EP. 204 — Junior Salesman

Jenna [00:00:04] I’m Jenna Fischer. 

Angela [00:00:05] And I’m Angela Kinsey. 

Jenna [00:00:06] We were on The Office together. 

Angela [00:00:07] And we’re best friends. 

Jenna [00:00:08] And now we’re doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. 

Angela [00:00:12] 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. 

Jenna [00:00:19] We’re the office ladies. Hello!

Angela [00:00:25] Hey, there. 

Jenna [00:00:27] How’s it going today? 

Angela [00:00:29] Pretty good. I’m pretty cozy. 

Jenna [00:00:32] I see we’ve both shown up in our robes today. I am in my pajamas. 

Angela [00:00:37] I slept in this top. I just put a bra on for you, so I wasn’t sloppy sloppies. 

Jenna [00:00:42] I want everyone to know we did not plan this, but moments before we were set to start this recording- we’re recording from home today. We did not come into the studio in our robes. But moments before, I texted Angela and I said, it’s been a crazy morning and I don’t have time to get dressed. I will be doing this podcast in my pajamas and a robe. And you wrote back, Same lady. Same. 

Angela [00:01:06] Yes. I when I record from home, I record in our little closet, you know? And but the closet doesn’t have a vent so it doesn’t get any heat. So it’s really cold. So I always bundle up. And so we’re cozy in our robes. 

Jenna [00:01:20] Well, I’m in my pajamas and robe today because I am full on Pam. Lee is out of town. 

Angela [00:01:26] That’s true. 

Jenna [00:01:26] And we have talked about what happens to me when he is gone. And this is what happens. He is off skiing with the kids. I don’t even have the kids. And I had such a (BLEEP) show of the morning with just the pets that I did not have time to get dressed. But it made me think, Angela, whenever we would come into the studio or come on a Zoom and we would be like, I had the most insane morning, I don’t even know what kind of mood I’m in. Sam would always say, oh, these are my favorite podcasts when y’all come in with this energy, he’s like, this is gonna be great. 

Angela [00:02:05] This is no makeup in our robes energy. 

Jenna [00:02:07] So here we go. We are here today to talk about Junior Salesman. It is season nine, episode 13, written by Carrie Kemper and directed by Dave Rogers. 

Angela [00:02:18] Give me a summary, Pajama Jenna. 

Jenna [00:02:21] Here it is. When David Wallace tasks Dwight to find a temporary replacement for Jim, he interviews all of his friends and family in an effort to avoid hiring Clark, and instead create a desk cluster alliance against Pam. This is really an episode with just an A story. 

Angela [00:02:44] Yeah, well, didn’t start out that way. We’ll get to it. 

Jenna [00:02:48] That is true. All right. Today, fast fact one, two and three is one fast fact. And it is called, We Are Halfway Through Season Nine. 

Angela [00:03:00] Oh my gosh. Halfway through. Halfway through the- and then then there’s- that’s the show. 

Jenna [00:03:09] Yes. If this season was a day of the week we have just hit Wednesday evening. 

Angela [00:03:13] Thank you for putting it in that analogy for me. We’re on me’re on hump day. 

Jenna [00:03:19] In case everyone out there didn’t know what halfway meant. Well, listen, we’ve been getting a lot of mail from people on the subject of our rewatch coming to an end, and I wanted to share some of it today. 

Angela [00:03:30] I’m so excited about this because you’ve told me there’s some great letters. 

Jenna [00:03:36] There sure were. First up, we got this letter from Mackenzie C in Atlanta, Georgia, who said, I’ve been listening to your podcast since the first episode and I’ve gone back and relistened just like I rewatch the show. It’s so funny to go back and listen to earlier episodes where y’all were apologizing about deep dives or going off on random tangents. Now, the deep dives are everyone’s favorite parts. Well, side note, Mackenzie, we have gotten letters from people who have said when we go on our tangents, it makes them want to… 

Angela [00:04:07] To like, throw their phone, like… 

Jenna [00:04:10] There was that guy. But I’m thinking of the guy who wrote us and said he was going to drive his car off the road. He couldn’t take it anymore. 

Angela [00:04:17] Yeah, he really does not like them. There’s been a few. 

Jenna [00:04:22] Yeah, but thank you. I think for the most part people enjoy them. But Mackenzie went on to say, And do you remember when y’all didn’t have this amazing feature on your website and we all just had to email in our questions. It’s crazy how far this podcast has come. 

Angela [00:04:38] Thanks, Mackenzie. I mean, yeah, it’s definitely been a lot of learning curves, right, Jenna? 

Jenna [00:04:43] It’s come a long way and I feel like it’s always evolving. As soon as I think we’ve found some formula, we mix it up, which I love. 

Angela [00:04:52] Yeah. Me too. And I feel like the audience has been on this learning journey with us. 

Jenna [00:04:58] Yeah. 

Angela [00:04:59] Well, you know, Mackenzie, speaking of relistening to the podcast, we have, Jenna, gotten comments also on our Instagram. Like Mackenzie, @MichelleGoldrunstrails said, We have been listening to them for so long, I might just go back and re listen to their rewatch. And @Xthan -I’m not sure if I’m saying that correctly- said, how are we already at season nine? I don’t want it to end. I’ve been listening to their rewatch five times. 

Jenna [00:05:29] That’s amazing! 

Angela [00:05:31] We love you guys! That is so awesome and humbling and oh my gosh, thank you. 

Jenna [00:05:39] Well before we finish our rewatch, people have some suggestions for us, Angela. This is the suggestion box section. 

Angela [00:05:47] I cannot wait to hear these. 

Jenna [00:05:50] Karen W from Sharon, Massachusetts said, I would love to hear you both interview Allison Jones. 

Angela [00:05:56] I would too. 

Jenna [00:05:57] Yeah, Karen said, I just listened to the interview with Zach Woods where he talks about her, and I want to learn more about her. Thanks for your show. That’s a good suggestion. 

Angela [00:06:07] She is wonderful. And, you know, I just ran into her. Remember, I was running errands and then I sat down, had a cup of tea with her, and it was so lovely. All right, that’s got to happen. 

Jenna [00:06:16] Nicholas J. from Alton, Illinois, said, Have you considered interviewing someone from Standards and Practices? 

Angela [00:06:27] Oh man, I would love to interview the person who was always snarky to Randy Cordray. 

Jenna [00:06:31] We got to do that. Well, you know, I did that commercial with those guys, that AT&T commercial, and in the commercial, Brian Baumgartner has a little pug dog. Guess who brought the pug? Bob Dunn. 

Both [00:06:47] Bob Dunn’s animals. 

Jenna [00:06:49] Yes! And I was chatting them up and I told them we talk about them on the podcast, and I said, would you ever come on? We want to interview you. And this is not Bob Dunn, but this is like the guy who works for Bob Dunn. He was like, sure. I remember coming to The Office. He said, man, you know, the hardest animal that we had to work with for you guys was that goose. And I was like, save it for the podcast! 

Angela [00:07:12] Not Giant Bandit, the biggest cat I’ve ever held? 

Jenna [00:07:17] I was shocked, but I, I was like, I’m now I’m so intrigued. This guy’s got to have so many stories. 

Angela [00:07:24] Oh, lady, there’s so many people we still want to talk to about The Office. I still really want to talk to Timothy Olyphant, and I want to talk to Kathy Bates, and I want to talk to Jerry Miner. And, I mean, there’s so many. 

Jenna [00:07:39] I agree, I need to hear from them. All right, listen, more than anything, Angela, we got a lot of mail from people asking us to just keep podcasting in general. For example, Olivia K from Cleveland said, Dear Office Ladies, my question is more of a plea. And then in all caps, Olivia wrote, please don’t stop your podcast when you run out of Office episodes. Olivia went on to say, I’ve loved listening to you over the years. Your sunny personalities and sweet relationship truly brighten my day every time I listen. You’ve also had a huge influence on the way I watch all my favorite shows. I’m constantly wondering new things as I watch, and I’m often thinking, I wish Angela and Jenna would do a podcast about this show too. So if you need an idea for continuing your podcast, here’s my pitch: The Rewatch Ladies. You could rewatch popular movies and TV shows together and do summaries, deep dives, interviews, all your usual great stuff. Or you could even talk about paint drying and I would still listen. 

Angela [00:08:46] Oh, I love that. The Rewatch Ladies. We got to- okay, that’s got to go on our list. 

Jenna [00:08:53] All right, we’ve got another pitch from Emma Grace from Texas. Hey, ladies, will you please add The Edge to your break down list? I watched it because of Jenna, and it is one of my all time favorite movies. She’s right. So inspirational. 

