Office Ladies - Second Drink: Boys and Girls

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Ladies, please report to the conference room, boys to the bowels of the office! That's right, this week we're breaking down Boys and Girls, an episode of The Office based of a pitch straight from Jenn...a and Angela themselves! We chat about those classic Angela Martin moments, alpha wombs vs beta wombs, and do you call Jim and Pam JAM, or PB&J? Finally, we talk about Michael wrecking the warehouse, Jan union busting, and Pam and Jims first fight.  Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion  Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod Episode Transcript To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 I know it's early in the year, but we're already talking about our summer family trip. And you know we like to Airbnb. I know this. Well, we like to have a kitchen and I like to be able to walk out in my robe in the morning and have a cup of tea and as you call it, Jenna, I like a long runway. Yes. Well, you know, Lee is working in Oklahoma right now and we're going to come out to visit him and he got us a really nice Airbnb to stay in as a whole family. So that we could spread out, and everybody could sleep well. And then you feel like you're at home,
Starting point is 00:00:30 even though you're in a different city. Lady, I don't wanna sleep in the same room as my whole family. That's why I can't do hotels great anymore. Yeah, cause you all bunk up, and share a bathroom. Yeah, I like the space. I like a refrigerator, a real refrigerator. I like to have snacks, as you know. I do know this. Yes, I don't want to call room service. I want them right there. That's right. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:00:57 Everyone we're ladies who Airbnb, I guess, for your next adventure for your next vacation, maybe consider Airbnb. pepper sauce poured with ease, and if smoky strips of bacon make burgers better, you'll love our cheesy jalapeno and bacon quarter pounder. Get this beefy, bold, bacony, melty mouthful only at McDonald's for a limited time. Hello everyone and welcome to our second drink of Boys and Girls. This episode is near and dear to our hearts because we got to have all the ladies in scenes together all day and this episode was directed by the legendary Denny Gordon. Yes. And, you know, Boys and Girls is on Dave Rogers' list of favorite Peacock superfan episodes. Yep.
Starting point is 00:01:59 So we actually reached out to the director of Boys and Girls, Denny Gordon, and we are going to have her on Office Ladies as our special guest to talk all about the Superfan episode. I really can't wait for it, and we'll let you know when that's coming out. So we aren't going to give any new insights on this episode today. You'll have to wait for our Superfan breakdown for that. But we didn't want to leave you hanging, so I thought we could answer a question from our general mailbox. Great.
Starting point is 00:02:22 This came in from Avery C. in Richmond, Virginia, who said, Hello, Jenna and Angela. I would love to know about rehearsals. When did you do rehearsals? How did they fit in the general schedule of the week? Filming, getting lighting, locations. Did you rehearse each scene every day?
Starting point is 00:02:41 Or did you front load all the rehearsals at the beginning of the week? Did you wear your costume and makeup the rehearsals at the beginning of the week? Did you wear your costume and makeup for rehearsals or ordinary clothes? How long did rehearsals usually take? Basically, Avery wants the full download on rehearsals. Well, Avery, I think this is a great question. You know, every single show or movie you work on is a little different. And our show, we typically did a rehearsal for camera and for the actor and directors. And we weren't always in wardrobe for those. Depending on where your call time was and where you were in the mix of the day,
Starting point is 00:03:12 you might be halfway through hair and makeup. You might be fully dressed because you had already been in a scene that day. But we would always walk through the scene for the camera crew and the lighting crew. Yes, and those rehearsals would happen right before we shot that scene. So it's not like we came in on Monday mornings and rehearsed everything in a big clump. Whatever scene we were getting ready to shoot, it would begin with a rehearsal. And we would all sit and sometimes even get out our scripts and read through it, talk about where we thought each person would stand or how they would cross or move, and play out the beats of the scene. Camera would figure out how they were going to cover it.
Starting point is 00:03:52 And that was the rehearsal. It was not usually even done for performance. No, hardly ever done for performance. Really more of a walkthrough for the crew. And what I always did when I had bigger scenes with a lot of dialogue is I just rehearsed like crazy on my own in my trailer. Sometimes Jenna and I would meet and run lines together or whoever you might be in a scene with.
Starting point is 00:04:16 Phyllis and I, I remember we would rehearse many of our big scenes where our two characters had conflict. Well, when you work on a television show or a movie, you are expected to do all of that work at home. That is your homework. You're meant to come in prepared, with your lines ready, your choices made. The rehearsal process on a movie or a television show
Starting point is 00:04:37 is not there for you to make any acting discoveries, necessarily. And sometimes it's your very first time hearing how the other actor in the scene is doing their part. Which is super weird. So of course on The Office, we got to know each other so well. I could just hear how Angela was gonna say it
Starting point is 00:04:58 or how Brian Baumgartner was gonna say something as Kevin. But you know, on other movies, sometimes you're meeting your scene partner that you're supposed to have this long character history with for the first time in that little rehearsal right before you shoot. Yeah. But then you do the rehearsal and then there'll be a little break. So you do get a chance to kind of download that information. And during that break, you're meant to get into your wardrobe or get your hair and makeup touched up and then that's when the lighting crew will come in and they'll
Starting point is 00:05:29 make sure that everything's ready and that's about a 30 minute break on our set, sometimes less. Yeah. And sometimes the physicality of the scene doesn't end up being the way you thought it was going to be. I remember there was a scene from Accounting where I interject into a conversation that's happening in the bullpen. And when I read it, I thought, oh, I probably get up and I walk over to the bullpen.
Starting point is 00:05:54 But the way they were framing the wide shot, Randall Einhorn had me yell my line from Accounting. And that sort of changed how I said it. It had a bigger presence in the room. So you kind of have to have some flexibility in how you rehearsed it on your own at home and to how it's gonna end up being that day on set. Yeah, well Avery, thank you for that question. Yes, thank you so much for writing in
Starting point is 00:06:16 and be sure to catch our Peacock super fan breakdown of Boys and Girls with director amazing Denny Gordon later this year. But first, here is our original breakdown of Boys and Girls with director, amazing, Denny Gordon later this year. But first, here is our original breakdown of Boys and Girls. I'm Jenna Fisher. And I'm Angela Kinsey. We were on The Office together.
Starting point is 00:06:36 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 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. Hey gang.
Starting point is 00:06:53 Hello everybody. I'm wearing my Office Ladies hoodie today. You really are. I am holding a note card. It's almost like I wanna play it. I'm like in a poker game. I'm like ready to drop it. It's your ace of spades.
Starting point is 00:07:04 Drop it like it's hot. Drop it like it's hot. Drop it like it's hot. But it says Angela Sass. It does. And there's a lot of Angela Sass in this episode. So you're ready to play that sass. I'm ready because I know you have your stuff you're going to say, but I'm holding an Angela Sass.
Starting point is 00:07:19 It's coming in hot. Today we're talking about Boys and Girls, season two, episode 15 written by BJ Novak and directed by Denny Gordon, badass Denny Gordon. Yeah, she's back. Should I read a summary? Do it. All right. Jan hosts a Women in the Workplace seminar with the women of the office, but Michael feels threatened. So he decides to throw a competing men in the workplace seminar down in the warehouse, which he slowly destroys. Fast fact number one fan question from Dan Felve. Was the idea for this episode based on anything that anyone went through like in a previous
Starting point is 00:08:00 job? No, Dan, it's based on an idea that Angela and I pitched. That's right, Dan. Dan. This is our proudest moment. We love this. We love this. Also, we love that Greg Daniels was so collaborative, right?
