Second Drink: Cafe Disco

This week we’re breaking down “Cafe Disco”. Michael still has that seven year lease on the Michael Scott Paper Company office so he turns it into a cafe disco! Meanwhile Jim and Pam plan to sneak away to Ohio to get married. The ladies reveal how the writers came up with the idea of a cafe disco, Angela shares what she calls the “Kevin Bacon” deleted scenes and Jenna breaks down some of the cast’s dancing moves and the songs chosen for cafe disco. So don’t be that person who hates the general spirit of music and groove to this episode! Vote for “Office Ladies” for the iHeart Podcast of the Year! Go to Twitter and use hashtags #PodcastOfTheYear + #iHeartPodcastAwards + #OfficeLadies Check out David Giffels’ book, “All the Way Home”: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/all-the-way-home-david-giffels?variant=32206503706658 Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod https://www.instagram.com/officeladiespod/ Follow Us on YouTube https://youtube.com/@officeladiespod?si=D0oKJwFJuK9txzFM Follow Us on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@officeladiespod?_t=ZT-8y1gqTrJyOs&_r=1

• 0:02Speaker 00

  Hello and welcome to your second drink of Cafe Disco. Everyone, before you give this one a re-listen, I feel the need to address a fan mail flurry we got about this episode, specifically about how I am pronouncing something in the episode.

• 0:17Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, I saw that in the mail.

• 0:19Speaker 00

  Yeah, you couldn't miss it.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  No.

• 0:21Speaker 00

  There was so much of it. So in this episode, there's a storyline that Jim and Pam are going to secretly elope in Ohio. And I guess I said the name of the town wrong.

• 0:31Speaker 01

  It happens.

• 0:32Speaker 00

  Repeatedly, though.

• 0:32Speaker 01

  Well.

• 0:33Speaker 00

  Like so many times.

• 0:34Speaker 01

  We've both done it.

• 0:35Speaker 00

  I guess I'm saying Youngstown instead of Youngstown, Ohio. And it really bugged people. One person said it was like, quote, nails on a chalkboard.

• 0:47Speaker 01

  Ooh.

• 0:48Speaker 00

  So I guess everyone brace yourself and I apologize.

• 0:53Speaker 01

  Well, Jenna, you weren't the only person mispronouncing things. We got a letter from Matthew G. in Vermont, who said throughout the episode Cafe Disco, Michael says espresso twice and espresso twice. Was espresso scripted as something Michael would say, or was that accidental? Well, Matthew, I looked in the script and it was scripted as espresso, which means the times he said espresso were probably improvised.

• 1:21Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 1:22Speaker 01

  Which tracks, though.

• 1:23Speaker 00

  Tracks.

• 1:24Speaker 01

  It does. And then, lady, in re-watching the episode, I have a coffee mug catch that I didn't notice the first time. At 1 minute and 47 seconds, Dwight is holding a mug, and I don't think I've ever seen this mug before.

• 1:37Speaker 00

  What is it? It's not his usual mug?

• 1:39Speaker 01

  No, it's a Yankees mug.

• 1:41Speaker 00

  A Yankees mug?

• 1:42Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:43Speaker 00

  A New York Yankees mug?

• 1:45Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:45Speaker 00

  Why would he have that?

• 1:47Speaker 01

  I don't know.

• 1:48Speaker 00

  That is odd. Good catch.

• 1:51Speaker 01

  I wonder if it's like something rain grabbed.

• 1:54Speaker 00

  I know, right?

• 1:55Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:57Speaker 00

  Well, something else we didn't check on the first time we broke down this episode is if there were any real Cafe Discos out there in the world. And we've uncovered several shulalas and cereal shacks. But what about Cafe Discos?

• 2:10Speaker 01

  What did you find? Please tell me there are some.

• 2:13Speaker 00

  There are, but sort of. The closest match is a place literally called Cafe Disco. It's in Brisbane, Australia. It has coffee and brunch from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM with a Bangladesh-inspired menu. And they play music, but there is no dancing.

• 2:33Speaker 01

  Ah.

• 2:34Speaker 00

  So I also found a few places and they were doing more like disco cafes, which, if you remember in the episode, Michael says is a no.

• 2:43Speaker 01

  Right.

• 2:44Speaker 00

  Kevin says like a disco cafe and Michael's like, no.

• 2:47Speaker 01

  No, no, no.

• 2:48Speaker 00

  But I could not find anywhere where you drink coffee and dance. That I could not find. So that is still open. And the thing I'm realizing with this re-watch is that Michael does not have the worst ideas for businesses. I mean, Michael Scott Paper Company wasn't great, but his others are pretty good.

• 3:04Speaker 01

  Cafe Disco sounds like a fun place.

• 3:07Speaker 00

  I know.

• 3:08Speaker 01

  Right?

• 3:09Speaker 00

  And you know what? At our age, there is nothing I would love more than to go dancing at 1:00 PM. You know what I mean?

• 3:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:17Speaker 00

  That seems fun with a latte.

• 3:20Speaker 01

  With a latte. All right, everyone, well, that's all we've got. Please enjoy your second drink of Cafe Disco.

• 3:30Speaker 00

  I'm Jenna Fisher.

• 3:31Speaker 01

  And I'm Angela Kinsey.

• 3:32Speaker 00

  We were on The Office together.

• 3:34Speaker 01

  And we're best friends.

• 3:35Speaker 00

  And now we're doing the ultimate Office re-watch podcast just for you.

• 3:39Speaker 01

  Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you.

• 3:46Speaker 00

  We're the Office ladies.

• 3:50Speaker 00

  Hello, everybody. And Angela, can I get a good morning?

• 3:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, you can. Good morning, Jenna. Good morning, Sam. Good morning, Cassie. Good morning to you out there who's just starting your day and you're listening to us in your car. Or good evening to my night owls who are listening maybe by the fire, maybe with a glass of wine. I don't know.

• 4:09Speaker 00

  That was a beautiful picture that you just painted. Lady, guess what I did this morning?

• 4:14Speaker 01

  What?

• 4:15Speaker 00

  Something new. I've never done it before.

• 4:17Speaker 01

  Exercise.

• 4:25Speaker 00

  No.

• 4:29Speaker 00

  But I'm so tickled by that. I took a contrast shower.

• 4:34Speaker 01

  I don't know what that is.

• 4:35Speaker 00

  I didn't know what it was either.

• 4:36Speaker 01

  Is it a cold shower?

• 4:38Speaker 00

  It is an alternating hot and cold shower.

• 4:41Speaker 01

  Why would you do that?

• 4:42Speaker 00

  Okay, because it's supposed to have a bunch of health benefits. And you know me, I'll try anything.

• 4:46Speaker 01

  You could have gotten that shower at my grandparents' house in their guest bathroom.

• 4:50Speaker 00

  Does it just automatically alternate for you?

• 4:52Speaker 01

  It used to. It's like, it's like, oh, wait, wait, who just started the dishwasher? Don't shower.

• 4:57Speaker 00

  Oh, that's true. At our house, don't do a load of laundry before you get in the shower.

• 5:01Speaker 01

  Or you could have a contrast shower.

• 5:03Speaker 00

  Well, here's what it's supposed to do. It's supposed to improve blood flow.

• 5:07Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 5:08Speaker 00

  Reduce systemic inflammation. It supports a connection between the brain and digestive system. But it's also just supposed to like energize you and kind of boost your immune system. I don't know. It's supposed to be beneficial and it's sort of based on a thing that athletes do, you know, where they do a cold plunge and a hot shower and things.

• 5:30Speaker 01

  Right.

• 5:31Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh, I wonder if Tom Brady does contrast showers.

• 5:35Speaker 01

  Tom Brady does it all.

• 5:36Speaker 00

  That's what I mean.

• 5:37Speaker 01

  I'm telling you, he does it all.

• 5:39Speaker 00

  I should Google that.

• 5:40Speaker 01

  Do you think that's on the internet?

• 5:42Speaker 00

  His water drinking is on the internet?

• 5:45Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 5:45Speaker 00

  I bet it is.

• 5:46Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 5:47Speaker 00

  Well, listen, I did it this morning.

• 5:49Speaker 01

  You know what? Google Tom Brady shower.

• 5:51Speaker 00

  Oh, no, don't Google that.

• 5:53Speaker 01

  And see what you get.

• 5:54Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 5:55Speaker 01

  Okay, well.

• 5:56Speaker 00

  My husband's gonna be like, why are you Googling?

• 5:59Speaker 01

  What is this search? They've given up on our search history.

• 6:01Speaker 00

  This is true.

• 6:02Speaker 01

  Wait, wait. Do you feel energized?

• 6:05Speaker 00

  I kind of do.

• 6:06Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 6:06Speaker 00

  I do. I definitely felt energized when the freezing cold water hit my body after being in warm water.

• 6:13Speaker 01

  This would just be called grumpy shower in my house.

• 6:16Speaker 00

  I had to sort of sing it out during the cold part. Like when the cold water hit me, I was like, and it's cold. Yes, it's cold.

• 6:26Speaker 01

  You turned into like a ye olde musical act.

• 6:28Speaker 00

  I did. And my kids were like, what is mom doing today? Anyway, there you go. That's what I did today, this morning. Did you do anything special or new or different, Ange?

• 6:38Speaker 01

  I did like 15 pushups.

• 6:40Speaker 00

  This morning?

• 6:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:41Speaker 00

  Before we got here?

• 6:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:43Speaker 00

  Do you remember John Krasinski used to do that?

• 6:45Speaker 01

  What?

• 6:45Speaker 00

  Yes, in the mornings. He would get to work and before hair and makeup, he would do a bunch of pushups and a bunch of situps.

• 6:52Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 6:53Speaker 00

  To energize himself for the morning. You don't remember that?

• 6:55Speaker 01

  No.

• 6:56Speaker 00

  I was always so impressed and I was inspired and I thought, oh, I should do that. I tried it one morning and I was like, I'm not doing that again.

• 7:02Speaker 01

  Well, I didn't do it either. I was lying. I was doing, I was doing a joke, but geez, John, wow.

• 7:09Speaker 00

  I know.

• 7:10Speaker 01

  Should we get into this episode?

• 7:11Speaker 00

  Let's do it. This episode today is Cafe Disco. It is season five, episode 27, written by Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan and directed by Randall Einhorn. Would you like a summary?

• 7:25Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 7:27Speaker 00

  Concerned about the serious mood of his employees and just the general drab work environment at Dunder Mifflin since Charles Minor left, Michael has decided to transform the former Michael Scott Paper Company into a Cafe Disco for socializing, dancing, and sipping espresso. Now, initially, nobody is interested, but it does slowly take off and ends up exceeding Michael's expectations. Meanwhile, Pam and Jim plan to secretly elope to Youngstown, Ohio, and Dwight tries to help Phyllis with an injury.

