Second Drink: The Meeting

Today we’re breaking down “The Meeting”. Jim attempts to have a meeting with David Wallace to push for a promotion without Michael knowing, but of course, it quickly backfires. Meanwhile, Dwight and Toby team up to try to see if Daryl is faking a work injury, and Pam struggles to get RSVPs to her and Jim’s wedding. Jenna reminisces about the yellow pages, Angela discovers a unique wine inspired by a condiment and Andy has a lot to say about cheese. So can you RSVP to this episode? Ryan’s a maybe. 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

  Welcome back to our second drink of the meeting.

• 0:05Speaker 01

  I have a little behind the scenes tidbit that I discovered when I was looking back to our first table draft of this episode. This episode was originally titled Jim Goes For It.

• 0:17Speaker 00

  Well, that kind of feels very on the nose.

• 0:21Speaker 01

  It does. I guess the meeting is where we settled.

• 0:24Speaker 00

  Yeah. So we had a fan mail flurry for this one. Jenna, we both said we didn't know who Alan was. You know, the guy David Wallace says he has to run things by. We were both like, who the heck is Alan? And, you know, he's clearly in charge, but we said we had never heard of him, lady.

• 0:42Speaker 01

  Yeah. Who's Alan?

• 0:43Speaker 00

  Well, Sarah F., Marlon R., and many others wanted us to know that Alan is the CEO of Dunder Mifflin, and he is mentioned in the pilot episode of The Office. It's during Jan's meeting with Michael, and Jan says, Alan and the board have decided that we can't justify a Scranton branch and a Stanford branch.

• 1:03Speaker 01

  Well, who is David Wallace? David Wallace isn't the CEO.

• 1:07Speaker 00

  He's not. He's not. There's a lot of debate about it. There was a very funny back and forth I saw online where people are like, what exactly is David Wallace? Like, the role of CEO would never come in and have these like, talks with Michael.

• 1:22Speaker 01

  No, you're right.

• 1:23Speaker 00

  You know, just the way he pops in and out of the branch is not very CEO-like.

• 1:29Speaker 01

  I'm gonna look it up. I want to know.

• 1:31Speaker 00

  What his official title is?

• 1:33Speaker 01

  What is David Wallace's official title at Dunder Mifflin? Everyone hearing me?

• 1:43Speaker 00

  Oh, the CFO?

• 1:45Speaker 01

  And CEO.

• 1:47Speaker 00

  I know, but...

• 1:48Speaker 01

  He's the CFO from seasons two through six, and then he becomes the CEO?

• 1:55Speaker 00

  But there is a lot of online...

• 1:57Speaker 01

  Later?

• 1:57Speaker 00

  There's a lot of online chatter. People are like, listen, David was acting like the owner, the CEO, the CFO, the regional manager approving random expenses.

• 2:06Speaker 01

  I know.

• 2:07Speaker 00

  He was like, I mean, what is going on?

• 2:10Speaker 01

  This is very funny. Well, apparently Alan is the biggest deal.

• 2:15Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 2:15Speaker 01

  At Dunder Mifflin, and he and the board make the decisions.

• 2:19Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 2:20Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 2:20Speaker 00

  Okay. So we also got this question from Delaney B. in Lubbock, Texas. Delaney says, when Dwight finds out that Jim got their promotion, and Dwight has that talking head where he just screams and screams, was that scripted or did Rainn Wilson just make that up? Well, this is a great question, Delaney. I went to the script, and here's how it read in the shooting draft. Scene 46, Dwight talking head. A long, still silence. Then Dwight erupts in an enraged yell. Dwight, semicolon, "Ah!" Exclamation point. But, Delaney, there were candy bag alts that were, quote, "must shoot."

• 2:59Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 2:59Speaker 00

  So that means these actually got shot. Because sometimes we get pages and pages that we didn't even get to.

• 3:04Speaker 01

  Totally. It was like, if time permits.

• 3:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:07Speaker 01

  There was must shoot and if time permits.

• 3:09Speaker 00

  Yes. Here was must shoot. Dwight could have said, I was chasing mice in the corn crib while a fox was eating my mother's head.

• 3:18Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 3:19Speaker 00

  Or, this better be a motherfucking prank. Or, the one day I'm distracted is the one day Jim Halpert gets ambitious.

• 3:29Speaker 01

  That's funny to me.

• 3:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 3:32Speaker 01

  Well, Angela, we also had some fun banter in this breakdown. You really got into the whole Grey Poupon mustard mention in this episode, and Jessica E. wrote in with this hilarious story. This is amazing. She said that one day, her husband pulled up next to a Rolls Royce, rolled down his window, and asked for some Grey Poupon as a joke. Because you know, that's what the commercial was.

• 3:58Speaker 00

  Right.

• 3:58Speaker 01

  These two fancy cars pull up next to each other, and they ask for Grey Poupon. Well, Jessica goes on to say, as it turned out, in the backseat of the Rolls Royce was television actor, Erika Strada, and he had little bottles of Grey Poupon.

• 4:17Speaker 00

  That is just so, so amazing. That he was ready. He was ready for the day that someone said, pardon me, can I have your Grey Poupon? I mean, that is so funny to me.

• 4:30Speaker 01

  Does Rolls Royce have a partnership with Grey Poupon where like, if you buy a Rolls Royce, you get a few bottles of Grey Poupon?

• 4:38Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 4:39Speaker 01

  This is my question.

• 4:40Speaker 00

  I want them to bring those commercials back, but I want Erika Strada in them.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 4:45Speaker 00

  Well, we also talked about the storyline of Pam trying to get people to RSVP for her wedding so she can get a headcount. And lady, this sent us on a tangent about bugging the bride on the day of the wedding. And we got this amazing share from Melissa M., who said, for my wedding, I included a sheet in our hotel guest welcome bags that said, "Call anyone but the bride," and gave phone numbers of who to talk to instead for the wedding weekend. Isn't that so great?

• 5:16Speaker 01

  That is good. That is good. Well, everyone, please enjoy our second drink of the meeting.

• 5:27Speaker 01

  I'm Jenna Fisher.

• 5:28Speaker 00

  And I'm Angela Kinsey.

• 5:29Speaker 01

  We were on The Office together.

• 5:31Speaker 00

  And we're best friends.

• 5:32Speaker 01

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

• 5:36Speaker 00

  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.

• 5:43Speaker 01

  We're The Office ladies.

• 5:47Speaker 01

  Hello?

• 5:48Speaker 00

  Hi, you guys. I just want to say, I am so happy to be sitting across this recording booth table. Is it a...

• 5:56Speaker 01

  It's a table.

• 5:57Speaker 00

  Yeah. From my best friend this morning.

• 6:00Speaker 01

  Thanks, lady.

• 6:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:02Speaker 01

  I am super peppy this morning.

• 6:04Speaker 00

  That's awesome. I'm really peppy and I got no sleep, which means I'm more loopy than peppy, so buckle in.

• 6:12Speaker 01

  What is in store for us today?

• 6:14Speaker 00

  I don't know.

• 6:16Speaker 01

  Would you like an update on my contrast showers before we begin today?

• 6:20Speaker 00

  Uh, yeah.

• 6:22Speaker 01

  I've taken them to a new level. I don't shower anymore.

• 6:25Speaker 00

  I'm sorry, what?

• 6:26Speaker 01

  Well, I mean, I shower. For cleanliness, obviously. My way of doing the contrast hydrotherapy shower is now I sit in the hot tub, and it's super hot, and then I do a cold dip in our freezing cold swimming pool.

• 6:43Speaker 00

  Why, Jenna?

• 6:44Speaker 01

  It is so cold. I am on fire about it. This is unlocking something in me. I am like, I'm starting to read books about it.

• 6:55Speaker 00

  Wait, does this mean Office Ladies is gonna go somewhere like, really icy and do a polar bear plunge? Are we going to Finland? Are we gonna have a shot of like, some kind of alcohol and then jump in an icy lake?

• 7:07Speaker 01

  I don't know if I'm at icy lake yet. I mean, I'm at pretty cold. Would you do it, though?

• 7:12Speaker 00

  No.

• 7:13Speaker 01

  Here's the thing. Lee is really into it. Lee wants to talk to Josh about it because Josh, you know, is a super healthy guy.

• 7:20Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 7:21Speaker 01

  I think he's gonna get Josh to start doing it. Lee and I think maybe 2022, we might get you to do it, Ange.

• 7:26Speaker 00

  No way. I hate being cold.

• 7:28Speaker 01

  I want it to be something that you do.

• 7:30Speaker 00

  No.

• 7:32Speaker 01

  I don't know why.

• 7:33Speaker 00

  I don't want to do it.

• 7:35Speaker 01

  All right, fine.

• 7:36Speaker 00

  I would do it on a vacation. I am vacation adventurous. I am not day-to-day adventurous. All right. Take me, you know, somewhere Nordic. Maybe I'll jump in.

• 7:48Speaker 01

  All right.

• 7:48Speaker 00

  And holler after I've had a shot of something.

• 7:51Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 7:52Speaker 00

  That's probably not the health routine you want.

• 7:56Speaker 01

  Well, today, we are gonna talk about the meeting, which is season six, episode two. It is written by one of our favorite people, Erin Schur.

• 8:06Speaker 00

  Love him.

• 8:07Speaker 01

  And directed by one of our other favorite people, Randall Einhorn.

• 8:11Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 8:12Speaker 01

  Here's a summary. Jim meets with David Wallace about a possible promotion. Dwight and Toby join forces to investigate whether Daryl submitted a fraudulent medical claim, and Pam works to lock down her RSVPs for her and Jim's wedding.

