Office Ladies - Branch Wars

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

This week we’re breaking down Branch Wars. When Karen tries to poach Stanley to come work for the Dunder Mifflin Utica branch, Michael, Dwight and Jim, against his will, slap on some fakey ‘staches and go to Utica to prank Karen. Meanwhile back at the office, it’s the Finer Things Club! Adam Jamal Craig (NCIS: Los Angeles) sends in clips to share his experience of playing Rolando, the Utica receptionist. The ladies share their love of looking at strangers’ wedding photos, Angela does a deep dive on Manet painting Monet and Jenna shares having a Finer Things Club reunion lunch where unlike the episode, Ed Helms was allowed to join. So put on your berets, don’t pop popcorn and enjoy this episode!

I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together. And we're best friends. And now we're doing the Ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. 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. We're The Office, ladies. Get out your fakie stashes, everybody, because it's time for Branch Wars. Fakie stash day on Office, ladies. It's season four, episode 10, written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Joss Whedon. There's so much good fake stash. Stash is lingo for mustache. Oh, Jenna, thank you. Thank you for breaking that down. I wanted to break it down. I break down everything

on Office, ladies. It's what we do. I'm gonna hit you with a summary. Guys, Karen is back. She is now the regional manager of the Utica branch, and she offers Stanley a higher paying job to leave Scranton. Guess what Michael's reaction is to that? He flips out. Yes. Very much so. Meanwhile, Pam, Oscar, and Toby have created a finer things club. Ooh, it's finer things club. You're so excited. Andy tries to join, but he's rejected. And Michael and Dwight trick Jim into going on a sales call, but they actually take him to Utica to prank Karen as a revenge for trying to poach Stanley. That's a lot. This was a big episode for us. I mean, anytime we traveled, you know, it was a big deal. This is something I have to

say to you. I have to get this off my chest, Jenna. There's been a few times that you say I'm going to hit you with the summary. Okay. And every time the only thing going through my brain is hit me with the summary. I'm gonna hit you with a summary. What song are you singing? I'm trying to sing hit me with your best shot. Oh, I thought you were singing hit me with your summary. Did you hear that? That was Brittany. Oh, yeah. Well, anyway, I hear Joan jet. Well, I'm glad you got that off your chest because God forbid you would have had to carry that through this whole podcast. You know what? It was weighing on me and I feel lighter. Good. Fast back. Number one, like I said earlier, this episode was written

by Mindy Kaling. This was the seventh episode she had written and she was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in the 2008 NAACP Image Awards for this episode. Yay, Mindy! Yay, Mindy! When I was looking at Mindy's award history, I found this. What? I mean, Mindy has been nominated up and down. Emmys and things and she's winning things she's celebrated. Deservedly so. The lady is very talented. In 2013, Time Magazine listed Mindy as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Dang, Mindy! You guys have to understand, like Mindy was on the office with us and we're all like just getting our hair and makeup done and she's in her 20s and we're just being girlfriends and

now she is just a force, just a powerhouse and we always knew that she was super smart and talented and just this is awesome. I love that all her dreams have come true. Yes. And she's a mom and I know that was a big dream. I know. I'm just so happy for her. Mindy, we love you. We're here for it, Mindy. We're here for it. We will be your girl gang cheering you on. Super proud. Alright, fast fact number two. Okay. Fan question from Ryan, Annika and Vivian Freutman. Where did you film the Utica office? Oh, some cantipedia coming. I feel it. You know it. It's a location breakdown. So, Ann, you know, we've talked a lot about how oftentimes we would build a temporary set for another office like we built corporate

over on our warehouse stages. Well, Kent told me that the size of the Utica Dunder Mifflin branch was just way too big and way too costly. So, they took it on location. They found a business park in Canoga Park and this building had a very large empty office suite. So, our set decorators just went in and decorated it to be Dunder Mifflin Utica. And then they also filmed all the parking lot scenes in that same Canoga Park business lot. I remember we were on the road for this episode because it also meant I had a few days off in the middle of the week. That was always very exciting. When you would read a script and there were a bunch of characters who went somewhere and you didn't go, you were like, oh my gosh,

doctor's appointments. What else can I do that I can normally never do? Exactly. Well, we did not go to this business park for this episode, but I end up going back in Lecture Circuit because we go back to Utica. That was an episode that was also written by Mindy Kaling. It was crazy because the set decorators, after they build a set somewhere, we have to leave. They have to break it all down. But before they do, they take detailed pictures, like just extensive photos of every nook, every desk, every placement of every item on the off chance that we have to go back and recreate it. And that's what they had to do with the Utica branch.

Yeah, it's pretty fascinating. They have these binders, the different departments, and here in makeup do this as well. So, if there were people that were guest actors in the Utica branch, they match their looks. But also, our set designers would do this. And I looked through one of these binders one time, Jenna, and it is so thorough. I was so impressed. Yeah. Just photo after photo after photo. And they take all the stuff and they store it in that big warehouse that we've talked about and they label it all. It's really crazy.