• 8:05Speaker 01

  It's a lot.

• 8:07Speaker 00

  That's a lot happening.

• 8:07Speaker 01

  It's a lot.

• 8:08Speaker 00

  And yet, it's a pretty simple episode, really.

• 8:10Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 8:12Speaker 00

  Fast fact number one was a fan question from Becca D. What was the inspiration for this episode? We reached out to writers Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan.

• 8:23Speaker 01

  Yes, Warren and Halsted were a fantastic writing team. I knew them for a long time from our days at The Groundlings. And some of you guys listening to this know and some don't, but Warren and I used to be married and we're good friends. And it was really fun to reminisce with both of them about this episode.

• 8:40Speaker 00

  Well, here's what he said about the inspiration for this episode, which I thought was amazing. He said that he and Halsted were pretty new writers at the time. They joined in this season. And they were tasked with coming up with an episode idea for what Michael Scott could do with this space that was formerly the Michael Scott Paper Company. He said that they were working in the writers' trailer with Brent Forrester, and the three of them were kind of pitching ideas like, oh, what if it's a cafe? What if it's a disco? And they couldn't really decide. He said for some reason that day, Paul Lieberstein was also working in the writers' trailer. He was working out of BJ Novak's office that was sort of off of this like communal area where.

• 9:22Speaker 01

  So he could hear them going back and forth.

• 9:24Speaker 00

  Yes, exactly. And Warren said that Paul just suddenly came out of the office and said, it's a cafe and a disco. Michael Scott loves two things more than anything, coffee and dancing. It's a Cafe Disco. And then he turned around, went back into BJ's office and shut the door. And Warren said he remembers Brent turning to them and saying, well, you heard him. And then the three of them just started outlining what is a Cafe Disco to Michael Scott.

• 9:53Speaker 01

  It feels very much like something your dad would do, you know? Like he'd come out as you're arguing and be like, it's both. Just do it.

• 10:00Speaker 00

  Yes, exactly. Well, it is more interesting being both, isn't it? And it's more Michael Scott that it would be a strange hybrid of two things.

• 10:09Speaker 01

  Yes. Halsted had some really great stuff to share as well. And he told us that they won an NAACP Image Award for Best Writing for a Comedy Series for this episode.

• 10:20Speaker 00

  This episode is really popular. When I told people that we were breaking down Cafe Disco and when we were trading emails with Randy Cordray about this one, he was like, I love this episode. I love the simplicity of it. It's just so beautiful.

• 10:35Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, Halsted also said, Ange, guess what? There is a bakery in Oklahoma named Cafe Disco. Because they loved this episode so much, you can find them at cafe-disco.com. He said, have you ever heard of that? Have any of the other episodes had a bakery named after them?

• 10:53Speaker 00

  No, we've just heard of shoe la laws, but I think they existed before Michael's shoe la law.

• 10:57Speaker 01

  That's true.

• 10:58Speaker 00

  Fast fact number two, we shot this episode in four days instead of five.

• 11:04Speaker 01

  How did we do that?

• 11:05Speaker 00

  Randy shared that because all the work was so contained in that one tiny location of the Cafe Disco, there weren't like a ton of different ways to cover it with the camera. So we were able to kind of get it pretty quickly.

• 11:22Speaker 01

  So they would basically, rather than having some giant master shot and all these closeups, they just,

• 11:28Speaker 00

  they just covered it.

• 11:29Speaker 01

  Covered it.

• 11:29Speaker 00

  He said it was kind of important that we do this in four days because this episode filmed the week right before Easter. And we were already meant to have Good Friday off for Easter weekend. And if we hadn't finished, we would have had to come back the Monday after Easter and pick up our fifth day. But that would have really thrown off our 100th episode company picnic, which was happening the next week.

• 11:56Speaker 01

  Which was a huge company move. That would have been.

• 11:58Speaker 00

  Yeah, that would have been really hard.

• 12:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:01Speaker 00

  That's what she said. So that leads me into fast fact number three. While there were no locations for this episode, no expensive stunts or props, there was a lot of music. And to get the rights to all the music that was in this episode was a very complicated thing to pull off. Randy shared that there are two kinds of music rights. There are sync rights, which is where you're going to play a song by the original artist. And that's all. You're just going to hear their song.

• 12:31Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 12:32Speaker 00

  But then there are master rights. And that's what you need if a character is going to sing or hum a song.

• 12:40Speaker 01

  Sort of do their interpretation.

• 12:42Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 12:42Speaker 01

  Of the artist.

• 12:44Speaker 00

  And Randy said that they wanted us to be able to sing along or hum along as we were dancing. And so we had to get both sync and master rights to every single song. There was only one song that appeared in the script.

• 13:00Speaker 00

  If you read the script, different scenes will say music is playing.

• 13:03Speaker 01

  Right.

• 13:04Speaker 00

  Aaron presses play, but it doesn't say what song comes out, except for one time in the script.

• 13:09Speaker 01

  What'd it say?

• 13:10Speaker 00

  The one song that appears in the script is Everybody Dance Now. And it's the song where Michael is playing it through the vents.

• 13:17Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 13:18Speaker 00

  To get everybody to come down. And that song cost $40,000.

• 13:23Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 13:24Speaker 00

  And so Randy had our post-production supervisor, Jake Oust, reach out to Universal Music, you know, because our show was made by NBC Universal.

• 13:33Speaker 01

  Right.

• 13:33Speaker 00

  And see if they could get a list of songs that we could license for either free or for not that much money. And then he gave that list to Warren and Halsted. And he said, what do you think? So Warren and Halsted made a list of like their dream music list.

• 13:50Speaker 01

  Right.

• 13:51Speaker 00

  And then next to it, they would put a free alternative. And Randy sent this list over. It was really fascinating to look at. I'll just give one example. You know that opening scene when Michael's kind of dancing alone?

• 14:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:04Speaker 00

  Their first choice was Disturbia by Rihanna.

• 14:07Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 14:08Speaker 00

  Their free alternative, which appears in the show, is Car Wash.

• 14:13Speaker 01

  All right.

• 14:14Speaker 00

  For the most part, we had to go with their free alternative.

• 14:18Speaker 01

  I was going to say, I was going to say, I'm sure.

• 14:21Speaker 00

  The ultimate music budget for this episode was $85,200.

• 14:26Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 14:27Speaker 00

  Most of that money paid for Everybody Dance Now and YMCA. But Randy said that another perk of not having that fifth shoot day was that they were able to allocate some of that shoot day's budget to music.

• 14:41Speaker 01

  That makes sense.

• 14:41Speaker 00

  And that's how we were able to pull it off. But I mean, that is all Randy's job. He's just like a spreadsheet and he has to move things around.

• 14:49Speaker 01

  Numbers, numbers, numbers.

• 14:50Speaker 00

  And make it all happen.

• 14:52Speaker 01

  Well, my lady, those were some great fast facts.

• 14:55Speaker 00

  Thank you. Did you feel like they came from a person who had improved blood flow? Or maybe had a connection between their brain and digestive system?

• 15:05Speaker 01

  A hundred percent I did.

• 15:07Speaker 00

  Thank you.

• 15:07Speaker 01

  A hundred percent.

• 15:08Speaker 00

  I felt like that too.

• 15:09Speaker 01

  That's why I gave you the my lady and not just lady.

• 15:13Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 15:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 15:14Speaker 00

  Now we know.

• 15:15Speaker 01

  You got a special one. Well, I think we should take a break. And when we get back, someone has won an art contest and it's not Pam.

• 15:23Speaker 00

  I know.

• 15:25Speaker 01

  Snark.

• 15:36Speaker 00

  We are back. Should we get into this episode?

• 15:39Speaker 01

  Let's do it.

• 15:39Speaker 00

  How does it start?

• 15:41Speaker 01

  Well, we are in the Dunder Mifflin bullpen when Aaron, the new receptionist squeals that she's won an art contest.

• 15:48Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 15:49Speaker 01

  Pam is not amused.

• 15:51Speaker 00

  Jenna was not amused. I had totally forgotten this cold open and I was like, oh my God.

• 15:57Speaker 01

  Dwight is such an ass in this cold open.

• 16:00Speaker 00

  He really is.

• 16:00Speaker 01

  And he's so tickled. He's so pleased with themselves. I do want to point out, while Pam is exchanging looks with Dwight in their desk pod, Pam's plant is on her desk as well as the little candy dispenser with jelly beans.

• 16:14Speaker 00

  Lady, we got an email from Audrey L., who also noticed Pam's little candy dish.

• 16:21Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 16:22Speaker 00

  Audrey also mentioned that she really liked my hair in this scene. She thought it was super cute. Did you notice my hair?

• 16:27Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 16:28Speaker 00

  It's one of those ponytails where you do ponytail.

• 16:31Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 16:31Speaker 00

  And then you, how do we explain it? Then you flip it through itself.

• 16:35Speaker 01

  Like a French.

• 16:36Speaker 00

  Oh my gosh. I 100% did my hair that way for one of my school dances.

• 16:41Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 16:42Speaker 00

  Like back in the day. Do people still do that hairstyle?

• 16:45Speaker 01

  I don't know if they still do the hairstyle, Jenna, but it's clear to me we were meant to be best friends because I once went to a high school dance with a side ponytail.

• 16:54Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 16:55Speaker 01

  And that was my choice. I styled it like that on purpose.

• 16:59Speaker 00

  Well, we often did ponytails when there was a standalone cold open. It was a way to differentiate Pam's look and hair from the actual episode. So something, if you feel like it, you could track it and see when Pam has ponytails, it's usually the cold open.

• 17:17Speaker 01

  We did a lot of that with Angela Martin too. Just something different. It wasn't always a ponytail, but just something a little different for a cold open.

• 17:23Speaker 00

  I remember Angela, early in the series, you did a lot of buns.

• 17:27Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 17:28Speaker 00

  And then they started to give you headaches.

• 17:29Speaker 01

  Horrible headaches, guys.

• 17:31Speaker 00

  But then I remember you were like, you know what? I'll do a bun for the cold open.

• 17:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:35Speaker 00

  You didn't want to like get rid of this hairstyle for Angela completely because it had been so established. But if you did a bun for a cold open, you only had to wear it for like four hours.

• 17:45Speaker 01

  Exactly. Our one full day, maybe.

• 17:48Speaker 00

  Yes, but not five days.

• 17:50Speaker 01

  Not five days for 12 hours.

• 17:52Speaker 00

  I guess I just have one more question about this, which is, did you ever wear a bun to a school dance?

• 17:58Speaker 01

  No, no, but I did wear an updo the year we won the SAG Award and I was super pregnant. I had an updo.

• 18:05Speaker 00

  I liked that on you. That looked nice.