Angela [00:09:09] I know it would be stressful, but I’ll do it for you guys. 

Jenna [00:09:14] And finally, Larry P from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said, Please do at least one whole episode of The Office Ladies burn it to the ground. You’re both so kind and polite and diplomatic 99.999% of the time, but surely there have been occasions when you could have said more but chose not to. After all these years, aren’t you entitled to have a say? Let it out, ladies. Love you both.

Angela [00:09:41] That’s awesome. 

Jenna [00:09:49] So we have a lot of ideas here, Ange. 

Angela [00:09:50] We have a lot of ideas. We really do. Well, here’s the thing I know, Jenna, I, I don’t want to stop podcasting. I just I love it. I love doing this with you. And I love our office ladies family. I love that I get to spend each week with you all. It’s just such a wonderful community and I loved getting to know everyone and I don’t want it to stop. 

Jenna [00:10:12] I agree. This is my happy place, Ange. It is. It really is. Look at me. I’m in my robe. And I just love reading all those letters. I love podcasting with you. And and I’m going to say something. I’m going to put it out there. 

Angela [00:10:27] Okay. You know how I feel about putting stuff out there. Put it out there. Well, where are you going to put out there? I’ll come in agreement with you. 

Jenna [00:10:35] Would it be totally insane for us to go back and rewatch it again and just keep talking about it? Because, listen, I am genuinely curious to go back and watch season one again. I want to see it now that I have the scope of the whole series in my head. I mean, this is what people do. They go back and rewatch. Why can’t we just go back and rewatch and keep talking about it? 

Angela [00:11:02] I mean, you’re not crazy. There are people that have written in and said this. I have a comment right here. Oh, it’s from @BrisaRodriguez. They said, I really need you guys to start from the beginning again. I’m not ready to move on. I mean… 

Jenna [00:11:17] See?! See?! This is what I’m saying. 

Angela [00:11:19] I know. And you know what? I think about all the stuff we didn’t have in the beginning. Like I didn’t have the DVDs. I didn’t have the deleted scenes. We didn’t have all the call sheets. We didn’t have some of the candy bag alts and the shooting drafts. Like, we have gathered information as we’ve gone. And I know some of those early episodes. We would have more to share. 

Jenna [00:11:41] Well, lady. Just the other day we were out to lunch with Dave Rogers and he reminded us of a behind the scenes tidbit from Garden Party that we had completely forgotten about. And I’m not even going to say it right now, just in case we really do rewatch it again, I’m going to save it. We already have a Garden Party tidbit is what I’m saying. 

Angela [00:12:00] That’s true. We were so excited at lunch. And then I feel like there’s just so many more things that are in the world of The Office. There’s the webisodes, for example. 

Jenna [00:12:11] Yes, people have asked us to break those down. I would like to do that. You won an Emmy for that. 

Angela [00:12:16] I did. For the accountants. And then you and I both loved the original version. 

Jenna [00:12:21] Yes. Why are we not breaking down the British Office? Of course. 

Angela [00:12:27] And you know what else? Oh, how about this? Because I don’t know if your phone was blowin up, but mine was blowin up because there’s some new tidbits about the possible spinoff/ reboot. I mean, they haven’t started shooting or anything, but there’s a big update. 

Jenna [00:12:41] Yeah, you should tell people. 

Angela [00:12:42] All right. So writer Michael Komen has joined Greg Daniels to co-create the new Office spin off. Some of you might know Michael because he co-created the series Nathan For You alongside Nathan Fielder. 

Jenna [00:12:55] That show is so funny. Did you watch it? It’s so funny. 

Angela [00:12:59] That Nathan is so funny. I just sound like my mom. That Nathan. 

Jenna [00:13:03] We both did that night. That Nathan. That was a funny show. People- oh, I laughed. 

Angela [00:13:06] Oh, that Nathan. They are funny folks. Oh my goodness. 

Jenna [00:13:09] We turned into the two old aunties on that one. 

Angela [00:13:11] Michael has also worked on The Colbert Report, mad TV, Late Night with Conan O’Brien. And a little tidbit. Both Michael and Greg got their starts as writers on Saturday Night Live. But Jenna, we know Michael. We know know Michael. 

Jenna [00:13:26] Yes, we know him very well because he is Ellie Kemper’s husband. I’ll tell you a sweet thing about Michael. When I was in New York and I was shooting Mean Girls with my broken shoulder. When it was time for me to leave town, I couldn’t get my bag down to the car. And Michael, who was nearby, hopped over and grabbed my bag for me and took it down to my car for me. 

Angela [00:13:54] Such a sweetie. 

Jenna [00:13:55] Do you see what I’m saying? So nice guy and also very funny. 

Angela [00:14:00] And also someone we could say, hey, we’re going to break down the reboot. We should do it. We have to break down whatever the reboot spinoff ends up being. 

Jenna [00:14:09] We definitely need to podcast about that. We will go on set and we will stalk and take notes. We’ll do that. 

Angela [00:14:15] Sorry guys. We’re coming. 

Jenna [00:14:18] Get ready. 

Angela [00:14:20] And then here’s the other thing. I loved doing our Dear Office Ladies episode. I loved when our call to action was write in about your workplace dilemmas. That was so fun. 

Jenna [00:14:30] I would love to do more Dear Office Ladies. We could do a lot of themes. We could do BFF advice or wedding advice. I mean, I feel like we could have guests come on and help give us advice. I don’t know, this is a lot of options. What we know is that we are not going to stop podcasting. 

Angela [00:14:49] We know that. 

Jenna [00:14:52] So how do we pick? 

Angela [00:14:54] I don’t know how we pick. I don’t know. 

Jenna [00:14:56] But can we do all of them? I don’t know. 

Angela [00:14:59] Maybe we can. Maybe we are- I don’t know, guys. Maybe we’ll put a poll in stories. What do we do? We do the- we rewatch The Office again, or we rewatch something else? Or we do Dear Office Ladies. Or we do a hybrid. 

Jenna [00:15:15] I mean, for me, my top contenders are rewatch The Office again. I can’t believe I’m saying that. 

Angela [00:15:23] I know. 

Jenna [00:15:24] We started, I didn’t even know if we’d finish, and now I want to do it again. I would want to watch other Office centered content. And Dear Office Ladies. But also maybe a bonus episode where we watch The Edge. I don’t know, that’s not a poll anymore. That’s doing it all. 

Angela [00:15:42] Well, wait. 

Jenna [00:15:45] Wait. Codi is commenting. 

Angela [00:15:46] Codi is saying something. Codi, what are you saying? Codi, hop on the mic. 

Jenna [00:15:50] Codi, as our executive producer, what are your thoughts? 

Codi Fischer [00:15:54] Well, I love Dear Office Ladies number one. But second, it was like when we were starting the podcast, we were trying to find the vibe of the show, what listeners liked. And I was like, well, we can probably redo the first 10/15 episodes to make them in the style of this episode. And not like the first ones were bad, but it’s like but the style’s changed. I don’t know, you guys come at it in such a fun, unique way that like we found as we went along, you know? I don’t know, just a thought. Take it or leave it. 

Angela [00:16:20] All right. 

Jenna [00:16:21] We like it, I take it. 

Angela [00:16:23] We take it, we redo the beginning. 

Jenna [00:16:26] All right. To sum up, we love you all. And we want to hear from you. We do. We are halfway through season nine, and we want to hear what you want us to do next. We’re here for you. 

Angela [00:16:37] We should probably start making a plan. So we’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Jenna [00:16:41] For now, why don’t we take a break and then when we come back, we will start talking about Junior Salesman. 

Angela [00:16:48] Let’s do it. This episode starts with such a juicy moment. The camera is rolling, but it’s sitting on the floor and from the waist down we see like two sets of legs and feet. Right? And it’s Pam and the boom operator, Brian. And Pam is kind of apologizing to him for getting him into trouble. And he’s saying, you know, how are you and Jim doing? And then Erin says, Pam, you know, you have a phone call. And she kind of leaves. Meredith, of course, has to hit on Brian the boom guy, which apparently she’s been doing for a while because he’s like, Meredith, Meredith, you know what? They’re telling us we can’t really talk to you guys anymore. 

Jenna [00:17:41] It’s true. 

Angela [00:17:42] I have one quick background catch at 33 seconds. I’m calling this a sensible shoe catch. 

Jenna [00:17:49] What is it? 

Angela [00:17:49] Did you see Pam’s heels? I mean, is it 1960? I feel like my grandmother, who loved a sensible shoe, Lena Mae Kinsey, loved a sensible shoe. I feel like she would be like. That’s. That’s a very sensible high heel, Pam Beasley. 

Jenna [00:18:06] That is a working woman’s shoe. 