It was very organized and I liked it. I liked it too. You know, I love good organization. I know you do, Layla. And I know you liked it, Angela, because it involved a lot of bins. Bins and I love photos. I will look through any photo album. This is a little Kinsey tidbit about myself. I love looking at pictures and I don't need to know the people in them. I remember one time when we were getting married, we were looking at wedding photographers and they would send us their other albums so we could see their style.

Yeah. Fascinating. Total strangers. I love it. Well, I have some good follows for you on Instagram. Oh, yeah? Of just random photo albums? No, it's of wedding photos. I also, by the way, love looking at wedding photos. People are so happy on their wedding day. It's so joyous. It's joyous, Jenna, but then there's also a story. Like, every wedding has like, you know, the drunk uncle or the aunt who's alone on the dance floor. It's so good.

And then the way they decorate their table, you know, you'll see, oh, look, they've got a pair of bicycles on top of their wedding cake. They must love cycling. Yes, they're the bicycle couple. Yeah. Okay, well, hit me up with some Instagrams. I will. You know what, guys, if you are interested, we'll link to it in our stories. I'll link my favorite bridal Instagram follows on Office Ladies Pod. Guys, that was quite a tangent and also an example of what a phone call might be between

Angela and I. Next up is fastback number three. Since we're talking about the Utica branch, I actually thought this might be a good time to break down the various branches of Dunder Mifflin because, lady, I realize we've never done this. Oh, we need to do it. And oh, okay, I have something to piggyback off this, but you go first. Oh, okay. Well, we all know that the headquarters of Dunder Mifflin is in New York. Yes.

But there are currently six active regional branches located across the United States. They are in Akron, Ohio, Nashua, New Hampshire, Rochester, Syracuse, and Utica, which are all in New York state, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Now the company used to be much larger. You might remember in the Boys and Girls episode, Jan mentioned there used to be a branch in Pittsfield, but it was closed because they tried to unionize. And then in future episodes, we will learn about branches in Camden and Yonkers, which got closed due to the economy, and Buffalo, which was also closed.

Buffalo, which was the home of Denise Stims, Angela's party planning committee rival. Closes down. Bye-bye, Denise. Oh, Angela Martin is so happy. And in our final season, we learned that there was also a branch in Binghamton. So there you go. There's a great deleted scene. It's a talking head where Michael goes through the other branches and sort of like gives you a little insight on how he remembers them. It's really

funny. And Sam, I actually, I would love for you to play it right now. Utica is Snoozeville. Albany are the prepsters. Nashua, no parking. Akron is haunted. Camden is in a basement. Yonkers has a two hot girls. And here in Scranton, we are the cool guys. That is amazing. Yeah. Yep. He's sort of talking about the fact that like, why would Stanley want to leave here? We're the cool guys. And then he lists all the other branches and it just cracked me up. I love that Nashua, no parking. That made me laugh.

I loved no parking too. That was my favorite. Lady, that's all I got. Well, those are great fast facts. I can't wait to get in this episode. I have some mini dive on the finer things club. Oh, I love that you mini dived on the finer things club. We will be back right after a break. All right. Well, we are back and there is an establishing shot of the Utica branch office. We see that it is in the Mohawk Valley Center. It's the 2,400 address, but at 2,480, there's

Wendell Flores of Utica. Oh, yeah. If you need flowers. We share an office with Bob Vance. They have the Flores shop next door. That's nice. That is nice. And then at 0.06 seconds, everybody, there is a plant at reception. Utica plant at reception alert. Green leafy plant. It's over Rolando's shoulder, but sitting right in front of him for everyone to enjoy is a big box of donuts.

Yeah. What the heck? Pam has a candy dish on her desk. Rolando has some donuts and we got a lot of mail about these donuts, Angela. Did we? Yes, we did. Clay LaFriends, Kaylee Gassner, Zach Mutolo, Amber Lee, Danny Hamilton, and many others said those donuts are from Holland Farms, which is an awesome regional bakery in the

Utica area. Oh, they're famous for their jelly balls and half moon or black and white cookies. Everyone was very impressed. They said, we just loved whoever did research for this episode that they would dive the steep into Utica and have this amazing prop. That is Phil Shea. Phil Shea, regional prop alert. I want a jelly ball.

That's what she said. Maybe she doesn't want a jelly ball. So far, Rolando's front reception is kind of kicking Pam's ass. You know what? I've seen donuts in our break room. I'm talking about front reception right now. Wow. Okay. I'm talking a tiny, tiny container of jelly beans versus a whole amazing box of donuts.

We don't know that Rolando put those donuts there. Anyone could have brought those in. Yes, he did. Rolando was played by Adam Jamal Craig. You guys might recognize him because he went on to play Dominic on NCIS Los Angeles. I reached out to him to see if he remembered doing this episode and if he had any memories he could share and he sent in this awesome audio clip. Sam, will you play the clip?

