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Terms and conditions apply. Welcome to our second drink of Frame Toby. Ah, Frame Toby. Michael is horrified because Toby is back at Dunder Mifflin. So he's going to try to get R obviously by framing him with drugs that he got from Leo and Gino. Ah, well, we have great behind the scenes details in this episode from our producers Randy Cordray and James Carey and writers Jen Salata and Paul Lieberstein.
A
So many good nuggets and thanks to everyone who wrote in to share their thoughts about this episode. Just a reminder y', all, we have all of season five's episodes in a folder on our website, officeladies.com so go in there and write us your thoughts on the upcoming episodes because we love hearing from you. And we are going to kick off today's second drink with a theme that several people connected with. And Jenna, you and I discussed some of this in our Is Toby the Scranton Strangler debate episode. That we did.
B
Yes.
A
Well, listen to this. Julia G. From Littleton, Colorado, says, my question is, do you think the reason Michael hates Toby so much is that deep down he knows that Toby has it in him to become the Scranton Strangler? I mean, yes, Julia, yes.
B
No, Julia, I don't think you know where I stand on this.
A
This is our whole debate episode.
B
Even if Toby was the Scranton Strangler, Michael would miss all the signs.
A
Well, listen, now, we've already debated this in a whole episode, so we're not
B
going to get into it here if Toby is the Scranton Strangler. I'm just saying, if he was, Michael wouldn't clock it. I don't think Michael's anger at Toby has anything to do with this Strangler business.
A
Sometimes Michael has spidey sense about people, so I don't know.
B
Okay, well, maybe.
A
Maybe.
B
Well, we also got a letter from Hannah B. From Ontario who said, do we think Toby's defensive reaction to having his things searched by the cops is evidence toward him being the strangler? But Hannah also wanted to acknowledge Creed. Hannah points out that Creed is clearly guilty of having narcotics in the office, and this is maybe evidence confirming his need for two chairs to access his ceiling grow operation, which I thought was very funny.
A
Mm. I have to say, though, Hannah also pointed out that Toby is also normally passive and non confrontational, and she was surprised when he got defensive, especially if he didn't have anything to hide.
B
I'm just saying, what is happening right now? Are we reopening this debate?
A
We are not. But we did get mail that made me laugh about it. But we also got a fan mail flurry, lady.
B
Yes, we sure did. We got a fan mail flurry from Damon H. Leighton R. From California, Miranda D. From Australia, Joyce S. From Oklahoma, who all wrote in to say that their favorite scene from this episode is when Michael sees Toby is back and screams no.
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And Yasmin Y. In Dallas, Texas, said, did you know that There is a YouTube compilation video which has Michaels. No, no. In clips in multiple languages?
B
I did not know that.
A
Yasmin says it's hilarious. Look it up if you haven't seen It. Since neither of us had lady, I pulled the clip, but there's a lot of people yelling no. At you in different languages, so let's hear three of them.
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No.
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God. No. God, please. No. No, no, no.
B
Hi, Mike.
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Nine, God. Nine, God. Pizza. Nine, nine, nine, nine.
B
Oh, my.
A
No, no, no.
B
It's literally funny in every language. It literally is. You know what it is?
A
I think it's.
B
Some of it is the timing and the emphasis, which is all Steve Carell.
A
Yeah, he laid the template for that beat and they follow along perfectly.
B
Yes, brilliant.
A
It is funny. It is funny in multiple languages. Oh. Another storyline people really enjoyed was about the dirty microwave in the kitchen and how no one wanted to clean it or take responsibility for it. And Jenna, you shared how to properly clean a microwave, and many people wrote in about it. Lady.
B
Really?
A
Yes. Mike F. From Canada said, I never thought I'd say this, but thanks to Jenna and Office Ladies, my microwave is now nice and clean.
B
Well, you're very welcome. You know, lady, we also got a lot of folks who wrote in because they loved your idea to call our mom Detectives show Bush Hiders because of how we said we might have to hide in bushes on a stakeout. Jules H. Said, I'm tardy to the Office Ladies podcast party, but got to this episode today, and I'm literally cracking up at everything. Bush Hiders. You two are amazing. And my cheeks hurt from laughing. Thank you. Needed this. And Alessandra S. Said, is there a Bush Hiders yet?
