Office Ladies - Second Drink: Golden Ticket with Rainn Wilson

Episode Date: July 20, 2026

This week we’re breaking down “Golden Ticket”, and Rainn Wilson calls in to give an in depth interview about his experience playing the eccentric, unforgettable Dwight Schrute. When Michael’s Willy Wonka inspired “golden ticket” idea backfires, Michael tries to get Dwight to take the blame. Angela tells a story about her dad winning a pink car, Rainn reveals a mysterious white peacock named Ulma that’s moved into his yard and Jenna shares a great product idea a friend and her came up with in school that involves a baster. So enjoy this episode during your daily power stroll. Check out Rainn Wilson’s podcast, “Metaphysical Milkshake”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/metaphysical-milkshake-with-rainn-reza/id1566052074 Office Ladies Website - Submit a fan question: https://officeladies.com/submitaquestion Follow Us on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPodFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on TikTok

Hello and welcome to your second drink of Golden Ticket. This is a really great breakdown because it includes a long interview with Rayne Wilson, and it's not just about this episode, but it was also just about how he got his role as Dwight and his time playing Dwight on The Office in general. I mean, so fun to hear all of that from him. And we've been asking you to write us with your favorite moments from these episodes over in our second drinks folder on OfficeLadies.com. Mom, this week's winter, we need a sting. We need a winter sting.

Oh. This week's winter, bobe, bebe, be you. Is a moment between Michael and Daryl. Kate M from Providence, Rhode Island, Lauren P. from Kansas City, Missouri, wrote in, and they said, Hi, hi, office ladies. One of our favorite scenes in this episode is when Michael walks up to Daryl and says, Hey, you idiot. And Daryl says, start over.

And Michael says, sir, I absolutely love that. moment it makes me laugh every single time I watch it I often find myself saying sir exactly as Michael says it Steve performed that perfectly you know what why don't we hear it hey hey hey you idiot start over sir it is such perfect comic timing I know well we also got a letter from Robin Y in Redmond Oregon who said backstory I used to work as a bridal consultant. I helped brides find their wedding dresses and helped them through everything having to do with the dress.

I got very used to lots of happy emotions and not so happy emotions. So one day I was in between appointments and at the front desk when one of the brides I had helped came storming into the shop with her dress in the bag. More backstory, this bride was legendary at the shop for taking up two appointment time slots because she refused to take a dress off

because she was crying, so I knew exactly who she was. Oh, gosh. So she storms in, throws her dress on the counter, and says to me, you idiot. And without hesitation, I said, start over. Only after figuring out what the problem was, and after she left, did I realize that it was exactly like what happened between Michael and Daryl in the Golden Ticket episode. Since then, I've dealt with all sorts of people in weddings and all sorts of emotions and I can say without a doubt that the best way to respond to someone in that situation is the way Daryl responds to Michael in Golden Ticket.

If you work in customer service, absolutely channel the calmness of Daryl. That's such a great story. Start over. Start over. I wish I could remember that in the moment. Me too. You know? I always think of those things after the fact.

I know. Okay. So the reason Michael is confronting Daryl is because Michael hid five guys. golden tickets into boxes of paper, and he's mad that one company found all the tickets. We got this letter from Julia S. in San Jose, California. Julia says, I am currently watching Golden Ticket, and something is bothering me. The whole plot of Golden Ticket is that one company gets all of the tickets, but each of the tickets were in separate boxes.

How would Blue Cross have seen all of the Golden Tickets at once? Do they open each one when they arrive for quality check? I feel like they would stack the boxes in a supply closet and open them when needed. I'm just wondering, is it realistic for Blue Cross to have found all of the golden tickets all at once? Okay, I thought about this. And here's what I think happened. He wasn't putting the golden tickets into actual reams of paper, right? It was just in the box.

So I could realistically believe that each of these boxes was going to maybe different departments, and that department was unloading that box and putting them into a cabinet. That's what I do. When I get my box of paper at home, I take the box, I open it, and I put all the reams of paper in my, you know, printer cabinet. At first, I was like, you're right. That's totally implausible. But then I kind of like followed my train of thought. I'm like, no, I could see it. So basically, your theory is, for example, like an accounting department and human resources and IT and sales all got their box of paper and they all opened them on the same day. They all needed paper at the exact same time.

I'm not even saying they needed paper. I am saying that they put it away. They put it away. They put it away. So yes, I guess I'm saying that five different departments received a box and all five of those departments were very efficient and putting away their paper immediately. Yes. Yes.

Well, I might call bullshit on it. But I'm also just here for the story because I love this episode. You know, it's almost a bullshit card. It's like bullshit card adjacent, I think. Okay. Well, lady, we got a mom detective's case in our mailbag about this episode. It's from Dene M from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. And here's the mystery.

It's called Whose Leg Is It? I'm in already. Okay. I love it. Dene says, this is one of my favorite episodes. I watch it over and over again and noticed that in the superfan episode, Kevin, Pam, Jim, and Andy are sitting in the break room, and there is a leg between Kevin and Pam. It looks like there's a person there, but we never see their face.

Who is that? Who is that? Whose leg is it? Was there a deleted scene with someone else in the break room with them? It has been bugging me all of these years. Do you know the answer to the same? mystery. I love your show and appreciate all of the hard work you put into making shows and content for office fans. Thank you. Well, Dene, I'm excited to report this was a very easy case. We're solving

this one. We are. And are you ready for this? At 25 minutes and 43 seconds. I saw the leg. I saw the leg. And after doing a little mom detective work, we realized it is our camera operator sitting on a stool, they would often do that. They would have this little stool. You know, we've talked about it. Well, our walls didn't move, so they'd have to, like, sit in the corner. Yeah, they'd have to wedge in. So what he was doing was capturing the other angle of the scene on Dwight at the vending machine. That's right. That's exactly right. And as I was rewatching this scene looking for whose leg is it, I noticed something else. And it's about Dwight at the vending machine. He has a line where he says, dating a line where he says, dating advice, why didn't you ask me? And I noticed that Rain pops the tab on his soda between saying

dating advice and why didn't you ask me. And I know why he did that. But let's listen. I want you guys to just hear this little moment. Wait a minute. Dating advice? Why didn't you ask me? Uh-huh. Dating advice? Why didn't you ask me? He did that for sound. Because in film and television, you can never do anything loud on your line or else they can't cut around it. Also, in the background of that scene, when Rain first enters and he's putting the money in the vending machine and then he gets a soda, first of all, I'm convinced he's not really putting any money in there because it would have made a sound. I think he's faky putting coins in. And then that soda was pre-planted at the bottom of the machine so you wouldn't hear the noise of it going down.

Because it would ruin the dialogue at the table. They need to get one of those vending machines on a set that is the arm that just goes, those are sometimes loud, though. Are they? I don't know. Not as loud as like the good-ch-go-g-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-oh. Yeah, yeah, the old-school one. Yeah.

I love watching the arm. The arm is kind of cool. Yeah. I hear you. Sometimes I don't even need anything, but I just want to watch the arm. Oh, so you'll be more likely to buy something out of a vending machine with an arm than a kuk-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-k-one? Yes, I love the arm.

I don't know, guys. It's the small things in life. All right. Well, acting students out there, that was a hot tip, you know. So if you have an envelope you have to open, don't open it on your line. Don't get that soda can on your line. All the things you learn right here in office, ladies. Exactly.

All right, you guys, thanks for sending in your questions and comments. Now, please enjoy our second drink of Golden Ticket. 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. Hello, everyone. Hi. Today is Golden Ticket. Season 5, episode 19. This was written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Randall Einhorn. It's a big day for Michael.

Oh, it's a big idea for Michael. It's a big idea day for Michael. Here's your summary. Michael decides to execute a Willy Wonka-themed promotional idea. He is going to take some golden tickets. He's going to hide them in some paper shipments, and any company that finds a golden ticket gets 10% off. And it's not limited to one.

Well, we're going to find that out. Yeah. This idea is going to backfire. He is going to pressure Dwight into taking the fall, but then that backfires. Yeah. A lot of ideas and a lot of backfires. A lot of layers here, playing games. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Meanwhile, Pam, Jim, and Andy are all giving dating advice to Kevin. It's somewhat conflicting. Kevin's a little confused, but he's going to try to make a connection with Lynn from Blood Drive from their lonely hearts mixer. Lynn is still in the mix from the mixer. Yeah. Let's get into fast facts.

