A Look Back at Revisited with Randall Einhorn

This week on Office Ladies 6.0, we’re taking a look back at our interview with The Office cinematographer and director, Randall Einhorn! Randall discusses what it was like to shoot The Office, direct episodes and the invention of the “pooty scooty.” Afterwards, Jenna and Angela answer more fan questions and go over everything we missed from The Office season three: from Back from Vacation through The Job. We learn about a Spam museum, we hear from Jackie Debatin who played Elizabeth the Stripper, and we discuss some Keanu Reeves crossovers. Enjoy this look back and see you next week! Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question for Around the Town, Chit Chat, and Second Drink favorite moment: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

• 0:04Speaker 00

  I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office lovers podcast just for you. Each week, we will dive deeper into the world of The Office with exclusive interviews, behind the scenes details, and lots of BFF stories. We're the Office Ladies 6.0.

• 0:25Speaker 00

  Hello, everyone. Hello. Lady, we have a great day today. We have another revisited deep dive episode of Office Ladies. Yes, today, we are going to go back over the second half of season three. We're going to get to your questions, your comments about all the things we missed. We're doing everything from back from vacation to the job. Yeah, we are. And I want you to know, I'm holding what looks like a small phone book in my hand. Because we went through so many questions and comments and Jenna and I both jotted a ton down and we're excited to talk to you guys today. Yeah, it's like 19, 20 pages, I think. It is, it is. But first, we have some exciting news.

• 1:08Speaker 00

  We are going to start this off with a deep dive with our awesome cinematographer and director, Randall Einhorn. Randall was the cinematographer for 64 episodes and he directed The Accountants webisodes, as well as 15 episodes of The Office. This man knows this show inside and out. We are so excited to talk to him. Guys, Randall was one of our original visionaries for the show. He really helped shape the world, the mockumentary style. He has also been amazing. I've been reaching out to him, you've been reaching out to him, Angela. You might remember, he gave us all of the amazing details about Michael's car going into the lake. So we are really excited to get this deep dive interview with him for the pod.

• 1:52Speaker 00

  So you guys, when we all got on the Zoom with Randall, we were so excited to see each other. It was the first time, the three of us, I mean Jenna, I don't even know the last time the three of us were together. So we got super excited. We did all of our hellos and forgot to hit record. Yes. Sam was like, guys, are you recording? And I was like, oh, crap. Yeah, so when you hear this interview, we're going to jump right in.

• 2:17Speaker 00

  Because we talked for 20 minutes without hitting record. Yeah. Oh, Sam, Sam, Sam. Every week, you're like, Ange, did you hit record? Every week. Sam, can you play that interview?

• 2:31Speaker 00

  Randall, we always start by asking people basically the same question, which is, how did you come to be on The Office?

• 2:39Speaker 01

  I was doing a reality TV show, kind of an extreme sports thing, where I had to ski with Shaun White and some other legendary skier. And I had to keep up with these guys skiing and film these extreme skiers in Jackson Hole. It was kind of an extreme sports thing for Ben Silverman. And Ben, at that time, apparently decided, that's the guy.

• 3:01Speaker 00

  Wait, when he decided this, were you flying down a mountain, holding a camera?

• 3:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:06Speaker 00

  I would say that's the guy, too.

• 3:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, but I mean- I would say that's the guy for anything.

• 3:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:11Speaker 01

  But it is a curious jump to go from guy filming on skis to filming a quiet, contained office cubicle.

• 3:21Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 3:22Speaker 01

  I went from outdoor adventure guy to the office guy. Ben convinced Greg that that's the guy. I remember Greg and I met at a Starbucks. And Greg said, just meet me at the Starbucks on Santa Monica. I was new to Los Angeles and I went to one of the 50 Starbucks in Los Angeles. And I finally got in touch with Greg and I showed up like an hour late. And Greg is still sitting there, just waiting for me. And we had a fantastic meeting and it was wonderful. And that's where Greg and I really hit it off.

• 3:55Speaker 00

  Did you bring Matt Sohn into the picture? He was the camera operator.

• 4:00Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 4:01Speaker 00

  Had you worked together before? Yeah, you guys knew each other, right?

• 4:04Speaker 01

  Matt and I knew each other from the outdoor adventure world and also from Survivor and Eco Challenge. And we filmed scenes together. And when you're filming a scene together in kind of this verite style, you know, documentary style, you really ascertain really quickly who's looking out for you and who's doing the compliment of what you're doing. And that verite dance, Matt and I did really, really well. I remember just a couple of times that we shot together and he's like, oh, he gets what I'm doing and I get what he's doing. And we can look at each other out of, you know, out of the eye that's not behind the camera and communicate. And I just felt Matt was the best person for me to do that dance with.

• 4:46Speaker 00

  Randall, were you so bored to be inside of this cubicle warehouse office space with these fluorescent lights after all you guys had shot?

• 4:58Speaker 01

  No, I mean, we had shot, we had always shot things that we just reacted to. That's what cinema verite is. You're just, you're just reacting. You're just gleaning what's happening around you. And it was really cool to, to kind of reverse engineer that and actually have to make it look like you were just getting it. I never really worked in narrative stuff before. I'd always done, you know, reality and documentaries. And it was really cool to make scripted stuff look like a documentary because it took another layer of finesse. You know, normally you're just sitting there and you're filming what happens and you're just sitting there on a tripod. Had we, had we been sitting there on dollies or on a tripod and I'm just know what everybody's going to say and I'm

• 5:39Speaker 01

  just doing pans. Yeah, I would have been bored. But to be able to react and, you know, and play a character.

• 5:48Speaker 00

  You were, you were a character. You were.

• 5:52Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 5:52Speaker 00

  Yeah. You know what, though? I did always think of you guys. I mean, Jenna and I have talked about this because we knew, like, some of the adventures you and Matt had had, you had shared with us on set. We always sort of chuckled when we would have a situation like a lit candle on stage and Kelly Cantley, our A D would be like, "Safety meeting. We're gonna light a candle." And like Jenna and I knowing that you had a camera strapped to you, like going down like some like boat in a river in Borneo, like Randall's like, "Okay, lit candle. Got it."

• 6:26Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. The safety meetings over a candle are quite, they're nearly something. It still gets me to this day. But I think it's all done in, in, under the name of safety because safety never takes a holiday. So.

• 6:40Speaker 00

  That's right. Yeah. Well, Randall, what were some of the early conversations you had with Greg about the look of the show or preserving the documentary style? Did you guys have sort of a game plan, how you were gonna shoot and what it was gonna look like?

• 6:53Speaker 01

  Very much so. I saw the original Office, you know, the British version. And when Greg and I met, I pitched him this idea. I said, it's kind of like a tofu hot dog. So it's, it's, it's like, good food that's wrapped like, bad food. And it's kind of, you're putting this fake veneer on it so that people kind of lean in. And the one thing that we always did on shows like Survivor and all reality that I ever did, documentaries, is when a conversation is intimate, you back away from it. You don't go to it like normal TV. You back away and you back away and you back away because that makes the viewer think that they're privy to something that

• 7:38Speaker 01

  they shouldn't necessarily be privy to. So they feel in on the joke, they feel in on the moment. And I think it adds a level of intimacy that is really nice.

• 7:49Speaker 02

  As an actor, Randall, I loved how you would back that camera off for those intimate moments. Because one of the hard things as an actor is blocking out the camera that is inches away from you. And it was very freeing. It was one of my favorite experiences, really, is how private those moments really felt because you guys were further away.

• 8:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 8:13Speaker 00

  Yes. Yes, I've been on shows now since The Office. I did this scene and the camera was so close that when the other actor paused and talking, I could just hear

• 8:26Speaker 00

  because the camera was that close. And you're trying to like, say, okay, I'm not hearing that mechanical noise. I'm in the moment with this other person.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think there's something always to be said for just giving the set to actors. It's something I, as a director now, I always try to back away and just let it be. It shouldn't be my, my environment. It should be the actor's environment. That's something I absolutely learned on The Office from some of the great directors.

• 8:54Speaker 02

  Well, as an actor, I love it.

• 8:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, me too.

• 8:58Speaker 02

  Randall, can you tell us a little bit about how you would prep a scene with a director when you were in the role of cinematographer? Like a standard scene in the bullpen and you're having to cover a bunch of reactions. How would you prep that?

• 9:11Speaker 01

  For The Office, we would basically just tend to rehearse a scene and the actors would do what the actors would do. And Matt and I would just stand there like this, and this is our camera. And Matt and I would be looking at each other like, okay, I got this, I got Jenna. Great, you've got Jim. Great, I'm gonna do a swing to Jim after Jenna's line, so I'm gonna connect them like that. And Matt would duck and I would get that. And then I'd come back up and we would just kind of both stand there. And if you look at shows like Survivor, let's say, where you have two people talking and you have the, what we call dirty overs. You don't have the person necessarily clean, you try to connect them.