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I completely forgotten about this Bush Hiders conversation. That really cracks me up. Can you imagine? Can you imagine us going into some big TV studio and being like, we've got the show for you. It's called Bush Hiders.
B
I think we'd sell it.
A
Oh, my God.
B
I think it would sell in the room.
A
Oh, my goodness. Well, that was a real joy.
B
Well, everyone, this episode is full of all kinds of fun stuff. And so now, without any further ado, here is our second drink of frame. Toby. I'm Jenna Fisher.
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And I'm Angela Kinsey.
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We were on the Office together and we're best friends. And now we're doing the ultimate Office Rewatch podcast just for you.
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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.
B
We're the Office Ladies. Hi, Angela.
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Hello, lady.
B
We're not in the studio together today, are we?
A
We're not. But you look like you're in a fancy studio.
B
I am in the fancy new York offices of Stitcher.
A
Get out. You're in New York City.
B
Yeah. And guess what, lady.
A
What?
B
Guess. What?
A
What?
B
Our picture is on the wall here in New York. Yes, in the New York offices. They have our office lady's picture on the wall. I took a picture with it.
A
Ah, that's so cool.
B
I know.
A
We have photos in two cities.
B
In two cities. That's the big time.
A
We're bicoastal. We are right now. Wait a second. Right now we're bi.
B
Coastal office ladies has gone bicoastal.
A
That feels real, boss lady.
B
It does. I like it.
A
Me too. Well, since we're talking about being in offices, Jenna, guess who's back at Dunder Mifflin.
B
Toby.
A
Well, not everybody's happy about it.
B
No. God, no.
A
God, please, no. No, no, no.
B
That's right. Today we are talking about Frame Toby. It is season five, episode nine. It is written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Jason Reitman. That's a good duo. I'm gonna give you a summary.
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I was hoping you would.
B
Michael reacts poorly to the revelation that Toby is back at the Scranton branch.
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I like the use of the wor. Poorly.
B
I know. That's an understatement. So he and Dwight hatch a plan to frame Toby for drugs that Michael has purchased from the two Vance Refrigeration employees, Gino and Leo. Pam is incensed by a mess that is left in the microwave by one of her co workers. We don't know who. She leaves a pointed note which elicits mixed reactions from the fellow employees. Meanwhile, Ryan breaks up with Kelly, and Jim surprises Pam with the news that he bought his parents house for them.
A
That's a lot.
B
It's a lot. These headphones are tight.
A
Mm.
B
The headphones are tight in New York. I fixed em.
A
Do you want a different pair?
B
No, I fixed them.
A
Okay. You guys, that was Jared in New York.
B
Yeah. Jared is the Sam of New York.
A
Yeah. Sam, say hi. Little dig at LA there in our loose headphones.
B
Why?
A
I like some loose.
B
I like a loose headphone.
A
Oh, in that case, take that, Jared.
B
Jared's all squeezing my brain with the headphones here in New York. Should we go into fast facts?
A
I think we should.
B
All right, fast fact number one, you might remember. Cause we shared this earlier, that NBC ordered 28 episodes for season five. It was our longest season.
A
I remember, Jenna, when we wrapped season five, we all got sick.
B
Oh, yeah.
A
Like we all got the flu or something. Cause I remember the next week, like, texting a few people. I'm like, I have a cold. And Kate was like, yeah, me too. Like I think our bodies were just like, yeah.
B
A standard network television season usually runs on television from September to May. We work from July to March. Right. So that we can get the episodes ready. And a standard television schedule is usually where you do three weeks on one week off of filming. So usually a show will take one hiatus week a month, but the writers always continue to work for that week. That week off is meant so that the writers and the producer, they have a sort of catch up week. Cause they're constantly writing, prepping, editing, delivering the episodes. They would have these episodes in multiple forms. They're like doing an outline for one, but they're writing another, they're punching up another one, they're doing post editing on another one. They've got like five episodes going at once. We would just like be like, what are we filming this week?
A
Right.
B
This year with this crazy 28 episode season, Steve Carell also had a commitment to do a film. I think it was Get Smart. And he needed like a six to eight week break from the show in the middle of that July to March filming schedule so he could film Get Smart.
A
How did we ever do that?
B
In order to do that, we had to film 19 episodes in a row.
