The Jim Prank On The Office That Went Too Far
Given the amount of time Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch spent wasting billable hours, it's not too surprising the company was perpetually teetering on the edge of insolvency. One of the biggest time-wasting culprits was Michael Scott, whose meaningless meetings brought the entire office to a standstill at least once a day. The other prolific time-waster in "The Office" was Jim Halpert. The many hours he spent wooing Pam Beesly (and Karen Filippelli and Katy Moore) should have been spent expanding the company's client list. In addition to all the wooing of women, Jim spent large portions of the work day pranking Dwight Schrute.
Now, there were certainly times that Dwight deserved being the target of Jim's pranks. His dogmatic views on basically everything just begged for a childish reaction. But every once in a while, Jim launched a prank that was over the top. Recently, Looper surveyed 630 Americans to find out which of Jim's pranks went too far, and the results may surprise you.
Asian Jim and the vending machine weren't that bad
With only 14.6% of the vote, Jim's prank in the cold open of Season 9, Episode 3, "Andy's Ancestry," was the least offensive. In the episode, Jim and Pam ask an Asian actor friend to pretend to be Jim. To Jim's credit, the prank is well executed, with doctored photos, voicemail security codes, and even a kiss from Pam — all to convince Dwight that Jim had been Asian all along. By the end of the cold open, Dwight looks to be doubting his own memory.
The next prank on the list, with 16.19% of the vote, came in the 11th episode of Season 2, "Booze Cruise." In the episode's cold open, Dwight discovers the vending machine is filled with items from his desk. He immediately, and correctly, accuses Jim, who is friends with the vending machine guy. While Dwight confronts Jim, Pam purchases Dwight's pencil cup from the machine. Realizing he needs to "buy" his stuff back, Dwight discovers that his wallet is also trapped in the machine. Thankfully, Jim provides him with a bag filled with nickels. That Jim — always so helpful.
Benito Mussolini and the CIA almost went too far
In third place, with 17.62% of the vote, we have the time Jim tricks Dwight into becoming Benito Mussolini. In Season 2's aptly named episode, "Dwight's Speech," Dwight has been awarded "Northeastern Pennsylvania Salesman of the Year" and is set to give an acceptance speech. A rather unhumble Dwight relishes in the honor, which causes Jim to retaliate by "helping" Dwight prepare the speech. Unbeknownst to Dwight, the pointers Jim gives him are taken from some of the world's worst dictators, including the one who ruled Italy during the early 20th century. Unlike most of Jim's pranks, this one backfires. When Dwight gives the speech, which is filled with many Mussolini quotes, the crowd roars with agreement.
With 25.08% of the votes, the prank survey respondents felt was the second-worst comes from Season 3's "A Benihana Christmas." Technically, Pam is the mastermind behind the prank, at least at the beginning. As a Christmas present to Jim, Pam reveals that she had spent the last few months convincing Dwight that he's being recruited by the CIA, and that Jim gets to choose Dwight's first assignment. Initially, Jim demurs, believing that as Dwight's professional superior, he shouldn't continue to target him. Eventually, Jim's new code of ethics is abandoned, and he has Dwight convinced that a CIA helicopter is en route to pick him up on the office building's roof. While Dwight waits for the chopper, he receives a message informing him that he's been compromised and ordering him to destroy his phone, which he does without question.
Dwight vs. Dwight went too far
Coming in first place, with 26.51% of the vote, the Jim prank that went too far is when Jim tricks Dwight into beating himself up in Season 6, Episode 10, "Murder." As "The Office" fans know, Dwight is quite the martial artist. He's also a firm believer in ensuring his colleagues know how to protect themselves in an emergency, like when he gave Stanley a heart attack and nearly burned down the office to teach them fire safety. In the episode's cold open, Dwight is giving his yearly update on what's new in martial arts.
When Dwight seeks a volunteer to assist him in the demonstration, Jim points out that the only person in the office with skills equal to Dwight's is Dwight. Ever modest, Dwight agrees and immediately falls for the hypothetical Dwight vs. Dwight matchup Jim concocts. By the end of the cold open, Dwight has stomped his own foot, punched himself repeatedly, and struck himself in the groin. As pranks go, this one is pretty bruising, which is likely why voters named it the one that went too far.