• 8:28Speaker 00

  I found that storyline so relatable. Well, you just RSVP, people. Just RSVP.

• 8:34Speaker 01

  When Meredith says, I'll just text you the day of the wedding. I mean, did you get texts on the day of your wedding? Because I did.

• 8:41Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 8:42Speaker 01

  I was like, you may not be my friend anymore, person who texted me on my wedding morning to ask me about like, parking instructions.

• 8:49Speaker 00

  I got a text the morning of my wedding about, would this outfit be appropriate? What's the attire again? Is it real fancy, or could I wear something casual?

• 8:58Speaker 01

  See, now, listen, Ange, if you text me the morning of my wedding to ask me a question, that's fine.

• 9:03Speaker 00

  But you know what? I wouldn't. That's the difference.

• 9:07Speaker 01

  BFFs get a pass.

• 9:09Speaker 00

  BFFs do get a pass, but they also know better.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Yeah. Text another wedding guest. You know someone who's going? Text your most reliable friend who saved the invitation.

• 9:21Speaker 00

  Text the friend you know in the wedding party.

• 9:24Speaker 01

  Yeah. That's their job. Leave the bride and groom alone.

• 9:27Speaker 00

  Okay. We could really go off on that.

• 9:30Speaker 01

  I mean, listen, clearly, it meant so much to us. We moved it up to the top of the show. We didn't even wait to get to that scene.

• 9:37Speaker 00

  I know.

• 9:38Speaker 01

  All right, let's do some fast facts. Fast fact number one, this episode is going to kick off a major story arc for Jim, in which he becomes the co-manager of the Scranton branch. Now, this is also going to signal a wardrobe change for Jim. Did you notice?

• 9:56Speaker 00

  Boop, boop, boop, wardrobe change.

• 9:59Speaker 01

  Jim wears a jacket instead of his usual shirt and tie.

• 10:03Speaker 00

  Not just any jacket, a suit.

• 10:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, this is going to continue while he is co-manager. I guess jacket means you take things seriously.

• 10:11Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 10:12Speaker 01

  Look at Pam when she become a salesperson.

• 10:14Speaker 00

  They're the jacket couple now.

• 10:15Speaker 01

  We are. We're so cute. You know how Dwight wore his long sleeves for Charles Minor?

• 10:21Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  These are ways that our wardrobe department can really, you know, signal storytelling. I think it's very cool and I wanted to give them a shout out.

• 10:31Speaker 00

  Love it. Loved our wardrobe department. I loved that fast fact.

• 10:35Speaker 01

  Thank you, Ange. Fast fact number two, this episode is a very interesting pairing as part of its B story. This feels like one of those assignments that we've heard about, the taking of the two people, Dwight and Toby. When have we had a Dwight Toby huge storyline?

• 10:54Speaker 00

  I thought the same thing. They, they were on a card and they got sent off to the writer's pod.

• 10:59Speaker 01

  Now, this B story was also ranked number seven on Screen Rant's Best B Plots. Do you know what was number one?

• 11:07Speaker 00

  No.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  Dwight's concussion.

• 11:10Speaker 00

  Oh, with Pam.

• 11:11Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:11Speaker 00

  I did love that one.

• 11:13Speaker 01

  So incidentally, while Paul Lieberstein was starring in this very popular B story, he was also our sole showrunner for this season, season six. In season five, he shared that title with Jen Salata. But at this point, Jen was starting to develop some other projects. So she took a step back in season six. She was the consulting producer. She worked three days a week. So Paul, our showrunner, was starring in this episode. I don't know, it just amazes me how he juggled it all.

• 11:45Speaker 00

  I mean, I feel like he was living there for a bit.

• 11:47Speaker 01

  Do you think he ever slept there?

• 11:49Speaker 00

  I feel like maybe at least once. We should ask him.

• 11:52Speaker 01

  We should ask. Now, fast fact number three, Angela, I am handing over to you. What would you like to tell us?

• 11:58Speaker 00

  I would like to talk about the deleted scenes for this episode. I am titling this fast fact because I guess I title my fast facts.

• 12:05Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 12:06Speaker 00

  I'm titling my fast fact. Stay with me. Long, la long, long, long.

• 12:12Speaker 01

  Oh, long, la long, long, long. Should I be titling my fast facts?

• 12:18Speaker 00

  No, I think, I think we're all fine not to. You guys, this episode was a very long script.

• 12:26Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 12:27Speaker 00

  And a lot of our scripts came in very long, but I just thought this one really highlights how much didn't make it in that was written on the page and I wanted to share that with you.

• 12:36Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 12:36Speaker 00

  It's a little insight, you guys, into the deleted scenes of an episode of The Office. So I was trading emails with Randy Cordray and he said that there was so much material for our episodes that our editors' first cuts were usually about 45 minutes long. And we had to narrow that down to 21 minutes and 30 seconds to broadcast the show.

• 12:57Speaker 01

  So they would cut more than half?

• 13:00Speaker 00

  Exactly. That brings me to the script. Jenna, I looked, the shooting draft was 41 pages.

• 13:06Speaker 01

  Okay, so it's usually a page equals a minute. We've talked about that before.

• 13:10Speaker 00

  Right. So they were going to have to edit out more than half the script. I went to the shooting draft and I read the shooting draft as I watched the episode that was broadcast. And there were six talking heads that never made it in, eight full scenes that never made it. And then five scenes were actually extended and longer than what made it onto the screen. And I was trading emails with Randy and he brought up a great, great note, which is the whole Dwight and Toby runner, as well as some of the Michael, Andy runner, really had to be cut for this episode. And there are elements that didn't make it in that would have really kind of explained a little bit more what was happening.

• 13:50Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 13:51Speaker 00

  And I'm going to share some of those as we go.

• 13:53Speaker 01

  Wow, this episode was almost like two A stories to me.

• 13:58Speaker 00

  Yes, exactly, exactly. But if you think about it, I mean, six talking heads, eight whole scenes, eight whole scenes.

• 14:06Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 14:07Speaker 00

  Right?

• 14:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, but you're going to give us the dish.

• 14:10Speaker 00

  I'm going to give you the dish.

• 14:11Speaker 01

  You're going to spill the tea. Is that what it is? Spill the tea? Do you spill the tea?

• 14:15Speaker 00

  I think you spill the tea and you serve the dish and you give the scoop. What else? What's another one?

• 14:22Speaker 01

  I don't know.

• 14:23Speaker 00

  That's my fast fact. That just shows you what we had to do every week to trim it to network broadcast.

• 14:30Speaker 01

  I enjoyed this top of show. Should we go to a break? And when we come back, we will spill the tea and give the dish and the, tell the things.

• 14:41Speaker 00

  Well, tell all the things.

• 14:42Speaker 01

  All right.

• 14:53Speaker 00

  All right, this episode starts with a cold open between Michael and Oscar. Michael has called Oscar into his office for advice on an upcoming medical procedure. And Oscar is concerned. He's like, Michael, are you okay? What's going on? Michael reveals it's a colonoscopy and wonders if, in Oscar's experience, there's anything he can do to make it more pleasurable for himself or the doctor. And Oscar, of course, walks out of Michael's office.

• 15:21Speaker 01

  Yes. Now, I always love scenes between Steve and Oscar. They are so good together.

• 15:26Speaker 00

  They're a good comedy duo.

• 15:28Speaker 01

  This scene made me cringe.

• 15:30Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:30Speaker 01

  But Oscar's performance is so good.

• 15:34Speaker 00

  Oh, my God, Oscar's amazing. I caught an improv moment.

• 15:37Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 15:38Speaker 00

  Yeah, so it's not in the script. I went to the shooting draft. There's this moment where Oscar says, what's the procedure, if you don't mind me asking? And he scooches his chair real close to Michael's desk. Oscar Nunez came up with that sort of physical improv in the moment to sort of, you know, try to bond with Michael, right? Well, what's happening, Michael? I thought that was just smart acting.

• 15:59Speaker 01

  Well, Steve and Oscar have a very similar improvisation style. And it's based on small details and slow timing, like

• 16:09Speaker 00

  Patience.

• 16:10Speaker 01

  Pace, all of it.

• 16:11Speaker 00

  Yeah. Well, I have another background catch in this scene.

• 16:14Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 16:15Speaker 00

  I caught Meredith at front reception talking to Pam and I couldn't help but wonder, is this a Kate, Jenna fakey spreadsheet conversation moment?

• 16:23Speaker 01

  You know what, lady?

• 16:24Speaker 00

  What?

• 16:25Speaker 01

  She's talking to Erin.

• 16:27Speaker 00

  Oh, no.

• 16:28Speaker 01

  Yes. Yeah, and you know what? I saw Kate at reception and the first thing I thought was, oh, my God, are me and Kate doing our bit? And then I realized, it's not me. I thought it was me, too.

• 16:42Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  It's Erin.

• 16:45Speaker 00

  That just shows you, even though we know the show, we're re-watching it, we were there. I will always think of Pam as that front reception.

• 16:52Speaker 01

  It's true. You know, Pam spends half of the series as not a receptionist. And yet, I still think of her as the receptionist. And people regard me as the receptionist when they meet me.

• 17:06Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 17:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 17:07Speaker 00

  Oh, I guess I did.

• 17:08Speaker 01

  I know. I did, too.

• 17:10Speaker 00

  Well, as the episode starts, there is a deleted scene, you guys, that would have set up how truly overwhelmed Michael was. And I thought it was kind of important. I want to share it with you. In the shooting draft, it says, we're inside Michael's office. Michael is looking slightly more haggard than usual. He sits in his office with Erin. She is just handing him Post-it notes. We see the perimeter of Michael's desktop monitor is completely covered with multicolored Post-it notes. And then Erin says, Bill Seedman from Buffalo, and hands Michael a Post-it note. He puts yet another one on his computer. Michael says, thank you. And then Erin hands him another Post-it note. And then Erin says, Angela's still waiting for you to approve the new billing rates from Buffalo.