A
That's when we got sick. That's when we got sick. I just have a memory of a bunch of us getting a cold bug. That was it. Yeah.
B
So frame Toby was right in the middle of this crazy 19 episode schedule.
A
Oi Yoyoi.
B
And here's why I think this is significant. It's really crazy to me that they decided to bring Toby back in the middle of this 19 episode stretch. Cause remember, he was now our showrunner because Greg was doing Parks and Rec.
A
So Paul Lieberstein is now showrunning and acting in an episode again.
B
Cause they gave him that break and now they're like, sorry, bud, you need to be Toby again.
A
You're back in the mix.
B
So I reached out to Jen Salata who was running the show with him, and I said, do you know why you did that? Did you just want Paul to never sleep? What was your plan there? And she said she can't remember exactly the reasoning, but because Holly had left, they were either gonna have to cast someone new or bring Toby back. And that dynamic between Toby and Michael was so beloved. She said as a fan of the show, she wanted Toby to come back to that role as a co showrunner. She was freaked out at the idea of Paul having to wear both hats but she said he did it so well. And Paul said he doesn't remember sleeping a lot.
A
Aw.
B
But also, he enjoyed doing it. You know, he liked his time on set with us.
A
Well, I love Toby coming back just because watching Michael Spiral is delicious.
B
This is one of my favorite episodes of the season for that reason. So thank you, Paul, for doing that for Paul.
A
But thank you.
B
My fast fact number two is a big thank you to James Carey because he gave us the shooting draft for frame. Toby.
A
Yes, James. This was so fun to watch it. With the shooting draft, Jenna and I were texting each other and calling each other like, oh, my God, that's not in. But this is. But did you see that? It was really fun.
B
And this is a particularly amazing episode to have the script for, because this microwave runner, the dirty microwave runner, it was much better, bigger in the original script.
A
Yes. And it was full of Angela and Pam stuff.
B
Yes. So we get to share about all that today. So thank you, James. Carry.
A
Thank you, James. Cary.
B
We are also going to have some great location details thanks to Randy Cordray. He told me all about Jim and Pam's new house. And I have to share something that Randy said in his email to me when I reached out to him about this episode. Are you ready? Okay.
A
Yes.
B
He said, a particular delight of looking forward to your questions each week is that I get to revisit each episode to refresh my memory of what we collectively accomplished. Here's what his process is when I write him an email. Oh. He says, my process is to reread the shooting draft, watch the episode, watch any deleted scenes, and listen to any commentary that might have been recorded.
A
Randy, this is what I do every week. This is what Jen and I are doing.
B
That's what I said. I said, you are an office lady.
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You are an office lady. And, Jenna, every time you email him a question now, I'm gonna be like, don't ask him that. I don't want to send him down a rabbit hole.
B
I know, but he really said he's really been liking it. And remember when our podcast for weight loss came out and Randy wrote us that nice email?
A
He wrote us the most lovely email.
B
Yeah. He was just like, ladies, you nailed it. You got every bit of information that could be known about how we did that engagement scene with the rain and the parking lot. I'm so proud of you two.
A
I know. It was like we got an email from our dad. That's how I felt like, dad thought we did a good job.
B
I know. I want Randy's respect.
A
I do, too, because I respect him. Look what he's doing. Just off an email of questions. We gotta have him on the show. He's gotta come on. He's an office lady.
B
We need to have Randy and James come on.
A
Yes.
B
Because they worked together. Okay, Future revisited, everybody.
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Did you hear that, Randy and James? I guess that's my serious tone. What am I doing? Did you hear that? You're coming on the pod.
B
Fellas, I'm going to move us into fast fact number three, okay? I think the world is going to be grateful for this fast fact because I was grateful for it.
A
Oh, no. Somebody did a deep dive.
B
This is how to clean a microwave.
A
Oh, Lord.
B
This episode's about dirty microwaves. And I thought, how could we clean this microwave?
A
This episode is about dirty microwaves.
B
All right? Ainsley Bubico, our associate producer, helped me with this, and I love it. Here is how to clean a real dirty microwave.
A
Okay.
B
All right. Get a microwave safe bowl. Fill it with two cups of water and two tablespoons of vinegar. Now, side note, if you'd like, you could add a drop of your favorite essential oil if you want.
A
If you want to be fancy.