Angela [00:18:09] It’s a sensible shoe catch. 

Jenna [00:18:11] We got some fan mail about this cold open, Angela. 

Angela [00:18:14] Oh, I bet we did. 

Jenna [00:18:16] This first one is from Chalee D in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hi, Chalee! You write in every episode. Every episode, you send us questions, multiple questions, and they’re always so good. 

Angela [00:18:28] Thank you Chalee. Yeah. 

Jenna [00:18:28] Shelly said, Does Pam make sure to ask about Alyssa when she’s talking to Brian just to let the viewers know that nothing happened between her and Brian? Was Brian’s original storyline going to be that he would have been trouble for Jim and Pam’s relationship? Oh, Chalee. Yes.

Angela [00:18:49] Yes. Tell us, Jenna, spill the tea. That’s what they say, right? You spill the tea. 

Jenna [00:18:57] Do you serve the tea? Or do you spill it?

Angela [00:19:00] No, you spill it. You spill the tea. 

Jenna [00:19:02] Is it because when I was drinking my tea, you told me such a good gossip moment that I spilled it? Is that what spilling the tea is? 

Angela [00:19:10] I don’t know. 

Jenna [00:19:11] But it doesn’t matter though. 

Angela [00:19:12] It doesn’t matter. I did just learn what the ick is. 

Jenna [00:19:15] What’s the ick? 

Angela [00:19:16] The ick. Okay. My teenagers told me it’s like if you like someone and you’re like, oh my gosh, they’re great, they’re great. And then all of a sudden they do something and you’re like, ick. That’s the ick. 

Jenna [00:19:27] Oh. Like if you like them but then maybe you go on a date and they chew with their mouth open. That’s the ick?

Angela [00:19:31] Or something. Yeah. Then all of a sudden that’s like the ick. Anyway. Anyway, I don’t think Pam has the ick about Brian. I think Pam cares for him as a friend. 

Jenna [00:19:44] Yes, that is true. And originally in the script- in fact, in this scene as scripted, Pam tells Brian she talked to Alyssa about what’s going on with her and Jim and that Alyssa sort of took Jim’s side, and they have a whole banter about how that’s typical of Alyssa, and they kind of laugh about it. And what we were trying to do with that storytelling was express that Alyssa and Brian are like couple friends with Jim and Pam. 

Angela [00:20:17] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:20:17] And that Brian comforting Pam was like, as if your friend’s husband was comforting you in a difficult moment. But we ended up cutting it out and making it simpler and just having Pam reference Alyssa. 

Angela [00:20:32] I think that’s good. I think that was a good cut. 

Jenna [00:20:35] Yeah. We also got mail from Clara D in Germany who said, Probably not a very niche opinion, but the Brian storyline dot dot dot. It feels physically painful to watch. Do you remember the fan reactions when these episodes first came out? 

Angela [00:20:53] Oh, wow. Clara. 

Jenna [00:20:55] From the moment Brian appeared, fans went completely berserk. 

Angela [00:21:00] I mean, they lost their minds. 

Jenna [00:21:04] The reaction was so much stronger than we ever expected, and we actually started scrambling and pulling back on some of the plans we had, because just this spy shot of the two of them talking, where Pam even references Alyssa… People got so upset. 

Angela [00:21:21] You know, our longtime editor, Dave Rogers, who Jenna and I just had lunch with, he directed this episode, right? And we were catching up with him, and we told him we were about to break down this episode. He’s going to share a bunch of audio clips, but the first thing we asked him was about this Pam Brian storyline. And here’s what he had to say. 

Dave Rogers [00:21:40] I have a I have a pretty strong opinion on the, Pam Brian arc. I don’t have any issues with Brian being a potential threat to Jim and Pam’s relationship. He’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to, you know, that’s what he was there for, was to, you know, be someone that like, oh, is this is this going to put a deeper wedge in between Jim and Pam who are already fighting? But I that that never bothered me. I had no issues with that. And I had no issues. I loved how Brian shows up for the first time. I love the reveal of Brian and to me it’s mind blowing. It’s like, oh my God. And you know, we left the episode at the end of that and then it’s, you know, then what’s going to happen next? And that’s what I have issues with, that we kind of retconned him in. That suddenly we have this character that we’ve never seen before, that Jim and Pam have had this relationship with. And that bothered me. Like that they knew him and that they were friendly with him and his wife. I just had a lot of trouble with that. It didn’t feel real to me. Like we know so much about them. We were with them every day. You know, we’re watching the show and all these components of their life, and then suddenly there’s this, you know, this character that supposedly has been there the whole time. I mean, I guess it’s plausible, but I struggled with that. 

Jenna [00:23:00] Dave, I hear you. I hear what you’re saying. 

Angela [00:23:03] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:23:03] And we did discuss this when we were kind of playing out this storyline. And I guess the excuse we came up with is that we haven’t really followed any of Jim and Pam’s real life friends unless they showed up at an occasion, like, for example, the christening. Or maybe how, like, Jim’s friend came  in to play a prank on Dwight. Like, we don’t know a lot about their personal lives or their personal friends. So that’s how we thought we could get away with it. 

Angela [00:23:38] I would even say there’s times where we’ve gotten a little nugget, even in deleted scenes, that, like, Jim might make his usual salmon and we’re like, oh, Jim makes salmon? We really don’t know about their lives at home. Like… So that wasn’t as big a jump for me. It was just weird, though, to see such a cutie patootie who had been, I guess, there with Pam all along. He’s very fit. Chris. He’s, like, super fit. 

Jenna [00:24:08] Yes. The cutie patootie that you are referring to is Chris Diamantopoulos, who played Brian, the boom operator. And it occurred to me that I hadn’t done a good introduction of him because we’re hoping to have him on the pod. 

Angela [00:24:23] Yes. 

Jenna [00:24:24] But I will say I did read with him. I did auditions with all of the final contenders for Brian the Boom Guy, and this was one of those times when, just like when I read with Rashida for Karen, it was like, oh, it’s you. Of course it’s you. Like he he ran away with it and he was so wonderful. And, you know, here’s a little tidbit of trivia about him. He does a ton of voiceover work, like a ton. And he is the voice of Mickey Mouse. 

Angela [00:24:57] No way! 

Jenna [00:24:58] Yes. If you go to Disneyland and you ride the ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, that’s him as Mickey Mouse. But he’s also like the current voice of Mickey Mouse in all kinds of animated stuff. 

Angela [00:25:13] No way! That is making my brain go, wuh? Cause it’s like, because I just picture him. I don’t see that voice. That’s crazy. 

Jenna [00:25:21] Yeah, and I would make him talk to me as Mickey Mouse on set. Because it was. It was. I mean, it’s crazy. If you close your eyes, it’s Mickey Mouse. 

Angela [00:25:32] That’s wild. 

Jenna [00:25:33] I don’t know if he comes on the pod, if he’ll be allowed to do it or not. 

Angela [00:25:37] Oh, he might not be allowed to. But we can, like, play a little bit of Mickey Mouse, like, so we can hear it. 

Jenna [00:25:43] Oh, maybe we can find an audio clip of him doing it. Okay guys. 

Angela [00:25:46] Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Jenna [00:25:48] Just know that’s Mickey Mouse. Brian the boom guy, does that make it easier to like him knowing that? Maybe when you watch the show? I feel like I can’t hate Mickey Mouse. 

Angela [00:25:59] Oh, man. But they definitely can hate Brian the boom guy. I felt bad for him. It was like him and Lindsay, man, they got so much heat for playing these characters. 

Jenna [00:26:10] I think that Chris, Lindsay, Rich Sommer, and Rashida Jones should all go out to dinner sometime and talk about what it’s like to play a character trying to come between Jim and Pam. I’d love to record that dinner. 

Angela [00:26:23] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:26:24] Well, this episode is going to start with Clark approaching Dwight in the break room. He heard that Dwight is going to be interviewing people for a new sales position, and Clark would like to get the job. 

Angela [00:26:37] Yeah, basically, Dwight has to find someone to temporarily take Jim’s place while Jim is in Philly. And Dwight is really excited. He’s he’s looking forward to having someone at his desk clump that really gets him, you know? 

Jenna [00:26:51] Yeah. He says, you know, like someone who knows the difference between a slaughterhouse and a rendering plant. 

Angela [00:26:56] Duh. Jim. 

Jenna [00:26:58] I looked it up. 

Angela [00:27:00] Did you really? 

Jenna [00:27:01] I mean, I knew what a slaughterhouse was because it’s in the name, you know? That’s… where you slaughter animals. But I was like, what’s a rendering plant? Do you want to know? 

Angela [00:27:16] Is that where they repurpose parts of the animals? 

