The One Scene From The Office That Makes Us Love Steve Carell Even More

There's no denying that the Prison Mike bit can come off as offensive, as jokes and stereotypes about race are prevalent throughout. This was intended to make Michael Scott look bad, of course, but on a recent episode of the Office Ladies podcast, stars Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly) and Angela Kinsey (Angela Martin) reminisced about the episode, but most importantly, consulted Wayne Wilderson (who played Martin) on what he thought about his Office role. 

Wilderson feels that in 2020, the episode is more relevant than ever. "Wow. I just watched it again. I watch it maybe every year or so. It's such a good episode with everything that's going on in the world now, you know?" he said. "It feels a little even edgier at some points, but it's super poignant for all the issues that we're dealing with now — with race and how we deal with it, and what's funny, and what's not funny, and who can say what, when." Wilderson also mentioned how "This sort of puts a magnifying glass on where we've been and how far we've come along ... what comedy we can do."

Wilderson believes the commentary holds up, and that "The Convict" is a classic Office episode. The humor, of course, is undeniably funny — even now. As Angela Kinsey mentions, "In the conference room scene, when Steve became Prison Mike, the first time he turned around with that bandana on and his crazy Guys and Dolls accent — we all lost it, even Steve, which never happens." 

That was, it appears, all of us. Carell truly is a comedy genius.