• 17:56Speaker 00

  And in the script, it says, Michael lets out an exasperated yelp. He stares at all of the Post-it notes.

• 18:03Speaker 01

  Lady, I have to tell you, at 12 minutes, one second, there is a scene between David Wallace and Michael in his office. And in the foreground is half of Michael's computer monitor? And I was like, why are there all these sticky notes on Michael's computer monitor? I took a picture of it to show you. And here you have answered the question for me.

• 18:27Speaker 00

  Well, here it is. This is what it looks like in the deleted scenes. I took a picture as well. I'll put it in stories.

• 18:33Speaker 01

  Oh, that's the full monitor. You have full monitor.

• 18:35Speaker 00

  I have full monitor. And you guys, I took a picture of my own desktop computer.

• 18:42Speaker 01

  Is it very similar to Michael Scott's computer?

• 18:44Speaker 00

  I'm going to put a side by side. Mine is not as bad as Michael's, but clearly Michael and I have the same way of keeping track of things. I have Post-its all around my computer, as you know, Jenna, so I couldn't help but crack up. But the scene goes on to sort of explain that Michael is really overwhelmed because of Buffalo closing, they've absorbed all the new clients. And it's part of the reason why David Wallace is there.

• 19:11Speaker 01

  Wow. Well, I feel like that scene would have been very helpful in terms of setup.

• 19:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 19:18Speaker 01

  But instead, the episode opens with Michael walking out of his office with David Wallace.

• 19:24Speaker 00

  And it's just one line, one line. David is like, can I get the rundown of the Buffalo clients by Sunday night? Yeah, but you don't know that Michael is like being buried in a sea of Post-it notes from all these other new clients.

• 19:37Speaker 01

  Well, Michael says he will get that rundown done by Sunday night. And David Wallace is like, great. And he's like, well, I mean, I'm going to put it in the mail on Sunday, so you should get it by Wednesday. But I also thought, this can't be an email? You have to physically mail this rundown?

• 19:53Speaker 00

  Have you seen Michael's computer? Michael's computer is just basically a shelf for Post-it notes.

• 19:58Speaker 01

  True.

• 19:58Speaker 00

  It's not a working device. Unless you want to watch a YouTube video. That's all that happens.

• 20:05Speaker 01

  Well, now Wallace is going to take Jim into the conference room for a meeting to which Michael is not invited.

• 20:11Speaker 00

  I have a question for Jim.

• 20:12Speaker 01

  What?

• 20:13Speaker 00

  Jim, why, why, why, why would you take this meeting with David?

• 20:19Speaker 01

  In Scranton.

• 20:19Speaker 00

  In Scranton.

• 20:20Speaker 01

  I thought the same thing.

• 20:21Speaker 00

  Why not say, David, can I meet you after work?

• 20:24Speaker 01

  Can I come to New York?

• 20:26Speaker 00

  Yeah, can we have lunch and make up an excuse like clearly everyone else does at Dunder Mifflin, make up an excuse at lunch that you're going to see a client. Of course, Michael's going to spiral. Come on, Jim, you know better.

• 20:38Speaker 01

  I thought the same thing, too, but it was clear that David came to Scranton because he had a lot of business to do. So he's consolidating, but I think Jim should have been more proactive. Well, I have a background catch for this little scene. Angela?

• 20:52Speaker 00

  Give it to me. I love a background catch.

• 20:55Speaker 01

  At 1 minute 58 seconds, there is a book on Michael's credenza, and it is very prominent. And it is titled, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently.

• 21:10Speaker 01

  Now, I assumed this was a prop book that Phil Shea created.

• 21:14Speaker 00

  Is it a fakie book?

• 21:15Speaker 01

  It is a really book.

• 21:16Speaker 00

  Come on!

• 21:17Speaker 01

  This is a real book, and here is the book's description. In this longtime management bestseller, Gallup presents the remarkable findings of its massive in-depth study of great managers. Some were in leadership positions, others were frontline supervisors, some were in Fortune 500 companies, others were key players in small entrepreneurial firms. They all excelled at turning each individual employee's talent into high performance. Now, according to a review, this study, this analysis consisted of interviews with 80,000 managers.

• 21:59Speaker 00

  80,000?

• 22:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, in order to write this book, they talked to 80,000 managers that were like determined to be great managers.

• 22:08Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 22:09Speaker 01

  Here are three observations from the book.

• 22:11Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 22:12Speaker 01

  There are many, but here's three. Number one, people don't quit their companies, they quit their bosses.

• 22:19Speaker 00

  Oh, true, true.

• 22:21Speaker 01

  All the jobs I've quit have been because I hated my boss.

• 22:25Speaker 00

  I mean, I did quit a job just because I hated the job.

• 22:28Speaker 01

  But your boss was great?

• 22:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, I liked my boss.

• 22:30Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 22:31Speaker 00

  But I hated the job.

• 22:32Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 22:32Speaker 00

  Sorry, it happens, guys.

• 22:34Speaker 01

  Well, number two, one of the signs of a great manager is the ability to describe in detail the unique talent of each employee, what drives them, how they think, and how each one builds relationships.

• 22:49Speaker 00

  This also sounds like what it is to be a good partner.

• 22:52Speaker 01

  I mean, that reminded me of what it is to be a great director. Lee is a director, my husband, and he's often said, like, you have to have a different directing style with each actor, because some actors like a lot of notes and some don't, and some need a lot of pep talk and others hate that. He's like, so like, the first day on the job, your job is to figure out just like how to talk to each different person.

• 23:18Speaker 00

  Like learning everyone's strengths and quirks.

• 23:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. And finally, I thought this was very, very interesting. A great manager knows the difference between skills, knowledge, and weakness.

• 23:33Speaker 00

  Hmm.

• 23:34Speaker 01

  Meaning like, just because someone doesn't know how to do something, that's not a weakness, maybe that's just a lack of skill.

• 23:41Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 23:41Speaker 01

  Or a lack of knowledge. But if they have knowledge and they're not doing it right, well, then that would be a weakness.

• 23:48Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 23:49Speaker 01

  So I have to say, I kind of thought that Michael Scott was good at number two and three on the list. Like, he really knows everybody really well in his company, he knows how to motivate them. I thought maybe he had read this book on his credenza.

• 24:05Speaker 00

  He definitely has number two, because...

• 24:08Speaker 01

  The way he introduces a person when someone new is in the office is very specific.

• 24:13Speaker 00

  He knows everyone very intimately.

• 24:14Speaker 01

  He does.

• 24:15Speaker 00

  It doesn't take Michael long to start spiraling about Jim and David in the conference room. He says he's not worried, but he corners Pam pretty quickly.

• 24:24Speaker 01

  He does. He escorts her the three steps to her desk, but she's not telling him anything. She clearly knows why Jim is meeting with David.

• 24:32Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 24:33Speaker 01

  This scene was so hard to get through, Angela. As soon as Steve would kneel down next to my desk, I would start laughing. Just the sincerity with which he would kneel.

• 24:43Speaker 00

  Uh-huh.

• 24:44Speaker 01

  But then, when he would say that my lies would pass through my breast milk and make my unborn baby a liar, it was like, really hard. It was very, very funny.

• 24:57Speaker 00

  I really liked it when he said, well, why'd you say good luck? And you were like, hmm, that's not like me.

• 25:02Speaker 01

  I don't know.

• 25:03Speaker 00

  I'm not sure why I would say that.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  I'm not very superstitious.

• 25:06Speaker 00

  What is Pam doing? She's so bad at lying.

• 25:10Speaker 01

  I would like to point out in this scene, I think I'm doing some really wonderful prop work. I am filling a binder.

• 25:17Speaker 00

  Yeah, you're very busy.

• 25:18Speaker 01

  With some sheets of paper.

• 25:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 25:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, that was my idea. I thought this would feel like more significant than just carrying some papers from the copier and sitting down. I was like, could you get me a binder? And I could be like, making a binder.

• 25:34Speaker 00

  Anything to not be answering his questions.

• 25:36Speaker 01

  I liked my choice.

• 25:38Speaker 00

  I like it, too. Well, this is going to start the Dwight Toby runner, aka, are they mom detectives?

• 25:46Speaker 01

  This whole storyline is 100% a case that mom detectives would take.

• 25:51Speaker 00

  100%.

• 25:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, a fraudulent workers' compensation claim. Possible fraudulent.

• 25:56Speaker 00

  Possible fraudulent. Dwight is in the break room, and he overhears Daryl telling Toby how he broke his ankle, and he's got a doctor's note, and, you know, Toby's fine with it. And Dwight is like, no, no, no, no, no, red flags, red flags.

• 26:10Speaker 01

  I'll tell you, the only thing I saw in this scene was at 3 minutes 18 seconds.

• 26:15Speaker 00

  Is it a stuffed animal?

• 26:16Speaker 01

  The stuffed dog wearing a Toby shirt, wearing a maroon sweater. What the heck? It totally took me out of the scene for a minute. I was like, where did this stuffed animal come from? Why does it say Toby? What is happening? But wait, just wait, I have a picture that I took, lady, to show you, even though you saw this dog, too.

• 26:37Speaker 00

  Did you zoom in on it?

• 26:38Speaker 01

  Just look at it next to Paul. Just look at it. Look at Toby dog next to real Toby. Look at it. They are frowning the same. They're in the same color scheme. Look at it.

