Second Drink: Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2

Summary

Office Ladies – Second Drink: Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2

Podcast: Office Ladies
Hosts: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey
Date: November 24, 2025

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Overview

In this “second drink” episode, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey continue their in-depth rewatch and discussion of The Office Season 4, Episode 4: “Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2.” They offer behind-the-scenes insights, answer fan mail, share deleted scenes, and provide context about iconic moments from the show. Highlights include a “lost” Thanksgiving episode pitch, stories from filming the infamous "drive the car into the lake" scene, and reflections on sound, background acting, and character moments.

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Main Themes & Structure

• Fan mail and accessibility for listeners
• Lost/alternate scenes: Cold opens and the never-made Thanksgiving episode
• Behind-the-scenes details, especially about the lake stunt
• Character and prop trivia from the set
• Reflections on The Office’s unique production style
• Support and inspiration within the Office Ladies fan community
• Iconic lines and memorable moments from this episode

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Key Highlights, Quotes & Timestamps

1. “Lost” Cold Open and Deleted Scenes Discussion

[02:23–06:03]

• Fans wrote in to ask about the alternate cold open now shown in the Superfan episodes, where Toby brings his girlfriend Amy (played by Paul Lieberstein’s real-life wife Janine) into the office and awkwardly kisses her in front of Jim and Pam.
  • Jenna: “Toby awkwardly kisses his girlfriend for way too long and then jokes with Pam about violating his own PDA rule.” [02:52]
  • Angela: “I even remember shooting it because…Paul’s real life wife, Janine…She’s such a lovely person. She’s really talented.” [03:38–03:47]
• The kissing “was so, like, confident, which is, like, very unlike Toby.” – Jenna [04:56]

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2. The Never-Filmed Thanksgiving Episode Pitch

[07:13–12:30]

• Jenna shares the pitch for a proposed Thanksgiving themed episode from Season 3, found in her old digital files.
  • Plot included Angela suing the company for $8.6 million after being slapped by Oscar, Michael planning to spend Thanksgiving with Carol (which he doesn’t), Dwight bringing Angela to Schrute Farms (secretly), tension with Dwight’s family, and a Jim-Karen-Pam triangle at the food pantry.
  • Notable pitch line: Angela (on Oscar): “She was probably being a real bitch and he had had it all right.” [08:28]
  • Jenna: “How good were our writers? None of that even got made.” [12:32]
• Both hosts reflect on the volume of unused story ideas:
  • Angela: “What a fun, fun pitch. And I wonder how many times they had to break out and work on a pitch and then it never even saw the light of day.” [12:41]

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3. Accessibility & Inclusivity: Podcast Transcripts

[15:46–17:02]

• Answering fan Jesse S.’s question about transcripts:
  • Caitlin: “We do have a transcription for every single episode going back to the pilot, and you can find it on officeladies.com.” [15:49]
• Angela and Caitlin highlight their personal connections to accessible content.

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4. Behind-the-Scenes: Kissing Scenes & Sound Production

[17:02–21:38]

• Angela reveals awkwardness in filming kissing scenes with Rainn Wilson due to his food choices:
  • Angela: “He was usually eating something disgusting right beforehand. And I'd be like, Rainn, dang it!” [18:05]
• Discussion of on-set audio, minimal use of ADR, and shout-out to the Emmy-winning sound team:
  • Caitlin: “All the other projects I've gone on, you have like an ADR day...On the Office, I only did ADR once.” [20:09]
  • Angela: “Our sound engineers were Emmy award winning. They won Emmys for their sound design on our show.” [20:40]

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5. Fan Community and Uplifting Stories

[24:38–25:54]

• Caitlin shares fan Cecilia B.’s story about advocating for herself at work after listening to the podcast’s advice.
  • Cecilia B.: “All I kept hearing was both of you ladies in my head saying, just go for it. Ask for what you want. And I'm so happy...” [24:31]
• Sam reports a thread on the fan Facebook group about women succeeding in salary negotiations inspired by the show: “There's a whole thread of people underneath it who realized that they...are not going to do it anymore.” [25:22]

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6. Office Set and Prop Trivia

[34:10–36:45]

• Angela confesses her “basket problem” after discussing Michael’s gift baskets: “My husband says my nickname should be baskets.” [34:44]
• Angela: “I donated them to a church in our neighborhood that does outreach...but it was hard to say goodbye.” [35:21]

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7. Iconic Lines and Set Moments

[39:22–40:14]

• Dwight: “Okay, okay, I do want to be friends, plus a little extra. Also, I love you.” [39:23]

  • Angela: “I have seen this, like, stitched on a pillow....People have written this to their…boyfriend or girlfriend, and they've shared it with me online.” [40:03]

• Andy: “Cash basket! Cash basket!”

  • Jenna: “Cash Basket became an inside joke for all of us on the office for years and years and years.” [45:09]
  • After Ed Helms’ line, “John was on the floor in tears, laughing the entire time because he couldn't get past cash basket.” [46:12]

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8. GPS and Driving into the Lake: Full Breakdown

[65:12–76:12]

• Extensive fan mail about the iconic lake scene.
  • Jenna (from Steve Carell): “Yes, they really drove a real car into a real lake. He said they did the stunt twice all the way through, and that Randall, our camera operator, was in the backseat.” [65:41]
  • Randall explained: Car had no engine/gas tank/oil, was pulled in on a controlled rig, Randall was in the back seat with a $130,000 camera. Protective housing on camera. [67:08–68:15]
  • Angela: “Randall, I mean, he's a big guy and he's scrunched in the back of this Ford Taurus with a gift basket and a camera that costs, like. I mean, my God, it's like as much as a house.” [68:54]
• Rainn Wilson (audio clip):

  “My main fear wasn't, like, drowning or the car or anything like that. It was kind of like, this water is not the cleanest...I was just really afraid of like an eye infection or something like that. It was, like, kind of eerily warm. The water was not cold at all. But it was super fun....How often do you get to kind of drive your car into a lake? It was fantastic.” [71:52]

• Real-world inspiration: Jen Salata found warnings in a GPS manual not to “drive into water even if the GPS tells you to.” There are actual news stories of people doing this! [74:44–76:12]
• Angela recounts real news articles: e.g., “Robert Jones... kept insisting the path was the road...only realized how wrong he was…just inches from a 100 foot drop.” [76:12]

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9. Other Fun Tidbits & Set Observations

• Actors really stayed in the background for talking head scenes, not edited in: “He had to sit there...for nine years.” (re: Leslie David Baker as Stanley) [22:36]
• Angela and Jenna’s real-life love for post-it notes and baskets mirrored Pam and Angela’s TV characters. [42:04–42:45]
• Andy’s crush on Ryan: “Number three, smells like Pierce Brosnan.” [54:06]

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Notable Quotes

On the strength of the writers:

“How good were our writers? None of that even got made.” – Jenna Fischer [12:32]

On doing stunts for a TV comedy:

“It's just one of those kind of days where you're kind of like, wow, this is what I do for a living today. Playing a fictional weirdo and driving my car into a lake.” – Rainn Wilson [72:10]

On background acting:

“Poor Leslie David Baker. He was always in the background. He was always there. You could see him at his desk. And he was such a trooper.” – Angela Kinsey [22:39]

On podcast inspiration powering real-life action:

“All I kept hearing was both of you ladies in my head saying, just go for it. Ask for what you want...Now I get to have an extra hour with my daughters...” – Cecilia B. [24:31]

On set in-jokes:

“Cash Basket became an inside joke for all of us on the office for years and years and years.” – Jenna Fischer [45:09]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:23] – Superfan cold open and cast behind-the-scenes
• [07:13] – Lost Office Thanksgiving episode breakdown
• [15:49] – Podcast accessibility and transcripts
• [17:02] – On-screen kisses, ADR, and sound department shout-outs
• [22:36] – Stanley's background acting in talking heads
• [24:31] – Listener stories of empowerment
• [34:44] – Basket confessionals
• [39:23] – Dwight’s “plus a little extra, also I love you” scene
• [45:09] – The “Cash Basket” bit and inside jokes
• [65:12] – The “drive into the lake” stunt: full technical breakdown
• [71:52] – Rainn Wilson’s story of the lake scene
• [74:44] – How the writers came up with the GPS/lake idea
• [76:12] – True-life car/GPS disaster stories
• [83:13] – Ryan tries and fails to recruit Pam
• [84:33] – Michael and Dwight return for the gift basket and the missing turtles
• [85:12] – “I drove my car into an effing lake”
• [86:41] – End of episode reflection, more deleted scenes goodies

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Tone & Style

Playful, warm, and candid throughout. Jenna and Angela mix fan engagement, comedic banter, and heartfelt appreciation for the show and its fandom.

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This summary captures all major discussion points, behind-the-scenes stories, and memorable moments from Office Ladies’ “Second Drink: Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2.”
For Office fans and podcast listeners, this episode is a treasure trove of anecdotes, trivia, and genuine friendship.

Transcript

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. Ang, you were telling me recently that you got some meals off of Blue Apron and you love them.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, this was a really great fit for me because there was no subscription requirement.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's a new thing, right?

[Caitlin]

Like, you used to have to subscribe.

[Jenna Fischer]

But now it's a no subscription thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Because one who needs another subscription. And then also, you know, sometimes it's just too much. Right. And it's like, when do I need these meals?

[Jenna Fischer]

That's amazing.

[Caitlin]

I'm jealous because I get into that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Whole, like, decision fatigue about, like, oh, what's for dinner tonight? But if you go on the website.

[Caitlin]

You can like, order a week of.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dinner and now that decision is made for you. And I also can't keep eating the same three meals. If I keep eating the same three meals, I'm gonna go insane.

[Angela Kinsey]

So if you go to their website, you're gonna see that they have an assemble and bake meal. These are one pan meals with minimal prep and minimal cleanup. Just a few minutes hands on, and then right into the oven and done. You get all the pre prepped ingredients and it's just easy. It was great.

[Jenna Fischer]

Try the new Blue Apron today and get 40% off and free shipping on your first two orders at blueapron.com with code OFFICE40. Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more.

