The Office Almost Had A Very Different Theme Song

The theme song to The Office is one of the most iconic of all time. However, the workplace comedy almost had an entirely different–and very well-known–theme that would have set a very different tone. During the latest episode of , series stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey set the record straight on the iconic show’s opening tune.

As it turns out, the series originally was going to use an established song to open each episode–and there were three options. “[Creator Greg Daniels] whittled it down to three choices and he created title sequences to all three songs and he gave DVDs out to the whole cast,” Fischer remembered. “And we got to vote on the songs.”

Those songs were “Better Things” by the Kinks, “Float On” by Modest Mouse, and “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO. Kinsey admitted she voted for Modest Mouse, while Fischer was a fan of the ELO opening credits. Ultimately, “Mr. Blue Sky” won the vote, and when the cast gathered to watch the pilot episode together, that’s what opened the show. You can see those opening credits below.

That’s when things took a turn, though. As Fischer recalled, before The Office debuted, another show premiered on NBC with “Mr. Blue Sky” as its theme. That show, a drama called LAX, was set at the Los Angeles International Airport and lasted all of 13 episodes before it was canceled.

At that point, Daniels had to have a new song for the show created, so he called on composer Jay Ferguson (Tales from the Crypt, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle) to compose a tune. That song was then recorded a week before The Office premiered on NBC.

Still, the use of “Mr. Blue Sky” in the pilot did have a lasting effect. Director James Gunn, who was married to Fischer when The Office debuted, admitted that seeing the pilot with that song over the opening credits resonated with him–and helped to inspire a scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

“I saw it & 5 other versions of the opening credits with different songs in 2005,” he wrote in a . “I thought the ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ opening was the best & told Greg Daniels that. I was disappointed they didn’t use it–they told me it cost too much money. But it stuck in my head as an opening tune.”

Then, years later, Baby Groot danced his heart out to it while the other Guardians fight for their lives. Is there a happier ending possible?