Second Drink: Dwight’s Speech

Summary

Office Ladies Podcast Episode Summary

Title: Second Drink: Dwight’s Speech
Hosts: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
Release Date: April 7, 2025
Podcast Information:
Office Ladies is the ultimate re-watch podcast hosted by The Office co-stars and best friends, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Each week, they break down an episode of The Office, sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell.

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Second Drink: Dwight’s Speech," Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey dive deep into the intricacies of the The Office episode centered around Dwight Schrute’s prestigious accomplishment—being named Salesperson of the Year. The hosts explore not only the on-screen events but also the nuanced dynamics and behind-the-scenes moments that made this episode memorable.

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Fan Mail and Off-topic Banter

[02:32] Jenna Fischer:
The episode kicks off with Jenna and Angela addressing a flurry of fan mail that poured in following their previous discussion. A significant portion of the feedback revolves around their off-topic banter about The Lord of the Rings, where mispronunciations like "Modor" instead of "Mordor" sparked humorous reactions from listeners.

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey: “Yep, might have said something wrong. People reacted to it.”
• Jenna Fischer: “Nikki S. wrote in to say your Lord of the Rings discussion was hilarious.”

The hosts express their amusement and apologize for the slip-ups, highlighting the authenticity of their conversations and the genuine connection they share with fans.

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Behind-the-Scenes Stories

Cold Open and Stunt Coordination

[24:03] Jenna Fischer:
Jenna and Angela recount the filming of the cold open scene where Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute engage in an intense but seemingly trivial football game. A standout moment was Dwight’s vigorous tackle of Leslie, leading to a humorous yet physically demanding stunt.

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey: “Leslie was not expecting that shove. He went almost butt overhead.”
• Jenna Fischer: “I remember that Leslie did not fall hard until Rainn Wilson really went full out.”

They discuss the meticulous planning required for such scenes, including the use of dummy wranglers to manage the extras and ensure safety during intense physical interactions.

Filming at the Convention Center

[07:24] Angela Kinsey:
Details emerge about the extensive filming at the Universal Studios Sheridan Hotel, where they utilized 400 extras and 100 dummies to create a bustling convention atmosphere. Managing such a large number of participants was a logistical challenge, especially with the added complexity of Rainn Wilson falling ill during production.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “Kent said we filmed for only one day at the Universal Studios, Sheridan Hotel.”
• Angela Kinsey: “It got serious. We had 1,800 dentists that resulted in a lockbox over the thermostat with a key.”

They highlight Rainn Wilson’s dedication, mentioning that his absence due to illness was a rare occurrence and posed significant challenges to the filming schedule.

Wardrobe and Props Insights

[36:03] Angela Kinsey:
Angela shares insights about the careful selection of props and wardrobe, such as Michael’s safe masquerading as a mini-fridge and the significance of Jim’s coffee mug featuring the motto “Together We Build a Better Scranton.”

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “I have a T-shirt on, a sweatshirt with a hoodie, and then I have an enormous puffer over that.”
• Angela Kinsey: “Michael's credenza is a safe. He has Pepto Bismol, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste in there.”

These details not only add depth to the characters but also serve as continuity elements that attentive fans appreciate.

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Episode Breakdown

Dwight’s Speech Preparation

[24:03] Jenna Fischer:
The core of the episode revolves around Dwight’s anxiety over delivering his Salesperson of the Year speech. Despite his confidence in his sales abilities, the prospect of speaking in front of a thousand people proves daunting.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “Dwight is named Salesperson of the Year. It's a big honor. And as a result, he has to give a speech in front of a thousand people.”
• Angela Kinsey: “There is a thermostat war going on. Yes, yes.”

As Dwight seeks advice from Michael and Jim, the hosts delve into the comedic yet heartfelt interactions that illustrate the characters' relationships and personal growth.

Michael’s Sabotage and Jim’s Prank

[58:19] Jenna Fischer:
Jim orchestrates a classic prank by providing Dwight with Mussolini’s speech as a template for his own, injecting humor and tension into Dwight’s preparation.

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey: “Jim is like, Dwight, where would you...”
• Jenna Fischer: “He gives them a copy of Mussolini's speech.”

This prank not only showcases Jim’s mischievous nature but also serves as a pivotal moment in the episode, highlighting the ongoing rivalry and camaraderie between Jim and Dwight.

Pam’s Wedding Preparations and Jim’s Absence

[75:21] Angela Kinsey:
The hosts explore the emotional depth of Pam’s wedding preparations and Jim’s subsequent decision to take a trip, distancing himself from the impending ceremony.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “At the very end of this episode, Jim is passing by Pam's desk, and Pam says, oh, I've always wanted to go to Australia.”
• Angela Kinsey: “He's leaving. I have to be on basically the farthest spot on the earth from your wedding.”

This subplot underscores the complexities of Jim and Pam’s relationship, setting the stage for future developments and emotional arcs within the series.

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Insights and Trivia

Attention to Detail and Continuity Errors

[27:45] Angela Kinsey:
Jenna and Angela point out minor continuity errors, such as missing boxes in the background of certain scenes and the elusive dummies that were meant to populate the convention center but went unnoticed by viewers.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “At 8 minutes and 6 seconds, you can see the reflection of the boom guy in the conference room window. Busted.”
• Angela Kinsey: “We had to let the extras settle in the back because catching them on camera was tricky.”

These observations reflect the hosts' meticulous approach to analyzing The Office, enhancing the listening experience for both casual viewers and die-hard fans.

Rainn Wilson’s Performance and Illness

[16:24] Angela Kinsey:
The discussion reveals that Rainn Wilson was genuinely ill during the filming, which contributed to the authenticity of Dwight's strained performance and voice strain heard in the episode.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenna Fischer: “I actually called Rain about it, and he said it is the only time in 10 years of working on The Office that he was not able to come to work for a day.”
• Angela Kinsey: “Rainn has a fantastic work ethic, and I don't doubt that for him to miss. He was very ill.”

This revelation adds a layer of appreciation for Rainn’s dedication and the challenges faced during production.

Cultural References and Improvisations

[31:22] Jenna Fischer:
Jenna highlights improvisations made by the cast, including Angela's unscripted smiles and interactions that were captured by camera operators, adding spontaneity to the episode.

Notable Quotes:

• Angela Kinsey: “I did one of our little dorky, actory things where I gave myself a backstory for this little smile for this little moment.”
• Jenna Fischer: “We always had the best time, Kate and I, because we would come up with these...”

These behind-the-scenes moments showcase the natural chemistry and creative collaboration between the hosts, enriching the narrative of the podcast.

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Conclusion

"Second Drink: Dwight’s Speech" offers a comprehensive exploration of one of The Office’s standout episodes, blending thorough analysis with delightful anecdotes from the set. Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey adeptly balance their deep knowledge of the show with engaging stories that reveal the heart and humor behind the beloved series. This episode not only dissects Dwight’s journey to delivering his monumental speech but also delves into the intricate relationships and memorable moments that define The Office. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the series, this summary provides an insightful and entertaining overview of the episode’s key elements.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Angela Kinsey: “Leslie was not expecting that shove. He went almost butt overhead.” [25:07]
• Jenna Fischer: “By walking in this area, you give permission to be on the TV show.” [73:10]
• Angela Kinsey: “Dwight makes perfect sense to me.” [67:50]
• Jenna Fischer: “Jim’s advice ends up being kind of helpful.” [68:01]
• Angela Kinsey: “I've never loved mail more than this.” [70:15]

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Final Thoughts:

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey continue to excel in their roles as hosts, providing fans with in-depth analyses and heartfelt stories that celebrate the enduring legacy of The Office. "Second Drink: Dwight’s Speech" is a testament to their passion for the show and their commitment to delivering content that resonates with listeners on multiple levels.

Transcript

[Jenna Fischer]

Mother's Day is next month, and I don't know about you, but my mom is kind of hard to shop for because I feel like she already has everything she needs. And if you ask her what she wants, she says, I have everything I need.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also, my mom never wants anyone to make a fuss about her. She's like, don't. No, no, no. But you know what, Mom? We love you, and we want to make a fuss.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I want to get her something sparkly and special this year. And Macy's is having their diamond sale right now with up to 70% off.

[Angela Kinsey]

70% off is just a huge savings on sparkly items.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, they have Le Vienn, which is one of my favorite brands, so I'm kind of like going in that direction.

[Angela Kinsey]

They have a lot of different choices, too. They have Lab grown diamond bracelets, Lab grown bridal diamonds, engagement rings, fine jewelry, diamond studs and pendants.

[Jenna Fischer]

And dad, I love you, but I think I might be the better person to pick out some nice jewelry for Mom.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe.

[Jenna Fischer]

So shop Macy's diamond sale right now with up to 70% off.

[Angela Kinsey]

Shop in store or online at Macy's.com April 8th through the 20th.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't be the only person who feels like I'm constantly running out to an event like a dinner or a school function in the same four outfits, because I basically just have fallen into this pattern of rewearing the same few pieces that I've owned for years. But thanks to DailyLook, it's easier than ever to refresh your wardrobe and get event ready. It is the number one highest rated premium personal styling service for women. Dailylook provides you with a dedicated personal stylist. Hello. Thank you. Who curates a box of clothes just for you. Each box is tailored to your body shape, to your preferences, to your lifestyle. Hello. Drawstring pants. And it's delivered right to your door so you can enjoy the ease of trying everything on at home. Thank you. And you save time and effort. Whatever you don't like, you just send it back. There's free shipping included. Plus, you get real personal stylists, not just algorithms, so you get a personalized experience each time. Elevate your style by signing [e-mail] today. Take your style [e-mail] and get 50% off your first styling fee when you use code officeladies at checkout. Welcome to your second drink of Dwight's speech. We had a fan mail flurry after this episode aired.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep, we did.