Yes. I totally remember spending a little bit of time shooting that with you guys and it was at the time it was my big break because I had done a few co-stars and that was a big deal and I just remember when I met the cast, one of the striking things was just how tall everyone was. Just generally a tall cast that doesn't really translate on screen, but I also remember how kind everyone was, it was a really warm set because a lot of people who don't work in show business don't realize that not every set is a warm set, but that set was a very

warm set. Everyone was really kind, but man it was a good time and what's funny is I've done things since then, not long after that I was on a series regular on a show, but still no one cared about that. They all were like, I heard your own office, when I get recognized, 99% of the time it's from the office, not anything else and so it was definitely a privilege and a joy to be like a part of that production. Aw, that is so sweet.

You know, we did have a tall cast, we've talked a little bit about it, all these guys were really tall. Yeah, we had a lot of tall fellas. We really did. Adam also told me that he had not watched the whole office series until this last year. Oh yeah? And he was like, it is so good and I said, I know, we're re-watching it and I feel the same way.

I know. It was so crazy. Well guys, Adam has a couple of cool projects he's working on now. One is called The Zook Line and it's a show about this obscure dance you do with a partner called the Brazilian Zook. Oh my gosh. Yes, Angela, if you go to his Instagram he has all of these amazing dance videos. He also has another show called The Grown Ups which is a roundtable discussion about

current events but through the lens that everyone is trying to get along as they talk about current events. I was intrigued. Yeah. You can find both projects on his Instagram at AdamJ Craig. So check it out. And thank you, Adam. Thank you, Adam.

Well, now we're into Karen's office. I mean, she looks fantastic in this whole episode. I thought, Rashida, you looked gorgeous and her office is so professional and it cuts back between Karen and Michael's offices and I mean, come on, Michael is setting up a Ferris Bueller's prank. His desk is covered with like toys. Karen's desk looks like a badass boss lady. Yes.

An adult works in Karen's office. An adult work space. It's true. Well, we find out in this phone call that Karen is trying to hire someone from the Scranton branch. Yeah. She's like, hey, I'm glad we finally connected. We'd love to have you and who's she talking to?

Well, then we cut to Michael's office and like you said, he's got a dummy on his desk with this elaborate pulley system. Yeah. This whole pulley with the dummy hand and it hits the snoring sound. This is what Ferris did. So his parents thought he was home when he went and played hooky. Yeah. And Michael is so elated by this Dwight's excited.

Stanley walks in and they're like, oh, Stanley, yes, we're going to test this out on you. And Stanley just no nonsense is like, Karen offered me more money. I'm going to Utica and he walks out. I know. He also has that great line where he says, why is you being asleep at your desk better than not being here? We had a fan question from Eric Wilson. I was wondering if you actually had a pulley system or if someone off camera was moving

the arm. No, it was a real pulley system. They really built that. Yeah. It really worked. And it was really funny. And when the hand goes up at the end, when Stanley leaves, that really happened. That's my favorite part.

It's such a good button to the scene. I know. Well, Michael goes out into the bullpen and he breaks the news that Stanley is leaving Scranton for Utica. He's been offered more money and everybody applauds. Everyone's like, congratulations, Stanley. And Michael's like, no, no. Yeah.

Michael's totally upset. Well, at two minutes, 12 seconds, you'll see how they got all of us in the shot. If you look over the camera, whips over to accounting and we did that thing where we all kind of come out from our desks. And at two minutes, 12 seconds, you guys can see my insane outfit, which is like a very floofy blouse with the vest, with the cap buttons. And right behind me is the baby jazz poster. It's backup.

It's backup. Oh, is there a deleted scene that explains this? No. Two minutes, 12 seconds, the baby poster is there. Jazz is back. Jazz is back. And I want the folks that love the background to also catch this moment. Two minutes, 17 seconds, when Michael announces that Stanley's leaving, Phyllis' face, she

looks at him. It's so honest. And I'm telling you, in my opinion, Phyllis didn't know. You would think Phyllis and Stanley would have chatted about this, but the way Phyllis chose to play it was like, Stanley. Yes, betrayed. Well, just more like in awe, like, look at you go. Oh, I got to go back and look at that.

Ooh, now we get into the Finers Things Club. Oh my God. I love how you are so excited about it. But did you hear that? This was my struggle, you guys. There's a series of talking heads that were deleted where everyone, like in the office is reacting to the Finers Things Club and like Meredith is annoyed, Angela is annoyed. I could not say, and I still can't, Finers Things, Finer Things Club.

You keep wanting to make it plural. You say Finers, Finers Things Club. I think this is a Southern thing. My mom does this too. We make things plural when they're not meant to be and then we make things singular when they're not meant to be. Like my mom always says, have you seen office, my daughter's on office? Instead of the office.

Yeah. And then I say Finers Things Club. Anyway, I'm going to put it in our stories because I found it. I could not say Finers Things, Finer, Finer Things Club, dang it. And also you learn that Angela Martin has been squashing other clubs and she's really annoyed because the Finer Things Club was not sanctioned by the party planning committee. Wow. You have to get your club sanctioned?