• 18:07Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 18:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:08Speaker 01

  I was just so pregnant. I just was like, do I have to get in an evening gown? Oh, but no, no buns at high school dances.

• 18:18Speaker 00

  I don't think I did either.

• 18:19Speaker 01

  It's a bold choice.

• 18:22Speaker 00

  It is.

• 18:22Speaker 01

  In high school.

• 18:23Speaker 00

  True.

• 18:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:24Speaker 00

  Well, this episode starts with Michael dancing by himself to Car Wash in what was Michael Scott Paper Company.

• 18:32Speaker 01

  All I could think about when I was watching him in there dancing was, look at all the stuff Phil Shea had to get. He had to get an espresso maker, then the little espresso coffee cups and saucers, napkins, espresso coffee, the boombox, a lava lamp, a little desk lamp, a lay, all kinds of coffee accessories, an empty cheese puff container.

• 18:56Speaker 01

  Couple of chairs, and then eventually he'd have to get a tiny disco ball and some kind of the, I don't know, were they red chili pepper lights?

• 19:03Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 19:04Speaker 01

  Yeah. So Phil Shea, once again, simple episode, but he had all these little things he had to get.

• 19:09Speaker 00

  A lot of details.

• 19:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:10Speaker 00

  Michael comes up to the office now and he would like to have lunch with someone.

• 19:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, he really loved lunches at Michael Scott Paper Company.

• 19:18Speaker 00

  You know, I have to say, why did the camaraderie between Pam, Michael, and Ryan have to end? I was loving it. Now it seems like, you know, their relationship is just kind of back where it started.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  I think that happens sometimes.

• 19:35Speaker 00

  I guess it does. They've sort of returned to their old roles. Their routines.

• 19:41Speaker 01

  Well, then Michael has this kind of depressing talking head where he says, at Dunder Mifflin, there is a very strict no lunch with the boss policy, and I don't know who instituted it.

• 19:51Speaker 00

  That broke my heart.

• 19:52Speaker 01

  I know.

• 19:53Speaker 00

  You know, Ryan says he can't have lunch with Michael because he's doing five small meals a day. That was a really popular thing. Have you ever done that?

• 20:01Speaker 01

  I think that's just how I naturally eat.

• 20:03Speaker 00

  I've thought of you when he said that. That is not how I naturally eat.

• 20:07Speaker 01

  I just sort of snack all day.

• 20:09Speaker 00

  Here's what I need to get through a day. I need three full meals. I also need a snack, and I'm going to need a dessert.

• 20:17Speaker 01

  I forget to eat until about noon, and then I'm crazy hungry, and then...

• 20:22Speaker 00

  I don't understand forgetting to eat. I don't, I, I, I wake up and the first thing I think of is, when am I eating? It's like constantly on my mind. I'm already thinking about the yogurt that I brought for our snack the next time we take a break on the podcast. I, I'm like so food centered.

• 20:41Speaker 01

  Well, no one wants to have lunch with Michael. They say they have a lot of work to do. Michael starts doing his robot. Pam has to take the battery out, or he'll just keep going, I guess. During this scene, at 3 minutes, 3 seconds, there is a shot of my outfit. I have to point it out.

• 20:56Speaker 00

  I noticed it.

• 20:58Speaker 01

  I am wearing a gray cardigan, a gray blouse, gray skirt, and Jenna, I'm wearing gray tights. I am wearing something on my legs. I never wore anything on my legs. I don't know why in this episode, but I do.

• 21:13Speaker 00

  I wonder if it was really cold, because we were shooting this in what sounds like March, early April, if it was around Easter, and that is cold in LA. That's like our cold stretch.

• 21:29Speaker 01

  I know. I just got excited, guys, because I would never wear the pantyhose they put in my trailer. I was anti pantyhose. Also, maybe, did you notice my shoes? I'm going to bring them up later.

• 21:39Speaker 00

  I didn't.

• 21:40Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 21:41Speaker 00

  But you're gonna make me wait.

• 21:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 21:43Speaker 00

  Okay. At 3 minutes, 10 seconds, Erin finds a map of Youngstown, Ohio in the printer, and she brings it to Dwight, and he says, this is a map to the Superior Court, and the only reason to go there is if you've been charged with a crime, or if you want to try to get a learner's permit at 14 and 1/2. But this scene starts with Erin saying, "Hi, guys. How you doing?" And then Dwight is like, "Erin, how many times do I have to tell you? It's not necessary for you to ask us how we are every time you interact with us." We got a fan question from Lloyd C. in Australia, who said, "I recall in a

• 22:26Speaker 00

  previous podcast, it was mentioned that Rainn Wilson made a big announcement about not needing to ask how his weekend was at the start of each week. He said, just assume it was good. Is this bit at Rainn's desk between Dwight and Erin maybe based on Rainn's weekend question rule?"

• 22:45Speaker 00

  I don't know, but I will tell you, the minute I saw that, it was the first thing I thought of.

• 22:50Speaker 01

  Same, same here. I was like, that just feels like Rainn.

• 22:55Speaker 00

  Yes. We also had a fan catch from Samantha R., who said that Dwight mentions one of the reasons you would go to the courthouse is to obtain a learner's permit at age 14 and 1/2 instead of 15. However, you have to be 16 to obtain a learner's permit. This has always stood out to me. And then Hannah W. said, "I'm from Ohio, and the minimum age for a learner's permit is 15 and 1/2." Well, I had to know.

• 23:22Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 23:23Speaker 00

  Here's the deal. You must be 15 and 1/2 to obtain a learner's permit to drive a car. However, you can get a learner's permit for a motorized bicycle at the age of 14.

• 23:37Speaker 01

  All right, that's next year for Isabel and Jack, and I cannot imagine those two, my kids, with anything motorized. I don't want them on anything that moves faster than a bicycle.

• 23:48Speaker 00

  If you were in Youngstown, Ohio, they could get a learner's permit.

• 23:51Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh. Dwight had a really funny deleted talking head here.

• 23:57Speaker 00

  Oh, I can't wait.

• 23:58Speaker 01

  I'm gonna read it to you. It cracked me up. "Very sarcastically," Dwight says, "Oh, no, I love Ohio. Next time you're there, say hi to my cousin Emil, and then kick him in the groin area, because he's a cheat and a ball hog. And if he's still married to Clarissa, kick her in the groin area, too, because she's a heartbreaking tart and a ball hog."

• 24:21Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh.

• 24:23Speaker 01

  What were they playing? They play like basketball, and Clarissa and Emil like hog the ball? What is happening in Ohio?

• 24:31Speaker 00

  Dwight's family is a mystery and very complex. Who knew he had relatives in Ohio?

• 24:39Speaker 01

  And also, apparently from this talking head, if Dwight were in Ohio and saw Clarissa and Emil, he would kick them in the groin area, both of them.

• 24:48Speaker 00

  Incidentally, I am currently reading a book about Akron, Ohio.

• 24:52Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 24:53Speaker 00

  It's by this amazing writer, this guy, David Giffels. He lives in Ohio, and he and his wife decided to put a lowball offer on this, like, broken down house mansion. Like, literally, when he describes it, there's like sunshine coming through.

• 25:09Speaker 01

  Right, right.

• 25:10Speaker 00

  Thing.

• 25:10Speaker 01

  It's like the money pit.

• 25:12Speaker 00

  100% the money pit. And the book is just a memoir of them fixing it up absolutely by themselves while they lived in it. I don't know, it's just this amazing book, and I'm loving it. I had thought of it for my dad, who's a big, like, DIY fixer person.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:29Speaker 00

  I gave it to him for his birthday, and he loved it. So I like Ohio, at least through the eyes of this book, for sure.

• 25:36Speaker 01

  Are you and I gonna get a fixer-upper in Ohio?

• 25:40Speaker 00

  No, I bought a fixer-upper in LA and spent a year, and so maybe that's also why I'm relating to it, but yeah.

• 25:48Speaker 01

  Same. You and I love a home project, man. I got a fixer-upper, too, and I'm still fixing it up.

• 25:53Speaker 00

  Pam and Jim are gonna have this talking head where they say, there are other reasons to go to Ohio. And the reason they're going is because they're getting married, and it's the closest place that they can get a marriage license without the three-day waiting period. This talking head is so cute. I mean, my gosh, we are so cutie pie in this.

• 26:13Speaker 01

  Jim and Pam at peak cuteness.

• 26:16Speaker 00

  Yes. They just feel like, you know, the wedding planning, it's getting really complicated, it's getting really expensive, and Jim said, "At breakfast, I want to marry you today." So they're gonna go for it.

• 26:28Speaker 01

  It's so sweet. It's very much young love to me.

• 26:31Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 26:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 26:32Speaker 00

  But I also remember in wedding planning, having that moment where you get overwhelmed, and you're like, why are we doing this?

• 26:39Speaker 01

  I know.

• 26:40Speaker 00

  So I could relate as well.

• 26:42Speaker 01

  I mean, Josh and I, we went to the courthouse in Santa Barbara a month before our wedding, and we're like, just get married. Let's just take that off the plate, you know?

• 26:51Speaker 00

  Then I guess the wedding is more of a celebration.

• 26:53Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 26:54Speaker 00

  You can separate those two moments.

• 26:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, we did that. I loved it.

• 26:57Speaker 00

  We had a fan catch about this bit of info about Youngstown, Ohio as well. Carrie C. wrote in and said, "I've lived in Youngstown, Ohio all my life. I got married in Youngstown, and you cannot get a marriage license the same day here. It takes 10 to 14 working days, but I do love the Youngstown reference."

• 27:16Speaker 01

  You can get a same-day marriage license in Las Vegas.

• 27:19Speaker 00

  Well, Mary L. wrote in to say that there is no waiting period, that it's true. And then Andrea V. said, "I did a little deep dive, and there is no Superior Court in Youngstown, Ohio." So a lot of mail about these Youngstown, Ohio...

• 27:36Speaker 01

  Details.

• 27:36Speaker 00

  Yes. So here, I'm gonna clear it up for everybody. Andrea's right. There is no Superior Court.

• 27:43Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 27:44Speaker 00

  But there is the Youngstown Municipal Court.

• 27:47Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 27:48Speaker 00

  And as far as marriage licenses go, I went to the City Applications Frequently Asked Questions, and it says that while there is a Youngstown Municipal Court, that's not where you go for your marriage license, anyway.

• 28:00Speaker 01

  No.

• 28:01Speaker 00

  You need to apply for a marriage license at the Mahoning County Probate Court. And even if you're out of state, you can get a marriage license there as long as you have your wedding ceremony in Mahoning County. You need to be 18 years old. You're gonna need your social security card, two forms of identification. You're gonna have to state your place of birth, your parents' names, no blood test, and it costs $43 cash. Forty-three.

• 28:32Speaker 01

  Cash?