[Jenna Fischer]

And it was all about Our off topic banter that we had about Lord of the Rings.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep. Might have said something wrong. People reacted to it.

[Jenna Fischer]

They did, Ange. I guess you said Modor instead of Mordor.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sounds like me. Yep.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, well, it drove people crazy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yep, it did.

[Jenna Fischer]

I didn't notice. Well, Nikki S. Wrote in to say you Lord of the Rings discussion was hilarious. And Samanovo said. Oh, God, the whole breakdown of Lord of the Rings cracked me the hell up. The butchering of the names made me cringe.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm sorry.

[Jenna Fischer]

But it also made me laugh so much.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Guy S Wrote in and said, angela, it was driving this Lord of the Rings nerd crazy. To which Becky replied, oh, so painful. I'm sorry, Guy. I'm sorry, Becky. I'm sorry. Every Lord of the Rings fan. Sometimes I, like, leave out a letter in things. It happens.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Ange, apparently I also drove people nuts because of my inability to pronounce Swarz. Swarzen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, now you're doing it again. You're doing it again.

[Jenna Fischer]

Sauron. Okay. I am. Tarth said that it is Sauron in all caps.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Audrey wrote in to explain that Mordor is a country. It is a country of pure evil and destruction, full of monsters, lava and evil.

[Angela Kinsey]

Lots of lava.

[Jenna Fischer]

Lava.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. Lots of lava.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. And I guess it is also the land of the dark Lord of Sauron.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, so before you re listen to this episode and hear us butcher all of these names and places again, we just wanted to let you know that we heard you. We. We are so sorry.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes, we apologize in advance. Also, you guys, a while back, the folks over at Cartoon and Radio, they did animated clips of some of our podcasts. They did this one, the Lord of the Rings conversation. Those guys are so talented. So if you missed those clips, you can find them at the link in our bio on Instagram. But, Jenna, before we leave the Lord of the Rings conversation, I do have one more letter. Tamara wrote in to say, jenna, I really think you would like the Lord of the Rings. The movies are based on a task. Getting the Ring to a place just like the movie 1917, but with hobbits. They are amazing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Tamara, I love that you know that. I love a movie with a task. I really, really do. And during our breakdown of the Edge, Sam said that Lord of the Rings was similar to the Edge. So I am very intrigued.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I might watch this one. Oh, I would be. So. I feel like this would be a good family movie night movie too. Am I right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

For the whole Family.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right.

[Angela Kinsey]

The orcs are scary.

[Jenna Fischer]

Are they scarier than something in Harry Potter? Are they scarier than the thing in Harry Potter? That is, like, spooky.

[Angela Kinsey]

How old are your kids?

[Jenna Fischer]

10 and 13. It's perfectly fine. It's okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

The orcs scare me.

[Jenna Fischer]

They do.

[Angela Kinsey]

But I also don't like zombies and I don't like scary movies. It's the one part of the Lord of the Rings that's very scary to me. Okay, just orc warning, Sam. Orc warning. This is a good orc warning. Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

I need a Lord of the Rings rewatch to happen with you both so badly. Well, moving on. Another big discussion we had in this episode was about Pam's wedding color being lavender.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I guess I said something about, I'm gonna go check her wedding photos and confirm that her bridesmaids wore lavender. But lady.

[Angela Kinsey]

What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Mary B. Wrote in to say, what wedding photos? Roy and Pam didn't have wedding photos since they didn't get married. There are none, of course.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, we also had some really good fan catches from this episodeytwobbie Way wrote in and said, I noticed that when Jim spins the globe to decide randomly where he'll go on his vacation, his finger lands somewhere in Africa. But at the end, when Pam asks where he's going, he says, Australia.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mm, that was a good catch.

[Angela Kinsey]

Callie M. Wrote in to say, at 8 minutes and 6 seconds, you can see the reflection of the boom guy in the conference room window. Busted. And Aaron T. Wrote in and said you talked about the wizard in the crowd at 20 minutes and 25 seconds. But what about the alien at 19 minutes and 42 seconds? We got a lot of mail about that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, Angela, I saw that comment too. They even sent in a photo. There is a full alien at 19 minutes and 42 seconds.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, there you go, everybody. That is your second drink of Dwight's speech. And now here's our breakdown.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm Jenna Fisher.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

We were on the Office together, and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office Rewatch play 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.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're the Office ladies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Good morning, office ladies. I see what you're doing there.

[Jenna Fischer]

You see what I'm doing?

[Angela Kinsey]

You're tipping your hat a little to this episode, which is Dwight's Speech, Season.

[Jenna Fischer]

2, Episode 17, written by Paul Lieberstein. And directed by Action Charles McDougal. Wow. I've blown out my voice already.

[Angela Kinsey]

Someone driving right now is like, that's not the only thing you blew out.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know, like three sentences in Thanks.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was driving when you were like, good morning, Office ladies.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, I'll tone it down. Look, I'll get real. I'm NPR IT now. Oh, NPR voice. I'm going to do my summary, but I'm going to do it real gentle like that. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

NPR voice.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hi, welcome to Office Ladies. I'm Angela Kinsey.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm Jenna Fisher. We're best friends, and we're breaking down an episode of Dwight's speech from the office. Here's a summary. All right, I'll stop it. Now. Dwight is named Salesperson of the Year. It's a big honor.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a huge honor.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. And as a result, he has to give a speech in front of a thousand people. And he's really nervous. So he goes to Michael for advice. Then he goes to Jim for advice. Eventually, he goes to the conference. But meanwhile, Pam is doing wedding prep at work in front of Jim.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Jim.

[Jenna Fischer]

So he decides it's time for a vacation, a vacay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also, there is a thermostat war going on. Yes, yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Thermostat war.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now, I had told some of our writers about the thermostat war that we had.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because you had one.

[Angela Kinsey]

We had 1at1,800 dentists that resulted in a lockbox over the thermostat with a key.

[Jenna Fischer]

It got serious.

[Angela Kinsey]

It got serious. So I.

[Jenna Fischer]

What were you. Were you a colder or a hotter?

[Angela Kinsey]

I was a Jenna.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, for our listeners who might not know that you're wearing a puffy coat as we record this podcast right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Now, I have a.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, literally, she's wearing a puffy coat. That's not a joke.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have a T shirt on, a sweatshirt with a hoodie, and then I have an enormous puffer over that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I also own a sweatshirt that says Always Cold. Yeah, it was a gift to me. I didn't even buy it for myself.

[Jenna Fischer]

People know you.

[Angela Kinsey]

People know me. No, I was always cold. And for whatever reason, where I sat on the phones is where all the air went. Like our wing and the guys in the IT department, no air went to them. So they were, like, the sweatiest. They were always annoyed. They would come over really sweaty and, like, shove the thermostat down, and then they'd walk away. We'd get cold, and we'd crank it back up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

They Hated our corner. The IT guys hated our corner.

[Jenna Fischer]

Fast. Fact number one, we had a lot of questions about the convention center, the convention itself. A lot of curiosity. For example, fan question from Marianne Lodens and Grace D and Mel Asacco. Where was the speech filmed? And then Sue Potts asked, did we hire a bunch of extras or did we just use existing hotel people? Well, I reached out to our line producer, Kent Zabornak. So a line producer is the person who gets the script and figures out all of the practical stuff that you need to do to make an episode happen. So whereas Greg Daniels is in charge of all the creative aspects of an episode, Kent Sibornak would be in charge of the practicals and the logistics.

[Angela Kinsey]

How do I get people there? Where are we filming? What does it cost?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

How do we make this work with our budget, all of that kind of stuff.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. For example, he would be a person who would give Phil Shea a budget for 13 fitness orbs. He'd be like, here's your fitness orb budget. So he's in charge of all those numbers and things. He said that we filmed for only one day at the Universal Studios, Sheridan Hotel. Now, I had written in my blog a while ago that we had 500 extras, but Kent said we did not have 500 extras. We had 400 extras.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

And 100 dummies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Bodies. Yes, fake bodies.

[Jenna Fischer]

Torsos with no arms and legs, dressed up in suits.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And five dummy wranglers, People who carried them around the room and put them in different places depending on the shots.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, that is crazy town. That is crazy town. I did have in my notes that we had about 400 extras, and it's the most extras we had ever had.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, this is true. So Kent said that the dummies were mostly in the back and on the sides.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

He said if you pause and look, you can find them. But I went frame by frame and I could not find any.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know, the room was.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, I really looked.

[Angela Kinsey]

So there were only three cast members that went to the convention. And it was, you know, rain, obviously, Dwight, speech, and then Michael and myself. The room was actually really big. And if my memory serves, they had the dummies sort of way towards the back. So it just looked like the room was filled all the way to the back. I wouldn't think that you could catch it. I think that'd be pretty hard.

[Jenna Fischer]

He mentioned that Charles McDougal was really worried that you were going to see these dummies.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And so the wranglers really moved them Around a lot.

[Angela Kinsey]

The Dummy Wranglers.

[Jenna Fischer]

The Dummy Wranglers.

[Angela Kinsey]

What's interesting to me is that our book, the Dummy.

[Jenna Fischer]

The Dummy Wranglers. No, that's Kent Sabornat's book about dealing with us.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, there were a lot of extras. There were. It was the most I had ever seen. We had never really had to provide lunch for that many people. Like I remember when it came time for lunch, like the catering was way. It was like Sergio plus all these other extra guys. That was our catering company. So it was kind of interesting to see how we managed that many people. And I. I was glad we only had to do it for one day.