Apparently, you have to get them sanctioned by the party planning committee and she has squashed other renegade groups. Meredith is so mad that she's not asked to be in the Finer Things Club. She has her big gulp from 7-Eleven that I'm sure is full of adult beverage, throws it on the ground. Really? People are hot and bothered that they haven't been invited. Well, here's who's in the club, Pam, Oscar, and Toby.

And here's what they do in the Finer Things Club. They celebrate books, art, and culture, but there is no paper, no plastic, and no work talk allowed. Pam says in her talking head, it's very exclusive. I also love, Jenna, that we learn that Oscar does not care for Jim's comedy, doesn't care for his bits because he doesn't want Jim in the club, because Jim does comedy bits that really made me laugh. This is the thing I love about our show.

There is an assumed history. We don't go into it, but just know that Oscar has had it with Jim's little bits that he does. Yeah. I love everything about the Finer Things Club. I was in a book club and we would have themed dinners based on the books. Very similar to what we see the club doing. Oh my gosh, amazing.

And by the way, we had a fan question from Jennifer Good. She said, can you talk about how you film a montage like the one with the Finer Things Club? Do you film it all at once and just change your clothes in between to make it look like different days? How does that work? Well, yes, Jennifer, that's exactly what we did. We took a whole morning and we would dress up in our little outfit and they would set

up the break room for one bit and then we would film it and we'd go back to our trailers and while we changed clothes, they would change the set. And we just did that until we had all of the different montage pieces. Yes. And the rest of us got a late start that day. We had late call times. Well, Jenna, here's the Finer Things Club reading list and a little bit about their art and music selection.

They are currently reading A Room with a View, which is a novel by E.M. Forster. In flashbacks, we see them reading The House of Spirits, also known by its original title as La Casa de los Espíritos. It's by Isabel Allende. Then they are reading Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Jenna, I did a little bit of a deep dive of the painting they're analyzing at four minutes and four seconds. Ooh, what is it?

It's also one of my favorite screen grabs of view I have ever taken. Okay. I might use it as my contact photo for you. Oh boy. Oscar is pointing at this painting. There's a debate. You're wearing berets. You're eating crepes and you are throwing your hand in the air.

It's just wonderful. Okay. So I saw on a few sites that people were like, does anyone have any information about the painting of the Finer Things Club? I'm going to tell you. This painting is called Monet, Painting in His Studio Boat, 1874, by Eduard Manet. Hmm. It's a Manet of Monet.

Manet painted Monet. So Claude Monet and Eduard Manet were friends. They were artist friends and Claude Monet had this boat that he would go out in and he would paint and Manet painted his friend in his boat painting a picture. And I have seen it online mislabeled. For example, at Wayfair, they sell a print of this. They have it titled Monet, Painting in His Studio by Claude Monet. So I wrote Wayfair.

I wrote them. You wrote them? I did. I went into their comments and questions section and I said, you have this mislabeled. This is Monet, Painting in His Studio Boat by Eduard Manet. I look forward to seeing if that gets changed. I hope it does. You can go to www.manet.org to learn more about Eduard Manet.

This is a fan question from Lauren Harris, Debani T., Maria H., and Nicole P., wanting to know if I have read any of the books that were featured in the different clips from The Finer Things Club. I have read none of them. What? No. Lady, I have read A Room with a View, Memoirs of Agatia, and Angela's Ashes. Wow!

How are they? I should be in The Finer Things Club. Wow! I have to say, watching this episode, I thought this is a good reading list. It is. I want to make a good book club. Yeah, the only one I haven't read is The House of the Spirits, but I want to because I read a little bit about what it's about and I think it's really interesting.

Should we read it together? Oh my gosh, should we do a book club of The House of the Spirits? Well, I've really been reading a lot of non-fiction this past year and I am on the lookout for a great couple of fiction books. So maybe this is where I should start. Okay. I'm inspired. So maybe The House of the Spirits, Jenna, let's start a little book club.

Let's do it. Who wants to read it with us? Read it with us. Kim would be called The Finer's Things Club. Yes. Ours is called The Finer's Things Club in honor of Angela because I won't ever get it right otherwise. I like it.

Well now, Michael has called Karen. He starts the call with Philip Hallers. How they hanging? Yeah. Way to go, Michael. And he tells her, look, I'll give you Toby. You can't take Stanley. Take Toby.

And then he can't even get through it. He's trying to upsell Toby. He's like, he's smart. He's like, forget it. Toby's the worst. And then he says, you know what? If you take Stanley, I'm going to take your best salesperson. She's like, goodbye, Michael.

And he's like, wait, before you go, can you just transfer me to your best salesperson? I know. And she hangs up on him. So Pam connects Michael with Utica's Top Salesperson, and Michael pitches him a job in Scranton. Ben Nugent, Top Salesperson, and Utica. We had a fan question about Ben Nugent, Angela, from Amanda Massa, Jennifer Neal, and Casey Kraft, who is the voice of Ben Nugent from Utica.

Well, guys, it was our writer, Lester Lewis. Oh, oh, I didn't know that. I love hearing that. Yeah. Ben Nugent, the character, was named after Mindy Kaling's real-life boyfriend at the time, writer Benjamin Nugent. I remember them dating. That didn't even register when I was watching this.