• 28:32Speaker 00

  Cash.

• 28:34Speaker 01

  No Venmo?

• 28:35Speaker 00

  Not.

• 28:36Speaker 01

  PayPal?

• 28:36Speaker 00

  Nope.

• 28:37Speaker 01

  Nope.

• 28:37Speaker 00

  Cash only.

• 28:38Speaker 01

  Not in Mahoning.

• 28:39Speaker 00

  Nope. "How long is your marriage license valid in Youngstown, Ohio?"

• 28:43Speaker 01

  Are you asking me?

• 28:45Speaker 00

  The website asked.

• 28:46Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 28:46Speaker 00

  And answered. It is valid for 60 days, and, here it is, there is no waiting period before you can use your marriage license in Mahoning County.

• 28:58Speaker 01

  There it is.

• 28:59Speaker 00

  There it is.

• 29:02Speaker 01

  Everything you ever needed to know about getting a marriage license in Ohio, specifically Mahoning County.

• 29:09Speaker 00

  Correct.

• 29:11Speaker 01

  During all of this Ohio conversation, Michael is on a dance break, guys. And Erin is going to bring him some messages and he's like, no, no, no, no work here. They have espresso, they come upstairs and Michael decides to tell the group about the downstairs room.

• 29:26Speaker 00

  Yeah, he and Erin entered, they both have their little espresso cups. And by the way, I just noticed that you say it the way I used to say it.

• 29:34Speaker 01

  Oh, I put an X in it.

• 29:35Speaker 00

  You say espresso.

• 29:36Speaker 01

  I know, it's espresso.

• 29:37Speaker 00

  But a lot of people say espresso.

• 29:39Speaker 01

  I know.

• 29:40Speaker 00

  And I think it's okay. I think we should let it go.

• 29:42Speaker 01

  It's espresso.

• 29:44Speaker 00

  Espresso.

• 29:44Speaker 01

  Espresso.

• 29:46Speaker 00

  We had a fan catch from Hannah C. who says, in this episode, Erin drinks an espresso, but in season nine, episode 11, The Office gets an espresso machine and Erin says she's never had one before.

• 29:59Speaker 01

  Oh, good catch.

• 30:00Speaker 00

  I thought that was good.

• 30:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:02Speaker 00

  Michael's going to give a big speech now.

• 30:04Speaker 01

  He is, and I absolutely love this runner. To me, this is classic The Office bullpen back and forth where everyone is chiming in. Where it really gets funny to me is when Dwight does his Jack Nicholson impression, which I thought Rain did a really good job.

• 30:20Speaker 00

  I thought so too.

• 30:21Speaker 01

  And this takes us down this road where Meredith is like, wait, it's a haunted coffee house? Michael's like, no, no, Dwight's confusing you. It's more of a disco. And then Andy says, a haunted disco. Michael's like, with coffee, but without the haunted. And then Phyllis is like, it's a combo dance house coffee bar. And Michael says, it's a daytime disco on the ground floor of an industrial office building. And Erin goes, it's a cafe disco. Michael's like, exactly. And then Kevin says, so like a disco cafe? And Michael's like, no, not even close. These were my favorite kind of scenes to shoot. And immediately after this scene, there would have been a Stanley talking head where he says this.

• 31:04Speaker 02

  How did I end up back in crazy town?

• 31:09Speaker 01

  And then immediately after that would have been an Oscar talking head and Oscar said this, it still seems really confusing as a concept.

• 31:18Speaker 00

  That would be Oscar's like take on it. He's very practical and literal.

• 31:22Speaker 01

  Right. Like, what, what is your business plan? This seems confusing. Then Michael tries to entice everyone to come. He offers them all the espresso you can eat.

• 31:32Speaker 00

  Ooh, well done, Angela.

• 31:33Speaker 01

  Thank you. And this is when this awesome runner would have started that I'm calling Kevin's bacon runner.

• 31:40Speaker 00

  A Kevin bacon runner?

• 31:41Speaker 01

  A Kevin bacon runner. It's in deleted scenes. Kevin sees Lynn at the elevators and they have this exchange.

• 31:51Speaker 03

  Hi, Kevin.

• 31:52Speaker 04

  Hi, Lynn. Did you have bacon for breakfast?

• 31:59Speaker 03

  No.

• 32:01Speaker 04

  Cause you smell like bacon.

• 32:05Speaker 03

  I didn't think I did. How's everything going?

• 32:08Speaker 04

  Tight. I'm going down the hall to this office to see Michael. There's three espressos. I would invite you, but I remember that you just want to be friends.

• 32:23Speaker 03

  We can still.

• 32:24Speaker 04

  Are you sure that you didn't eat bacon?

• 32:26Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 32:30Speaker 04

  Whatever it is, I like it.

• 32:33Speaker 01

  Okay. So then he walks away and Lynn has a talking head.

• 32:39Speaker 00

  Did she eat bacon?

• 32:40Speaker 01

  You gotta hear it.

• 32:42Speaker 03

  Yes, I had some bacon this morning. I just didn't think it was anyone's business.

• 32:48Speaker 01

  Isn't that funny? But wait, it gets better. Kevin just can't get Lynn and the bacon smell off his mind and he asks her out.

• 32:57Speaker 04

  I love the smell of bacon on a woman. Hey Lynn, it's Kevin. I was thinking about going and getting a coffee at the cafe disco. Wondering if you want to go with?

• 33:12Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 33:13Speaker 01

  Yes. So later, when you see them slow dancing and then when they have a full on make out, it all started with this bacon scene by the elevators.

• 33:23Speaker 00

  That was amazing. What a find.

• 33:25Speaker 01

  I know. I so enjoyed it.

• 33:28Speaker 00

  Well, when Michael is kind of describing his inspiration for this disco and how it's going to bring people together and it's going to make people happy and kind of break them out of their funk, I have to say that he is right on about disco.

• 33:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:44Speaker 00

  In general. I was reading a bunch about disco and listening to disco music when I was prepping this episode.

• 33:51Speaker 01

  This is very you.

• 33:53Speaker 00

  I know.

• 33:53Speaker 01

  This is your Sounds of Scranton. It really is.

• 33:58Speaker 00

  And here is what I found out. And I pulled a couple of quotes because I loved them. So disco in general is just a very inclusive and accepting culture. It was very communal. It was more than just music. It really was a cultural movement. And there's this book called Turn the Beat Around by author Peter Shapiro, and he called disco, quote, "The embodiment of the vision of peace that the 60s yearned for." An article in Timeline.com went on to say, "Disco was created by Black and Latino musicians in the early 70s and popularized by mostly gay DJs for a mostly gay crowd celebrating new freedoms earned by the gay rights movement."

• 34:42Speaker 00

  And finally, now Rogers, the guitarist for the hit disco band Sheik, said, "This was the world I wanted to live in, where everybody was cool with everyone. That was because of the music." That was disco.

• 34:57Speaker 01

  That was disco. I mean, I'm a kid of the 70s, you know? My mom and her friends were so excited because they got to go see Donna Summer in concert.

• 35:07Speaker 00

  Queen of disco.

• 35:08Speaker 01

  The queen of disco. My mom said it was a phenomenal show.

• 35:12Speaker 00

  How cool that your mom got to see her perform live.

• 35:15Speaker 01

  I know. I would have loved to gone with my mom. I was too little because I love disco. But Angela Martin, of course, is not a fan of Michael pulling everyone off of work and taking them down to his disco cafe.

• 35:27Speaker 00

  Cafe disco.

• 35:28Speaker 01

  His cafe disco. And you'll see that Kevin is there very messily making his espresso. And it's because he's waiting for Lynn. Had you seen all of that deleted runner, you would know he's hoping Lynn will show up. In fact, in the shooting draft, the scene is more extended and Kevin tells Michael he's waiting for Lynn.

• 35:47Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 35:48Speaker 01

  Before Angela enters. And this scene, when I enter, I could barely get through, Jenna. I think you can tell I'm breaking if you watch it because whenever Steve as Michael offers Kevin the fake cookie in his hand.

• 36:01Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 36:01Speaker 01

  I literally, I start smiling when I talk because I'm having such a hard time not laughing.

• 36:06Speaker 00

  It's so absurd and wonderful. And a lot of that is Brian Baumgartner's performance.

• 36:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 36:12Speaker 00

  His like immediate belief that there's a cookie in a hand that clearly didn't have a cookie one second ago.

• 36:19Speaker 01

  Yes. Well, the three of us improvised the whole last couplet of dialogue.

• 36:23Speaker 00

  No way.

• 36:24Speaker 01

  Yes. So in the script, I mean, the script was phenomenal, but as we started doing it, Steve as Michael just kept messing with Kevin. He kept showing him the cookie, but then pulling it a little out of reach. So Kevin had to walk further into the room. And that was just stuff we were making up on the day. Well, in the script, it was just a little cleaner of an ending, right? It was a little simpler. It was like, Michael said, Kevin, stay. Angela said, Kevin, come. And then Michael's like, Kevin, cookie. And then Kevin's like, what? There's a cookie? And then I drag him away. We just had so much fun with this fake cookie. We just improvised this little couplet at the end where Kevin's like, wait, is there a cookie? And Michael's like, mhm. And I'm like, no, for goodness sakes, Kevin, there's no cookie. There's no cookie. Come on. And I kind of like show him. I'm trying to pry Michael's hand.

• 37:10Speaker 01

  And Kevin's like, I wanted a cookie. And then I look back at Michael and I'm like, completely unacceptable. It was so fun. We had a blast. And somewhere out there, there's just footage of me laughing every time Kevin looks at Michael's hand and is like, was there a cookie?

• 37:24Speaker 00

  It's so good. Well, now Michael is alone. He really wants people to come. So he is going to blast music.

• 37:33Speaker 01

  Through the vent.

• 37:34Speaker 00

  Yes. And people up in the bullpen can hear it. And everyone kind of starts, you know, moving and grooving a little bit. So much so that Phyllis decides she's going to go.

• 37:44Speaker 01

  Yeah. She says, to heck with it.

• 37:46Speaker 00

  But first she's going to stop by Vance Refrigeration to invite Bob, where she runs into Bob's younger, yet sort of look alike secretary.

• 37:56Speaker 01

  This is how this character was described in the script. As Phyllis walks in, Bob's busty secretary, Jessica, is coming out of Bob's office and closing the door behind her. She wears a low cut top. Phyllis looks her up and down.

• 38:10Speaker 00

  Oh, wow. So it doesn't mention that she's meant to sort of be this younger version of Phyllis. Cause they dressed her just like Phyllis dresses.

• 38:20Speaker 01

  I know.

• 38:20Speaker 00

  And I felt like even like their little noses were similar and everything.

• 38:24Speaker 01

  Their hairstyles.