Fast fact number one, this episode contains maybe one of the most famous office gifts of them all. You know what I'm talking about. A jiff? A jiff for a gif. It doesn't matter. You know the one we're talking about. Is it gif or gif? I don't know, guys.

I've never known. I'll never know. Let's ask the two hip young people in the booth. Please, young people tell us how to say it. I say Jiff. What do you say? No, I say GIF. Sorry.

I think the correct one is Jif, but it feels wrong. But everyone I know says GIF. It's kind of like GIF, but you take the T off. So I think it's GIF. Well, I've been saying GIF. I say GIF. There you have it. Also, what's a meme?

What is a meme? A GIF is if it moves and a meme is if it's, Still. And also, I mean, people say Jiff is correct, but keep in mind, it stands for graphics interchange, whatever the F is. So it starts with a G. So it would be GIF, right? Graphics, G. Yeah.

Right? We just put a pole in office. There it is. Okay. We'll put a pole, but yeah. Okay. Okay. Jiff is a peanut butter.

I'm just saying. I like it. You know. I don't know. Well, you're putting a pole and since I brought it up, are you a crunchy or a smooth peanut butter? Smooth. Same. Get your peanuts out of my peanut butter.

So there is a very famous GIF. Or GIF. Oh, I said it wrong again. Well, we don't know if you're saying it wrong, lady, but it's true. When Dwight looks at camera and has his hand up to his face. It's at the end of the cold open and he says, it's true. That's everywhere. It even made it to USA Today's ranking of the top 36 Gifts of the top 36 GIFs of

the office, it's true, was number 13. What's number one? Number one. That's what she said? No, but that's on the list, but it's not number one. Number one was Michael from the Super Bowl cold open when he says, oh my God, it's happening. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that's stress relief. Stress relief. Yeah, where they're doing the fire drill. Yes. Do you want to know what number two is on their list? is one of my favorites. It might be my number one. Don't throw garbage at my head. No, it's Kelly. It is. I have a lot of questions. Number one, how dare you? Oh, yeah, that's a good one. But I would like to say that number 12 was Jim and Pam's air high-five. We made it on the list, so I'm proud of us. I don't know that Angela Martin is on the list with dialogue, but I'm on every list if you type in eye roll. You've got an eye roll. I've got a

I've got an eye roll. And I've got a real good one in this episode, I'm going to point out. Fast fact number two, speaking of the cold open, which gave us this famous gif, it's all about knock, knock jokes. The guys are doing these knock, knock jokes with each other. And we'll break it down fully when we get there. So I watched this episode with Lee, and he said, isn't it amazing how the knock-knock joke is so universal that if one person walks up to another person and says, knock-knock, You just know to say who's there. Yeah. And then you know you're in a knock-knock joke. How did that begin?

Well. Uh-oh. Somebody hit the Google button. Yes. As a lady who Googles, I'm going to give you the history of knock-knock jokes. I want to hear it. So the first written coupling of knock-knock who's there, the first time it sort of appeared anywhere, people believe is Shakespeare's Macbeth.

All roads lead back to Shakespeare. That's why it was so important to study it in theater school. Hey, I studied Shakespeare. I believe you. But I studied it in my writing class. Well, there you go. Act two, scene three, the porter is very hungover, and he has this monologue where he repeats, knock, knock, who's there. And then he tells you who's there.

He's sort of just kind of in his head. Tis I, a Montague! But in this play, it is not a joke. He's not doing like a jokey thing. It's not like what it is now. So now cut to it's the early 1900s. And there's this new kind of comedy on the scene. Ooh, what kind?

It's like a call answer comedy or like a bait and response comedy. And here's an example of one of these jokes from the 1900s. Someone would say, do you know Arthur? And that would make the other person say, Arthur Who? And then you would say, our thermometer. Oh! Yes. That was one of the jokes.

My kids would love that one, saving it. Well, it's very similar to that whole updog joke. The what's up dog. I don't know. What's up with you? Right. Right? That Michael famously botched.

So then, in the mid-1930s, this kind of like pun mania morphed into what is now the traditional knock-knock joke. Cartoonist Bob Doug. is credited with inventing this joke in its current form. He wrote a book called Knock Knock Who's There? And it's basically filled with knock-knock joke puns. It sold like 2 million copies. It took off like crazy. It was a jeopardy question.

Get this. What? Knock-knock jokes were especially huge in Pennsylvania. Oh. Versions of knock-knock jokes started appearing in advertisements. The Edgemont Cash and Carey grocery store in Chester, Pennsylvania, ran an ad that said, knock, knock, who's there, Don, Don, Don, who, Don forget to do your shopping at the Cash and Carry.

Yeah, Don forget it. There was also this one, ready? Knock knock. Who's there? Rufus. Rufus who. Roof is the most important part of your house. That was a roofing company.

Okay. But politicians started using them. There were like special clubs called knock knock clubs that formed in Illinois and Iowa and Kansas. And I guess knock knock clubs. You would just go there and tell your knock knock jokes? Yes, it was like a place to have a drink and share your greatest knock knock jokes. Then in 1936 at like the peak of the knock knock joke craze, There was a song called The Knock Knock Song by Fletcher Henderson, and I'm going to play you a clip.

Oh, my word. Who's there? Manny. Mani, mani, thanks to you. Cecil. Seesle love music wherever she goes. Yeah, I love it. A whole song, full of knock-knock jokes.

So then, lady, there is a backlash. Oh, people turn on the knock knock. Well, all of these psychologists start coming out, like Sigmund Freud. Uh-oh. And A.A. Brill. They start saying that people who have an incessant need to make puns have a psychological condition. Oh, no.

That it is like a sign of narcissism. Oh. A German neurologist named Ottfried Forster said manic punting. was a certifiable syndrome, and he actually called it Forster's syndrome. He named it after himself. I mean... Aren't you being a narcissist, Mr. Forster? I mean, I don't know.

You're telling me that people that love and pun are a narcissist, and then you name it after yourself. That's right. I just want to point that out. Yeah. Well, despite their best efforts, knock-knock jokes have stayed around. We still have them today. Of course, they appear in this episode of the office.

Halloween is coming up. That's when I always hear the knock-knock jokes. I think. It's like with kids. Yeah. What do you got? What do you got? Knock-knock. Who's there? Boo. Boo. Don't cry. It's just a joke. Got it. Do you have any that are, like, what are your favorite? Well, this is the one I remember from elementary school. Knock-knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana. Banana who? Knock-knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana who. Knock-knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange. Orange. Orange. you glad I didn't say banana. I remember that one too. This is my kids' favorite. What? Knock Knock. Who's there? Interrupting cow. Oh, my kids like this one too. I know that one. Interrupting cow. Uh-huh. Yeah. So the lady has Googled. We have gotten to the bottom of the knock-knock joke. What's your fast fact number three? My fast fact number three is that supposedly coming out in November 2021, there is going to be a Michael Scott Funko Pop holding a golden ticket. Oh, is it going to be dressed like Willy Wonka? Yeah, he's going to have a little top hat on. I saw their rendering for it, and I don't know how accurate it is, but they're saying this is going to be a new Funko Pop based on this episode.

Well, that's so fun. I just think they're all so cute. I'm about to get one of Angela in her Fun Run outfit. You know, I don't have a single Pam Funko Pop. Come on. I don't have one. You got to get one. I guess I do. I have one of me and my cat, and now I'm going to have a little. have the fun-ridden one. But that's so cute. The Willy Wonka one is going to be so cute. Well, if you're into merch from this episode, I also found that you can buy a frameable golden ticket, just like the one that Michael is putting in the boxes. It was on Amazon. Oh. I don't know why you would want that, but if you do, it is a veil. If you're having a Willy Wonka themed party. Oh, yeah. Maybe. I was curious. Do you think Michael is being the Gene Wilder, Wiliwanka, or the Johnny Depp?

I think he's Gene Wilder. That's what I thought, too. But Gene's blazer is purple, and Johnny Depp's is maroon. And Michael's is maroon. But he's doing all the somersaults and the dialogue from the Gene Wilder way. I agree. I agree. Those are all my fast facts.