[Angela Kinsey]

We want to talk to you guys a little bit about new Eggo protein waffles. It's really good, tastes great. Plus it's going to give you 20% of your daily protein.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Eggo Protein Plus Waffles provide the same.

[Caitlin]

Great taste of Eggo that you know.

[Jenna Fischer]

And love, plus 10 grams of protein per serving. I made the new Eggo protein waffles.

[Caitlin]

For my kids the other day.

[Jenna Fischer]

They didn't even know that they were protein waffles. They're just the Eggo waffles that you know and love.

[Caitlin]

I know they have protein.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're just yummy waffles.

[Caitlin]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, listen, I know we're talking about breakfast, but I have shared this before. I like them as an afternoon treat. And when your teenagers come home hungry, guess what's real easy to give them? A little protein waffle.

[Caitlin]

They say you can fuel your morning.

[Jenna Fischer]

But you can also fuel your afternoon.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sure can.

[Jenna Fischer]

Head to your local grocery store to fuel your morning with Eggo protein waffles and pancakes.

[Caitlin]

Available at retailers nationwide.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hey, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving week. Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Happy Thanksgiving week. Gobble, gobble.

[Angela Kinsey]

And welcome to your second drink of Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2.

[Jenna Fischer]

So last week we covered Part 1 of Dunder Mifflin Infinity. Now we have Part 2. And this is the one where Michael and Dwight drive into the lake at the end of the episode. Yep, classic moment. But there was a moment that would have started this episode that is just as shocking, at least for the universe of the Office.

[Caitlin]

This was deleted.

[Jenna Fischer]

It did not run, but has been added back to the Superfan episode. We got a fan mail flurry about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

We sure did.

[Jenna Fischer]

Stacey T. And Liz E. Said this. I recently subscribed to Peacock so I could watch the Superfan episodes. The cold open for Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2 opens with Toby walking into the office with his girlfriend. They walk in and see Jim and Pam at reception. Toby awkwardly kisses his girlfriend for way too long and then jokes with Pam about violating his own PDA rule. Did you remember this Cold omen exists? You talked about an alt cold open on the podcast, but this one was not mentioned. And Katie C. Wrote in about this and said, ladies, you need to talk about this. Angela, what have you got for us?

[Angela Kinsey]

We definitely shot this. I even remember shooting it because the person who plays Toby's girlfriend is Paul's real life wife, Janine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we all got to hang out with her for the morning. She's such a lovely person. She's really talented. And I pulled a clip. Okay, so the very long pause you're gonna hear is the kissing. So sorry about that. Imagine Toby sort of really lustfully kissing his girlfriend in front of Jim and Pam at reception on the week.

[Sam]

So.

[Caitlin]

Hi, man.

[Jenna Fischer]

Hey, guys. This is my girlfriend, Amy.

[Caitlin]

Hi, Amy. How you doing?

[Jenna Fischer]

Nice to meet you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Nice to meet you. This is everybody else.

[Rainn Wilson]

Okay. It's the place.

[Angela Kinsey]

So thanks for the lift.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, sure.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'll see you tonight, right? Absolutely.

[Rainn Wilson]

Okay. Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Whoa. Easy, tiger. I just really like you. Okay, bye, you guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Nice to meet you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Have a great day.

[Caitlin]

Whoa, Toby, watch out. You're gonna violate your own PDA memo.

[Sam]

I wouldn't want to do that, now, would I?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, how about that?

[Jenna Fischer]

It is such a long story. And he's so, like, confident, which is, like, very unlike Toby.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, it's pretty delicious. Oh, and here's an extra piece of trivia. If you watch the new series the Paper, Janine is in the fourth episode and plays the teacher. Yes, it's a great scene. We also got another letter that I thought was fun from Paige S. Who said in the podcast, you mentioned changing the voice on the gps. Jenna said she didn't know you could do this, so I Wanted to let you know about my favorite voices. Growing up, my dad had it set to two different voices that he would switch between. His favorites were Darth Vader and Austin Powers. Darth Vader was a little harder to understand with his heavy breathing. Austin Powers was funny because when you reached your destination, he would say, groovy driving. Yeah. So, Jenna, when choosing your GPS voice, remember that there are more than just voices with accents. There are also character voices.

[Caitlin]

Did you know that, Angela?

[Angela Kinsey]

I did not.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did not either.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, so what is Darth Vader? Is he like, you have reached your destination? I don't know.

[Caitlin]

I mean, it's probably like. It's probably like.

[Angela Kinsey]

But, like, right. Sometimes, like, you need it. You need the person to talk faster. So it's like. It's not like, exit to San Clarita, and I'm like, what?

[Caitlin]

I don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

But now I feel like I need to search this up. If you could have anybody be the voice of your gps, who would you want? I'm trying to think.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think someone with, like, a really velvety voice. You know what I mean? Like, a rich timber voice.

[Jenna Fischer]

Who was I just listening to?

[Caitlin]

Who?

[Jenna Fischer]

I just couldn't get enough of, like, Barry White.

[Angela Kinsey]

If he was telling me to exit the freeway, I'd probably just be like, okay, Barry, I'll exit the freeway.

[Jenna Fischer]

I like Jennifer Lawrence's voice.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

She's got, like, a really lovely voice to listen to. Maybe I'd like her to give me directions.

[Angela Kinsey]

These are two very distinct choices.

[Caitlin]

Mm. Well, Angela, before we go, I thought.

[Jenna Fischer]

Since this is Thanksgiving weekend, this would be a good time to share a little nugget from my digital clutter. It is the storyline for a lost Thanksgiving episode of the Office.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have been so tickled about this. You mentioned it to me, and I'm like, what? Because we always say there wasn't a true Thanksgiving episode of the Office.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. I have been holding onto this for so long. I found an old file with a bunch of story pitches.

[Rainn Wilson]

And.

[Jenna Fischer]

And there was one in the season three file called Thanksgiving. It's pretty wild. Now, just remember, this is just a pitch document. It was never written, but it gives you a glimpse at what our writers would put together.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't wait. Are you gonna read it to us?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Okay, here it is. It is Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. We start in the kitchen, where Angela enters, and no one will talk to her. In a talking head, Phyllis mentions that Angela is suing the company for $8.6 million because Oscar's slap so I guess during season three, before this episode, there was a pitch that for some reason I could not figure out why Oscar was going to have slapped Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

She was probably being a real bitch and he had had it all right.

[Jenna Fischer]

So now we find out that Michael has chosen to ignore this lawsuit. It doesn't name him personally, so it's not his problem. He is also excited because he's going to spend Thanksgiving with Carol. Dwight is nervous because the Schrute Thanksgiving is going to be at Schrute Farms this year. And moreover, he has decided to have his girlfriend meet his family. His girlfriend being Angela. Although he doesn't tell everyone in the office who he means. Well, Michael hears about the shrewd gathering and the document says he shits on it. Michael says, 100 shruts in one barn dork convention. So now Carol comes to see Michael at the office. She says, this is hard, but I think my kids should be with their father on Thanksgiving. So we're driving to Maryland. Michael says, that's going to be awkward. Is Rick going to be okay with me being there? Carol says, no, that's why you're not coming. Then in a talking head, Carol reveals that she's been reconciling with her ex and is essentially calling it off by going there, though Michael doesn't necessarily realize the long term implications of her actions. So now Michael is sad because he has no place to go. Dwight's brother, a doctor from Seattle. And then in parentheses it says who will be played by Paul Feig. Oh. Comes into the office to visit Dwight. Dwight introduces him to Michael and he kind of hits it off with Michael and he invites him to the Shrut pre Thanksgiving dinner that night. Because Thanksgiving is Schrutes. Only Michael considers. But Dwight is nervous about Michael coming because Angela is coming over and there's still a secret.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wait, does Dwight have to choose between Angela and Michael?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, at first, because Dwight says to Angela, can Michael just be there? And Angela says, I don't think it's a good idea because then Michael will know about us and it might hurt my lawsuit. So Dwight is very conflicted, but eventually he feels like, well, my brother Paul invited Michael and I'm gonna honor that. And he's also really excited for Michael to meet his dad. So Michael heads to Dwight's farm. He is confused when he sees Angela there. And Dwight awkwardly covers and says, oh, my girlfriend couldn't make it because she had to go to Kuwait because she's in the army. So I invited Angela. And he makes up some Stupid reason that Michael believes. So they all end up having beet wine and lots of beets. And this meal is generally disgusting is what this document says. Eventually, Dwight introduces Michael to his dad. And his dad instantly dislikes Michael because Michael made a joke about the beets. In a talking head, Dwight's dad says Michael is frivolous and stupid. And Dwight is very upset that his two father figures do not get along. So this whole Thanksgiving sort of sets up tension between Dwight and Angela, Dwight and Michael, and Dwight and his family. So that was that storyline and Angela and Oscar. Yes, this ongoing lawsuit. But there was also a Karen, Jim and Pam storyline for this episode. Karen asked Jim if he wants to go with her to her parents place in Stamford. She said it's totally low key. They just watch football, no big deal. Jim says he thinks it might be too soon to meet her parents. And Karen says, I totally understand. Meanwhile, Pam is in charge of taking all the canned food from the Dunder Mifflin food drive to a homeless shelter. And she asks Jim if he wants to help her and Jim says yes. So he says no to going to Karen's thing, but yes to helping Pam.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

So Pam and Jim head to the shelter, they hand out food and talk. And it's kind of like the old days. But then Jim heads home early because he's decided to go to Stamford the next day to be with Karen after all. And Pam realizes it's actually not like it used to be.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hmm.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that was gonna be that little Thanksgiving love triangle.

[Caitlin]

So there you have it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Look at that. All that stuff, all those ideas. How good were our writers? None of that even got made.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

What a fun, fun pitch.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I wonder how many times they had to break out and work on a pitch and then it never even saw the light of day.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think a lot because clearly there. There was a whole storyline about this slap and this lawsuit that never came to fruition either.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, that's all we got for this week. Please have a very happy Thanksgiving. And on Wednesday, we are going to be re airing our awesome interview with Bryan Cranston for the Office Lady 6.0 episode. And then we'll be back next week with all new episodes.