• 9:52Speaker 01

  And that was something that we all always tried to do, is to show that human connection by placing both characters in both of our frames. So Matt and I would have to just frame each other out. And sometimes that means you need to back up and get a little bit longer on the lens so you see, you don't see Matt's shoulder or Matt's knee or whatever. So yeah, we would just sit there and we would react to it. And Matt and I would just do this, do this dance where we would figure out what our coverage was. And I remember Harold Ramus directing, and it was the coolest moment, Harold came in, I mean, he prepped like an extra week because he was so excited about doing the show, which

• 10:36Speaker 01

  I just, everybody, I remember Steve was giddy. We were in Steve's office and doing it, and he goes, "That's Harold Ramus right there. Harold Ramus. Gosh."

• 10:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:48Speaker 01

  But I mean, Harold really, really prepped and he had all those plans like I had, just meticulously drawn out. And I remember we rehearsed the first scene and Matt and I just kind of stood there and did this and that and talked it through. And I looked at him and he looked at me and we figured out who was gonna get what. And Harold came over, he says, I should just get rid of this, right? I'm like, no, Harold, this really, it's such an honor to be working with you. And yeah, yeah, don't shit me, kid. I should get rid of this plan, right? This is what you did was way better. I'm like, wow, that's a, it's a great roadmap, Harold. And, and then, you know, we did one more scene and I remember watching him, looking

• 11:31Speaker 01

  at him and he got my attention. He was just chucked his plans in Pam's trash bin. I remember exactly where we were. Yeah.

• 11:38Speaker 00

  Harold Ramis threw his shot plans into Pam's trash bin because he thought you nailed it. That, that's great, Randall. That is, that would, for me, I'd be like, someone go get those out of the trash. I'm saving those.

• 11:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 11:55Speaker 02

  Well, I have to say, I was really curious what your answer was gonna be to that question because my memory is that for the most part, it was you and Matt figuring out the shots during our rehearsal. And the directors were more focused on just actor performance, giving us notes, making sure we landed the jokes, making sure that the writers got their alternate jokes in. And really, there was this huge trust that you guys knew how to shoot the show. The directors didn't, for the most part, like, micromanage you in any way.

• 12:32Speaker 01

  I don't recall anybody ever telling me, get to him on this line, or miss this line. It was always, and you know, when I, when I went, and it's, it's something I still do. When I'm talking to cameras, I talk to a camera operator like I'm talking to an actor. I will say, you think this, but you also suspect that she might do that. And that kind of gives the camera a little bit of a point of view, which for The Office is paramount. For other shows, I think is also interesting because you're trusting the intuition of the camera operator and you're giving them the basis to add some finesse to, to a scene, which I think is always really interesting.

• 13:12Speaker 02

  That's beautiful.

• 13:13Speaker 00

  I love that. Well, you know, Randall, one of the things you guys were also so great at was catching these moments that weren't scripted.

• 13:22Speaker 01

  I think that the way we filmed it added a level of authenticity, as did the improvisational moments. And whether we used improvisational moments or not, it still put everybody in that space of this is happening. This is a real thing. There's an immediacy to this. It's not a rehearsed thing. It's something that is happening in front of us and around us. And for you all to be part of that was awesome. It was amazing to see, you know, characters never drop character. They just kept Kevin, kept being Kevin, and Angela kept being Angela. And adding those moments in, to me, made it feel like a living thing and made it feel

• 14:03Speaker 01

  real and organic in a really meaningful and significant way that affected the overall outcome.

• 14:10Speaker 00

  That is so poetic. That is the best answer I have ever heard about improv on a set.

• 14:16Speaker 02

  Well, Randall, I know that we kept you in that office under the fluorescent light most of the time, but occasionally we did cram you into the backseat of a car, or we put you on a boat. What was it like? What were those shoot days for you like?

• 14:33Speaker 01

  I've shot note in a lot of awkward places. Einstein said, in the midst of difficulty lies opportunity. And the harder it got, the better it got. Like, I just rewatched that scene in the car where we're driving to the lake. And the whole time, I was just reacting to it. And I remember those, you know, in the midst of everything happening, as difficult as it was with the water coming in and me cramped in the backseat, when the GPS spoke, I panned to the GPS because it was a character in the scene. So those opportunities, I think, add another element in a really, really interesting way. But like Michael's

• 15:17Speaker 01

  Sebring, which he was so proud of, it was a coupe. It was a two-door. So the backseat, although it's a four-seater car or a five-seater car. It wasn't, it wasn't a two seater plus a cameraman very comfortably because I remember the camera came up higher than the back window because it was such a cool car, Michael, that the back window had such a slope to it that my camera would always hit the back of the, of the window. And there was a hump there where the transmission went through and there's really kind of no place for your legs to go. So you just kind of tie yourself in a knot and hopefully find some opportunity by that discomfort. You know, I get, I get carsick. I get really carsick.

• 15:59Speaker 02

  What?

• 16:00Speaker 01

  Yeah. Every time I got out of a car.

• 16:03Speaker 02

  How in the world do you do your job?

• 16:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:06Speaker 02

  Oh my God. You get really carsick? Go on.

• 16:08Speaker 00

  Randall, I had no idea. Cause when, so many times when we filmed in cars, we just looped. We did a circle and I would get nauseous just doing the circle.

• 16:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:19Speaker 00

  Let alone only with one eye.

• 16:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. No, I get really carsick. And I remember every time Chris, Chris and Ed were helping me get, get the heavy camera out and helping me come out there like, how you doing? You all right? You okay? I'm like, yeah, real good. And I would always, you know, last a couple of hours, but.

• 16:37Speaker 00

  We had, we had so many, we had so many driving scenes, Randall. I never knew this.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 16:43Speaker 00

  Oh my gosh.

• 16:44Speaker 01

  Yeah. I was getting a little green at times back there. I was just kind of sweating a lot.

• 16:50Speaker 00

  Well, thank you because it really did produce some amazing, amazing things.

• 16:57Speaker 01

  It was fun.

• 16:58Speaker 00

  I know we're sort of talking about like difficult camera positions and stuff, but Randall, you have to share with everybody. You introduced us to the pootie scootie.

• 17:11Speaker 01

  The pootie scootie.

• 17:12Speaker 00

  But did you invent that? Was that something Dale made for you?

• 17:16Speaker 01

  Dale made it for us. I, I, we were like, I would love to be able to scoot around the office at actor level and move, you know, not like on a dolly. And we just wanted to be quick and nimble. And also so that I can react to it as opposed to communicating to a grip that I need to move back a foot because I'm going to pan to the left. We never would have gotten there. So Dale built those. And it was great. That thing worked really, really well. It was so fun.

• 17:44Speaker 00

  It was like a rolling box. And then they eventually got you a little cushion on top of it.

• 17:49Speaker 01

  Those were the days.

• 17:50Speaker 02

  Yeah, those were the days. And you could spin around. It was like, kind of like a stool, but a little better than a stool for you, because I think it was like, square.

• 17:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:01Speaker 02

  Did you take the pootie scooty with you when you left the office?

• 18:04Speaker 01

  I didn't. I didn't.

• 18:05Speaker 02

  You didn't?

• 18:07Speaker 01

  No. No. And since, and since then, I've had other pootie scooties built for me, and they just weren't the same.

• 18:13Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 18:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:17Speaker 02

  Well, I feel like something I want to tell our audience is how incredibly rare it is for a cinematographer to also operate the camera. And it sounds like, Randall, you fought so hard to always keep that camera in your hands. You did not want to put it on sticks. You did not want to put it on a dolly. You were the operator. And in other projects I've done, it really is usually a cinematographer directing a camera operator. And they, they don't put their hands on the camera so much. It was like, this really cool thing.

• 18:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think there's always an element of disconnect. Because on traditional shows, there's like, eight to 10 people, just, you know, who are looking after two cameras. And on our show, our camera department was four. It was me, and Matt, and Chris, and Ed. And Matt and I pulled our own focus, and we pulled our own iris. I would set the look for the cameras, you know, I would program the cameras what we wanted them to look like, and how we wanted them to match. And then the rest of the stuff was just worked out in post. But Matt and I thought it was really important to pull our own focus and pull

• 19:29Speaker 01

  our own iris. I also think there's, again, a level of intimacy, when the operator is part of the scene, and is also listening to the scene. And that's something that doesn't happen on a lot of shows, is quite often, a lot of shows, the DP doesn't listen to the words. And I wonder, how do you know what to do?

• 19:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 19:49Speaker 01

  Because, coming up in documentaries, I didn't know what to shoot, until my sound man put the boom up and said, this is a relevant conversation. You should be shooting this, idiot. Don't shoot that. So, I still, hey, when I operate, I wear an earpiece, so I'm hearing what's going on, so that I can finesse what I'm doing.

• 20:09Speaker 02

  Now, Randall, sometimes on our set, things got a little physical. Who Ran into you. Who did you collide with the most?

• 20:16Speaker 01

  You know, I think I said, I sent myself to the floor in the fire one. I remember that I was backing up through, through the kitchen and I fell and I, I think I hit the ground, but I'm not real sure. But I'm a 200 pound human being and the camera's 38 pounds. And I remember Chris Workman, who's a very strong person. I think he picked me up with one hand and I just kept rolling.

