[edit]

text: Before the show aired, Ricky Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers.[101] The first season of The Office was met with a mixed response from critics with some of them comparing it to the short-lived NBC series Coupling, which was also based on a British version.[102][103] The New York Daily News called it "so diluted there's little left but muddy water," and USA Today called it a "passable imitation of a miles-better BBC original."[104] A Guardian Unlimited review panned its lack of originality, stating, "(Steve Carell) just seems to be trying too hard.... Maybe in later episodes when it deviates from Gervais and Merchant's script, he'll come into his own. But right now he's a pale imitation."[105] Tom Shales of the Washington Post said it was "not the mishmash that [Americanized version of Coupling] turned out to be, but again the quality of the original show causes the remake to look dim, like when the copying machine is just about to give out."[103]

text:
"The Office has one of the best casts on television.... It also has created several compelling characters and touching relationships, all of which is fairly remarkable for a half-hour comedy."

—Travis Fickett of IGN in June 2007[106]

tag: div

text: The second season was better received. James Poniewozik of Time remarked, "Producer Greg Daniels created not a copy but an interpretation that sends up distinctly American work conventions ... with a tone that's more satiric and less mordant.... The new boss is different from the old boss, and that's fine by me."[107] He named it the second best TV show of 2006 after Battlestar Galactica.[107] Entertainment Weekly writer Mark Harris echoed these sentiments a week later, stating, "Thanks to the fearless Steve Carell, an ever-stronger supporting cast, and scripts that spew American corporate absurdist vernacular with perfect pitch, this undervalued remake does the near impossible—it honors Ricky Gervais' original and works on its own terms."[108] The A.V. Club reviewer Nathan Rabin expressed its views on the show's progression: "After a rocky start, The Office improved immeasurably, instantly becoming one of TV's funniest, sharpest shows. The casting of Steve Carell in the Gervais role proved to be a masterstroke. The American Office is that rarest of anomalies: a remake of a classic show that both does right by its source and carves out its own strong identity."[109]

text: The series has been included on several top TV series lists. The show placed #61 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.[110] Time's James Poniewozik named it the second-best TV series of 2006,[107] and the sixth-best returning series of 2007, out of ten TV series.[111] He also included it on his "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME" list.[112] The show was also named the best show of 2006 by BuddyTV.[113] while Paste named it the sixth-best sitcom of 2010.[114] In 2013 the Writers Guild of America placed it at #66 on their list of 101 Best Written TV Series.[115]

text: The show has some superficial similarities to the comic strip Dilbert, which also features employees coping with an inept superior. John Spector, CEO of The Conference Board, says that both show the impact a leader can have, for good or bad. Dilbert creator Scott Adams also touts the similarities: "The lesson from The Office and from Dilbert is that people are often dysfunctional, and no amount of training can fix it."[116] A labor-affiliated group praised the episode "Boys and Girls" for what it considered an unusually frank depiction of union busting on American television.[117] Metacritic, a review aggregation website, graded only the first, third, sixth, and final seasons. However, it denoted that all four of them received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, awarding a 61, 85, 78, and 64 score—out of 100—to each of them, respectively.[118][119][120][121] It later named it the thirteenth most mentioned series on "Best of Decade" top-ten lists.[122]

text:
"The Office now is a pale, listless shadow of what it used to be."

—Alan Sepinwall of HitFix in September 2011, during the show's eighth season.[123]

text: The last few seasons were criticized for a dip in quality. The sixth season received criticisms for a lack of stakes for the characters.[124][125][126] Other critics and fans have also criticized the dragging out of the Jim and Pam romance.[127] The Office co-creator Ricky Gervais wrote in his blog, referring to "Search Committee," particularly Warren Buffett's guest appearance, "If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one," and compared the episode to the Chris Martin episode of Gervais's other series, Extras (although he later said on his website, "I fucking didn't [diss The Office], that's for sure").[128] Some critics said the series should have ended after the departure of Steve Carell.[129][130] In an IAmA interview on Reddit, Rainn Wilson felt that the eighth season possessed some mistakes "creatively," such as the chemistry between Spader and Helms, which he called "a bit dark" and argued that the show should have gone for a "brighter and more energized" relationship.[131] Despite this, there are later-series episodes that have received critical acclaim, including "Stress Relief,"[132] "Niagara",[133] "Garage Sale",[134] "Goodbye, Michael",[135] "Dwight Christmas",[136] "A.A.R.M.",[137] and "Finale".[138]

text: Awards[edit]

text: The series received 42 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, with five wins.[139] It won for Outstanding Comedy Series in season two, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Greg Daniels for "Gay Witch Hunt"), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Jeffrey Blitz for "Stress Relief"), and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (David Rogers and Claire Scanlon for "Finale"). Many cast and crew members have expressed anger that Carell did not receive an Emmy award for his performance in the series.[140][141] Despite this, Carell won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical in 2006. The series was also named the best TV series by the American Film Institute in 2006 and 2008,[142][143] won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2006 and 2007[58] and won a Peabody Award in 2006.[144]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: Premiering on Thursday, March 24, 2005, after an episode of The Apprentice on NBC, The Office brought in 11.2 million viewers in the U.S., winning its time slot.[104] When NBC moved the series to its intended Tuesday night slot, it lost nearly half its audience with only 5.9 million viewers.[145] The program averaged 5.4 million viewers, ranking it #102 for the 2004–05 U.S. television season.[146] "Hot Girl," the first season's finale, rated a 2.2 with a 10 audience measurement share. Episodes were also rerun on CNBC.[147]