• 38:26Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 38:26Speaker 01

  She's clearly like what Phyllis would think Bob would want in a younger woman.

• 38:30Speaker 00

  Yes. Which I thought was such a great casting choice. The woman who played Jessica was Alyssa Preston. And according to her IMDb, this job was her first television credit.

• 38:44Speaker 01

  Oh, she did so great.

• 38:46Speaker 00

  Do you remember your first television job?

• 38:48Speaker 01

  Oh God, I do. I think I was horrible.

• 38:51Speaker 00

  What was it?

• 38:52Speaker 01

  Oh, my very first line on a television show was a TV show called Step by Step. The big stars were Suzanne Somers and Patrick Duffy.

• 39:00Speaker 00

  Was it a three camera show?

• 39:01Speaker 01

  It was a multi-camera show. In the episode, they think their daughter has run off to elope. And I was cast because I was the same height and same hair color as the young girl playing their daughter.

• 39:13Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 39:14Speaker 01

  And they burst into this wedding chapel, like in Vegas or somewhere. They burst in and I'm up there saying my vows. So Suzanne Somers whips me around at the altar and she goes, you're not Dana. And I say, no, I'm Simone. And thanks for ruining the best day of my life.

• 39:35Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 39:38Speaker 01

  It's like crazy that I remember that. And I auditioned for it. And it wasn't for like two months later that I shot it. And I said to the director that day, I said, how do you want me to do it? And he said, just like you did in the audition. I couldn't remember how I did it in the audition.

• 39:53Speaker 00

  Oh, no.

• 39:54Speaker 01

  And then when I did it, they were like, can you tone it down? Because I guess I was like, but thanks for ruining the best day of my life.

• 40:02Speaker 00

  Well, that's the worst. When you have one or two lines on a show, and there's no like entrance ramp to your performance. You just have to deliver this one line exactly right. And you're on this new set with new people. And there's all this just adrenaline running through you.

• 40:18Speaker 01

  Suzanne Somers, hi. I've watched her my whole childhood, whips me around. And while I was waiting to do my scene, after the director gave me that note in rehearsals, I literally was in the wings going, thanks for ruining the best day of my life. Thanks for ruining the best day of my life. Thank you for ruining the best day.

• 40:38Speaker 00

  That's the other problem. When you have one line, you way overanalyze it.

• 40:42Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 40:43Speaker 00

  So much.

• 40:44Speaker 01

  I was horrible.

• 40:45Speaker 00

  Well, Alyssa Preston was amazing.

• 40:47Speaker 01

  She was.

• 40:48Speaker 00

  Her first TV job. She has gone on to work steadily in television and film. She was in Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, Jane the Virgin, the movie Horrible Bosses 2, No Monk, No Law and Order. Comedy. She's a comedy gal.

• 41:02Speaker 01

  Comedy gal.

• 41:03Speaker 00

  Back to the story at hand. Phyllis has decided to go down and start dancing with Michael while she waits for Bob to join her.

• 41:14Speaker 01

  Yeah. And she's really getting into it. So much so, she does kind of this pony move.

• 41:19Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 41:20Speaker 01

  And throws out her back. That gasping, sort of bleeped mother effort that she says is not in the shooting draft.

• 41:28Speaker 00

  Really?

• 41:29Speaker 01

  Yeah. It says that she lets out a yell, you know, but I think that they had fun with that on the day.

• 41:35Speaker 00

  Can I just say that Phyllis is very good at fake injury?

• 41:39Speaker 01

  I so believed it. I was worried for her.

• 41:42Speaker 00

  I know. I mean, she gets her like, whole face to turn red and stuff. And like, everything she does as a person with a back injury was so right on for me.

• 41:51Speaker 01

  She's great at physical comedy.

• 41:53Speaker 00

  I've got a side story.

• 41:54Speaker 01

  What?

• 41:54Speaker 00

  I know we just had one.

• 41:56Speaker 01

  Uh oh.

• 41:56Speaker 00

  I threw out my back once, just like Phyllis. And it was while I was talking to Christie Brinkley.

• 42:03Speaker 01

  What?

• 42:03Speaker 00

  Yeah. Christie Brinkley.

• 42:05Speaker 01

  How do you throw out your back while talking? Phyllis was dancing.

• 42:09Speaker 00

  Well, I was backstage, I was doing this game show. And Christie Brinkley was in the waiting room. She was going to be a guest on the next version of the game show, you know, the next episode.

• 42:20Speaker 01

  Sure, sure.

• 42:21Speaker 00

  I was just so excited. I mean, to maybe meet Christie Brinkley.

• 42:26Speaker 01

  Did you run up or something?

• 42:27Speaker 00

  I threw my arms out in a gesture where I was like, hi, Christie Brinkley. And in throwing, just gesturing my arms open, I threw out my back. It was like a pop. It felt like something popped in my back. But I was trying to hold it together because she smiled and she was talking with me. And I don't know if she could see the pain, like washing over my eyes and my whole body. And like I said, you know, Phyllis gets all red. I felt hot. Like, I felt that. And then it just seized up. Like, I couldn't even move. They brought the medic in.

• 43:06Speaker 01

  On the game show?

• 43:07Speaker 00

  Yes. They gave me some ice and some Advil. And from there, I had to get loaded in a car to go to this movie in Canada with Ben Stiller and Mike White. It was my dream job. My dream job. I'm playing Ben Stiller's wife in a Mike White movie.

• 43:25Speaker 01

  And you couldn't move?

• 43:26Speaker 00

  I couldn't move.

• 43:27Speaker 01

  All because you wanted to show Christie Brinkley.

• 43:30Speaker 00

  That I was excited to meet her.

• 43:31Speaker 01

  Hey!

• 43:32Speaker 00

  Yes. When I got to the airport, they had to have a wheelchair load me onto the plane. I mean, I really couldn't walk. When I got to Canada, they had a doctor meet me at my hotel.

• 43:47Speaker 01

  This is crazy.

• 43:48Speaker 00

  And the next day, it was a driving scene. My character was supposed to drive, and I couldn't do it. And I was mortified. I was mortified. Because of course, when everybody was like, how did you throw out your back?

• 44:02Speaker 01

  And you were like, I just made a hugging gesture.

• 44:04Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:04Speaker 01

  I just went, hey.

• 44:06Speaker 00

  And then I seemed like a Looney Tune.

• 44:09Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 44:09Speaker 00

  But anyway.

• 44:11Speaker 01

  You can throw out your back very easily.

• 44:13Speaker 00

  You can.

• 44:14Speaker 01

  Just ask.

• 44:15Speaker 00

  A lot of stories for me today.

• 44:17Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 44:18Speaker 00

  Is this what the shower has done to me?

• 44:20Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 44:20Speaker 00

  It has opened up my vault of story.

• 44:23Speaker 01

  It has. Well, I want you guys to notice while Phyllis is being lowered to the ground by Michael, that black pipe on the wall by the shower.

• 44:31Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:31Speaker 01

  Does not have any lights on it. But that will change.

• 44:34Speaker 00

  Oh, it's not lighted now, but it will be.

• 44:37Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 44:38Speaker 00

  Michael calls Dwight down to help him get Phyllis back up into the office.

• 44:42Speaker 01

  Or is it Philip?

• 44:44Speaker 00

  Is it?

• 44:45Speaker 01

  He gets a text. He goes, you said, you said something happened to Philip? And then he looks at Phyllis and goes, did Philip do this to you? They are hilarious, the two of them.

• 44:56Speaker 00

  Well, this is going to start a whole runner where Dwight is going to be tasked with taking care of Phyllis in the conference room. They're going to wheel her in there. He's going to shut all the curtains.

• 45:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 45:08Speaker 00

  And then there's a huge commotion. He comes out in just his tank top. I love moments like that, because we don't know what happened in there. Clearly something. Halsted shared that in addition to being tasked with creating a storyline that used the old Michael Scott Paper Company set, they also needed a storyline that they could cut away to. They needed somewhere to go. But that story also had to take place at Dunham Mifflin, because we did not have the budget to go anywhere.

• 45:36Speaker 01

  Right. And we only had four days.

• 45:38Speaker 00

  So this story of Phyllis throwing out her back and Dwight helping her was the solution. And I love how scripts and stories sometimes evolve out of that just necessity.

• 45:50Speaker 01

  Everyone is concerned about Phyllis. There's like moaning sounds coming from the conference room. And Angela has a line to Michael where she says, can you please go back to work instead of masterminding these situations wherein we hurt ourselves? This line was so hard for me to say.

• 46:05Speaker 00

  Why?

• 46:06Speaker 01

  Because I don't speak like that. I don't say, stop masterminding situations wherein we hurt ourselves.

• 46:12Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:13Speaker 01

  But Angela had a very formal way of speaking.

• 46:15Speaker 00

  She did.

• 46:16Speaker 01

  And it was something that was really important to the writers. They carry it through the whole entire series, where she has sort of this clipped formality in her voice.

• 46:25Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 46:25Speaker 01

  I'm just pointing it out because I had a hard time saying it.

• 46:28Speaker 00

  To me, a sentence like that is very similar to being a doctor on like, a show, but you're not really a doctor and you have to say medical jargon.

• 46:35Speaker 01

  I'd never make it. Grey's Anatomy, I'd never be able to do it.

• 46:38Speaker 00

  No, no, I can't do it.

• 46:39Speaker 01

  Can't do it.

• 46:40Speaker 00

  Well, somehow Erin and Kelly are going to wind up down in Cafe Disco. Erin presses play.

• 46:48Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 46:48Speaker 00

  On some music and the ladies start dancing.

• 46:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 46:52Speaker 00

  Do you know what this song was?

• 46:54Speaker 01

  Was it Boyfriend Hangover?

• 46:56Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's called Boy Hangover.

• 46:58Speaker 01

  Boy Hangover.

• 46:59Speaker 00

  Do you know who wrote it?

• 47:01Speaker 01

  No.

• 47:02Speaker 00

  Our writer, Lester Lewis.

• 47:04Speaker 01

  You are kidding me.

• 47:06Speaker 00

  No.

• 47:06Speaker 01

  I thought it was so catchy.

• 47:08Speaker 00

  It's sung by this woman named Bonnie McKee. She's a Grammy nominated singer songwriter. She has written number one hits for Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and Tao Cruz. I thought we should listen to it. Here's Boy Hangover.

• 47:26Speaker 00

  I've got a boy hangover. It's really nothing new. I'm feeling sick and sober. And it's because of you. How great is it that Lester wrote the lyrics to that song?

• 47:44Speaker 01

  It's so good. I loved the song. I thought it was catchy.

• 47:46Speaker 00

  I downloaded it and now I have it. This was one of the songs I was listening to, you know, because I like to stay on theme while working on an episode.

• 47:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:55Speaker 00

  Well, maybe we should take a break. I want to go eat my yogurt. It's been on my mind.