Starting point is 00:08:13 Yeah. That we could have this idea. So, you know, Jen and I both worked in corporate America. And so we both had to go to a lot of like human resource meetings and things like that. And we were on set one day sort of talking about it and I wrote about it in my journal. Lady, I did too.
Starting point is 00:08:28 I wrote on Thursday, February 2nd, 2006, boys and girls, there are many things I love about working on this show, but one of the coolest is the creative input that we get to have. A lot of shows just don't let their actors get involved that way. But Jen and I were talking about our lives before the show. When she was a secretary and I was an operator
Starting point is 00:08:45 and we were laughing about all the crazy seminars and ridiculous meetings we had to sit through at our old corporate jobs. We sort of had this idea that it would be a funny episode called Women in the Workplace. We ran into Greg Daniels and told him our little idea. We didn't have anything flushed out or written down and he got so excited.
Starting point is 00:09:02 He grabbed BJ and he said, start writing this down. And BJ got a notepad and started jotting things down. Greg started scribbling notes too. Weeks later BJ Novak wrote this awesome script. Jenna and I were so excited. We are so lucky to be a part of a show that would respect our ideas. Oh that is so nice. You wrote mostly about the collaboration. I wrote very differently about this in my journal. Wait, can I say the last thing I wrote was, to any of the writers out there, we're not going to get in the habit of just bugging you guys with ideas.
Starting point is 00:09:33 I know. We would always have these bright ideas as a cast and we always worried that we annoyed the writers, but they were always so receptive and nice, even if they were pretending. Okay, so what did you write about? Okay. I went on a very elaborate description of where we were when we came up with the idea for this episode. Where were we? We were in my trailer. We were having a picnic lunch. Oh my gosh. I described that we had scented candles. I love our two different accounts of this moment in time. Scented candles and that we were discussing it.
Starting point is 00:10:09 And I also wrote that we did this all the time. We would have these ladies lunches. And during this ladies lunch, we got the bright idea for this episode that we ran onto the set that we set it to Greg Daniels, same as you. He pulled BJ aside and BJ's like, oh my gosh, what is this episode idea? And we said, here's what it is. The idea is that Jan comes in and has a woman in the workplace seminar and then Michael gets jealous and he says, I want a man in the workplace seminar. And BJ's like, I love it. What happens next?
Starting point is 00:10:42 And we're like, we don't know. That's it. That's all we got. He's like, that's it. That's the whole thing. We're like, yeah. And he's like, okay, I have a lot of work to do. And BJ filled in all the blanks. All the rest. Fast fact number two.
Starting point is 00:10:56 Another fan question from Elani Swentzel. One of my favorite things is watching you read people's Twitter or Instagram handles. Alani asked, were the scenes in the warehouse and the scenes in the conference room filmed at separate times? If so, where were the other cast members during that time? We got a lot of questions about this. People wanted to know, did we have two different film crews? How did this work?
Starting point is 00:11:23 No, one we have two different film crews? How did this work? No, one film crew. There were a couple of days where all of the women came to work and we shot our scenes. And then there were a couple of days where all the men came to work. I don't know what I did, but I had the day off. And I remember it was glorious. This was rare. Yeah, no, I remember being really excited. First of all, there was just a day where it was just all us gals and it was really fun.
Starting point is 00:11:44 I wrote about that in my diary as well. And I think part of the inspiration for this episode came from our desire to do more scenes together and be with the other women in the office doing scenes. And so it was a really fun week, not just because we got to hang out with the gals, but also we did have half the week off, which was really cool. And then we had one day where we were all together to film the scenes where the boys and girls are all together. I know, and I remember we were kind of excited to see everybody, we were like, hey! Yeah, how's Ben?
Starting point is 00:12:13 What happened down there? We'd been on summer vacation or something. Okay. Fast fact number three, this episode is Jim and Pam's first fight. It's a real fight. Yeah, this is a real fight. Now they got into a little bit of a,
Starting point is 00:12:29 what would you call it, a disagreement in the episode, the fight, when Jim picks her up at the dojo. Well, they've had a few bumpy moments. This is a fight, it's not resolved, we'll get into it. But it's a, yeah, they had some harsh words at each other. This is also another episode where Jim and Pam are basically separated the entire episode. So now we've had two episodes in a row where they're physically separated. In the last
Starting point is 00:12:56 episode, Pam and Roy were really getting along. And now in this episode, Jim and Pam get in a fight. I mean, we're building tension. We're building tension. We don't know what's happening with Dwight and Angela. They probably found a part of the day to sneak off and hook up. I think that that's probably true. Well, those are the end of my fast facts. Why are you holding Angela Sass still?
Starting point is 00:13:22 OK, I'm waiting. Are we going to break, or are you going to Angela Sass me first? I'm going to Angela Sass you before break. What? What? Oh my gosh. Guys, Angela Sass coming your way.
Starting point is 00:13:31 I got a hot Angela Sass card to play. Right away, seven seconds, Angela is giving side eye to Jan right out of the gate. It's true. There's going to be a lot of Angela snarky looks in this episode. Seven seconds, look for some classic side eye. And when we will go to break and then I'm going to come back, I got some more Angela sass. I'm glad you could get that off your chest out of your hands.
Starting point is 00:13:56 Seven seconds into the episode, I'm already like sassing it out. I'm sassing it out. I'm throwing shade. Isn't that what the kids say? I think throwing shade. Do you throw shade the kids say? I think throwing shade. Do you throw shade or do you give shade? I think you throw it. We throw, or do you chunk shade?
Starting point is 00:14:11 I think you chunk shade. You chunk shade. All right, let's go to break. With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz.
Starting point is 00:14:34 Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at fizz.ca. With tons of free reality shows, you are totally free to watch what you love on Pluto TV. And for me, that's Dance Moms, Bar Rescue, The Challenge, and Jersey Shore. All totally free on Pluto TV. Stream now, pay never.
Starting point is 00:14:53 Hit pause on whatever you're listening to and hit play on your next adventure. Stay two nights and get a $50 Best Western gift card. Life's the trip. Make the most of it at Best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. The cold open of Boys and Girls. Let's jump in. We open on the conference room. The women
Starting point is 00:15:16 in the office are seated with Jan. Side eye. Side eye from Angela. Side eye. Side eye. Pam has a talking head where she explains it's Women in the Workplace Seminar Day and Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye.
Starting point is 00:15:27 Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye.
Starting point is 00:15:35 Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye.
Starting point is 00:15:43 Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. Side eye. I'm wearing light pink. Is this because you're in love with Dwight? Maybe. Is this love? This might be my love outfit. I am sporting that really low, severe ponytail, which I hated as much as the bun. Yeah. Because it pulls right at the back of your neck. I hated that ponytail.
Starting point is 00:15:57 So I think in the Valentine's Day episode, you were gray. But in this episode, you were pink. I wore like beige on beige kind of for Valentine's. All right, at 54 seconds, I screen grabbed it and Jenna, I'm going to show it to you. I look dead inside. What? Michael is talking about the Allie McBeal woman, right? Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:20 And it cuts over to my expression and I'm going to show you what I'm doing. This like cracked me up. Oh my gosh, is that your resting bitch face? I think that's my RBF. My resting, well, my resting Angela Martin face. I think this is the face I make as I walk through the grocery store and people are like, it's gonna be okay.