text: As the second season started, the success of Carell's hit summer movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin and online sales of episodes at iTunes helped the show.[148] The increase in viewership led NBC to move the series to the "Must See TV" Thursday night in January 2006, where ratings continued to grow. By the 2005–06 season, it placed #67 (tied with 20/20). It averaged 8 million viewers with a 4.0/10 rating/share among viewers ages 18–49, and was up 80% in viewers from the year before and up 60% in viewers ages 18–49.[149] The series ranked as NBC's highest rated scripted series during its run.[150] The highest rated episode of the series was "Stress Relief," which was watched by 22.9 million viewers. This episode was aired right after Super Bowl XLIII.[151] While later seasons dropped in the ratings, the show was still one of NBC's highest rated shows, and in October 2011 it was reported that it cost $178,840 per 30-second commercial, the most for any NBC scripted series.[152]

text: Nielsen ratings[edit]

text:
Season
TV season
Timeslot (ET)
Premiered
Ended
Viewership rank
18-49 rank
Viewers
(in millions)
18-49 rating

Date
Premiere
viewers
(in millions)
Date
Finale
viewers
(in millions)

1
2004–05
Thursday 9:30 pm ("Pilot")
Tuesday 9:30 pm
March 24, 2005
11.20[153]
April 26, 2005
4.80[153]
102[154]
82[154]
5.40[154]
2.5/6[154]

2
2005–06
Tuesday 9:30 pm
(September 20 – December 6, 2005)
Thursday 9:30 pm
(January 5 – May 11, 2006)
September 20, 2005
9.00[153]
May 11, 2006
7.70[153]
67[155]
N/A
8.0[155]
4.0/10[155]

3
2006–07
Thursday 8:30 pm
September 21, 2006
9.10[153]
May 17, 2007
7.90[153]
68[156]
28[156]
8.30[156]
4.1/11[156]

4
2007–08
Thursday 9:00 pm
September 27, 2007
9.70[153]
May 15, 2008
8.07[153]
77[157]
8.04[157]
2.8[157]

5
2008–09
September 25, 2008
9.20[158]
May 14, 2009
6.72[159]
52[160]
9.04[160]
3.1[160]

6
2009–10
September 17, 2009
8.20[161]
May 20, 2010
6.60[162]
41[163]
11[163]
8.73[163]
4.5/11[163]

7
2010–11
September 23, 2010
8.40[164]
May 19, 2011
7.29[165]
53[166]
11[166]
7.73[166]
4.0/10[166]

8
2011–12
September 22, 2011
7.64[167]
May 10, 2012
4.49[168]
78[169]
29[169]
6.51[169]
3.4/9[169]

9
2012–13
September 20, 2012
4.28[170]
May 16, 2013
5.69[171]
88[172]
41[172]
5.06[172]
2.6/7[172]

text: Cultural impact[edit]

text: The city of Scranton, long known mainly for its industrial past as a coal mining and rail center,[173] has embraced, and ultimately has been redefined by the show. "We're really hip now," says the mayor's assistant.[51] The Dunder Mifflin logo is on a lamppost banner in front of Scranton City Hall, as well as the pedestrian bridge to The Mall at Steamtown. The Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company, whose tower is shown in the opening credits, plans to add it to the tower as well.[174] Newspapers in other Northeastern cities have published travel guides to Scranton locations for tourists interested in visiting places mentioned in the show.[173][174][175] Scranton has become identified with the show outside the United States as well. In a 2008 St. Patrick's Day speech in its suburb of Dickson City, former Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Bertie Ahern identified the city as the home of Dunder Mifflin.[176]

text: The inaugural The Office convention was held downtown in October 2007. Notable landmarks, some of which have been settings for the show, that served as venues include the University of Scranton, the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel and the Mall at Steamtown. Cast appearances were made by B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Brian Baumgartner, Leslie David Baker, Mindy Kaling, Craig Robinson, Melora Hardin, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Bobby Ray Shafer, and Andy Buckley. Writer appearances, besides Novak and Kaling, were made by Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, Jennifer Celotta, Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky, Justin Spitzer, Anthony Ferrell, Ryan Koh, Lester Lewis, and Jason Kessler. Not present were writer-actor Paul Lieberstein (who was originally going to make an appearance), Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and Jenna Fischer.[177]

text: On an episode of The Daily Show, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, reportedly a devoted fan of the show, jokingly told Jon Stewart he might take Dwight Schrute as his running mate.[178] Rainn Wilson later accepted on Dwight Schrute's behalf while on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. After the airing of "Garage Sale (The Office)|Garage Sale]]," Colorado governor John Hickenlooper issued a press release appointing Michael Scott to the position of director of paper distribution in the Department of Natural Resources.[179]

