Writer and podcaster Seb Patrick starts a look back at EVERY episode of The (American) Office with the show's 2005 pilot. Widely regarded as a disappointing opening instalment, the pilot was criticised for largely retreading old jokes and dialogue from the UK show rather than striking out on its own. But given that The Office would eventually turn into one of the classic sitcoms of its age, are there any seeds of brilliance in that first attempt?

This is a pilot episode for this new series of podcasts, and as such is still a work-in-progress in terms of style, format and so on! If you're listening and you have any feedback about the direction of the show, please get in touch on @p4_podcast or @sebpatrick.

PLEASE NOTE: This podcast discusses episodes of The Office in the wider context of the show, and while we try not to outright give away future plot developments in detail, we do assume a certain amount of knowledge as to roughly what happens to the characters over the seasons that follow. If you are trying to watch the show completely unspoiled we do not recommend listening to the podcast until you have!