We're going to go to a break. And when we come back, we have a day. Delicious surprise. We have a guest. Yes. Oh, we can't wait to talk to him. Oh, I gave a little bit away. Okay, it's a guy. He's tall. And his name is also a weather condition. All right. We'll leave you guessing and then we'll be back. Is someone on the phone? Hi, it's me, Rain Wilson. Rain Wilson. Rain, what are you doing? Why are you calling us? Well, I just wanted to see how you guys doing. I missed you. I miss you. I just want to know if you want to know if you want to hang out. out. Aw, I do want to hang out. Great.

So when are we getting together? You tell us. You know what we want to do, Rain, for reals. We had this on the text thread. We want to come to your house and listen to Creed and your son. Play the guitar. Play guitar together. And I want to see your new place and I want to meet your pigs and your Zonky.

Have you heard about our newest pet sensation? No. Oh, the peacock! We have Alma the peacock. And now, Rain, did she just walk on up? did, like, how did Alma get there? So my wife had a horse for a long time named Gus, and Gus was a very old white Lip-A-Zon horse, and he passed away this summer. He lived a rich full horse life, and he died very quickly. So that was all fine, but his stall was empty, and they put a vase of flowers in there,

and it was just kind of left empty as a kind of a salute to old Gus. And two weeks later, no joke and Gus was white by the way two weeks later out of nowhere sitting in Gus's horse stall was a white peahen a female peacock oh my goodness no one knows where it came from it had never been seen there previously it hadn't been seen in the neighborhood or the area of where my wife's horse where she rides her horses and it just moved in to his stall and so she kind of trained it to eat feed, and it couldn't stay there because it was spooking some of the horses because it would flap around and squawk. And so she trained it to eat feed and go into a carrying container bin, and we took it to our

house, and it made the transition perfectly. And you guys, Alma is amazing. And she sleeps during the day when she's not hunting bugs. She sleeps in the olive tree right outside my office window. and just scares in at me all day. So if I'm like podcasting or on Zoom calls or whatever, I have a white peacock steering into my office. This is all I could ever hope for, Rain.

I'm excited about my hummingbirds. If I had a peacock in my tree, I'd lose it. I mean, rain, it's Gus. It's Gus, right? My friend said if there was ever more proof needed for reincarnation. Now, I don't know about, I don't know that I buy reincarnation, but I mean, it was magical. It's immatical.

experience. It's kind of crazy. Well, there's something happening there. Yeah, I was going to say, whether you believe in reincarnation or not, there's just something beautiful in the universe that happened right there. Yeah. Yeah. So besides now our pigs that live at our house, now we have a peacock who is very demanding. Holly, my wife just went crazy. She bought like a big box arrived yesterday. And I opened it up and it was filled, I'm not kidding you, it was filled with meal worms. Ew. Two like 20 pound boxes of bags of mealworms. Where do you keep those? Yeah.

Do you refrigerate them? Like what do you do with the meal? Where do you put a meal worm? You just put them on the ground and then she eats the mealworms. But in between eating. Not my wife, the peacock. The peacock. We got that part.

Well, Ray, listen, we're so excited to have you on. We know you've been on before and you've sent an audio clips and you're always so supportive. but we realize there are just some real general questions we ask our guests, and we never got to do that with you. And here is the one we always lead with. Are you ready? Okay. Hit me. All right. So how did you get your job on the office? Is it true that you first auditioned for the role of Michael Scott? Tell us your office origin story. Oh, I have a great office origin story. I love to tell the story. It's fantastic. I was starting to do this show six feet under, and I was just at the very beginning of that show.

And that was right when HBO was starting to take off. And it was a very widely, highly regarded show. And I got cast in this Janine Garofalo comedy pilot for ABC. And, you know, it was a very small role, but I was like, hey, you know, it's an amazing paycheck. This is great. I'm going to be a series regular. It's my first, like, real stab at a series regular job, which is a lot better money than doing a guest star,

just for those who are listening and wondering. And I was very excited about it. Bob Odenkirk was in it. Mark Marin was in it. It had a really kind of great cast. And I was walking to the table read. Wait, wait, Rayne, what was it called? Do you know the name of it?

Oh, boy. It'll come to me. I can't remember right now. Oh, real life, still life. Something like that. I'll look it up. Okay, go on, go on, go on. I can't remember.

And I was on the way to the table read, which is something that actors you do at the studio or you used to do. You all sit in a room behind the table and you read it out loud and all the executives are there so they can kind of see the cast together, get their energy, hear the rhythms of the read, give notes, etc. Very common occurrence. On my way there, I ran into this NBC executive that I, I knew at the time, who I had met a couple times. I forget why. And I was like, oh, hi, it was Vernon, Vernon Sanders. We love Vernon. Yes. Yeah, yeah. He's in Amazon now. And a nice guy. And I was like, hi, Vernon. And he's like, hi, he's like, what's going on? He goes, well, I'm so excited because we just landed the rights to the BBC office. And I had seen a couple

episodes, my friend Sam had them recorded from someone in England on a VHS. It was before they were like available in the United States. It was really early on. I had seen him and I just loved them. And I, and outside I was like, oh, that's great. That's great. And inside I was like, oh, God, damn it. I want to be a match show. That show's so, that show's so awesome. And so I was like, okay, see you later. Went to the table read. This is one of the most incredible experience. experiences. In fact, Kent Givorneck was the producer on it. Oh, my gosh. Wow, Kentopedia? Yeah. So we did the table read, and this was an infamous event. We did the table read. It went so bad that the plug was pulled immediately. They canceled it? You didn't even shoot it? They didn't even shoot it. They had sets built. We had plane tickets. We had hotel rooms booked. I was

supposed to fly the next morning and then start shooting in like two days. And the table read went so poorly. We found the name, by the way. The name is slice oh life. Slice oh life. That's what I knew it had life in it and an S. So all of a sudden I was free to do the office. So I called my agents. I was like, I'd really like to audition for this office. And yes, I was I was the first person to audition on the very first day, Allison Jones, the casting director, kind of knew me from six feet under and some other things. I was so excited. And I auditioned for both Dwight and Michael on that first day. And she keeps threatening to release my Michael Scott audition. It is truly terrible because I just did a Ricky Jerva's impersonation. I didn't know what else to do. So I was kind of pulling on my tie a lot.

And it was, but Dwight, I knew, I was like, this is completely in my wheelhouse. I know exactly who this person is. This guy is in my DNA. I have cousins who are really not that different from Dwight Shrewd. And the rest is history. Well, Rayne, I remember being paired with you during the screen tests. Yeah. And they were mixing and matching us.

There were like four pams and four gyms and. and Bord-Dwights and a few Michaels. Bob Odenkirk was one of the Michaels, which is so crazy because I guess he was available as well since Slico Life didn't go forward. And Ken's Brunach was available. Yeah, wow, we really got a lot of folks from Slico Life. We got lucky there.

We scored. But, Ray, I remember being paired with you, and I mean, I couldn't believe it. Of all of us, of all of us, you were 100% there from the beginning. I feel like from that moment that I did that first audition scene with you. Everybody else, I was paired with John and I was like, oh yeah, this is great. And Steve and everybody.

But Rain, you were just like, I didn't even know where rain began and Dwight ended or Dwight began and rain ended. I mean, it was so fluid. It was amazing. But you were, I have to say this. Mutual Admiration Society. For those who don't know, Jenna was totally in Pam, dressed as Pam. You were reading the book on John Belushi, Wired, that you thought Pam would be reading. It was in the script that she was reading it.

So I read the whole novel. I read the whole thing. I was like, my character read it. I'll read it. Yeah. And you were Pam in the waiting room, too. But that was so much fun. And we had, I don't know if they'd ever released that audition, but that improvisation where I was just sitting, I was kneeling like way too close to you.

Yeah. Like, which is something I love to do as Dwight is like he doesn't have an understanding of like personal space. He does not. He could be talking to someone like four inches away from them. And I thought, I thought that was really funny. And where I talked about my girlfriend being stationed in Kuwait. and that was very funny. And it was such a great improv because most actors feel like, oh, I'm improvving.

I need to talk a lot. They think like, oh, improvisation means talking a lot. And this was an improv where I kind of did this monologue, and you just gazed painfully into space taking in my body odor and my proximity and the strangeness of my story. And it was fantastic. we did that, I was like, oh, I know that we're going to have these parts. Yeah. I felt that way, too, and I felt at that audition, it was very clear to me that you were their choice.