text: The show is often paid tribute by the band Relient K. Band member Matt Thiessen is a fan of The Office, and during concerts will often perform a self-described "love song" about the series, titled "The Ballad of Dunder Mifflin," followed by him and the band playing the show's opening theme.[180]

text: Other broadcasts[edit]

text: Aside from NBC, The Office has gone into off-network syndication in the United States. It previously ran on local stations and TBS. After a few years absent from conventional television, it was announced in December 2017 that Comedy Central had picked up the entire series, for its second syndication cycle. Comedy Central will start airing The Office on January 15, 2018.[181] In the United Kingdom, the show was named in listings magazines (but not onscreen) as The Office: An American Workplace when it was originally aired on ITV2.[182]

text: Other media[edit]

text: Online releases[edit]

text: Episodes from The Office were among the first shows available for download from the iTunes Store beginning in December 2005. In 2006, ten internet-exclusive webisodes featuring some of the characters on The Office aired on NBC.com. "Producer's Cuts" (containing approximately ten additional minutes of material) of the episodes "Branch Closing" and "The Return" were also made available on NBC.com. The Office also became available for download from Amazon.com's Unbox video downloads in 2006. Sales of new The Office episodes on iTunes ceased in 2007 due to a dispute between NBC and Apple ostensibly over pricing.[183] As of September 9, 2008 The Office was put back on the iTunes Store, and can be bought in HD and Regular format. Netflix also offers the show for online viewing by subscribers, in addition to traditional DVD rental. The Office is also available on Microsofts Zune Marketplace. On December 13, 2017, Comedy Central announced that they had acquired all nine seasons of the show from NBCUniversal in a non-exclusive deal, and some episodes will be made available to stream on Comedy Central's official website and mobile app after January 15, 2018.[184]

text: Of the 12.4 million total viewings of "Fun Run", the fourth season's premiere, 2.7 million, or 22%, were on a computer via online streaming. "The Office", said The New York Times, "is on the leading edge of a sharp shift in entertainment viewing that was thought to be years away: watching television episodes on a computer screen is now a common activity for millions of consumers." It was particularly popular with online viewers, an NBC researcher said, because as an episode-driven sitcom without special effects it was easy to watch on smaller monitors such as those found on laptops and iPods.[185] Between the online viewings and those who use digital video recorders, 25–50% of the show's viewers watch it after its scheduled airtime.[186]

text: The show's Internet success became an issue in the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Daniels and many of the cast members who double as writers posted a video to YouTube shortly after the strike began, pointing out how little, if any, they received in residuals from online and DVD viewing. "You're watching this on the Internet, a thing that pays us zero dollars," Schur said. "We're supposed to get 11 cents for every two trillion downloads." The writers were particularly upset that they weren't compensated for the Daytime Emmy Award-winning summer webisodes "The Accountants", which NBC considered promotional material despite the embedded commercials.[187]

text: Promotional[edit]

text: The show's success has resulted in expansion outside of television. Characters have appeared in promotional materials for NBC, and a licensed video game—The Office—was released in 2007.[188][189] In 2008 two games were introduced via Pressman Toy Corp: The Office Trivia Board Game and The Office DVD Board Game.[190] In 2009, The Office Clue was released, and The Office Monopoly was released in 2010. Other merchandise, from T-shirts and a bobblehead doll of Dwight Schrute[191] to more office-specific items such as Dunder Mifflin copy paper[192] and parodies of the Successories motivational poster series featuring the cast[193] are available. Dunder Mifflin has two websites,[194] and the cast members maintain blogs both as themselves and in character.

text: Cast blogs[edit]

text: Several members of the cast maintained blogs. These include Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, and Brian Baumgartner, who posted regularly during the season.[195] Rainn Wilson wrote in character on "Schrute Space" on NBC.com, which is updated periodically. However, he stopped writing the blog himself.[196] It is unknown whether Creed Bratton authors "Creed Thoughts," the blog attributed to his character.[197]

text: Home video releases[edit]

text:
Season
Region 1 release date
Region 2 release date
Region 4 release date
Episodes
Discs
Bonus features

1
August 16, 2005
April 10, 2006
August 16, 2006
6
1
Deleted scenes from all episodes, five commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes.

2
September 12, 2006
January 28, 2008
April 4, 2007
22
4
Deleted scenes from every episode, ten commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes, The Accountants webisodes, Faces of Scranton video, blooper reel, 17 fake public service announcements, Olympics promos and "Steve on Steve" promos.

3
September 4, 2007
July 21, 2008
August 20, 2008 (Part 1)
April 22, 2009 (Part 2)
25
4
Deleted scenes, eight commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes,[198] "Kevin Cooks Stuff in The Office", 2006 NBC Primetime Preview, Toby wraparound promos, Dwight Schrute music video, Joss Whedon interview, blooper reel, Lazy Scranton video, and a 58th Annual Emmy Awards excerpt. A special edition for Target called the "Nifty Gifty" set also contains footage from the Museum of TV festival and script facsimile.