Starting point is 00:16:40 Yeah. I'm like what? I'm happy, I'm having a great day. I think that is. Did you watch Ally McBeal? Were you an Ally McBeal fan? I'm happy. I'm having a great day. I think that is. Did you watch Ally McBeal? Were you an Ally McBeal fan? I don't think I did watch it. I don't have a big memory of watching it. I mean, maybe I caught an episode or two, but I didn't, you know.
Starting point is 00:16:55 Yeah. I didn't know it. I mean, when Michael says he's talking about the Ally McBeal woman and her sort of like journey, I was like, well, I don't really know what that means. So I'm going to Google Ally McBeal. Oh dear. Here is the description of Ally McBeal woman and her sort of like journey. I was like, well, I don't really know what that means. So I'm going to Google Ali McBeal. Here is the description of Ali McBeal. Okay. Ali McBeal is a young attorney who joins a prestigious law firm with a highly sexual environment and whose staff includes Ali's ex boyfriend. The series contains fantasy sequences, flashbacks and voiceovers to reveal what Allie is really thinking.
Starting point is 00:17:25 I was like curious when Michael said Allie McBeal. I'm like, well, I gotta look that up. I mean, I know it was a big hit show and Calista Flockhart and all that, but that's who I- Calista Flockhart is adorable. She's adorable. Okay. Next we get into the episode, the men are in the bullpen.
Starting point is 00:17:42 Michael decides since he's been kicked out of Jan's meeting that he's going to tell the men to circle up. At two minutes, 33 seconds, there's a fan question from Lauren and Derek, who is the woman walking in the background over Dwight's shoulder? Why isn't she in the meeting with Jan? Is it Luanne? It's Luanne. It's Luanne. It's Luanne. Luanne was like Creed, a background person,
Starting point is 00:18:09 slash stand-in for the female actors. And I guess, I don't know why she's, it's a good point. Why is she crossing in the background? They should have told her to stand down. Good catch. I want to talk about Michael's talking head at a minute 16 seconds, because this really cracked me up. He says that women in the workplace basically means I have been banned from my own conference room so Jan can talk in secret to all the girls, sorry women. Yeah. And then he says, I don't know
Starting point is 00:18:35 what they're going to talk about. And do you know what the two things he lists that they're probably going to talk about? What? Clothes and me. He's like, I don't know what they're gonna talk about. Probably clothes, maybe me. Ugh. Like that's not wrong. We do end up talking about clothes and him. So I mean, he nailed it. He nailed it. So during this circle up. Oh, wait, there's such a classic Creed moment. There's such a classic Creed moment at two minutes 48 seconds. You guys, you have to watch this. This is just Creed being Creed, okay? No one told him to do this.
Starting point is 00:19:12 They wanted the men to circle up. How does Creed get there? He does this rolly thing on his chair. He like speeds by, like shoving himself along in his rolly chair and it's just hilarious. And that is all creed. So also in this time, Dwight makes a comment about how if the women stay in the conference room
Starting point is 00:19:32 long enough, all of our periods are going to sync up. I know where you're going with this, because Jenna texted me at 11 o'clock last night. I was like, what are you doing up? And she was like, I am researching women. Whether or not women's periods really sync up if they spend a long period of time together. Here's what I found out. This theory is based on a study by a woman named Dr. Martha McClintock back in 1971.
Starting point is 00:19:57 You guys welcome to office ladies. We're going to read to you who Ali McBeal is and talk about menstruation. She studied a group of college students living in a dorm together and what she found was that syncing did happen between roommates and close friends, but not random pairings of women. Many studies have been done since to either prove or disprove her study, and for the most part, none of them have been able to prove her study. They've all yielded sort of random results. There are a lot of mathematical charts that show how every woman will sync with another woman at some period of time in their lives
Starting point is 00:20:46 just because of statistics. But this idea that four women who live in a house together for three years are for three years going to have their periods synced seems to be debunked. Well, you heard it here, everybody. You heard it here. To give you more information, because I know that's what you're craving, there is a theory that there's something called an alpha womb and a beta womb. I really feel like Dwight should have talked about this.
Starting point is 00:21:17 This does sound like a Dwight talking head, like, here's the thing about the alpha womb. The idea is that the cycle that they all sink to is the alpha womb and the beta wombs sink to that womb. And so one of the reasons why two women might not sink is because they're both alphas or both betas. You're welcome. I don't know how to... Yeah. Okay. You're welcome. I don't, I don't know how to, yeah. Okay. Well, what are you guys an alpha or a beta womb? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:21:49 So now Michael wants to do his own workplace seminar, right? Because he's like a little kid and he's like, well, I can't be in there. I'm gonna do my own thing. And he makes the guys clap loud. He's just being annoying. So Jan is gonna kick him out. But guys, there's something we have to discuss.
Starting point is 00:22:05 At three minutes, 11 seconds. Did we just find out how Michael pees? I think this is kind of a big sitting down. Does he pee sitting down? Why does society force us to use urinals when sitting down is far more comfortable? I think Michael sits down to pee. I don't understand why more men don't. I think we found out that he sits down to pee. I think since the invention of iPhones, more men do sit down to pee because they check their phones. Is that true guys? Is that a thing? Sam, is it true? I would say yeah, that and the invention of squatty potties. Squatty potties. There you go. You know a squatty potty, right? I know a squatty potty. Yeah. Because I listen to Howard Stern and he talks about his squatty potty.
Starting point is 00:22:46 Jan wants to kick the guys out. Michael says they have nowhere to go. Dwight suggests the warehouse. Oh, it's Dwight that suggests the warehouse. Well then they all walk out the front door. Many people pointed out that Toby didn't go in the warehouse. And I loved this. I felt like this was because they've been listening to office ladies.
Starting point is 00:23:04 A lot of people wondered if it was so he could be in the writer's room. Yes, guys. Yes. That's exactly why. Yes, you're with us. You're with us. Guys, did you catch that Michael refers to the warehouse
Starting point is 00:23:15 as the bowels of the office? Did you guys catch that? Speaking of squatty bodies, guess who looked up the definition of the word bowels last night? What happened to you? I don last night? What happened to you? I don't know. What happened to you, Alfa-Womb? We're both looking up crazy shiitake last night. I love Jenna when they go to the warehouse at four minutes, 13 seconds, all the guys,
Starting point is 00:23:37 seven guys are all crammed at the top of that stairwell that you and I both know leads nowhere. Yes, I noted this as well. It's basically a broom closet that they just had to pile out of. That's why they're all just standing on the landing in front of the door, because that's just a little broom closet there. You can't fit that many people in there. Then we have this amazing shot of the guys all coming down into the warehouse. I don't know how they got this.
Starting point is 00:24:05 Was there a camera on a crane or something? No. They're going down and Dwight says, remember in Lost when they meet the others? And then it just pans down. How did they get that shot? I don't know. I thought it was impressive. It's a really beautiful shot. Don't tell me you watched Lost. I loved Lost. Did you watch Lost?? Oh yeah, when it was on originally. I didn't watch it last night. Oh, yeah, I watched it originally. I might have watched a few trailers and episode clips
Starting point is 00:24:31 last night, just to remind myself. But were you Sawyer or Dr. Jack Shepherd? Oh boy. Right? I went back and forth. I did too. So Michael goes down to the warehouse, and he starts introducing the warehouse crew, which
Starting point is 00:24:48 I thought was really interesting, as if everyone doesn't know one another. But they do. Maybe this is for our audience to remind them. Or maybe it's Michael's nod to the camera. Yes. Because he's very aware of the camera. And then he is talking to Roy Roy and he refers to Pam and Roy as the Brangelina of the office.