Jenna [00:27:20] Yes. 

Angela [00:27:21] Oh. 

Jenna [00:27:22] Yes, that’s exactly right. Didn’t know that. 

Angela [00:27:25] Neither did Jim. 

Jenna [00:27:28] That’s right. 

Angela [00:27:29] I have a call sheet tidbit for you. 

Jenna [00:27:31] What is it? 

Angela [00:27:32] Our first day of filming this episode was Monday, December 12th, 2012. The high was of 68 degrees and the low was 47. That would be our average weather for this whole entire week. And I want you to know, when Steve Burgess sent me the call sheets, he included a photo from his yard. So I sent him back one of my yard. And we now do this every week. We send each other a snapshot from our yard. I asked him if I could share them and he said yes. 

Jenna [00:28:00] Oh well, lady, we’ve started doing this as well. When I sent him my fan questions and production questions, he now sends me back a photo as well. So…

Angela [00:28:10] I love it! 

Jenna [00:28:11] This is fun. 

Angela [00:28:12] He’s the cutest human. 

Jenna [00:28:15] Clark is really going to pitch himself for this job. He reminds Dwight of some of the sacrifices that he has gone through for Dunder Mifflin in his short time here. But Dwight has a talking head where he says Clark has no chance. Dwight is going to interview Rolf, who fishes with hand grenades, and Trevor, who will laugh so hard you’ll puke your pants. 

Angela [00:28:38] Here’s something that Dave shared with us on our lunch, Jenna, which is that in the initial draft, Rolf wasn’t included. Remember? 

Jenna [00:28:46] Yes. 

Angela [00:28:47] And that Dave was like, what? You can’t not have Rolf. Rolf and Dave pitched so hard to have the character of Rolf be in this episode. And I have to say, some of my favorite moments are of Rolf. 

Jenna [00:28:59] Well, on that note, I have a little tidbit that Dave shared with us for a scene that comes later. I’ll save it. 

Angela [00:29:06] Save it. 

Jenna [00:29:07] It’s about Rolf. 

Angela [00:29:08] It is. I need everyone to go to two minutes and 20 seconds. 

Jenna [00:29:13] What for? 

Angela [00:29:14] Dwight has super flat… Like flatty flat bangs. Like super flatty bangs. 

Jenna [00:29:22] Did he have a hat on at lunch or something? 

Angela [00:29:23] No, I think I think maybe someone got a new flat iron in the hair and makeup trailer. Please note flatty bangs at two minutes 20 seconds. They’re real flat. 

Jenna [00:29:36] Well next up, Dwight and his flatty bangs are going to antagonize Jim and Pam. He’s going to tell them there’s going to be a new alliance, and it’s going to be Dwight and a friend against Pam. Pam is sort of worried. 

Angela [00:29:50] Jim has a talking head. I don’t know, it kind of annoyed me. I felt like he was a little bit flippant. He says, Things between me and Pam are delicate, so adding more Dwight to her life could only make things worse. 

Jenna [00:30:04] What bothered you about that? 

Angela [00:30:06] It just seems like a little blasé about the state of affairs, if you will. Like a little bit of like to the camera, like, oh, things are kind of crappy with the missus. Uh oh! Whoopsies. 

Jenna [00:30:21] Oh, boy. You do not usually get so hot to trot about Jim, but here you are! 

Angela [00:30:28] Maybe it’s because I’m in my cozy pajamas and my robe. I’m just really comfortable.  

Jenna [00:30:33] It’s starting. Sam, if you’re listening, it’s starting. 

Angela [00:30:35] Yeah, Sam. 

Jenna [00:30:37] So Clark and Rolf are now in the conference room, and they’re waiting to interview. This is now the waiting room. Although Rolf says to Clark, You’re interviewing. I’m getting the job. Which was very funny. 

Angela [00:30:53] Yeah. Dwight now has a talking head where he says Rolf’s his best friend, and he’s the man. Cool. Calm. Collected. Sweet guy. Can’t be rattled. And then this cuts to a scene where Rolf is just yelling. Like yelling at the sweetest little bunny. He’s like, he’s bending over in the grass, yelling at a bunny. 

Jenna [00:31:15] We got a fan question from Stacey F in Santa Cruz, California who said, That bunny that Rolf is yelling at at three minutes and 36 seconds is perfect. Please tell me about the bunny actor and how the wranglers got the bunny to turn away from Rolf as he is yelling at it. Well, Stacey, Steve Burgess told me that the money was from Bob Dunn. And if we get to interview Bob Dunn, we will ask them, how do you train a bunny to disregard someone who is yelling at them? I don’t have that answer now, but Steve said that Bob Dunn not only brought the bunny, but they also brought the rabbit poop. 

Angela [00:31:52] What? 

Jenna [00:31:53] Yeah, that was surrounding the bunny. Steve Burgess says the bunny was $150. The trainer fee was $600. Transportation for the bunny was $250 and the poop was free. 

Angela [00:32:08] The transportation cost more than the bunny. 

Jenna [00:32:12] Yes, it was more expensive to transport the bunny than the bunny charges to appear. 

Angela [00:32:19] To act. Yeah. 

Jenna [00:32:20] It’s a good thing the bunny can’t read. 

Angela [00:32:24] He didn’t get a good deal. 

Jenna [00:32:26] He didn’t. 

Angela [00:32:27] Everyone else made more money. Jim is now on the phone. He’s assuring his Athlead teammate that he will talk to David Wallace today, but says, don’t get your hopes up. And we learn that Athlead lost a really big investor last week, and his coworkers want Jim to ask David Wallace for some money. That’s going to be awkward. 

Jenna [00:32:49] Yeah. So he says they lost a big investor last week. Remember they also lost a big investor when Jim couldn’t drive home for the recital. So have they lost two big investors now? 

Angela [00:33:01] I’m worried for Athlead. 

Jenna [00:33:03] I know. 

Angela [00:33:04] Well Rolf and Dwight now loudly, very loudly, approach the desk clump where Dwight and Jim and Pam sit. Dwight’s saying that chair is going to be yours and this desk. And Jim’s trying to talk on the phone. And Jim’s like, I’m on the phone. And Dwight goes, no doy. Who says that anymore? Who says, no doy? 

Jenna [00:33:26] Is that out? 

Angela [00:33:26] I think it’s out. 

Jenna [00:33:27] You know what that is? That’s an ick. 

Angela [00:33:29] That’s an ick. 

Jenna [00:33:32] Well, Rolf says to Pam, You better like Norwegian black metal because I don’t wear earbuds. So that’s what’s in store for Pam if Rolf gets the job. And, you know, Pam tries to brush it off, she says, you know what? It’s just a seating arrangement. Doesn’t matter. And that kind of hits Jim. He’s like, oof. 

Angela [00:33:52] Well, next up in Andy’s office, Dwight is going to look over Rolf’s resume. This was my favorite interview of all the ones that Dwight did. And I think we need to hear it. 

Dwight [00:34:04] So I’ve got your resumé here, but it’s not telling me everything. 

Rolf [00:34:08] A lot of that information is private. How do I know you’re qualified to evaluate me? 

Dwight [00:34:12] I’m the one offering the job. 

Rolf [00:34:13] What are your credentials? 

Dwight [00:34:15] I’ve worked here for 12 years. Won salesman of the year. I’m an assistant to the regional manager. 

Rolf [00:34:19] I think I’ve heard everything I need to hear. 

Dwight [00:34:20] Wait wait, wait. No, I mean, if you need to know more you can call David Wallace. I’m sure he’ll give a reference. 

Rolf [00:34:24] Thank you. Dwight, I’ll be in touch. 

Dwight [00:34:27] Well, they can’t all be winners. 

Jenna [00:34:31] I love it so much. I. I really want to have an interview where I hand over a resume and I’ve redacted it. There’s like redacted- those bars. Those black bars. 

Angela [00:34:42] yeah. How do I know you’re qualified to know these things about me? I just loved it. James Urbaniak is so great as Rolf. That’s another person I would like to talk to on the podcast. 

[00:34:54] Yes! See, next time we rewatch this episode, we’ll have James Urbaniak on. 

Angela [00:34:59] That’s right. 

Jenna [00:35:00] The redo of the rewatch is writing itself. Well, next up is Trevor. 

Angela [00:35:05] Yeah, and apparently Trevor is a real professional who loves to jump on people. Like he actually jumps on people. 

Jenna [00:35:12] Yeah. In his interview, Trevor seems blindsided by the fact that he’s going to be asked questions. He has clearly never interviewed for anything before. I guess. And we got a fan question from Carly O in Chicago, Illinois, who said, Wouldn’t Oscar recognize Trevor and be mad that he’s interviewing at Dunder Mifflin after trying to break his kneecaps? 