• 48:00Speaker 01

  Honey, I know it. I know it.

• 48:01Speaker 00

  With that.

• 48:02Speaker 01

  I saw you eyeing your snack bag.

• 48:04Speaker 00

  I know. It's time.

• 48:05Speaker 01

  It's time.

• 48:06Speaker 00

  We'll be back after I eat my yogurt.

• 48:18Speaker 00

  Okay, we are back. My yogurt was great.

• 48:20Speaker 01

  Yay.

• 48:21Speaker 00

  And speaking of eating, Michael is eating his lunch alone.

• 48:25Speaker 01

  Might as well be dinner. That broke my heart.

• 48:28Speaker 00

  I know. Ah, so sad.

• 48:30Speaker 01

  Michael.

• 48:32Speaker 00

  Meanwhile, Phyllis is in the conference room. Dwight has started working on her back and Jim is outside collecting flowers.

• 48:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's very sweet. He's making a little bouquet for Pam. Jenna, this is on the side of the writers' building where the warehouse was. So automatically, I was like, is this 3:30 PM?

• 48:52Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 48:53Speaker 01

  Because we learned last week, we filmed there at 3:30. Also, you know those flowers weren't there.

• 48:58Speaker 00

  No.

• 48:59Speaker 01

  They had planted them just for the scene so that he could then cut them.

• 49:02Speaker 00

  There have never been flowers there.

• 49:04Speaker 01

  Mm-mm. Just some weeds, kind of.

• 49:06Speaker 00

  Yeah, and a giant bug, but that's it.

• 49:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:09Speaker 00

  And then the big bunch of parrots that we had for a small period of time.

• 49:14Speaker 01

  And that one rooster across the way.

• 49:16Speaker 00

  But not flowers.

• 49:18Speaker 01

  But not flowers.

• 49:19Speaker 00

  So they would plant and then replant these flowers so that Jim could collect them.

• 49:24Speaker 01

  So those were some fakey real flowers.

• 49:26Speaker 00

  Meanwhile, Cafe Disco is poppin'.

• 49:30Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 49:31Speaker 00

  Aaron has invited a friend, Ashley.

• 49:33Speaker 01

  I loved the exchange between Oscar and Aaron when he's like, what, you invited someone? And Aaron's like, yeah, is that not okay? And Oscar's like, I mean, I've worked here eight years and I never... And then they just run off and he goes, rude.

• 49:48Speaker 01

  I just loved it.

• 49:49Speaker 00

  Ashley doesn't have any lines, but she was played by Alexis Teague and now begins what looks like a dance-off.

• 49:59Speaker 01

  It's full on. It's full on a dance-off.

• 50:01Speaker 00

  Kelly and Andy. We had a fan question from Gianna W. The dance-off runner between Andy and Kelly is so great. I personally think they would have made a good couple. Did the writers ever think of doing that?

• 50:13Speaker 01

  So I asked Warren about this and he said, the writers' room pretty much discussed every possible dating scenario for Kelly. But Andy and Kelly never made it on one of those note cards. And he said, you know what? That would have been great. I wish we would have gone there.

• 50:30Speaker 00

  I thought they had great chemistry.

• 50:32Speaker 01

  I did too.

• 50:32Speaker 00

  They seemed great for each other.

• 50:35Speaker 01

  And I would like you to note at 13 minutes 54 seconds at the beginning of the dance-off, red chili pepper lights on the black pipe by the shower.

• 50:44Speaker 00

  Where did those come from?

• 50:45Speaker 01

  I don't know. Did Aaron and Kelly like start decorating when they went down there?

• 50:49Speaker 00

  Did Ashley bring them?

• 50:51Speaker 01

  No, Ashley didn't bring them.

• 50:53Speaker 00

  Were they there?

• 50:54Speaker 01

  They were there.

• 50:55Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah. Ashley just got there.

• 50:56Speaker 01

  They weren't there when Phyllis was dancing, but now they're there for the dance-off. And Michael is missing all of it. He's up in the kitchen being a sad sack.

• 51:06Speaker 00

  But he can hear it. He says, I can still hear the music in my head. Well, Creed is gonna exit the bathroom.

• 51:13Speaker 01

  The men's room.

• 51:14Speaker 00

  While eating chicken. I really love that detail. Halsted mentioned it was one of the little jokes that he loved as well.

• 51:20Speaker 01

  He's full on eating a chicken leg.

• 51:22Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 51:23Speaker 01

  Coming out of the restroom.

• 51:24Speaker 00

  And Creed's like, I hear it too, Michael.

• 51:27Speaker 01

  Creed says, I hear it too, boss.

• 51:29Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah. I hear it too, boss. So Michael's like, oh, my gosh, something's happening. And sure enough, he gets down to the Cafe Disco and it's like happening.

• 51:41Speaker 01

  It's a party.

• 51:42Speaker 00

  There's a limbo pole.

• 51:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:44Speaker 00

  And I have questions.

• 51:46Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 51:46Speaker 00

  Because it's so great. You see two people walk in and they have to like, you know, limbo under.

• 51:52Speaker 01

  Meredith does a shimmy.

• 51:53Speaker 00

  Your character walks in and just walks under it.

• 51:56Speaker 01

  Just straight under it.

• 51:57Speaker 00

  No problem.

• 51:58Speaker 01

  Didn't have to bend at all.

• 52:00Speaker 00

  Who wrote that joke?

• 52:01Speaker 01

  Well, I asked Warren and Halsted and they both were like, it was Warren. Warren was like, Warren was like, yeah, that was me. Well, it's hilarious to me. This is my ex-husband's joke because he clearly knows I'm a short stack.

• 52:14Speaker 00

  Well, how did you do it? Did they bring you down and measure you to set the pole?

• 52:19Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. They duct taped that pole to the wall, right?

• 52:23Speaker 00

  Uh-huh.

• 52:23Speaker 01

  That everyone walked under. It's like a broom. It's meant to look like a broom handle.

• 52:26Speaker 00

  Right.

• 52:27Speaker 01

  And I had to practice walking under it. I, on purpose, this episode, I wear flats. My character never wears flats. My character is always in three-inch heels. This entire episode, I had on little tiny flats.

• 52:41Speaker 00

  Wow. This is the shoe thing you were mentioning earlier.

• 52:44Speaker 01

  Yes, I'll put it in stories. I took a screen grab of them. And I did ever so slightly, guys, have to tilt my head, just very tiny.

• 52:53Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 52:54Speaker 01

  But I could walk right under that pole.

• 52:56Speaker 00

  It was so funny.

• 52:57Speaker 01

  I'm the person, guys, when your plane lands and everyone stands up and they're waiting and everyone has to duck because the overhead compartments, you know, when you are still at your seat?

• 53:07Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 53:07Speaker 01

  You haven't been able to get in the aisle because there's so many people getting their stuff.

• 53:11Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 53:11Speaker 01

  I can stand fully upright under the overhead.

• 53:14Speaker 00

  That must feel so good.

• 53:15Speaker 01

  Yeah. I just look at all these people hunched over while they're waiting to get off a plane. I got no problem.

• 53:22Speaker 00

  But don't ask you to get something off the top shelf.

• 53:25Speaker 01

  No. Why would I put anything on the top shelf?

• 53:28Speaker 00

  You don't.

• 53:28Speaker 01

  Mm-mm.

• 53:29Speaker 00

  The only reason Angela is there is to get some signatures on a piece of paper. And Michael says he's only gonna give her one signature per song.

• 53:36Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 53:37Speaker 00

  And Angela, you have this line where you say, I don't like the general spirit of music.

• 53:44Speaker 01

  My character says, look, I hate to be that person.

• 53:47Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 53:48Speaker 01

  But I just don't like the general spirit of music.

• 53:51Speaker 00

  Renee from Fargo, North Dakota would like to know, who wrote that line? She loves it.

• 53:58Speaker 01

  So we asked Warren and Halsted this question and Warren said, it's probably his favorite question because he loves that line too. He shared that he and Halsted were writing together on a short-lived show for the WB called Modern Men, starring Jane Seymour and Max Greenfield. And in one of the episodes, one of the guys is trying to break up with his drab girlfriend, played by guest actor Arden Mirren.

• 54:23Speaker 00

  Oh, I love her.

• 54:24Speaker 01

  She's hilarious.

• 54:25Speaker 00

  She's so funny.

• 54:26Speaker 01

  Warren said she was amazingly funny and Halsted and Warren had pitched a line that she hates music. And what Arden's character said was, not a fan, like about music.

• 54:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 54:38Speaker 01

  And they said that Arden killed it and it was really funny. And when they went to write this episode, they really could see Angela identifying with that and they borrowed their own line and added a little tweak.

• 54:49Speaker 00

  I think it is such an amazing character trait for a person to just be like, I don't get music.

• 54:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm not a fan.

• 54:57Speaker 00

  I'm not a big music person myself.

• 54:59Speaker 01

  I know this about you, Jenna, because when we went on our writers' retreat, you were very concentrated on our meal plan. What were we gonna be eating?

• 55:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:07Speaker 01

  And I said something like, what about a playlist for the car ride? And you're like, yeah, I don't care.

• 55:11Speaker 00

  I don't know if this is why, but the car that I drove out to LA,

• 55:17Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 55:17Speaker 00

  it had no air conditioning and no working radio.

• 55:22Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh. You were driving in a car with no music on a road trip?

• 55:27Speaker 00

  Yeah. And I also had this car in college and my college was three hours from my hometown. And so I would often drive very, very, very long distances in silence.

• 55:38Speaker 01

  Jenna.

• 55:39Speaker 00

  Or I sometimes did bring like an old-fashioned cassette player.

• 55:45Speaker 01

  And hit play, I hope.

• 55:46Speaker 00

  Yeah, I could play off of that. But I got really conditioned to driving without sound. And now I listen to news or podcasts, but I just never kind of got into playlists or music.

• 56:02Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh.

• 56:03Speaker 00

  I find it like, I don't know. I do like music. Like I have whole albums. I have Sounds of Scranton, you know?

• 56:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 56:10Speaker 00

  Like I use music a lot when I'm formulating a character, which is so interesting because if you had to formulate the character of Jenna Fisher, you would have

• 56:18Speaker 01

  It'd be silence.

• 56:18Speaker 00

  You would have no music.

• 56:20Speaker 01

  You'd have no music but good food. Yeah, I mean, I love a combo. I love, I love a playlist for a road trip, but then I like to turn it off and talk, you know, because I'm chatty. My mom always says the best place to talk is in the car.

• 56:34Speaker 00

  That's why I love to do school pickup and drop-off. I feel like my kids are super chatty.

• 56:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, talking about their day.

• 56:40Speaker 00

  Right after school. Yeah.