[Jenna Fischer]

He said that we did 47 camera setups in a 12 hour shoot day. Now let me break that down for you guys. When you do scenes, you might do like one scene at reception, but it's three or four different camera setups. So you'll do what usually like four to seven takes per camera setup because, you know, and then you move the cameras and you do it again. But that blew my mind. He said that we started at 7am wrapped around 7:30 and managed to shoot seven, four, eight pages, which I guess is a fancy way to say seven and a half. Okay, fast fact number two. Rainn Wilson was very sick for this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Very, very sick.

[Jenna Fischer]

So we just explained to you everything that went into planning this workday. That's what happened.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, go.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had to. They had it all scheduled and then they had to cancel it and reschedule it for a different day by a week.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not just cancel it like a few days ahead. Basically, Rainn was sick the beginning of the episode and then the day this was scheduled. If I remember, it was sort of like on a Wednesday or Thursday. We'd already done some office scenes in the bullpen and we were going later.

[Jenna Fischer]

I think it was a Wednesday.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

I reached out to Kent about this as well and he said he always liked to put these location shoots on a Tuesday or a Wednesday.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

And. Go ahead.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what I remember too. It was like a Wednesday, but we'd already been filming in the bullpen. Monday, Tuesday, like the main office building. And I remember we only had the hotel for one day. It was a big deal because they had to reserve this room and everything.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then we had all the extras hired and everything. I woke up Wednesday morning and I got a call from our second AD and they said, angela, the hotel's been canceled. Rain is too sick. He's too sick. Like his doctor said, you Cannot go. And I was like, oh, my gosh. And so they were sort of scrambling now to figure out what Wednesday was gonna look like.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I got a call at home, Jenna, the hotel has been canceled. You need to come into work. We're going to be shooting back in the office now. Yeah. So I got the day off, and I was. Suddenly had to work. Yes. Well, I actually called Rain about it, and he said that it is the only time in 10 years of working on the Office that he was not able to come to work for a day. But he had a fever over 102. He said, a doctor came and said, you cannot go to work.

[Angela Kinsey]

Rainn has a fantastic work ethic, and I don't doubt that for him to miss. He was very ill. Well, we had.

[Jenna Fischer]

A fan question from Chris Bodnar, who kind of clocked it. He said, was Rainn Wilson sick during this episode? Cause his voice sounds like he might have a cold. And Rain said, actually the voice thing is because he was screaming during the speech, and he kind of blew out his voice.

[Angela Kinsey]

But you can actually hear in the conference room before we ever move to.

[Jenna Fischer]

The hotel, you can tell he's coming down with us.

[Angela Kinsey]

I can't really tell. I heard his voice in the conference room. That's before we went to the hotel. And he sounded legit sick. So I agree with you, Chris.

[Jenna Fischer]

I wonder if he got a phone call from Greg Daniels telling him it was his finest performance because he's really good in this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's really, really good in this episode. But ye. I mean, the other thing, too, you should know is that Rainn really didn't wanna miss work because he knew how much went into that day. The extras, the hotel, the location shoot. So I think he.

[Jenna Fischer]

The dummy wranglers.

[Angela Kinsey]

The dummy wranglers. I think he was really trying to power it out, and then his body just couldn't.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. All right, fast fact number three. This was a little bit of trivia that I found on dunderpedia. Dunderpedia, guys, is the Wikipedia of the Office.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's great.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's just all Office facts.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's.

[Jenna Fischer]

And I found this charming. So this episode aired in the United States on March 2 in 2006. However, in Canada, it aired the day before. Oh, it aired a day early. And this was due to a scheduling conflict with the season finale of Skating with Celebrities. So in the United States, we aired on NBC, and Skating with Celebrities aired on Fox. But in Canada, they both aired on the same network, this global television network, and the Finale of Skating with Celebrities was at the same time as this episode. So they had to air us one day early. So everyone in Canada got to see this one day early.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, how about that?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Who was on Skating with Celebrities?

[Jenna Fischer]

It only ran for one season.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did people get injured?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't remember a bunch of injuries, but I weirdly remember the show.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't. I don't.

[Jenna Fischer]

It only went for one season, so it wasn't a hit, I guess, is what you could say.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm kind of like.

[Jenna Fischer]

It wasn't. It didn't take off. Okay, so here, I'll give you the cast of Skating with Celebrities.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm really curious.

[Jenna Fischer]

They matched a celebrity with a pro skating partner. So Kristy Swanson, Gillian Barbary, Bruce Jenner, Dave Coulier, Debbie Gibson, and Todd Bridges. Kristy Swanson won.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hey.

[Jenna Fischer]

She defeated Gillian Barbary and her partner to win the show's first and only championship.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Oh, here's something interesting. The very next day, it was announced that it was canceled.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, no.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So it's like, I won.

[Jenna Fischer]

Canceled.

[Angela Kinsey]

Canceled. I want Bowling with Celebrities.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'd do it.

[Angela Kinsey]

I would do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, I got four strikes in a row the other day, Angela. I got like. What is that? That's more than a turkey.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't. I just like the idea of, like, some kind of reality championship where I can have beer and, like, a slice of pizza while doing my activity.

[Jenna Fischer]

Bowling with Celebrities.

[Angela Kinsey]

Bowling with Celebrities.

[Jenna Fischer]

What's that thing where you throw beanbags into a hole in your backyard? Cornholes. I love Cornhole with Celebrities. Cornhole with sl.

[Angela Kinsey]

I already do that all the time. I mean, I'm not. I'm sort of, you know, not major celebrity.

[Jenna Fischer]

But is cornhole also a phrase for something dirty?

[Angela Kinsey]

Probably is. It has to do with your butt. Maybe Sam Beavis would butt head do. You don't have to look to me for every. Is that a reference for your butthole?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, it is. So maybe no cornhole with Celebrities.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's still really fun. I mean, but here's the thing. Here's my bowling strategy.

[Jenna Fischer]

I can't wait to hear it. Cut this.

[Angela Kinsey]

Every time I walk up and I just try to line up with that little center triangle.

[Jenna Fischer]

The arrow. Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then I try to look at that, and then I roll it down. The ball goes super slow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

Because I usually bowl with, like a ten pound ball. I'm like, going fighting the kids for their balls.

[Jenna Fischer]

Fascinating.

[Angela Kinsey]

And the ball goes super slow. Super slow. And then I get like a strike but it's like, it takes like five minutes. It's like, dunk, dunk, dunk, dunk. And then I think because the ball's going so slow, I usually. There's like one or two left. I come really close to getting a strike. So that that's how I bow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Don't stop talking about it. Angela, keep telling me more details.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't. I either do that or I just get a gutter ball.

[Jenna Fischer]

I would have pegged. So it's interesting to me. I will say now I'm very interested. It's very interesting to me that you take the time to line it up and you do the thing, you know, you go for the arrow. Because I might have pegged you as a person willy nilly. Not willy nilly, but where you're like, I'm gonna just chunk it. I'm gonna chunk it real hard.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did you chunk it?

[Jenna Fischer]

I did it for you so you'd understand what I meant.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, shut up. You shut it.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's time for a break.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh. If anyone is still wanting to listen, we're gonna get into the episode. There's some really good stuff.

[Jenna Fischer]

I fun things to say.

[Angela Kinsey]

I do, too.

[Jenna Fischer]

And it's not even going to be about bowling.

[Angela Kinsey]

Might be.

[Jenna Fischer]

Might be. All right, we'll see you after the break. This is a message from sponsor Intuit.

[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Real time updates only. An iOS mobile app. See guarantee [e-mail] guarantees Mother's Day is next month. And I don't know about you, but my mom is kind of hard to shop for because I feel like she already has everything she needs. And if you ask her what she wants, she says, I have everything I need.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also, my mom never wants anyone to make a fuss about her. She's like, don't. No, no, no. But you know what, mom? We love you and we want to Make a fuss.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I want to get her something sparkly and special this year. And Macy's is having their diamond sale right now with up to 70% off.

[Angela Kinsey]

70% off is just a huge savings on sparkly items.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. They have Le Vienn, which is one of my favorite brands, so I'm kind of like going in that direction.

[Angela Kinsey]

They have a lot of different choices too. They have lab grown diamond bracelets, Lab grown bridal diamonds, engagement rings, fine jewelry, diamond studs and pendants.

[Jenna Fischer]

And dad, I love you, but I think I might be the better person to pick out some nice jewelry for mom.

[Angela Kinsey]

Maybe.

[Jenna Fischer]

So shop. Macy's diamond sale right now with up to 70% off.

[Angela Kinsey]

Shop in store or online at Macy's.com April 8th through the 20th.

[Jenna Fischer]

Let's get started with this episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let's do it.

[Jenna Fischer]

We have a cold open. Michael and Dwight are throwing a football while they discuss some dilemma at corporate. It's not important. I don't think. It doesn't even mean anything.

[Angela Kinsey]

I will never forget this cold open.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, boy.

[Angela Kinsey]

Do you want to know why?

[Jenna Fischer]

Tell.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. So Jim steals the ball. He tosses it to Phyllis.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Phyllis tosses it to Creed. Dwight runs over in. Only the way that Rainn Wilson would do Rain is he goes full out. Guys.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

If the script says tackle shove, you're going to go flying.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Because Rain is. Dwight is, like, all in. So like, he tackles Ryan to the ground, he shoves the heck out of Creed, and then he runs towards Leslie. David Baker.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Who is standing by accounting.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

What you cannot see is there is a petite blonde person standing behind him.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Mm. Rain runs at Leslie and, like, Heismans him. Basically.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Really gives him the stiff arm shove. Leslie was not expecting it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, dear.

[Angela Kinsey]

It wasn't really in the script that he was going to shove Leslie.

[Jenna Fischer]

We had a stunt coordinator that day. We planned this out, like, super duper.

[Angela Kinsey]

Let me tell you something. Leslie was not ready for that shove.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay?