Starting point is 00:25:11 David Denman looks legitimately confused. He does. He looks like Roy in this moment doesn't look like he's the sharpest tool in the shed. He's like, why? And then Michael says, you're Ram. Ram. Ram. Now here's a question. I've seen debate online. Some people refer to Jim and Pam as jam. Yeah. And some people refer to them as PB and J, Pam Beasley and Jim. Yeah. What do you think is right? Because I'm a jam person. I like jam. I jam. Because it's just easier to say. I like jam.
Starting point is 00:25:45 I like Duangela. Yeah. I guess Ram or they could have been Poi. I hope not. Poi. Oh my gosh. I ship Poi. Well, you know what Roy's last name is.
Starting point is 00:25:57 This is going to come up in a later episode. Roy's last name is Anderson. So when she marries Roy, her name is going to be Pamela Anderson. Did you know that? Yes, I just remembered that. That makes me laugh. So now we have a scene between Kevin and Jim. And Kevin comes up to Jim and says, I bet Roy is going to beat you up because he heard about your feelings for Pam. And this is true.
Starting point is 00:26:24 This is the first time that Jim and Roy are gonna be in close proximity since it was revealed that Jim, quote unquote, used to have a crush on Pam. There's gonna be a lot of tension now for Jim down in the warehouse. But Kevin says he's got his back, but just try not to get into it.
Starting point is 00:26:40 Yeah, exactly. Try not to go there. Wait, I have a question for you. I have a performance question. So when we cut back to the conference room where the women are, Pam has a notepad. And Jan looks at her and goes, are you OK with taking notes? Can you do that?
Starting point is 00:26:56 Thank you very much. Can you take notes? Yeah. And you have this expression as Pam. I don't know. For me, Jenna, in that moment, to me, it was like, oh my God, here, it's not Michael, but once again, I'm just the secretary.
Starting point is 00:27:10 It's so interesting you point this out, because we got a lot of mail about this. We did? A lot of people pointed out this moment about my discontent, I guess, at being asked to take notes. And I think, yes, I think I thought that this was a women in the workplace seminar. And now, I guess, really, am I participating in the seminar
Starting point is 00:27:31 or am I taking notes for the seminar? And to be fair, you look busy the whole time, but you're just drawing a picture. I'm just drawing a picture. I'm not actually taking any notes. Well, Jan also suggests that everyone say something they're good at. Yes.
Starting point is 00:27:46 So Meredith says supplier relations. Phyllis says she's good at computers, which causes Angela to sass out. Oh, yeah. I have it. And complain. I say at six minutes, 24 seconds, I say, really? And then an improv line is where we sort of have chatter after that.
Starting point is 00:28:05 And I'm like, because I've seen some of your spreadsheets and that sort of mumble part was improvised. And the camera pushes it on my face over you laying into Phyllis. Yeah. I did not know that that was going to happen. That's I'm calling this GIF alert. Six minutes, 27 seconds. This slow push on my face where I listen to you complain and I'm sort of giving you some side eye.
Starting point is 00:28:29 I see this gif constantly. This is. I know. I have a few gifs from this episode too that are out there. I want to point out something. Much the way that Toby did the shh and he backed away into the office and we know it's because Paul is going to the writer's room. In this scene, when Phyllis is saying
Starting point is 00:28:47 she's good at computer stuff, look to her left. There's no Mindy. There's no Mindy. She's not even sitting there cause she's in the writer's room. So they kept- We would frame her out. Yeah, they would frame her out.
Starting point is 00:29:00 But there's one moment where that kind of pulls just a little wide, the camera does. And you can see that she is not sitting there. She doesn't have any lines in this part, that's why. And they needed her back in the writer's room. So later on, she's there, but right in that moment, she's not there. We had a fan question from Jacob Hibbs.
Starting point is 00:29:15 When Jan asks all the women in the office what they know they're good at, how much of the answers were improvised? None. Well, I mean, you improvised your sass to Phyllis, but the things we say we're good at were were improvised. None. Well, I mean, you improvised your sass to Phyllis, but the things we say we're good at were not improvised. No, that was all scripted. So now we go back down to the warehouse and Roy is going to confront Jim.
Starting point is 00:29:35 Yes. And they're, oh, I was on the edge of my seat for this. I know. But Roy says, hey, we're cool. And he's glad. He's glad because, you know, he's glad Pam has says, hey, we're cool. And he's glad. He's glad. He's glad because, you know, he's glad Pam has someone to talk to during the day so that she doesn't come home and like, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, to where Jim, I think that,
Starting point is 00:29:55 I think he throws shade. He says, yeah, I love talking to her too. I just thought it was an honest moment. Like Jim does like talking to her, but- But he couldn't help it. Like that's so passive aggressive. I know, I know. Well, I wrote, I wrote during the scene,
Starting point is 00:30:11 I wrote Jenna, you are my Jim. You're who I yap, yap, yap to at work. And I'm probably Josh when I get home is like so happy that I've sort of journaled out loud to you all day. It's probably true. I've sorted out, you know, all my issues and I get home to him and then I just hang out. I've had moments where Lee has said to me, have you not talked to Angela in a while? Because I'm getting blocked.
Starting point is 00:30:35 Lee. All right. Darrell suggests that everyone go up to the office. Well, he wants to switch places, right? He said, let's experience what the office is like. The warehouse guys go up, you guys stay here and load trucks. Yeah, but instead the sales guys start unloading the truck and he doesn't want people in his space
Starting point is 00:30:56 because as you're going to see, it doesn't go well. Well, he says, Michael's like, what's your biggest fear? And he goes, that someone will come down here and distract us and mess with our stuff and we won't get anything done. Yeah. Well, Michael finds the blow up doll from the sexual harassment episode.
Starting point is 00:31:13 With his face on it. Yep. Which brings me to a question, Jenna. Yes. I saw that you have a face of yourself that's being sold on Amazon. People can buy your face Yeah as a mask as a mask my face, but but not only that there were only 15 left
Starting point is 00:31:32 It's almost only 15. Why did you make 15? Is there that big of a demand? I when I saw that there were 15 left. I was like you should just print these Or order. I mean you don't need a stockpile of these. Who's buying these? Well, maybe people have office parties. I don't know. They have office-themed parties. It's also a photo of you with like your hair up in a bun.
Starting point is 00:31:54 I'm sorry, like it was- Like an updo. Yeah, it's from a, now here's what I'd understand. Legally, no one asked my permission. I'm not getting any money for that. Yeah. Are you allowed to sell someone's face? I guess so.
Starting point is 00:32:06 Maybe not. Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. Lawyer, cease and desist. I know. I don't know. I mean, I guess they have to pay the photographer for their rights? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:32:19 I'm not a lawyer, but I did go to pre-law. I bought the remaining 15 of your face. You didn't. And. Oh my God, that would be so scary. If I came to your house, you're all wearing that. I wallpapered my bathroom with it. Anyway, okay, where are we?
Starting point is 00:32:34 Well, I have a fan question. Vicki Siskie at eight minutes, 34 seconds noted, behind Dwight, there is something written on the truck's walls. Does it have any meaning? Well, Vicki, I screen grabbed it. I zoomed in on it. It looks like what is written on the wall is Co-A-E-Go. C-O-A-E-G-O. I Googled it and I couldn't find a meaning. So I think it doesn't mean anything. I wonder if it's like something kind of like how OSHA, you know, like when I worked at
Starting point is 00:33:08 1-800-Dennis, I have to be like, our dentists meet OSHA strict standards for occupational safety and health administration or whatever it was. But I think if you Googled OSHA, something would come up. Yes. But Co-A-E-Go, nothing. Well. But I tried. She tried, Vicki.