4
September 2, 2008
June 14, 2010
September 2, 2009 (Part 1)
December 2, 2009 (Part 2)
19
4
Deleted scenes, outtakes, Second Life footage, The Office Convention invitation, The Office Convention: Writer’s Block Panel, "Goodbye, Toby" music video, four commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes.[199]

5
September 8, 2009
February 7, 2011
September 29, 2010 (Part 1)
March 2, 2011 (Part 2)
28
5
Deleted scenes, outtakes, ten commentaries by the cast and crew, "The Academy of Art and Sciences presents, 'The Office,' Summer Olympic promos, Super Bowl promos, Kevin's Loan webisodes, and The Outburst webisodes.[200]

6
September 7, 2010
January 30, 2012
August 4, 2011 (Part 1)
November 9, 2011 (Part 2)
26
5
Deleted scenes, outtakes, gag reel, cast and crew commentaries, two extended episodes, minisode The Podcast, "Welcome to Sabre" corporate welcome video, promos.[201]

Overtime
November 16, 2010
N/A
N/A
N/A
1
The Accountants, Kevin's Loan, The Outburst, Blackmail, Subtle Sexuality and The Mentor webisodes, The Podcast minisode, The Office Convention: Cast Q&A, Paley: Inside The Writer's Room, Subtle Sexuality commentary with Mindy Kaling, B. J. Novak, and Ellie Kemper, Blackmail video commentary with Creed Bratton, Subtle Sexuality music video, Dwight Schrute music video, Lazy Scranton video, Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin ad and fake PSAs.[202]

7
September 6, 2011
September 3, 2012
August 22, 2012 (Part 1)
November 7, 2012 (Part 2)
26
5
Deleted scenes, blooper reel, "The Third Floor" webisodes, cast and crew commentaries on five episodes, producer's extended cuts of "Training Day" and "Search Committee," Threat Level Midnight: The Movie (A Michael Scott Joint)

8
September 4, 2012
April 7, 2014
February 13, 2013 (Part 1)
August 8, 2013 (Part 2)
24
5
Deleted scenes, blooper reel, "The Girl Next Door" webisodes, producer's extended cuts of "Angry Andy" and "Fundraiser"

9
September 3, 2013[203]
September 15, 2014
February 13, 2014 (Part 1)
June 19, 2014 (Part 2)
25
5
Deleted scenes, gag reel, rare audition footage

text: Proposed spin-offs[edit]

text: A spin-off to the series was proposed in 2008,[204] with a pilot episode expected to debut as the Super Bowl lead-out program in 2009.[205] However, The Office's creative team instead decided to develop Parks and Recreation as a separate series.[206]

text: Another spin-off starring Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute running a bed-and-breakfast and beet farm, titled The Farm, was proposed in early 2012.[5][207] In October 2012, however, NBC decided not to go forward with the series.[208] The backdoor pilot episode instead aired as part of the ninth and final season of The Office on March 14, 2013.[207][209]


document_title: I Can Do Bad All by Myself (film)

question_text: who plays miss wilma in i can do bad all by myself

text: I Can Do Bad All by Myself (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The film opens with April (Taraji P. Henson), a self-centered, alcoholic singer, performing at a nightclub where she works. On the other side of town, Madea (Tyler Perry) and Joe Simmons (Perry) catch Jennifer (Hope Olaidè Wilson), Manny (Kwesi Boakye), and Byron (Freddy Siglar) breaking into their house. After hearing the children’s troubles, Madea welcomes and feeds them. Jennifer tells Madea that they’re living with their grandmother, whom they haven't seen in four days. They tell Madea that their only other relative is their Aunt April.

text: April shares her home with her shady boyfriend, Randy (Brian White), who’s married with children. The next morning, Madea brings the kids to April's house, but April doesn’t want to be bothered. Meanwhile, Pastor Brian (Marvin Winans) sends a Colombian immigrant named Sandino (Adam Rodríguez) to her house for work and a place to stay. April puts Sandino in her basement and wants to lock him down there because she doesn't know him that well. While working around the house, Sandino surprises April by cleaning himself up and becoming very handsome. When Randy arrives, he sees April with the kids and Sandino and heckles him while making subtle advances at Jennifer.

text: Shortly afterward, Pastor Brian and Wilma (Gladys Knight), a church member, come to inform April that her mother died from a fatal brain aneurysm while riding on a city bus. April is devastated by the news and seeks comfort from Randy; however, he is sleeping and shrugs her off. Later, Sandino comforts April as she tells him about her mother's death and the last time she spoke with her.

text: Depressed, Jennifer goes to Madea wanting to know how to pray. However, Madea, inexperienced with prayer, attempts to instruct her in a scene that plays out comically. The same night, Wilma sings "The Need to Be", an uplifting song for women, and Tanya (Mary J. Blige), the nightclub bartender, sings "I Can Do Bad". Before singing the song, Tanya strongly confronts April about her selfishness and attitude. She tells April that she is fed up with her attitude and makes it clear that April needs to get her life together and needs to start making wiser decisions. Tanya declares that she loves April and wants to help her but in order to help April, she needs to start helping herself. By this; she suggests that April needs to give up the binge drinking of alcohol, start thinking about the safety and well-being of Byron, Manny and Jennifer and ending her useless relationship with Randy.