Angela [00:35:39] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:35:40] Carly, if you look in the background over Trevor’s shoulder, kind of through the blinds, you can see Erin and Oscar at reception looking in on the interview. So I think that this was meant to express Oscar’s concern. 

Angela [00:35:55] Yeah, I think you’re right. Clark and Jim are now going to have a moment. Clark asks Jim for permission to review the price sheets before his interview. And Jim wants to see if Clark’s going to be a good desk mate for Pam, and he’s liking him. And of course, Dwight sees this, and he does not like that. He says, you know what? I can’t hire Clark. He may look like a Schrute, but he thinks like a Halpert, and he acts like a Beasley. 

Jenna [00:36:21] That’s right. Clark is now in Dwight’s office, and he is doing a good job at this interview that Dwight is really trying to make him fail. 

Angela [00:36:31] That’s right. He’s asking him a whole bunch of questions. And then Clark says that’s just a classic no win situation. So I’d Kobayashi Maru it. And Dwight says, damn it! Perfect answer. Again. 

Jenna [00:36:45] Were you wondering what that meant? 

Angela [00:36:47] I was. 

Jenna [00:36:49] Well, then you’ll be happy that we got a letter from Anne Marie K in London. Because Anne Marie K, thank you very much, is going to explain it to us. 

Angela [00:36:58] Is it Kobayashi from The Usual Suspects? 

Jenna [00:37:02] No, it is a Star Trek reference. Anne Marie said this is a very quick exchange between Dwight and Clark, but since my husband is a huge Star Trek fan and I am an Office fan, I got him to explain this reference and I did a deep dive for you. 

Angela [00:37:20] Thank you!

Jenna [00:37:22] The Kobayashi Maru is the name of a stranded ship from a Star Trek training simulation. In this training simulation, the ship has lost power and it has drifted into enemy Klingon space. Crossing into enemy space will be seen as an act of war. 

Angela [00:37:41] But it’s not a real ship. This is a simulation. 

Jenna [00:37:44] It’s a simulation. However, in the simulation, if you don’t cross into this enemy territory, a hundred people will die. 

Angela [00:37:54] In real life? Or in the simulation? 

Jenna [00:37:56] In the simulation. So the formulation is asking you what do you do? What do you do when there’s no good right answer? 

Angela [00:38:04] Oh, you Kobayashi Maru it. 

Jenna [00:38:06] Yes. Captain Kirk famously hacked the simulation, lowering the Klingons attack shields so that he could win so that he could pass into the territory without 100 people dying and also without starting a war. And so this is the sort of cheat that Clark is calling out in his interview. 

Angela [00:38:28] But no one was ever in harm’s way because it was just a practice. 

Jenna [00:38:32] Lady, I will tell you again because you have been worried. It is a simulation the whole time. You will not accept that it was a simulation. 

Angela [00:38:43] Okay, okay. 

Jenna [00:38:44] No one was ever going to be harmed, lady. 

Angela [00:38:47] Okay. All right. 

Jenna [00:38:48] Also, if it wasn’t a simulation, it’s still a TV show. 

Angela [00:38:53] Well, yes. 

Jenna [00:38:55] So in either scenario, simulation or not, it’s just a television show storyline. And everyone was always safe. 

Angela [00:39:07] Everyone’s okay. 

Jenna [00:39:08] Including people from this made up universe that doesn’t exist. 

Angela [00:39:12] Okay. Thank you. 

Jenna [00:39:13] Good. Don’t worry. 

Angela [00:39:15] I needed to get that out of the way. 

Jenna [00:39:17] You are so sweet in your worry about them. 

Angela [00:39:22] Well, Jenna, on that note, I think we should take a break. And when we come back, I have a mallard update. 

Jenna [00:39:30] No, you do not. 

Angela [00:39:31] I do. 

Jenna [00:39:32] We get to find out about the banned Mallard today? I did not know this was coming. 

Angela [00:39:37] Sort of. You’ll see. 

Jenna [00:39:39] Oh, no. We’ll be right back. All right, we are back. And I’ve never been so excited for an update about something in my life. No pressure. 

Angela [00:39:59] Well, this is definitely going to be a letdown. I’m just gonna. 

Jenna [00:40:04] Oh, no. 

Angela [00:40:05] Just gotta put that out there. Maybe you tell me. So a few weeks ago, we got a question about the mallard duck in the Suit Warehouse episode. We did a side by side. Is it the same duck that Dwight used to spy on Jim? And then we got a request to do a little deep dive on mallard ducks, which I did. And I shared a stat that I found on All About Birds dot org that said, the oldest known mallard was a male at least 27 years and seven months old, and he was shot in Arkansas in 2008. And then the stat went on to say that he had been banned from the state of Louisiana since 1981. This made Jenna and I both go, what!? Why was he banned?! But I didn’t look it up, so I promised to follow up. Yeah? 

Jenna [00:40:52] Yeah. I have been keeping myself from Googling it all this time and… 

Angela [00:40:57] Do not Google it. 

Jenna [00:40:58] I didn’t. 

Angela [00:40:59] Okay, because I got to the bottom of why this bird was banned and it’s pretty embarrassing. 

Jenna [00:41:06] What? 

Angela [00:41:10] Not for the mallard. 

Jenna [00:41:12] Oh. 

Angela [00:41:12] But for me. 

Jenna [00:41:14] What is it? 

Angela [00:41:16] Well, you know, when I finish my document each week for the podcast, I go through and I do a misspelling and typo pass. 

Jenna [00:41:25] No, no. 

Angela [00:41:27] And, well, Microsoft Word suggested the correct spelling and I hit fine. Here’s how it actually read on the website. 

Jenna [00:41:37] No. 

Angela [00:41:37] The Mallard had been banded from the state of Louisiana since 1981. Banded. Not banned. I want to apologize to the mallard bird community for that typo. And I then had to find out what it meant for a bird to be banded. And here’s what I found out. Waterfowl are banded only by federal and state agencies. They basically get this little band around their leg with a scanner code thingy so you can track them. One of the primary motivations for banding ducks is to identify the wintering areas and migration routes. They can also learn about the mallard’s annual survival, their population, hunting behavior, harvest, and so much more. And probably because I felt so bad, I then went on YouTube and watched a lot of videos about duck banding and how it’s done and what you learn from it. And the one I found very informative was from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and I will put a link in our stories to those videos as well. You are speechless. 

Jenna [00:42:51] This update exceeded my expectations. So basically… What we learned was that this bird had migrated from Louisiana. 

Angela [00:43:03] That’s all. That’s it. 

Jenna [00:43:05] To Arkansas. Not been thrown out.

Angela [00:43:08] He had not been kicked out. He’d not been kicked out of the state of Louisiana. He just flew to Arkansas. His mistake, though. He was doing okay in Louisiana. He’d lived a ripe old age. 

Jenna [00:43:20] Yeah. Thank you so much. Because, you know what? If I had googled banned Mallard from Louisiana… 

Angela [00:43:29] You would have found nothing. 

Jenna [00:43:30] I wouldn’t have gotten the answer because it never happened. 

Angela [00:43:37] I want you to know, I typed in the banned mallard duck from Louisiana in 1981, and I searched and I searched and I couldn’t find anything, and it kept referring me back to this all about birds, you know, article. And then finally I looked and it said, oh my God, it says banded. Anyway, there you go. One letter can make a difference, guys, in someone’s story.  

Jenna [00:44:04] This is a very good reason to continue to do mailbag episodes. 

Angela [00:44:10] Because we got a question for me to look up mallards. 

Jenna [00:44:14] Yeah, and look where it lead. 

Angela [00:44:15] Oh, I want you to know I feel very well versed on banding birds now. Sort of like because of my shame, I really went deep into bird banding and watching videos about migration. 

Jenna [00:44:29] Thank you so much for that update, Angela. 

Angela [00:44:32] You’re welcome. 

Jenna [00:44:33] Should we get back to this episode? 

Angela [00:44:35] We should. Because in the conference room, a real cast of characters is gathered waiting to interview. They’re all of Dwight’s friends, plus Mose. 

Jenna [00:44:45] We got a fan question from Vicki S in Little Elm, Texas who said, I would love to hear the story behind bringing back all the amazing characters in this episode for job interviews. This felt like such an Avengers ensemble moment in the best way. Please give us all the details. 

Angela [00:45:02] Vicki. I was so excited about this too, and here’s how it was described in the shooting draft. Interior. Bullpen. The office is staring with concern at the conference room where Dwight’s army of freaks is assembled. Nate, Mose, Gabor, Zeke, Trevor, Wolf, Melvina, and Sensei Ira. Some are looking over notes, preparing nervously to be interviewed. Others are stretching pointlessly, or taking photos of everyone in the office with a cell phone. Someone eats a lunch marked Stanley. Mose combs his hair Alfalfa style. Troy Underbridge is at the watercooler, filling a Ziploc sandwich bag with water. He sees Dwight. 