• 20:43Speaker 01

  Pick me up with one hand like, oh, did I fall? And I just kept going with the scene. Cause I'm like, I think I fell.

• 20:49Speaker 02

  And Randall, that's the footage that stayed in. Yes, we use the take of you falling and getting back up. It was incredible. I remember being there and seeing it out of the corner of my eye and thinking, should we, are we still going? Because Randall is on the floor. Oh no, Randall's up. Randall's up. All right. We're going to continue.

• 21:09Speaker 01

  Yep. That was Chris Workman just lifting me up like a little rag doll and I'm letting me go. I was just back on my feet. Anyway, one thing I remember is in Benihana, I fell on the pootie scooty. I remember the last thing I saw was Steve just going, no.

• 21:28Speaker 01

  And, and it was always that. It was always Steve like, no, I got you.

• 21:33Speaker 02

  I want to ask this question. In addition to saving your life in that scene, Chris Workman also used to bring you this drink on set. And Angela and I need to know more about it. It looked like it was like fruit and water. What was this drink? Was this your special camera operator fuel?

• 21:53Speaker 01

  You see, that's the difference between being out in the hot sun in Thailand and shooting people on a beach and being in the office. I would not get the same type of beverages out there.

• 22:07Speaker 01

  You know, that was one of the perks, one of the perks. I mean, season three, I would have, I would have them, I liked bubbly water.

• 22:13Speaker 00

  Yes, I was gonna say, I remember it was fizzy.

• 22:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, I sound like such a fancy man. I like bubbly water and I would have Chris bruise the fruit and put it in the, in my water for me. And so I would have real fruit flavored bubbly water. Now, if that's not living, that's not a sign of success. I don't know what is.

• 22:35Speaker 00

  I love it. Chris made me one one time because I was like, Chris, where do you keep bringing Randall? I want one. And then he just sort of slyly slid one on my desk. I was like, it was so refreshing. I stand by it, Randall. I think it's a great move. And you know, you're not, you're not too fancy on your pootie scooty with your bubbly water.

• 22:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:56Speaker 00

  Okay, Randall, we do ask our guests this. Did you take anything from the set when the show wrapped, when you were done? We all took a little something. Did you take something?

• 23:06Speaker 01

  I didn't. I didn't take anything.

• 23:08Speaker 00

  What? Randall!

• 23:10Speaker 01

  I was always hoping for a season 10, so I just didn't want to preserve that and make sure that I didn't screw it up. And if I took a pencil holder that we, you know, we wouldn't come back. I didn't. I didn't take anything. I swear.

• 23:21Speaker 00

  In hindsight now, if you could have taken something, what would you have taken?

• 23:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, I put my plaque with my name on it. I think that was pretty cool. I don't know what I would take. Toaster oven from the fire.

• 23:32Speaker 00

  Yeah, there you go. Nice. Well, we should share with our listeners, and I think, you know, a lot of Office Ladies fans will know this, that Randall, you went on and now are a prolific director and you're directing all kinds of amazing shows. And I got to work with you post office on Wilfred. That was really fun.

• 23:54Speaker 01

  Weird little show.

• 23:55Speaker 00

  Weird little show, but such a fun group of people. I was just there one day, but I loved the vibe on that set. But you are, you are just out there crushing it, as the kids say.

• 24:09Speaker 00

  Randall, do you have any upcoming projects or anything we can share with everyone to check out?

• 24:14Speaker 01

  I don't direct as much as I used to. I have an overall development deal. So I'm developing for ABC.

• 24:21Speaker 00

  Development is very cool. I love development. So we will be looking for your projects coming out and I can't wait. Randall, your sparkly blue eye is a delight to see. Both of them. We normally saw one of them, but both of them are wonderful to see.

• 24:36Speaker 02

  Yes, Randall, thank you so much for taking this time to deep dive with us. I've been so looking forward to this. And thank you too for letting us email you and for when you've hopped on the phone with me to tell me tidbits behind the scenes. You've helped made this podcast even better. So thank you.

• 24:55Speaker 01

  Thank you. It's been, it was a really special time and to get to relive it, I'll do that any chance I get. So keep calling.

• 25:03Speaker 00

  Well, we will. I was about to say, Jenna, we're not done calling him. It's nice that you're thanking him, but we have a lot more to ask you over these next, I don't know how many episodes. Two more years?

• 25:14Speaker 01

  There's one thing I'd love to say.

• 25:15Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 25:16Speaker 01

  I remember when I first started getting into directing, Greg Daniels is absolutely how I got into directing. Greg came to me when we were shooting The Office. He says, you're telling jokes with the camera. I said, thank you. Yes, I am. I'm trying to. He says, you should direct some. Like, that sounds cool. Yeah, I'd love to. And Greg gave me the opportunity to start directing. And I remember that the cast was, everybody was so supportive. Everybody wanted to see me succeed. And that meant a lot. That meant a lot to feel so supported and have everybody ensuring that I succeeded and were in collaborating

• 25:56Speaker 01

  with me. And that was very, very special. And then I remember when I wanted to start to do more directing elsewhere, and I think the first thing I did was It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And I remember, wow, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask Greg if I can go direct another show. And I remember Greg's response was, absolutely. Yeah, that's fantastic. You just totally go do that. You should definitely go direct some other shows. And when you come back, we'll be here. We'll be here. We'll open arms. Just go direct other shows and come back to us when you can. And who does that?

• 26:33Speaker 01

  Nobody does that in Hollywood. Nobody does that in Hollywood. How's Greg?

• 26:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, Greg was always very, very, very excited for us to broaden our horizons. And he was so encouraging of us all as artists to meet that next new milestone. And you're right, like you don't, you don't find that a lot.

• 26:59Speaker 01

  You don't.

• 27:00Speaker 00

  He's also so generous and you know, even still, when Jenna and I were going to do this podcast, you know, we were like, gosh, you know, we're not the experts on the office. We're not. We're just two gals who became best friends, doing this fantastic, amazing show. And he was like, I love it. Like he was so supportive.

• 27:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:20Speaker 02

  Yeah. He was like, ask me any questions. You want me to send you pictures? I've got pictures from the pilot.

• 27:26Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 27:27Speaker 02

  We were like, yeah.

• 27:28Speaker 00

  He's so caring and supportive of our office family. Whatever it is we're doing, he's going to watch it. He'll tell you his thoughts on it. He'll answer questions for you and it is special. It is really special.

• 27:41Speaker 01

  We all made it special, but Greg was absolutely, he was setting a very, very fine example by his inclusive attitude. Anybody's idea was worth it for Greg. He's a good guy.

• 27:52Speaker 00

  You're a good guy, buddy. You are.

• 27:57Speaker 02

  And Randall, we definitely will have you back. We want you to come break down one of the episodes that you directed.

• 28:03Speaker 01

  I'd love to. That sounds fun.

• 28:04Speaker 02

  Oh, good. All right, Randall. Take care.

• 28:07Speaker 01

  Nice to hang out with you all.

• 28:08Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 28:09Speaker 01

  All right. Bye bye.

• 28:20Speaker 02

  Oh my gosh, Angela, so great getting to see Randall over Zoom. And guys, we'll post a picture of that on Office Ladies Pod so you can see the blue eyes we spoke so much about. Yes. And just like the cool vibe Randall always has.

• 28:36Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 28:37Speaker 02

  Randall, thank you.

• 28:38Speaker 00

  Fantastic.

• 28:40Speaker 02

  All right, well, lady, let's get started breaking down the second half of season three, starting with back from vacation. We've got some Spam news.

• 28:49Speaker 00

  Yes, we do.

• 28:51Speaker 02

  You guys might remember that Spam featured very heavily in this episode. Michael throws a party in the warehouse and he tells the party planning committee he wants a pig, but all they can find is Spam. And we had a lot of questions about Spam as we were breaking down this episode. And thankfully, we got a lot of mail.

• 29:09Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 29:09Speaker 02

  Angela.

• 29:10Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 29:11Speaker 02

  Did you know that Spam is a popular food in Hawaii, according to Kristin Ordoti and Viola Lee?

• 29:18Speaker 00

  I did know that, but yes, ladies.

• 29:21Speaker 02

  Andrea Richardson wrote in to say that Spam was introduced to Hawaii, Guam, and the other Pacific Islands during World War II because soldiers received it to eat in place of fresh meat. And it has been a staple of the Hawaiian diet ever since. She said that at one point, there was even a widespread hoarding of Spam and toilet paper for fear that shipments would stop when the war ended.

• 29:48Speaker 00

  Toilet paper hoarding. That sounds familiar.

• 29:50Speaker 02

  Trigger warning.

• 29:52Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 29:52Speaker 02

  And this is maybe the biggest news, Angela. Peggy S. and Emily Childs said there is a Spam museum in Austin, Hastings, Minnesota.

• 30:04Speaker 00

  I know that. You want to know how I know?

• 30:07Speaker 02

  You know, there's a Spam museum in Minnesota? Yes.