• 26:52Speaker 00

  Oh, my God, do you think this is like a writer's joke or Phil Shea joke?

• 26:56Speaker 01

  I feel like someone saw this stuffed dog, and they were like, oh, my God, it's Toby. And they put a Toby shirt on it, and then they put it on his desk. I mean, what is that?

• 27:07Speaker 00

  I need the story of that.

• 27:09Speaker 01

  We need to dig deeper. You have to post this picture.

• 27:12Speaker 00

  It's not in the script.

• 27:13Speaker 01

  It's not in the script, this Toby dog. It's all I could see.

• 27:17Speaker 00

  Well, I guess Dwight brings up enough suspicion that Toby's like, all right, maybe we should check this out, right? And he said, plus, he's always been a fan of these hard-boiled detective novels.

• 27:28Speaker 01

  Well, we got a fan question from Alice R. in Italy, who says, around 4 minutes 30 seconds, Toby has a sheet behind him that lists all of the HR representatives from all the Dunder Mifflin branches. So besides Toby and Holly, who are these other people? Are these made up names? Alice also noted that Holly is wrongly associated with the Utica branch instead of the Nashua branch.

• 27:55Speaker 00

  She was really looking.

• 27:57Speaker 01

  I am impressed.

• 27:58Speaker 00

  I am, too.

• 27:59Speaker 01

  Alice, here's the thing, I zoomed in on this, and it was a little fuzzy. I found it very hard to read, and I really looked at it. I don't know if this is my sign that I need to go get a new pair of glasses. Here's what I could read on the piece of paper. Number one, yes, Holly is listed as Utica. Good catch. Also, her name is listed as Hollis, P. Flax. Jenny O'Keefe is one of the names on the list.

• 28:27Speaker 00

  Oh, Jenny!

• 28:28Speaker 01

  She was our second AD.

• 28:30Speaker 00

  That's right.

• 28:31Speaker 01

  I could not tell what branch she was associated with. It was too blurry for me. But Nick Carbone.

• 28:36Speaker 00

  Oh, Nick, our boom operator.

• 28:38Speaker 01

  Was listed as the Buffalo branch HR representative. And Debbie Pierce.

• 28:44Speaker 00

  Debbie, from Hair and Makeup. Debbie did hair.

• 28:47Speaker 01

  Debbie was listed as the Nashua branch HR representative. And then when there were three more names, I could not make out their last names or their branches, but they were Shelley, Kim, and Chris. We had several people with those names, and I could not make out the last names.

• 29:04Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 29:05Speaker 01

  But good catch, Alice. That was really fun for me to see all those names on that sheet, and that's who they were.

• 29:11Speaker 00

  I love that. I love how set dressing would put the names of our crew all over the set.

• 29:16Speaker 01

  I know.

• 29:16Speaker 00

  Well, Jenna, I had to know what a hard-boiled detective was.

• 29:19Speaker 01

  Oh, okay.

• 29:20Speaker 00

  I mean, especially if we're going to be mom detectives, I feel like I need to know the genre.

• 29:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:25Speaker 00

  So this is what it says on the internet. It's a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction, especially detective fiction, or noir fiction. And hard-boiled means to be devoid of sentimentality, tough, being a detective, or story featuring a tough, unsentimental protagonist, a matter-of-fact attitudes towards violence, hard-headed, and practical.

• 29:51Speaker 01

  Oh, very un-Toby-like.

• 29:53Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 29:54Speaker 01

  So to be a hard-boiled detective, this is like Toby's version of being a superhero.

• 29:59Speaker 00

  That's right.

• 30:00Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 30:01Speaker 00

  I know.

• 30:03Speaker 01

  Well, now, Michael is going to interrupt Jim's meeting with David Wallace. He's just going to burst into the conference room while on the phone.

• 30:11Speaker 00

  I have his fake phone call conversations.

• 30:13Speaker 01

  Please.

• 30:14Speaker 00

  His first one, as he walks in, he says, uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, if he doesn't like it, you can tell that SOB that he's fired. Sorry, I'm going into a meeting right now. I will. I love you, too. Bye.

• 30:25Speaker 01

  Who's he talking to?

• 30:26Speaker 00

  Who's he talking to? And when he leaves, this is his other fakie phone call. Oh, this, um, call waiting. Yeah, uh-huh. Well, you tell the mayor, he just lost six votes.

• 30:37Speaker 01

  This tactic of bursting into the room, talking on the phone, reminded me a little bit of my strategy of walking up to famous people laughing.

• 30:48Speaker 01

  I have to say, I thought, maybe...

• 30:52Speaker 00

  This is Michael's way into a meeting.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 30:55Speaker 00

  Meeting people.

• 30:57Speaker 01

  So now Creed and Michael are sort of peering into the conference room together from some file cabinets. First of all, Creed just always makes me laugh. I love him. I love every time he is on screen.

• 31:12Speaker 00

  What I also love about the character Creed is that he is the last person you ever want to make you feel better about a situation.

• 31:20Speaker 01

  True.

• 31:21Speaker 00

  And so the fact that they partnered him next to Michael while Michael is worried about what's happening in the conference room.

• 31:27Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:28Speaker 00

  Is so perfect.

• 31:29Speaker 01

  During this, Steve is flipping through the Yellow Pages.

• 31:33Speaker 00

  Oh, no. What'd you see?

• 31:35Speaker 01

  Do you remember the Yellow Pages?

• 31:37Speaker 00

  Of course. You used to get a big one in the mail.

• 31:40Speaker 01

  Yeah. Does this happen anymore? I think the Yellow Pages are online now, but I think in some places they still print them.

• 31:47Speaker 00

  Yeah, you still get a hard copy, I think.

• 31:50Speaker 01

  Well, I don't get one.

• 31:51Speaker 00

  I feel like I got one a few years ago. I don't know.

• 31:55Speaker 01

  Do young'uns know what the Yellow Pages are? Let your fingers do the walking. Do they know?

• 32:00Speaker 00

  I doubt it. You know what? We should show our kids a Yellow Page.

• 32:04Speaker 01

  Here, guys, for any of you out there who are young and are like, what are the Yellow Pages? So every year you would get a phone book. First of all, you would get White Pages, and that would list.

• 32:16Speaker 00

  Everyone's name and address.

• 32:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, it was like an alphabetical list of everyone in your city. And I remember getting it as a kid and like looking us up and being like, there we are.

• 32:27Speaker 00

  Mm hmm. Ours always had like a little star or circle by someone we knew. Like my mom would have gone through and like made little markings.

• 32:33Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. Or you earmark it?

• 32:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 32:35Speaker 01

  Well, the Yellow Pages was a directory of all of the businesses in your area, and they were listed alphabetically by the type of business.

• 32:45Speaker 00

  Right, like florist.

• 32:47Speaker 01

  Yes. If you needed an electrician, you looked in the electrician section. And different businesses might take out ads so that their listing was bigger or flashier, like a half page.

• 32:58Speaker 00

  Yeah. And that's why a lot of businesses would put the letter A somewhere in the name, like Awesome Plumbers.

• 33:05Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 33:06Speaker 00

  Because then they would be at the top of the list.

• 33:09Speaker 01

  Yes. And then there were also the Blue Pages, which is a government directory. I never got a Blue Pages.

• 33:16Speaker 00

  I never heard of the Blue Pages.

• 33:18Speaker 01

  Well, they could be at your library. You could look in the Blue Pages if you needed to contact a government agency in your area.

• 33:24Speaker 00

  The water department for your city.

• 33:25Speaker 01

  Yes. But when I saw the Yellow Pages, I got really nostalgic. And I was like, as a kid, I would flip through the Yellow Pages and look at the ads. Like, I would read the comics in the newspaper that we got every day at our house.

• 33:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, the funnies.

• 33:41Speaker 01

  The funnies. And like, I would read the back of the cereal box at breakfast because we didn't have smartphones or internet.

• 33:49Speaker 00

  Right. I would flip through the Sears catalog, circling stuff. Oh, how great was it to get a catalog?

• 33:56Speaker 01

  I love a catalog. I still love a catalog.

• 33:58Speaker 00

  I do still love a catalog. Anyway, well, there you go for you young'uns. All the fun you missed out on. Anytime you want a breakdown of some old tech, just hit up these two middle aged ladies. We'll tell ya.

• 34:11Speaker 01

  Oh, now we have Pam's storyline.

• 34:14Speaker 00

  Yes. She's on the hunt for the RSVPs.

• 34:18Speaker 01

  She starts with Kelly. Kelly wants to know if Ryan is going to the wedding. She doesn't want to RSVP unless Ryan is going.

• 34:26Speaker 00

  Because it would be a waste of time. I mean, wait, that came out wrong.

• 34:29Speaker 01

  Right. I mean, what she's trying to say is that she would really like it if Ryan went, because then she would go and she'd really like to be there to support Jim.

• 34:39Speaker 00

  Everything she said to you was like, it's a frenemy moment.

• 34:43Speaker 01

  We had a fan question from Heather B. in Victoria, British Columbia. At 5 minutes 48 seconds, when Pam goes to Kelly's desk, there is a sign that says Kelly's Nook.

• 34:56Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 34:57Speaker 01

  And there is. And you know, before she had her little nameplate that said Kelly that she got in the Yankee swap. But this is a new sign. It says Kelly's Nook.

• 35:06Speaker 00

  I love a nook.

• 35:08Speaker 01

  Heather B. wondered if this was an addition from the scene when she told Dwight to get out of her nook.

• 35:18Speaker 00

  Well, this scene is going to take us to a Pam talking head.

• 35:21Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 35:21Speaker 00

  And Pam and Jim have clearly done that thing. The destination wedding, you guys. If your friend has a destination wedding, it's because they're trying to rule out some people.