Starting point is 00:33:24 Sometimes I just want you guys to know I tried. Yes. And that's, and this is one of those moments. If anyone else would like to screen grab and maybe has better insight, will you email us at what coagula means? Yeah. All right. At eight minutes, 13 seconds, we're in the conference room.
Starting point is 00:33:42 Guess who's back all of a sudden. Kelly Kelly is there. And this is what we like to call full Mindy now. She has her hair down, she has a clip in her hair. She has purple nail polish, a purple blouse. She has makeup on. But it's Paisley blouse again. I know.
Starting point is 00:33:56 Again, where are they finding all this Paisley? I don't know. I feel like if I wanted to buy a Paisley blouse, I couldn't find one. I know, I know. Well, and she has a big speech about how she doesn't want just, you know, to schlep her kids around some minivan. She wants an SUV with three rows.
Starting point is 00:34:13 This is the important conversation that's happening. Well, listen, I get it. Yes. Jan asks everyone to go around and say what their goals are. Yes. Meredith says, in five years, I'd like to be five years sober. I mean, four and a half. Or four and a half. Kelly wants an SUV, not a minivan. Phyllis would really love a nice big walk-in closet, which everyone is in agreement on.
Starting point is 00:34:38 Everyone's like, oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. Fan question from Laura Lynn. This is to us, Angela. Okay. What is something that both you and Angela know you're good at and what are your goals? Oh my gosh. Way to get deep, lady. I know. What comes to mind? What springs to mind? What are you good at?
Starting point is 00:34:57 Well- I know something you're good at. One time when I was really young, we were in church and the minister was like saying, you guys, what are your strengths? How could you help? And my friend turned to me and goes, well, you're very verbal. You're very verbal? So maybe I'm good at chatty.
Starting point is 00:35:21 All right. I'm going to do better than your friend in church. What? I'll tell you what you're good at chatty. All right. I'm going to do better than your friend in church. What? I'll tell you what you're good at. You are very good at bringing people together. You're very good at collecting people. Aw. But this is, I mean, like this is a true gift.
Starting point is 00:35:38 So you know, like how Angela told you the story about how she did this movie with Ken Jong and they were across the hall and she took him down to P.F. Chang's for his 40th birthday. That is Angela right there. But what happens is then you have so endeared yourself to people that they're with you for life and you stick with people through thick and thin. And when you go to a party at Angela's house, it is the strangest hodgepodge
Starting point is 00:36:06 of people you will ever meet in your life. And they are all the nicest, warmest, most lovely people. And this is a true talent. Your judge of character is excellent. Oh, lady. Thanks for sticking with me, by the way. Oh my gosh. I guess I sort of, that sounded like I gave myself a compliment. No. I'm in your group. Yeah. I guess I sort of, that sounded like I gave myself a compliment. No.
Starting point is 00:36:25 And I'm in your group. Well, I am. But that is, that is you. You're really, really good at that. Well thanks for saying that. I, you know, I sort of have a hodgepodge of people in my life. It's like people stew, you know, people stew. I know some people, and I have very good friends that are like this, that they definitely need
Starting point is 00:36:45 their friends from work and one component of their life, and then they have their lifelong family friends from growing up, and then they have, so it's like their work people, their friend people, their family people. Yeah, they keep it compartmentalized as Ed Truck would suggest. Yes, yes, and maybe I'm more Michael Scott. I just want them all together. And so if you do come to my house, you might meet my neighbor Scott and then like a friend of mine from high school who happened to be in town.
Starting point is 00:37:14 It's just a little mix of everything. Yeah, it's true. Well, that was very sweet, Jenna. And then a goal? We have to talk about a goal. Yeah, what are your goals? Gosh, I really, really just wanted to have a job where I could be there to take my daughter to school and pick her up and be there for every soccer
Starting point is 00:37:31 practice and everything. I think my goal is just really, I just want to be there for my family. This podcast is our goals. Yeah. We're living our goals. We're living our goals. Jenna, what
Starting point is 00:37:45 about you? You know what? I think something I'm really good at is achieving goals. I have always been that way. Even if it was like from the time I was 10 years old and I said, one day I'll go to Paris, one day I'll go to Paris. I didn't go to Paris until I was 36 years old, but I went. Yeah. And I keep a little journal with my goals and I daydream about them. And if I set my mind to it, I find a way to make it work. I don't know how I do it, but I become sort of unstoppable. You are, I think you're a force. One of the things I have said many, many times to people,
Starting point is 00:38:30 I was like, listen, if the shiitake goes down and I need someone to go into battle with, I'll tell you right now, it's Jenna Fisher, because she would have a very organized army. She would have thought out her strategy. We're gonna to win. I think this is why I like movies like The Edge, survivalist movies. I just saw 1917. I saw 1917.
Starting point is 00:38:54 I loved it. It's so good. No one told me that it's a movie about a goal and a guy just reaching a single goal. He's like, take this letter over here and deliver this letter. Good luck. Just exactly. Yeah. I forgot to tell you, you're going to literally climb over dead bodies to do it. But I love
Starting point is 00:39:14 seeing goals realized. I love it. Okay. Where are we? Thank you for that question. I'm sorry if we like totally got off on a tangent, but that was a, that was, those are some big thought provoking questions. Yeah. I think y'all could go to your journals tonight and write down what are you good at? What are you good at? Pump yourself up.
Starting point is 00:39:35 Yeah. All right. Now we go down back into the warehouse and Michael is on the forklift. LQ slash LN asked, was Steve really driving crashing the forklift or was it a stunt driver? It was Steve. It was Steve. That was 100% Steve. That was 100% Steve. And don't think he wasn't having a good time. Oh yeah. And I sort of recall that he had to go down, they gave him a little tutorial on it. Yeah, he got like lessons.
Starting point is 00:40:04 Yeah. Anyone that ever had to drive it as part of the show got a little safety lesson and a tutorial on it. We did have a stunt coordinator. That was a planned event to have all the things. And I believe they practiced, not in the moment and not with things on the shelves, but the idea of how all that would work. That was a choreographed moment.
Starting point is 00:40:22 Yeah. It was not improvised. It was not improvised. Two rows of supplies fell, but it was very thought out what wased moment. Yeah. It was not improvised. It was not improvised. Two rows of supplies fell, but it was very thought out what was on those shelves and how it was gonna fall and how Steve would hit it and it would fall a certain way.
Starting point is 00:40:32 So that was a very thought out moment. There's a deleted scene that was not included, but you can find it in the deleted scenes where in addition to Michael knocking down all the shelves, Dwight gets his spud gun out of his car. Well, Dwight and Roy have a whole bonding moment over their different guns that they have. Yes, and that is also a deleted scene.
Starting point is 00:40:54 So Dwight gets his spud gun, and then he breaks the window of Daryl's office. And I noticed that they cut that out, and then for the rest of the episode, I kept looking to see if there was ever for the rest of the episode, I kept looking to see if there was ever a shot of this broken window and I couldn't see one. They really avoided it. Way to go.