text: Over time, Sandino and April become  good friends, and Sandino fixes a ruined bedroom in her house. This makes Manny and Byron happy, but upsets Jennifer, who feels April does not want them there. While on a date, Sandino tells April he doesn't understand why she is with Randy and asks if she loves Randy. He tells her what true love is to him. One Sunday morning, Sandino eagerly knocks on April's bedroom door to get April ready for church, but Randy threatens to have Sandino deported if he continues to spend time with April.

text: Late the next night, Manny needs his insulin shot, and Jennifer goes to the kitchen to get it. As she prepares the shot, Randy approaches and attempts to rape her, but Sandino fights him off. April walks in on the fight and Randy claims Jennifer offered him sex for money. April claims to believe him and sends Randy to take a bath. When he is in the tub, April threatens to electrocute him with a plugged-in radio. Sandino arrives and tries to stop her, but April is enraged, as she explains that she was sexually assaulted by her step-father, who then lied about it to her mother, thus causing April to lose her faith in the people that cared about her. After saying does he want her to put it down twice, she drops the plugged-in radio into the water, giving Randy a severe electric shock. Randy barely jumps out just in time and Sandino orders him to leave.

text: April goes to the bar for a drink and blames herself for not seeing the signs. Sandino tries to stop her from drinking, but she pushes him away. She then asks Sandino if he is a child molester, because of all the attention he gives the children. Sandino tells April of his childhood as a child laborer and explains that he loves the children so much because he sees himself in them. Feeling hurt at her unfair accusations, Sandino says farewell to the children and leaves.

text: Jennifer and April begin to get along and connect after April tells Jennifer about her bad experience as a child. Jennifer tells April that she should recognize Sandino as a good man. Eventually, Sandino returns and April apologizes to him and admits that she loves him like a friend. Sandino tells her that she can't love anyone until she learns to love herself. He tells April that he is in love with her but he wants April to love him back the same way he loves her. He shows her by kissing her.

text: Eventually, April and Sandino get married. April and Sandino then hold a block party for their reception with Tanya singing "Good Woman Down", dedicated to April, then the new couple is shown embracing and sharing a passionate kiss.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Taraji P. Henson as April
Adam Rodriguez as Sandino
Brian White as Randy
Mary J. Blige as Tanya
Gladys Knight as Wilma
Marvin Winans as Pastor Brian
Hope Olaidé Wilson as Jennifer
Kwesi Boakye as Manny
Freddy Siglar as Byron
Tyler Perry as Mabel "Madea" Simmons and Uncle Joe Simmons

text: Differences from the stage play[edit]

text:
Tyler Perry's famous characters, Mr. Brown and Cora, had main roles in the stage play; they are absent in the film. In the film, several characters refer to Cora, but she is not seen; Mr. Brown is neither seen nor mentioned.
The original plot (in the stage play) focused on two sisters feuding because Maylee is engaged to her sister Vivanne's ex-husband, Anthony, and Anthony is holding her back from her parental responsibilities. In the film, April's sister is a drug addict and thief who neglected her children and is deceased. Her mother assumed custody of the children but has recently disappeared without explanation, and circumstances have forced April to reluctantly take her niece and nephews in.
The stage play characters Vivanne, Keisha, Bobby, Maylee, and Anthony do not exist in the film.

text: Music[edit]

text: The film features 13 songs,[5] including two new songs by Blige. Perry was not able to produce a soundtrack album for the film due to the various record companies involved.

text:
"Good Woman Down" (Robert F. Aries, Blige, Sean Garrett, Freddie Jackson, Meli'sa Morgan) – Mary J. Blige
"I Can Do Bad" (Blige, Chuck Harmon, Shaffer Smith) – Mary J. Blige
"Playboy" (Michael Akinlabi, Tasha Schumann) – Candy Coated Killahz
"Contagious" ( Xavier Dphrepaulezz ) – Chocolate Butterfly
"H.D.Y." (Ronnie Garrett, Herman (Pnut) Johnson) – Club Indigo Band
"Indigo Blues" (Garrett, Johnson) – Club Indigo Band
"Lovers Heat" (Garrett, Johnson) – Club Indigo Band
"Tears of Pain" (Foster) – Ruthie Foster
"Rock Steady" (Aretha Franklin) – Cheryl Pepsii Riley
"The Need to Be" (Jim Weatherly) – Gladys Knight
"Just Don't Wanna Know/Over It Now" (Winans) – Gladys Knight and Marvin L. Winans
"Oh Lord I Want You to Help Me" (Traditional, arranged by Jerome Chambers & Edward O'Neal) – Cheryl Pepsii Riley & Marvin L. Winans