• 30:11Speaker 00

  How do you know? Okay, this is awesome. Listen to this. We got the loveliest letter from two sisters who are from Austin, Minnesota. I want to give a shout out to Laura and Amanda instead, who said that Austin is the birthplace of Spam. And in fact, the town is nicknamed Spam Town, USA. They wrote this, and I quote, "In the spirit of the podcast, let's start with a couple of fast facts." How cute are these girls? I love it. They're gonna give us some fast facts. I'm gonna read them off. Ready?

• 30:44Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 30:44Speaker 00

  Fast fact number one. On the days when Spam is being processed, everyone in town wakes up to the smell of bacon wafting over from the factory.

• 30:53Speaker 02

  Oh, my gosh. Michael would love that. Michael would have never burnt his foot on a George Foreman grill if he just lived in Austin, Minnesota.

• 31:00Speaker 00

  I know. Michael should have moved there instead of Colorado. Fast fact number two. Apart from the lingering scent of bacon, Spam plays a role in our lives in other ways, like our yearly Spam Jam Festival and the creative ways local restaurants incorporate Spam into their menus.

• 31:19Speaker 02

  I am going to a Spam Jam Festival.

• 31:21Speaker 00

  You are going. We are going. We are adding the Spam Museum to our list.

• 31:27Speaker 02

  Yes, but we have to go to the festival.

• 31:29Speaker 00

  Well, yeah, we gotta go for Spam Jam and then go tour the museum.

• 31:33Speaker 02

  I love it.

• 31:34Speaker 00

  Fast fact number three. 90% of Spam in 1941 went to the war effort. Our dad always tells anyone who will listen that, quote, "We wouldn't have made it through the war without Spam."

• 31:46Speaker 02

  Those are amazing Spam. Fast facts. Laura, Amanda, thank you. Applause.

• 31:52Speaker 00

  Applause, applause. And I want you guys to know Laura and Amanda sent me Spam socks. Okay, they have like a little Spam. I love them. I've already worn them. They sent you a Spam hat, so I gotta bring it over to you. And they sent us a photo at the Spam Museum. We're gonna put it in Office Ladies pod Insta stories.

• 32:11Speaker 02

  All right, here's our list. Are you ready?

• 32:14Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 32:14Speaker 02

  SAS Shoe Factory Tour.

• 32:17Speaker 00

  Got it.

• 32:18Speaker 02

  Hers Chip Factory Tour.

• 32:20Speaker 00

  Mmm.

• 32:20Speaker 02

  That Watermark Paper Factory in Italy.

• 32:24Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 32:25Speaker 02

  Spam Museum.

• 32:27Speaker 00

  Oh, and Yacht Factory.

• 32:29Speaker 02

  And should we go fishing with a Bassmaster?

• 32:32Speaker 00

  100%. Get me a Zera puppy on the line. Let's do it.

• 32:36Speaker 02

  All right.

• 32:36Speaker 00

  I don't even know what that is. I just remember that guy I dated in college had a Zera puppy or something when he went fishing, I think.

• 32:42Speaker 02

  What's a Zera puppy?

• 32:43Speaker 00

  I don't know. I think it was a hook that looked like a little fish that flopped around.

• 32:47Speaker 02

  Here's what I hear when you say that. I hear Zero Puppy.

• 32:51Speaker 00

  Zero Puppy.

• 32:51Speaker 02

  Give me a Zero Puppy.

• 32:53Speaker 00

  I don't know. I have no idea.

• 32:55Speaker 02

  Well, I don't know who's in charge of these kinds of things, but somewhere out there, someone would want to like finance our factory tour.

• 33:05Speaker 00

  Nat Geo.

• 33:06Speaker 02

  Nat Geo. Yo, Nacho, call us.

• 33:09Speaker 00

  Jenna, we could do a whole factories around the world with Jenna and Angela.

• 33:13Speaker 02

  Call us. We're in.

• 33:15Speaker 00

  We'd do it.

• 33:15Speaker 02

  Somebody must know someone there. Tell them.

• 33:18Speaker 00

  I would watch that show.

• 33:20Speaker 02

  Okay, lady, I think now you have some background catches for this episode.

• 33:24Speaker 00

  I do. I'm going to hit you up with them. All right, Christine Bird said at 12 minutes, 11 seconds, is Michael sitting in his office holding a bottle of chocolate sauce?

• 33:34Speaker 02

  Yes, great catch. I went back to this episode. I went right to that time code. It looks like a bottle of Hershey's chocolate sauce. Like, he's got it turned around so you don't see the label. He's holding that in one hand, but then if you look, there is the cap of it on his desk.

• 33:50Speaker 00

  Was he gonna take a big swig out of it, but then Dwight interrupted him?

• 33:54Speaker 02

  Oh, that's good.

• 33:55Speaker 00

  I screen grabbed it. I'll put it in stories.

• 33:57Speaker 02

  Well, Rebecca Lee has a palm tree sighting at 5 minutes, 4 seconds, when the group is all out in the parking lot. And Samantha Tucker saw a palm tree at 7 minutes, 21 seconds. Melissa C. wrote in to say that she is obsessed with looking for palm trees now, because you guys remember, we did not shoot this show in Scranton. We shot it in Southern California.

• 34:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 34:20Speaker 02

  And we tried to remove all our palm trees using CGI in post, but we did not always get them. So Melissa C. would like to propose a new element to our rewatch called Palm Tree Spotter.

• 34:32Speaker 00

  Oh, Melissa, I like it. I want to give a shout out to the underscore photographer. They shared some great details with us about the steel drum that Michael is playing when he sings Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot. They said it's actually called a steel pan and is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. Steel pan musicians are called panis, and it's widely regarded as the only major musical instrument to be invented in the 20th century.

• 34:59Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 35:01Speaker 00

  Good fastback there.

• 35:02Speaker 02

  I like that. All right, well, moving on to traveling salesman lady, we got a lot of mail about laundry and betrayal.

• 35:10Speaker 00

  Yes, we did.

• 35:11Speaker 02

  We went on quite a tangent in this episode.

• 35:14Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 35:15Speaker 02

  Shawna Z. said, I have never laughed so hard at a podcast as I did last night driving home when you guys were talking about funeral poses. I spit tea all over my steering wheel and windshield. F you, Larry.

• 35:32Speaker 02

  I'm so sorry we made you spit out your tea, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. And Angela C. said, please make laundry and betrayal into something real.

• 35:42Speaker 00

  I mean, it would be kind of fun if we wrote a like limited laundry and betrayal series and did it as a podcast.

• 35:48Speaker 02

  Amazing.

• 35:49Speaker 00

  We could get all of our friends to like hop on and play roles. It'd be so great.

• 35:53Speaker 02

  Well, for those of you who haven't heard what we're talking about, the whole Larry and Marjorie bit, you can go to this episode, Traveling Salesman, go to one hour, two minutes and 20 seconds, and you will hear the whole thing. All right, well, let's move on to The Return, which featured an interview with Ed Helms. So wonderful.

• 36:13Speaker 00

  So wonderful.

• 36:14Speaker 02

  A lot of people were curious why we didn't ask Ed how he came to be on The Office when we did our interview with him, because we usually lead with that.

• 36:23Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 36:23Speaker 02

  Well, that is because we covered Ed's origin story in The Merger. So if any of you missed that and you're wondering, I had interviewed Ed off air for The Merger. And Angela, you talked with Rashida, because those were the episodes where their characters first appeared. And I told his whole audition story in that episode, The Merger. So you can go back and check it out.

• 36:48Speaker 00

  Here's a fan favorite moment we failed to mention. Several people wrote in about the scene with Ryan and the lemonade. Brianna said, if you ladies revisited season three, I wanted to say the moment in the episode at 16 minutes 57 seconds, where Ryan draws a tilde and an accent on the lemonade, and then his face after was probably my favorite joke of the whole show. Do you remember this, Jenna? Okay, so in The Return, Oscar is back from his paid vacation that he was given because of Michael's offensive behavior, and Michael is going overboard with Oscar being back. He really wants him to feel welcome. So he decides, of course, we have to throw him a party. Michael says he wants it to be, and I'm quoting, "a celebration of Oscar,

• 37:29Speaker 00

  an Oscar night," that he wants it to be Oscar-specific, and that he wants to celebrate Oscar's Mexicanness.

• 37:37Speaker 00

  So at 16 minutes 56 seconds, you see the party planning committee. They're trying to decorate the conference room using Michael's ridiculous instructions. They don't know what to do. Ryan is using a Sharpie and he puts a tilde over the N and an accent over the E on the big, like, you know, bottle of lemonade, the soda bottle.

• 37:56Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 37:56Speaker 00

  And he looks to camera and he's like, I don't know. And he sets it down next to a sign that says Mexican Lemonade.

• 38:03Speaker 02

  I had completely forgotten about that moment. So Brianna, thank you for bringing it up to the top. A lot of people also wrote in to say that they wished we had discussed this Phyllis Talking Head from this episode.