Starting point is 00:41:11 Well, I think it was one thing too many, right? It's like they cannot completely destroy company property, although they do a pretty good job of it. And oh my gosh, Daryl is ticked off and Lonnie yells, damn it, Michael. Yeah. Like they are mad. I was really glad that they had that reaction. I needed like as an audience, like viewer,
Starting point is 00:41:33 I needed someone to be like, what the hell are you doing? Yeah. So Michael gets everyone to circle up now down in the warehouse and at nine minutes, 13 seconds, you might notice that his shirt is unbuttoned. He has taken his jacket off, his tie off. His shirt is very unbuttoned. He wants to have this guy's gripe session.
Starting point is 00:41:52 Yes. Fan question from Jeff the tweeter. Did they ask Steve to unbutton his shirt so that Lonnie could call him Hasselhoff or was that improvised? That was scripted. Yes. And we're missing a scene
Starting point is 00:42:04 and it is not in the deleted scenes. And I could not find my shooting draft for this episode. If any of you guys know, because sometimes you guys know more than we do. We are not the experts. We do our best to find out information from all of our sources, but this one, I couldn't figure it out,
Starting point is 00:42:23 but I know that the Hasselhoff moment was scripted. It was not improvised. And so there must be a scene. There's a riff on the Hasselhoff joke that's not there. Yeah, and I mean, you reached out to a few people. So we did, I know. So guys out there, if you know. I could not get the answer to, is there a missing scene?
Starting point is 00:42:41 But I think there must be a scene where Michael, for whatever reason, unbuttons his shirt. I love so much that at 9 minutes 27 seconds, Madge is like, hey, do you want me to go? Because they're having a guy gripe session and Madge is sitting there. And they're just griping about women, basically. I know, I know. So back upstairs, the women are still discussing their dreams. And Pam says that her dream is to have a house with a terrace upstairs to plant flowers, a husband that she loves, Roy.
Starting point is 00:43:14 She felt like she had to say it. But then she also says that she loves to draw and she'd like to do graphic design. And Jan's face just lights up. Finally Jan perks up because she said, one of the whole purposes of this is that corporate was looking for women who might have a job position in corporate. Yes.
Starting point is 00:43:33 Yes. So Jan tells her, we have a program. And it's just on the weekends. And then there's a couple weeks in New York, but I'm sure I can make arrangements for you to go. Pam just keeps making excuses. And then Jan says, there are always a million reasons not to do something.
Starting point is 00:43:49 Yeah. So fan question from Mother of Cats. Pam says she did a little drawing in college. Where did she go to college and for what? And Stephanie said, how did Pam become a receptionist if she went to college? Well, first of all, I went to college and I was a receptionist for seven years while I was pursuing what I went to college. Well, first of all, I went to college and I was a receptionist for seven years while I was pursuing, you know, what I went to college for. So I think it's pretty
Starting point is 00:44:09 common. I also in my PAM essay that I wrote, I had written that PAM went to a couple of years of community college, but that she did not graduate. This is my personal backstory. And she ended up getting a job in my backstory that was meant to be a placeholder, where she kind of talked herself into the fact that she needed to, you know, maybe earn some money. I think a lot of people have this conversation with themselves. I had this conversation with myself. It's how I became a secretary for seven years. I said, oh, it's just temporary. I'm just a temp.
Starting point is 00:44:46 And then I found myself working 50 hours a week as the executive secretary to a vice president of a big company and sort of ignoring my dreams. And that is exactly what's happening to Pam right now. She's become so entrenched in her kind of everyday choices that she's lost sight of the big picture. Yeah. And that very very easy to do. Yeah. And sometimes there's comfort in that too, you know. Mm-hmm. I have at 11 minutes 18 seconds, I'm calling it an adorable Phyllis moment. I love adorable Phyllis. She is so excited and she has this talking head that she's just really excited about today because she loves girl talk.
Starting point is 00:45:27 She loves girl talk. I just thought Phyllis was so cute in that moment. I couldn't take it. And Jan says, let's talk about clothing. Yeah. And how can we dress like where we want to go? Right. And then Angela. Yeah. Well, judging from her outfit, Jan aspires to be a whore. Do you not have a card?
Starting point is 00:45:45 This is like the biggest sass ever. Look at this. Look at this. Angela sass, eye roll. When Jan says, dress for the job you want, there is an eye roll that I get sent to me. Oh, that's your gift moment. Yeah, that's my gift moment. And then I have this talking head that I'm a professional woman.
Starting point is 00:45:59 I'm in the healthiest relationship of my life. You guys, I want you to, I want you to, I want you to be a professional woman. I want you to be a professional woman. I want you to be a professional woman. I want you to be a professional woman. I want you to be a professional woman. I want you to be a professional woman. I want you to be a professional woman. I want you. And then I have this talking head that I'm a professional woman. I'm in the healthiest relationship of my life. You guys, I want you to, if you have an opportunity to re-listen to that, I did this talking head
Starting point is 00:46:13 a few times because I guess whenever I said my life, I would sound really Southern. My life. So I said, I'm a professional woman. I'm in the healthiest relationship of my life. So I had to really think about it. And I can hear it ever so slightly. And then, of course, we have this awkward Dwayne Angela avoiding each other as she says that, which I loved.
Starting point is 00:46:35 I loved that little moment. But yeah, I mean, Angela thinks Jan is dressed kind of skanky for the workplace. Well, speaking of Angela and Dwight, when we go back down to the warehouse, Roy is complaining about how women want men to pay for everything. And Dwight says, yeah, they make you drive them
Starting point is 00:46:54 to church the next morning. I mean, gas ain't free. But you know what I envision is that he drives her there, but he doesn't go in. So there's just this like muscle car that pulls up in front of the church. And then Angela gets out and walks in and Dwight is like, later. Well, this is when Daryl says, we need a union. Oh, yes. And I love Craig Robinson's performance in this so much. I was texting with Craig because I really wanted him
Starting point is 00:47:26 to come on this episode to talk about this moment because he's so good in it. He's so good in it, but he's filming. He's a busy guy. He couldn't do it, but he's gonna come on in the future, so don't worry. And we actually get a lot of questions from people, are you planning to have everybody on?
Starting point is 00:47:40 Yes. Yes, we would love that. Everyone. Yes, we're reaching out. Multiple times, don't worry. We have a few episodes ahead love that. Everyone. Yes, we're reaching out. Multiple times. Don't worry. We have a few episodes ahead of us. That's right. Hopefully we'll get a lot of people on. At 13 minutes, 23 seconds, during this whole scene about unions, Creed is reading a newspaper. You guys, it's the Scranton Times. That was nice. Because Phil would get the Scranton Times delivered to us.
Starting point is 00:48:06 Phil Shea. Phil Shea, prop master. And so whenever there was a newspaper anywhere, it was the Scranton Times. And I loved that detail then, and I love it now. I loved it. I remember reading one one time in the back of a scene, and there had been a really big snow storm. And I was reading about the snow in Pennsylvania.
Starting point is 00:48:26 Yeah. All right, well, things are about to really heat up. There's gonna be some tension. Yeah, should we take a break? Let's take a break and then we're gonna get into it. All right. ["The Happy Face killer? He's my father. It's so good to see you, Missy. Experience the thrilling new series.
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Starting point is 00:50:16 We are back, but I'm the only one talking because Angela is being silent. Angela, I need to talk about your hair today. I'm sorry. It is a hot mess. What happened to you? I showered this morning before I took Isabel to school. And my goal was to show up here clean. You are clean.