Jenna [00:45:42] Wow. 

Angela [00:45:43] Dave Rogers also talked about the scene and what it was like to have everyone back. Here’s what he said. 

Dave Rogers [00:45:49] God, that was, that was a pretty fun episode. Getting all these people together, all these people from Dwight’s past, it’s kind of like this is your life for Dwight. It was pretty fun. And this was something Greg Daniels really wanted, to have all these weirdos together in one room and see them interact with each other. And with Dwight. I really liked having Rolf return, and, you know, Mose and Nate and even Trevor, who was, you know, just on recently, who’s- it’s just great. Great to see these guys. And interacting with Troy Underbridge. And Melvina. God. Beth Grant from the Dinner Party episode, came back, and, Sensei Ira from, I think that was, The Fight where, he originally, showed up. And you know we got some, some great newcomers with Gabor and Wolf and cousin Zeke. Yeah. This was, this episode was actually a delight to direct. It was. It was really fun. And, all of the actors were were really, really up for it. They were just excited. Everybody was so excited to be there. And they knew we were kind of doing something special just having all of these, you know, Dwight friends together. Side note James Urbaniak, who plays Rolf, is originally from New Jersey, and his father, Frank, ran the Marlboro Recreation Summer Camp program that I went to for many summers as a kid. So we chatted a little bit about his dad and the camp that I went to. 

Angela [00:47:14] That’s quite the cast of characters. I will also add that ultimately Hide interviews as well. 

Jenna [00:47:21] Yes. Well, I asked Burgess about how this came about as well, and he said that Greg and the writers made a list of everyone that they would want for the episode. And like you mentioned earlier, Angela, we shot this during the second week of December. But Allison Jones started reaching out to people the week before Thanksgiving. We almost never reached out to people that early for things. But Steve Burgess said Allison and her associate Ben did an amazing job of trying to coordinate everyone’s schedule to see who could be available the same week of shooting. Steve said they booked 19 non-regular actors for this episode. And in the end, basically what they did was they wrote for who they could get. So there were some people that they were trying to get that they did not ultimately get. Steve Burgess also said that the most difficult person to schedule was Mike Schur, as Mose, because he was actively working on Parks and Recreation, but they made it work. 

Angela [00:48:26] I’m sure Mike was so excited to get dressed back up as Mose. 

Jenna [00:48:30] I know. 

Angela [00:48:31] Well, everyone else in the bullpen is looking in to the conference room and they’re not happy about it. They say they don’t want to judge, but these people smell. Meredith says, hey, if I ever get that bad, will you tell me? And Kevin goes, I tell you this all the time, Meredith. 

Jenna [00:48:48] I know, and she says, walked right into that one. 

Angela [00:48:50] I loved that exchange. 

Jenna [00:48:53] Well, we asked Dave about directing this episode and any shots that stood out to him, and he mentioned this scene. Here’s what he had to say. 

Dave Rogers [00:49:00] You know, from a directing standpoint, I don’t really have any groundbreaking shots or any crazy camera moves or even, you know, strange editing things in this episode. You know, most of the action takes place in the conference room, the bullpen and Andy’s office. But I will say I do get a kick out of the shots of the the weirdos in the conference room where the main cast is just looking at them from the bullpen. It’s like they’re looking at a zoo or a fish tank behind the glass window, and they’re just… Yeah, it’s it’s like looking at a zoo. 

Jenna [00:49:35] I totally get that. 

Angela [00:49:36] Yeah. Mose is up next for his interview and he’s really padded his resume. Dwight’s like, why would you put this on there? We live together. I know everything about you. 

Jenna [00:49:48] Yes. So Mose does what Mose does and he runs away. 

Angela [00:49:52] Yes. 

Jenna [00:49:53] Steve Burgess said we had to use a photo double for that part. That’s not Mike Schur running. 

Angela [00:49:58] No way. They really got the Mose run down whoever they were. 

Jenna [00:50:03] I know. 

Angela [00:50:04] Clark watches Mose out the window, and then he’s going to ask everyone how they heard about this position. Nate’s response is my favorite line in the entire episode, and I’m going to play it. 

Jenna [00:50:16] Okay. 

Clark [00:50:17] So how’d you guys hear about the position? 

Nate [00:50:19] My mom. Dwight called my house, but he didn’t realize that I had already moved out because my mom and I are quarreling because I can’t stay out of her stuff. 

Jenna [00:50:30] Yeah. It’s amazing. 

Angela [00:50:31] I can’t stay out of her stuff. It made me laugh so hard. Like, what is she getting into? Her Tupperware? Like, what is he messing with that she’s like, you’re out. We’re also going to learn in this scene that Dwight attended a special school where he would learn to harness his mutant abilities. And it just turned out to be run by a con man. 

Jenna [00:50:56] Go figure. No kidding. In this next scene, Angela is not having it now. She says someone needs to do something before I am stuck working next to one of these people for the next 20 years. 

Angela [00:51:14] 20 years? 

Jenna [00:51:16] Angela Martin is in it for the long haul. 

Angela [00:51:18] She sure is. 

Jenna [00:51:20] Everyone’s about to turn on Jim. 

Angela [00:51:22] Yes, it’s because of Jim that now they might have to work with one of these oddballs that Dwight’s bringing in. 

Jenna [00:51:28] Well, we got a very impressive fan catch from Maddie N in Cocoa Beach, Florida, who said, Around 11 minutes and 30 seconds, when everyone is talking around Pam’s desk about who the next hire will be, Pam says, quote, I’m in a position to vote for Nate and that just feels wrong. But her lips move differently like what she’s really saying is that just feels weird. Am I crazy for seeing that? Am I completely making this up, or did Jenna actually say weird instead of wrong and have to fix it in a voice over? Maddie. I watched it. That last word of my line is 100% dubbed. It’s a dub catch. 

Angela [00:52:14] Why? Why were you dubbing? 

Jenna [00:52:16] I don’t know, because I looked at the script and my line was supposed to be… That just feels off. I was supposed to stay off. I wasn’t supposed to say weird or wrong. I don’t know why we did this. I don’t remember going in and doing any kind of dubbing, so I think they must have grabbed that word from a different take and put it on this take. That’s what I think. 

Angela [00:52:41] That’s a good catch. 

Jenna [00:52:43] It’s a really good catch. Oh my gosh. The next scene is just cringe at Jim’s desk with the call with David Wallace. 

Angela [00:52:54] Oh yeah. 

[00:52:55] Oh my goodness. This is when Jim calls David Wallace because he’s trying to get some say in who is hired so he can protect Pam. 

Angela [00:53:04] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:53:04] But instead he is going to learn that number one, David Wallace is going to cut his pay in half to pay for this replacement. And two, he tries to ask David to be an investor an Athlead. And David, like, cuts him off mid-sentence. 

Angela [00:53:22] I know. And Dwight is just rolling on the floor. He’s so happy. Pam has gotten fed up and decides to go to the warehouse. She’s down there. She’s going to be working on her mural, and Hide has a lot of notes for her. And she’s like, you know what? Thank you. Why don’t- you know what? Why don’t you go upstairs and interview for the new position? They’re hiring. 

Jenna [00:53:49] He’s genuinely thankful. He’s like, thank you for this information, I will. 

Angela [00:53:55] We’re now going to see a montage of all of Dwight’s odd friends doing things around the office. One is drying his pants in the bathroom. Another one is at the vending machine. One tries to touch Darryl’s hair. And the rest of the coworkers have had it. Jim, Nellie, and Darryl find Dwight in the kitchen and they confront him about it. 

Jenna [00:54:14] Yeah. So we got this fan sketch from Chris K in Vancouver, British Columbia who said, At 13 minutes and 55 seconds, is Phyllis sitting in the back annex by HR? Why would she be back there? And I looked at it, Angela. And she is. She’s sitting right there. 

Angela [00:54:34] Yes, well, I have the answer for you. There was a really big storyline for Erin, Pete and Phyllis in this episode. It went through the entire episode and the whole thing was cut. There’s a lot of it in deleted scenes if you have the DVDs. I’d like to play you two clips from it that really set up the storyline. 

Jenna [00:54:54] Great. 

Angela [00:54:55] The storyline all starts because Erin is trying to get a bank account and Pete is helping her online set it up. And here are the clips. 

Pete [00:55:05] Now you just need a password. Needs to be six letters long. At least one capital and a number. 