[Angela Kinsey]

I think maybe. Maybe with the stunt guy, he got a brisk little, like, tap or something. But rain came at him full throttle and, like, shoved him. Leslie went flying. He lost.

[Jenna Fischer]

You can see it in the episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

He lost his balance completely. He went almost butt overhead.

[Jenna Fischer]

Do you know what I'm saying?

[Angela Kinsey]

But there was someone directly behind him.

[Jenna Fischer]

Tiny blonde.

[Angela Kinsey]

A tiny blonde person. So when Leslie lost his balance, he started steamrolling back. And I was under that. Wow. I was under that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, it's crazy because I remember that we practiced that forever. And I kind of remember it because all I do is sit at the reception desk. And I had thought to myself, did I need to be here for the two hour session? That's what I thought.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what I thought. They said, you know, definitely they didn't want me seated at my desk. They wanted me to come out a little bit to the edge of accounting. Sometimes they would have us do that. If there's a scene in the main office bullpen and they want to get reaction shots of everyone, they would kind of. Kevin and my character come out.

[Jenna Fischer]

So they could see you better.

[Angela Kinsey]

So they could see us better, of course. And so they had us come out. But Leslie did not think he was gonna fall. He did not fall in any of the rehearsals. He wasn't shoved that hard.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, well, he wasn't being shoved by Rainn Wilson yet.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, he wasn't. So Leslie went flying and collided into me and then rolled backwards on top of me. And after the take, everyone was like, oh, my God, Creed, are you okay? Creed? And then they were like, oh, bj, are you okay? And then they're like, oh, my God, Leslie. Because Leslie really went down hard. They're like, leslie, are you okay? They pulled Leslie up, and Oscar goes, oh, my God, Angela. Oscar was like, the only person that saw me. I was like, yeah. And then I don't know if you notice, but all of this happens at one minute. If you look at the time code. Okay, now go to 1 minute, 5 seconds. Leslie is no longer there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, like he was take. Did he only do the first take?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know, Jenna, how it went down, but I think he got knocked down and then got up and was like, nope.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I don't know if you notice at 20 seconds, when Michael tosses the ball and he knocks over Jim's stuff on his desk, it all kinds of falls forward onto this pile of boxes that's in front of Dwight's desk. If you look at 42 seconds, Michael tosses the ball to Oscar, and all those boxes are missing.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ew.

[Jenna Fischer]

They were cleared and not returned.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, look at us. Little continuity catch, little catches there in the background.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did want to throw out to Rhianna Royer, who had written in to ask if the football toss was planned. And so we answered that question. But I do thank you for writing in.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes. No, that was all planned. Although Leslie's.

[Jenna Fischer]

That part wasn't planned. Angela's getting squashed was not planned. All right, so now we move on. Dwight is sitting at his desk and he is talking about, oh, a sale on TiVo. He's gonna buy something special for himself because he is salesperson of the year.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hold up. This is an old tech alert though.

[Jenna Fischer]

TiVo.

[Angela Kinsey]

TiVo. He talks about a CD burner. We also find out that Jim came in ninth place.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ninth.

[Angela Kinsey]

All he's getting is Cogino's pizza. Yeah, but you guys. Do any of you have TiVos? Did you have a TiVo?

[Jenna Fischer]

I had a TiVo, yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, young people, TiVo was like a VCR. It was like a. One of the very first digital video recordings where you could record your show.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, it's the same as what you have now on your DirecTV or your.

[Angela Kinsey]

But we didn't have that.

[Jenna Fischer]

We didn't have. You had to hook it into your cable box.

[Angela Kinsey]

These were the days where like, if you had a VHS player, you could record one of your shows, but like this changed it because it digitally recorded things and you could like plan out your records. You didn't have to like run home and hit the record button.

[Jenna Fischer]

I feel like this is like my mom trying to tell me about what life was like without a microwave. I'm like, I don't care. I just want to heat up the Soup. This was.

[Angela Kinsey]

TiVo was a game changer.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was so excited to have TiVo. There was one moment in February of 2004 that TiVo had the most watched, recorded and replayed moment in TiVo history.

[Jenna Fischer]

What was it?

[Angela Kinsey]

It was Janet Jackson's super bowl halftime with Justin Timberlake. The little the boob story where boob came out. Yes. That was the most watched, recorded and replayed moment in TiVo history. The folks at TiVo said the audience reaction charts looked like an electrocardiogram. Oh my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean that is crazy.

[Angela Kinsey]

That'll crazy.

[Jenna Fischer]

So you know when Jim says he just wins a Cugino's pizza.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is the second time Jim has mentioned Cugino's. He also brought it up in a deleted scene from the Client where he says his worst first date took place at Cugino's Pizza. This is a real Italian restaurant. It is in Dunmore, right outside of Scranton. It's actually at 107 East Drinker street in Dunmore. They do serve pizza, but I could not find a website for them or an online menu. But guys, it's a little family owned business. KGino's Pizza.

[Angela Kinsey]

Put it on your the office tour. Because when I was looking up stuff for this episode, I found these websites that you can do sort of like a little travel vacation where you hit all the stops of the office.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So go get some pizza at Cucino's.

[Angela Kinsey]

Guys, I want to present to you at 2 minutes 31 seconds, a complete tongue twister.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, ready? Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

I want you guys, Sam, wake up in there. I want you guys to try to say this ten times fast. Okay? Ready?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

It is literally the highest possible honor that a northeastern Pennsylvania based mid sized paper company, regional salesman can attain.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, how did he. That's from Jim's talking head. Yes, but like how did he memorize that?

[Angela Kinsey]

But how did he get it all in like one sentence? That is not easy.

[Jenna Fischer]

That is not easy.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right. Applause John, well done.

[Jenna Fischer]

John Krasinski.

[Angela Kinsey]

Jim, tongue twister. Okay, where are we at?

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, speaking of Jim, we are finally in the kitchen with Jim and Pam and they are finally bantering again like old times.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're flirting.

[Jenna Fischer]

Ah, they're so cute. Nice little back and forth. There's been this drought. They've been a bit estranged and it looks like things are going to thaw until Phyllis comes out of the bathroom and asks Pam about her wedding dress.

[Angela Kinsey]

So awkward.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Jim makes kind of a quick exit. At 2 minutes 40 seconds, there's a shot of Jim's coffee mug and it says, quote, together we build a better Scranton. Restoring the pride. And Dunderpedia pointed out that this was the motto of a downtown Scranton revitalization project. And you will see Jim use this mug throughout the entire episode.

[Angela Kinsey]

Way to go.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's Phil Shea putting some local props.

[Angela Kinsey]

In play, but also good catches there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, local pizza place, local mug. So now we go to Pam's talking head and she says, listen, I just, I have to do my wedding planning at the office, you know, but it can get weird sometimes. And she's worried about people getting offended.

[Angela Kinsey]

Like, Angela, look what I wrote on my card.

[Jenna Fischer]

What?

[Angela Kinsey]

Leave me out of it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Leave.

[Angela Kinsey]

Leave me out of it. This has nothing to do with me and your scandalous emotional affair you're having. Leave me out of it.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, so now Dwight is feeding himself grapes at his desk and Michael enters and says, that's what she said because grapes. Seductive. And he asked Dwight if he's ready for his big speech.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I have real beef with Michael on this episode.

[Jenna Fischer]

Talk to me about it.

[Angela Kinsey]

He does not want Dwight to succeed. He doesn't. He is flat out mean to him. He's psyching him out. Yeah, he's negative. He's putting him down the whole episode. So Angela, the Angela Martin in me is like, you are not being nice.

[Jenna Fischer]

No. Then Jim Goes on to sabotage Dwight. Like, why? Why is everyone coming down on Dwight? Well, is it because he's a little bit rubbing it in everyone's face?

[Angela Kinsey]

I think Jim had motivation because Dwight's rubbing it in his face. That's fine. They have that back and forth. But Dwight just adores Michael.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And hangs on his every word and isn't rubbing it in his face. Michael is just, I think, jealous that someone else has the spotlight. He's like a little bratty kid.

[Jenna Fischer]

He also puts himself in this position of expert. So he's got this talking head now where he explains that he won salesman of the year twice before. Consecutively. I know, twice in a row. But one year he got a plaque. The other year he just got a certificate.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, they stopped making plaques.

[Jenna Fischer]

Right.

[Angela Kinsey]

So can we talk about where this talking head takes place?

[Jenna Fischer]

In his cabinet.

[Angela Kinsey]

Inside his, like, man armoire.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. In his office. Yes. At four minutes. One second. You get a really good shot of it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did you look and see what else inside?

[Jenna Fischer]

You know I did.

[Angela Kinsey]

You know you did. Okay, let's. Let's trade some.

[Jenna Fischer]

Break it down.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is that Jan on the COVID of the Dunder Mifflin newsletter? Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you see that her name is still listed as Goa'uld.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh.

[Jenna Fischer]

So how long has that been there?

[Angela Kinsey]

He saved it for a bit.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's pre Goa'uld.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. He's got a mirror, he's got a mini fridge. But on the top shelf of his mini fridge is a fancy silver tea set.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, it's not a mini fridge. That's a safe. That's a safe. He has a safe that he has gotten his plaque and certificate out of. And then the top shelf of the safe, there is a tea set.

[Angela Kinsey]

This makes a lot more sense.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, kind of. It's still strange.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was like, why is he refrigerating?

[Jenna Fischer]

Why is he chilling the whole tea set?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. Like, why is this. And then also why has he chosen to chill a plaque? But they hung two other plaques. They're not worthy of the mini fridge. So safe.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, he also has Pepto Bismol, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste. And a can of something.

[Angela Kinsey]

A can of something. And then what are those two squares? What?

[Jenna Fischer]

Like a couple of items, like, wrapped in mesh, it looks like with some twine.