• 35:30Speaker 01

  I think that's true. Because you're allowed to have a smaller guest list if it's a destination wedding.

• 35:36Speaker 00

  That's right. You don't expect everyone to go with you to like a remote area or like a fancy vacation. I'm getting married on a boat.

• 35:44Speaker 01

  What? Well, it is revealed that Jim and Pam are getting married in Niagara Falls.

• 35:49Speaker 00

  Mm hmm.

• 35:50Speaker 01

  Now, when we traded emails with Warren and Halsted about their episode Cafe Disco, Halsted reminded me that in an earlier version of the script, Pam and Jim were going to get married in Paris.

• 36:02Speaker 00

  Oh, my gosh, I forgot that.

• 36:04Speaker 01

  Isn't that crazy? And they changed it to Niagara because they felt like Paris, number one, they thought it was a little bit too kind of on the nose, romantic, maybe too much of a stretch budget wise. And they thought Niagara Falls was perfect.

• 36:20Speaker 00

  I agree. I think that Paris just seems a little too big and too far away for who Jim and Pam are.

• 36:25Speaker 01

  I agree. Now, also speaking of Niagara Falls, we are not that far from these wedding episodes. And Randy shared with us that they were already heavily prepping that episode. Like, heavily.

• 36:42Speaker 00

  It's a big episode. We'll get there, but it's a big one.

• 36:46Speaker 01

  At 6 minutes 32 seconds, we got a fan question from Emily B. in Alabama, who said, "Behind Pam on the file cabinet by Kelly's desk, there is a Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce business card from someone named Mary? I looked up the current board of directors, and apparently this person is no longer active, but I'm curious to know, why were they represented on the show?" Emily B., Mary at the Chamber of Commerce was like a huge help to our show.

• 37:19Speaker 00

  Yes, she's an unsung hero. Carrie Bennett shared all about her with us.

• 37:23Speaker 01

  Yeah. If you remember in Carrie Bennett's interview, it was from a revisited episode, Carrie shared that she created a relationship with Mary, and Mary would help us get local treasures for the show. Props, signs, pizza boxes.

• 37:39Speaker 00

  That is a great interview, by the way. If you guys haven't listened to it, our interview with Carrie Bennett, who was the wardrobe designer for The Office for the first four seasons. And she really was like groundbreaking in what she brought to the show. And the relationship with Mary was one of those things.

• 37:54Speaker 01

  But we put that business card in a nice prominent spot. That was our way of putting Mary on the show.

• 37:59Speaker 00

  Yay, Mary.

• 38:00Speaker 01

  So now we get to one of my favorite scenes. It's Michael sitting on Andy's desk while he's trying to spy on Jim and David's meeting in the conference room. And he's just like throwing out random questions.

• 38:11Speaker 00

  Oh, lady, I have so much for this. Are you ready?

• 38:15Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 38:16Speaker 00

  I love this scene. I know you loved it. In the episode, it starts with these two lines. Andy says, "What can I do for you, hoss?" Michael, staring into the conference room, says, "How are yourselves doing?" But Jenna, the scene was so much bigger, and big chunks of it were edited out for time. And I feel like we need to hear the full scene.

• 38:35Speaker 01

  I cannot believe there was more to one of my favorite scenes, and I cannot wait.

• 38:39Speaker 00

  So much more. All right. So Andy and Michael have this exchange. And then, right after that, this would have happened.

• 38:48Speaker 02

  Are my sales done?

• 38:51Speaker 02

  They're good?

• 38:54Speaker 02

  Super solid. What do you mean?

• 38:56Speaker 03

  Um, your retention. How that? How's your retention been?

• 39:03Speaker 02

  Client retention? You're asking me about client retention?

• 39:05Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 39:06Speaker 02

  Well, um,

• 39:11Speaker 02

  Angela, my sales numbers are not updated, so that's on you.

• 39:15Speaker 00

  Stop haranguing me.

• 39:18Speaker 00

  Stop haranguing me. All right. So Angela's like, stop haranguing me. And then here's the part that made it in. Andy's like, busted. My numbers are down a little bit. It's because of the economy. You're not buying it. You're good. Okay, the truth is, I've been having trouble focusing lately. I'm in this weird, flirty, nebulous thing with this cousin of mine. It's a total mind effort, which leads to one of my favorite lines.

• 39:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 39:42Speaker 00

  Phyllis saying, again, with the cousin.

• 39:44Speaker 01

  It's so amazing, the idea that Andy will not shut up about this weird cousin thing. But then he reads the email.

• 39:52Speaker 00

  Yes. He says, oh, I'm sorry, Phyllis. You explain this email, okay? Hey, Andy, let's go visit Grandma and then get drunk together. Ha ha.

• 39:59Speaker 01

  I mean, that's amazing.

• 40:00Speaker 00

  Okay, so what aired, it would have stopped there. But the scene keeps going. And this next part, I call Angela coming in hot.

• 40:09Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 40:11Speaker 00

  I'll tell you the problem. The problem is that I'm backlogged because Michael hasn't signed off on any of the billing rates for the Buffalo clients.

• 40:17Speaker 03

  Shh, please. I'm trying to figure out what's going on in there, okay?

• 40:21Speaker 00

  They're probably talking about what a terrible job you're doing. You know what? I bet they're worried about how you're managing this branch. I know. I emailed David about it. Whoa.

• 40:32Speaker 01

  I know. I know. And then this moment leads to Michael and Andy hatching a plan.

• 40:42Speaker 03

  Need to find a way to get in there. I need to fix this bridge. But first, I need to get into that room.

• 40:51Speaker 02

  Check this out. I put together a cheese cart, hide you underneath, roll you in. All of a sudden, blammo, you can hear everything going on.

• 41:01Speaker 03

  I'm the branch manager. I'm not hiding underneath the cheese cart. As the branch manager, I used to garner respect.

• 41:09Speaker 03

  No, I gotta think something else. Think something with dignity, okay?

• 41:14Speaker 02

  Uh.

• 41:15Speaker 03

  Caviar cart.

• 41:17Speaker 00

  Caviar cart. Something with dignity. I'll do the cart. I'll hide in a cart. Yeah, no problem. You can wheel me in, but make it classy, please.

• 41:28Speaker 01

  Oh, wow. Now, I have to say, I miss the stuff with Angela because I think that that would get in Michael's head in such a way that it's his motivation for doing something so extreme as the cheese cart.

• 41:40Speaker 00

  Well, it heightens everything.

• 41:41Speaker 01

  It does. But at the same time, I like that they cut out the discussion of the cheese cart, because that is such a funny reveal.

• 41:50Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 41:50Speaker 01

  After the commercial.

• 41:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 41:52Speaker 01

  Well, I think we should take a break. And then when we come back, it'll be all cheese cart.

• 41:57Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah. And we're going to learn something new about Andy in a deleted scene.

• 42:12Speaker 00

  We are back. And you know what they say about a plan when it's just so crazy it might work?

• 42:18Speaker 01

  Yeah. Operation Cheese Cart.

• 42:21Speaker 00

  It's happening. You know why? It's just elegant.

• 42:24Speaker 01

  We have this talking head in the kitchen and over Michael's shoulder, we can see Andy preparing a cheese cart.

• 42:31Speaker 00

  He's taking cheese out of some sandwiches.

• 42:34Speaker 01

  We had a fan catch from Gabby M. in Phoenix, who said, "When Andy is making the cheese plate, he takes five pieces of cheese off of someone's sandwich. Who puts five pieces of cheese on a sandwich?" And I was like, "Good catch, Gabby."

• 42:52Speaker 00

  I have an answer for you.

• 42:54Speaker 01

  What?

• 42:54Speaker 00

  Remember those eight deleted scenes?

• 42:57Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 42:58Speaker 00

  Here's one of them. It would have happened later in the episode. Interior kitchen, Kevin takes a bite out of his sandwich and looks confused. Kevin opens the sandwich and discovers the cheese is missing.

• 43:12Speaker 00

  Kevin says, "Hey," and sadly walks to the fridge, takes out the blue cheese dressing, and pours it onto his sandwich and starts to eat it.

• 43:22Speaker 01

  It was Kevin's sandwich!

• 43:24Speaker 00

  He likes a lot of cheese.

• 43:25Speaker 01

  Gabby, Kevin likes five pieces of cheese. That's who. Now we realize that Michael is going to hide in the bottom of this cheese cart. Andy wheels him into the conference room and gives a big ol' speech about cheese.

• 43:44Speaker 00

  I mean, it's a fantastic speech.

• 43:46Speaker 01

  We had a fan question from Kristy R. in Greensboro, North Carolina. And I'm just gonna say, Kristy R., you are reading my mind.

• 43:54Speaker 00

  What is it, Kristy?

• 43:56Speaker 01

  Andy's cheese tray explanation is one of my favorite scenes. Was any part of this improvised? Were there any alts? Him talking about how the cheddar-style spread has reacted nicely with the air makes me laugh out loud every time. Kristy, me too.

• 44:14Speaker 00

  Same!

• 44:15Speaker 01

  Can we hear it?

• 44:16Speaker 00

  We have to!

• 44:17Speaker 01

  We have to hear it.

• 44:17Speaker 00

  I need to hear him say challenging and delicious.

• 44:21Speaker 02

  Oui oui, monsieur. From the Wisconsin region, a nice, firm cheddar. Also, from the great state of Wisconsin, an aged Parmesan. Here you will find a cheddar-style spread, which has reacted nicely with the air to form a light rind, which I think you'll find both challenging and delicious. At that point, I would recommend you take a quick trip south of the border to the great state of Illinois, where you will find this fine blue cheese dressing. If I may be so bold, it's a lot of fun to let the goldfish take a little swim in the blue cheese. Bon appétit.

