The Office: 3 Reasons Why We Would Have Watched The Farm Spin-Off

It's no secret that Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is not the most likeable character on The Office. A prime example is the opening moments of Thursday's episode, in which Dunder Mifflin's top salesman threw dirt in the faces of his co-workers — literally — after finding out his beloved aunt died. But that harsh truth didn't stop longtime Office writer and executive producer Paul Lieberstein from crafting a backdoor pilot for a Schrute-centered spin-off titled The Farm, which aired Thursday. Although news broke way back in October that The Farm would not be coming to an NBC schedule near you anytime soon, we present to you three reasons we would have watched The Farm:

1. Meet Dwight's siblings: Although viewers, sadly, never got to meet the woman responsible for giving birth to Michael Scott (Steve Carell), there was never a dull moment when fans were introduced to family members of our favorite Scrantonites. Pam's mother's affair with Michael provided great material for Season 6, and the minute viewers were introduced to Jim's prank-happy, fratty brothers, all of his schemes against Dwight suddenly made sense. And while it was a treat to see brilliant Office and Parks and Recreation executive producer Mike Schur moonlight as Dwight's spastic cousin Mose, meeting Dwight's extremely naïve and insecure younger brother, Jeb (Thomas Middleditch), and his distant and modernized sister Fanny (Majandra Delfino) were like finding the final pieces of the Dwight puzzle. Dwight treated his younger brother the way he's treated every underling at Dunder Mifflin like Ryan the Temp (B.J. Novak) and the "new Dwight" Clark (Clark Duke). Although extremely different, Fanny definitely came off as the potential Pam (Jenna Fischer) of the group, aka the one to talk to the camera about all the weird traditions around her, the one with the secret talent (poetry instead of art) and someone who enjoyed a special, even emotional, connection with Dwight.

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2. Weird traditions galore: Dwight throwing dirt at his co-workers was just the beginning. In just the span of one 22-minute episode (less, considering half the time was devoted to Packer's return), Dwight also shot his dead aunt multiple times in her coffin with a giant rifle and also threw beaks of a crow at a lady to — oh, yes — hit on her. There's got to be so much more where that came from.

3. Dwight + small children=gold: Among Dwight's many strong showings in Season 2 ("The Injury," "The Fight," we could go on), one of his most memorable episodes was "Take Your Daughter to Work Day." Sure, he had ample opportunity for physical comedy and great one-liners before that, but watching Dwight reluctantly but surely take Meredith's rebellious, smart-mouthed young son under his wing despite the fact that Meredith's son called him "Mr. Poop" the whole time showcased Dwight's humanity. Michael Scott was always a vulnerable mess under the surface, but showing Dwight's softer side was never an easy task. This makes moments like Dwight's showing Fanny's son how to collect eggs and milk a cow that much more moving. The young lad clearly didn't grow up with any sort of father figure and it would have been fun to see Dwight try to fill that role, especially after his years of trying to create his own offspring through his Dwight-esque completely backwards methods.

What did you think of The Farm? Are you sad NBC didn't pick order it to series?