The Office (1995 TV series)

Not to be confused with The Office (UK TV series) or The Office (U.S. TV series).

The Office
Created by	Susan Beavers Barbara Corday
Written by	Susan Beavers Ken Estin Tami Yellin
Directed by	Jay Sandrich
Starring	Valerie Harper Dakin Matthews Debra Jo Rupp Lisa Darr Kristin Dattilo-Hayward Kevin Conroy Andrea Abbate Gary Dourdan
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6 (1 unaired)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Paul Junger Witt Tony Thomas Susan Beavers
Producer(s)	Gilbert Junger
Production location(s)	Sunset Gower Studios Hollywood, California
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Witt/Thomas Productions
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	March 11 – April 15, 1995
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Office is an American sitcom starring Valerie Harper which aired on CBS from March 11, 1995 to April 15, 1995 as a mid-season replacement during the 1994–95 television season. The series, billed as an office version of Upstairs, Downstairs, centered on the camaraderie of executives and their secretaries of a busy corporate office at a design-packaging company.

Synopsis

Rita Stone (Valerie Harper) is a divorcée and 19-year veteran of a secretarial pool at the executive office of a package design company in Chicago called Package Inc. She is outspoken and mainly the glue that holds things together at the company, seeing that everything gets done on time, mediating disputes and trying to be a good listener to both job-related and personal problems.

While Rita is responsible for the company's inept CEO, Frank (Dakin Matthews), she also manages three other secretaries: Beth (Debra Jo Rupp), a flustered mother of four who works for the company's only female executive, Natalie (Lisa Darr); Mae (Andrea Abbate), a free-spirited, thrice-divorced former temp who works for the firm's temperamental artist (Gary Dourdan); and Deborah (Kristin Dattilo-Hayward), a naive MBA student who works for a sleazy salesman (Kevin Conroy).

Cast

• Valerie Harper as Rita Stone
• Dakin Matthews as Frank Gerard
• Debra Jo Rupp as Beth Avery
• Lisa Darr as Natalie Stanton
• Kristin Dattilo-Hayward as Deborah Beaumont
• Kevin Conroy as Steve Gilman
• Andrea Abbate as Mae D'arcy
• Gary Dourdan as Bobby Harold

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Pilot: The Office"	Jay Sandrich	Susan Beavers, Barbara Corday	March 11, 1995
Rita and the secretaries are upset and stage a job action when the boss announces that overtime pay is being eliminated by corporate headquarters.
2	"Laboring Pains"	Jay Sandrich	Susan Beavers	March 18, 1995
Beth is forced to bring her sick, havoc-wreaking 4-year-old son to the office on a day when Frank hopes to close a major deal.
3	"Rita & Frank"	Jay Sandrich	Ken Estin	March 25, 1995
Frank is jealous of Rita's new romance; meanwhile, Beth attempts to put the spark back into her marriage.
4	"Power Playing"	Jay Sandrich	Susan Beavers	April 8, 1995
Mae enjoys a position of power when a former boyfriend (Mars Callahan) visits and shows interest in Package Inc.
5	"Judgement Day"	Jay Sandrich	Susan Beavers	April 15, 1995
The staff is unhappy with newly instituted merit evaluations; meanwhile, Beth earns low marks on her household skills from Rita.
6	"My Guy"	Jay Sandrich	Tami Yellin	UNAIRED
Rita mediates when Deborah and Natalie unwittingly date the same man.

Reception

The Office was the fourth starring vehicle for Harper, following her previous television ventures in Rhoda (1974–78), Valerie (1986–87) and City (1990). However, the series did not catch on with the public and was cancelled after five episodes, with one episode remaining unaired. It was broadcast Saturday nights on CBS at 9:00 p.m. throughout its brief run.

External links

• The Office at IMDb
• The Office at TV.com
• The Office at epguides.com
• The Office at Sitcoms Online