Pam Beesly
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| Pam Beesly | |
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| First appearance | Pilot |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 27 |
| Occupation | Receptionist |
| Portrayed by | Jenna Fischer |
| Created by | Greg Daniels |
Pamela Beesly is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom The Office, played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of The Office is Dawn Tinsley.
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[edit] Overview
At the beginning of the series, Pam is the friendly but put-upon receptionist at the Scranton branch of the fictitious paper-distributor Dunder-Mifflin. She enjoys talking with her best friend, salesman Jim Halpert, often joining him in playing pranks on his deskmate Dwight Schrute. She has been engaged to warehouse worker Roy Anderson for three years.
[edit] Office life
A college graduate, ("Boys and Girls") Pam does not want her current job to become permanent, remarking that no little girl ever dreams about becoming a receptionist. Pam is extremely apathetic toward her work, which is evidenced by the fact she often plays various different forms of Solitaire on her computer. Michael has also criticized her for simply forwarding calls to voice mail without answering and (in a deleted scene) for not sounding enthusiastic enough when speaking on the telephone. She will almost always abandon any task if asked to do so by Jim; similarly, she will do extra and totally unnecessary work (such as making paper doves for the Office Olympics) if she thinks it will make Jim happy. She will also leave early if she spots an opportunity to do so.
[edit] Romantic life
[edit] Jim
Pam is the object of Jim's affection although she was engaged to Roy Anderson, a warehouse worker at the office. She suppresses any feelings that she may have for her best friend, although in "Basketball", the camera catches her looking at a sweaty Jim and licking her lips. After a fight with Roy at the Dundie Awards, Pam gets so drunk that she momentarily lets her guard down, and kisses Jim on the lips. In the parking lot afterward, she nearly tells him something, but chickens out when she notices the camera watching them.
She is overheard being quizzed about him by her mother in "Sexual Harassment", and her embarrassed response reveals that she has discussed him in private. In Season 2, Jim's crush on Pam is accidentally revealed by Michael to the entire office, with Jim covering it up by saying that he used to like Pam, but dropped it when he learned that she was engaged. However, Michael again slips up by implying that Jim's crush "wasn't that long ago." It is not directly stated whether Pam is aware of Jim's feelings for her until the final episode of the Season 2. It is revealed in the episode "Conflict Resolution" that Jim had complained to Toby about Pam making wedding preparations in the workplace, although he claimed previously that it does not bother him. Pam and Jim kiss after he confesses his love for her at the Dunder Mifflin Casino Night at the end of Season 2.
She tells Jim after the kiss that she still intends to marry Roy (Gay Witch Hunt). Pam does call off the wedding, but not until after Jim has transferred to the Stamford Branch. Jim & Pam apparently sever all ties after this, but he accidentally calls her at her desk one night when he was trying to reach Kevin's voice mail. The conversation lasts several hours (indicated by the transition from daylight to darkness outside their windows). When Jim moves back into the Scranton office as a result of The Merger, he reveals to Pam that he is dating, and eventually she learns he is dating Karen Filippelli. She still harbors feelings for Jim. However, Pam awkwardly denies any romantic feelings for her longtime friend when confronted by Karen in "Ben Franklin". In the episode "Cocktails" Pam tells Roy that she kissed Jim on Casino Night, and that she did have feelings for him.
[edit] Roy
At the beginning of the series, Pam & Roy had been dating for eight years, starting in high school, and have been engaged for three years. Their open-ended engagement has become one of Michael's running gags and a sore spot for the receptionist. Roy eventually announces a June wedding, adding to Jim's heartache. Pam has been with Roy for about nine years at the point that she calls off the wedding.
What Pam sees in Roy is never exactly clear. He openly admits being attracted to Angela and to Katy the purse salesgirl with Pam right next to him. He bosses her around, ignores her at parties, makes fun of her interest in art, and offers her sex as a gift on Valentine's Day. Jim comments in Season 2 that Pam does not like to "bother" Roy with her "thoughts or feelings" and previously noted that her job and Roy seemed to be the only two problems in Pam's life.
