Everyone knows the iconic The Office line that’s graced t-shirts and coffee cups and, while most people attribute it to Dwight Schrute, he never actually said it. Rainn Wilson shared how he often gets asked to say the famous quote or sign it in an autograph, but it’s not something his character ever said.
‘The Office’ ‘Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.’ is often quoted
The Office fans know and love the hilarious line “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica” from the season 3 episode “Product Recall.”
In the episode’s cold open, Jim Halpert, played by John Krasinski, arrives to work dressed like Dwight, complete with the mustard colored shirt and glasses. Jim wears his hair parted down the middle, carries a briefcase, and sports a calculator watch — and he has his co-worker’s mannerisms down perfectly.
As he sits down at his desk, Jim says, “It’s kind of blurry,” then puts on his Dwight glasses. “That’s better.”
Jim: “Question. What kind of bear is best?”
Dwight: “That’s a ridiculous question.”
Jim: “False. Black bear.”
Dwight: “Well that’s debatable. There are basically two schools of thought…”
Jim: “Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.”
Dwight: “Bears do not… What is going on? What are you doing?”
In a talking head interview, Jim explains the inspiration behind him impersonating Dwight. “Last week, I was in a drug store and I saw these glasses,” he says. “Uh, four dollars. And it only cost me seven dollars to recreate the rest of the ensemble. And that’s a grand total of… [he does the math on his calculator-watch] eleven dollars.
Dwight attempts to not let Jim bother him, but gets agitated. “You know what? Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so I thank you,” he says. After Jim places a bobble-head on his desk, Dwight can’t take it. “Identity theft is not a joke, Jim! Millions of families suffer every year!,” he yells at his co-worker.
Rainn Wilson said his character never said the famous line
During the June 29 episode of The Office Deep Dive with Brian Baumgartner, Wilson discussed his character and said he often gets asked to say or sign the line. While people associate the line with him, Dwight never uttered “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.”
“People always say, ‘I want you to write Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica’ … or say it,” he explained. “Dwight actually never said that.”
“In 200 episodes, Dwight never says Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. That was Jim as Dwight saying that,” Wilson explained.
Wilson said he doesn’t directly call people out on it or correct them, however. “I don’t say that, I’m not a persnickety a–hole going, ‘Dwight never said that,’ but people should realize that Dwight never actually said that.”
This fact surprised Baumgartner. “Wow. I would never have gotten that.”
Wilson told his former co-star, “I blew your mind.”
Dwight impersonated Jim in the tag at the end of the show
During the Oct. 21, 2020 episode of the Office Ladies podcast, hosts Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey gave some behind-the-scenes scoop about the scene.
“I remember filming this episode and John Krasinski was so funny. We could not hold it together,” Fischer explained. “It was [writer/producer] Mike Schur who pitched the line, ‘Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.’”
At the end of the episode, Dwight arrives to work dressed as Jim, but Fischer revealed that was originally part of the cold open.
“I want to tell you that this was originally in the script as the alternate ending to the cold open,” Fischer shared. “Dwight had a little talking head where he said, ‘To defeat your enemy, you have to become your enemy.’ And then he showed up to work dressed as Jim.”
“But in the editing process, we split it up, which I think was genius,” she added.
Wilson could do a great impression of Jim Halpert, but Fischer said that, as his character Dwight, he “couldn’t be as good of a mimic as Jim.”
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