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SNL Mashed Up Lord of the Rings and The Office in This Brilliant Sketch
Host Martin Freeman combined his roles in The Hobbit and the original British Office in a pretaped sketch that features a Dwight-esque Gollum.
The fantastical worlds J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about have been adapted onscreen many times over the years, from animated films to two blockbuster franchises and the current live-action Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power TV series. When Martin Freeman hosted Saturday Night Live with Musical Guest Charli XCX on December 13, 2014, he was promoting his final stint as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy. But it was Freeman's role as Jim Halpert precursor Tim Canterbury on the original British incarnation of The Office that first introduced the actor to international audiences — and the "Hobbit Office" sketch mashed those two worlds together.
In a clip looking back at Season 40, then-cast member Taran Killam named playing Gollum as the office eccentric (a la Dwight Schrute, or the British series' Gareth Keenan) as his favorite moment from that year. "It was just fun, because it was scripted but also very loose, which was the shooting style of The Office," Killam said, adding it was particularly fun to see Freeman and Kate McKinnon do a "pitch perfect" Tolkien-style version of the characters Tim and Dawn Tinsley, the British inspiration for Pam Beesly.
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SNL's "Office Hobbit" sketch was filmed in the 30 Rock offices
Between blending the two universes and the opportunities for Office-style improv moments, "It was just like, this great hodgepodge of things I love," Killam continued. He also noted that unlike may pretaped sketches that are filmed offsite, "Office Hobbit" was actually filmed in the offices of 30 Rockefeller Center.
And despite the pointy-eared protagonist, the setting is 100 percent The Office with its sterile cubicles, documentary-style handheld camera footage and talking head interviews, and coworkers caught in their natural habitat (such as Gollum eating a raw fish at his desk).
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"What have I been up to? I went on a quest," Freeman tells the camera as Bilbo Baggins. "Saved Middle Earth. Became a bit of a hero. Did the noble thing, and turned down loads of treasure. Yeah, so the brave Hobbit Bilbo Baggins now works at a paper company! Selling paper reams on the phone. And I drive a Jetta. So." Cue the British Office theme over footage of Middle Earth.
Bobby Moynihan brilliantly plays Gandalf as David Brent, Ricky Gervais's unself-aware boss character that inspired Michael Scott. And like Dwight Schrute, Gollum is mercilessly pranked with "nasty tricksies" by his coworker Bilbo, who hides Gollum's precious ring in a gelatin mold.
"You don’t choose the people you work with," Bilbo says over more footage of Orcs and other creatures goofing off. "So, when you have a connection with someone, that means something," he adds, exchanging meaningful looks with McKinnon's character. But she's soon running toward the doors with a bow and arrow: "They've breached the wall!" Team Dunder Mifflin should be grateful they never had to deal with giant spiders.
Watch "Office Hobbit" from Season 40, Episode 9 above, and stream every episode of Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