Did they keep pairing different people with Rain? Because that's how you know. You know that's the person when they're like, oh, let's see him with this person and this person and this person. And I only got paired with him once, and that made me a little nervous because it was very clear to me that Rain had the part. And so I was like, oh, well, can I, I'm, I'll pair with him again? a lot of different gyms. I remember reading with a lot of different gyms.

Yeah. And the reason they said ultimately they went with John, I mean, obviously he's charming and handsome and funny and great deadpan and smart as hell and likable, but that his size was comparable to mine. There were a couple other gyms that were like 5'7 and it just seemed like Dwight would just overpower them. The gym was actually taller than me. So we kind of like, we really matched up kind of energy-wise. That makes sense to me. Yeah. That does.

But then they went a whole other way with your romantic life, and they picked the tiniest person in the office. Tiniest, the tiniest little sprig. Yeah, but I didn't think they knew that Dwight and Angela were going to get together. They just were, I don't know where that storyline came from, but I imagine they were just kind of floundering in season two. Like, oh, we've got to mix things up. Like, because at first they had me together with Kelly, they had me kiss. Kelly Kapoor.

But Angela was furious. Angela watched it and was furious. Remember, they had me, like, look in the camera. Like, they made me look so, like, they kept saying, more anger, more. I was like, my God, my eyes are going to pop out of my head. But I think our writers just sat there. Jen and I have talked about this, and we've talked to our writers about it, how they would just take two names and put them on a card and just see what that felt like and sort of spitball a little bit about what those two people would bring out. of each other. Right. And that is one thing that Greg talked about, and I remember, and it's

really great lesson for comedy writers and screenwriters. He said, a lot of shows really focus on a character and like, oh, let's make this character really specific and funny and interesting. But he was really about like, when these two characters bang up against each other, that's what she said. Then what do... What happens? What happens with that energy? You know, so it was more about, he was much more about dynamics between characters. And I think that's one of the successes of the authors. Well, this episode that we're talking about today, Golden Ticket, has a classic Michael Dwight pairing. And we just, I love in this rewatch watching the way that Dwight can be both Michael's lackey and then also, like, you can take him to task.

You stand up to him. what was that like for you? You were in this comedy duo with Steve Corel for seven years, playing out moments like this. What was that experience? Well, that's a bunch of questions. I know. That's how I like to interview people. She just likes to throw like 13, big overarching, like huge questions.

Yeah, thematic questions all at once. I love it. Well, let me hit that one. Let me just say that. you know, when I look back on that work with Steve, I'm just so grateful because he's obviously like one of the greatest actors, comedy actors, but even just actors like ever.

And the fact that I got to do so much work with him was just such a gift. I didn't come from an improv background. I was always good at improv, but I wouldn't at theater school and I did Shakespeare and I did Eugene O'Neill and I was in New York kind of off-Broadway theater

guy and Steve was from Second City and had done years and years and years of improv so that was his thing. But the thing about Steve that I'll, you know they always have this it's kind of become a cliche like the yes and you know like an improv

if you say like hey you know I bought a pet peacock then you say yes and and like, oh, I'd love to see it. Can I feed it my mealworms or whatever? And Steve was incredible at that, no matter what I did. And sometimes I would try to go really out of the box. Steve would completely react in character and accept what was being proposed.

So I could just in the, because obviously we would shoot a scene, we would improvise, I mean, we would do the script. We would shoot the script and make sure we got it scripted correctly. And then we could improvise. And then sometimes it would just, we'd just freely improvise and just go off. And I remember just being like I could say something like, I decided to open a llama farm just out of nowhere or something. And Steve would just listen as Michael, take that in and be like,

Dwight, what are you talking about llamas? What does that have to do with anything? Why? You're so weird. Dwight, go away, you're icky. Like, and it would just be completely in the moment. And I just learned so much from that process. He never got kind of like,

goddamn it, Rain, why are you being so weird and so silly? Like, stay on the point of the scene. And we could go way off filter, you know, way off the path. And he would just be right there all the time. It was really a privilege. to work with him. I loved it when there'd be a conference room scene, and clearly Michael had an agenda and things to say. And you, you as Dwight, of all people, would interject, right?

And, Rain, so many times I go to the script to see if it was written or improvised, because I feel like I can tell now. And they're always so good, but it's like seamless. You would never know because of exactly what you just shared, because Steve is Michael. no matter what you piped up and said, just like would just take it and run with it. And it was always like an absolute joy. You know me. I'm a nerdy, nerdy improv gal.

We've talked on the podcast that you and Jenna had your whole, like, we did theater. And Jenna likes to remind me of it, Rain, much like you did. But as like a nerdy improv gal watching you guys, it was just awesome. I felt like I had a front row seat of just some really memorable. magical moments. And getting specifically to Golden Ticket, thank you, Angela. And but yeah, I hadn't seen this one since it came out. And it was so fun to watch. And Jenna, just like you said, that dynamic of Dwight being TOTie, lackey, suck up, just so desperate for Michael's approval. and then oddly realizing he's got some power here.

And, you know, that switch when he's shaking David Wallace's hand and he says, you know, thank you and takes the credit for it. And then Steve's expression of it was so priceless of like, oh, that guy. And then your fight in the marketing meeting. Like when you get on the phone with the marketing guys, the two of you back and forth with your big ideas. Yeah, horse boats and all the toilet net gives a lot of toilet ideas. You don't have ideas. Yes, I do. I would love to see an extended cut of that because I bet that there were a lot more ideas we tossed back and forth in that scene. We should ask Dave Rogers, the keeper of all of the extra footage, because I bet you're right. There had to have been even more.

Also, this one was written by Mindy Kaling, and she was amazing at coming up with on the fly in the moment extra stuff to hand you. I have to tell you guys, in the script, I reread it, Pam tries to butt in with an idea. What? Yes. And Michael and Dwight shoot her down. It's the one thing they agree on is that Pam's idea is so stupid. She says, as they're yelling all their ideas, Pam meekly just says, remote control toilets.

And they're both like, nah, it's stupid. Doesn't make sense. It's dumb. That's great. I wish they would have kept that. That's great. We have another question

that we've never asked you, Rain. This is a popular one we ask all our guests. Okay. Did you take anything from set when the show wrapped? Oh, this breaks my heart. I should have taken so much more. I should have fleeced NBC Universal. I took Dwight's glasses.

I took his little desk plate that said Dwight Shrewt on it. I took his stapler. And one or two other things I can't quite remember. I have to look around and see. But I had a whole list of things I gave to Phil Shea. And I said, Phil, pull these aside from me. And I'll get them from you later. And it was, you know, Dwight's briefcase and this.

and that and the other thing and blah blah blah and um and phil was like okay and then i went back to phil and he's like oh i don't have um or i couldn't get them sorry blah blah blah and then i heard from someone else they were like oh they threatened the crew like to be fired and never worked for NBC Universal again if they caught them taking anything from the office and we didn't know why and then they had that big option where they auctioned all the stuff off on eBay. You know, even like Dwight's desk was auctioned off. Did you not get your bobblehead?

I got one of the rejected bobbleheads that doesn't look anything like the bobbled. I'd not get my original bobblehead, no. I see. And I have to feel shade for the painting. The Dwight painting was kind of where he's like Chairman Mao. Yeah, yeah. And that didn't happen either. Well, Rain, you know, you've gone on to do so many awesome things, but we would love to talk to you about your podcast, Metaphysical Milkshake.

I listened to a great episode last night when you had Mike Shirt on. Yeah. And that was so amazing just talking about what is good, what is bad. And he sort of like folded in his show The Good Place Into that episode. But you and Reza are so thoughtful and you're really asking life's big questions. And it's a great listen. Yeah, thanks. Well, you guys know this is something that's always been really important to me. And it was kind of the impetus and inspiration for starting Soul Pancake, the digital media company that we, I created with some friends. But this whole idea of life's biggest possible questions has always really intrigued me. You know, I took philosophy in college and I love, you know, studying spirituality. And I love, you know, psychology and sociology. and kind of creativity and how creativity works and why.

And so this was kind of the foundation for metaphysical milkshake. Our first season we did on this company called Luminary, but that didn't really work out. So now we're doing a second season, which is available wherever podcasts are available and including a lot of the stuff we did for our first season. And it's super fun. We get to talk to just artists and thinkers and writers.