• 56:42Speaker 01

  But my husband loves a playlist and he makes a playlist for every road trip we take. And it's really cute because the kids now are so connected to it. So we were listening a lot to the Red Hot Chili Peppers when we went up to the mountains in Big Bear. And Jack will say, whenever they come on now, he's like, that's Big Bear.

• 56:59Speaker 00

  You know, my kids and Lee are very connected to music and they do the same thing and we have those same things.

• 57:05Speaker 01

  Well, like Vampire Weekend for us was like the summer of 2019. That's Vampire Weekend.

• 57:10Speaker 00

  White Stripes, Seven Nation Army.

• 57:12Speaker 01

  Love it.

• 57:12Speaker 00

  We would listen to that song as we were driving up to go skiing in Santa Fe.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 57:17Speaker 00

  So whenever I hear that song, I just feel the snowy mountain.

• 57:20Speaker 01

  I'm going to Wichita.

• 57:22Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's so good.

• 57:24Speaker 01

  So good.

• 57:25Speaker 00

  Oh, can I take us into the conference room with Dwight and Phyllis?

• 57:30Speaker 01

  Where he's treating her like livestock?

• 57:32Speaker 00

  And he's rubbing otter oil into her back?

• 57:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, and giving her a carrot.

• 57:37Speaker 00

  I thought for sure this otter oil thing was made up.

• 57:41Speaker 01

  Is it real?

• 57:42Speaker 00

  Lady, otter glands

• 57:45Speaker 01

  Uh oh.

• 57:46Speaker 00

  can be purchased.

• 57:48Speaker 01

  Oh, how do they get them?

• 57:50Speaker 00

  Well, from dead otters.

• 57:52Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 57:52Speaker 00

  They take their anal glands.

• 57:54Speaker 01

  Oh, Lord.

• 57:55Speaker 00

  And they grind them up and they age them and then they preserve them.

• 58:00Speaker 01

  Who thought of that? Who thought of us like, save that otter's ass?

• 58:04Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 58:05Speaker 01

  There's some stuff in there I need to grind up.

• 58:07Speaker 00

  You can get one ounce for about eight bucks. On another website, I saw you could get it for six. So if you're in the market, shop around.

• 58:16Speaker 01

  And what do people use it for?

• 58:18Speaker 00

  That's what I wanted to know. I guess you use it to lure an otter.

• 58:24Speaker 01

  You lure an otter with their own anal glands crushed up?

• 58:28Speaker 00

  Yeah, with the scent of their own anal glands.

• 58:31Speaker 01

  Why?

• 58:32Speaker 00

  Exactly. Why am I luring an otter? I guess hunting, but it's just for sport because you don't really use them for anything. You don't use their fur or you don't eat them. You just, I guess, sprinkle their anal glands and then kill them. Why?

• 58:51Speaker 01

  This is horrible.

• 58:52Speaker 00

  Well, there's a whole market for this sort of like.

• 58:57Speaker 01

  Surely there's something we don't know.

• 58:59Speaker 00

  I don't know, but there's like a lot of gland. You can buy a lot of glands of different animals for this purpose of luring them.

• 59:09Speaker 01

  So basically, these animals smell their own.

• 59:12Speaker 00

  And I guess they think it's another otter and they come out to say hi. Terrible.

• 59:17Speaker 01

  This is like Bambi all over again for me.

• 59:19Speaker 00

  I know. And no references to rubbing it into someone's back for an injury. I just want to say if Phyllis went out to the woods, she would be very popular. It'd be like a Snow White moment for her. She would have a lot of otters coming to say hi.

• 59:35Speaker 01

  So Dwight and the Schrutes could kill them.

• 59:37Speaker 00

  I guess so. But that is some information I found.

• 59:41Speaker 01

  I am confused by all of that information, but thank you for sharing it.

• 59:45Speaker 00

  You're welcome.

• 59:45Speaker 01

  Okay, there is a full-on dance competition happening now.

• 59:50Speaker 00

  There sure is. And we got mail from Alexis W. in Australia, who said, I have to know if the dance competition between Andy and Kelly was freestyle or scripted. Lady, I went to the script.

• 1:00:04Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 1:00:05Speaker 00

  And guess what? It is fully scripted. I'm going to read you the descriptions. Here is Andy's dance-off description of the script. Andy takes a chair and hops over the back of it, turns around, does a Fred Astaire walk over it so that the chair's back falls to the ground. He picks it up, sits on it, and spins on it in a Bob Fosse fashion, flashing jazz hands. He then throws one leg over the back of the chair, gets up, picks up the chair, and pretends that the chair is attacking him and then pretends to be killed by the chair. He gets up and eyes Kelly like, try to top that. Kelly's description is this. Kelly walks over to the shower area.

• 1:00:49Speaker 00

  She pretends to turn on the shower and mimes getting wet and lathering herself with soap.

• 1:00:55Speaker 01

  Oh, my.

• 1:00:56Speaker 00

  She then walks to the chair, which is next to where Andy stands. She stops at the chair, turns like a runway model, winks at Andy, picks up the chair, and walks back to the shower area with it. She sits down, arches her back, à la Flashdance, and pretends to be drenched by the shower. She whips her hair around her head in a frenzy. Then Kelly starts crunking.

• 1:01:20Speaker 01

  Okay, that's a dance move. She's putting all her best stuff out there.

• 1:01:24Speaker 00

  She is. Well, you might notice that the way it is described is not exactly how you end up seeing it in the show. And that is because Randy did hire a choreographer. And the choreographer's job was to interpret the script and then work with the actors to come up with their moves.

• 1:01:43Speaker 01

  Randy said our choreographer's name was Mary Ann Kellogg, and she came to us via recommendation from our first AD, Kelly Cantley. Randy said she was absolutely superb and really got this scene. And Warren said they had to use a good choreographer because if the actors had just freestyled the whole time, it would have been impossible to edit. So although Mindy and Ed brought a lot of ideas for what they would do, this was a planned out dance-off.

• 1:02:11Speaker 00

  Yeah, sort of based loosely on the script.

• 1:02:14Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 1:02:14Speaker 00

  It seems, but it morphed. It evolved in this

• 1:02:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:02:18Speaker 00

  rehearsal process.

• 1:02:19Speaker 01

  And Halsted said he definitely remembers them pitching that Flashdance moment.

• 1:02:24Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 1:02:25Speaker 01

  And that made it in.

• 1:02:27Speaker 00

  You know, something else that Randy shared with us was that we were not listening to music during this. They were using what's called a thump track. Again, for editing purposes, they would just have this speaker that would play like the sort of bassline beat of the song so that the actors would be on tempo. But for editing purposes, they put the song on later.

• 1:02:52Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:02:53Speaker 00

  So these guys are doing this whole thing. You were there. Was it so crazy?

• 1:02:56Speaker 01

  It was so crazy. And also, this is not about the dance-off, but I could always really tell when there was no music when Ellie was dancing.

• 1:03:06Speaker 01

  Because Ellie just kind of does these jabs and kind of runs in place, like not at all to what the beat of the song was that's playing. But there was one little moment in the background. I start to tidy up.

• 1:03:17Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 1:03:18Speaker 01

  And Michael tells Angela to stop. And this cracked me up, Jenna, because I do this in real life. I often, at a party, at a total stranger's house, will start stacking plates, busting dirty cups, putting napkins in the trash bin, you know?

• 1:03:33Speaker 00

  Well, this is where we're similar because I do the same thing.

• 1:03:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:03:37Speaker 00

  You know, someone did that to me once, like I had thrown a party and one of the moms went around and was like tidying kind of near the end.

• 1:03:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:03:45Speaker 00

  And I was like, oh, my gosh, that just took up like 25% of the cleaning. And it was such a nice gesture. So now I like to do it, too. When I leave a party, I'll first do a sweep.

• 1:03:58Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:03:58Speaker 00

  And get rid of all the empty cans and glasses and

• 1:04:01Speaker 01

  Stack the plastic cups.

• 1:04:02Speaker 00

  Yes, put stuff by the sink.

• 1:04:04Speaker 01

  Mm hmm. Mm hmm. I know.

• 1:04:06Speaker 00

  I related to Angela in that moment, but I love how she's like, am I not supposed to have any fun?

• 1:04:11Speaker 01

  Yes, because tidying is fun for her. We should probably check back in on Phyllis.

• 1:04:16Speaker 00

  Yeah, Dwight is still trying to work out this kink in her back. And then Phyllis just blurts out, I think Bob's going to cheat on me with his new secretary.

• 1:04:25Speaker 01

  And then she starts laughing.

• 1:04:26Speaker 00

  And then her back is better.

• 1:04:28Speaker 01

  Yeah. And Dwight's like, why are you laughing? And she said, I'm just saying it out loud. It just sounds so ridiculous. And she was able to let all that tension and stress go.

• 1:04:38Speaker 00

  We had a fan question from Liz B. in Columbus, Ohio. She said, in this episode, Phyllis mentions that Bob might be having an affair, but then no one mentions it again. Was there more to this storyline that got deleted? Either from this episode or future episodes? No, no, we asked Warren and Halsted about this and they told us that their idea here was just that the cause of her back pain was the stress. And they thought it was a funny way to end this storyline of Dwight trying to heal her. Like Dwight's treatments weren't the cure and the dancing wasn't even the problem. Like she was going to throw her back out anyway from just holding on to this little stress. And then she cured herself.

• 1:05:22Speaker 01

  And then Dwight had to staple her blouse back together.

• 1:05:25Speaker 00

  He did. So now we're about to see Jim and Pam. And Pam's going to come out of the bathroom.

• 1:05:31Speaker 01

  So cute. She looked so sweet, Jenna, in your pink dress and your hair up.

• 1:05:37Speaker 00

  I have to say something, though.

• 1:05:38Speaker 01

  What?

• 1:05:39Speaker 00

  Did you notice throughout the whole beginning of this episode that I had this pink dress on underneath my sweater?

• 1:05:45Speaker 01

  Well, it looked like a pink sweater with a pink skirt. So I thought it was a good fakey sale, but then that tells me you wore the dress the whole day.

• 1:05:53Speaker 00

  Why?

• 1:05:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:55Speaker 00

  But why? She went and did her hair all different and put flowers in her hair. Why couldn't she just bring her dress to work?

• 1:06:01Speaker 01

  I know. But also, why did she drive to New York to start art school in a pencil skirt?

• 1:06:07Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 1:06:08Speaker 01

  Pam's a mystery when she comes to some of her wardrobe choices.

• 1:06:11Speaker 00

  She really is. She really, really is. I feel like people in the office would have clocked this strange, poofy, bubble skirt coming out of her bottom half. I clocked it in the very first scene. Like I was sitting in my chair and I was like, what is that? You know what I thought it was? I thought I had a blanket.