Roy's worst offense, arguably, was his role in crushing one of Pam's ambitions. She is skilled at drawing, and would like to pursue a career in art, possibly in graphic design. Jan informs Pam of a graphic arts internship offered by Dunder-Mifflin, and Pam expresses enthusiasm. Yet Pam becomes unsure about taking it after arguing with Roy, who objects to the opportunity (while Jim supports it). Pam elects not to take the internship, arguing that the impracticality of it was the deciding factor, but Roy's role in cajoling her to change her mind is undeniable.
It is later revealed in the episode "Gay Witch Hunt", which takes place months after "Casino Night", that Pam got cold feet before her wedding and did not marry Roy, but as she states, "still had to pay for all the food." They break up soon after, and Pam moves into her own apartment, taking up the art classes that Roy had earlier convinced her were a waste of time. As a result of the break-up, Roy goes into a tailspin by gaining weight, growing a beard, and getting busted for a D.U.I.. Having cleaned up his act, Roy expresses regret for how he took Pam for granted, and vows to win her back. By this time, however, Jim has already transferred to the Stamford branch of Dunder-Mifflin.
As time goes by, Roy and Pam become friendlier with each other. Roy concocts a lie to Michael for the sole purpose of getting Pam out of a dull meeting. They joke around occasionally and even exchange gifts at the office Christmas party. Karen, oblivious to their history, comments to Pam during "A Benihana Christmas" that she thought Roy was cute and that Pam should date him. In Phyllis' Wedding, Roy reminds Pam of various moments during their history and pays Scrantonicity 20 dollars to play "their song". They dance and leave the reception together.
In "Business School" Pam confirms that she and Roy got back together. Roy seems to fall back into old habits almost immediately, however. When Pam has her first art show, Roy comes with his brother, gives a half-hearted compliment about how "pretty" her art is, and then leaves early, but not before telling her to come to his place afterward instead of her own apartment. Pam decides to be more assertive in the following week, telling Roy that he has to do "boyfriend stuff" if they're going to stay together. Roy relents and goes to a co-workers' get-together at a local bar. However, Pam decides that she should be more honest with Roy and tells him about Jim kissing her during "Casino Night". Roy reacts by screaming at her, smashing a mirror, and wrecking the bar. Pam, frightened and embarassed by his reaction, breaks up with him immediately and leaves. Roy, outside the bar later that night, vows to kill Jim.
When Roy unsuccessfully tries to hurt Jim[thanks to Dwight], he is fired. Later on, Roy comes in and askes Pam if she wanted to go out for coffee with him, which she agrees to. During their coffee break, Pam and Roy talk about her relationship with Jim. Roy encourages her to ask out Jim[Sort of like what Michael did to Jim when he told him about Pam]but she tells him she has a girlfriend[like Jim told Michael Pam was engaged], and Roy tells her to try to make a move.
[edit] Co-workers
- Michael - It occasionally seems as if Michael might have a crush on Pam. He has stated he likes her "boobs" and her legs and believes she is "hot". He tries to cajole Pam into acting romantically with a female blow-up doll during a sexual harassment seminar. Michael's movie character, "Michael Scarn" has a love interest in his screenplay Threat Level:Midnight who appears to be based on Pam, as the character is Scarn's secretary (though the character happens to be named "Catherine Zeta-Jones"). Michael also tries to kiss Pam in the episode "Diwali", and though disgusted at his attempt, she still agrees to drive him home.
- Their professional relationship isn't much better. She often must order Michael to do his work, or deal with him in a similar way as a mother deals with a child. She covers for Michael by lying about his whereabouts when Jan asks her where he is (Michael was in line waiting for a soft pretzel). She often finds herself having to perform odd tasks for Michael, such as scanning tapes of Dundie Award ceremonies to find "highlights." She has to come up with various ways to pull Michael out of embarrassing situations. Sometimes, she will hesitate to connect Michael to a caller so he can make an embarrassing joke without knowing that nobody heard it. On one occasion, Pam also found herself having to say to Michael, "Please don't throw garbage at me."
