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