[Angela Kinsey]

It looked like it.

[Jenna Fischer]

We don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

We don't know.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was weird.

[Angela Kinsey]

He had a change of clothes, a Dundee.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

Two mounted plaques. It looked like maybe a silver shot glass and a blue cup.

[Jenna Fischer]

Huh.

[Angela Kinsey]

Huh.

[Jenna Fischer]

There you go Michael's credenza. Mini fridge, which is a safe.

[Angela Kinsey]

I really need to start watching these episodes with my glasses on.

[Jenna Fischer]

Clearly.

[Angela Kinsey]

Clearly. Look at that mini fridge. It's a safe, Angela.

[Jenna Fischer]

Guys, at 4 minutes, 23 seconds, Dwight has this great talking head where he talks about losing his sixth grade spelling beat for not being able to spell the word failure. That was an improvisation. Rain improvised that part of it where the word was failure.

[Angela Kinsey]

That is fantastic, Rain.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's good.

[Angela Kinsey]

I think you can really start hearing that he's sick and that talking head. And then later, in the conference room scenes, I really heard it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, so you know the scene in Michael's office where he's telling Dwight, I'm gonna mentor you. I can teach you enough so you don't embarrass yourself during this speech. If you look in the background over Rain's shoulder and you can see reception in the background, and it's me. And. And we're back there. And here is something that's very interesting. Whenever I did background work with Kate, we stayed in character the whole time. You can see us crouching over Pam's computer. And we did a whole runner about our frustration with the new computer system that won't allow us to enter both alpha and numeric codes into the sales orders. And that it was a huge problem. And I wrote about it in my diary, and I said that we stayed in character the entire two hours that they shot in Michael's office.

[Angela Kinsey]

By the way, that's the smartest Meredith was written in the whole series, was.

[Jenna Fischer]

In our background improvisations.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's the most competent Meredith has ever sounded.

[Jenna Fischer]

They were the most fun to me. We always had the best time, Kate and I, because we would come up with these. It was always something we were annoyed with. It was always some new office procedure. And we would kind of. Kind of complain about it and try to figure it out.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, Oscar and I would do bits like that. We would totally stay in character. But what we were talking about would be absolutely ridiculous. Like, he would very, like, seriously, like, pass me, like, papers important, like payroll papers. But he would have attached a post it note that would say, will you please file these in your butt? And then he would draw, like, a little cartoon with it. And it always, like, cracked me up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, I just thought it was really sweet because, you know, we go back to our diaries and we read what we wrote. And I had written all about how much fun I had on this episode filming with Kate in the background of that scene.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's so cute. I love that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, I know. All right, so next we cut to Pam's desk, and she is on the phone with her mom, and she says, mom, I know you guys are paying for the wedding, but I don't want orange invitations.

[Angela Kinsey]

Orange invitations.

[Jenna Fischer]

Invitation. Pam's mom.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, you know, I've had some frustrations with Pam's mom. What is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

Add that to the list.

[Angela Kinsey]

Where are you getting married? Orange.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Orange.

[Jenna Fischer]

I mean, crazy Pam, you know, her wedding color is lavender, by the way. It's not orange. I wrote that in my diary. That's not even revealed in this episode. Pam's wedding color. I wrote it down in my journal, and I was curious if that was true or if it was a character choice. And I went and I looked at the wedding photos, and all my bridesmaids are in lavender.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. No, that. Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And when I think about it, I think I have a memory of Phil Shea giving me something that had lavender on it. Like the Save the date card had a little lavender ribbon or something. And so it was picked for me. I didn't pick it.

[Angela Kinsey]

But it was in your brain.

[Jenna Fischer]

It was in my brain.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, you know, poor Jim overhears this, and he's like, that's it.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm out.

[Angela Kinsey]

Call in a travel agent.

[Jenna Fischer]

I'm going on a trip.

[Angela Kinsey]

This sort of dates our show a little bit, too, because I know travel agents are still out there, but a lot of people now just go online.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Although I did use a travel agent recently for a trip, and it was very helpful.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did, too. I did, too. When I went to Europe, but I did, you know, we did a lot of it just online.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You can. Well, now you can compare airline prices online.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Using Expedia or Orbit. Not getting paid to say that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not getting paid.

[Jenna Fischer]

So now we're going to really clock into this thermostat war. It seems to mainly be between Angela and Oscar. Oscar says that he purposely gets to work early to set the thermostat at 66 degrees.

[Angela Kinsey]

What a sneaky sneak.

[Jenna Fischer]

66.

[Angela Kinsey]

66. I just need everyone to clock a little bit of my Angela Martin look, because this is the first time you see me kind of nice and close up. Do I look tan? Because I'm tan.

[Jenna Fischer]

Are you still tan?

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm still tan. This mystic tan that lasted, like, three weeks, you guys. I'm so tan in this episode. Also, Kim Ferri outdid herself with this really intricate braid. That's all my actual hair. Look at the back. It's like a Bun. But it's like a braid that goes like zigzags back and forth. So she's really, she really went for it. In the cold open, I have a different outfit on, different hair, because different look.

[Jenna Fischer]

Different day.

[Angela Kinsey]

Different day. But in the main episode of Dwight's speech, I'm incredibly tan and I have this fantastic Kim Ferry braid.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, we had a fan question from David Hurtwick. What was the actual temperature in the office area when we were filming?

[Angela Kinsey]

Freezing.

[Jenna Fischer]

Probably like 65. I was gonna say 64. 65 degrees. Yeah, it was very, very cold. We kept it very, very cold. Mostly for Steve, who runs hot. And he would have to wear the suits.

[Angela Kinsey]

And I mean, all the guys actually were always in suits. And the lights do like warm up the stage, but they cranked the air down so the guys wouldn't get sweaty in their suits. But the gals were in these little silk blouses and skirts and we all froze.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So I would wear ugg boots under my desk. We all had little heaters. I sometimes even had a blanket over my legs.

[Angela Kinsey]

I had a blanket and a heater and I would like sit at my desk, like huddled under my desk, trying to stay warm.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right, so now we move into the conference room and Michael is ready to start giving Dwight some speech training.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

He says, what is the difference between a salesman and a saleswoman?

[Angela Kinsey]

Vagina.

[Jenna Fischer]

Vagina. And Michael is like, oh, yes, congratulations Dwight. That's the difference between a man and a woman I love.

[Angela Kinsey]

Dwight goes, but I'm right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, but I'm right.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right.

[Jenna Fischer]

But then Michael says, no, the difference is boobs.

[Angela Kinsey]

That's what he wants him to open his speech with. It makes you wonder how Michael's speech went those two years ago.

[Jenna Fischer]

How it really went.

[Angela Kinsey]

How it really went?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Cause Dwight says, can I just have a copy of your speech? And Michael's like, no, no, they'd remember. Yeah, it's legendary. I couldn't possibly let you read parts of my speech. It killed.

[Angela Kinsey]

It killed. And then Michael gives Dwight some advice. He's like, it doesn't what you say as long as people care about what you're saying.

[Jenna Fischer]

Uh huh.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he's gonna show him an example of that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes, please tell us the example.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. Well, he runs out to the bullpen and he says that, you know, they had done so well this quarter that corporate is gonna give everyone a thousand dollar bonus. Everyone.

[Jenna Fischer]

Everyone.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, people are thrilled.

[Jenna Fischer]

So excited. Stanley gets right on the phone and tells his wife to order the new curtains, the wallpaper oh, it's wallpaper.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's like, go ahead. Wallpaper the ceiling if you want to.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, amazing. So they go back into the conference room, and Dwight's like, oh, my God, that's amazing. And Michael's like, what? It's not true. I was just talking. But in that moment, I had him.

[Angela Kinsey]

I had him.

[Jenna Fischer]

I had him.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

So Dwight tries it. Dwight goes out into the bullpen.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is so funny. This scene made me laugh so hard.

[Jenna Fischer]

So funny hard. It made me laugh on the day. I remember shooting this. The thing that made me laugh on the day is Kelly's line, but I'll get to that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah, you mean just Mindy.

[Jenna Fischer]

Mindy. We still have full Mindy. Dwight announces that there has been a major car accident on the interstate.

[Angela Kinsey]

Major car slid off the road into the railing. People were injured.

[Jenna Fischer]

Terrible. And Pam says, did we know anyone in the accident? And he says, brad Pitt. Brad Pitt. And Mindy asks, did he die?

[Angela Kinsey]

And he's like, he'll never act again.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, but he'll never act again.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then he goes, oh, also, there's.

[Jenna Fischer]

No bonuses and the branch is closing.

[Angela Kinsey]

And then she's like, this is because of Jen Aniston. It's karma. And we're like, wait. And we're like, are we out of jobs? Like, what is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

Insane. I remember that. I remember shooting on that day. That was a really hard one to get through. And it was a complete joy to watch. All right, so Michael says, everybody go in the conference room. Just go in the conference room. He's going to teach everyone how to give a speech. Pam says. Pam has this line like toastmasters. And Michael says, pam, I'm public speaking. Stop public interrupting me. I don't think that's a gif, but it should be. I did a search to see if there is a gif of someone of Michael saying, I'm public speaking. Stop public interrupting me. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?

[Angela Kinsey]

There's also a deleted scene. Please, you guys, if you have a chance. Phyllis stands up in the conference room and sort of shares. And it is absolutely amazing. What is she share? I remember she had a hard time getting through it because we were cracking up. She starts. It's. She, you know, Michael wants everyone to get up and sort of say, a toast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Phyllis gets up and she's like, well, you know, I'm having one of the best years of my life. I'm in a relationship. I've met a nice person. And I really thought that that part of my Life was over for me that that wasn't going to happen. And I'm not going to lie, I've had some really dark thoughts. And she goes down this road and Michael's like, it really, really just brings the room totally down, but really earnest. And Michael's like, oh, okay. All right. Just sit down.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, Jim gets up in the conference room and announces he's going on a trip and he would like some suggestions on where to go. So Kevin suggests he go to Hedonism. He says it's like Club Med, but everything is naked.