B
Yeah. You can clean your microwave fancy or regular. Okay, now turn the microwave on, obviously. Put the bowl in the microwave and then put it on high for five minutes. You want it to get real steamy in there. That's what she said. After it's done, don't open the microwave door for 15 minutes.
A
Why? Because you'll burn yourself or something?
B
No, because that makes all the baked on grime sort of soften.
A
Oh, and then you can wipe it off.
B
Yeah, that's step three. Wipe it off. Just wipe it out. Done. Your microwave is clean. You're welcome.
A
You're welcome.
B
That's it. We can go to break. You can clean your microwave while you listen to some advertisements. Or if you're listening on Stitcher Premium, you won't have time to clean your microwave because it's ad free.
A
Oh, well, let's take a break because Jinda just told me the bathrooms in New York are real far from where you're sitting.
B
They are. And you need a key. Oh, yeah.
A
Well, in la, it's a porta potty on the side of the road, so I'm gonna go. Sam is applauding. All right, guys, we'll be right back.
B
We'll be right back.
A
This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. Jenna, guess what I'm doing right now.
B
What?
A
I am looking@our officeladies.com website. It looks so great. We have a new banner now where people can submit questions. We have all these different folders with different topic ideas. We have our Shop Dropdown menu. I'm just loving our website.
B
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B
So join me for new episodes every
A
week because nothing is off limits. Great conversations. They're always on par. Follow and listen to On Par with Maury Povich wherever you get your podcasts.
B
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DSW. Let us surprise you. Well, we are back and everyone's real excited because there's brownies in the conference room.
B
Every time I worked in an office and someone brought in a baked good, it was a whole exciting moment.
A
Heck, yeah.
B
I loved it.
A
We're not sure why there are brownies, but everyone's real happy about it.
B
It's true. We had a fan question from Jessica Ell that says, why are there brownies in the conference room? At the beginning of the episode, was it someone's birthday? And then Jessica would like to know, did Angela bring the brownies? Because we've heard a lot of References to Angela's famous brownies. Yeah, Well, I looked at the script.
A
Yeah.
B
Because I had it.
A
That's right.
B
It says Phyllis is giving away brownies, but there is no further explanation as to why. But it does make a note that Angela is not eating the brownies.
A
Yeah. In the script, Pam is like, angela, why aren't you having any? Yeah, Pam, a little bit of a s. Stir.
B
Andy says she's dieting. My baby's trying to fit into a child size wedding gown for our big day. And Jim says, why? And why do those exist?
A
Yeah. And then Angela says, it's from my pageant days. I was Miss Tiny Mid Atlantic Bride when I was 10. What was Angela's childhood?
B
I don't know.
A
Seriously. And you guys remember this is a callback. Remember Performance Review, season two? Angela had a talking head where she said, and I quote, I actually look forward to performance reviews. And I did the youth beauty pageant circuit. And I enjoyed that quite a bit. I really enjoy being judged. I believe I hold up very well even to severe scrutiny.
B
Well, we know that you won Miss Tiny Mid Atlantic Bride when you were 10.
A
Mm. And that's my wedding dress. There it is.
B
I wonder how many more of these that you won. I wonder, were you a big winner in your mind as the character of Angela? Do you think she won quite often?
A
Yes, I think that Angela Martin, like, peaked at 13.
B
Okay.
A
Like, she was it. She won all of, like, the Young Pageant, Junior pageant, and then she retired.
B
I see. Okay, let us move on. While we're in the conference room, Kelly is gonna take two brownies, one for Toby. Right. And Michael kind of scoffs at this, but nobody else seems to think it's a joke.
A
Yeah, he calls her a weirdo. He's like, whatever, weirdo.
B
I know. And Jim is like, michael. Toby is back, and Michael's like, okay. And so he walks back to the annex and no one's there. But then suddenly, someone is there. And it is Toby.
A
It is Toby. I want you guys to know, at 1 minute, 23 seconds, as Michael turns to see Toby and he has that look of horror in his face. If you look at the wall behind him, you will see that there are three framed sort of things on the wall for Toby. There is an award for Toby Flinderson, a certificate of achievement and a diploma from the California Coastal College. So, Jenna, he had been back long enough to hang up his framed items. And in the script, Toby had a talking head where he said this. I've been back for six days. I think I've even talked to him.