- Despite her animosity and his obnoxious crush, Pam and Michael seem to share mutual empathy. When Michael was publicly humiliated at Chili's to the point of cutting the Dundie awards short, Pam began clapping and cheering wildly to make Michael feel better and change his mind. She also builds a casket for a bird's funeral, and writes a speech using the bird as a metaphor to assure Michael that people love him and he won't die alone. When Pam has her first art show and is roundly criticized or ignored, Michael shows up, buys one of her paintings, fusses about how talented she is, and tells her that he is proud of her. Pam reacts to this with a long, tight hug, choking back tears as she tells Michael, "Thank you."
- Toby - When he determines that Pam is single again, Toby considers asking her out several times, but doesn't go through with it in "The Convention." It is also revealed that Toby pretended to like chai lattes to get closer to Pam in a deleted scene from "Traveling Salesmen," as Pam brings him one he waits for her to leave before throwing it away. In "Business School" Toby says he wants to see Pam's art to "support art" and goes to his daughter's show only after Pam told him to go. In "Cocktails" Toby continuely tries to win a stuffed yellow duck for Pam, that she thought was "cute." Once he finally does Pam tells him that it would be better for his daughter. Despite her apparent lack of interest, Pam does perform an act of kindness for Toby during the Christmas party. After his gift from corporate, a bathrobe, was confiscated by Dwight (on Michael's orders), Pam finds a way to obtain another one and gives it to him before leaving.
- Kevin - Kevin has numerous times throughout the series called Pam "hot," and went so far as to tell Toby in "The Convention" that if he were not engaged, he would "so hit that."
- Creed - In the episode "Conflict Resolution", Creed makes a complaint to Toby, requesting a seat facing Pam, rather than one facing Meredith. In "The Coup", after Pam purchases a more feminine wardrobe, he openly stares at her chest.
- Andy - In the episode, The Convict, Andy asks Jim about which women in the office are available for dating. Andy asks if he should try for Pam and Jim tells him to. As a prank, Jim purposely gives Andy Pam's dislikes but tells him that they're her favorite things. Andy embarresses himself when hitting on her by speaking in Pig-Latin to her, suggesting they play frisbee golf and singing her The Rainbow Connection in his "sexy" falsetto voice.
- Dwight - Pam usually acts as an accomplice with Jim on pranks at Dwight's expense. She even plays pranks on him when Jim isn't present; she throws crumbled pieces of paper into Dwight's coffee mug when he isn't at his desk, and spends several months sending him e-mails under the guise of being from the CIA.
- Their animosity is briefly curbed when Dwight suffers a minor concussion that actually causes him to be friendly and helpful toward Pam. When Dwight leaves to go to the emergency room, Pam embraces him and emotionally tells him good-bye, explaining that things will be different after he is treated. Although the pranks continue, Dwight appears to be fond of Pam, though his treatment of her is misguided. He confides in her and asks for advice when trying to find a Valentine's Day gift for Angela, and immediately tells her to "shut up" when he thinks of one with her help. Dwight later sees her crying in a hallway. Dwight apparently thinks at first that she has been raped, until Pam assures him, "It's nothing." Dwight gives her a tissue and puts his arm around her to comfort her. They sit in silence until he asks, "So, you're PMSing pretty bad, huh?"
- Kelly - Pam spends more time with Kelly while Jim is working in the Stamford office. Her first date after breaking off her engagement is a double date with Kelly & Ryan; Kelly had fixed her up with a local cartoonist. Kelly's encouragement also leads Pam to buy nicer clothes, with Kelly assuring her that she looks sexy when Pam suggests that her new outfit is "too much."
- Angela - Pam has frequently had a hostile relationship with Angela, particularly in their work as members of the Party Planning Committee, in which they frequently clash. Angela has accused Pam of being a "hussy" and has made catty remarks about her friendship with Jim. (She plays a game called "Pam-Pong" where she counts how many times Jim gets up from his desk to talk to Pam.) Angela even seems to look for excuses to dislike Pam, first getting angry with her for not being invited to the wedding, and when Pam relents and sends her an invitation, she declines because she doesn't like the invitation's design. Their intense dislike for each other leads Pam to plan a competing Christmas party, which turns out to be a big hit. She invites Angela, who eventually accepts, and this seems to be an olive branch for the two of them. They go out for coffee together a few weeks later, and after Dwight quits over a matter of covering a mistake that Angela made, she confides her feelings to Pam.