[Jenna Fischer]

And now Here is your second drink of Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2. I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Caitlin]

We were on the Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office Rewatch podcast just for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

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.

[Caitlin]

We're the office ladies.

[Jenna Fischer]

Happy New Year.

[Angela Kinsey]

Man, oh man. New year. I'm in a new size pants.

[Caitlin]

I really am.

[Angela Kinsey]

I went up a whole pants size. I made some New Year's resolutions, Jenna. And one of them is, I'm going to move more. I'm going to keep it really simple. I'm just going to move more.

[Caitlin]

You know, I did that ang because I felt really creaky when I would wake up in the morning and I didn't like it. I felt like the age in my bones, you know, And I was like, you know, keep it in motion. It's a good thing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I'm just gonna go on more walks. This is my big New Year's resolution. More walking.

[Caitlin]

I think that's good movement, fresh air. It's good for your health in so many ways. Yeah, I'm for this.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't make my resolutions too complicated or it won't happen. So I'm keeping it real simple.

[Caitlin]

Make attainable goals. This is amazing. I'm gonna walk with you.

[Angela Kinsey]

And we're excited to share with you now. Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part two. Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And I have to say it's worth the wait because Michael's going to drive his car into a lake this week.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh. And we have lots to say about it.

[Caitlin]

We do. Let's get started.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's do it.

[Caitlin]

Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 2 Season 4 Episode 4 Written by Mike Schur and directed by Craig Zisk. Here is a summary. Michael tries to show up Ryan and his emphasis on technology by winning back clients with old fashioned customer service and elaborate gift baskets. Along the way, he drives into a lake after misinterpreting the directions from his gps. Also in this episode, Ryan asks Pam to design some logos for Dunder Mifflin Infinity. And then he asks her out. And Angela makes it clear to Dwight that they are done.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, she is not forgiving him.

[Caitlin]

Well, gang, since we did Fast Facts on the first half of this episode and since it is a new year, we thought we should pay a visit to our mailbag and answer some questions.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, it's time to talk to you guys.

[Caitlin]

Well, our first letter came from Jesse S. And she said, hi. I am a hard of hearing person who loves to listen to the podcast, but I do miss some things as I rely on lip reading a lot. I am wondering if transcribing the podcast is an option for other deaf and hard of hearing. Who are fans of the show and would love to be able to interact with the podcast. Well, guys, we do have a transcription for every single episode going back to the pilot, and you can find it on officeladies.com if you go to the episodes and scroll down, there's a little button for transcript.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. You go past the sort of summary of the episode and it's right there, and you can click on it and read the whole thing.

[Caitlin]

This is kind of personal to me, Jessie, because my sister Emily wears hearing aids and she also relies on lip reading. And so I know that sometimes being able to both listen and read along is really helpful for her. And also, like, when I go to her house, she always has the closed caption on her tv. So we definitely, definitely want the podcast to be accessible to everyone. So, guys, if there's any other ways we can make it more accessible, let us know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And in the meantime, go to officeladies.com and go to each episode and scroll down. And the transcript is right there. And we have a team here at Earwolf that helps us with that and we so appreciate it. All right, well, our next question, Jenna, comes from Julie Weiss, and she says, I have a question about kissing the other actors. How do you prep for kissing someone that you were friends with but not romantically involved with? Was it ever awkward? Oh, Julie, Julie, it's always awkward. It's always awkward. And thank goodness, over the years, though, you. You do become such good friends that it's just like, okay, well, we'll just do this really quickly. But something that made it difficult for me, which maybe you wouldn't think about, is that I often had to kiss Rainn Wilson. And for whatever reason, he was usually eating something disgusting right beforehand. And I'd be like, rainn, dang it. Do you have to eat a tuna fish sandwich right before we're supposed to kiss?

[Caitlin]

Come on. Yeah, I remember he would always be like downing a cup of coffee in an everything bagel.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

And he'd be like, I'm ready for my kissing scene. And you would be like, rain, a mint. Can you do something?

[Angela Kinsey]

Anything at this point. Just not the everything bagel, you know? My God.

[Caitlin]

Well, at least for me, John was always very conscientious. He would have a mint.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you.

[Caitlin]

Some gum.

[Angela Kinsey]

A mint. Rainn Wilson, a mint.

[Caitlin]

We were very breath aware.

[Angela Kinsey]

Rain, Rain, not so much. Also, Julie, we didn't do the big open mouth stuff that maybe you see in movies and whatnot. This was like television comedy. Kissing is very different than Like a dramatic movie make out. You know, it's. Your lips are kind of just together. You know, you kind of fake it.

[Caitlin]

Fakey kiss. Fakey bag. Well, our next question comes from Jessica Willis. I've always been curious, how much ADR did you have to typically do for your episodes? I've noticed that in some episodes, you see characters remove a mic pack and the audio goes black. It's such a real cool detail and a reference to the documentary. So how much original audio did you use and how much was rerecorded after filming?

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, lady, my memory is we did not do a lot of adr. I mean, I have one memory of the whole nine years of going in to do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

In the entire nine years, I only recorded one line that they had to dub in later. One in nine years. And I thought that's how it worked.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And when I went on other jobs. Part of your job is you go in a studio every week and you dub lines that got missed or that maybe a plane flew over your head or there was a sound problem and they dump it in. And I'd spend maybe 30 minutes an hour just doing that on other shows, but on our show, we did not.

[Angela Kinsey]

And why is that, Jenna? Because same. All the other projects I've gone on, you have like an ADR day where you go in. But on the Office, I only did ADR once, and it was for the finale. And I got to see footage of the finale before it aired, before anyone saw it, because I went in and had to loop one line. And it was because we were outside and, you know, we had that storm coming in, and they just needed me to loop a line. And I even took a picture in the ADR booth because I'd never been in there.

[Caitlin]

You know, first of all, our sound engineers were Emmy award winning. They won Emmys for their sound design on our show. They're just amazing. But they also had a mic pack on every single actor. We had two boom operators in the room, and they hid microphones throughout the office. I had one at reception.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah. We had a microphone in the accounting pod, and they put it next to Oscar's phone so it would sort of pick up the three of us, you know?

[Caitlin]

Mm. But I also remember I would often see our boom operators and camera operators having little pow wows because they would have to choreograph the boom swing with the camera swing so that they could pick up the sound. And it was this crafted dance that they did. And it's. It's really amazing. And I'm. I'm actually glad that Jessica wrote in because it gives us a chance to really shout out our sound department, which was incredible.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our main guys that were with us on the stage were Ben Patrick.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Caitlin]

He was our main, like, production sound mixer, sound editor. And we had our two boom operators. Nick Carbone.

[Angela Kinsey]

Don't get carboned.

[Caitlin]

Don't get carboned. And Brian Whittle. Brian Whittle would be the inspiration for the boom operator that we see later in the scene.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. But then we also had, like, a mixing department, and we had other boom operators and people that would rotate in. We just had a really amazing sound team.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, they were great. Well, we have one more question. This one is from Alicia W. She asked in the talking heads, where the camera is facing into the office. Stanley is almost always in the background. Would Leslie David Baker have to stay in the background the whole time they filmed talking heads, or was that background edited in? Oh, Alicia. He had to sit there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

For nine years.

[Angela Kinsey]

Poor Leslie David Baker. He was always in the background. He was always there. You could see him at his desk. And he was such a trooper when people had talking heads. When we had a long day of them, he'd sit there.

[Caitlin]

Yep. And sometimes Phyllis would have to sit there, and sometimes Creed as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

And early on, they would have people there designated to cross. Like, you might see someone, like, cross to the kitchen or cross back. We abandoned that after a couple of seasons. I think if you look at early season talking heads, you see crosses in the background. And then at a certain point, people are like, I think. I'm thinking, no, I think I'm not gonna go to the kitchen and back to get a cup of coffee for two hours.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. I don't. Also, I think they were a little distracting because I know I did a cross one time, and they had me cross really close to the conference room, that cabinet that was there. And then they're like, no. And then they had me cross in the back. But I think ultimately they were just like, okay, no, no crossing.

[Caitlin]

Well, also, if you wanted to improv, it would throw off the timing of the cross.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And so you would. When you went into editing, it did not work for crosses. It just worked to have poor Leslie at his desk.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. As a constant Leslie. And then Creed. I think Creed would be the number two runner up for that.

[Caitlin]

I think so, too.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then before we go to break, we just got a really nice comment, and it made us happy, so we thought we'd share it. It is from Cecilia B. And she says, ladies, I have to tell you, you two are amazing. Thank you, Cecilia. I finally got the courage to ask for our changes at work, and all I kept hearing was both of you ladies in my head saying, just go for it. Ask for what you want. And I'm so happy that I listened to you ladies. Now I get to have an extra hour with my daughters. I'm a single mom, and every second with them counts. Thank you, ladies.

[Caitlin]

Well, that makes me so happy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Aw.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Cecilia, that makes us so happy to hear. And what? Oh, Sam is waving at me. Jenna, before we go to break, Sam, what do you got?

[Sam]

I wanted to let you guys know on the Office Ladies podcast fan page, I know you guys aren't on Facebook.

[Angela Kinsey]

We've heard of this, though, Jenna. Yes, people have shared with us. So. Hi, you guys. Hello.

[Sam]

There is a whole thread of people agreeing with Cecilia that had similar experiences. There's a woman named Naomi Timmer who went in and told her boss she deserved more money after listening to that episode and got a raise. And then there's a whole thread of people underneath it who realized that they had been operating the same way, negotiating themselves down before they went in the interview, who are not going to do it anymore.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh. That is so great. I love that you're all sharing about it, too.

[Caitlin]

I love that so much. It's awesome.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I feel like I should give.