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reaction[edit]

text: The film has received generally positive reviews from critics, making it Perry's most acclaimed film to date.[6] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 63% of critics gave positive reviews based on 43 reviews with an average score of 5.9/10, giving it a "Fresh" rating, with the general consensus being though somewhat formulaic and predictable, Perry succeeds in mixing broad humor with sincere sentimentality to palatable effect.[7] By comparison, Metacritic gave the film a 55% approval rating of critics based on 13 reviews.[6]


document_title: Oreo

question_text: where were the first oreo cookies sold in america

text: Oreo

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The origin of the name Oreo is unknown, but there are many hypotheses, including derivations from the French word 'Or', meaning gold (as early packaging was gold),[citation needed] or the Greek word "Ωραίο" (/ɔ.ˈɾɛ.ɔ/), meaning tasty, beautiful, nice or well done.[2] Others believe that the cookie was named Oreo because it was short and easy to pronounce.[3] Another theory is that the name derives from the Latin Oreodaphne a genus of the laurel family. In her book BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, food writer Stella Parks notes that the original design of the Oreo includes a laurel wreath, and several of Nabisco's cookies at the time had botanically derived names including Avena, Lotus, and Helicon (Heliconia) [4]

text: History[edit]

text: Twentieth century[edit]

text: The "Oreo Biscuit" was first developed and produced by the National Biscuit Company (today known as Nabisco) in 1912[5][6] at its Chelsea, Manhattan factory in the current-day Chelsea Market complex, located on Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets.[7] Today, this same block of Ninth Avenue is known as "Oreo Way."[7] The name Oreo was first trademarked on March 14, 1912.[8] It was launched as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie manufactured by Sunshine company, introduced in 1908.[9]

text: The original design of the cookie featured a wreath around the edge of the cookie and the name "OREO" in the center.[10] In the United States, they were sold for 25 cents a pound (453 g) in novelty cans with clear glass tops. The first Oreo was sold on March 6, 1912, to a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey.[11]

text: The Oreo Biscuit was renamed in 1921, to "Oreo Sandwich."[2] A new design for the cookie was introduced in 1924.[10] A lemon-filled variety was available briefly during the 1920s, but was discontinued.[10] In 1948, the Oreo Sandwich was renamed the "Oreo Creme' Sandwich"; it was changed in 1974 to the Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookie.[2] The modern-day Oreo design was developed in 1952 by William A. Turnier,[12] to include the Nabisco logo.

text: The modern Oreo cookie filling was developed by Nabisco's principal food scientist, Sam Porcello.[7][13] Porcello held five patents directly related to his work on the Oreo.[13] He also created a line of Oreo cookies covered in dark chocolate and white chocolate.[7][13] Porcello retired from Nabisco in 1993.[7] In the early 1990s, health concerns prompted Nabisco to replace the lard in the filling with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.[14] Oreo cookies are popular with certain dietary restrictions, like vegans, because the cream inside the cookie is not made from any animal products,[15] however, there is a risk of cross-contamination from other dairy-containing products made in the same production areas.[16]

text: Twenty-first century[edit]

text: Starting in January 2006, Oreo cookies replaced the trans fat in the cookie with non-hydrogenated vegetable oil.[14][17][18]

text: Nabisco began a marketing program in 2008, advertising the use of Oreo cookies in a game called DSRL, which stands for "Double Stuf Racing League." The DSRL was introduced one week prior to Super Bowl XLII. This sport had also been endorsed by football brothers Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.[19] Sisters Venus and Serena Williams have also joined, and challenged the Mannings to a race, which aired in an ad on January 18, 2009.[20] Another campaign started for Golden Double Stuf Oreo cookies with the brothers being challenged by Donald Trump and "Double Trump", played by Darrell Hammond; the date for this competition was January 24, 2010. The Mannings won in both cases. A new ad campaign is currently revolving around a 'Hooded Menace' threatening to take over the Double Stuf Racing League, and Eli Manning and Stufy (the DSRL mascot) needing some help airing beginning on or around September 14, 2010. Six days later, it was announced that Shaquille O'Neal and Apolo Ohno joined Oreo Double Stuf Racing League vets Eli Manning and Venus Williams.

text: In April 2011, Oreo announced its special edition Oreo cookies with blue creme in promotion of the 2011 3D computer animated film Rio. The promotion included stickers inside each package of cookies. Two types of contests were also announced: first, by completing an album of stickers, consumers could win three movie passes and medium snack bar combos; second, by finding winning stickers in packages with prizes, including a trip to Rio de Janeiro, backpacks, cinema passes for a year, and 3D glasses. The promotion ended May 30, 2011,[21] and was available in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia.[22]

text: In June 2012, Oreo posted an ad displaying an Oreo cookie with rainbow colored cream to commemorate Gay Pride month.[23] The cookie itself is not being manufactured or available for sale. The ad prompted some negative comments but Kraft stood by their promotion stating "Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values."[24] The Gay Pride ad was followed during 2012 by a series of ads commemorating other holidays and events, including a red, white and blue cream Oreo for Bastille Day, a stream of cookie crumbs for the appearance of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower, and a cookie with a jagged bite taken out of it for Shark Week.