Starting point is 00:50:39 That's as far as I got. So I got Isabel to school on time. I was really happy about that. And I drove here with wet hair and I was like, oh, I'll freeze. I will freeze there. It's so cold. So I kind of put my window down
Starting point is 00:50:51 and I let the wind kind of dry my hair. This is explaining it all. And now I have this wind dried hair from the freeway. Yeah, you do. I do. I do guys. And you know what? I feel fantastic.
Starting point is 00:51:07 I, you know, I love it. I know I love it. I look like Medusa a little bit, you know, but it's dry and I'm not cold and I'm clean and I got to go to school on time. Goals. Okay. When we come back, Michael busts into the women's meeting to tell Jan that the warehouse wants to start a union.
Starting point is 00:51:30 And Jan is like, Michael, no. There cannot be a union. You didn't agree to this, right, Michael? Like the men in the warehouse weren't chanting Michael, Michael, just two minutes ago, right? And he's like, no, I definitely. He says something that would have made me go nuts. He says, okay, don't be hysterical.
Starting point is 00:51:48 Oh yeah. That's like you need to calm down. That's like one of those kinds of phrases. Yeah, that's a trigger. That's a trigger for sure. And Pam, your reaction is hilarious. Once again, you have all of these facial reactions. I had so much fun during this episode.
Starting point is 00:52:04 Well, when we go down to the warehouse again, I loved this moment. The scene when the sales guys are unpacking the truck and Ryan says, you guys, we could get this job quicker if we form an assembly line. And Stanley cuts him off and says, this is a run out the clock situation, just like upstairs. I'm gonna break it down to you, kid.
Starting point is 00:52:25 This is how we're doing this. We are not going to hypothesize on how to be more efficient. This is just what gets done gets done. Run out the clock. Run out the clock situation. I was watching this with my daughter, and she goes, mom, what does he mean? And I said, Isabel, he wants to do the bare minimum.
Starting point is 00:52:42 The bare minimum. She was like, I kind of get that. I get it. I've been in a lot of run out the clock situations. So when we go back upstairs, Jan starts explaining sports terms. Sports metaphors. To the women.
Starting point is 00:52:57 It's how women might be left out in the workplace. I'm like, is this the 1950s? I know. This was so dated. This felt like a little bit like it was out of like some manual, like from 1953 or something. Well at this point, Kelly pretends like she doesn't know what second base means. She says, okay, well, Michael said he got to second base with you.
Starting point is 00:53:16 Does that mean you closed a sale? Is that what second base means? Guess what happened? And this is a real rare thing. This is like seeing an albino rhino in the wild. What? Angela laughs! Yes! 15 minutes 10 seconds. Fan question from Jeff Ackerman. He pointed it out. There is a cutaway shot of Pam and Angela after Kelly plays dumb and asks Jan what second base means. Was that scripted or was it so funny
Starting point is 00:53:45 you couldn't keep a straight face? That is me and Angela laughing. We're laughing, we're laughing. But I also knew that my character really thought that Jan was just like, well, she says she looks horish. So she clearly doesn't think highly of Jan and judges her. And so for Kelly to call her out, Angela thoroughly enjoyed that moment.
Starting point is 00:54:10 I have an observation about this episode. Oh, yes. And I'm gonna get right up on my soapbox and shout it. Here we go, here we go. While re-watching this episode, I noticed that the people who are hardest on Jan and her ambition are other women. Other women, Angela calls her a slut
Starting point is 00:54:28 for the way she dresses, Pam is constantly rolling her eyes at her, and then Kelly shames her slash embarrasses her for making out with Michael. Then they lay into her for not being a mother. Oftentimes it is other women who make ambition hardest for women. I wondered if BJ intended to point this out or if it was a happy accident, because you know what?
Starting point is 00:54:56 Jan is so excited to help Pam. She wants to help these other women rise up. She is so excited. Now listen, I think that it is totally valid when Phyllis says, I'm happy with my choices. We don't all need to be you. Not all women or all people need to be ambitious or share ambitions, but they are really hard on her and unaccepting of her for wanting to be her. Phyllisyllis is like, I'm gonna be me, but then they're kind of hard on Jan for being Jan.
Starting point is 00:55:29 Well, I think Phyllis is probably the most fair of everyone. True. She's really happy with her life choices and stands by them and is unapologetic and has a very happy life. And I don't think that she wishes for Jan not to have anything. I think Phyllis is happy that Jan has chosen her path, but everyone else in the room is snarky towards Jan.
Starting point is 00:55:54 Yeah. They are. And I think one of the things I love about our friendship and you and I both have like a group of female friends who are really about supporting one another and building each other up and encouraging each other. And you really need those women in your life. Yeah. You really do. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:15 Because that really, the momentum that women give one another is really the momentum that moves us forward. Mostly. All right, Jenna, step on down. I'm stepping down. Step down. I like it. I like what you had to say. All right. I'm off my soapbox. Well, here's a juxtaposition to your soapbox moment, which I thought was really just well said. Thanks. Here's at 15 minutes, 59 seconds. Yep. Michael puts packing peanuts into a fan. What a dick.
Starting point is 00:56:46 seconds. Michael puts packing peanuts into a fan. What a dick. That's what I had to say. That's my deep thought. Well, Jan gets so annoyed that she goes down to the warehouse. And this is when Jan tells the warehouse that if they unionize, they're all going to lose their jobs. Very, very, very anti-union. Yes. And I read, actually, that this episode has been used in law classes that deal with companies who have unions and who want to form unions, and that it has been used to show the pressure and the hard road that they can have in those moments. All right, guys, we're going to get into some sad times now
Starting point is 00:57:25 for Jim and Pam. Oh, boy. Yeah. Jim comes upstairs to make a phone call. Pam excuses herself from her meeting, and she very excitedly tells Jim about this internship opportunity in graphic design. Jim, adorably, encourages her immediately.
Starting point is 00:57:42 He's like, well, what are the details? I think you should do it. I know. And she just lights up. She needed someone to give her permission in a way to go for this. And Jim immediately did. Yes. He's her soulmate.
Starting point is 00:57:57 Yes. So you kind of get the sense she's going to go for it. But then you see a scene. It's a spy shot. There's no dialogue. She's holding the pamphlet. She's telling Roy about the program. And it's very clear that he is not supportive.
Starting point is 00:58:13 He sees it as a waste of time. So we cut to this Pam talking head and she starts talking about this house with a terrace. Oh, this house with a terrace. This this metaphor broke my heart. Yeah, she says she was a little girl, and she read this book, and there was a house with a terrace with flowers. And she describes it in detail, and she says,
Starting point is 00:58:35 I just always wanted that. But you know, it's just, you know. They don't even have those kind of houses in Scranton. They don't even have those in Scranton. Well, this was based on a story of mine. BJ came up to me on the set. We were working on a different episode. He was writing this episode.
Starting point is 00:58:53 And he came up to me, and he said, Jenna, I've got this moment I'm trying to write. Was there ever a dream that you had as a little girl that has gone unrealized because it seemed unrealistic to you. He said, it can be really simple though. It's a little girl's dream. And I said, yes.
Starting point is 00:59:14 How smart is that though? I know. BJ is so smart. Isn't that such a great question? It's so wonderful. Writers, most of their job is just asking the right questions. BJ is so smart. Okay, so what your answer was?
Starting point is 00:59:28 My answer was yes. When I was younger, I read this book and in the book, there was a girl who moved into a new house with her family and the house had a tower, sort of like a castle might. It was this tower room on the side of the house and there was one set of stairs that went up to it. And so there was this one circular room on the third floor of their home. And this was her space that she declared was hers to sit and think and create. And I had such a clear vision of what this tower room was. And I remember thinking to myself, one day, I'm going to have a house with a circular tower room where I will create.