Yeah. Oh my gosh. Wow. That's some good little tidbits there, Jenna. Well, I love how Michael starts this call with him. He said, hey, do you like magic? Because I'm a genie in a bottle. And I'm going to grant you three wishes, to move to Scranton, to have a great job, and

to be my best friend. Cuckoo pants. I know. Could you imagine getting a call like that? No. And of course, Ben just shuts him down. He's like, yeah, I heard you're the guy that hit a woman with a car. Like, he's just not into it.

And this is when Michael has this talking head where he says, Scranton isn't lame. It's cool. We're like the fun branch. And that's where that extended talking head would have come, where he breaks down all the branches. Oh, amazing. Michael and Dwight storm into the break room where the finer things club is setting up. They have some Vivaldi playing in the background.

The scene is so funny. I don't know how you guys got through it, but you couldn't. I saw the bloopers. You guys were losing it. Listen, every time Toby walks in and he's wearing his bow tie and Michael reacts to him, Paul could not get through that moment. He laughed every time Steve looked at him. It took us so long to get through that.

It was so funny. You guys have to watch these bloopers. He's walking in with like stacked china tea cups. And there is a time that Steve broke, which you guys know was rare, but Steve completely broke and one of the bloopers, Paul is Toby just says bow tie. It was so amazing. It is so good. Well, anyway, the purpose of the scene was that Dwight and Michael full on lie to Jim.

So Michael and Dwight have this whole ruse to get Jim to go to Utica with them. They tell them that this company has lost the staples account and they're going to go and they're going to get it and Jim has to come with them. So off they go. Yeah. Yeah. So they're in the car. Jim notices.

Oh, no, wait. You missed the exit. And that's when Dwight and Michael are like, we have a surprise for you. Jim is immediately, immediately terrified. The look on Rain's face in the backseat is Dwight. He could barely contain like how giddy he was that they roped Jim into this. And Michael's like, we're going on a panty raid to Utica. My God.

Oh my gosh. And Jim's like, no, no, he gets out his cell phone. He's going to make a phone call, but Dwight grabs it and throws his phone out the window. Yeah. Throws his phone out the window. And also Michael says, had to be done. Had to be done. What?

What? We had a fan question from Icy Lee and Emily Jones. When they threw Jim's phone out the window, did someone have to go pick it up behind the car? Was that a real phone? Okay. It was a real phone. And yes, we had a follow car, which is a car that follows the actors and they would have

to stop and pick up that phone. Yeah. We had a fan catch from Doug Schmidt, who says, not a question, but when Dwight throws Jim's phone out the window, they are clearly on a four lane road. But when they stop to find it, it's only a two lane road. Oh, look at you with your catch, Doug, you go. And another catch from Emily Ambriss at eight minutes, 45 seconds, when they've stopped to retrieve the phone, you can see a road sign that says San Fernando in a fourth of

a mile. Oh, that's a really good catch. So yeah, clearly in California. So they're looking for Jim's phone, Jim finds it and he's like, you know what, I'm gonna call a cab. And they're like, okay, well, you'll miss out on the pranks. And he's like, hold up. What are you guys doing?

What do you have planned? Michael Lissoff, they have the warehouse uniforms, silly string. Dwight also has some gasoline and chunks of rubber to make stink bombs or real bombs. They don't know. Yeah. Could be badass. They don't know. It could be either one.

And Jim's like, yeah, no, that's not happening. So he makes a deal with them that he'll dress up in the warehouse uniform. By the way, the one he got was Madge's. Yes. And that he will go with them, but no stink bombs or shenanigans. Yeah. This is the compromise that he makes. And from this talking head, it cuts to this silent moment in the car, nine minutes, 45

seconds. The three of them in the uniforms with these ridiculous mustaches. It is such a funny cut too. It cracked me up. I have so much to say about these car scenes, but I think we should take a break and come back and really get into it. Have you ever peed in a bottle in the backseat of a car? I have not.

Have you? I thought about it real serious. I've peed on the side of a lot of roads. Same. Okay. Well, more to discuss when we come back. We are back and the boys are in the car. They've got their outfits on.

They've got their mustaches on. They're driving to Utica. Michael is asking Jim a lot of questions about his breakup with Karen. And Jim doesn't want to talk about it. So Jim is like, let's play that alphabet game that you want to play. Yes. And Michael's like, okay, A is for Alan and he's married to Allison. They live in Alaska and they sell, ah, what do they sell?

What do they sell? And then he's like, wait, what is that noise? I hear, is that water like in the engine? Like what is that air conditioner leaking? What's that sound? Oh, that sound is Dwight peeing in a can in the backseat. And they freak out. They're like, oh gross.

And then Michael starts swerving and Dwight's like, you're making me spray. The scene is like so fun to watch. I was laughing so hard. We got a lot of mail about the scene. One from Sadie Kay who says, when the guys were in the car, did they break a lot? Oh Sadie, the bloopers from the scene are so worth it. You've got to watch it. They were cracking up.