B
I wish that stayed in.
A
Me too.
B
I wish so much it had stayed
A
in for my background Catch, folks, the California Coastal College. I don't think that's a thing. I googled it. I couldn't find it. I did find the California Coast University, which is a private online university based in Santa Ana, California. Oh, there you go. My background people.
B
Well, we got a lot of fan mail. People wanted to know if Michael's screaming. No. And all of that was improvised or if it was in the script. In the script it just says Michael turns and screams in all caps. Yeah, but that whole like, no, no, God, no. That was Steve. That was Steve's interpretation of that script note.
A
And how funny was that? You guys, if you read that, you scream. I think most of us would just be like, ah, right.
B
Yes.
A
But Steve made a meal out of
B
that moment in the best.
A
He's a comedy genius.
B
Yes. You know, Screen Rant did a list of the top 15 pop culture references created by the Office, and the meme of Steve saying no is one of them.
A
I don't doubt it. I've been online where I see people that I don't even know, like, respond to other people with just Steve's face
B
going, no, it's amazing.
A
Well, the episode starts and Michael is spiraling. He's going to call David Wallace. He's watching stupid Toby as he shows his stupid photos of Costa Rica to Phyllis.
B
Yeah. He manages to get David on the phone by texting him 91 1, call me. But you know what Michael said he's learned that people will not return his calls unless he texts 91 1.
A
And now everybody does because they think something horrible has happened.
B
So I had a pager when I first got to la.
A
So did I.
B
You had to, because you didn't, like, really have cell phones. You had a pager. And the only reason you had a pager was so that your agent could
A
page you if you got an audition. And then you would have to go find a phone.
B
You'd have to find a payphone, call them back. Yeah, I used to keep a Ziploc bag full of change in my car for two reasons. One, for all of the metered parking that didn't accept credit cards, just coins. And two, so that I could find a payphone and call my agent back when my agent paged me, which was maybe twice a year.
A
Oh, yeah. I remember one time distinctly. I was driving through Santa Monica with some friends and my pager went off and I almost swerved off the road. Because I was like,
B
my career is happening. I've hit the big time. I've been paged.
A
We were supposed to be going to the beach. I was like, no, we can't do that now. I have to find a payphone. So we're all, like, driving the streets looking for a payphone. I pulled over, I ran up to the payphone, I put my quarters in, called them, and they were like, all right. Have you ever needed any kind of glasses? I'm like, what? No. And they're like, we have an audition for you for LensCrafters. They would like people who wear glasses. I'm like, that's not me. All right, bye.
B
Yeah, that's pretty much it. But then I did have a boyfriend once who was not calling me back.
A
Did you light up that pager?
B
I sure did. With a bunch of nine one ones. You know it.
A
Did you really?
B
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, I did.
A
Were you a psycho girlfriend?
B
You know what? He was cheating on me that night.
A
Oh, so you knew? You knew?
B
I knew it. We broke up after that.
A
Oh, man.
B
Yeah.
A
I wouldn't light up the pager. I'm, like, sitting here calling you psycho. I wouldn't light up the pager, but I would drive over and, like, hide out in a bush.
B
That's so much more elaborate than texting 91 1. Here was my plan. I was like, I know he's cheating on me, so I am going to light up that pager and make it buzz so that while they're. Whatever. They're doing, the pagers just like,
A
yeah,
B
I'm just gonna ruin their good time. He probably just turned it off.
A
I guess I'm just gonna jump out of a bush and be like, hey, what are you doing?
B
Gotcha.
A
Now I'm going to go home because I've got twigs in my hair and I'm embarrassed.
B
Is this a plot line for mom Detectives? Should we set mom Detectives in the past where all we have are pagers and bush hiding?
A
Yes. Oh, bush hiding.
B
Oh, that could be something else.
A
What's wrong with us? Can we call it Bush Hiders? No,
B
we can't. It doesn't even make any sense.
A
It doesn't make any sense. You go pitch it. Hi.
B
Our show, it's called Bush Hiders, and
A
if you don't want to buy it, you're an. Because this is gold.
B
And they're like, what's it about? And we're like, it's two mom detectives.
A
It's two older women in comfortable clothing.
B
Yeah, we're not wearing any Designer clothes. We want, like, 30 minute wardrobe sessions.