• 44:58Speaker 01

  Okay. I checked the script and the line, "which has reacted nicely with the air to form a light rind that I think you'll find both challenging and delicious," was not in there. Also, the scripted version did not include the part about the goldfish going for a swim in the blue cheese. I do not know if Ed improvised these things, if they pitched him these lines on the fly, but I also think I can kind of almost hear Ed breaking at the beginning of this cheese speech, because I just know his voice so well.

• 45:31Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  And I have to imagine there are bloopers. I have to imagine. I have not seen them. They are not on the blooper reel, but I don't know.

• 45:39Speaker 00

  You know there were bloopers. Come on, him and John in the same room together and him saying all that stuff? Forget it.

• 45:46Speaker 01

  Also, we had a fan catch from Cecia Z. in London, Ontario, Canada. If you look closely at 8 minutes 55 seconds, you can see Michael peeking out of the sheet from the cheese platter cart. And you can! It is amazing. It says Andy is leaving. Michael just like peeks out the corner. Because I had thought to myself, did they make Steve really sit in that cheese cart for all of that? I think he was in there!

• 46:14Speaker 00

  I think he was, because what if he did something and they wanted it on camera? You never know with Steve, right?

• 46:19Speaker 01

  Well, you know what it reminded me of? It reminded me of the time that I was on Busy Philip's talk show, and it was my birthday, and Busy was giving me all these presents, one by one, from cast members of The Office.

• 46:30Speaker 00

  What did I give you?

• 46:32Speaker 01

  You gave me a T-shirt with a picture of Brett on it. I believe Ellie sent me a jar of rosemary crackers.

• 46:39Speaker 00

  Yes, she did.

• 46:40Speaker 01

  We'll tell you all about that in the finale episode. You're gonna have to wait for it. But there was this giant box on the stage, and that was the final gift. What was it? What was this box gonna be?

• 46:53Speaker 00

  Can I point out, it was on the stage for like 20 minutes?

• 46:55Speaker 01

  A long time.

• 46:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 46:57Speaker 01

  A very long time. And I was like going on and on about sourdough starter, all the while this big box is sitting there. And after 20, 30 minutes of this taping, Steve Carell popped out of the box.

• 47:12Speaker 00

  Yeah, Busy was like-

• 47:13Speaker 01

  It was a surprise!

• 47:14Speaker 00

  Busy was like, "There's one more gift."

• 47:15Speaker 01

  I know!

• 47:16Speaker 00

  And poor Steve had been sitting in a box for half an hour. But who knows how long he'd been there? Because he probably had to crawl in it before you came out on stage.

• 47:25Speaker 01

  Well, Busy did this whole crazy thing during the break, where she was like, "Jenna, come here. I want to take a picture with you inside of our photo booth." And I was like, "Okay." And then we went in there, and she was like, "Oh, it's not working. It's not working. You stay in here. Stay in the photo booth while I..." She was like, "Guys, you gotta fix the booth." And she would not let me out of this photo booth. It was so... I remember thinking like, "This is odd. She really wants the photo booth picture." I mean, this is very Angela Kinsey of her. But I think that was when Steve was loading into the box.

• 47:56Speaker 00

  Well, yeah, they were trying to keep you tucked away so you wouldn't see.

• 47:59Speaker 01

  But I was so surprised. And then I think the first thing I said was, "How long have you been in there?" But anyway, when he was hiding in the cheese cart, I was like, "Oh, my God, that reminds me of when he hid in that box."

• 48:11Speaker 00

  I must have watched that scene, Jenna, probably five times. I just loved it so much.

• 48:15Speaker 01

  Same.

• 48:16Speaker 00

  And I had this moment where I was like, "Has Ed been a waiter?" Because that was so good.

• 48:20Speaker 01

  Yeah. Has he served cheese?

• 48:21Speaker 00

  Has he served cheese or some kind of food? But we did find some really great new information about Andy in a deleted scene. Jenna, it would have come earlier in the kitchen, but this is why Andy knows so much about cheese. You gotta hear it.

• 48:37Speaker 02

  No, no, no. No.

• 48:38Speaker 03

  What?

• 48:39Speaker 02

  You don't put a soft cheese next to a hard cheese.

• 48:41Speaker 03

  I was making a smiley face.

• 48:43Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, let me ask you something. Did you also spend a summer in Toulouse apprenticing for a fromager?

• 48:51Speaker 02

  Hmm?

• 48:53Speaker 03

  What?

• 48:57Speaker 02

  Yeah, I didn't think so.

• 48:58Speaker 03

  All right. You know a lot about cheeses. I just... I've already started. I'll just... All right. Oh, hey. What do you think I should say if I get caught?

• 49:11Speaker 02

  First of all, it's a foolproof plan.

• 49:14Speaker 03

  I know.

• 49:14Speaker 02

  But, uh, if something were to happen...

• 49:18Speaker 03

  What should I say? Cart, cart.

• 49:22Speaker 02

  I got it.

• 49:26Speaker 02

  Pardon me. Do you have any gray poupon?

• 49:28Speaker 03

  Yes. I will use the gray poupon line. Now I sort of want to get caught.

• 49:36Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh. Okay, first of all, Andy was a fromager apprentice.

• 49:41Speaker 00

  Yeah!

• 49:42Speaker 01

  Second of all, the gray poupon.

• 49:45Speaker 00

  Don't you wish that had happened? I kinda needed it to happen.

• 49:48Speaker 01

  I totally remember those commercials.

• 49:51Speaker 00

  I did too, which sent me down a rabbit hole last night. You remember, guys, they were a long time ago, but there would be sort of a very elegant, refined gentleman in a Rolls Royce, eating an elaborate sandwich with gray poupon in the backseat.

• 50:04Speaker 01

  In the back of his car.

• 50:04Speaker 00

  Yeah, like on a little mini tray.

• 50:06Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 50:06Speaker 00

  Like as if he was on an airplane in like an English countryside, and another Rolls Royce with another older distinguished gentleman would pull up and they would say this.

• 50:16Speaker 02

  Pardon me, would you have any gray poupon? But of course.

• 50:24Speaker 00

  So, of course, that wasn't where I stopped, Jenna, with my gray poupon research.

• 50:30Speaker 01

  Of course not. I would hope not.

• 50:32Speaker 00

  I had to go to the gray poupon website, and there's a lot of fascinating things about gray poupon. Did you know it was made with wine?

• 50:40Speaker 01

  No.

• 50:41Speaker 00

  Yes. And not only that, did you know that gray poupon made a wine?

• 50:48Speaker 01

  Wait, what?

• 50:49Speaker 00

  Yes!

• 50:50Speaker 01

  They're a winemaker and a fancy mustard maker?

• 50:53Speaker 00

  They make fancy mustard, but they decided to feature a white wine. It was called La Moutarde Vin, probably saying it wrong. And it was inspired by their gray poupon mustard. Here is how the wine is described, Jenna. Are you ready?

• 51:07Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 51:08Speaker 00

  Bright hints of spice, pronounced citrus, floral characteristics balanced by vibrant acidity, with the typical texture and roundness on the palate you'd expect from a Vognier. Probably saying that wrong. So guess what?

• 51:26Speaker 01

  What?

• 51:26Speaker 00

  I thought we both needed a bottle.

• 51:28Speaker 01

  What? What?

• 51:29Speaker 00

  And I tried to buy the gray poupon white wine.

• 51:32Speaker 01

  What?

• 51:33Speaker 00

  It sold out!

• 51:34Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. I am gonna tell you right now that I have never in my life craved more. A sandwich with gray poupon mustard and a glass of their mustard wine. I need it now.

• 51:46Speaker 00

  Well, I'm gonna keep trying to buy it.

• 51:47Speaker 01

  You had me so excited, and now I am so sad.

• 51:49Speaker 00

  I'm gonna keep trying to buy it, because even as I read the description of the white wine inspired by gray poupon mustard.

• 51:56Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 51:57Speaker 00

  It sounded like Andy describing the cheese cart. I mean, with a typical texture and roundness on the palate.

• 52:06Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 52:07Speaker 00

  And that wraps up the cheese cart deleted scene runner.

• 52:12Speaker 01

  I'd like to share with everyone for you, Angela, that you love cheese.

• 52:18Speaker 00

  I love cheese.

• 52:19Speaker 01

  When we went out to dinner in New York, where we were celebrating our billboard in Times Square.

• 52:24Speaker 00

  200 million downloads.

• 52:26Speaker 01

  So amazing. We went to dinner and on the menu, one of the options is a cheese plate with fancy cheeses.

• 52:34Speaker 00

  Yes, several different kinds you can pick.

• 52:37Speaker 01

  And this is Angela reading the menu. I'm going to be Angela reading the menu. Well, I definitely want cheese. I don't know what else I want, but I'm going to need to get cheese. What do you want to start?

• 52:48Speaker 00

  Do you want some cheeses?

• 52:49Speaker 01

  I want some cheeses. Oh, I don't know. Then you were like, should we have cheeses after? I said, how about cheeses like a dessert course?

• 52:57Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 52:57Speaker 01

  Because you, we were hungry and we wanted a bunch of food.

• 53:00Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 53:00Speaker 01

  And I said, why don't we see how we feel at the end? And maybe we get cheese as dessert and wine. That's the way they do it in Europe, right?

• 53:06Speaker 00

  Right.

• 53:07Speaker 01

  You end with cheese.

• 53:07Speaker 00

  Right.

• 53:08Speaker 01

  Well, we ate and the restaurant was so kind to us. They brought us an extra appetizer on the house. They were office ladies fans.