[Caitlin]

A shout out to the person who gave me this piece of advice. His name is Jeff Ulrich, and ever since he told me this, it has really resonated with me. I've been like, oh, my gosh. I've been negotiating with myself for less than I deserve my whole life. So this is a new piece of advice to me, too. So we're all doing this together, folks.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And, Sam, thanks for sharing that. And I've been hearing about this Facebook fan group of Office Ladies, and I just. I just love the community you guys are building there. And if I wasn't 100 years old, I don't know how to navigate Facebook. Guys, I tried. It's too. I don't understand it, but it's too many things, too.

[Caitlin]

I have to have just the one. That's the space I'm in.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, I know. Like, between kids and life, I'm like, I can. I can look at one thing, But.

[Jenna Fischer]

I will say someone did point this.

[Caitlin]

Facebook page out to us, because the community that is being built there is really supportive, really encouraging, really positive, and I feel like, especially now, what a great community to have built. It's really cool.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. It means a lot to us. And Sam, you'll have to continue to share with us.

[Sam]

Sounds good.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Caitlin]

Yeah. If you peek in on the group, will you say what it's called again.

[Sam]

Sam, it is simply the Office Ladies podcast fan page.

[Angela Kinsey]

Awesome. Well, we should go to break and get back and get into this episode.

[Caitlin]

Let's do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Do you know what you do not want, especially at the holidays?

[Angela Kinsey]

Tell me.

[Jenna Fischer]

A stinky house.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, I don't want a stinky house. People are coming over.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, but also sometimes you don't want a candle. I have something for you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's called Pura and they are reimagining the future of fragrance. It is a smart home fragrance brand.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

And they're little diffusers, so they put out like a little poof of scent.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, that sounds lovely.

[Caitlin]

And it's not just for your house though. You can put it in your car.

[Jenna Fischer]

It makes a great gift.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right now they have up to 30% off their website from November 20th to the 30th. It is their biggest sale of the year. And it's only for a limited time so you can get all of their premium long lasting single fragrances. You could even do a curated gift set for someone on your holiday list.

[Jenna Fischer]

So head to pura.com to unwrap the savings and upgrade your space just in time for the holidays.

[Angela Kinsey]

Spend less time shopping, more time enjoying. Get set for gifting season [e-mail] this podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. You guys know we love Squarespace. It is the all in one website platform for entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed online. So whether you're just starting starting out, or you're managing a brand that's already growing and off to a great start, Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website that's going to help you engage your audience and sell anything from products to content all in one place. And you can design it on your terms.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was talking to a friend of mine who was revamping her nonprofit website and I was talking to her about Squarespace because you can fundraise directly on your website and you can have like built in donation tools.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's great.

[Jenna Fischer]

I was also telling her that Squarespace makes it really easy to showcase video content on your website.

[Angela Kinsey]

And if you're just starting out, Squarespace makes it really easy to find the best name for your domain.

[Jenna Fischer]

Head to squarespace.com officeladies for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code officeladies to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, everyone, it is that time of year. It is the Black Friday Cyber Monday sales, they're all going on. And you know, some brands, they have sales year long, but Merit only has one and it's right now. So you want to take advantage while you can.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, Merit is a minimalist beauty brand. It makes elevated makeup and skin care. It's designed to make you look like you've put yourself together in just minutes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know, they have so many great bestsellers like the Flesh Balm that gives you that natural, healthy glow without overdoing it. Did you know one was sold every 30 seconds in 2024? That's how good it is.

[Caitlin]

Oh, my gosh. That's kind of crazy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Merit's products are also clean, vegan and cruelty free. And remember, this is the only time of the year they have the sale. So go shop with intention.

[Angela Kinsey]

Merit's annual sale is on now until December 1st. Get 20% off site wide plus a gift with purchase with every order while supplies [e-mail] that's M E R I.

[Jenna Fischer]

T beauty.com meritbeauty.com we have a great.

[Angela Kinsey]

Gift idea for you all. If you're looking for a gift for your family, we both have this and we've given it as gifts. It is the aura frame.

[Jenna Fischer]

So here's the cool thing about it. It's a digital photo frame, but multiple people can send pictures to the frame.

[Angela Kinsey]

They can upload at any time.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And it's really fun because we did in our family, we each have an aura frame and we can add photos. So I might be in my office and all of a sudden a new picture of my sister's kids pop up and start cycling through the photos.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

And we can do that to my parents for a limited time.

[Caitlin]

Visit oraframes.com and get $45 off ORA's.

[Jenna Fischer]

Best selling Carver mat frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code OfficeLadies at checkout.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's a U R A frames.com, promo code OfficeLadies. This exclusive black Friday Cyber Monday deal is their best of the year. So order now before it ends.

[Jenna Fischer]

Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, now we're in Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part two. It starts with a scene in the conference room. Right. Michael is showing them all the gift baskets. But Jenna, there was a deleted scene that would have started this part of the Episode.

[Caitlin]

What was it?

[Angela Kinsey]

I loved it. I found it fascinating. And it's an alt. They ultimately end up providing this information with Dwight later. But there was a scene with Michael by himself, and it's the start of his day, and he's driving into work. He's doing one of those driving talking heads that Michael does, right?

[Caitlin]

Oh, well, the last time he did that, it was very dangerous.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know, I know.

[Caitlin]

He hit an employee.

[Angela Kinsey]

He did. So it's the same thing. He's driving into work, and he's sort of showing off his rental car. It looks like a Ford Taurus. I see Ford. I think Taurus. I don't know, guys. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. But we learn the whole backstory why he's not driving the Sebring. Michael said he had to get a rental car because his Sebring is in the body shop because Meredith left a big dent in the hood. And then he said, but listen, this rental has navigation. And Michael calls it his invisible driving companion.

[Caitlin]

Aw.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he goes, but, you know, listen, it is really amazing. And it's like a computerized map in your car. And he goes on to say that he loves its voice, that he finds it so soothing. It's like taking a warm bath. And while he's saying how much he loves the voice, Jan calls. And this is what we hear. Sam, will you play that? Oh, oh, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

[Caitlin]

Ah. It is my lady love.

[Angela Kinsey]

Smello.

[Caitlin]

Where the are my grape Nuts? I don't. I just want to know. Did you eat my grape Nuts?

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[Caitlin]

I hate those things. Grow up, Michael.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love.

[Rainn Wilson]

Not a morning person.

[Caitlin]

No.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then after that, he sits in the car in silence, and he just hits the navigation button. So it just keeps talking to him. You have arrived. You have. It's like he just needs something soothing. Oh, lady.

[Caitlin]

Oh, wow. Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Just a window into his life with Jan. And maybe a little bit of the reason why he trusts the navigation so much, because it's just this soothing, invisible driving companion.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, I get that.

[Angela Kinsey]

So, yes, this episode actually does start with the conference room. Jenna, did you see the spread on that table?

[Caitlin]

It was incredible. I remember it from shooting. They had excellent, excellent little snacks and treats.

[Angela Kinsey]

Excellent. In fact, Michael says that he got the finest gourmet items that Scranton has to offer. How much did this all cost?

[Caitlin]

I love every time you ask that question. You are personally fascinated by how Michael funds all of his extracurriculars. And it's such a good question to ask. This is where Angela Martin, the accountant character bleeds into your real personality.

[Angela Kinsey]

It is because, let me tell you, those baskets were not cheap. Look at those baskets. I love baskets. My husband says my nickname should be baskets. I have a basket problem. If I see a basket, I'm going to buy it. And I'm telling you, those baskets are primo baskets.

[Caitlin]

Angela, I know that you recently did a huge cleanout of your garage.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did.

[Caitlin]

Will you share with us how many baskets were in the garage?

[Angela Kinsey]

37.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, 37. How many did you keep?

[Angela Kinsey]

12. I picked my 12 favorite, and let me tell you, it was hard for me to let go. I donated them to a church in our neighborhood that does outreach, and I was very, very happy that they got my baskets, but it was hard to say goodbye.

[Caitlin]

I felt like when you were leaving me messages about this, I was really proud of you for this progress.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you.

[Caitlin]

With your basket issue.

[Angela Kinsey]

Thank you. Yeah, that's not counting how many baskets I have inside the house that I'm using, though. Like, I have a basket, Jenna, by the fireplace that I roll up and I put blankets in. And then I have a basket in my bedroom that I roll up and put blankets in. Listen, I have a lot of blankets around my house because my husband is a giant mountain man and I'm always freezing. He runs hot. I have baskets of blankets stashed all around. Okay.

[Caitlin]

That is the title of your autobiography, Baskets of blankets by Angela Kinsey with.

[Angela Kinsey]

A side of donuts and a glass of wine. It's a very long title.

[Caitlin]

1 million copies already sold.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep.

[Caitlin]

All right, well, Michael has this talking head where he explains what these baskets are all about. He says, you know, Ryan thinks everything is about emails and IMs. It's all about technology. But he's forgetting about the original instant message, which is a letter attached to a basket of food.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, that's the original. I am, you guys, in case you were wondering.

[Caitlin]

Well, I guess speaking of the cost of these baskets, Dwight is going to turn in receipts for the cost of these gift baskets to Angela.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Who is very, very icy toward him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And before we get into the scene, Jenna, we've brought this up before, but for any of you that missed it, 22 minutes, 53 seconds, you can clearly see on the message board under thus T H U s, thus the following caption. In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of colorful Huey on this board.

[Caitlin]

Well, it's interesting you mentioned that, Angela, because we had several people write in about this whiteboard behind you. Katie, E. Julie Bird and Christopher Neville all said that there's even more stuff on the board now. For example, there is an anger management appreciation day on Tuesday the 23rd.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep.

[Caitlin]

On the 8th, there is an accounting department meeting, and it specifies, be prepared to show your work. And on the 10th, it says Flex times, which, interestingly enough, includes Karen, even though she left. And under the flex times, on the 10th, it says that Ryan will cover reception, even though he now works at corporate.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And what is a flex time?