• 38:17Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 38:18Speaker 02

  Which I love, and I'm bummed we didn't. This is the episode where Phyllis famously says Dwight has a big personality and I have a big personality. And sometimes when two people like that get together, it can be explosive.

• 38:35Speaker 02

  So good. Our writers were so good at writing our characters.

• 38:39Speaker 00

  So good, but I'm telling you, I actually texted Phyllis yesterday and just told her everything that comes out of her mouth is just gold. She is my favorite in this rewatch so far. She's who I gravitate towards. I just love her.

• 38:53Speaker 02

  We recently watched Inside Out as a family.

• 38:56Speaker 00

  Aww.

• 38:56Speaker 02

  And Phyllis is the little sad character in the girl's brain. She is so good in that, too.

• 39:03Speaker 00

  She's the heart of that.

• 39:05Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:05Speaker 00

  She made me cry in that.

• 39:07Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:07Speaker 00

  That's like a family favorite of ours.

• 39:09Speaker 02

  All right, well, in this episode Dwight goes to work at Staples and we had a fan catch from Elvira Lynn 84 that I loved. At nine minutes 23 seconds, the woman in Staples that's talking with Dwight was played by Charlotte Stewart, who played Ms. Beetle on Little House on the Prairie. We also heard from Jessie M. who said she noticed this as well. It might be a fun fact that only an older generation can appreciate. Guys, during this pandemic, my family did a re-watch of Little House on the Prairie.

• 39:46Speaker 00

  You know, I watched it growing up and my memories of Little House on the Prairie are like, the baby got a fever on Christmas Eve and Paul had to go out in the rainstorm and Nellie was always being mean and did it hold up?

• 39:58Speaker 02

  It does hold up, Ange, and it's a really weird thing to watch during current times. Because like this family, they're just on their own in their little farmhouse and the kids have to be friends with each other and it's just the family unit.

• 40:15Speaker 00

  Kind of all stuck together inside?

• 40:17Speaker 02

  Yes. And every once in a while, Paul will venture off to town and he'll bring back some special treat and it's all very exciting. I felt that very relatable.

• 40:29Speaker 00

  And I have to point out something. Jessie, who wrote in, her profile says she is, quote, "fueled by chocolate" and that really made me laugh. Jessie, I feel you. I feel you.

• 40:39Speaker 02

  I saw that too. Jessie, we're with you.

• 40:43Speaker 00

  We also got a lot of mail about the Jim and Pam prank on Andy. Now, this scene starts at 13 minutes 24 seconds, if you want to check it out. Jenna, if you remember, we kind of made fun, you and I, of Jim and Pam's lame spy skills, right?

• 40:59Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 40:59Speaker 00

  We had said that we thought it was silly that Jim went to all the effort to sneakily steal Andy's cellphone to then just hand it off to Pam, who then moments later, you know, gets up and then her and Jim walk through the bullpen and she hands it back to him.

• 41:14Speaker 02

  Right.

• 41:15Speaker 00

  Why?

• 41:16Speaker 02

  Well, many people disagreed with us and they had some theories of their own. Well, Anna White said she thinks Jim gives the phone to Pam so that Pam can get Andy's cellphone number off the phone in the first place. Cause how else would Jim know? She thinks Pam probably emails Jim the number so that he can start calling it after he puts it in the ceiling.

• 41:38Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm. Well, my one thought is Andy is the type of guy that gave every single person his cellphone number the first day.

• 41:47Speaker 02

  But that doesn't mean they saved it. That's true. That's true. But I just have this feeling that Andy has texted Jim like, "What up, my dog? Big tuna. Want to meet me for a beer? Big tuna. You gonna answer? Big tuna. Look at this crazy thing I saw on the internet. Big tuna." Well, I like these theories, but I think I'm gonna stand by my assessment that this was a lot of effort for a prank that could have been simpler. It's never about the prank. They just wanted to spend time together. You're right. Right? Okay, let's move on to Ben Franklin. You guys, big Ben Franklin news. We found Jackie DeBotton, Elizabeth the stripper.

• 42:27Speaker 02

  However, her last name is actually pronounced DeBotton, Jackie DeBotton. But you might remember, she is in this episode. She is also in Fun Run, and then she's gonna pop up again in the finale. Spoiler alert. Yes, Jackie reached out to me on DM. I got her cellphone and we've been texting. She's so sweet. And she sent in some audio clips about what it was like working on the show. Sam, can you play the clip?

• 42:53Speaker 03

  Hi, Office fans. It's Jackie DeBotton, AKA Elizabeth the stripper from The Office. Angela, Jenna, thank you so much for having me on your amazing podcast. I feel so honored to be here and talk about my memories from this iconic TV show. One thing I remember so clearly is just how warm and welcoming this entire cast was. You know, as a guest star actress, sometimes you come on and you feel like you're busting into somebody's family dinner. But these guys, from the second I got there, made me feel like part of the family and so creative and collaborative and nice to me. It was really such a great memory in that perspective.

• 43:37Speaker 02

  That is so sweet. I know. Well, in this next clip, she talks about what it was like working with Steve Carell and also a little bit about what it was like shooting those dance scenes in the warehouse. Sam, can you play that clip?

• 43:49Speaker 03

  He was so sweet and so polite. I would say the day that I had to do the lap dance in the warehouse, I was not that nervous. But I've also played a lot of strippers in my TV career. Ironically, I don't know why, because I'm actually an accountant in real life, but that's probably a different story. We had this amazing costume designer put together this business suit that had... So much Velcro on it. It was a challenge to get the ripped off at the right time. We had a couple of wardrobe malfunctions, but we did finally pull it off.

• 44:23Speaker 00

  Um, hold up. Jackie is an accountant in real life? Yes, Jackie is an accountant. She's a working actress and an accountant. Well, I also asked her if she still gets recognized and here's what she had to say.

• 44:37Speaker 03

  I do. I live in New York City now, have for the last eight years. And you know, as New York City is, there's always a ton of people and the stores on the street and I'll just have someone randomly in the middle of the day or just or in the restaurant just come up and go, oh, my God, you're the stripper from The Office, which makes me laugh. And but then, of course, I look around and you can see all these other people looking at me, just random strangers. And I feel like they might think that I'm like the stripper from like The Office, like their office or their office building. So I feel like I have to explain to them that I know it's the stripper from the TV show The Office. But yeah, these

• 45:22Speaker 03

  fans and these Office fans are the most amazing fans. They're so sweet and they always are asking me tons of questions about what it was like to be on the show and, you know, what it's like to work with all you amazing, famous people. And I'm just always so, you know, complimentary of telling them how nice everybody was to me. And that I'll always I'll always remember this one. Yeah, I guess that's it, ladies. I hopefully I get to see you all again. Wink, wink. You know, maybe you do that reunion show. Elizabeth could come back and maybe this time she gets her CPA or something. All right. All right. Love you, Office fans. Bye.

• 46:05Speaker 00

  Aw, thank you, Jackie. She was so sweet to send in those clips. Yes, Jackie, thank you. And Jackie texted me and she said, my niece is going to be so excited since she is the one to tell me to please check your DMs. So I just love that, that her niece is bugging her. So thank you to Jackie's niece for telling her to check her DMs. So we finally got to And Jackie said you can find her in a fun indie movie called Crappy Mother's Day, and she's the lead. She doesn't know when or where it'll end up. They just finished it, but be on the lookout for Crappy Mother's Day.

• 46:42Speaker 02

  Up next is Phyllis's wedding. Chris DeLuca had a very interesting theory about who broke wind in Phyllis's dressing room. Hmm. Chris says Phyllis gives a super quick glance right directly at the camera. Was she trying to blame the camera operator and trying to get them to take the blame? This is very interesting. I like this theory. I do, too. We forgot that there were more people in the room besides just Michael and Phyllis. Yes. Maybe a member of the documentary crew is the one who tooted. I think so. I love this idea. Chris, love it.

• 47:21Speaker 00

  Angela, we spoke a little bit in this episode about that fur handpiece. Lauren Ramirez wrote in to say it is called a muff. KK PL Watson went on to say they originally had a small zippered pouch inside where ladies could keep a handkerchief, lipstick, et cetera, in place of carrying a purse. Oh, I would like that. Well, dare I say, we also needed this because we had no pockets. Perhaps we had to invent a muff. Oh, man. Just give us some pockets and all of our problems will be solved. Give us some dang pockets. All right, Jenna, I think we should take a break. But before we do, I have to correct something I got wrong

• 48:04Speaker 00

  and revisited. Okay, this is a revisit of a revisited. So during our revisited with Dave Rogers, I mentioned I was in a Clay Walker music video and Nicole, Erica, Brandy, Hannah, April, and many more let me know I got the lyrics wrong to Clay Walker's song. Now, if you know me, you must know I can never get a song right. I know like three words of a song, and then I'm gonna botch it. It's sort of my, my superpower. Like, I will drive you crazy on a road trip because I'm, I just always get the lyrics wrong. So here it is, Clay Walker's song, "If I Could Make a Living Out of Loving You," not "I Could Make a Million Out of Loving You." Sam, can you play the clip?