A
It won't be fitted. And we want a lot of old tech that no one watching it will really understand.
B
And we're gonna hide in some bushes.
A
Yeah.
B
Do you want it?
A
Okay. Where are we?
B
We shouldn't have shared that on the air because someone's gonna steal it. I guarantee you, in two years, you're gonna turn on HBO Max, and there's gonna be two 20 year olds starring in a show called Bush Hiders. Mark my word. Mark my word. And they're gonna be young, hot detectives in designer clothes. That's how it works in this business.
A
That's right.
B
I'm not jaded. All right, should we move on? What's happening in New York? Who am I here?
A
I don't know. You just took a big swig of coffee and you're like, that's how it works in the business. Well, listen, you know what? David Wallace tells Michael he's just gonna have to deal with it.
B
Yeah.
A
And he couldn't believe that one of his employees had been back so long and he didn't know. And Dwight and Michael let him know that the annex is icky. It's icky back there.
B
Yeah. And he really wants David to get rid of Toby. And David says, I can't get rid of him without cause. And Michael says he has cause. It's because I hate him.
A
Because.
B
But that is not obviously cause.
A
Well, they're going to find something. But, Jenna, another issue is happening.
B
Yeah.
A
It's a day of drama in the office.
B
Pam is preparing food in the kitchen, and she discovers a mess in the microwave.
A
Jenna.
B
Yeah.
A
Did you see what Pam was preparing?
B
I know what Pam was preparing.
A
Share.
B
This is maybe one of my most frequently asked questions outside of what was in the teapot note. No way. Yes. People are like, what is Pam microwaving in the episode with the dirty microwave? Here are some guesses. We got mail. Here are what people are guessing that I was microwaving.
A
Okay.
B
Apple juice, a probiotic drink.
A
Okay.
B
Egg whites, bone broth, soup, milk, porridge, and yogurt.
A
Well, I had no idea, so I looked at the script. But, Jenna, you tell us.
B
It's egg whites.
A
It's egg whites. Which I, by the way, knowing my BFF in real life thought was kind of fitting.
B
Yeah. Because you can buy egg whites in these little cups. And that's what she's doing. She's going to microwave herself some egg whites. A lot of people also asked what was in the microwave that is also in the Script. And it just says, like a saucy mess. Basically.
A
I typed it out. It says, pam opens the microwave door to put in some egg whites, but the microwave is splattered all over with red sauce.
B
Yeah.
A
Now we're in the break room. And what would we title this? Jim's exposed in the break room. No, that doesn't sound good.
B
Exposure in the break room.
A
Exposure in the break room. Andy, I guess, has peepers like a hawk and read Jim's email and found out that Jim is buying his parents house and hasn't told Pam.
B
Yeah, or as Kevin puts it, the same house he used to pee the bed in.
A
Phyllis thinks it's romantic until she asks Jim where it is. Jim says, it's on Linden Ave. And Phyllis makes a face. And then in the background, you see me kind of roll my eyes like, oh, I looked up Linden Avenue in Scranton. I couldn't find a Linden Ave. I found a Linden street, but it's sort of like in the heart of the city. There's like, shops and churches and definitely no quarry nearby.
B
Oh.
A
Hmm.
B
Interesting. We got a lot of questions from, for example, Brittany Y. And Jenner B. Whose house did they use for Jim's parents house? Was the interior a set or was it the actual house that they used for the exterior? This is where Randy Cordray really came through for me. Ange.
A
Bring it home, Randy.
B
I remembered that it was two different houses. We used one for the interior and one for the exterior. And Randy said that our location manager, Kyle Alexander, had found several choices and that Randy had really hoped that they could find a single residence that they could do both interior and exterior just because it would be so much easier to shoot at just one location. But it didn't work out that way. Randy said everything they looked at either worked for the interior but not the exterior or vice versa. So for the exterior, we used an occupied home on Calvert street in Van Nuys, California. But the interior was not suitable to shoot. This was because it was absolutely adorable
A
inside and it needed to look a little janky.
B
Yeah, it was so cute. And when we were shooting there, they would let John and I step in to the house to kind of get our makeup refreshed and touched up. But we would just stand right inside that front door and then we would go back outside again, and that was it.
A
And it was cute inside.