[Caitlin]

You know, when I worked in admin, you needed to give the front receptionist a break so that that person could go to lunch. And so the other admin desks would rotate in to sit at the desk for lunch. So I was usually the receptionist. And then each day a different admin would take over my lunch hour. Because you couldn't have no one answering front reception or no one greeting guests. So I always assumed that's what it meant, that, like, flextime was who rotated to give Pam her lunch break. But I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I would have loved to seen that scene. I would have loved to seen, like, just a montage of, like, different people answering the phones. Well, yes. So Dwight hands Angela the receipt for all the items in the basket, and she's very icy towards him. Jenna. She just wants it to be business. Just business.

[Caitlin]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he says, I miss you. And she's like, elevators.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And then when they get to the elevators, Angela's making it very clear that it's over. And Dwight is kind of like, okay, okay, I do want to be friends, plus a little extra. Also, I love you.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is one of my favorite things that Dwight ever says to Angela. I have seen this, like, stitched on a pillow. I've seen it on all of these Valentine's items. It's really cute. People have written this to their. Their boyfriend or girlfriend, and they've shared it with me online. But that, plus a little extra also, I love you is so great.

[Caitlin]

I actually broke up with a guy once, and he was like, I get it. Totally cool. Can we still hook up?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And I was like, no, we cannot. That is not breaking up.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And he seemed genuinely confused about it, which makes me laugh because we're now going into the scene with Ryan and Kelly in the break room.

[Angela Kinsey]

What a mess. These two. Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Ryan and Kelly are arguing, and Ryan is like, you lied about being pregnant.

[Angela Kinsey]

You lied.

[Caitlin]

You don't understand why that's a big deal.

[Angela Kinsey]

And Mindy, as Kelly is so good in this. She's like, oh, why? I know.

[Caitlin]

He's like, we will never get back together. And she's like, why not?

[Angela Kinsey]

Why not?

[Caitlin]

It's so good.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's really good. Well, now Pam and Jim are at front reception and they're being super flirty. Yeah, they're flirting. He's saying, you know, oh, is the magic gone now that we're public? And then Pam's being sort of sassy but flirty at the same time.

[Caitlin]

Well, this is their new way of flirting, which is to pretend that they don't like each other or that they're breaking up. So they do this little bit, and this is a little window into how they still have their sense of humor even though they're together. Don't worry, everybody. The magic is not lost.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, the magic isn't lost. We're just all going to have to watch him flirt now. Also, two things from Pam's desk. There is an orange, kind of rust colored ceramic pot with a very sad, tiny plant. You know, because Pam could care less about plants now. Like she ever really cared, but her focus is elsewhere. And then Jenna, Pam and Angela in real life have something in common.

[Caitlin]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

At 24 minutes, 22 seconds, you can see a whole bunch of yellow post it notes that Pam has put in her desk area.

[Caitlin]

Oh, my gosh. Pam did like, post it notes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Pam and Angela, like post it notes?

[Caitlin]

Yep. Yeah, it's true. Yeah, I did a lot of prop post it note work on the show.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know who likes post it notes in real life?

[Caitlin]

You.

[Angela Kinsey]

Me?

[Caitlin]

You love a post it note.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love a post it.

[Caitlin]

Why are you not like some sort of spokesperson for post it notes? I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

I actually did a campaign with post its a few years ago and they sent me a humongous box of every kind of different type of post it you could imagine. And I was over the moon.

[Caitlin]

I did a crazy thing with post it notes. It was early in the run of the office. Wired magazine wanted me to do like a. A nude cover.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

But I wasn't. I wasn't nude. Their pitch was that I was covered in post it notes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And so they built me like a nude bodysuit. And then I came out onto the set in this nude bodysuit. And then like a prop person had to slowly cover me in post it notes. It was super odd. And I was like, I guess this is what you do when your TV show is a hit and they ask you to do the COVID of a magazine. A man covers you in post it notes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jenna, you should have worn it to an award. Show, you would have been all the rage. Remember the lady at the Oscars? She was a wardrobe designer, and she made a whole dress out of American Express cards. Gold cards. Do you remember that?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

You could have shown up in a post it note couture gown.

[Caitlin]

Well, lady, I think we know who needs to show up in a post it note couture gown to something, and it's you. And this is in your future, and it can still happen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God. So Michael is going to unveil his plan, you guys, to win back clients. He makes his big announcement. He's going to be delivering baskets door to door and unannounced.

[Caitlin]

He's not going to warn anyone he's coming.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, yeah.

[Caitlin]

It's a surprise gift basket, everybody.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ryan's not happy. We have a Michael talking head where he's like, you know what? He used to be told he couldn't do things like be on the team or move on to second grade. Jenna, are we finding out in this episode that Michael was held back in first grade?

[Caitlin]

Yeah, I think we are. I think we're learning. Maybe he was held back more than once. It sort of sounds like, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Because then he's like, I eventually went on to second grade, and I was the biggest in the class. Eventually. Again, what happened in Michael's childhood? Why was he healed back in first grade so many times? And now we cut back to the bullpen, and Jenna, people are starting to yell out things, and we have some major Phyllis sass. She says, michael, this is stupid.

[Caitlin]

She just lays it out. Lays it out. Yeah. And then Andy suggests he give away cash instead.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And then he says, angela, cash basket. Cash basket, you guys. Cash Basket became an inside joke for all of us on the office for years and years and years. Every once in a while, there would be some line or some joke that it just struck us as particularly funny in the moment, and we couldn't get over it. And cash basket was one of them. I think, if my memory serves, Angela, there was a take where Ed was maybe late to saying cash basket. And so it came out like this cash basket. And that made John Krasinski lose it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I think it was the very first take, and a few things happened. We hadn't really heard him say it full out, right?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

So it kind of took all of us off guard. And John was, like, right there next to him when Ed was like, cash basket. And we just lost it. But John really. He really lost it.

[Caitlin]

I watched really closely because I was surprised they had a reaction shot of John at all in this scene. Because my memory of doing this scene was that John was on the floor in tears, laughing the entire time because he couldn't get past cash basket.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I did notice, though, because I was looking as well. He kind of is swiveling his chair around and. But he glances back towards Andy, and that is just John looking at Ed. That is not. That is not Jim looking at Andy. He just has this look of like, man, like, this guy is killing me today.

[Caitlin]

Well, after I watched this episode, it really made me want to go to our office text thread and just text cash basket.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, we should. Well, Michael is just like, forget it, guys. I am going. I'm going to do this. And then Dwight begs him, can I please go with you? I need this. And at 26 minutes, 41 seconds, Angela Martin is looking over the partition. She has a really great eye roll. But, guys, look how. How high my head is over that partition. It's not realistic at all, really. And truly, that partition came up to my forehead, and I would have to stand on my tippy toes to get my eyeballs over it. To talk to Jenna, I was standing on the biggest apple box. It made me laugh when I saw it. I'm like, who is this tall person pretending to be me? And I took a picture. Jenna, I'm going to show you.

[Caitlin]

That is amazing. Yes. There is no way that that is you standing there because your chin never cleared the partition.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Caitlin]

Naturally. No, there's no way. Well, I really like this Michael talking head that comes up, Angela, where he says, I'd like to see a website deliver baskets of food to people.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. As if it's like a novelty. Hi. That's like half of Christmas is just sending people baskets. I send everyone in my family a whole thing of mixed nuts. I love nuts. They're a big hit.

[Caitlin]

A basket of mixed nuts. Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

All kinds of mixed nuts, for sure. And there's. I mean, guys, there's many flavors. There's the Cajun nuts. There's pecans or the caramelized ones. Just saying, Michael, people are doing it.

[Caitlin]

Well, Michael is going to bring Dwight with him, and they're going to deliver these gift baskets. And they are in the car now. They're on their way. Here's one question I have, Ang.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

These gift baskets are very, very large.

[Angela Kinsey]

Where are they?

[Caitlin]

Where are they? Are they going back and forth to Dunder Mifflin?

[Angela Kinsey]

It looks like there's one in the backseat.

[Caitlin]

Well, there's a camera operator in the backseat. Clearly filming them. It seems like there's only room for one more, but we're going to see them deliver a few. Where are they coming from? Can one fit in the trunk? I don't know. I wondered where the basket.

[Angela Kinsey]

How big is the trunk of a Ford Taurus?

[Caitlin]

That's a question.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's a question. Well, I have a thing I'm curious about. So Michael and Dwight are in the car. They're driving. The GPS starts talking to them. By the way, it looks like a Garmin. I remember because I had one for a while just saying, okay. And Dwight's like, why do you use that? It'll let them know where you are. Michael's like, what are you talking about? And he's like, the government, spy satellites, private detectives, ex girlfriends. And then he starts to cry, and Michael has no reaction.

[Caitlin]

Wouldn't you be like, why are you crying?

[Angela Kinsey]

What is happening?

[Caitlin]

Yeah, dudes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dudes. Not like dudes out there. If your friend cries, are you not like, what's up? Are you just like, I'm gonna ignore it. Maybe he'll stop. Like, what is that? Is that a. Is that a dude bro thing? I don't know.

[Caitlin]

Well, we had a fan question about this scene. Callie Hendrix and Brendan Cullinan asked, how did you guys do the GPS voicing? Was it a voice actor? And if so, who voiced it? Yes, it was. It was a voice actor. It was an actress named Lynn Ann Zager. And we just hired her, and she read all the GPS voice stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, she did great. She sounds like the real deal.

[Caitlin]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jenna. My friend Micah, you know, he's from Australia, and he set his GPS to the Aussie. The Aussie lady. So she's like, oh, take a right.

[Caitlin]

No, you can do this.

[Angela Kinsey]

You can. You can have, like. I know you can have British, but he picked the Australian.

[Caitlin]

Oh, I kind of want to do this now.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, I know. Is it great exit for Studio City?

[Caitlin]

Oh, my God. I kind of love that. You know, there's this app, this meditation app called Headspace. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. And you can choose between either a male or a female, I guess meditation leader voice. I don't know what to call them, but they lead you through the meditation, and you can pick a man or a woman, and the man sounds exactly like our earwolf producer, Colin.