• 48:59Speaker 02

  To be fair, Angela, if he made a million out of loving you, he would also make a living out of loving you. So.

• 49:07Speaker 00

  Right. Maybe he could flip it.

• 49:09Speaker 02

  You know, he says if he could make a living, he'd make a million.

• 49:14Speaker 00

  It's true.

• 49:14Speaker 02

  That's how much money he could make loving you.

• 49:17Speaker 00

  Well, I went back and watched the music video for this and I found the moment, the blurry moment where I'm in the video and I'm going to put it in our stories.

• 49:26Speaker 02

  Oh my gosh, I love these early acting jobs because this is reminding me of when I was a background extra for the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios.

• 49:36Speaker 00

  Ah, what a gig. Amazing.

• 49:39Speaker 02

  It was a gig. It really was. I got paid $100 to ride the Jurassic Park water ride. By the way, it's a water ride at Universal Studios for 12 hours.

• 49:51Speaker 00

  No.

• 49:52Speaker 02

  12 hours. And.

• 49:54Speaker 00

  No.

• 49:55Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 49:55Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah. Oh, you guys, wait, I have to put some context in this. I have done this ride. It has got such a huge drop.

• 50:03Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 50:03Speaker 00

  I've done it with the kids. We have, we, we bought the photo, you know, the photo when you do the drop and the kids faces, it's like horror. The drop is so much bigger than you can prepare for. And I got completely soaked. I had to go to the gift shop and I had to buy a pair of sweatpants to wear around the rest of the day because I was drenched.

• 50:22Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 50:23Speaker 00

  This was my first acting job when I arrived in Los Angeles. My friend and I both signed up.

• 50:27Speaker 02

  Oh, my God.

• 50:28Speaker 00

  We were so excited when we got to Universal Studios. As we're walking in, we passed by Arnold Schwarzenegger shooting baskets outside of a soundstage. We were like, we have arrived. This is going to be the best day ever. Woo. 12 hours later. Did you cry as you left?

• 50:47Speaker 02

  The difference of us walking to the gig and walking from the gig at the end of the day, we were so beaten down. I want to say at a certain point, they felt like they weren't getting on camera enough water splashing on us to indicate that it was a water ride.

• 51:03Speaker 00

  No.

• 51:04Speaker 02

  So the first thing they did was they had guys with buckets of water that they would just throw on us as we scooted by in the little boat.

• 51:12Speaker 00

  Oh, no.

• 51:13Speaker 02

  But at one point, not even that was enough. They got out what's called a water cannon.

• 51:19Speaker 00

  No.

• 51:20Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 51:20Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh.

• 51:21Speaker 02

  They shoot cannonballs of water at you.

• 51:26Speaker 02

  I can't believe I didn't just drive back to Missouri after that.

• 51:31Speaker 02

  This is being an actor. Yeah.

• 51:33Speaker 00

  12 hours. I rode that ride one time and I was like, I'm never doing it again.

• 51:38Speaker 02

  Well, if you see the commercial, there is a spot where you can pause and for one second, half of me is on screen. So lady, while you were dancing to this Clay Walker music video, I was getting hit by a water cannon. That's showbiz, folks.

• 51:56Speaker 00

  Oh, man.

• 51:58Speaker 02

  Well, let's take a break and we will come back and we'll start with business school.

• 52:11Speaker 02

  All right, we are back. We're going to start with business school. This is the episode with Pam's art show and we got mail, lady, from so many artists after this episode because they really connected with Pam.

• 52:24Speaker 00

  This is also the episode with the bat in the office and several people shared with us about having bats in their offices.

• 52:33Speaker 02

  What? Bats in their offices?

• 52:35Speaker 00

  Yes. Listen to this one. Kelly Rarden said, rewatching this episode gave me flashbacks of the time I was working alone in my office late at night during a thunderstorm and a bat started swooping at my head. I was on a tight deadline, so I had to dodge the bat for an hour while I tried to continue working. Kelly, did you? You get a rabies shot?

• 52:59Speaker 02

  I hope Kelly got a rabies shot, remember? You can't always feel it when they bite you.

• 53:03Speaker 00

  I know, they're sneaky. And speaking of bats, Kendra Zane said, I can't believe you guys didn't touch on the rabies foreshadowing with Meredith. Kendra, we totally should have. Great catch.

• 53:15Speaker 02

  All right, Angela, remember cocktails?

• 53:18Speaker 00

  Yes, I do.

• 53:19Speaker 02

  Michael goes to the party at David Wallace's house. Do you remember the creepy ghost lady in the background of Michael's talking head?

• 53:25Speaker 00

  How could I forget?

• 53:26Speaker 02

  So creepy. A lot of people wrote in to say they think it was someone from the catering staff.

• 53:32Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 53:33Speaker 02

  They noted that the woman is wearing the same burgundy top as the other caterers. And they think she's chopping something or maybe washing dishes because her shoulders and arms are kind of moving a little bit.

• 53:46Speaker 00

  You guys really, really gave this a once over. I mean, if you're clocking her shoulder movements, I'm impressed.

• 53:53Speaker 02

  Well, Mando said, the ghost from the talking head is also in the kitchen at 6 minutes, 33 seconds, as David's wife puts down Michael's potato salad. And Leslie Heath said, you can see her walk behind Michael and Jan at 14 minutes, 3 seconds.

• 54:08Speaker 00

  This is so much more than I ever thought we would know about this ghost woman.

• 54:12Speaker 02

  I know, it's so true. So not a ghost, member of catering staff.

• 54:17Speaker 00

  Okay. I've got a few more catches for you. Charlie said, I'd like to point out that when Jan presents Michael with their love contract, Michael says, I'm going to frame mine. In the later episode, The Deposition, when Jan is attempting to sue Dunder Mifflin, Michael presents the contract as evidence and it's in a black frame.

• 54:38Speaker 02

  Nice.

• 54:39Speaker 00

  It's so good, isn't it? And Chris G. says, you didn't mention the fact that Jan drove her own car to the party, but then rode home with Michael. What happened to her car?

• 54:51Speaker 02

  I had wondered about that, I have to say. I wondered, did they have to drive back to David Wallace's house and pick up her car? You know what I think she did? I think she sent Michael in a cab the next day to get her car.

• 55:03Speaker 00

  I think she drank too much wine and...

• 55:05Speaker 02

  Oh, well, that's for sure why Michael drove her, but

• 55:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 55:09Speaker 02

  how she retrieved her car? I bet she made Michael go get it.

• 55:12Speaker 00

  And then I bet Michael made Dwight go get it. Exactly, exactly.

• 55:17Speaker 02

  Well, moving on to the negotiation, my pockets soapbox got a lot of mail. In support of my position, one of my favorites came from Melanie Vergara, who said, ladies, I feel so strongly about the symbology of pockets that I refuse to even consider buying a wedding dress without pockets. And I found the wedding dress of my dreams. It has pockets. She's gonna wear it this year.

• 55:44Speaker 00

  I mean, a wedding dress with pockets is pretty phenomenal.

• 55:47Speaker 02

  Yeah. Well, Kenny, who is a historian, wrote in and had a correction for us. Kenny says, women had pockets throughout history until the 1800s, when for various complicated and mostly sexist reasons, women lost their pockets. So yes, the lack of pockets is a sexist thing, but the 400 years ago thing is wrong. It's more like 200. Secondly, she says, corsets were not bad for you. In fact, they gave you great back support. The reason corsets hurt people today is because they either haven't broken them in, the same way you have to break in a stiff material shoe before they're comfortable, or because they are not fitted properly, because people today don't realize

• 56:30Speaker 02

  the absolute importance of a well-fitted corset. And that she would personally take a corset over a bra any day.

• 56:39Speaker 00

  Wow. That's a lot of information there.

• 56:41Speaker 02

  Kenny, I could not love this letter more. Thank you very much. Although I do have to say, having worn many corsets for acting projects over the year, perhaps they were ill-fitted. I'm gonna go ahead and take a bra.

• 56:53Speaker 00

  You're gonna take a bra over a corset?

• 56:55Speaker 02

  I'm gonna take a sports bra, if I'm being honest. I don't even want any of the underwire if I can avoid it.

• 57:02Speaker 00

  You're gonna go uniboob and be fine with it?

• 57:05Speaker 02

  Here's the thing, when I get dressed in the mornings, I like to get dressed as if I might have to break into a full sprint at some point in the day. Okay?

• 57:15Speaker 00

  Your panic button is ready. If you need to run, if you need to haul ass.

• 57:19Speaker 02

  Yeah, I'm dressed for it. If there's an apocalyptic event, I'm ready. Men are naturally dressed this way. Truly, a man could pretty much break into a sprint. Pretty easily, right? Well, I want to survive end of times, a possible mugging, I don't know. So no corsets, no Spanx, no high heels for me. I need to run to my bag of expired medication, my book bag with my protein bars, my backpack with the solar panel so I can charge my phone, it's full. You know what I have in my emergency backpack, Angela? We live in Southern California, but I have four of those foil blankets

• 58:02Speaker 02

  that you wrap around yourself, like for extreme cold temperature? Because you don't know. You don't know the weather shift that's going to happen if a meteor hits the earth.