text: In 2013 research on rats at Connecticut College revealed that Oreos might be as addictive to them as cocaine.[25]

text: International distribution[edit]

text: Oreo cookies are distributed worldwide through a variety of sales and marketing means. In the United Kingdom, since May 2008, following stocking of Oreo (called Oreo biscuits in UK) in the supermarket chain Sainsbury's, Kraft decided to fully launch the Oreo across the UK, repackaged in the more familiar British tube design, accompanied with a £4.5M television advertising campaign around the 'twist, lick, dunk' catchphrase.[26] Kraft recently partnered with McDonald's to bring the Oreo McFlurry (already on sale in many countries) to a few McDonald's locations during its yearly Great Tastes of America promotions, as of October 2015 the Oreo McFlurry became a permanent menu item at McDonald's in the United Kingdom. An Oreo flavored "Krushem" drink was also on sale in UK KFC stores.

text: The UK Oreo website gives a slightly different ingredients list to that of the US product. Unlike the US version, UK Oreo cookies originally contained whey powder and so were not suitable for people who avoid milk products. As the whey powder was sourced from cheese made with calf rennet, UK Oreo cookies were also not suitable for vegetarians.[27] On 6 December 2011, Kraft announced that Oreo cookies would start to be produced in the UK. Their Cadbury factory at Sheffield in South Yorkshire was selected to manufacture Oreo cookies in the UK for the first time. Production started on May 2013.[28]

text: Oreo in India was introduced by 'Cadbury India' in 2011. The biscuit industry in India is estimated to be around 1.8 billion dollars.[29] According to the Kraft Foods Company the Oreo is the "World's Best Selling Cookie".[30] As the popularity of Oreos continues to grow, so does the amount of distribution that comes with it. In March 2012, Time Magazine reported that Oreos were available in more than 100 different countries. Overall, it is estimated that since the Oreo cookie's inception in 1912 that over 450 billion Oreos have been produced worldwide. The United States, China, Venezuela, Canada, and Indonesia round out the top 5 countries in terms of sales.[31]

text: Production[edit]

text: According to a statement from Kim McMiller, an Associate Director of Consumer Relations,[citation needed] a two-stage process is used to make Oreo cookies. The base cake dough is formed into the familiar round cookies by a rotary mold at the entrance of a 300-foot-long oven.

text: Much of Oreo production was once done at the Hersheys factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania.[citation needed] Oreo cookies for the Asian markets are manufactured in Indonesia, India and China, except for Japan where Oreo was manufactured locally under the brand "Yamazaki-Nabisco". Oreo cookies for Europe are made in Spain and in Russia (Mondelēz Rus') for consumers in several CIS countries. Oreo cookies sold in Australia are manufactured in Indonesia (previously China) or Spain, depending on flavor. The Canadian produced version (sold under the Christie's brand) includes coconut oil and is sold only in that region. Manufacturing of Oreo biscuits in Pakistan began in early 2014 at the production plant of Continental Biscuits Limited in Sukkur, Pakistan in collaboration with Mondelez International of the United States and Continental Biscuits Limited of Pakistan.

text: Oreo boycott[edit]

text: In 2015, Mondelez announced its decision to close some of its American factories and move Oreo production to Mexico, prompting the Oreo boycott.[32] In 2016, after production had started in Mexico, the AFL-CIO encouraged the boycott and published consumer guidance to help identify which Mondelez products were made in Mexico.[33]

text: In July 2016, Oreo cookies ceased production in Chicago.[34]

text: Varieties[edit]

text: In addition to their traditional design of two chocolate wafers separated by a cream filling, Oreo cookies have been produced in many different varieties since they were first introduced, and this list is only a guide to some of the more notable and recent types; not all are available in every country. Notable flavors in the US are:

text:
Double Stuf Oreo (introduced in 1974)[35] have about twice the normal amount of white creme filling. Available in peanut butter, original, cool mint, chocolate creme, and birthday cake. In the UK they are called Double Stuff Oreo (note the double 'f') and are currently only available in original.
Mega Stuf Oreo introduced in February 2013, are similar to Double Stuf Oreo cookies, but with even more white cream filling. They come in both chocolate and golden varieties.
Football Oreo are football-shaped Oreo cookies, introduced in 1976.
Big Stuf Oreo (introduced in 1987)[35] were several times the size of a normal Oreo. Sold individually, each Big Stuf contained 250 calories (1,000 kJ)[36] and 13 grams of fat. They were discontinued in 1991.
Oreo Mini, originally released in 1991,[37] are bite-sized versions of ordinary Oreo cookies. After being discontinued in the late 1990s they were re-released in 2000 along with the redesigned 2001 Dodge Caravan as part of a promotional tie-in with DaimlerChrysler.[38] Their 1990s packaging consisted of a "miniaturized" version of the full-size cardboard tray and box used in packaging at the time. Their current packaging consists of an aluminum foil bag.[citation needed]. Oreo Minis are also available, in original and golden varieties, in Nabisco To-Go Cups, lidded plastic cups which fit into car cup-holders, along with other Nabisco snacks in miniature form, such as Nutter Butters. In 2015, a new flavor of the Oreo Mini, mint, debuted.
Oreo Thins, released in 2015, are thin versions of these cookies. They come in chocolate, golden, mint, chocolate creme, and lemon kinds. They have only 40 calories per cookie, are 66% thinner, and are 33% less per bag at same cost.[citation needed]
Chocolate Oreo, an Oreo cookie with chocolate filling instead of the original vanilla creme.
During springtime, around Halloween, and Christmas, special edition "Double Stuf Oreo" cookies are produced with colored frosting reflecting the current holiday (blue or yellow, orange, and red or green respectively). Also, one side of each seasonal cookie is stamped with an appropriate design: the spring cookies feature flowers, butterflies, etc., and the Hallowe'en Oreos bear a jack o'lantern, ghost, cat, flock of bats, and/or broom-riding witch. The 2017 Hallowe'en Oreos break with this tradition, having orange-colored (classic flavor) filling but no seasonal designs.