[Angela Kinsey]

I did not Google that. I didn't want to know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Did you? I did.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God.

[Jenna Fischer]

I did.

[Angela Kinsey]

You did?

[Jenna Fischer]

I did.

[Angela Kinsey]

Is it a real thing?

[Jenna Fischer]

It is a real resort in Jamaica.

[Angela Kinsey]

And everyone's naked.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep. That. Well, okay. Their website describes it as, quote, a lifestyle friendly clothing optional resort, also described as the sexiest place on earth where you can be as mild or wild as you like.

[Angela Kinsey]

What does that mean?

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, so here's the deal. I really looked into it. So there are clothing optional sections of the resort and then there are nude sections.

[Angela Kinsey]

So, like, you could be going down the buffet that you cannot do. Pancakes, scrambled eggs.

[Jenna Fischer]

No. For health reasons, you must wear a cover up in the lobby and around food.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, thank you for that.

[Jenna Fischer]

But if you're in the nude pool or the nude beach, you have to be nude. But if you're in the clothing optional part, you can wear sort of the suggestion is like, you know, go sexy. You wear a little something. But here was one thing I found interesting. If you enter a nude area, you've got a 10 minute grace period to disrobe. And they're like, then you gotta get out.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're not here to look. See, look.

[Jenna Fischer]

See? That's right. We're gonna give you 10 minutes to take off your stuff. But there's more. You thought there wasn't, but there is.

[Angela Kinsey]

No, I actually figured you had something else coming. I'm cringing. I'm waiting.

[Jenna Fischer]

They have a playroom.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, God.

[Jenna Fischer]

For couples. Single women and invited single men.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, Lord.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's open from 10:30pm to 3:00am you.

[Angela Kinsey]

Go wrestle with your friends.

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know. Most people who stay at the resorts are couples, but they do have single person rates available. A few more facts. There is no tipping allowed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Who are you tipping?

[Jenna Fischer]

Your waitstaff. But it's all inclusive.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I mean, I think that that is an important thing to know because where would you put the money? Oh, you're naked.

[Angela Kinsey]

You're naked.

[Jenna Fischer]

So Don't. Don't let it stress you out. There's no tipping allowed. Yeah, don't worry about where you're carrying the extra cash. Yeah, not a problem. One of the frequently asked questions is, are there irons and ironing boards?

[Angela Kinsey]

For what?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know, but the answer is yes. So. Yes, they do have irons and ironing boards. So also, you can renew your vows there.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay. All right.

[Jenna Fischer]

Toby suggests that Jim go to Amsterdam. He says he went there after his divorce for a week or maybe a month. He can't remember. Toby, Creed says he should go to Hong Kong.

[Angela Kinsey]

Creed also calls John Jimmy. And I feel like you can see John about to break. He's like, jimmy. And I swear, John has this, like, he's kind of got this side smile.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, at 9 minutes, 29 seconds, Creed has a talking head for anyone wondering. Creed is speaking Mandarin.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he says, hello, my Chinese friends. That's what he's saying in Mandarin. I reached out to Creed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because we had a fan question from KKPL Watson. He said at various times, Creed has spoken Japanese and Chinese on the show. Does he really speak speak either? So I texted Creed.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, I can't wait. What was his response?

[Jenna Fischer]

Here's what he said.

[Angela Kinsey]

Did he say, who are you?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, but again, I wasn't sure. He said, when I was In Germany in 1964, I conversed in a rudimentary fashion because I'd studied a year in college, but he said he hasn't used it since. He says he does not speak Japanese or Mandarin or Cantonese, which is actually the language they speak in Hong Kong, mostly not Mandarin. But he said, I do have a made up language that I've been trying to get accepted.

[Angela Kinsey]

That I believe.

[Jenna Fischer]

But he's been meeting resistance. And he used it during his stint as manager for that week at Dunder Mifflin.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, my God. This is Creed. Guys, this is Creed. Hear me out. Jenna, let's say you just realized your business needed to hire someone. But, like, yesterday, how can you find an amazing candidate but really fast?

[Jenna Fischer]

I know the answer.

[Angela Kinsey]

You sure do.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

Join the 3.5 million employers worldwide that use indeed to hire great talent fast.

[Angela Kinsey]

There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with.

[Jenna Fischer]

Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility at.

[Angela Kinsey]

Indeed.com office, just go to Indeed.comOfficeLadies right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.

[Jenna Fischer]

Indeed.com officeladies Terms and conditions apply.

[Angela Kinsey]

Hiring Indeed is all you need. This show is sponsored by Better Help. So here's how it works. With Better Help, you can pay a flat fee for weekly sessions and that's going to save you big time on cost and time because therapy should feel accessible. And with online therapy, you get quality care at a price that makes sense.

[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

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[Jenna Fischer]

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[Angela Kinsey]

That's BetterHelp.

[Jenna Fischer]

H-E-L-P.com OfficeLadies Angela, you've been using SimpliSafe for a long time and you just told me you're making some adjustments. You're adding cameras.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I am, because listen, we have this one sort of like side of the house area.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yep.

[Angela Kinsey]

That you can't see anything around that way. And a lot of our shrubbery has grown in.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Which is nice. But I was like, josh, I'd like to, you know, also know what's happening around there.

[Jenna Fischer]

You want eyes on that? Well, with SimpliSafe, millions of Americans enjoy the new standard in home security and greater peace of mind every time they arm their system.

[Angela Kinsey]

Also, traditional security systems only take action after someone has already broken in and that's just too late. SimpliSafe's Active Guard Outdoor protection can help prevent break ins before they happen.

[Jenna Fischer]

There's also a 60 day satisfaction guarantee or your money back.

[Angela Kinsey]

Visit simplisafe.com officeladies to claim 50% off a new system with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month free.

[Jenna Fischer]

That's simplisafe.com officeladies there's no safe like SimpliSafe. All right.

[Angela Kinsey]

At 9 minutes, 57 seconds. My character smiles. This doesn't happen very often. And Jenna, I did one of our little dorky, actory things where I gave myself a backstory for this little smile for this little moment. So it wasn't scripted. But in the conference room, Dwight is going to now do his speech for us. He has his note cards right. And I just sort of gave myself this backstory that he had probably practiced this in front of me, that we had worked on it together. And so I just really beam as he gets up there and I look around to make sure. Is everyone watching? Because I'm really proud of him.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I just had this little thing I gave myself. I didn't tell anyone, but Randall and Matt, our camera operators, they caught it and it made it in. And they would often do that. Randall and Matt would sort of catch these little moments that we did in the background that weren't part of the script. And they were so great about sort of finding those moments and making sure that everyone saw them.

[Jenna Fischer]

I just like that all of us, all the time, we were so invested in our characters and how our character would react to a moment or to a story that even if we hadn't been directed or didn't think the camera was on us, we would stay in our characters and react in the moment.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And that's an example of one of those that made it in.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And I remember Matt saying, ang, I see what you're doing. I'm gonna clock it. I caught it.

[Jenna Fischer]

That was always so fun when they would notice our little choices.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Aw, I love that.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, then we go to Jim and Dwight's desks. Angela and Dwight is talking all about the. He's gonna go to New Zealand. I don't know. He tells Jim he should go to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail. Okay. I did not understand any of that. Did you understand that?

[Angela Kinsey]

Of course I did. So Jim, you knew what all that stuff. I knew what all of it meant, Jenna. But Jim is like, dwight, where would you. If you could go anywhere? And Dwight was like, I can go anywhere and I will.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

But one of the places he would like to go is New Zealand, because he wants to walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor.

[Jenna Fischer]

Uh huh. I don't know what that is. Is that a place?

[Angela Kinsey]

Mordor?

[Jenna Fischer]

Mordor is a castle.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a place.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is it a castle or is it like something hidden under a rock in the ground?

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a place.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is it a village?

[Angela Kinsey]

Mordor is where Sauron Is. Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Sorry. What is worn?

[Angela Kinsey]

Sauron. The Eye of Sauron.

[Jenna Fischer]

Is that a thing or a person?

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know how to describe it. It's pure evil.

[Jenna Fischer]

How do you not describe.

[Angela Kinsey]

How do you describe the Eye of Sauron? It's like a. Why would you want evil spirit?

[Jenna Fischer]

But it's not a person, Sam.

[Angela Kinsey]

How do I explain Eye of Sauron? I think it was a person. It was a person. And he's gaining his power back. If he gets the ring, then he can be a person. Then he can be fully complete and he will reign pure hell all over the land.

[Jenna Fischer]

See, your difficulty in explaining it to me is why I don't like to watch it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, I'm not.

[Jenna Fischer]

Because it's, like, convoluted.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm not as versed in Lord of the Rings.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay. All right.

[Angela Kinsey]

But I do know that the trail to Mordor.

[Jenna Fischer]

And why would you want to go there? Why are people trying to go to Mo Da or not trying to go.

[Angela Kinsey]

You don't want to go there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Why. So why does.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, there's like lava fields and all this kind of craziness and then hike Mount Doom. I think Dwight is like a huge Lord of the Rings fan. He basically wants to be one of the Lord of the Rings. He wants to be on this journey and adventure.

[Jenna Fischer]

Let me ask you this.

[Angela Kinsey]

But it's filmed in New Zealand and it's gorgeous. So I would love to go.

[Jenna Fischer]

Are they the Lords of the Rings? Because it's their job to keep the rings from the Eye of Swarzen.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, good God.