Erin [00:55:11] A B C D E F Washington DC 6. / Pete is helping me get a bank account online. It’s official. I’m a nerd now. 

Pete [00:55:23] So security questions. What was your mother’s maiden name? 

Erin [00:55:28] I don’t know. 

Pete [00:55:30] Okay. How about. What’s your father’s occupation? 

Erin [00:55:34] No clue. I don’t know who my dad is. 

Pete [00:55:37] Oh. That’s right. I’m sorry. 

Erin [00:55:39] What is the middle name of your oldest sibling? I don’t know if I have one. What street was your first home on? 

Pete [00:55:48] Wow. They do not make these orphan friendly, do they? 

Jenna [00:55:53] Aw. 

Angela [00:55:53] I know. So then Erin decides to approach Phyllis because she knows Phyllis had a child the same time Erin was born. And maybe Phyllis might have some clues as to Erin’s origin story. So they approach Phyllis. Phyllis says she’s sorry, she can’t remember anything and she can’t help them. But then she remembers, oh, wait, my mom videotaped my childbirth and I was at the hospital. Maybe there’s something in this video footage that will be a clue for Erin. And then there’s a scene in the break room. It’s got a major old tech alert because it says an old TV is hooked up to a Betamax machine. Phyllis, Pete, and Erin watch Phyllis’ videotape. You never see what’s on the screen. You just see them reacting to it. And Erin goes, how long does this go on for? And Phyllis says, oh, I was in labor for 56 hours. And then Darryl walks in and he’s like, what are you guys watching? And he’s like, freaked out. And then it ends with like, a video tour of the nursery of all the babies, and there’s a little redheaded baby, and they kind of all freeze the TV and look at each other like, oh my gosh, is that Erin? So it was a huge storyline. 

Jenna [00:57:03] Well, I remember Angela, and when I read that fan question, I went to the script as well. And after they see the video, they realize she was born at this one particular hospital. So her and Pete go take a walk in the neighborhood near the hospital. And they they wonder like, oh, is this maybe where she grew up? Is this her background? 

Angela [00:57:27] Right. Her neighborhood. She there’s a very sweet line where on the in the nursery on the crib the name just says Saint Margaret’s. And Erin goes, oh, my original name was Saint Margaret’s. I guess I was a really religious baby. And Phyllis is like, no honey. I think that’s the church. 

Jenna [00:57:49] Well, we asked Dave Rogers about this, and he sent us an an audio clip explaining why this entire storyline, this very elaborate storyline, was cut. Here’s what he had to say. 

Dave Rogers [00:58:00] You know, often in our episodes, we have scripts that are way, way longer than, the time allotted to the final broadcast of the television show. So a lot of stuff gets cut out. Sometimes there’s a beat here and there, or a runner or a scene or multiple scenes. In this case, we ended up removing an entire storyline from the episode, which had Erin and Pete exploring Erin being an orphan. They go to talk to Phyllis. This was a tricky story. I think we all did our best to execute it. And Jake and Ellie do a great job. We really get to see them connecting in a nice way. But ultimately, the story deals with Erin being an orphan and not getting any closer to finding her parents or any other real information. Just it wasn’t very satisfying. There’s also a sad undertone between her being an orphan and Phyllis giving up a baby, that it just it might have worked better in a super sized episode where the beats are a little bit more spread out while we have the comedy of the Dwight story. But in a 21/35 minute episode, it just felt really heavy. I did let Ellie and Jake know that we ended up cutting it, and I explained the same reasons I’m telling you now, and I reassure them that what they were doing together was great, and to keep doing it as the, you know, their storyline keeps moving on. But this was just a matter of this particular story and the time that we had for the show and that we we just couldn’t, like, trim out a beat here or there in their story. It was like every beat depended on the beat before. It was very linear. So that’s what happened. We ended up cutting this, this whole storyline out and just focused more on Dwight and his freaky friends and had a little, little room in there for, you know, the Pam/ Brian/ Jim relationship arc. 

Jenna [00:59:56] You know, it is so like Dave to reach out to us if he ever had to cut something that we had done. He would always reassure us. 

Angela [01:00:06] He is so thoughtful.

Jenna [01:00:08] Just so you know, this wasn’t your performance. 

Angela [01:00:10] Yeah. 

Jenna [01:00:10] This was a story thing. This was a time thing. This was a whatever. We just didn’t have time to tell this story. 

Angela [01:00:18] Yeah, he’s a stand up guy that way. Now Dwight is going to interview Wolf, but this interview goes off the rails really quickly. 

Jenna [01:00:27] Yeah, it really does. And I think Dwight’s starting to get nervous. He’s now going to interview Hide. And that doesn’t work out either. So Dwight is in the conference room and he’s got this sort of like corkboard. And he has the name of all the different applicants on the board, and he’s saying, I just can’t seem to decide. Here’s the little tidbit I teased earlier. Ange, remember when we were at lunch? 

Angela [01:00:51] With Dave. Yeah.

Jenna [01:00:53] Yes. And he told us how they didn’t confirm Rolf for the episode. They didn’t have James Urbaniak confirmed to be in the episode until after we already started shooting the episode. 

Angela [01:01:06] Yeah, he wasn’t even on set till, like, day two or something. 

Jenna [01:01:09] Yes, but Dave told us he was so hopeful that it would work out that he shot this scene with a blank note card up in the corner, and he wrote Rolf on it in post. 

Angela [01:01:23] That’s right, that’s right. He put a little placeholder just in case they got him on that corkboard. 

Jenna [01:01:29] Yes. 

Angela [01:01:30] Dwight’s in a tough spot now. He’s actually kind of rolling around on the floor in Andy’s office. And Melvina wants to know if he needs to be changed. He says no he does that himself now. And she says, well are you going to have a decision soon? Because I’ve been double parked for five hours. And Dwight’s like no your car’s been towed by now. 

Jenna [01:01:50] And then a few more of his friends come in and they promise, listen, no matter who you choose, we’ll still be your friend. And Dwight’s like, yeah, I mean, even if I choose none of you. They say, well that wouldn’t happen. You wouldn’t drag us all down here and waste all of our time to pick none of us. 

Angela [01:02:11] Yeah, that would be insulting. 

Jenna [01:02:14] So Dwight is going to have to team up with Jim. 

Angela [01:02:17] Yes. He’s going to seek out his enemy because he has no choice. 

Jenna [01:02:21] And he says, Jim, will you please pick someone? And he basically says, I don’t want to hire any of these people. You can hire Clark, but you have to break the news to everyone, and we’re going to make it seem like it was your decision. 

Angela [01:02:36] Dwight says, it turns out my standards for coworkers are higher than my standards for friends. He couldn’t imagine any of them in the old gold and gray. And yes, he did design uniforms for Dunder Mifflin. 

Jenna [01:02:50] Yeah. He has a talking head. He shows us the uniforms. They are summer, winter, jungle and formal. We got a fan question from Megan B in Toronto and Martha B in Malta, who said, Who drew the Dunder Mifflin uniforms? And were they given any instructions by the writers? Well, this was such a quick pop, but I loved it so much. I went to the script. There was not a description for these drawings in the script. Steve Burgess thinks that Alicia, our costume designer, might have drawn these. And we asked Dave Rogers. He couldn’t remember who drew them, but he did have a fun tidbit to share. Here’s what he said. 

Dave Rogers [01:03:30] One of the things that was really fun was Dwight’s talking head where he shows off, you know, sketches of Dunder Mifflin uniforms that he designed. I do remember giving small notes to color them in, so they’d read better on camera, that they weren’t just like, you know, pencil sketches. What’s really interesting is that when we got into editing, Greg actually thought they were too fashionable, and he had us reshoot with new versions. And so we have, we had alternate versions. We shot a new version of the talking head where the uniforms really leaned more into the military. The summer outfit was practically- how do you pronounce- a ghillie suit. But, after seeing the new costumes, he changed his mind. And so we he liked the original costumes better. And that’s what you see in the show. I think I have pictures of the alternate ones. I will send that to you guys. 

Angela [01:04:27] So Dave is so amazing. And you know what? He saves everything too, Jenna. We’re kind of both like that. 

Jenna [01:04:33] You are digital clutter buddies. 

Angela [01:04:35] We are. Except his are organized. 

Jenna [01:04:38] It’s true. 

Angela [01:04:39] But, you know, I looked at all of those sketches, and they did remind me so much of the sketches that I saw Alicia do over the years. 

Jenna [01:04:47] Me too. 

Angela [01:04:48] She’s such a good artist. And it it had her sort of style, so I feel like they were hers. But I will put them in stories so you guys can all see. 