• 1:06:29Speaker 01

  Blanket, because you were cold.

• 1:06:30Speaker 00

  Yes. And I was like, oh, my gosh, they caught my blanket. And I was going to do a blanket catch, proof of cold. I was like, oh, no, that's my wardrobe. Well, as they're walking out of the office, they hear the music playing. And they're like, I think we should pop in. We should go just for a minute before we head to the courthouse.

• 1:06:51Speaker 01

  I think Jim says it would mean so much to him.

• 1:06:53Speaker 00

  Mm hmm. Michael is thrilled.

• 1:06:56Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, he's so happy. The whole gang is there. And now everyone is dancing. I mean, except Angela.

• 1:07:02Speaker 00

  And Kevin and Lynn, who are making out.

• 1:07:04Speaker 01

  Full-on make out, which is the end of the Kevin Bacon's runner.

• 1:07:08Speaker 00

  We got some mail

• 1:07:09Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:07:09Speaker 00

  about the dancing here. We're dancing to YMCA.

• 1:07:13Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 1:07:14Speaker 00

  Monica A. and Jennifer P. said, were Jim's dorky dance moves choreographed? Or is that John Krasinski's own true style?

• 1:07:22Speaker 01

  I don't think your dance moves were choreographed in the background.

• 1:07:27Speaker 00

  Sarah Lassen 89 said, please address the fact that John Krasinski seems to only have one dance move, jumping up and down. He does the same thing in the lip dub cold open of nepotism.

• 1:07:40Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh.

• 1:07:42Speaker 00

  I will tell you, John and I met with the choreographer.

• 1:07:46Speaker 01

  Did you really?

• 1:07:47Speaker 00

  We did. Because we had this discussion, like, what is Jim and Pam's dancing going to be when they get there?

• 1:07:55Speaker 01

  And also, they say they like cheesy. So what does that mean?

• 1:07:58Speaker 00

  Well, we had all these conversations and one of them was, is there any reason why Jim and Pam might be slow dancing to YMCA? Where they're making kind of a wedding moment out of it? We discussed, we were like, I don't think so. I think we need to lean into the kind of like, they like cheesy.

• 1:08:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:08:17Speaker 00

  You know?

• 1:08:18Speaker 01

  It's part of the reason they want a big wedding, so they can be dorky with their friends on the dance floor.

• 1:08:22Speaker 00

  Yes. And so the choreographer just was like, well, let's see how you two would do it. I'll just remember, I feel like you could hear a pin drop. We're like, okay. I mean, that's really pretty much just us. That's just

• 1:08:36Speaker 01

  That's what I thought.

• 1:08:37Speaker 00

  Me and John just.

• 1:08:39Speaker 01

  I was shocked when you said you met with a choreographer.

• 1:08:42Speaker 00

  But they liked it. And so the choreographer was like, yeah, just do that. That's good.

• 1:08:47Speaker 01

  Perfect.

• 1:08:47Speaker 00

  That's good. Maybe she was like, I don't even know where to begin. So just do what you're doing.

• 1:08:53Speaker 00

  Well, I'll say, I loved shooting these dance scenes. I was so happy to finally be down in the disco. But lady, I love a dance party.

• 1:09:05Speaker 01

  I know you do.

• 1:09:06Speaker 00

  And I will stay on the dance floor the whole time at your wedding. I want to be out on that dance floor. You know, for my 30th birthday, I had a dance party and I danced the whole time. And my 50th is going to be coming up in a few years and I want a dance party again.

• 1:09:22Speaker 01

  You should have a dance party.

• 1:09:24Speaker 00

  And I maybe should put on the invitation.

• 1:09:26Speaker 01

  Wear comfy shoes.

• 1:09:28Speaker 00

  And I may not talk to you because I'm going to be dancing the whole time and that's what I want for my party. But for my 40th, I was seven months pregnant with my daughter. And so Lee and I just went and had a little baby moon slash birthday. So it'll be like 20 years since I had a dance party.

• 1:09:46Speaker 01

  Well, I can't wait because I want me, you and Oscar.

• 1:09:49Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 1:09:50Speaker 01

  To recreate what we did for years, which was, we did All the Single Ladies by Beyonce. The three of us.

• 1:09:57Speaker 00

  I want All the Single Ladies. I want Sexy Back. I want Gold Digger. I want some Lady Gaga.

• 1:10:03Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:10:03Speaker 00

  I want them all.

• 1:10:05Speaker 01

  I just rewatched my wedding video because for my anniversary this year, my husband finally edited together all the footage from our wedding.

• 1:10:13Speaker 00

  Really?

• 1:10:13Speaker 01

  Yes. He said it took him a year.

• 1:10:16Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 1:10:16Speaker 01

  Because he just had to work on it a little bit at a time. It's almost 30 minutes and we sat down with the kids and watched it. And it was so fun to see all of us dancing, Jenna. I mean, there were so many elements that were great, but it just warmed my heart. Like, there you are on the dance floor. We're like dancing our hearts out. It's just so great.

• 1:10:36Speaker 00

  Well, I want it.

• 1:10:37Speaker 01

  You're gonna have it. You're gonna have a dance party.

• 1:10:40Speaker 00

  Okay, good.

• 1:10:40Speaker 01

  We painted hummingbirds for my 50th and by God, we're gonna dance on your 50th.

• 1:10:45Speaker 00

  Good. Yay.

• 1:10:47Speaker 01

  I'm gonna make sure it happens.

• 1:10:50Speaker 00

  Well, there's one person who refuses to dance in Cafe Disco and that is Angela. But, but, she's gonna sway her foot a little bit to the music. She's gonna tap her finger.

• 1:11:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:11:03Speaker 00

  And Halsted shared that this whole storyline of Michael starting a Cafe Disco was always going to end with this moment.

• 1:11:12Speaker 01

  I did not know that.

• 1:11:14Speaker 00

  He said that their litmus test for whether or not Michael could pull off his Cafe Disco dream was Angela. Because she thought that hanging out at a disco all day was completely unacceptable. She was the lone holdout through most of the show. And Michael, if you notice, keeps checking in with her, checking in with her, trying to engage her. So in the end, that little tap and that little foot sway, that is Michael's victory. That's his big win. And Warren shared, by the way, that in his mind, he thought that this moment actually is the beginning of an evolution for the character of Angela. That this moment that shows how severe and closed off her character can be, but it's a baby step toward her maybe

• 1:11:59Speaker 00

  opening up to new possibilities.

• 1:12:01Speaker 01

  Oh, I like that.

• 1:12:02Speaker 00

  So this moment was very rich in their outline and their writing of this episode.

• 1:12:07Speaker 01

  And very thought out.

• 1:12:09Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:12:10Speaker 01

  Well, I went to the script. I wanted to see what was in the shooting draft for this moment. There was a Michael voiceover. Here's what it says in the script. Michael sits with Angela. He looks around the room and takes in all of the dancing couples. Jim and Pam, Phyllis and Bob, Kelly and Andy, and Kevin and Lynn, who are furiously making out. Michael notices Angela is tapping her foot to the music and he smiles to himself. And this is the voiceover that would then play. They needed me. I left. I will never let them down again. I will always be there for them. I will be at every important moment of their lives. Their births, their deaths, their babies, other hospital stuff, no matter

• 1:12:55Speaker 01

  where or whether they want me there or not, for them.

• 1:13:00Speaker 00

  That actually made me get a little choked up.

• 1:13:03Speaker 01

  I know. Isn't that so sweet?

• 1:13:04Speaker 00

  I really wish that had been in.

• 1:13:06Speaker 01

  I know. I thought that was really sweet. One other thing I want to share is that when we were filming in Cafe Disco and trying to figure out this moment of how Michael would see my foot swaying, my finger tapping, we shot just a quick little tag that didn't make it in. And everyone has left Cafe Disco and only Angela Martin is in there cleaning.

• 1:13:31Speaker 01

  And Michael walks by and she is dancing as she cleans.

• 1:13:35Speaker 00

  Why do I remember this?

• 1:13:37Speaker 01

  We just shot it really quickly and just as an alt, just in case.

• 1:13:42Speaker 00

  Yeah. Like, you actually respond to the music when everybody's left.

• 1:13:47Speaker 01

  Everyone's left.

• 1:13:47Speaker 00

  But it's still that victory. He's still got you.

• 1:13:49Speaker 01

  Yeah. But that didn't make it in. It's not in the shooting draft. It's not in deleted scenes. But that was an alt that they shot.

• 1:13:56Speaker 00

  I wonder if we were all like waiting in the hallway while you did that or something because I have such a memory of it.

• 1:14:01Speaker 01

  It was really quick. We just sort of grabbed it in the moment. But of course, the actual tag that made it in, which is so great, is Kelly piercing Andy's ear in the restroom.

• 1:14:12Speaker 00

  This really lends itself to that idea that they could be a couple.

• 1:14:16Speaker 01

  I know.

• 1:14:16Speaker 00

  Because this is a very cute, couple-y thing.

• 1:14:18Speaker 01

  It is. And Halsted said that they actually did a take where Mindy, as Kelly fully pierces Andy's ear, and it was painful and bloody.

• 1:14:28Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh.

• 1:14:29Speaker 01

  And a mess. But they cut it for time.

• 1:14:33Speaker 00

  Well, that's it, guys. That's Cafe Disco.

• 1:14:36Speaker 01

  It is. And it was so fun. I loved rewatching this. Thank you so much to Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan, Randy Cordray for giving us all kinds of fun, behind the scenes details.

• 1:14:46Speaker 00

  And lady, before we go, you know how at the beginning of the episodes, we always say, like, when do you listen? Where do you listen? You always say, good morning. And then you remember that people might not listen in the morning?

• 1:14:56Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:14:57Speaker 00

  Well, we got a letter from Katie C., who is 14 years old, lives in the UK. And she said, "I listen to Office Ladies whilst delivering newspapers every day and it makes it so much more fun. When it's raining or way too warm for my ginger jeans, I know I have the podcast to keep me going and I never give up."

• 1:15:19Speaker 01

  I love that.

• 1:15:21Speaker 00

  Well, hi, Katie.

• 1:15:22Speaker 01

  Hi, Katie. Good luck today on your paper route. Be safe. And Jenna and I are sending you big hugs.

• 1:15:27Speaker 00

  Thanks for listening to Office Ladies.

• 1:15:34Speaker 00

  Thank you for listening to Office Ladies Second Drink.

• 1:15:37Speaker 01

  This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.

• 1:15:41Speaker 00

  Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Beagle.

• 1:15:48Speaker 01

  Our Second Drinks episodes are produced by Molly Nugent.

• 1:15:51Speaker 00

  Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer.

• 1:15:53Speaker 01

  Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis.

• 1:15:56Speaker 00

  Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.

• 1:15:59Speaker 01

  Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.