[Jenna Fischer]

Or because they wanna get the ring to him so he turns into a regular person again?

[Angela Kinsey]

No. First of all, are you trying to say it wrong?

[Jenna Fischer]

No, I don't swear. Sworden.

[Angela Kinsey]

Swarzen.

[Jenna Fischer]

Swarzen.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is like Carl all over again. Okay, moving on.

[Jenna Fischer]

Moving on.

[Angela Kinsey]

11 minutes, 3 seconds. Jim does a prank on Dwight.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Without Pam.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

This is one of the first in a while. Normally they do pranks together.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is a good.

[Angela Kinsey]

They're in cahoots. This is a gym solo prank. He's like, had it with Dwight sort of shoving this in his face that he's like, gonna be like the salesman of the year. And Jim decides, you know what? I'll give you advice. I was a speech major in college, which is totally not true. Not true, not true. And he's like, you've got to wave your arms and pound your fist. And he gives them a copy of Mussolini's speech.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. He says, here are some. Here are some things that might help you in your speech. I'm going to help you out.

[Angela Kinsey]

I found on Reddit, there's an office fan on Reddit and the person's sign is the Fungibleman.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he said he looked it up. And it's paraphrased from a speech Mussolini gave in Parma on December 13, 1914, advocating for Italy to enter into World War I against Germany.

[Jenna Fischer]

Wow.

[Angela Kinsey]

Blood alone moves the wheels of history.

[Jenna Fischer]

Now, I think there are some other famous dictators quotes peppered in as well.

[Angela Kinsey]

It is.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's mostly hodgepodge, mostly Mussolini, I believe.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, when Dwight leaves with Michael, Angela shouts, the very best of luck to you, Dwight.

[Angela Kinsey]

I know.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, at 12 minutes, when it pans back to Angela at accounting, Oscar has his coat over his shoulders like he's cold. And Kevin is blowing on his hands. But remember, wasn't it Oscar who says he likes the cold? So why is he pretending to be.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't know. Because also, Kevin has a talking head that says. He goes and puts it to 69.

[Jenna Fischer]

Exactly. All right, so we move into the conference room, and we have Pam, Kelly and Ryan sitting, addressing Pam, save the date cards. So here's what we find out. Her wedding is going to be June 10th. We already knew that from the booze cruise. And the reception is going to be at the va. Pam says, it's nicer than you think.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And we find out she is inviting Jim.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And they're all like, what? There is a great deleted scene, and it is really the beginning of what I like to call Ryan sass. That's gonna really kick into effect later in this episode. There's a deleted scene where right before you go into the conference room to assemble your invite, you're at front reception, and Ryan comes in and you're like, oh, did you get my stamps? And he's like, yeah. And he hands them to you. And you're like, I wanted the love stamps. You know the love stamps.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And he goes, yeah, I. I didn't. I don't know. I didn't find them. I just got you the regular ones. And you're like, oh. And then he's like, does it matter? And you're like, yeah, it doesn't really matter. And he goes, I didn't think so. Ryan sass. I know. Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

All right. So next, Dwight and Michael arrive at the convention center.

[Angela Kinsey]

You guys, it's huge.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's insane.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's full of people. It's an enormous convention.

[Jenna Fischer]

Way bigger than Michael remembers.

[Angela Kinsey]

Right. And what is playing as they walk through it's. Y'all ready for this?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. Play it, Tom. Play it.

[Angela Kinsey]

Play it, Sam. Y'all ready for this? Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

We're also watching the music video.

[Angela Kinsey]

We're watching the music video.

[Jenna Fischer]

It's a lot of keyboard.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's by 2 unlimited. That's the band. And it. I have to say, that song kind of pumps you up.

[Jenna Fischer]

Super catchy. They play it at a lot of sporting events.

[Angela Kinsey]

They do.

[Jenna Fischer]

Or Salesman of the Year in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Scranton, that's right. So, I mean, Dwight kind of starts panicking.

[Angela Kinsey]

He is.

[Jenna Fischer]

He's having a minor panic.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's having a minor panic attack. And Angela, back in the office, is pretending to be sick.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

She's coughing and sniffling.

[Jenna Fischer]

All of a sudden, she says she. She's feeling under the weather. She needs to go home.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. And by the way, still very tan in this shot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Not pale.

[Angela Kinsey]

Not pale at all.

[Jenna Fischer]

So they called Dwight's name, and he.

[Angela Kinsey]

He chokes.

[Jenna Fischer]

He chokes. He can't go up. So Michael runs up on stage and we'll BLEEP this out. This is what I wrote in my note. He. The bed. Yeah, he really does. So during all of this, of course, I'm trying to look for the dummies that Kent told me about. I'm like, where are the dummies? I did not notice any dummies. However, at 14 minutes, 19 seconds, there is a shot of the audience, and it is. I don't know how to describe it. It's like, flipped. It's like it's a mirror image. If you look at the name tags in every other shot, they are on the right side of everyone's shirts. But in this shot, they're suddenly on the left side and the names are written backwards.

[Angela Kinsey]

What is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

What is happening? What? We also had a fan question. Two people asked this. Luke Maslow and Scoot Venomyer both asked how much of Michael's speech was improvised. I believe he did improvise quite a bit. However, I have a very strong memory. You know that part when he does Michael Winslow and he does all the different. Like, this is a car starting. Ring, ring, ring, ring. Yeah. Michael Winslow was this famous actor from the Police Academy movies who could do all of these truly incredible sound effects that sounded super real. And so Michael's trying to do his best Michael Winslow impression. I remember from the table read that that killed. So I feel like that was at least in. That was scripted. Were you there for when Steve was doing his portion at all? Angela, like, do you have A memory.

[Angela Kinsey]

I was waiting to go on.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I was there in some takes. They just had me there just in case. And I remember that the audience, the extras, the 400 extras, kept getting tickled at Steve. And they had to tell them, you can't laugh.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

You can't laugh. You can't react. Really.

[Jenna Fischer]

You have to hate this stuff.

[Angela Kinsey]

It has to be crickets. So I do remember that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, that's very interesting. Well, finally, Dwight runs up on stage, Right?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah. He gets his courage.

[Jenna Fischer]

He gets out his speech. He starts pounding his fists. And we had a few fan questions. Mary Kay Jones and Sarah Hyland asked, how many times did it take for Rain to get through that speech? So I asked Rain, and he said they. He thinks he did it about four or five times. Kent told me that on the first take, the background went absolutely wild.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Like hooting and hollering.

[Angela Kinsey]

And it was the extras guys, the 400 people sitting there.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes. And that they. Kent said it was kind of phenomenal. Like, it was this amazing moment. But the problem was that Greg and Charles McDougal really wanted a buildup of the crowd reaction.

[Angela Kinsey]

They did that.

[Jenna Fischer]

The crowd was kind of too instantly with Dwight.

[Angela Kinsey]

So they wanted it for the audience to be unsure whether Dwight was gonna be a hit or not.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

How is everyone taking this in?

[Jenna Fischer]

So Kent said the first take was pretty unusable. Rain said that he remembers at one point he went off script and he improvised, but then he was directed not to do that again, that they really wanted him to stick to this script. And we had a fan question from Kayla Ardent. Did Rain actually have the speech written on that paper? And Rain said yes, he said he did because he thought his character would. Angela, we've talked about that. You were there, and here's why. Because you're taping the speech in the background.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm filming it for you.

[Jenna Fischer]

With your little hat on.

[Angela Kinsey]

I'm filming it. So Dwight's speech starts to catch on, and Michael can't take it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Michael's like, oh, my God, they like him. He clearly can't handle Dwight having a moment of success. He leaves. And as he leaves, he walks past my character kind of hidden in the crowd filming Dwight, and I'm wearing a hat. So you know how there was a big conversation about your hair in Valentine's?

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, wardrobe and I had a huge conversation about this hat because it was very camera specific. I had to look like I was being incognito, but you had to be able to see my Face.

[Jenna Fischer]

So was it written in the script that you're wearing a hat and then wardrobe had to come up with hat choices?

[Angela Kinsey]

Yes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

So we had about, like, I don't know, five or six hat choices that I had to try on. And they took pictures of me in the hat, and they showed them to, you know, everybody involved. And then. And then also, like, on the day I had that hat and I think one other hat, and that one showed my face better.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

So they went with that one. It didn't have too big of a rim. So that's the hat that we went with. I love that little touch that she's gone to record her fellas speech.

[Jenna Fischer]

Me too.

[Angela Kinsey]

Proud of them.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, they're sort of meant to be the kind of funny relationship, but they have a really good relationship. They're supportive of one another. They clearly care about one another. It's moments like this that make it so that it's not just a joke. It's not just a joke relationship. These are the moments that ground it and make it real.

[Angela Kinsey]

Listen, Dwight and Angela make perfect sense to me.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yes.

[Angela Kinsey]

They really do. Just like Jim and Pam made sense to me when I read that relationship. And obviously, they're gonna go through some hills and valleys, but they are meant to be together.

[Jenna Fischer]

I like how Jim's advice ends up being kind of helpful.

[Angela Kinsey]

Well, Jim actually says something to Dwight. He's like, just stay true to yourself.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And that's actually really good advice.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is who you are.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know, you're an authoritarian.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

This is how you're gonna be most authentic.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And he kills it.

[Angela Kinsey]

He kills it. We have to go back to the office because there's some Ryan Sass happening.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, yeah. Back in the conference room.

[Angela Kinsey]

Back in the conference room, they're doing Pam's wedding invite, and Kelly says she wants a June wedding, and she asks Ryan, would he like a June wedding? And he's like, yeah, I'm never getting married. Not really doing it. And she leaves the room. And then Pam is like, you know, she likes you. You could be a little bit more sensitive. And he looks at you, and he's like, I know what I said.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Sass.