We just yesterday interviewed Avi Loeb, who's the head of the astronomy division of Harvard University, talking about alien life and discovering extraterrestrial life. And then we had Jason, speaking of office auction, Jason Isbell is one of my favorite kind of country rock. I love him. Yeah, he's so great. He came on the show talking about like what music is, like where does music come from? Oh, I need to go listen to that one. He bought years ago, he bought his wife, Dwight's scissors from the NBC auction. Whoa.

Isn't that crazy? Yes. Well, Rain, I listened to your interview with Adam Grant, where you discussed this concept, what if I'm wrong? And this idea, our resistance as people to consider that you might be wrong, or even what I loved when you guys talked about how when you know you're wrong, but the cost of admitting you're wrong, that idea of like there's that social cost, oh, no, if I admit I'm wrong once, people will paint me with a brush that, oh, that's the person who gets things wrong.

I mean, it was just, it was so thoughtful. I love that kind of introspective discussion that makes me think about things that maybe I wouldn't of thought of otherwise. It's a great podcast. You know, I'm glad you brought that one up because I feel like this is kind of where our country is. It's very stuck in kind of two sides that are convinced they're 100% right and no one's really talking to each other and learning and listening from each other. And when you go to life's biggest questions, these are the questions that we've been asking since the caveman days, since ancient Greece, you know, why are we alive? Do we have free will? what's the meaning of it all.

And these discussions can unite us. So that's really the whole purpose is to unite people by getting young folks thinking about talking, wrestling with, you know, the human experience. Well, Rain, at the end of your podcast with Reza, you guys do this sort of rapid fire of questions. And I love when you ask people, when do you most feel connected to the universe? I'm paraphrasing, but it's something like that question, right? So when do you, Rain feel most connected to the universe? Wow, you're okay.

You're hitting me with my own weapon. That's what she said. That's a profound question. And wow, no one's ever asked me that before. You know, so I meditate. That's part of my daily practice. But I'll have a new answer to that, is I've gotten really, really deep into tennis.

Oh. And we joined a tennis club in this new little town that I moved to in California. And I've been playing a lot two, three times a week. And there's something really incredible about the game of tennis because it requires such focus that when you're playing it, you're just completely in the moment. You have to be completely in the moment, or you will screw it. up and hit the ball out. So it forces a kind of, like a focus. And that allows one to be, like, connected. When I'm playing tennis, like, time doesn't really exist in the same way that exists in my

regular life. My anxieties go away. And I know that's not a terribly profound one, but I have truly been felt feeling connected to the universe through tennis. I think that's great because I think for me, I have to get out of my head sometimes and get in my body. You know, when I get nervous or anxious about something, I stop everything, I put screens away. You know I love tennis as well, but I like to just get in my body somehow, whether that's a hike or just going on a long walk, just anything to just get back in my body and get out of my head. And, and, and, and, and, and, And I just love that. Rain, do you remember working on my serve with me on the side of our sound stage? I had my racket and I was telling you I was struggling with my serve. And so we went to

the side of the building where the hair and makeup trailers were. And you had me work on my toss and then I would hit it onto the side of the building. And you told me my toss was horrible. It was like all about my toss. My toss wasn't high enough. Did you feel connected to the universe, as Rain told you, your toss was horrible, Angela. I felt frustrated, but connected. It's so funny. Isn't it funny how it must be old age? I have no memory of that. But that's incredible. That's incredible. How is your serve these days? You know what? It's much better. It's much better. I do toss higher. But I also throw myself at it in a way I didn't before. Maybe it's like being 50 and having, you know, like the past few years of like just like craziness, I throw myself at that ball

in a way I haven't before. And my tennis coach is like, I got some power there, Angie. He calls me Angie. Nice. Wow. Fantastic. It's a, I'm like low to the ground, Rain. I've got a good torque. That is so weird. You guys, what a pleasure being on your show. And thanks for the deep dive. And God, what an amazing pleasure it was watching Golden Ticket again. That cold open, too, the KGB and the Knopf jokes. It was so good. There's so many classic office moments throughout it. I have to ask, since you brought it up,

how did you guys get through that cold open with slapping each other? I mean, because if you broke, you'd have to do it again. And obviously, you didn't want to have to keep slapping and getting slapped. but I mean, how'd you do it? People always ask like, how do you keep a straight face? It's like, I didn't keep a straight face. You didn't, Rain. You didn't because I watched the bloopers and you are one of the top breakers.

I would just laugh all the time, especially John and I, we would just make each other laugh. We could look at each other's eyes and know a laugh was coming. So I don't remember, but I am certain that especially that little last section when John was like doing the KGB that I I'm sure I was crying with laughter and we had to cut, you know, at least a dozen times. I also, I mean, listen, the book end of this is that it starts with the KGB and it ends with the KGB and the tag. And you're going back and forth with the time when he's like, I'm busy and you're like, what's about 445?

I was like, I know those guys were laughing. Yeah. I'm sure we can fit you in. Yes, 515. Oh, Rain, thank you so much for calling in and chatting with us. We love you. You are our most frequent guest on Office Ladies. That is your title. It belongs to you. And we love you, Rain. And we love you. We love your heart. We love, you know, you have such a heart for service, Rain. And I've always admired that about you. And we're just excited for folks to hear metaphysical milkshake. And I love it because then it's kind of like, you know, you're in my bathroom with me. No, that's weird. Like, I was listening as I got ready. But you know what I mean.

You guys are the best. Congrats on the success of office ladies. I hope it launches an Oprah-esque empire for the two of you. Thank you. We'll receive that. We love you, Rain. We'll talk to you soon. Take care.

I want to come to meet Alma. Yes, come over and meet the peacock. We will. All right. Bye. Bye. Bye. I just love that fella. I beyond love him.

I love him. Rain, thank you so much for stopping by. And now, lady, we got to get into this episode. Let's do it. You know, we've talked a little bit about this cold open already, but we haven't really broken it down. So let's get into it. Pam is on the phone. She's trying to give someone like maybe a fax number.

I want to point out at 10 seconds, Nick is still in office all day. In the note. the post-it note. There's the same post-it note from last week. It's on the PINStar post-it paper. Nick in office all day. He's still there, folks. So Michael's going to come over and he's messing with Pam. She's trying to give this phone number and he's like five or nine, three, two, like trying to mess her up. She hangs up and she's like, Michael, that makes us look so unprofessional. Yeah. Well, he can't wait. He's been there because he has a really good knock-knock joke for her. That's right. Knock-knock. Who's there?

Buddha. Buddha who? Buddha this bread for me. And then he sits a stick of butter. It's been in his hand. It's not even in the wrapper. I know. I'll have you know it was not scripted to be unwrapped. But on the day, we just thought that would be really funny. And originally my line in the script, when I look at the butter and the everything on my desk, I was supposed to say, you're making a mess. But I changed it to there's butter on my desk. Yeah. And I thought that was like such a great little find in the moment when we were rehearsing. It's very Pam, though. It's like people leave trash on your death. All the time. It's just a statement. It's like resignation. It is. Now there's butter on my desk. Now there's butter on my desk. That's my day today. Well, Dwight is super excited about this knock knock joke and he wants in on the fun. He's got a great one.

Yeah. And he's like, Michael, please. And Michael doesn't want to hear it. He's like, please. And I just feel like we got to hear Dwight's one. Knock Knock joke. Let's do it. No. Okay. Michael, please, please, please. Please let me.

All right. Knock, knock. Who's there? KGB. KGB. We ever asked the questions. What the hell was that? What are you doing?

What are you doing? Hey, hey. Stop, bitch. And they're just getting like the slapping fest. And then Jim has to get in on it. Yep. Do we need to hear that one? No more knock-knock jokes.

That's it. Ding don't. Who's there? KGB. Do I get the door. I'm not answering the door. Dingo. No way.

It's the key. Ding, no. I'm not answering that. Yes, you're going to answer it. I'm not going to answer it. It's the KGB. The KGB will fit for no one. It's true.