I mean, it's one of the like rare times where Steve could not keep it together. Steve. Yeah. Every time too. Rain would have to say, I think I cut my penis on the lid. And then this is in the deleted scenes, but it's also in the bloopers. At the very end Dwight goes, I cut a chunk out of my penis for nothing. Those guys could not get through it.

They were like melting into laughter. I mean, just imagine being in a car together. These three comedic actors at the top of their game. I mean, brilliant. We had another fan question from Evan Derrickson. This is a technical question. Evan wants to know who got to decide who wears which mustache because they're really perfect for each character and so funny.

Is that a wardrobe thing? Does it need Greg's approval? Is it props? Well, Evan, I like your question because you've clearly been listening to Office Ladies. The mustaches are made by hair and makeup. So it's not a prop and hair and makeup work together because it's hair because it's a mustache, right?

Yeah. But then it goes on the face and has to be applied to the face. So it becomes a makeup thing. So they just had a tray of a bunch of different mustaches and yes, they got Greg's approval. They talked to Joss Whedon, the director. They talked to Mindy Kaling and they picked the mustaches for each of these guys to wear. Hair and makeup would take photos of the guys with the different mustaches and then walk them over to the writer's room and the writers and directors would look at it.

I can't imagine. That is so funny to me. Well, next up, the finer things club meeting is underway. Yes. And at 10 minutes, 50 seconds, we have a Pam's teapot catch. Yes. That's right. They are using Pam's teapot that Jim gave her in that very first Christmas episode.

I have a question for the finer things club. Yes. How much stuff do you have to bring to work? On the day that you guys meet, there is a three tiered tray of sandwiches, a tablecloth, flatware, the teapot, the cups. You're like bringing a crate of stuff. Yeah. Don't worry about it.

It doesn't involve you. We got it covered. They're discussing a room with a view and who walks in, but Andy. He wants to be in the club. And Pam tells him it's a closed club. She's very direct and unapologetic. I'm sorry. This is a closed club.

And Andy has a talking head where he says the finer things club is the most exclusive club in the office. So it's naturally where he needs to be. Every planning committee is his backup, Kevin's band is his safety. Everything is like he's rushing a fraternity. It's so true. It's so true. Well, I'll have you know, we loved shooting these scenes, me, Oscar, Paul, we were delighted

by the storyline. We had the best time because this was a group of people that did not normally get to hang out. I did not have a lot of scenes with Oscar or Paul. So this was really cool, and I'll have you know that before the pandemic, we had a finer things club reunion lunch. You did. I thought this was so, so sweet.

When you told me you guys were all going to meet, I was like, that is adorable. Yeah. We met, we had lunch, and we invited Ed. Oh. We let Ed come. So the four of us had this amazing lunch. I took a picture, so I'll post it in the pod. That is so sweet.

I'm very sad. We were delighted on the show or in real life. Well, I'll say we did not discuss any literature or art at our reunion lunch. We just chatted about our lives and our kids. Well, now the guys have rolled up to the Utica branch, but Jenna, first I want to talk to you about a deleted scene. You will not believe this scene. I had Sam pull this clip.

Jim has called Pam from the road with Michael and Dwight, and Pam is kind of passive aggressively given Jim a little shade for seeing Karen. Oh, I don't even remember doing this scene. I couldn't believe it. It just doesn't even sound like Pam to me. And I think there's a reason it was deleted, but it's pretty delicious to listen to. Sam, can you play it? Wait, you're going along with this now?

I have to. Pam, if I'm not there, someone's going to go to jail or die. Right. And you wouldn't be able to talk to Karen. Well, I promise you that has nothing to do with it. A little bit. Well, yeah, I don't want to see her get physically harmed, that's for sure. Because you love her?

Because you love her very much? All right, I'm going to go now. Okay, have fun with your girlfriend. Okay, I will. I mean, Jenna, you're going to have fun with your new girlfriend? Oh my gosh, Pam is totally jealous. I don't know, do you think she's really jealous? Yes, Pam also has a talking head where she's like, I was just kidding, we kid like that.

And then she's like, okay, maybe I'm a little jealous. Wow, I don't even remember shooting that. Yeah. That's so crazy. You have to watch the deleted scenes. That does sound a little bit like me when I'm being passive aggressive. That was more Jenna than Pam. Maybe a little bit.

I think it's good that they deleted it because I think I like instead, you know, that he comes back at the end of the day and, you know, I don't know, I don't want to see that side of Pam. Yeah, I just don't think we need that tension in the relationship. It doesn't need to be about that, you know? Yeah. I like it and we'll get to it that Jim and Karen are going to have a moment where they have to deal with their stuff, but I like that Pam is left out of it.

Yeah, me too. So now the guys roll up to the Utica branch and Michael reveals their plan. They're going to pretend to be warehouse workers and they're going to silly string the whole place. Dwight adds that he might stab the security guy in the eye with a piece of jumbo chalk. And Jim is like, you're not stabbing anyone in the eye. Dwight's like, okay, fine. Maybe I'll just grind it up and blow it in his eyes.