[Jenna Fischer]

I know. He's like, no, I know what I did.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ryan sass.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, Ryan sassy. This is also when Oscar tells Jim that his timeshare in Key west might be available. But then Ryan says, I don't think Jim will ever really take a trip.

[Angela Kinsey]

Wait, there's. This is my third Ryan sass card. At 17 minutes 34 seconds. He says, you really think you're gonna go send me a postcard? What is happening?

[Jenna Fischer]

I don't know.

[Angela Kinsey]

Ryan is being such a.

[Jenna Fischer]

You know what he really is. A lot of fans wrote in and asked if Jim ever takes the trip. Now, Paul Lieberstein, who wrote this episode, he did an interview once where he said, yeah, I think Jim did eventually take that trip, but he moved the trip. So he. Well, I guess we'll get to that later.

[Angela Kinsey]

I. I sort of felt like he never took the trip. Cause he. He just ends up transferring jobs, and that's how he gets away.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, but I think he never took the trip. I think Ryan's right.

[Angela Kinsey]

I don't think he ever goes.

[Jenna Fischer]

No, I don't think so either. I guess he lost all that money.

[Angela Kinsey]

For the plane ticket.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. All right. So back at the convention, you know, Dwight's speech, we said, it's really starting to kill. And Michael leaves.

[Angela Kinsey]

He goes to the bar.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. He can't take it. He can't take that. Dwight is doing so well. I bet probably people never reacted like that to Michael's speech. Like, people were not, like, hooting and hollering.

[Angela Kinsey]

No.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. So Michael, he's sitting at the bar. Eventually, Dwight comes out and he finds him, and he starts telling him a.

[Angela Kinsey]

Story about some woman who sat there who didn't have her id. But Dwight's so into it.

[Jenna Fischer]

Dwight immediately clicks into Michael's story.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And Michael has this quote where he says, listen, I captivated the guy who captivated a thousand guys. So, like, who's the winner today?

[Angela Kinsey]

Who's the winner?

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, so, Ange, I had a fan question from Madeline Ethington.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay.

[Jenna Fischer]

I've never loved mail more than this. Male.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, Madeline. Wow.

[Jenna Fischer]

Madeline wrote and said, I have been waiting for this episode to ask this question.

[Angela Kinsey]

What is it, Madeline?

[Jenna Fischer]

At 20 minutes and 25 seconds, when Michael and Dwight are sitting at the bar, you can see a man in the background dressed like a wizard. Why is he there? Why was it planned? Was it an accident? And then she just wrote again, who is that wizard?

[Angela Kinsey]

I know the answer to this.

[Jenna Fischer]

I do, too. But I didn't know. I went. I was like, this is the strangest question. I went to 20 minutes, 25 seconds, and I. I laughed out loud.

[Angela Kinsey]

Can we see it?

[Jenna Fischer]

Full head to toe, wizard. I took a picture.

[Angela Kinsey]

You have to show me. I know why. But I know why. Because I watched the deleted scenes.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, I know why. Because I asked Kent Sibornak and Paul Lieberstein, why is There a man dressed as a wizard in the background. Okay, so you tell me what you found out, and I'll tell you what I found out. Here he is, Angela. Yeah, he's got a name tag on.

[Angela Kinsey]

Okay, well, obviously I don't know Kent and Paul's answer, but I watched the deleted scenes, and there is an extended scene of them walking through the hotel where the convention centers are, and they go up to the very first one they see, and they walk in and it's the wrong one. And it's like just some random convention. And then they go into a second room, and it's like all of these cosplay people who are dressed like characters from things. Oh, and Dwight's like, ugh, I wish I. Oh, I wanted to go to this. It has, like a whole name. Damn it, I'm forgetting the name. But Dwight was like, I would have gone. And then he's like, I really hope I see the gal from Battlestar Galactica. Oh, my gosh, she's so hot.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay, this must have been improvised because Kent told me that their location agreement with the Sheridan allowed them to shoot basically anywhere on the property, but the only room they were allowed to shut down and control was that ballroom.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

And otherwise they just had those signs up that said if you walk in this area, you might be filmed for a TV show. And by walking in this area, you give permission to be on the TV show. I don't know if you guys outside of la, you see these signs a lot around town. Like, you go to a restaurant and there's like a sign and you're like, oh, they're filming on the street and I'm gonna be in the background getting my coffee, I guess. So they had these signs up, and he said that they just had to allow public access while they were rolling. And there was an anime expo in one of the other ballrooms with people dressed up.

[Angela Kinsey]

So I guess then Rain and Steve improvised this whole thing that it was like a cosplay convention they must have. And Rain was really, really bummed. Well, Dwight was really bummed. Cause he had want. And supposedly there was a Battlestar Galactica cast member that was gonna be there. And he was, like, really excited.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, my gosh. Well, both Kent and Paul said a version of the same thing, which was they really tried to avoid getting the dressed up people in the shots, but this one wizard managed to get on camera.

[Angela Kinsey]

And maybe they had to film that little improv to justify it if they. Like too many of them showed up at one time.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, that's amazing.

[Angela Kinsey]

The hotel in the show is supposedly the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel.

[Jenna Fischer]

Okay.

[Angela Kinsey]

I have stayed there. Oh, we stayed there for the convention. There was an office convention in 2007, and that's where the whole cast stayed. And it's a lovely hotel. It used to be a train station.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And like 1908, it was a train station. And they have, you know, fixed it up and made it into this hotel. And it's really nice. So if you're in Scranton, I recommend the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, when the finale happened, a bunch of us went to Scranton for a big parade and we stayed there as well. So I've also stayed there. And I concur.

[Angela Kinsey]

It's a great hotel.

[Jenna Fischer]

Great hotel. Super charming.

[Angela Kinsey]

Super charming. So now Dwight and Michael are sort of having this great moment at the bar. They're laughing and it's all wrapping up. But guess who's the last person to touch the thermostat back in the office?

[Jenna Fischer]

Who?

[Angela Kinsey]

Creed.

[Jenna Fischer]

Why did I miss that?

[Angela Kinsey]

Creed goes over there and adjusts the thermostat. He's the last one I missed that.

[Jenna Fischer]

Well, at the very end of this episode, Jim is passing by Pam's desk, and Pam says, oh, I've always wanted to go to Australia. And he says, well, I'm going. I bought a non refundable ticket. And this is when he tells us he bought his ticket for June 8th.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, the look on Pam's face.

[Jenna Fischer]

Her wedding is June 10th.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, this is so telling. I mean, Pam, if Pam had any doubts at all that this was hard on him, she can't deny it anymore.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah, he's leaving.

[Angela Kinsey]

He has basically said to her, I'm sorry, but I cannot be there when you marry someone else. I can't be there.

[Jenna Fischer]

In fact, I have to be on basically the farthest spot on the earth from your wedding. Yeah. I'm going to go halfway around the world.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

To get away from your wedding.

[Angela Kinsey]

I mean, I just. It just gutted me. And I just. I just wanted to shake Pam and be like, if you don't know now, then you'll never know he loves you.

[Jenna Fischer]

But I think it's more than that. I think what's happening is Jim is saying, I'm not sure how to even be your friend now that you're getting married. Like, I know we're best friends at the office, but I'm not gonna come to your wedding. And when you're married, I'm not gonna hang with you.

[Angela Kinsey]

He's you know, I think what he's finally admitting is they're not best friends.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah. They can't. How can they be?

[Angela Kinsey]

They've crossed this line. They've had that moment on Booze Cruise. They've had these moments now. And the line has been crossed.

[Jenna Fischer]

Yeah.

[Angela Kinsey]

And now they're in this uncharted territory of like, what do we do now?

[Jenna Fischer]

What's next week's episode? Take your daughter to work day, I think.

[Angela Kinsey]

Yeah.

[Jenna Fischer]

Oh, boy. This is when you guys, I was wrong. Okay. I used the shredder.

[Angela Kinsey]

Oh, okay. All right.

[Jenna Fischer]

So I'll get the time code for that so I can really lay into myself. Yeah, take your daughter to work day is coming up next week.

[Angela Kinsey]

All right, you guys, that was Dwight's speech. Thanks so much for tuning in. Bye.

[Jenna Fischer]

Bye. See you next week. Thank you for listening to Office lady's second drink.

[Angela Kinsey]

This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.

[Jenna Fischer]

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 Daniela Silva.

[Jenna Fischer]

Odyssey's executive producers are Jenna Wise Berman and Leah Reese Dennis.

[Angela Kinsey]

Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basel.

[Jenna Fischer]

Our theme song is Rubber tree by Creed Bratton.

[Angela Kinsey]

Here's the thing about wine. Some of the best bottles aren't sitting on a grocery store shelf. They're being crafted at small independent wineries. But those wines can be so hard to find. Well, that's why I want to tell you about Psalmsation. They have an online wine shop with hundreds of hand selected bottles plus a curated wine club with options you'll love. They even offer virtual tastings, private tastings and and a sommelier service to make your experience that much more special. Sommsation's expert team seeks out incredible wines from top independent producers. Bottles you won't find in stores and shelves. These aren't mass produced wines. They're handcrafted with care, using pure ingredients and meticulous winemaking. So whether you want a single bottle, a guided tasting experience, or an entire wine club membership, somcation makes it easy for you. Explore [e-mail] OfficeLadies I've been counted out, dismissed, passed over, told I'd never be a golfer with just one arm. But the only thing that feels better than proving people wrong is out driving them. I'm 14 year old golfer Tommy Morrissey and I want to be remembered for.

[Jenna Fischer]

My ability as a champion partner of the Masters. Bank of America supports every everyone determined to find out what's possible in golf and in life. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America. Bank of America. NA member FDIC. Copyright 2025 bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.