It's true. And there's the it's true. And there it is. Well, now we're going to start the main plot of this episode. Michael arrives to work dressed as Willie Wonka. He's so excited. He points out the jelly. Beans? What are these? Pam's like jelly beans. She's like, no, they're extraordinary jelly

beans. He's like so ready for his performance. And he shares that he's put this golden ticket 10% off in different boxes of paper and someone's going to get it and their day is going to be full of whimsy and excitement and fantasy. Here is what the golden ticket says. What? This whimsical promotion saves you 10% off your total order with Dunder Miflin. Scranton, Pennsylvania. That's what it says. This whimsical promotion. In the conference room, Michael is just like already taking credit for his great idea.

It's such a great idea. He needs everyone to come in the conference room and talk about how we need more good ideas like this one. He says, and this is like something like people that do this crack me up, he goes, it might be the best idea ever in like the history of ideas. You're like, okay, buddy. Here's what I don't understand. He's written on a board, marketing, greatness, Michael. I didn't get it. It was very amusing to me. Well, his job is to prophylagate great ideas. I guess so. He really wants the group, though, to tell them their golden ticket idea. He knows his golden ticket. A golden ticket. Yeah. Jim's like, well, we could rent out our trucks. He's like, no, post-it notes, right? Golden ticket. NASA, lots of gold. ticket ideas there. Andy's going to say golden girls and a few other things.

That start with the word golden. That start with golden grams. Look over his shoulder. Angela Martin, one minute, 59 seconds. Major eye roll at Andy. Angela, I roll. Yeah. She thinks Andy's an idiot, guys.

She was only engaged to him just two seconds ago, but she's over it. Well, now we're going to move to the kitchen. Andy and Kevin are at the table. Pam and Jim are over by the counter. And Kevin really wants to ask out Lynn. And he's just getting a lot of advice from these guys, conflicting advice. I have two background catches that just delighted me. Oh. All right. Number one, these guys are both eating donuts. I noticed that, and I swear to God, those are the donuts we got every morning because Kevin's donut is my donut. The Sprinkles Donuts. Yes. And Andy had the powdered sugar.

Okay, background catch number two. I love it when our show does this when it takes an object from a prior episode and pops it back into a new one. Ready? Four minutes. I think I saw it too. Kevin's coffee mug. Yep. Kevin's coffee mug is the same mug that Kelly gave to him at her customer survey party. You know, everyone's face in the big star. But what about Andy's mug? Andy's mug is the same one from Moroccan Christmas and it was featured in a deleted scene I talked about when Jim and Pam decide to shop within the office for Christmas for each other because they're so broke Jim goes up to Andy and asks him about his mug and it's in the bloopers.

It was also in the script. Two coffee mugs from two prior episodes. I love that. Well, later in this episode, if you look at Oscars' desk, he's going to have his America's Got Talent mug too. Oh, love it. Well, this whole Kevin and Andy and Jim and Pam's storyline was much bigger in the actual shooting draft. And there are a few deleted scenes and things I want to share.

First of all, this is the scene that would have set up this whole storyline. It's at the beginning of the day and they're getting in the elevator. Kevin, Jim and Pam, and who rushes in at the last minute because she works in the Scranton Business Park. But Lynn, can we hear it? Hold on the eyes, please. Hi, Kevin. Hey, Lynn.

Did you get my message? Um, yeah. I've been really busy. Oh. It's okay. Yeah, I'm probably going to be busy for the next 20 days or so. So, yeah. Bye.

You're going to be busy for the next 20 days or so. I thought you liked Lynn. I do like Lynn. That's what Andy told me to say. Uh-huh. Right? So Jim and Pam are learning that Andy has been giving Kevin some pretty bad advice. Yeah. He likes Lynn, but tells her, you know, he didn't return her messages and he's going to be busy for 20 days. Wow. That's amazing. Jim and Pam can't let Andy do this to Kevin. So they start giving him advice, right? Just ask her out. And in the deleted scenes, you really get a sneak peek into where Andy's brain is at. You got to

to hear this talking head. I was raised to be a gentleman around women, but when your fiance is Satan, that doesn't work. So I have some new ideas and new techniques, and I'm trying them out. Kevin Malone is my guinea pig. Oh, man, I wish that had stayed in. Doesn't that explain at all? It does. I mean, I think I was able to realize that the reason that Andy is being this way is because he's still reeling from his breakup with Angela, but that really would have been great. I know, because, I mean, I don't think Andy's a bad guy, but he's clearly hurt and acting out and using poor Kevin.

Well, listen, Jim's going to get a phone call now. Guess what? What? His client, Tom, has found a golden ticket. Tom from Blue Cross of Pennsylvania. Our biggest client. Uh-oh. Oscar, how much is that going to cost us?

Michael wants to know. It's going to hurt a bit. Well, what about this? Guys, Tom found all five golden tickets. Holy moly. Did they say one per customer? Nope. Nope. Our biggest client just got 50% off their total order with us. I mean, this is a huge win. Talk about winning the golden ticket. He won all the golden tickets. He won all of them. This made me think, Jenna, have you ever won? Have you ever won? like a really big ticket item? I don't think so. I called my mom because I know my aunt Ann has won things. Like she signs up for, you know, raffles and things. And she's won trips. Really? Yeah, she's super lucky. And I was like, mom, doesn't Aunt Anne win a lot of things? And she said, well, you know, your dad won a very big ticket item. What did your dad win? And I was like,

mom, what are you talking about? And she said, well, this was before you were born. And Jenna, this story just delighted me so much. One, because, you know, my dad's passed away. And so any new information, because you know, you play every memory, you look at everything, but anything that you hear about someone you loved who's no longer with you, you just, oh, it's like this beautiful, wonderful thing. So my mom said, oh yeah, before you were born, we had just moved to Lafayette, Louisiana, and the school was having a fundraiser, and they were raffling off a brand new, pink station wagon. What? She said it had a cream white top and your dad went and donated some money and signed up and he won the car. Your dad won a pink station wagon? Yes. And she said and it was a very

good car and we drove it for a long time. Do any of your sisters remember this car? I was like, my sister Billy said she remembers it. But I was like, oh my goodness. And my mom's like, I know we have a picture somewhere. I said, mom, please. And I have. I have to see it. And she said, oh, Ange, your dad was so tickled that he won that car. He was so excited. And she said, and it was a light pink with a cream top. And they drove it around for years.

I love that story. I know. It made my day. You know, I have been pitching for years, a documentary series that I call Little Winners. And it is all about people who, have won, not the lottery, but raffles, and they get something like this car or like a new recliner or like a trip, right? And how did it affect their life? Little winners. No one will buy it from me. No one wants to make it. I pitch it all the time. I will no one make little winners. I love little

winners. We could do it as a podcast and have the winner on. They could tell us all about it. Here's the thing. You know, I like to think about my parents. They were young parents. They had three young girls at this time and what that car meant to them. And then I also think about the car dealer there in Lafayette, Louisiana and how the school, probably the superintendent, was buddies with the guy at the dealership and was like, what do you got that we can raffle off? And he's like, well, that pink station wagon, no one wanted. We can't sell it. It's a right off. I'll give it to you. Okay. Amazing. Amazing. So Michael is spiraling out, though, because he's realizing Blue Cross from Pennsylvania getting this many golden tickets, he's going to get fired. And Jim is upset, too, because that's his commission. Oh, right. Right? So Michael is going to storm down to the warehouse. I love the beginning of this scene. This scene is brilliant. He goes barreling in going, hey, hey, hey, you idiot to Daryl. And Daryl says, start over. So good. I was like, I'm keeping that. I am keeping that. The next time one of the kids has a moment where they're sassing me, I'm going to be like, start over. Exactly. And then Michael comes back with, Sir, that was all in the script. I looked that up. So did I. So did I. Michael's like, Daryl, how could this happen? How could this happen? And he says, I put three pallets on the truck for Blue Cross every week. Where were you putting the boxes? Were they near each other? And Michael's like,

I need to ask you something. I need you to be honest with me. What is a palate? So good. So good. David Wallace is not happy. He calls. Pam takes the call. But Michael is sort of sneaking out of his office. He's taken off his Willy Wonka outfit. Yeah, he's getting rid of the evidence. Yes. He's like, do not. I am not here. I am not here. So Pam has to say that he's at a civil rights rally at the Lincoln Memorial. Which I want to point out is in Washington. Yeah, he's gone to Washington, D.C., I guess. And the same day, he's going to go to a civil rights movement in Washington, D.C., and get a colonoscopy in Scranton. Exactly. Well, Michael tosses his Willy Wonka costume into a dumpster.