• 53:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 53:17Speaker 01

  And then.

• 53:18Speaker 00

  We had big hearty pasta.

• 53:20Speaker 01

  We were too full for cheese and I watched Angela get real sad when she realized that she would not be ordering cheese. This woman loves cheese.

• 53:28Speaker 00

  I love cheese. I love all kinds of cheese. I once bought a super stinky cheese that my family asked me to, um, put in the garage.

• 53:38Speaker 00

  Cause it had stunk up our fridge so bad. And when I would take it out to eat it, literally the kids were like, ugh.

• 53:46Speaker 01

  All right, guys, we got a little off topic, but.

• 53:48Speaker 00

  Who, us? No.

• 53:49Speaker 01

  But forgive us, it was cheese. If anything's going to take us off topic, it's going to be cheese.

• 53:54Speaker 00

  Cheese. And then when you find out a fancy mustard made of wine, come on.

• 53:59Speaker 01

  I mean, it was inevitable.

• 54:02Speaker 01

  At the end of the scene though, David Wallace is going to leave the conference room and Michael is going to wheel himself out of the office.

• 54:11Speaker 00

  With one foot. Steve really did that.

• 54:13Speaker 01

  It's amazing. And then Wallace is going to say, can we have a chat in your office? And that's going to pay off in a little bit, but first Toby and Dwight are on a stakeout at Daryl's house.

• 54:28Speaker 00

  Yeah. And I have a question for my train aficionados out there.

• 54:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:33Speaker 00

  Does this train lingo track? See what I did there? Does the train.

• 54:37Speaker 01

  Hey, that is, that's like dad level pun right there.

• 54:42Speaker 00

  Dad pun. Dad pun.

• 54:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:45Speaker 00

  Because I'll tell you why Toby says, sounds like an EMD P40. Dwight says, no, that's a GE. A P40 is much higher pitched. So I looked all that up. I couldn't find anything called an EMD P40. I did find a six axle passenger diesel electric locomotive built by General Motors Electromotive Division called an EMD SD P40.

• 55:10Speaker 01

  Okay. But we saw a picture of the train and it was not a passenger train.

• 55:15Speaker 00

  That's right. And GE does make locomotives for freight trains. They're a leading manufacturer. So maybe Dwight was right. I don't know, guys. My train people, is this accurate?

• 55:26Speaker 01

  I just love that Dwight is able to differentiate trains by the sound of the train horn.

• 55:32Speaker 00

  By the pitch?

• 55:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's kind of amazing.

• 55:35Speaker 00

  Train people, let us know. Is this accurate?

• 55:37Speaker 01

  Well, here's what's going to happen on their stakeout. Oh my gosh, they see Daryl not on crutches, walking with a giant bag of dog food on his shoulder.

• 55:48Speaker 00

  Right. Same jersey, walking from behind, can't see his face. They're positive it's him.

• 55:53Speaker 01

  Guess what? It's not him.

• 55:56Speaker 00

  It's his sister.

• 55:57Speaker 01

  It is. But they've already shouted and revealed themselves to be like on the stakeout. And then they peel away and they run into some trash can.

• 56:05Speaker 00

  Oh, no, they make total asses of themselves and they're completely busted.

• 56:09Speaker 01

  Well, location alert. We shot this scene on Emelita Street in Van Nuys, California. Phil Shea created that enormous dog food bag using a fictional label created by our graphics designer, Ryan Cosgrove. And it was our stunt coordinator, Sean Crowder, who was doubled for Dwight, driving into the trash cans. They also had a stunt double for Toby in that scene. And I looked at it. It's amazing. Like.

• 56:38Speaker 00

  Could you tell?

• 56:39Speaker 01

  No.

• 56:39Speaker 00

  I didn't catch it.

• 56:40Speaker 01

  I could not tell, but the stunt person who was playing Toby does this like really hardcore, like jerk forward. And so later, when Toby is like icing his forehead, like clearly that was like planned. That was tracked, but it's good. It was a good stunt.

• 57:00Speaker 00

  I think we should title this next scene, Too Cool For School In The Break Room.

• 57:04Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh, boy.

• 57:06Speaker 00

  Ryan.

• 57:07Speaker 01

  Pam is trying to find out if Ryan is coming to the wedding. He's like, yeah, I might stop by. And Pam's like.

• 57:15Speaker 00

  I might stop by. This is a wedding, Ryan.

• 57:18Speaker 01

  I know.

• 57:19Speaker 00

  There's no might stop by.

• 57:21Speaker 01

  Pam is like, it's $75 a plate, so I kind of need a solid answer. And Ryan's like, oh, I once drank a 77 glass of cognac and you know, yeah, I'll come to the wedding.

• 57:33Speaker 00

  Probably.

• 57:34Speaker 01

  I'll probably come.

• 57:35Speaker 00

  I have a fun fact.

• 57:37Speaker 01

  Okay. The most expensive bottle of cognac in the world is a bottle of Gaultier cognac from 1962. It's sold at auction for $144,525 in May of 2020.

• 57:54Speaker 00

  Whose cognac was it? Was it like Da Vinci's cognac? Who had that cognac?

• 57:58Speaker 01

  I don't know. But because there are only three bottles of this quote exceedingly rare spirit that still exists today. And all of them still have their original labels. So people, check your liquor cabinets because if you have one of the other two bottles, you are swimming in $144,525.

• 58:21Speaker 00

  If your grandfather has an old bottle of cognac wedged in the back that his grandfather gave him.

• 58:27Speaker 01

  It might be your lottery ticket. Yeah.

• 58:31Speaker 00

  Well, David and Michael are going to have a scene now where David is basically like, Michael, can you handle all these new responsibilities? And also, what do you think about Jim in a leadership role?

• 58:41Speaker 01

  Yeah. And Michael thinks that, you know, Jim would be kind of replacing him or maybe leaving the branch. And so he like talks bad about Jim. He calls him the big bird of the office.

• 58:55Speaker 00

  He shows David Toby's report on Jim, which you know, is going to be so petty because Toby's in love with Pam.

• 59:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. And this is clearly an old report because it says Jim spends a lot of time at reception.

• 59:07Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 59:07Speaker 01

  Which we know Pam is no longer at.

• 59:10Speaker 00

  Well, there was a Jim talking head in the shooting draft that didn't make it in. Yet another one of those deleted scenes, right? This is what Jim would have said. So it turns out Pam's dowry was a bit disappointing. It was mostly just stuffed animals and scrunchies and a kid can't live on scrunchies. The stuffed animals may come in handy. Anyway, yeah, I need a promotion.

• 59:34Speaker 00

  Pam's dowry with stuffed animals and scrunchies.

• 59:38Speaker 01

  You know, what's funny to me about that is that it was Jim who brought the debt into their marriage with the purchase of his parents.

• 59:44Speaker 00

  I knew, I knew I was going to stir the pot.

• 59:46Speaker 01

  I'm just saying.

• 59:48Speaker 00

  I knew.

• 59:48Speaker 01

  I'm just saying.

• 59:49Speaker 00

  I knew when I read it, I would stir the Jim and Pam pot.

• 59:53Speaker 01

  Well, it was in this scene with David Wallace that I saw all the sticky notes on the computer. And also there's a fan catch from Kane H from California who said, in the meeting, Michael says he has to talk to his guy from H and R block. But in job fair, Michael says, what does H and R block do? So has Michael learned what H and R block does? Or does he just say it to try to be relatable? Well, I like that catch Kane, and I'm pretty sure that he is using it wrong. Because he tells David Wallace, he has to talk to his mother and his H and R block guy about being promoted to all Northeast sales. I'm not sure why you need your guy at H and R block to weigh in.

• 1:00:35Speaker 00

  I think he should weigh in on everything.

• 1:00:38Speaker 01

  Think that's what Michael thinks.

• 1:00:39Speaker 00

  Relationship advice.

• 1:00:41Speaker 01

  Well, Jim does have a talking head, Angela, where he says that the reason he didn't tell Michael about all of this promotion stuff was that he was afraid Michael would try to help and that it would be a debacle. And he notes that Michael once handed out Jell-O shots at the 23rd mile of the Steamtown Marathon. We got some mail from Greg Z in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania.

• 1:01:03Speaker 00

  What's up Greg?

• 1:01:04Speaker 01

  I found this a delightful letter. Greg Z says, as you two plan your epic road trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania, I propose that you add the Steamtown Marathon to your list of must do's. In fact, how fun would it be for you two to make an appearance at the 23rd mile of the race? The exact spot where Michael handed out his Jell-O shots. P.S. I am currently training for my 13th Steamtown Marathon myself. And I listen to your podcast every Wednesday, or sometimes I save it for my long runs on Sundays. A lot of people are surprised that I listen to podcasts instead of music while running, but I think a podcast about a show set in Scranton is the perfect listening choice while preparing

• 1:01:47Speaker 01

  for a race that ends in Scranton.

• 1:01:50Speaker 00

  Oh, Greg, I love that.

• 1:01:52Speaker 01

  Greg, I hope you're running right now. Hello.

• 1:01:54Speaker 00

  Hello.

• 1:01:55Speaker 01

  How's it going?

• 1:01:56Speaker 00

  I hope you're hydrated and, um, have really comfortable running shoes.

• 1:02:00Speaker 01

  Keep going, keep going. You can do it.

• 1:02:03Speaker 00

  Pep talks by Jennifer Angela.

• 1:02:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:02:06Speaker 00

  David's gonna ask Jim to walk him to his car. I think this is never a good thing, guys. I think if someone says, "Hey, can you walk me to my car?" They're gonna tell you something.