[Angela Kinsey]

Really?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

To the point where I had to change to the woman. Because as much as I love Colin's voice, I felt like I was like. I was like, why is Colin, who talks to me about download numbers and ad sales, leading me through my meditation right now. It's really funny.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jenna, what if we did navigation for people?

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Angela Kinsey]

What would that sound like?

[Caitlin]

It would sound like this. Lady, take a right. You are at your destination. I love it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, that's really good. All right, we should get back to the episode. Oh, man, oh, man. I loved the scene. It's in the kitchen, and Ryan is trying to impress Andy and Kevin about his life in New York City. And he's like, yeah, at 2:00am you know, I went to get a sandwich, because you can get a sandwich at 2am in New York City. He literally bumps into Vince Vaughn. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Caitlin]

It's incredible. And Andy says, you are so money, but you don't even know it.

[Angela Kinsey]

But you do know it.

[Caitlin]

And that was a quote from the movie Swingers.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Do you remember that movie? It was from 1996.

[Angela Kinsey]

How could I forget that movie? It was like all of my friends were struggling actors. We were all broke and doing all these different odd jobs to pay rent while trying to go on auditions. And it was like this movie we, like, felt seen. We're like, this is us.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Caitlin]

It totally encapsulated the sort of, like, young LA transplant lifestyle. And it was written by Jon Favreau and stars Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston. Yes. Directed by Doug Lyman. It launched all of their careers. And I remember this. It features that club, the Dresden.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Do you remember the Dresden? It was this big swing dance club.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very hipster. Hipster club. Yeah. Well, here are the things. I have to read this off because it really got me tickled. You know, Jim is like, I can't believe you guys are impressed with this guy. You know, he's like, whatever with ryan and his 2:00am sandwich.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know?

[Angela Kinsey]

And Andy's like, listen, this is why Ryan is awesome. Are you ready?

[Caitlin]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Number one, killer job. Number two, he's rich. Number three, smells like Pierce Brosnan. Number four, wears really cool rich guy clothes. Number five, can get any girl he wants.

[Caitlin]

We'll see.

[Angela Kinsey]

We'll see.

[Caitlin]

Well, now Michael and Dwight arrive to their first client. They're gonna woo him back with their big gift basket. He is confused why they've come. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also he's like, you don't have a website. We went with Office Depot because they have a really good website. Like, what? I don't know why you're here.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, It's a very funny scene. The actor who plays the client is named Edward James Gage, who in addition to numerous acting roles, also spent 13 years as a real life private eye, bounty hunter and bodyguard, according to his bio on IMDb.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, well, that's a pretty interesting resume there.

[Caitlin]

Well, I have a question about this scene.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm.

[Caitlin]

I was a little confused what this business was. So the character's name is Larry, the client's name is Larry, and if you look over his shoulder, what is the crazy machine behind him? I. I've never seen anything like it. What is it? I don't know. And then it got me wondering. What is this company? Where have they gone? Do we ever find out? It was. It bothered me. It was a big mystery for me.

[Angela Kinsey]

It did not bother me, but.

[Caitlin]

Didn't bother you? Didn't occur to you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now I guess I have to go back and look at this machine.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, check it out.

[Caitlin]

What is it? I. There must be someone out there who knows what it is. They're gonna be like, oh, they make widgets for plastic airplanes. Like, it'll be obvious to someone and I'd love to know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, me too. Me too. Well, back at Dunder Mifflin, Ryan is gonna do a real skeezy boss move. He's going to go up to Pam and be like, hey, do you want to do some mock ups of the new, you know, Dunder Mifflin infinity graphic? And she's really excited. Her and Jim do an air high five. And then you have a very adorable talking head, Jenna. I literally wrote, she's adorable.

[Caitlin]

Aw, thanks.

[Angela Kinsey]

We were just like, yeah, I'm going to do some mock ups. Maybe a splash frame. It's really cute. But you're excited.

[Caitlin]

Well, Michael is going to deliver his second basket now.

[Angela Kinsey]

Second basket.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jenna Fischer]

And this is where Michael is.

[Caitlin]

So great. I have to say Michael's argument that the personal touch means something. He walks in, he asks about the client's 11 year old daughter, Emily.

[Angela Kinsey]

He remembered her name. He remembered she had a nut allergy.

[Caitlin]

I mean, yeah. Impressive and genuine.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

But then he has that line that breaks your heart.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I know. I know what you're gonna say.

[Caitlin]

Yeah. He says, well, I have a few of my own. I want someday.

[Angela Kinsey]

Talking about kids. Yeah. Yeah, Michael.

[Caitlin]

Well, the client's name is Aaron Grandy. He is a partner in this law firm and he was played by Kevin Dorff. Kevin Dorff has had recurring roles on Brooklyn Nine Nine and Arrested Development. But most recently, he played Bill O'Reilly in the movie Bombshell. And I loved that movie.

[Angela Kinsey]

I haven't seen it. Is it Bombshell? Is it a war movie? Is it, like, Bomb?

[Caitlin]

No, lady, it's not a warmie. It's a little bit of a war movie because there are a couple of women who take on a movement, I guess you could say. It's. It's this amazing film. It basically centers around Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson and their time at Fox News.

[Angela Kinsey]

They were their news anchors.

[Caitlin]

News anchors at Fox News. Or were. And Kevin dorff plays Bill O'Reilly in this movie. Oh, wow. It's so good. Angela and the makeup department on this film won an Academy Award. And the transformation that they do to make people look like the real people, like Charlize Theron plays Megan Kelly. She really, really looks like her. Like, it freaked me out. I once shared a train with Megyn Kelly. I didn't speak to her, but I sat right across from her on a train from New York to Washington, D.C. and so I. I've seen her in real life as well. And I'm telling you, what this makeup department did was I've never seen anything like it. But also, the movie is amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, well, Jenna, I'll add Bombshell to my queue.

[Caitlin]

Please do. And we'll discuss after.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. And how cool that. How cool that Kevin has a part in it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. I also want to say in this.

[Caitlin]

Scene, though, the background acting behind the glass doors over the client's shoulder, you get a glimpse at the law firm. It is hustle and bustle in there. There is so much going on. I mean, the background work is phenomenal.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're moving. They're moving. And they're making it. They're making it.

[Caitlin]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Michael's really trying hard. He wants this client back. He says, we want you back. And Dwight starts getting a little weird because he's just thinking about Angela. And he goes, we had our chance, and we killed it. And you just have this feeling that this is not going to go well for them.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, well, it's definitely not going to go well because the big moment is about to happen. I think we should take a break.

[Angela Kinsey]

I like how you're setting this up, though. The big moment is about to happen.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a big moment.

[Caitlin]

It was a big stunt.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hey, it's not every day you drive a car into a lake, guys. And we're going to tell you all about it after this break.

[Jenna Fischer]

So, lady, you know that during the pandemic, I converted my guest bedroom into an office. Well, now I'm going to convert it back into a guest bedroom. And I'm going to need a great mattress. And you just got one, so tell everybody about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Guys, we got a Leesa mattress. L E E S A. I am delighted to tell you about this mattress because I look forward to laying on it.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is messages you've left me.

[Angela Kinsey]

I got the legend chill hybrid mattress, lady. It pulls heat away from your body.

[Jenna Fischer]

I want something that pulls the heat away from my body.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's got this cushiony and cool billowy quilt top that is infused with phase change fibers that quickly pull heat away from your body.

[Jenna Fischer]

Go to Leesa.com for 30% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code office ladies. Except exclusive for our listeners.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's L E-E-S a.com promo code officeladies for 30% off mattresses, plus an extra $50 off.

[Jenna Fischer]

Support our show and let them know we sent you after checkout Lisa.com promo code OfficeLadies lady, our best friendship has gone to a new place. You loved your cozy sofa sleeper. So much that I now have one. I know. You influenced me.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did. We are now BFFs that add it to our list. We have the same sofa.

[Jenna Fischer]

We do. I got mine in the green color, though, and I love it, lady. I also got one of their rugs. You know they have rugs.

[Angela Kinsey]

I got a rug, too.

[Jenna Fischer]

And it's washable.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And it came with that pad that makes it so soft.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. Well, I haven't shared this before, but when we were potty training Maggie, we crated her in my office and she would pee on my rug. And now that's the one place that she would always go.

[Caitlin]

So I got rid of that rug.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I now have my cozy rug, which is now washable. I'm very excited.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Cozy makes furnishing your home easy. By furnishing your home with cozy, you don't just get your dream living space, but endless possibilities and peace of mind.

[Angela Kinsey]

Transform your living space today with cozy. Visit c o z e-y.com Cozy, the home of possibilities made easy.

[Jenna Fischer]

The holidays are coming up. That means a lot of people travel.

[Caitlin]

Over the holidays, right?

[Angela Kinsey]

A lot. I mean, Thanksgiving is the most traveled holiday in the United States. I believe. I believe that.

[Caitlin]

I believe that is true. Yes. Okay, well, how about this idea?

[Jenna Fischer]

While you're away, why don't you host your place on Airbnb and make some moolah?

[Angela Kinsey]

And then also you're going to have some money for holiday shopping. How about that?

[Caitlin]

I like how you transitioned that into Shopping lady.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, here is who this is a perfect fit for. If you're someone who travels frequently, if you have extra space, maybe you're someone that has a seasonal home, or maybe you always go away at the same time of year for like a family tradition or work event. This is a practical way to earn money. While you're doing all those things, your.

[Jenna Fischer]

Home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb, lady. I think there's something weirdly therapeutic about getting fresh socks. Brand new socks.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Nice, good socks.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's such a treat. It's a nice thing to do for yourself. And I think the best socks are Bombas socks. I asked for Bombus socks for Christmas. My. My father in law said, what do you want for Christmas? I said, I want Bombus socks.

[Caitlin]

Like every year.

[Jenna Fischer]

Just get me fresh Bombus socks. And he does now.

[Caitlin]

Every year that's what I get.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I absolutely love it.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're my daughter and I's favorite. I just ordered a two pack. I got her one and me one of the women's modern ribbed ankle sock. You can get it in an eight pack. I love them. I wear them all the time and so does she. But I have to share one other thing that I put. I put it on my Christmas list. What? Okay. Did you know that Bombas is making slippers now?