He's now wearing a Pioneer's football shirt, and I had to look this up. This is a minor league football team from Wilkesbury Scranton that played in the AF2, and they had a really strong season in 2009 when we shot this episode. It's kind of like perfect that he's wearing this shirt because they only ended up losing two of their games that year. They made it to the playoffs. Then they made it all the way to the Arena Cup, which is like the Super Bowl of AF2 football. They ended up losing, but it was like a great, great season for them. They were kind of on a roll.

Their previous season had been good as well. I love it. I love every time we have these local references on the show in ways that don't even get mentioned. Right. We never even mention this shirt, but there it is, just creating specificity. I love it. Michael's going to make an announcement, everyone to the conference room. He's a lot of announcements in this episode, a lot of announcements.

He's really, I think, just trying to find a way out. He says he has a big net where he takes all of their subconscious ideas. and tries to turn them into something. And Michael's like, guys, guys, they're not going to fire us. We're fine. And Oscar's like, what do you call shutting down a branch? And then Michael says, someone needs to come up with a golden ticket idea to get them out of this mess. Mm-hmm.

You know? And Pam says, do you mean an idea that blows up in our faces later? Oh. That kind of idea. That's some Pam sass. That is some Pam sass. So while Michael's up at the top of the conference room, he's wearing a suit jacket. Mm-hmm.

And I'm thinking, where did that come from? Because the last time we saw him, he was at the dumpster in his Pioneer's football shirt. Right. I looked it up. It's Andy's jacket. He's wearing Andy's jacket. And there was a bit at the top of this scene that got cut, where as they're entering the room, Michael says, Andy, give me your jacket. You can do something for me.

I want your jacket. So that is why he's now wearing this odd jacket over his football shirt. Well, he's got to still look like the boss. The phone's going to ring now. Not good. It's David Wallace. Pam says Michael's having a colonoscopy. I'm not sure that David Wallace believes it.

You think? Because he was just in Washington. Michael gets on the phone with him and literally is reading off the procedure of how you give a colonoscopy off his computer. It's pretty amazing. But now it is clear. David Wallace says the company is going to lose a lot of money. How did you let this happen? Whose idea was it?

Someone's got to pay for this terrible idea. Michael tells David Wallace it was Dwight. Just so devious. I know. Oh, Michael. It's like David Wallace is just naming people. And he says, was it Dwight? And Michael's like, yes.

Well, now Michael has got to convince Dwight to take the fall for him. And so he's going to get out his. diary and he's going to say Dwight, I wrote it down that it was your idea. He tries to convince Dwight that Dwight is remembering wrong. What happened this morning? Now, you know, Dwight runs to get his diary. It's like the dueling diaries where they're going back and forth. Michael realizes he's not making any headway with this whole diary business. So he says, would you like to go out to lunch with me, just the two of us? And Dwight says, with all my heart, this scene continues in the script, Jenna. So after Dwight says, with all my heart, he says, but I already ate lunch. And Michael

says, it's 11 a.m. Dwight says, as a farmer, I eat breakfast at 4.30. At 10, I'm famished for lunch. If you wait three hours, we can have supper. Maybe. Michael says, no, no, no. How about we do something else you like? Jenna, did you notice there are no scenes of them at the restaurant? They're supposedly going to have lunch, right? Because in the episode, Michael says, go have lunch. I don't know that Dwight's already eaten. All of that's been cut out. Right. And then the remainder of their scenes, they're on the side of the road.

They're taking a walk. Well, here is a scene that was in the deleted scenes that I just love so much. Of all the things that Dwight would want to do, guess what he loves to do? Go for walks? Oh, lady, no. He likes a stroll. Are you still taking those strolls that you like to take? Thrice weekly.

Okay, let's go take a stroll together. I thought you said my strolls were silly. No, just because you can't call them walks. You really want a stroll? Yes. Do you want a power stroll or just a regular stroll? You call it. Power stroll.

You wearing sunblock? Yes. What SPF? One? That's like water. I'll grab my tube. Okay. Oh.

He loves a stroll. Clearly it's like a whole thing with him and Michael about calling it a stroll or a walk. Then there's another scene. where they're down in the lobby and Hank is there. And Dwight is putting sunscreen on Michael's face. And Hank looks up and Deadpan says, you found somebody to go on a stroll. And Dwight goes, I did.

And Hank goes, nice. This is amazing because we got a ton of mail because people were pointing out Dwight's shoes in the scene when he is walking, aka strolling with Michael, tons of people said, why does Dwight have on very white, very non-Dwight trainers? Like, where did these come from? And I looked in the script and it says,

Michael and Dwight are walking. Dwight is wearing sneakers and walks with his hands clasped behind his back. That was like a script note, but I'm sure it was all based on this backstory that Dwight strolls three times a week. He's got his sunblock, he's got his shoes. He probably has a little bag. he takes to work, clearly Hank knows how much Dwight loves a stroll and how he's been looking for a stroll buddy. I love it. I love it. I know it tickled me. Well, this stroll is not going to

convince Dwight. Dwight says, I am not going to fall on my sword for you. It's not going to happen. He's done it before. He's fallen on his sword, and it wasn't pleasant. It wasn't. Michael makes a pretty big speech to Dwight. He's like, listen, why would you want to stay here? Yeah. You're cooped up. You're not even dating Angela anymore. You have a whole whole. farm. Yeah. And he says, you know, on the other hand, I would be lost without Dundermifflin. And Dwight says, what about Shulala, Michael? This is a Mindy Kailing thing, for sure. This has Mindy Kaling written all over it. And then Michael has a talking head where he says, I have an idea for a fancy men's shoe store called Shulala. And it's just men's shoes for the special occasions in a

man's life, like the day that you get married or the day your wife has a baby or just for lounging around the house. Yeah. Well, we got some mail from Kayla G. who said, I just want to let you ladies know that Michael seems to have gotten shoe la-la up and running in Nelson British Columbia. Oh. And I looked it up and sure enough, there is a shoe la-law. According to their website, they are a boutique shoe store offering exquisite leather, footwear, and handbags from all over the world. They are a family-run business that has been around since 1983. Well, I want you guys to know that there is a shoe la lafayette, Louisiana. I saw that too.

My town where I was born. Lafayette, and you know what? I love the slogan for their shoe store. If you go on their website, it's a clothing boutique and shoes. But their slogan is, life is short by the damn shoes. That is amazing. So there are two shoe la-laws, Michael, but none of them seem to sell men's shoes. Oh, well, I would love nothing more for Michael to have Shulala.

Well, we have a great reverse talking head. Yes, I noticed. So Dwight is in Michael's chair and you pull back to reveal Michael perched behind him. Basically in this talking head, Michael's like, he's going to do it for me. He's going to do it. He's going to take the fall. And Dwight's like, no, I haven't decided. Well, folks in the office are starting to catch on.

They get it. They know what Michael's doing. He wants Dwight to take the fall, and they start gossiping about it. There's a scene in the kitchen, you guys, that was deleted, where Meredith, Kelly, and Angela, and Oscar are all being real chatty, and Michael walks in and overhears a bit. And he's spying on them from the bathroom. Let's hear it. Ladies. Really? I hope Dwight gets fired, and we get a hot new guy to replace them.

Seriously? What if it's a hot new girl? Oh my God, I had not thought of them. I think it's horrible what Michael is doing. Really? I mean, this is unacceptable. Hey, did you ever notice that our bathroom is right next to our kitchen? How's that up to code?

I don't know. This is not fair what he's doing to Dwight. Of course you think that. You used to bone and I. I think men bone women. I hate that I'm correcting that. All I'm saying is that Dwight can't take the blame for this. It has to land on Michael.

It's time for a reckoning. True. Okay. These are the kind of slice of life. Slice o life. Slice oh life. You brought it back. These are the kind of slice of life office moments that I love so much. Just the scuttlebutt. There's so much going on. Just the gossip and the opinions. Uh-huh. You know? I loved this scene. And Michael overhears it, you guys. And there's a whole scene where Michael confronts everyone. And he really. really lets him have it. He goes barging into the bullpen and he's like, hey, everyone, I need to make an announcement. And Jim is like, this is a new record. And Michael goes, that's because I have a lot to say today, James. Uh-huh. He's ticked off. And then he goes around the room and he's like, yells to the room, have you wondered what it would be like if I was fired? And everyone super happy raises their hand. And Michael's like, damn it. I didn't ask for a show of hands. If I I get fired and corporate brings in new leadership, you have no idea who might come.