text: Limited Edition Oreos[edit]

text: Beginning in the early 2010s, Oreo began releasing limited edition runs of cookies with more exotic flavors. These "limited editions" typically appear in stores only once, and are thereafter discontinued, though some varieties have resurfaced (Reese's Oreos, first introduced in 2014, returned for a second limited run, and Birthday Cake Oreos, originally introduced in 2012, have since become permanently available.) [39] They may also be available only from certain retailers.[40] These limited edition runs typically feature creme which has been flavored to replicate the taste of a specific fruit or dessert (from the more general lemon or mint to the more specific Blueberry Pie or Red Velvet Cupcake) but may also involve differences in the cookie (Cinnamon-Bun Oreos have a cinnamon-flavored cookie and "frosting flavored creme").[41] In recent years, some limited editions have paired Oreos with other recognizable brands, including Reese's, Swedish Fish, and Peeps. Examples include:

text:
Birthday Cake Oreo cookies were a limited edition release in February–July 2012 to celebrate Oreo's 100th birthday, made up of two chocolate Oreo cookies with a birthday-cake flavored filling and sprinkles inside. This edition replaced the traditional design on one of the two cookies with a birthday candle and the words "OREO 100". The flavor has been reintroduced, with "double stuff" amount of cream filling, in both chocolate and golden Oreo varieties, except that the cookies no longer display the "OREO 100" print.[42]
Gingerbread Oreo cookies were a limited edition release made up of two golden Oreo cookies with a mild gingerbread flavored filling.
Lemon Twist Oreo cookies were a limited edition release in 2012 that returned in 2013, made up of two golden Oreo cookies with a lemon flavored filling.
Neapolitan Oreo cookies were a limited edition release in 2012, made up of three golden Oreo cookies with a double sandwich of chocolate and strawberry creme fillings.
SpongeBob Oreo limited edition release in 2014, featuring chocolate cookies with yellow creme and one side of each cookie donning a SpongeBob SquarePants character design.[43]
Fruit Punch Oreo limited edition release in 2014, featuring vanilla cookies with fruit punch flavored creme.
Cookie Dough Oreo limited edition release in March 2014, featuring chocolate cookies with cookie dough flavored creme.[44]
Caramel Apple Oreo limited edition release in August 2014 exclusively at Target stores, featuring golden Oreo cookies with caramel apple flavored creme.[45]
Pumpkin Spice Oreo limited edition release in September 2014. Golden Oreo cookies with pumpkin spice flavored filling.
Red Velvet Oreo cookies were a limited edition release in February 2015. Red Oreo cookies with cream cheese flavored filling. The flavor has been reintroduced.
Root Beer Float limited edition release in July 2014, made of two gold Oreo Cookies filled with root beer flavored creme.
Key Lime Pie limited edition release in July 2015, made of two graham flavored Oreo cookies filled with key lime creme.
Cinnamon Bun cinnamon cookie filled with cinnamon bun flavored creme – released January 2016.
Filled Cupcake released in 2016,[46] made like the Chocolate Oreo, except the center of the filling is replaced with a filling similar to that of a cupcake frosting. The cookie can be removed allowing one to lick the filling out of the center. It is similar in design to the Hostess CupCake.[47]
S'mores released in summer 2016 made of a Graham flavored cookie with chocolate and marshmallow flavored frosting, inspired by the campfire snack.
Blueberry Pie released in summer 2016. Made of a pie crust cookie with a blueberry filling
Fruity Crisp released in summer 2016. Made of two golden Oreo cookies with a fruity and colorful rice crisp cream filling.
Swedish Fish released in summer 2016. Swedish Fish flavored red filling.
Peeps limited edition release in February 2017, made of two vanilla cookies filled with "Marshmallow Peeps flavored creme" [48]
Waffles & Syrup, limited released in May 2017, exclusively available at Albertsons stores. [49]
Mississippi Mud Pie Oreo cookies announced in June 2017 and sold exclusively at Dollar General stores while supplies lasted. The filling is half whipped cream and half chocolate cream[50]

text: Use as an ethnic slur[edit]

text: The term "Oreo" has been used as a derogatory reference to a black person who is perceived or judged to act in a "white manner." The racial slur may be levied as an accusation that the person called "Oreo" perpetuates the "un-level playing field for blacks." The racial epithet is used to imply that someone is like the cookie, "black on the outside and white on the inside".[51]