[Caitlin]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, lady, did you see them? They're so cute.

[Caitlin]

Yep, I did.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I just love this company because.

[Caitlin]

For every pair of Bombas that you.

[Jenna Fischer]

Purchase, Bombas donates one to someone facing homelessness on your behalf.

[Angela Kinsey]

We love Bombas. You guys head over to bombas.comofficeladies and use code officeladies for 20% off your first purchase.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's B O M B A S.com officeladies.

[Caitlin]

Use code officeladies at checkout.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, we are back. Jenna and I are really excited because we have fun stuff to share with you about this car going into the lake. So here's the scene. Dwight says they have one more client. It's Elmhurst Country Club. I looked it up, Jenna. Elmhurst Country Club is in Moscow, Pennsylvania. Oh, in Lackawanna County. Okay, so they're following the GPS and it's telling them to take a right. And Dwight is like, michael, I think it means bear. Right, Right. And Michael's like, no, it's telling me to take a hard right. And Dwight's like, no, Michael, that's the lake. It's Lake Scranton. And Michael's like, no, it's the GPS Is telling me.

[Caitlin]

And he drives into the lake.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right into the lake.

[Caitlin]

Well, we got a lot of mail about this scene. David B, Rachel K. Rob Holland, Thomas o' Brien, and many others all asked. Please tell us everything you can about the scene where Steve and Rain drive into the lake. Did they really drive a car into the lake? Was there a camera operator in the back seat?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, folks, let's break it down. But yes to all of that.

[Caitlin]

Well, I started by reaching out to Steve, and he said, yes, they really drove a real car into a real lake. He said they did the stunt twice all the way through, and that Randall, our camera operator, was in the backseat. So, of course, Angela, I had to reach out to Randall.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh. Oh. What did he say?

[Caitlin]

Well, first of all, do you know where he was when I reached out to him?

[Angela Kinsey]

Listen, knowing Randall, I mean, was he on horseback somewhere? The guy is an adventure guy. Was he skydiving? Where was he?

[Caitlin]

He was just finishing up a river rafting trip in Idaho on a freezing cold lake. Of course.

[Angela Kinsey]

Of course.

[Caitlin]

But because Randall is awesome, he still broke down the whole stunt for me, which is completely fascinating.

[Angela Kinsey]

From Idaho, from.

[Caitlin]

On his drive home from Idaho from the freezing cold lake. When I first reached out to him, he literally said, I'm just getting out of a lake, which was ironic. Perfect, but I'll call you. On my drive home, I was like, all right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Amazing.

[Caitlin]

Great. All right. So he says, first off, they did not actually drive the car into the lake. They put the car on a system that pulled it into the lake and stopped it at a certain depth. So there was a rig to make it look like they were driving into a lake.

[Angela Kinsey]

So it was on some type of track pulley thing. Yes. Okay.

[Caitlin]

And he said they did this because they needed to control how much water flooded into the car.

[Angela Kinsey]

Makes sense. Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Yes. He said the car actually didn't even have an engine. They had to take it out. It didn't have a gas tank. It didn't have any oil. All of that was removed to submerge it in water. I found that interesting.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

But he told me he really was scrunched in the backseat with a giant gift basket next to him. So he said at first, they discussed just filming it on lipstick cameras that were in the visors. You know, we've seen them do that before. But Randall felt very strongly that it should be shot using the handheld camera from the back seat. So he kind of fought for that.

[Angela Kinsey]

And is that because it just. The look of it would be better. You would really feel that water coming in. Because it's just a better camera.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And you can't pan the lipstick cameras. They're just like a.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're stationary. They only get that one little window that you're seeing. Whereas Randall, with a handheld camera, could get the whole view.

[Caitlin]

Yes, exactly. He said that the camera that he was using, it cost upwards of $130,000.

[Angela Kinsey]

Holy cow.

[Caitlin]

And he could not get it wet. He was told, you cannot ruin this camera. And they put some kind of, like, protective housing on it. But he said he still had to, like, lift his butt off the back seat to keep the camera from dipping into the water.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God. No pressure. Also, Randall, I mean, he's a big guy and he's scrunched in the back of this Ford Taurus with a gift basket and a camera that costs, like. I mean, my God, it's like as.

[Jenna Fischer]

Much as a house.

[Angela Kinsey]

A house. He's holding a house.

[Caitlin]

Yes, he's holding a house, basically.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dang.

[Caitlin]

He told me that for sound purposes, they had a wire on both Steve and Rayn, and they used these waterproof mic packs called the Countrymen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, well.

[Caitlin]

Which Randall knew about from Survivor because, remember, he spent all that time on Survivor.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

He said they also put mics in the visors and they had boom operators standing outside of the car in water.

[Angela Kinsey]

So our boom guys were, like, in, like, those, like, rubber pants in the water?

[Caitlin]

Yes, yes. Randall confirmed that they did three takes, but they were losing daylight on the last one. And he's pretty certain that we used the first take because everybody's reactions to hitting the water were just so pure.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And he said that there are only two cut points in the scene. So the first cut point is when the camera pans down to the gps. That's when they cut into the car being on the rig. I mean, you can't even tell. It's seamless. I watched it, like, five times, and I couldn't figure out.

[Angela Kinsey]

They did a great job how they did it.

[Caitlin]

And he said, and then after that point, it is all one shot until you see the shot of the basket floating in the water. And that's when they cut away and they reset to get all the stuff of Michael and Dwight crawling out of the lake. But all of that commotion of getting out of the car and, like, Steve hanging on to the passenger side window and opening the door, that was all one take. And that was what Randall was fighting for. He was saying lipstick cams could have never, ever captured that. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have a question. As Steve Is making his way out, and he's clinging onto the side of the car. He opens the back passenger door. And was that to let Randall out?

[Caitlin]

Well, we had a lot of people write in about that. They said, is Michael trying to save the camera operator or the gift basket?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

And I asked Randall, and Randall said my instinct would be the gift basket. He's like, I never thought that Michael was opening the door for me, But I thought, it's funny, I gave credit to Michael. I thought Michael was trying to free the camera operator.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Well, at 35 minutes, 17 seconds, there is a absolutely perfect shot of our camera operator's shadow across the lake.

[Caitlin]

I saw that too. I was surprised. I didn't see boom mic shadows. I was looking for boom shadows shadows, and I didn't see them. I was impressed.

[Angela Kinsey]

But yes, the camera operator shadow is there. Well, Jenna, I reached out to Rain because I was like, rain, what was it like driving into the lake? I texted him and he sent us an audio clip. Sam, can you play it?

[Rainn Wilson]

Hi, office ladies. It's me, Rain. Angela called and asked me if I had any memories about driving into the lake. And my main fear wasn't like, drowning or the car or anything like that. It was kind of like, this water is not the cleanest and there's all these houses all over the place. And I just knew it was pretty sewagey. And I was just really afraid of like an eye infection or something like that. It was like, kind of. Kind of eerily warm. The water was not cold at all. But it was super fun. I mean, I love a chance to do a stunt. I was really excited to be a part of it. And I mean, how often do you get to kind of drive your car into a lake? It was fantastic. So much fun to shoot. And I wish I had more specifics, but it was just one of those kind of days where you're kind of like, wow, this is what I do for a living today. Playing a fictional weirdo and driving my car into a lake. And with Steve Carell, I mean, it was pretty. It was pretty great. Okay, I love you. Goodbye.

[Angela Kinsey]

I love that Rain's biggest concern was getting pink eye. Yeah, don't. I don't want to get a sty today, guys. Not today.

[Caitlin]

I would have had so many concerns doing this stunt.

[Angela Kinsey]

It did kind of gross me out that he said the water was oddly warm. And you have to remember we filmed this at Malibu lake. And that is a man made lake. So there isn't, like anything flowing into it. You know, it is probably a little stagnant. Well, I have to point something out. When the tow truck pulls the car out, Jenna, the passenger door is shut, but Michael opened it.

[Caitlin]

Oh, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then the other thing I was thinking about was, did Michael and Dwight just happen to have their windows down? Because they climb out through their windows. I'm like, were they driving around with their windows down? So there are little moments like that that were just sort of like. I was like, huh. Okay, guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, when I was emailing with Steve.

[Caitlin]

About this scene, Angela, he reminded me that we got a lot of pushback after this episode aired because of this moment. He said people kind of thought it was a little over the top, that it was unrealistic that someone would follow their GPS into a lake.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, people were like, no way. That would never happen.

[Caitlin]

But he told me that the writers based this on a series of real life incidents of people following their GPS into perilous situations. Situations. So I reached out to Greg and he said this was a pitch by Jen Salata. So of course I had to follow this trail. I reached out to Jen.

[Angela Kinsey]

What did Jen say?

[Caitlin]

She said during the hiatus before season four, she went home to visit her parents in Maryland and she was sitting in the back seat of their brand new minivan. She specified it was a Honda Odyssey see minivan. She picked up the owner's manual and was reading about the minivan's GPS system. She said that on the very first page of the manual, there was a warning that said, do not drive your car into any bodies of water even if the GPS tells you to. And Jen was like, what?

[Jenna Fischer]

Who would do that?

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, Honda had to put that in there because someone had done it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

And she was like, wait a second. You know who would do that? Michael Scott would do that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, he would.

[Caitlin]

So she said before she pitched it because she was a little worried it was too crazy of an idea. She researched this phenomenon and she said there were so many cases of people doing things like driving their cars off of a cliff or into water because their GPS told them to. She said usually it was a case where like, maybe there was a bridge somewhere and it had been taken down and the GPS didn't know and it told you to drive across a bridge that didn't exist. But anyway, she brought it into the room and she pitched it and she showed all of her evidence for why this could really happen and it made it into the episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, it's fantastic. And you guys, she is right because I googled it as well. There are so many stories online of people driving their cars into things because the GPS told them to. Here of all of them that I read, and there were so many, I couldn't read them all. Here are two examples just to show you. Okay, okay, okay. In 2009, Robert Jones was using his navigation in West Yorkshire, England. And the road began to down slow, steepen and narrow. But it kept telling him to keep going. It kept insisting the path was the road, he later explained. So he trusted it. Jones only realized how wrong he was when his car bumped up against a thin wire fence just inches from a 100 foot drop. The car was taking him on the edge. Like, the edge. There was no road. He managed to get out safely, but the car remained balanced on the edge. It took a recovery team nine hours to haul the car away.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my God.