Yeah, he has a talking head that he says the eyes are the groin of the head. Yeah. So look out eyeballs of Dwight's around. I really love that line. I do too. Dwight and Michael leave and Jim is now on a walkie-talkie in the car. Well, and he sees Karen. He's like, oh my God, she's here.

Go, go, go. And he leans the seat back trying to hide from Karen. Yeah. But in the meantime, through the walkie-talkie, we only hear it, which I personally think is so freaking funny. Michael and Dwight decide to steal the industrial copier, then you hear a very loud crashing noise, and then you start to hear Michael talking about his hip. He's saying, Jim, save us.

He's saying, Jim, if this is my last moment, please tell me you'll take over the dundies. It's so, so amazing. And Jenna, you're so right. It was better over the walkie-talkie. There's a deleted scene in the stairwell where Michael is pinned by the copier and there's a silly string everywhere, and the security guards have come, and it just plays funnier over the walkie-talkie. It really does.

So I was really glad that they made that choice. I have a fan catch for this moment. Okay. When the guys were driving in the car, it was very clear that there was just Michael, Jim, and then Dwight in the back seat. But now, all of a sudden, we have a camera operator in the car with Jim. Yeah. And Jim is like, get down.

What are you doing? You know? Where did this guy come from? And also, when they're on the side of the road, there was clearly a camera operator on the side of the road with them. So I have made up a story in my head that the camera operators followed them in another vehicle to document this moment. They had a huge budget.

They put lipstick cameras in the car, rigged the car, then followed the car with a second set of handheld cameras. This PBS went all out. They really did. Well, they knew that this was going to be a good moment. Yeah. And a fan question from Eris Beth Cruz, Zufan Jarad, Colby Shannon, and Karo B. Were Jim Michael and Dwight actually talking through walkie-talkies?

Yes, they were. And I don't know if this was in the bloopers, Angela, but John was laughing so hard at what he was listening to. I remember him telling me stories, wait until you see the scene. These guys were so funny over the walkie-talkie. I loved when Jim kept saying, stop saying my name. Yes. Yes.

Well, Karen spots Jim in the car and she walks over. So embarrassing. But then it leads into this amazing scene. She's got the three of them on a couch in her office. It 100% looks like three kids who've been called to the principal's office. Well, Karen is loving this. I mean, there's a whole talking head where she says, I cried for weeks over that guy. So yeah, it felt pretty good seeing him in this situation.

Yeah. The only person still wearing his mustache now is Dwight. Michael is defending his behavior. He is saying that he cares enough to fight for his employees. And if Stanley comes to Utica and she hurts one hair on his head, he will burn Utica to the ground. Yeah. Right, and Michael both say they will burn Utica to the ground.

Insane. So Karen sends Michael and Dwight away. She says, Jim, will you stay a moment? The principal kept one, let the other two go. Well now it's going to get personal. This is so cringy. She says, Jim, if you wanted to see me, you could have just called. And Jim's like, oh no, I didn't want to see you.

And he's like, not that I'm not happy to see you, but I know I was basically just here for the copier. Because I'm with Pam and things are going well and we're good. And she's like, oh, I'm so glad to hear that things are going so well for you. Yeah. Angela, we had a fan catch for this scene from Rachel Watkins at 17 minutes 27 seconds as Karen and Jim are having their one on one. Karen has a photo of Hillary Clinton on her bookshelf.

Rachel is wondering if this is a nod to Leslie Knope having framed photos of Hillary Clinton in her office for Parks and Recreation. You know what, Rachel? I don't know, but what a great catch. Yeah, I didn't catch that. I zoomed in on it. But speaking of Parks and Recreation, Angela, we had another fan question. A bunch of people wrote in, they said, how did you get Rashida Jones back for this?

Wasn't she on Parks and Recreation at the time? She was. But you might remember that Parks and Rec was created by Mike Sher, who was one of the office writers. And so our production office just called over to their production office and they were able to clear her for one day of work. So she came and did this one shooting day at these offices for Utica, but we didn't get to see her.

We did not get to have a reunion with her at all because she was on location. I know. I just thought she crushed these scenes. She was so perfect in them. Well, Jenna, there's a whole lot happening back at Dunder Mifflin because the Fine or Things Club is trying to have their meeting. You know, they had to hang a sign. You have to think someone hangs a sign because events have happened, right?

Yes. And the solution is a sign. So they have made a sign at 12 minutes 49 seconds. You can catch it. And it says, Fine or Things Club in progress, please be respectful. And Kevin comes in. He's trying to get something out of the vending machine. He's banging it back and forth.

His butt is like right up against your chair. And my absolute favorite moment of all of the Fine or Things Club meetings is Phyllis and that dang microwave. How many buttons is she hitting? So many buttons. So many buttons and Oscar, he is so fantastic. The way he lets it amp up and start to bug him as he's trying to form his thought about his book sharing, right?