Jenna [01:04:56] Next up, Jim is going to break the news to all of the applicants. He says, I am hiring none of you. Dwight pretends to be outraged. 

Angela [01:05:05] Jim’s like, tone it down, tone it down. 

Jenna [01:05:06] Yes, exactly. Rolf is like, I know what this was. I know you’re behind this. I wouldn’t open any suspicious packages. Or maybe you should open them. 

Angela [01:05:18] You do not want to cross Rolf. 

Jenna [01:05:20] You do not. 

Angela [01:05:21] All of Dwight’s friends start to leave, and they’re kind of unsure what they’re going to do for the rest of the day. Then they decide to go paintball without Dwight. He is bummed. And Creed, as they leave, kind of sneakily joins them and leaving. 

Jenna [01:05:35] Yes, we got a fan catch from Emily B in San Diego and Saint Louis who said, I’m not the best at fan catches, so I was pretty darn proud of myself for noticing this one. Dwight’s friends all leave to play paint ball, and we see Creed run out after them, presumably to join them. But when Dwight later gets an email with a picture of the group, Creed isn’t in the photo. Maybe Creed just used the opportunity to get out of work early. Emily, I think you’re right. I think Creed was just playing hooky. 

Angela [01:06:06] No, ladies. He actually went. 

Jenna [01:06:10] But he’s not in the picture. 

Angela [01:06:12] I know, here’s how it was in the shooting draft. There was a tag written for the episode where they all go and play paintball. And it said exterior paintball field day. Creed is on his knees, begging for his life as Wolf holds a paintball gun to his head. Gabor stands nearby. It’s also in deleted scenes and I’m going to play it for you. 

Creed [01:06:36] Please. I don’t know where my teammates are. Or what we’re doing. Is this a game? Am I having fun? 

Gabor [01:06:41] He does need to tell us what he’s thinking so I could read his mind… It helps if you kind of mouth what you’re thinking. 

Nate [01:06:49] Hey, guys, there’s a creek over there. Well, I almost drowned. Wolf, I’m on your team. Wolf! 

Wolf [01:07:01] Wolfman’s gone rogue, and now you die. 

Creed [01:07:03] Okay, I’ll tell everyone everything. The hobbit and the old woman are hiding in the port o potty. 

Jenna [01:07:12] Oh my gosh. So I knew about this tag, lady, but I didn’t know Creed was in it. 

Angela [01:07:18] Yes. And Creed ultimately gives up Melvina and Troy. I guess they were hiding in the porta potty like he said. But here’s my theory. I think Creed took the picture. 

Jenna [01:07:28] Oh. That’s good. I like that. That’s why he wasn’t in it. 

Angela [01:07:34] And you know, when we had lunch with Dave, he told us shooting these paintball tag scenes were his favorite. He loved so much. He said it was just so fun to shoot something that had some action, you know? But they ultimately didn’t use it. But it is all in deleted scenes. 

Jenna [01:07:49] Listen, I think that the episode ends perfectly. I think that this tag was probably really funny. 

Angela [01:07:57] And fun to do, right? They all got to be outside running around. But ooh, the way it ended was so powerful. 

Jenna [01:08:04] All right. We’re almost there. 

Angela [01:08:05] We are almost there. Clark gets the job, and Jim is going to help him get all set up at his desk. Pam comes back from the warehouse. She’s very happy that it’s Clark and not one of Dwight’s friends. And Jim’s going to leave and go back to Philly. 

Jenna [01:08:22] Yeah. Jim kisses her goodbye and he leaves. They’re kind of sitting there in their new clump. And Clark says to Pam, hey, I’m going to the kitchen. You want anything? 

Angela [01:08:32] I think that’s a good desk mate. 

Jenna [01:08:35] Very nice. 

Angela [01:08:36] Yeah. 

Jenna [01:08:36] Pam says she’s okay. Dwight says, I would love some more coffee. But then Clark says, oh, sorry. You have to be this tall for coffee. Or he calls back that little bit that Dwight did to him in the breakroom earlier.

Angela [01:08:50] Yeah, Dwight’s not cool enough for coffee. 

Jenna [01:08:53] Yeah. So Pam sees that Dwight is sad and she says, hey, do you want to haze the new guy? 

Angela [01:08:58] Dwight is so tickled. Pam’s like, okay, here’s some Saran wrap. Next time Clark goes to the bathroom- and Dwight interrupts her, he’s like, no, no, don’t worry. I know what to do. And they kind of get tickled. And then Clark returns to his desk and Dwight covers his face in Saran wrap. This is not the toilet. Pam meant the toilet trick. 

Jenna [01:09:19] So, lady, I remember reading this and I remember thinking, we’re going to kill Clark. We’re going to kill him. Because, I mean, Rainn admitted that he would really go for it in scenes like this. 

Angela [01:09:32] Yes. He goes all out. 

Jenna [01:09:34] Yes. So when we were planning this scene, I was like, we need a signal. We need a safe word. We need some way that we know the difference between Clark acting and Clark actually suffocating. 

Angela [01:09:49] We also asked Dave about this scene, and here’s what he had to say. 

Dave Rogers [01:09:53] Rayneinn fully commits to being Dwight in his performance every time, and I remember being a little nervous when when reading the script and it said Dwight was going to wrap Clark’s head in shrink wrap. So of course we get to set and everyone is there telling me we need to watch Clark and make sure he can breathe. Like everybody’s just anxious and nervous. So it builds up all this anxiety for this, this, you know, really small- I mean, I wouldn’t call it a stunt, you know, this, this physical action between two actors, you know, on a controlled set, our little office set. I will say that they shot take one. It looked pretty good to me. And when we cut, they were both laughing. And then Rainn asked, you know, you okay? And Clark was like, oh, yeah, that was fine. You can go even more than that. So, you know, they did several takes. The two of them really had fun doing doing the gag. Clark was never in any real danger, but he sold it that he was, you know, choking and suffocating and, you know, it was just it- to me, I was really happy with how it came out. It came out, you know, really, really funny. 

Angela [01:10:53] It was so realistic to me. I’d forgotten this moment, you know? And then in our rewatch, I felt like I saw it for the first time and I was like, (GASP). 

Jenna [01:11:02] I was in full panic attack mode the entire time we shot this scene. 

Angela [01:11:05] Oh, I bet. They sold it.

Jenna [01:11:07] My performance is my real reaction. All right. Are we ready for the final moment? Uh oh. Oh boy.

Angela [01:11:17] Yeah. Here it comes. Jim is going to have a talking head. He says, Of course it matters who sits next to Pam. Who you sit next to is who you spend your life with. He fell in love because he spent all those years staring at Pam. And then the camera reveals Brian holding a boom over Pam and just looking at her with such adoration and smiling. And Jim’s last line of his talking head is, That stuff definitely matters. 

Jenna [01:11:53] I mean. People lost their minds. 

Angela [01:11:58] Yeah. 

Jenna [01:12:00] Turns out maybe Brian and Alyssa’s marriage isn’t as strong as we thought it was. 

Angela [01:12:07] He definitely likes looking at Pam. I have one funny behind the scenes detail about this moment. 

Jenna [01:12:14] What is it? 

Angela [01:12:15] I remember when you guys were doing it. We were there. I was over in the accounting nook. You don’t end up seeing us. But I’ll never forget Chris. He was so funny and charming, and he was having to hold that boom over his head. And he’s a super fit guy. But his arms after take after take started to shake. And he was like, I got it. I got to rest this boom. And we all had such appreciation for our boom operators. But I think Chris, above all, were like, wow, you guys are so damn strong!

Jenna [01:12:48] Now that you say that, I do remember that. Chris was very committed. He’s one of those actors, you know, if he’s like, if I’m playing a boom operator, I’m going to hold the boom. I don’t know if you noticed in the first scene, he’s doing all that business, like wrapping up cords, like he learned that. 

Angela [01:13:04] Yeah. 

Jenna [01:13:05] You know, he was like, I want to look like a real boom operator. 

Angela [01:13:08] Yeah he was all- 

Jenna [01:13:10] Very committed. 

Angela [01:13:10] Very method. 

Jenna [01:13:12] Well, there you have it, everybody. That is Junior Salesman. A big thank you to Steve Burgess and Dave Rogers and everyone for all of your letters encouraging us to keep podcasting. 

Angela [01:13:25] Yes. Thank you so much. 

Jenna [01:13:28] We promise we will. We’re not going anywhere. 

Angela [01:13:31] And we hope you guys have a fantastic day. Know that we love you and we’ll see you next week. 

Jenna [01:13:47] Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. 

Angela [01:13:49] Office ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. 

Jenna [01:13:53] Our senior producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our audio engineer is Jordan Duffy, and our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico. 

Angela [01:14:01] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.