[Angela Kinsey]

So this wasn't a road. It just was slowly, like. It was like a road that, like, narrowed into this, you know, hill.

[Caitlin]

It was like a cliffside.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. And then here's this. In 2011, three women were visiting Bellevue, Washington, and they were out after midnight, and they were unable to find their hotel. So they asked gps. Right. That seems like a normal thing to do. GPS rerouted them and took them on what they thought was a road that would lead them to the highway. Instead, their SUV ended up sinking into deep water. The road turned out to be a boat launch. Oh, my God. Yes. And the water was a lake. All three managed to get out safely, but by the time the tow truck arrived, the SUV was completely, completely submerged. Quote from the. And this is. The local fireman in Bellevue, Washington, was quoted as saying this. We've seen sitcom parodies of something like this, but to actually see it is surprising.

[Caitlin]

Oh, I'm sure they were referring to our show.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think so.

[Caitlin]

You know, when Lee and I were first dating, we went to France. This was our first big trip together as a couple. Oh, that sounds so fun.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Caitlin]

And we drove through the French countryside and we. We rented a car, but the GPS was in French. We weren't thinking. Well, we've discussed, Angela, that I know a little bit of French, you know.

[Angela Kinsey]

A handful of French.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I say to Lee, I'll translate it.

[Angela Kinsey]

This sounds like your first fight as a couple about to happen. Honey, I'll translate the navigation. In a foreign country where you're driving and you've never driven here before.

[Caitlin]

Well, the problem was that it would take me a second to realize what the directions were. And so there was this one turn where it would be like Turner Adoit. And I would be like, turn right, turn right. But I was behind and we missed the turn. So Lee did this huge circle around.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

To get us back to this spot. And the person would be like, terne adoit. And I'd be like, right, right, right. It's turn right. We missed that turn like four times because of my lag in translating properly. But it was more than. She wasn't just saying that. She was like lots of French and names of streets and somewhere embedded in there would be like, tourne adoit. And I'd be like, right, I think. Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

I feel like if it was you and I in the car and I'm driving and you're doing that, I'd be like the. The real southerner in me would come out like, did she say aard what?

[Caitlin]

Or not?

[Angela Kinsey]

Am I doing a white?

[Caitlin]

Well, you know, Lee, Angela. And he is the most level person on the planet, this man.

[Angela Kinsey]

Guys. He is so well tempered. He's so good natured, like unshakable. Unshakable.

[Caitlin]

Well, after the fourth time of me missing terne adwod, he just goes, well, what the. And I was like, oh, my God, I broke him.

[Angela Kinsey]

I broke like the first time you ever heard him curse. Yes.

[Caitlin]

He was just. I was like, oh, my God, does he still love me after France? But actually we laughed so hard about it for that very reason.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

I was like, oh my God, I broke you in France. We laughed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you didn't break them. The navigation lady broke them.

[Caitlin]

Oh, my gosh. Guys, if you ever traveled to a foreign country and you're thinking you'll just rely on your gps, you have to request the language.

[Angela Kinsey]

Listen, I won't take us down that road. But Josh and I had a fight in Scotland where he had to be driving on the other side of the road trying to do a. And now for a roundabout was like, I can't.

[Caitlin]

Anyway, roundabouts are so great though. They really are so smart. We should have roundabouts in this country. They are wonderful inventions. They're overwhelming at first because they are very foreign to us as American drivers, but truly they are a wonderful way to control the world flow of traffic. I feel myself needing to deep dive on the history of roundabouts.

[Angela Kinsey]

Deep dive. It probably goes back to the Romans or something. But doing a roundabout, driving on the opposite side of the road and exiting the opposite way that you've never exited is a recipe for maybe one of your first big fights in a car. Just saying.

[Caitlin]

Well, my pet peeve in America is that when we do have roundabouts. We put stop signs in them. Which is not the point of a roundabout.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, that's not how you do it. We're doing.

[Caitlin]

Anyway. Okay. Well, guys, they do get out of the lake. They're soaking wet. And their big takeaway from this moment, the thing that they feel determined to do is to walk back to the previous client's office and reclaim their gift basket.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael says they're going to take a second stand.

[Jenna Fischer]

Also, Dwight's phone works.

[Angela Kinsey]

His flip phone.

[Caitlin]

Yeah. Old tech alert.

[Angela Kinsey]

What I didn't understand about this was why they couldn't just take a cab. They have to walk.

[Caitlin]

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Because Dwight's phone does work, but Michael's.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, no, we're walking.

[Caitlin]

Well, back at the office, Ryan is reviewing some of Pam's sketches for the new Dunder Mifflin Infinity logo. Which, by the way, I thought were great.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, she did a great job. But that's not what really Ryan was there to talk about. No, he wasn't really getting her sketches. He just wants to take her out to dinner. And he was trying to be sneaky.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Ugh. Well, she turns him down. And this is when she informs him that she is dating Jim.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's like, no way.

[Caitlin]

Yeah. Ryan cannot get over the fact that both Karen and Pam have dated Jim and not him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

Well, Michael and Dwight make it back to this law firm. I loved this scene so much. I watched it three times. It's so good.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, they walk in and they look horrible. They've been in a lake and they've walked in wet clothes.

[Caitlin]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

And, I mean, Michael seems unhinged.

[Caitlin]

Steve's performance is so good. Here it is rooted in so much truth and hurt and anger, disappointment. It is so good. He demands their gift basket back. When the guy finally brings the gift basket out, Michael notices that something is missing.

[Angela Kinsey]

The turtles.

[Caitlin]

The turtles.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he loses his shiitake. Poor Aaron. Aaron never saw this moment coming. He's like, where are the turtles? Yeah.

[Caitlin]

He loses his mind over these turtles. And Aaron is like, I ate them. They were mine. This gift basket was mine for a minute, so I ate things from it. But Dwight is like, we'll bill you for it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my gosh.

[Caitlin]

Incredible stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

They just did that thing where they might have had a chance of getting him back, and then they just burned it to the ground.

[Caitlin]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, they come back to the office, they storm in. Michael proclaims that this office will no longer be using any new technology of any kind. Because he drove his car into a lake.

[Angela Kinsey]

An effing lake.

[Caitlin]

Well, that's. Oscar is like, you did what? And he is like, I drove my car into an effing lake and they bleep it out. And this was rare. We did not do a lot of bleeping on our show. But every once in a while, man, it's just funnier this way. It's just funnier this way.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

He also wants everybody to know that, unlike technology, gift baskets never endangered anybody's lives. And he basically declares himself triumphant.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, he does. And there's a very big Angela Martin eye roll at 40 minutes, 43 seconds as Michael declares himself the winner. But he doesn't just declare himself the winner. This is what he says to Ryan, his new boss. He says, game, set, match point, Scott. Game over. End of game. And then he tries one more, but he can't think of it. So then he just walks into his office.

[Caitlin]

It's so good. It is so good. Michael ends it all with a final talking head. And we see all of us eating from the gift basket in the conference room. I remember shooting that scene. Remember?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Caitlin]

We shot the scene earlier where we were looking at all the things, and I remembered, I can't wait until we do the scene where I get to eat all this.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was not in the car. Conference room. Angela's having none of it.

[Caitlin]

Yeah. It's too bad, because there was some good stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know. I remember you guys were actually excited in real life to open up those packages. And then ultimately we end the episode with Orion Talking head. He's still gloating about his new schmancy life. He says, you know, he's not saying he had a meteoric rise, but, you know, but I guess he did. And that his haircut was $200. He's just being such a tool and lady. There are some great extras in the deleted scenes of Ryan bragging about New York. He has a whole thing with Jim about, like, well, you know, in New York. And Jim's like, yeah, I actually. I've been there. And he's like, no, no, no. But it's different. You've got to live there. Like, you don't. You can't really understand what I'm talking about because you haven't lived there. So, you know, sorry.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

But anyway, they're really funny. It's too bad. I really loved the scene between him and Jim. He just would not let it go.

[Caitlin]

Well, that's it, guys. That finishes out Dunder Mifflin Infinity.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dunder Mifflin Infinity. And up next, Jenna is what lanch Party.

[Caitlin]

Lunch party.

[Angela Kinsey]

Launch party.

[Caitlin]

Kevin, It's a party. Launch party. All right, guys, we'll see you next week.

[Angela Kinsey]

See you next week. Have a great one.

[Caitlin]

Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Second drink.

[Angela Kinsey]

This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.

[Caitlin]

Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey.

[Angela Kinsey]

Our executive producer is Cassie Jerkins and our audio engineer and associate producer is Molly Nugent. Odyssey's executive producer is Leah Reese Dennis.

[Caitlin]

Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz. Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jenna, guess what?

[Caitlin]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

The wait is over because Macy's biggest deals of the year are on. It is the best time to get ahead of your holiday shopping so you don't have to have any of that scrambling and stress. Well, Macy's Black Friday sale is officially on and it's really the easiest way to check everyone off your list.

[Jenna Fischer]

And you know they have something for everyone. For example, they have 20 to 40% off Lego. They have small appliances, they have clothes, they have accessories, perfume, makeup. I mean, it's all there. And when you buy your gifts at Macy's, you can round up for BBBs. 100% of funds will go to Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Big to help create one to one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Did you know Macy's has raised over $13 million for Big Brothers, Big Sisters to support 280,000 mentoring moments.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is wonderful. The Macy's Black Friday sale is happening November 10th through November 29th.

[Jenna Fischer]

Shop now at Macy's.com or in store.