B
Oh, my God, it was so cute. It was decorated like. Like an English professor's home. Like just cozy, cozy literary bookshelves. Just beautiful kind of restored home inside. So great.
A
I Did something similar one time on this show called Haters. Back off. We filmed the exterior in one house and the interior in another. And when we were filming the exterior, it was cold and kind of misty, raining. And they let us step inside. Just the front room.
B
Yeah, same that we waited, right? Yeah.
A
We didn't go throughout their house at all, but we stepped in the front room and I was with Steve Little. And we weren't really sure what to expect. We opened the door to step in, and there was maybe 4,000 tiny dolls. What? Yes.
B
What?
A
There were dolls in cases, all kinds of fancy dolls in every kind of case you could imagine. Cases on the wall, Little case, stand on the ground. They were everywhere. And Steve and I stood right on the other side of the door and we're like, okay, so somebody likes dolls.
B
Oh, my gosh. I would be like, run.
A
I know.
B
Run now.
A
I was like, okay, all right.
B
If you have that many dolls, there's a very good chance that one of them is going to come alive and try to kill you. I mean, if we've learned anything, one of them is possessed.
A
One of them is possessed. And you know who's on the case? The mom detectives.
B
The mom detectives. We got that covered.
A
We got it covered. We'll hide in the bushes. We'll figure it out.
B
That's right. So this house was so cute. What Michael Gallenberg did, our set designer, he added a broken rain gutter to the outside. He changed the front door so that it would match the other location.
A
Okay.
B
Where we go inside. And he also added that swinging screen door that bangs into the overhead awning.
A
Oh, that was really funny.
B
I know. And then they also asked the homeowner to turn off their sprinklers for a week leading up to the shoot to make the grass look kind of dry and weather beaten. And they did. They kind of killed their lawn for us. Thank you. Now for the interior of Jim's parents house and for the garage scenes. They found an unoccupied home on Owlet Avenue, which is also in Van Nuys. It was only a few blocks away from the other house. And for this one, they went in, they added the shag carpeting, they added the wood paneling. They changed the front door like they bought a front door, and they put it on both houses so it would match. You know, so he was able to go in and completely set design the interior of the home.
A
Is it a l l o t?
B
A l l o t T And
A
you say it a lot or alot
B
Al ot al it all at. So from everything I said, the thing that we're going to discuss is the street name and how to pronounce it.
A
I want you to know something. Whenever I think about, like, where I'm going to live, I think about the name of the street and having to tell it to, like, the pizza delivery guy. I live on a lot. A lot. A, L, L, O, T. No, not all it. Not Elliot a lot. I play it out in my head. You guys don't do that.
B
Clearly you'd rather live on Calvert Street.
A
Calvert. Yes.
B
Much easier for you to get your pizza on Calvert.
A
That's right. I'm not spelling that every single time you.
B
This is like how strongly I felt about pockets in women's clothing. This is your soapbox moment, Angela.
A
Yeah. I can't tell you, like, how many times I've had to spell my street name out. It's annoying. Not gonna say it. Don't need the creepers.
B
You don't want anyone in your bush?
A
I don't want anyone. Well, I might want someone in my bush, but I. It's.
B
I think he already lives with you.
A
I think. Oh, geez Louise. Oh, my gosh.
B
I don't know what's happening.
A
I don't know.
B
Should I go to New York more or less?
A
I don't know. I don't know. All right. Lord.
B
We had some more questions because Jim, during this talking head, he's showing us his parents house. And Sam K. Would like to know. Please explain the clown picture in Jim's parents house. Please explain. Yeah, in the script it just says, Jim examines a hideous painting of some clowns putting out a fire. He tries to pull it off with all his might. Nothing. Jim grimaces. Randy Cordray told me that that clown painting was provided. It was made original for us by one of Phil Shea's Go to Artists. He did not have the artist's name in his files, so we'd like to put it out there. If you are listening and you are the person who painted the clown painting, will you contact us on Office Ladies pod? We want to know more. But Randy Cordray said that the artist actually provided them with multiple preliminary choices and that Mindy, Greg, Paul, and Jen all had to stand and look at multiple clown paintings and that's the one they chose.
A
That was their job that day.
B
Yeah. Pick the clown painting.
A
That was your day.
B
I had to pick a clown painting so crazy.