• 58:12Speaker 00

  This is like that Jake Gyllenhaal movie, The Day After Tomorrow, where, you know, all of a sudden this like crazy Arctic storm freezes all of New York City.

• 58:21Speaker 02

  Right, I would have a foil blanket for that. And I would have comfortable clothing with giant pockets. I would be as ready as possible. You see what I'm saying? I can't wear a corset.

• 58:30Speaker 00

  I do. No, you can't. You can't wear a corset. Jenna, you know, my theory on all of this is like what they say about a bear attack. You only have to run faster than one other person.

• 58:43Speaker 02

  I only have to be faster than one other person in the pack and I'll be okay. It's so interesting they didn't use that quote in The Edge. They went with what one man has done, another can do. But yours is also very inspiring.

• 58:59Speaker 00

  Okay. Well, Jenna, it was also during the negotiation that we discussed our love of Keanu Reeves movies. And last week, we found out that you have not been watching John Wick.

• 59:11Speaker 02

  I'm so sorry.

• 59:13Speaker 00

  Well, I guess there are a few Keanu Reeves slash The Office crossover connections.

• 59:20Speaker 02

  What?

• 59:20Speaker 00

  We are like six degrees separation of Keanu Reeves. We almost know him.

• 59:25Speaker 02

  What?

• 59:26Speaker 00

  Ready?

• 59:27Speaker 02

  Wait, I could blow your mind right now.

• 59:29Speaker 00

  What? Have you met him? Jenna Fisher, have you met Keanu Reeves?

• 59:34Speaker 02

  No, but I was at a birthday party with him for a mutual friend. But I never got up the courage to cross the room and introduce myself. And this happened like recently, like before coronavirus.

• 59:46Speaker 00

  I have no words.

• 59:47Speaker 02

  Did I forget to tell you that?

• 59:49Speaker 00

  What is wrong with you? How could you forget to tell me this? We have talked for six months about Keanu Reeves.

• 59:56Speaker 02

  I know. And you know, it's really weird because when you told me I had a Keanu Reeves office connection, I got really excited because I think I'd forgotten that I had actually been in the same room with him once.

• 1:00:06Speaker 00

  Well, I have one Keanu Reeves story. I guess I haven't shared it with you. I don't know why we don't share with each other about our Keanu Reeves stories.

• 1:00:15Speaker 02

  What's happened to us?

• 1:00:16Speaker 00

  We used to be best friends. What's going on? In my early twenties, I was performing improv at I O West in Hollywood. And I was at a red light crossing the street to go to the theater with Wyatt Sinak. Some of you guys might know Wyatt. He is very funny, talented comedian performer. And we were standing on the street corner and like an SUV pulled up. And in the passenger seat was Keanu Reeves. And I was prime Kinsey twenties, tanked up, little shorts.

• 1:00:46Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 1:00:47Speaker 00

  Right? And Wyatt Sinak goes, oh my God, it's Keanu Reeves. And I was like, huh? And he goes, he just checked you out. Kinsey, he just checked you out. I was like, no, Wyatt, if you're making this up, you better not be messing with me. And then the car pulled away. But he was like, no, Ange, Keanu Reeves looks you up and down. I was like, no. I don't know if this is true.

• 1:01:09Speaker 02

  No, you make that true. You make that true.

• 1:01:12Speaker 00

  That's true.

• 1:01:12Speaker 02

  It's now part of my personal history.

• 1:01:14Speaker 00

  It's your personal history and you can hold that forever.

• 1:01:17Speaker 02

  Wyatt, thank you. All right. Well, what are the Keanu Reeves office connections?

• 1:01:22Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 1:01:22Speaker 02

  Cause I want to know.

• 1:01:23Speaker 00

  Here are our crossover connections. Ally Lincoln said. I have a correction. Speed is fantastic, but peak Keanu Reeves hotness includes David Denman in the replacements. If you don't get the chills when David as Brian scores a touchdown, you're broken.

• 1:01:42Speaker 02

  Wait, so David Denman knows Keanu Reeves. Why didn't we talk to David about Keanu Reeves? Why haven't we been exploiting this relationship?

• 1:01:50Speaker 00

  Exactly. Okay. And a great catch by Drew Knox. They say the movie Speed features the amazing Beth Grant, who later appears in a couple of episodes with you all, most notably in the dinner party as Dwight's date slash ex babysitter Melvina.

• 1:02:07Speaker 02

  Yes. Yes.

• 1:02:10Speaker 00

  Applause. That is fantastic.

• 1:02:12Speaker 02

  She is the woman who's very, very nervous about getting off the bus and walking across the little plank.

• 1:02:18Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 1:02:19Speaker 02

  To the other speeding vehicle with the police.

• 1:02:21Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh. I got, that is just really good Keanu office crossover.

• 1:02:27Speaker 02

  I'm moving us along to safety training. Angela, you told the story about how your mom gets people's names wrong. Yes. You gave an example of how your mom would call your friend Bart Mart. She called him Mart. We asked who would ever name their kid Mart.

• 1:02:44Speaker 00

  I think you asked that.

• 1:02:45Speaker 02

  I did. I did ask that.

• 1:02:48Speaker 00

  Me just throwing you under the bus.

• 1:02:50Speaker 02

  Well, it's fine because after we recorded that day, I was curious and I Googled it. And apparently a lot of people in Estonia name their children Mart. And two of Estonia's prime ministers have been named Mart. Mart Siliman and Mart Lar.

• 1:03:09Speaker 00

  Mart Lar.

• 1:03:10Speaker 02

  Mart Lar. He is a prime minister, former prime minister of Estonia.

• 1:03:15Speaker 00

  There you go.

• 1:03:16Speaker 02

  We also wondered, and Angela, we both wondered, why Andy brought his lunch to work on a plate covered in foil?

• 1:03:23Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 1:03:24Speaker 02

  Many people, including Lee Miller, Shaylee Taylor, Hannah Ermy, and Megan Bennett said it was the plate of cookies that Andy brought to share with everyone. It was a deleted scene.

• 1:03:36Speaker 00

  Mmm. Yes, it was. You're so right. I should have caught that.

• 1:03:40Speaker 02

  Prison Mike added, the people who brought their lunch to work on a plate covered in foil were Roy and Pam. Remember when they were eating their way through all of their unused reception meals?

• 1:03:50Speaker 00

  Oh, that is right. Yes, I remember that storyline now. All right, we have more to cover.

• 1:03:56Speaker 02

  Next up is women's appreciation. Oh gosh, we had some interesting mail on this one. Yes. You might remember that in women's appreciation, Phyllis gets flashed in the parking lot. And this leads Dwight to setting up a hotline to find the predator. And he holds up a flyer in the episode and it has a phone number very clearly printed on it. And when the episode aired, we shared that if you called that number, you heard a voicemail from Dwight. Well, apparently the phone number on that flyer is now, wait for it, a sex hotline. Yes. So I am filing this under, I don't know, what should I file it under? OMG.

• 1:04:38Speaker 02

  Sarah wrote in and said, I called the hotline number from this week's episode. It is a sex call line. Oh, the irony. Guess it's no longer to report flashing now. Jenna. What? I called the number too. You did not. I did. I had to know. I had to know. Okay. It's the 800 number on the flyer that's on the prop, right? Yes. So Sam, I want you to call this number.

• 1:05:06Speaker 00

  Welcome to America's hottest talk line. Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you. Press one now. Ladies, to talk to interesting and

• 1:05:16Speaker 02

  Wow. Guys, welcome to the hottest text line. Let me ask you a question. Yeah. That voice is often used when women are being flirtatious and coy. Men, do you like that voice? Does that voice turn you on? Hi, what is up right now? Uh, what is up right now is what I want to know. Are you up right now? I mean, is that, is that getting you there? That voice gets you there? Sorry, lady on sex hotline, but I feel like she's putting on like sexy voice. Uh-uh. I think that's how she talks in real life. I think when she goes to the grocery store, she's like, What is your price on avocados this week? Well, I hope she's not talking to the grocery store workers about that because they're all going to get so turned on.

• 1:06:01Speaker 02

  Okay, and a lot of people wished we had discussed a certain scene in the food court where Pam and Karen have very different opinions on Michael's relationship with Jan. Sarah Gray, MC, Michelle G, Nicole Clem, Armand, Yessenia P, Emily Lucille, and Alexis Leary, and many more, all said, when Karen says, sometimes you just have to push through rough patches, and Pam says, maybe it sounds like you two are just wrong for each other, and then they share an awkward look. I really wanted to hear you guys break that down.

• 1:06:41Speaker 00

  All right, this is a missed opportunity because I do have thoughts.

• 1:06:45Speaker 02

  Well, I'm sure you probably did. Here's what I find interesting. I think it's really interesting that their advice to Michael seems to be kind of the opposite of how we've seen them in their own relationships. I feel like Pam was always pushing through rough patches, you know? And Karen always felt to me like the example of a more kind of assertive empowered woman who would say, listen, maybe this just isn't a match. So I found it interesting that their advice to Michael was a little different than how maybe they live their own lives.