He wants to tell you guys about this book, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, and then finally he just snaps and he's like, what are you microwaving? And Phyllis says, Popcorn with her St. Louis accent. We had a lot of people write in and catch that 1349. You hear a solid Popcorn. This is me though, Jenna. I am Oscar. If you want to drive me crazy, have some beeping somewhere.

Something beeping makes me nuts. You know, I have to turn off the beeping on my washer dryer. I don't need that to keep going off. I know I put the laundry in. I know I'll take the laundry out eventually. I'll get to it. I don't need you alarming me to my dry laundry for the next 15 minutes off and on. I don't get why everything has to beep so much.

The refrigerator beeps, the dishwasher beeps, the microwave beeps. My coffee maker beeps. It beeps when it's done and then it beeps when it turns itself off. So much beeping. Can we tone it down on the beeping, appliance people? Not everything needs an alarm. You know? This is, we feel strongly about it.

We clearly feel strongly about all the beeping, unnecessary beeping. Who knew? Well, the guys get back from Utica. Michael gives Stanley his blessing. He says, you know what? It's okay. And then he gets him a box from the mail cart, Angela. The seldomly used mail cart is getting used.

And then he says, Pam, come in my office. I need to write a one ad. And here is Michael's ad that he's going to place for a new employee to take Stanley's place. Are you ready? Well, he's laying on the ground as he dictates this to you. I know. I mean, he has given up all hope.

He has failed. And yes, what does he tell you? Wanted. Middle-aged black man with sass. Big butt. Bigger heart. I love that Michael used sass. I thought the same thing.

And then Stanley's like, I never planned on leaving. I say crazy things sometimes. I was just bluffing and Michael called my bluff. Yeah. He just wanted a raise. He was hoping to leverage this job offer to get more money. And earlier when Michael has a meeting with him, he's like, what can I do to get you to stay?

And he's like, money, money, but Michael doesn't have the budget. But as it turns out, Stanley's not really going to uproot his family. He's going to stay. Yeah, and him, you know, putting this out there to Michael to see if Michael would like, you know, meet his demands almost cost Utica getting burned to the ground. I know. Pam tells Jim, I'm really sorry, Rolando told me everything. I love it that the receptionists talk to one another.

I love this so much that you and Rolando have this whole friendship that we don't even know about. I also thought it was pretty great that you said to Jim, how embarrassing. Yeah. I know. Well, when I was chatting with Adam about his time on the office, one of the things he mentioned was that while he was shooting this episode, Rain and Mindy both came up to him and said, we think you could come back.

We like this Utica branch idea. We want to have you back and that he was so excited. And then of course, you know, I go back for lecture circuit. And we had a little fan catch about that. Caitlin Donahue, Sidney Matthews and Courtney Sage said, in this episode, Pam mentions that she and Rolando talk. But in lecture circuit, Michael introduces Pam to Rolando when they arrive. Is this a continuity error?

You know, guys, I just think Michael doesn't know. Michael doesn't know that Pam has these relationships. Just like remember earlier, it's clear that Pam and Michael's mother talked to one another as well. Oh, I think there's so much that Michael doesn't know about even what Pam's job does. You know, like how about the fact that like, he's like, Pam, will you hold all my calls today? And Pam's like, sure, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

Like Michael doesn't know what Pam does. It's true. To make Jim feel better, Pam invites him to be in the finer things club. And the end of this episode is a flash forward to their next meeting where they are discussing Angela's ashes. And true to Jim form. He has to do a bit. Yep.

He's doing his Irish accent. Oscar just kind of looks at him and is like, did you get it all out? And then he hasn't read the book. Oh, Paul is so amazing in the scene. He's like, who's the main character? Jim is like, Angela, no, no, the ashes, no. And Pam just mouth. Sorry.

Well, there are two deleted Andy scenes that I want to discuss before we wrap up. They're about the finer things club and about how desperately he was trying to get in. Because you know, when Pam let Jim in, you saw Andy go, are you kidding me? Right? Yeah. So here are these two things that Andy does. There is a scene where Andy comes in to the break room to you guys and offers you an envelope full of cash, a donation, if you will.

There is a scene, Jenna, in the deleted scenes. And I think it would have come towards the end of the episode. You guys, the finer things club, walk up to Andy, you give him a sealed envelope. He opens it up. It's a letter telling him he has been put on the waitlist. And he is thrilled. He shared that he was waitlisted at Cornell and then his dad donated a whole building to the college.

Oh, I see. Oh my gosh. Andy, we learn and deleted scenes was in fact on the waitlist. Delicious. Guys, that was Branch Wars. Thank you to Adam Jamal Craig for sending in those audio clips and thank you guys for your questions. Next week, Survivorman.

Oh, and in the meantime, we will start the Finers Things Club. And what are we reading? Our first book will be the House of the Spirits. Ordering now. We'll see you guys next week. Thanks guys. We'll see you next week. Hope you have a good one.

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey. Our show is executive produced by Cody Fisher. Our producer is Cassie Jerkins. Our sound engineer is Sam Kiefer. And our associate producer is Ainsley Bubicoe. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For ad-free versions of Office Ladies, go to StitcherPremium.com.

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