The Alliance 

Just for a laugh, Jim agrees to an alliance with Dwight regarding the downsizing rumors.

Director:

Bryan Gordon

Writers:

Greg Daniels (developed for american television by), Michael Schur

Stars:

Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Steve Carell	...	Michael Scott
Rainn Wilson	...	Dwight Schrute
John Krasinski	...	Jim Halpert
Jenna Fischer	...	Pam Beesly
B.J. Novak	...	Ryan Howard
David Denman	...	Roy Anderson
Craig Robinson	...	Darryl Philbin
Leslie David Baker	...	Stanley Hudson
Brian Baumgartner	...	Kevin Malone
Kate Flannery	...	Meredith Palmer
Paul Lieberstein	...	Toby Flenderson
Angela Kinsey	...	Angela Martin
Oscar Nuñez	...	Oscar Martinez (as Oscar Nunez)
Phyllis Smith	...	Phyllis Lapin

Storyline

Since the rumors of downsizing have occurred in the Scranton branch, Dwight thinks its best to secretly partner with Jim to have each others backs on it, while Jim takes this as an opportunity to have this as one of his pranks against Dwight.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the employees are singing "Happy Birthday" to Meredith, a red-haired employee can be seen in the background singing with them. She is never named or seen again.

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Goofs

Meredith was called an accountant in this episode, however, she's a Supplier Relations Rep.

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Quotes

Pam Beesly: This was tough. I suggested we flip a coin, but Angela said she doesn't like to gamble. Of course, by saying that, she was gambling that I wouldn't smack her.

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Connections

Features Solitaire (1981)

User Reviews

Jim and Dwight

The US version of The Office continues to distance itself from the brilliant UK original by having more openly exaggerated sit-com scenarios (it is an NBC show, after all) with what is arguably the funniest episode of the short inaugural season: The Alliance, which shows another side of the endlessly hilarious Jim/Dwight conflict.

With the downsizing rumors still in the air, Dwight suggests that he and Jim form a secret alliance so that neither of them will have any problems. Of course, Dwight reveals his trust issues to the camera crew, and boy, are they justified: the moment the "alliance" kicks off, Jim starts planning various schemes at his co-worker's expense. Meanwhile, Michael keeps coming up with ways to distract his staff from the gossip-induced paranoia.

Like the previous episode, The Alliance is 20 minutes of comedy gold, based primarily on the spot-on interactions between John Krasinski and the superb Rainn Wilson, who almost do an even better job than Martin Freeman and McKenzie Crook in the British prototype. The "best gag" award, however, has to go to Steve Carell for when he explains why he shouldn't tell his staff about the downsizing: "As a doctor, you wouldn't tell a patient they had cancer." A masterpiece

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 2005 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deedle-Dee Productions, Reveille Productions, NBC Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

23 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1