- Karen Filippelli - Pam's relationship with Karen starts off on the right foot. They immediately hit it off when Karen compliments Pam's sweater and Pam silently reprimands Michael for making an insensitive remark about Karen's "exotic" appearance. By the end of Karen's first day in Scranton, Pam has learned that she is dating Jim, and weeks later, before the Christmas party, Pam admits to being "cold" toward her for "no reason." Pam consoles Karen after an embarrassing scolding by Angela at a party-planning meeting, leading them to plan a competing party. The two of them bond as they make preparations, to Jim's obvious dismay. Their friendship actually becomes so strong that when Jim & Karen have a fight that threatens their relationship, Pam puts aside her own interest in Jim and takes Karen's side, helping patch things up between the two of them(privately, Pam is reduced to tears after doing so). Karen eventually learns of Jim & Pam's past and confronts her about it for assurance that it's all in the past. Karen accepts Pam's assurance that it is but is put off by the fact that Pam had trouble giving her a direct answer at first. Their friendship seems to have cooled after this; a deleted scene reveals Karen nearly tearing down a flyer advertising Pam's art show, attempting to sabotage it. Karen also makes a show of embracing Jim while Pam is watching, apparently trying to make a show out of the fact that they're together.
[edit] Trivia
- Pam is a Sudoku buff, and can complete a moderate level of puzzle in 18 minutes or less, as she bragged in a voice mail to Jim.
- She won the "World's Longest Engagement" award at the Dundie Awards for consecutive years, until Jim complained to Michael about it in 2005, when she won the "Whitest Sneakers" award.
- Jenna Fischer's myspace.com page spells the character's last name "Beesley." In her Myspace blog, Fischer confirmed that the correct spelling is "Beesly." (In a deleted scene for Conflict Resolution, however, Pam's security pass reads "Beesley". In addition, in Season 1, a message appears on Kevin Malone's computer that states "From the desk of Pam Beasly".) Also, in "Sexual Harassment", a shot of Kevin's computer screen reveals e-mails from 'Pam Beasly'.
- If Pam and Roy had married, and Pam had taken Roy's last name of Anderson, her name would have been Pamela Anderson.
- Due to an incident during the 2005 Dundie Awards, Pam is no longer permitted in any Chili's restaurant.
- Pam's desert island top five movies: Fargo, Edward Scissorhands, Dazed and Confused, The Breakfast Club, and The Princess Bride. However, none of these five is her all-time favorite movie.
- There are only nine episodes in which Pam does not wear her hair pulled back in a clip: "Halloween", "Valentine's Day", "Casino Night", "Diwali", "Branch Closing", "The Merger", "The Convict", "A Benihana Christmas", and "Business School".
- She can type 90 words per minute, which, by most standards, is well above average.
- Pam Beesly was named the all-time favorite TV character in a list of all-time top 25 characters by director James Gunn (Gunn is married to Jenna Fischer).[1]
- Pam's dislikes include frisbee golf, country music, hunting, Pig Latin, and the Six Flags television commercial "with the old guy"(dubbed Mister Six).
- Pam drives a Toyota Yaris hatchback, first seen in the third season.
- It is revealed in the Pilot that Pam's favorite flavor of yogurt is mixed berry. Her favorite chip is French Onion.
- According to Jenna Fischer's Myspace blog, Pam has worked at Dunder-Mifflin since March 2002.
Spoilers end here.
[edit] References
- ^ Blog entry at JamesGunn.com
| Characters of The Office (US version) |
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Main characters |
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Michael Scott | Jim Halpert | Pam Beesly | Dwight Schrute | Ryan Howard |
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Minor characters |
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Accounting: Angela Martin | Oscar Martinez | Kevin Malone |
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Miscellaneous characters |
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Katy | Devon | Carol Stills | Bob Vance | Josh Porter | Billy Merchant | Tony Gardner | Martin Nash | Hannah Smoterich-Barr | Stacy | Brenda Matlow | Hank Tate | Ed Truck | Mose Schrute |
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Episodes: Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Webisodes |