And then he starts singling people out. He says, you have no idea how bad it could get. Maybe it would be someone who knows that we don't actually need three accountants. I remember shooting this scene now. Yes, it's in the deleted scenes. Then he looks right at Jim and Pam and he says, or lets couples work together without sending them to different branches. And then he has this moment and may be.

me laugh. He goes, so, you didn't think about that, huh? So let's just bite our tongues instead of saying mean things about me when I pretend to be pooping in the bathroom, okay? But it was a long speech and he really just lets them all have it. I love this episode so much. I think Steve Correll just is brilliant in this episode. He's playing so many different things. We already talked about this with rain, but I just absolutely love the Michael Dwight dynamic. I really loved this one. I did too. This was like one of those sleeper ones that we hadn't seen in forever. And we're like, oh my gosh, golden ticket. I agree. Golden ticket is a golden ticket. Well, now David Wallace is going to show up. He drove from New York, you guys. Yeah. David Wallace arrives at the office, right?

This is a serious thing. Yeah. He goes into Michael's office with Dwight. You could hear a pin drop. And he turns to Dwight and he says, Dwight, I owe you an apology. Blue Cross was so excited about the golden ticket promotion that they have made Dunder Mifflin, their exclusive provider for all office supplies. Huge! This is huge! And he puts his hand out to shake Dwight's hand.

Michael is about to split in half. He's looking at Dwight like, you better let him know it was my idea! And Dwight shakes his hand. And says, thank you, David. And now all the power has been flipped. Amazing, amazing writing. They go out into the bullpen.

Wallace tells everybody. Dwight gets this victory lap. Pam hugs him. I loved doing that. I loved it. And then Creed's like, way to go, kid. I don't. Creed is like, sure, it was Dwight.

Jim is giving Dwight credit and they are all watching Michael Squirm. And then David's like, you know what, Dwight? You need to talk to the marketing guys in New York. in corporate. We want to hear more of your ideas. More of your brilliance. Pam, can you set up that call? And Michael's like, I can be in there. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no. You got things to do. Come on, Dwight. Being in that conference room for that phone call was a delight. This was one of my favorite things to do. We've talked about this. I loved taking notes during these comedic scenes. And, you know, pretty soon, Pam isn't going to be the receptionist anymore. I know. And this was the part of the job that I missed the most.

getting to be in these ridiculous situations with Michael. Being the note taker because they're on the phone and Dwight is just saying ridiculous stuff. And of course, Michael Burson. Right, because it's really clear that Dwight doesn't know anything about Willy Wonka. No. Then call back, call back to a deleted scene, but that we love the toilet buddy. That's right. This is a deleted scene from Job Fair.

Remember Michael comes out of the bathroom, flustered because all the contents of his pockets fell into the toilet. Yes. And then he threw his cell phone in the toilet out of anger. Yes. And he says then that he had this brilliant idea about this mesh toilet guard cover. Mm-hmm. Now, Jenna, in the episode, Michael calls it the toilet buddy.

Mm-hmm. But in the shooting draft, it was called the toilet guard. And I think in the moment, Steve called it toilet buddy because then he corrects himself as Michael. He goes, previously known as the toilet guard. Yes. So I think that's just Steve staying in the moment, but catching that he had flubbed a line. And then Dwight mentions his idea called horseboat, which I love horseboat.

You can go from riding to just being on the water. And then Michael hits back with toilet sponge. I don't know what that was. It's more absorbent, the toilet sponge. It's more absorbent. So it's a toilet that's a sponge? No, I think it's a sponge for your bum. I don't know. It doesn't say.

We just said... We're not sure. He says it's more absorbent. That's what he says. Now, lady, in this back and forth, this brought up a product that my friend, Stacey and I, invented in high school that we thought we were convinced was our ticket to being millionaires. What? It's called the tan baster. You know that thing that you wash your dishes with that you fill up with dish soap and it has a little sponge at the end?

Yes. The tan baster is very similar. Angela, it has a little sponge on the end, but it's filled with sunblock and you just based it on yourself and your hands stay clean. The tan baster. Or you could get spray. Well, spray wasn't around yet, Angela. It hadn't been invented yet. You see now we can go nowhere with the tan baster, but at the time it could have been. There was a need. And clearly the spray has filled the need. But. And the stick. I love me a you know, sunscreen stick. Yeah, Ange, I get it. There's a lot of solutions today, but I'm taking you back to the 1990s when none of these things existed except for goopy sunblock, and we were

solving a problem. Also, we had the whole like television commercial, the whole infomercial in our head, because you know who else could use it? Maybe older people who need to apply, you know, lotions because they have arthritis. Right, or maybe they've lost range of motion and they can't reach some places. Well, that was the other great thing about the tan baster. It was like a back scratcher. It could go down your back. See? Tan baster. I think the name was part of the problem. Why? Because every time you say tan baster, I just think of a turkey on Thanksgiving. Okay. Let me take you back. And crinkly with gravy. Let me take you back to the 1990s. This was, again, before we kind of knew about sun damage so much. No, no, no, no, because you based a turkey.

I know, and you based your body. You're going to get nice and tan if you use the tan baster. You know what I'm saying? This is when people wanted that. Right. They weren't into sunblock for the SPF. Right. Right?

This is when you were still basically applying baby oil to yourself with iodine. Yeah. Right. I don't know. I'm just saying. Okay. Well, very passionate. The toilet buddy, the tan baster.

Stacy, I'm sorry, we never got it off the ground. Oh, well. Stacey, somewhere you guys have a sketch of the tan baster, and I'd love to see it. We do have a sketch of the tan baster. You know I've been trying to work that tan baster into a lot of projects for you and I. Lady, we're not going to have an office lady's tan baster. It's just not happening. Okay.

You know what I want, before we do a tan baster, I want a rosé. Okay. I think more of us would use the rosé. Let's put a poll out there. No. What do you want more? An office lady's rosé or an office lady's tan baster. I got to go tan baster. Damn, I knew you were going to say it, Sam.

I knew it. Why did you think I was going to say it? No. No, because a lot of the sprays and sticks have harmful chemicals in them, like aerosols and things that are bad for you. Cassie? I'm team rosé. Yay! Always down to try wine.

Well, you know what? Let's drink rosé while we based ourselves. Is it possible to baste into my mouth? Hey! A rosé baster. Perhaps. Oh, my word. Where are we?

Oh, you guys, we got to check back in with Kevin and Lynn. We do, because poor Kevin has been receiving a lot of advice this whole episode. And guess what? When he finally does meet up with Lynn in the parking lot, he does just fine. being Kevin. He says, I'm just going to say everything I'm thinking. She has a great smile. He'd like to take her for dinner in a movie. She says yes, he's happy. And then he says boobs. And she's delighted. Yeah. Lynn just likes Kevin. Yeah. Like you said, there's a lid for every pot. There is. Dwight's advice to Kevin was just go be alive next to her. will it work and finally we have our tag

a final knock knock joke a ding dong joke really yeah we talked about this with rain this one is so hilarious because Dwight thinks

he's going to get Jim back and he does ding dong and then Jim's like you know what I just got out of the shower I need one second and then like we talked about they go back and forth with like well I can come back

when's good for you it's like so ridiculous and that is Golden T's ticket. We hope you enjoyed. I loved this episode. I did too. And thank you, Rain Wilson, for coming on our podcast. That just gave me all the warm fuzzies for the whole day. I really do want us to go over there. You know, we have an office text thread. We've talked about this. We're the cast text each other, and we have invited ourselves over to Rain. So, Rain and sorry, Holly, we're coming. We are. You know, you told us sometime after Labor Day, well, it's after Labor Day. Guess who remembered the date you

told her. That's right. Of course. I want to go. Well, guys, we will see you next week. Please check out Rain's podcast Metaphysical Milkshake with Reza Aslin. We love you. Love you guys. Have a great one. Thank you for listening to Office Ladies' Second Drink. This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf. Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Beagle. Our Second Drinks episodes are produced by Molly Nugent. Our audio engineer is Sam Pfeiffer. Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis. Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.