• 1:07:19Speaker 00

  Yeah, I mean, they're both just speaking where they're at. That's what I thought.

• 1:07:24Speaker 02

  Well, it's true. I think Karen has been in a giant rough patch with Jim from the beginning that she keeps trying to convince herself that this is a great relationship for her. So I think there's some truth in that.

• 1:07:36Speaker 00

  Yeah, and Pam is finally done doing that.

• 1:07:39Speaker 02

  You're right.

• 1:07:39Speaker 00

  She's living a more authentic life. She can be more honest with herself, and so she's more honest with others.

• 1:07:45Speaker 02

  Yeah, I hear that, too.

• 1:07:47Speaker 00

  In the same episode, Karina and Maggie wrote in and said they were sad that we did not discuss Angela's large colonial doll's talking head. I was too, Jenna. I was bummed after the fact. I was like, oh, my gosh, that's like one of my favorite talking heads, and I can't believe I didn't talk about it.

• 1:08:04Speaker 02

  I think we just had so much to cover in this episode.

• 1:08:06Speaker 00

  So that we didn't get to everything.

• 1:08:08Speaker 02

  I agree.

• 1:08:09Speaker 00

  But this is for Karina and Maggie. Sometimes the clothes at Gap Kids are just too flashy. So I'm forced to go to the American Girl Store and order clothes for large colonial dolls.

• 1:08:20Speaker 02

  I'll have you know, there is no way you could fit into that doll clothing. I mean, you are tiny, yes, but I feel like I could put that clothing on my cat. It's very tiny.

• 1:08:33Speaker 00

  I know, it's so ridiculous.

• 1:08:35Speaker 02

  Oh, oh, and I have to point out one thing on a personal note. This is one of the only episodes that I actually wore pantyhose in. I knew I would be cold at this mall. Jenna, this was our mall. We know this mall. I always freeze.

• 1:08:48Speaker 00

  It's cold.

• 1:08:49Speaker 02

  And I decided to wear pantyhose. You can see them when I'm seated, talking to Michael in Victoria's Secrets.

• 1:08:56Speaker 00

  Yes. Meanwhile, I've had pantyhose on for three years because I didn't know that you could just refuse to wear them.

• 1:09:04Speaker 02

  All right, moving into beach games. This was a very big episode and we really did try to cover everything. Again, we missed a few things. We got some mail about the scene where the group arrives at Lake Scranton. So the bus has just parked. Everyone's filing off the bus. Fan question from Alyssa Jessel, Joel M. and Jen Sealy. As Michael gets off the bus, he says, watch out for snakes and he kind of mugs for the camera. Well, this line actually comes from the movie E-Gah. Let me spell that for you. It's E-E-G-A-H. This movie was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and that line has become a running joke. So these guys want to know, was the line written or improvised?

• 1:09:49Speaker 02

  Do we think that Michael liked the movie E-Gah? Or do we think maybe Michael is a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000? Guys, we asked Jen Salata, writer of this episode, and she said this was 100% a coincidence. It was not intentional. When Michael says, watch out for snakes, getting off the bus, that line was written because she just thought it would be really funny. If the first thing Michael says to us as we arrive at the beach is something that would make the beach completely not fun, which would be snakes.

• 1:10:20Speaker 00

  Right.

• 1:10:20Speaker 02

  She also said that, I guess, there was a real warning to watch out for snakes, the cast and crew.

• 1:10:28Speaker 00

  Yes. I wanted to take a second and mention one of my favorite deleted.

• 1:10:33Speaker 02

  Talking heads from this episode. They're all talking about if Jim would be a good boss or not, right? Yes, because he's up for this job at corporate, right? That's right. He's up for the job. And Phyllis says in a talking head to camera, I think Jim would be a good boss. Plus, he's eye candy. It's okay. Bob Vance knows he's on my list. George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Jim, and that British guy who got in trouble with the prostitute. I guess that would be Hugh Grant. Wow. And Bob knows. Bob knows and he's okay with it. Okay, so Meredith hits on Jim to sign her cast. Phyllis has Jim on her list. Yeah. Wow. Phyllis.

• 1:11:18Speaker 02

  The ladies are going after your fella. More fan mail lady from Krista K. She says, I believe it was Jenna that equated walking over lava stones to walking on Lego bricks. I wanted you guys to know that doing a Lego walk, which is walking endlessly on Lego bricks, is actually a thing that happens during Lego fan conventions. Krista said she tried it once and failed miserably, but her husband did all right one year. And during last year's Philly Brick Fest, the Guinness World Record was set at 2,737 feet. But listen to this. That record was shattered on November 20, 2020 by someone named LA Beast,

• 1:12:01Speaker 02

  who took a video of themselves walking 12,750 feet over a bunch of Lego. And there's a video on YouTube, but she said it's like an hour long. That is crazy. Someone walked on Legos for an hour? All I could think of as a parent was, oh, my God, who had to pick up all those stinking Legos when it was done? Yeah. That's a lot of Lego pickup. It really is. Moving us along now to the job. Fan catch from Erica Jane. My thought was that maybe this episode is called The Job, not because of all the people who are vying for the corporate job, but because of Jan's boob job.

• 1:12:44Speaker 02

  I saw a few people. Sort of had this idea and it cracked me up.

• 1:12:47Speaker 00

  I know.

• 1:12:48Speaker 02

  It is a bit of a double entendre.

• 1:12:50Speaker 00

  Double entendre.

• 1:12:52Speaker 02

  Yeah. This episode also featured a really great interview with Paul Lieberstein. We got a bunch of mail from people saying how much they loved hearing from him. And lady, we also had people write in and say that they love our tangents, our soapboxes, our deep dives, because you apologized, because I think you felt a little self-conscious when you were sharing about the limelight, the club inside of the Gothic cathedral.

• 1:13:17Speaker 00

  Yes, I went on for a long time and then I realized like, oh my gosh, am I, am I talking too much about this?

• 1:13:22Speaker 02

  Well, this feeling of being self-conscious and trying not to apologize for things you don't need to apologize for really resonated with people. And I am very happy to see that we are all going to work on this together.

• 1:13:34Speaker 00

  Yes, we are.

• 1:13:35Speaker 02

  Well, guys, that pretty much wraps it up. But before we go, we did get a question for our sound engineer, Sam. Sarah Vikari would like to know, where are you from in Wisconsin?

• 1:13:47Speaker 04

  Oh, I am from Watertown, Wisconsin. It's halfway between Madison and Milwaukee. And our mascot was a Gosling. It was a very intimidating baby goose in a sweater.

• 1:13:56Speaker 00

  Oh, go baby goose in your little sweater.

• 1:13:59Speaker 02

  Angela's doing some candlesticks as she cheers that cheer for your tiny goose.

• 1:14:04Speaker 00

  Jazz hands.

• 1:14:06Speaker 02

  And speaking of local treasures, I wanted to give a shout out to Christie Adventures. She sent us a walking tour guide of Scranton. It's like a whole map. It's amazing. And I've already looked at it a few times.

• 1:14:17Speaker 00

  You gave me one and I literally love it.

• 1:14:21Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:14:21Speaker 00

  We will use that when we go.

• 1:14:23Speaker 02

  Well, there you have it, guys. We have revisited the second half of season three. Thank you to Randall Einhorn for talking with us. And thank you to Jackie Debatin for sending in those audio clips.

• 1:14:37Speaker 00

  Yes. And thank you to you all for sending in your questions and comments. There were a lot. We tried to get to as many as we could. I know we missed some, guys. I know we did. But, you know, we'll just keep chipping away at them.

• 1:14:48Speaker 02

  If you want to send us a question or comments, head over to the Office Ladies Pod Instagram. We check all our comments there. And if you go to our website, office ladies.com, you can find little folders that correspond to each episode. That's where we pull the questions for our regular episodes and for our revisited.

• 1:15:06Speaker 00

  Yes. And on Office Ladies Pod, if you could put your question or comment to the episode it pertains to, that way it has a better chance of making it in.

• 1:15:15Speaker 02

  Wait, wait, guys, that sounded like something I would say. Angela, am I rubbing off on you? You just directed people to an organizational technique. I've never been so excited.

• 1:15:31Speaker 00

  Oh, gosh, I didn't know that would do it for you like that. I'll throw out some more of my home organization tips, okay?

• 1:15:37Speaker 02

  Please. All right, guys, we will be back next week with a regular episode. Love you.

• 1:15:43Speaker 00

  Love you, guys. Take care.

• 1:15:51Speaker 02

  Thank you for listening to Office Ladies.

• 1:15:53Speaker 00

  Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.

• 1:15:58Speaker 02

  Our senior producer is Matt Beagle. And our audio engineer is Sam Pfeifer.

• 1:16:03Speaker 00

  Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis.

• 1:16:06Speaker 02

  Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.

• 1:16:09Speaker 00

  Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.