Starting point is 01:00:15 And I've never had it. And I never got it. Because who builds houses like that? I think this dream, do not let it go. I think maybe one day, one day, maybe, you know, they'll be like, you know, Jenna Fisher, she lives in a tower. She has a very normal looking house. And then next to it, she has built this tower in Missouri. Very strange. So BJ ran with that story. And that was he adapted it and he made it a terrace with flowers. But I think it's a little bit of collaboration. I think it's such a sweet story and then it broke my heart. Well, Pam then is in the kitchen with Jim. Her talking head is kind of broken up by the scene in the kitchen. And she's saying to Jim, Jim is like, wait, you're not
Starting point is 01:01:01 going to take the internship. And she's like, well, you know, like Roy said, there's no guarantee it's going to lead to anything anyway. He's like, Roy said that. And then Pam flips a switch. She's like, oh, do you have something to say? I was like, oh, dang, here we go. I know. She's hurt.
Starting point is 01:01:20 She's hurt. And it's not Jim's fault. He's speaking truth, you know? But he's holding that- She's like, I'm happy with my choices. He's holding that mirror up. That's what he does to her. Yeah. Ooh, I know.
Starting point is 01:01:35 This is an interesting fan question. Bernardo noted that Jim has a beard when he's talking to Pam in the kitchen. And I looked and he really does. He is like, very stubbly. What? So just to break up that beautiful moment. Well Jim says something that I that really stuck with me which is he says you got to take a chance on something sometime. Yeah. I thought that was like just a good thing to take away. Well we go back to the talking head and Pam just breaks down.
Starting point is 01:02:07 She's talking about the terrorists, but we know what she's really talking about. She says, it's just not practical. You just aren't going to find that. And what she's really saying is, I'm never going to have Jim. I'm never going to have true love. I'm never going to be who I want to be. And that's underneath all of that. And also that my dreams aren't valid.
Starting point is 01:02:31 Yeah, I don't get to even try for my dream. That's not my path. A fan question from Adam Falk, he asked, when Roy killed Pam's dream, the tears were so real. What were you thinking about? Guys, there are times as an actor where your heart just breaks for your character. I just felt her heartbreaking and it made me cry. It's in the same way where it makes you cry when you watch something.
Starting point is 01:03:00 Or talk about it. Yeah. I wasn't thinking about, you know, my dead pet or something like that. I was thinking about how it must feel to have someone not encourage you to feel trapped and to feel so alone. And I thought about how the one person who was trying to help me, I just, I just pushed that person away. And that kind of makes you cry. Well, I think our show had a lot of like
Starting point is 01:03:30 really relatable moments like that. I mean, I know we do these crazy things like it's gonna cut to the warehouse and Dwight is making a snow angel out of packing peanuts and there's all of that. But then I feel like the heart of our show is also just these people living their lives and relationships. And I love that we have that balance. Me too. Well, speaking of the warehouse, we cut back down to the warehouse and Michael's
Starting point is 01:03:55 completely destroyed it. He's wrecked it. Wrecked it. And then he just buys pizza for everyone and leaves. You know why? Because pizza is the great equalizer. That's what he says. It's the great equalizer. Well fan question from Tiffany Ironridge and Pickle Dude, how long did it take to clean up the warehouse?
Starting point is 01:04:14 And Madeline Albrecht, I feel like this is because she listens to Office Ladies says, was it a hard day for Phil Shea and Michael Gallenberg? Oh, I love you. And I bet they love you too for just even highlighting that. Gina McAdrian said, who cleaned up the mess? Guys, it was. It was Phil Shea, Michael Gallenberg, their crews. Their crew.
Starting point is 01:04:34 I don't know how long it took them, but I imagine a long time. And also, I think these kind of shoots were more stressful for them because there were big prop moments that the whole scene was centered around and they had to have everything ready. When Michael opened up the bag of packing peanuts,
Starting point is 01:04:51 they had to have a backup one. They had to have all of that ready to go. If you get a chance, watch the deleted scenes. There is one that I loved so much in this. It has nothing to do with this episode, really the story at all. Michael is trying to set his ringtone. Oh, and he's asking Pam to help him pick a ringtone.
Starting point is 01:05:10 Yes, and Jim is there too. And it's just these little small ridiculous moments that crack me up. We had a lot of those that we would shoot. They were just office life moments. Yeah. And so often those were the things that would have to get cut for time. I know. moments. And so often those were the things that would have to get cut for time. But they're now a treasure living on the DVD extras. At 19 minutes 52 seconds, I want you to notice,
Starting point is 01:05:36 we imply that everyone from the warehouse is walking back upstairs. I want you to notice that just Michael, Kevin and Dwight go into the door at the top of the stairs. That's again, because it's just a closet and that was as many people as they could fit. Right. And that was tight. And then in the next shot, you see them walking into the office. Michael's carrying a pizza. But we shot that on a completely different day. Yeah. So Veda, our script supervisor, she would have written down which hand Michael
Starting point is 01:06:06 was carrying the pizza box in so that she could hand him that pizza box then on the next day and say, all right, here it is. Although sometimes they would have conversations that were like, well, I could believe that you switched hands on the way up. I would have deep conversations. We would have deep conversations. Do you think he switched the pizza box from one hand to the other while he was walking? I think maybe he had to use that hand to open the door. Yes, exactly.
Starting point is 01:06:28 Yeah, exactly. So perhaps, you know what? It's fine. You can carry it in either hand. Well, I was really bummed that at the Women in the Workplace there was no food because I was really excited that we might have pizza too. This was Jan's big fail. So she would have just fed us snacks or something. But you know, Mindy and I at Helms, we love prop food. Well, this episode ends with Pam answering the phone. Dunder Mifflin. This is Pam. And this is really significant because in her fight with Jim, he says to her, what do you really want to be a receptionist your whole life?
Starting point is 01:07:06 And so we end with her being a receptionist. And she just looks at him. Yeah. There's this moment. It's unresolved. Their fight is unresolved. And that's it. That's boys and girls.
Starting point is 01:07:18 Now, we have a fan request. Let me know what you think. CG wrote in to say, I would really love for you guys to keep track, because we've been tracking things, of when Jim changes from classic fit to slim fit shirts. Oh, he has such a baggy shirt. I noticed that in this episode.
Starting point is 01:07:37 There's a shot of him, he's kind of reclined back eating his pizza and his shirt's untucked. And I'm like, that shirt, it looks like it's the 90s where everyone's clothes was like three sizes too big for them. Yeah, you're gonna notice eventually, and we'll talk about this, Pam stops wearing her hair in a clip,
Starting point is 01:07:54 Jim stops having a shaggy hairdo, and he starts getting some like better fitting suits. I agree. So we'll be clocking all of that. You guys, we're gonna track it all. We're gonna track it all. Track it, hashtag track it. We're gonna track it all. Track it. Hashtag track it.
Starting point is 01:08:07 Hashtag track it. Okay, next week is the Valentine's episode, you guys. It's a really good one. I can't wait. Thanks for joining us. All right, we'll see you next week. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies' Second Drink. This episode was initially created
Starting point is 01:08:22 in collaboration with Earwulf. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins and our audio engineer and associate producer is Daniella Silva. Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Weiss-Berman and Leah Reese-Dennis. Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.

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