• 1:02:15Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:02:15Speaker 00

  Some shiitake's gonna go down.

• 1:02:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:02:18Speaker 00

  And when Jim comes back in the office, he's clearly bummed by whatever it is David said to him.

• 1:02:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, Michael tries to bring him some jelly beans. And I want you to know, he's definitely bummed because at 13 minutes, 50 seconds, he's taken off his jacket.

• 1:02:33Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 1:02:34Speaker 01

  His ambition jacket, as I like to call it. I think his ambition has been deflated.

• 1:02:41Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 1:02:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:02:42Speaker 00

  Ambition jacket.

• 1:02:43Speaker 01

  Yeah. So, they're gonna go into Michael's office. Jim is like, "I need to find out what you told David Wallace." I'd also like to point out that as they walk into Michael's office, "I still have my binder on my desk that I've been working on. I've been working on that binder all day."

• 1:03:00Speaker 00

  And you know what, guys? She really did. By the end of this episode, Pam would've had a stellar binder, thanks to Jenna.

• 1:03:06Speaker 01

  Yeah. I don't know what the binder is about, but it's gonna be great.

• 1:03:09Speaker 00

  Toby's not looking so good. Dwight is checking his pupils to see if they're dilated. He's got a big red mark on his forehead.

• 1:03:16Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 1:03:17Speaker 00

  And Daryl busts in. And it's like, "Hey, you called my sister an a-hole. You drove into my trash cans." He's ticked off.

• 1:03:25Speaker 01

  Yeah. Daryl wants to call corporate and file a complaint. Guys, guest star alert, Daryl's sister Gwyneth was played by Jamila Jackson. She is so good. She is so good in this scene.

• 1:03:36Speaker 00

  Perfect.

• 1:03:36Speaker 01

  She's going to appear in another episode as well. And Randy Cordray told us that after they cast her, she agreed to let Debbie Pierce cut her hair to match Craig for this role.

• 1:03:49Speaker 00

  Well, it really sold it.

• 1:03:50Speaker 01

  I mean, that's commitment. That's actor commitment.

• 1:03:53Speaker 00

  It is. And sometimes you get asked to do that stuff.

• 1:03:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, I remember. They would put that in the breakdowns for roles if there was, like, something you needed to do. Like, I don't know, shave your head, or grow a beard, or...

• 1:04:08Speaker 00

  Dye your hair.

• 1:04:09Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:04:10Speaker 00

  Dark, dark brown, like I did for "Haters Back Off."

• 1:04:11Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:04:12Speaker 00

  I was a full brunette.

• 1:04:13Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:04:14Speaker 00

  For two years.

• 1:04:15Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 1:04:15Speaker 00

  Freaked my family out.

• 1:04:18Speaker 00

  Well, Jamila, thanks for doing that, because we loved you as Daryl's sister.

• 1:04:22Speaker 01

  Dwight and Toby are gonna have to go down to the warehouse. They're gonna apologize. But then Dwight notices that some of the other warehouse workers are using the lift to get down from the top of the stairs.

• 1:04:36Speaker 00

  Instead of the stairs. They're like crawling through the banister on top of the lift, and then going zzzzz and going down.

• 1:04:42Speaker 01

  And Dwight's like, "Hold on. I think you hurt your leg using the lift instead of the stairs. And here's my evidence. There's this new piece of wood up there."

• 1:04:53Speaker 00

  Right.

• 1:04:53Speaker 01

  Shenanigans busted.

• 1:04:56Speaker 00

  Dwight is right. Daryl's like, "Uh, yeah."

• 1:04:59Speaker 01

  So Dwight is like, "I'm going to file a complaint because Daryl lied." Daryl is like, "I'm gonna file a complaint because you harassed my sister." Toby is like, "No paperwork. We're all just gonna move on." There's an epic stare-down between Daryl, his sister, and Dwight. And it ends with Toby at his desk being like, "So..." Dwight and Daryl decided to file complaints on one another. So now Toby is in a mountain of paperwork.

• 1:05:31Speaker 00

  With his red, like, forehead from running into trash cans.

• 1:05:35Speaker 01

  And his little stuffed doggy.

• 1:05:37Speaker 00

  Toby.

• 1:05:38Speaker 01

  All right. Well, we have one more storyline to wrap up here. Michael is going to call David Wallace in front of Jim and try to both save his own ass and tell David Wallace that he thinks that Jim is a good person for this promotion.

• 1:05:53Speaker 00

  Jim makes him put David on speakerphone.

• 1:05:57Speaker 01

  And he lies at first and says Jim is not there. And then David is like, "I want Jim to be there." So he does like this funny little like, "Oh..."

• 1:06:06Speaker 00

  He's walking in. Here he is.

• 1:06:07Speaker 01

  Oh, hey!

• 1:06:09Speaker 00

  Sitting down.

• 1:06:10Speaker 01

  Well, I had to look it up in the script. I wanted to know, did Steve improvise that in the moment? That was in the script. It was so funny. Steve did it so well. But also in this scene, Angela, David says, "Hey, I talked to Alan, and we had this idea that you guys would become like co-managers. Michael, you're gonna handle like the sort of big picture stuff. Jim, you handle the day-to-day. What do you think?" And Michael's like, "I don't know." And David's like, "Listen, this is the only way I could sell it to Alan."

• 1:06:41Speaker 00

  Who's Alan?

• 1:06:42Speaker 01

  Who is Alan?

• 1:06:43Speaker 00

  Who is Alan?

• 1:06:43Speaker 01

  Who is this guy?

• 1:06:45Speaker 00

  Who the hell is Alan?

• 1:06:46Speaker 01

  I don't know who Alan is.

• 1:06:48Speaker 00

  But Alan's in charge.

• 1:06:49Speaker 01

  Clearly. We never meet Alan. I've never heard of Alan before.

• 1:06:53Speaker 00

  Well, Alan, whoever you are, this isn't gonna go well.

• 1:06:57Speaker 01

  It's not gonna go well, Alan. It's a terrible idea.

• 1:06:59Speaker 00

  Terrible idea.

• 1:07:00Speaker 01

  We'll see how it goes next week at least.

• 1:07:02Speaker 00

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:07:02Speaker 01

  It is not gonna go well, Alan. Sorry to say.

• 1:07:05Speaker 00

  Well, I love this next moment. Dwight is gonna burst in to make an announcement, right?

• 1:07:11Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm.

• 1:07:12Speaker 00

  What he's discovered in the warehouse. But Michael was already making an announcement that he and Jim will now co-manage the Scranton branch. Dwight, Dwight looks like someone hit him in the face with a frying pan. He's like, "What the F?"

• 1:07:29Speaker 01

  And then he has a talking head that's just a scream.

• 1:07:32Speaker 00

  Like a primal scream.

• 1:07:34Speaker 01

  We had a fan question from Winter P. from Fort Wayne, Indiana, my birthplace. That's where I was born.

• 1:07:42Speaker 00

  How about that?

• 1:07:43Speaker 01

  After Jim gets promoted, Dwight has a talking head where he just screams. And you can see Creed, like, jump out of his seat in the background. Was Creed actually startled by the noise? I mean, I have to say, it looked like he was.

• 1:07:58Speaker 00

  They might've used the very first take.

• 1:08:00Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:08:00Speaker 00

  And Creed maybe didn't realize how loud rain was gonna be. Well, you know, in the shooting draft, that's the last scene.

• 1:08:07Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 1:08:08Speaker 00

  Yeah. But, and what made it to air, there was this lovely little ending scene between Meredith and Pam and Angela.

• 1:08:16Speaker 01

  I loved it. Pam is still trying to get her RSVP list finalized, and she asks Meredith, "Is she coming?"

• 1:08:23Speaker 00

  Meredith says, "Niagara Falls in October? Pfft, hells, yeah."

• 1:08:30Speaker 01

  But then, you know, this scene plays out. We discussed it at the top of the show, where Meredith doesn't want to return her RSVP card. She'll just text Pam.

• 1:08:40Speaker 00

  If she wants ribs or not. And as Meredith leaves, Pam is clearly, like, frustrated. And Angela says rude about Meredith.

• 1:08:50Speaker 01

  Pam is so excited. She's like, "Yes." And she's gonna sit down and have a moment with Angela in the break room and maybe vent a little bit. But first, she has to move Angela's purse onto the table.

• 1:09:01Speaker 00

  Pam, my bag was there.

• 1:09:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:09:05Speaker 00

  There goes their moment. Over.

• 1:09:07Speaker 01

  It's done.

• 1:09:08Speaker 00

  They're never going to be friends.

• 1:09:12Speaker 01

  Well, there you have it, guys. That was the meeting. Next week, we have a very special episode of Office Ladies with a very special person.

• 1:09:22Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 1:09:22Speaker 01

  Who we love.

• 1:09:23Speaker 00

  Who we love so much that Jenna is talking like this. We have a special person.

• 1:09:28Speaker 01

  Well, he's fascinating.

• 1:09:32Speaker 00

  I can't wait for you guys to hear this interview. Have a fantastic week. Thanks for listening to Office Ladies. We're sending you a big, big hug through the microphone thingy.

• 1:09:42Speaker 01

  I like it. See you next week.

• 1:09:48Speaker 01

  Thank you for listening to Office Ladies: Second Drink.

• 1:09:51Speaker 00

  This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.

• 1:09:55Speaker 01

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

• 1:10:02Speaker 00

  Our Second Drinks episodes are produced by Molly Nugent.

• 1:10:05Speaker 01

  Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer.

• 1:10:08Speaker 00

  Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis.

• 1:10:11Speaker 01

  Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.

• 1:10:14Speaker 00

  Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Braden.