A
It cracked me up that it was on the wall like that and that he couldn't remove it because I feel like that's such a dad move. You know, it's like that moment where your mom is like that painting is always tilted. It's always tilted. And then your dad goes and super glues it to the wall. Cause he's tired of it tilting. It just made me laugh. I want to know the story behind why they bolted it down.
B
Yeah. What is the story there. There's a story. We don't know what it is exactly.
A
We don't know.
B
Well, now, guess what. Oscar and Andy discover a note on the microwave. It's a very shaming note.
A
It is.
B
They think that the note is worse than the mess.
A
Angela likes the note.
B
She does. Meredith thinks that the person who wrote the note is definitely rich and should get off their high horse. I love this moment with this note on the microwave.
A
I do, too. It's so relatable. If you have ever worked in an office, there is at least once in your time of working in that office, a note stuck to something about something that people are like, eh, yeah.
B
And also the note where the person leaving the note has clearly reached their limit.
A
Yeah. Yeah.
B
They can't take it anymore.
A
No. The note is masking a deep, like, river of anger. They're just pissed.
B
Well, I think this is such a fun moment because we get to see Pam and Angela in agreement about something. I think Pam starts to doubt her note a little bit when she realizes that Angela's on her side. Do you think?
A
Yeah, I do.
B
Well, the cool thing is that this moment at the microwave would have continued in the script. There are two talking heads here. One from Pam and one from Angela.
A
Mm.
B
And lady, I thought we could read them.
A
I did, too. And they really further the story. It's so fun.
B
Okay, here was Pam's talking head from the script. She's holding up the note. This is the front of the note. And then it says, Pam holds up a memoir. This is the front of my latest office memorandum. This can only lead anyone to believe that I wrote the note, which I did.
A
And then immediately it would cut to Angela's talking head. And this was what was in the script. Everyone keeps asking if I wrote the note on the microwave. It was so perfectly worded and a little bit snotty. I wish I had written it.
B
Now there were even more candy bag talking heads, which we'd filmed as well. And they ended up in deleted scenes. But these are the two that were in the script.
A
Yes. And you guys, what cracks me up as well. I don't know if you noticed this. Not only are Pam And Angela kind of oddly on the same side of this argument. Did you notice, Jenna, that they're dressed alike?
B
Yes, I noticed that Pam is doing that thing that Angela always does where she wears like a weird short sleeve sweater over a blouse.
A
They both have v neck short sleeve sweaters over short sleeve blouses. Angela's is like brown on brown and Pam's is black over purple. But what the. What is this short sleeve sweater?
B
I have to believe that was a genius wardrobe choice by Alicia Raycraft. I think so, because that is funny.
A
I screen grabbed them. I'm going to put them on side by side in Stories.
B
Well, we got a fan question from Maddie and Laura. They asked in the episode. Both Pam and Angela agree that the note on the microwave was acceptable and correct. Where do you guys stand in real life as Jenna and Angela, note or no note? You go.
A
You go first.
B
You go. Why are you making me go first?
A
Oh, I'll tell you what. I'm probably a no note. I'll just sort of like stew and resent you forever. I'm probably a no note. But here is my reaction to the note. When I see the note, I'm like, you know what? You needed that. Whoever you are out in the world, you needed to get it out. So I'm okay with it. One time, Jenna, I'll never forget this. I was in high school and I had finally gotten my driver's license and we went to the mall. You know, you're gonna go to the mall. And I think, Jenna. Cause I was so excited. I had my friends in the car with me. We're at the mall. I was a little distracted and maybe I didn't do the best, but parking job.
B
Okay.
A
And after our day of going to Claire's Boutique and hitting up 579, maybe the candle store, we go back out to my car and there is a note.
B
Wait, I'm so sorry. You. You bought candles as a teenager. It goes that far back for you?
A
Yeah, I love a candle and the candle.
B
Teenage Angela went to the mall and she went to the candle store.
A
She loved Yankee Candles. Jenna.
B
Okay, I'm so sorry. Go on. You get to your car.
A
Yankee Candles. It was right next to the Hallmark store. I could get myself a card, maybe a knickknack. Go get a candle.
B
I'm sorry, how old are you? You're. You're like, you're 16 in this story.
A
I've been a grandma my whole life. Anyway, I walk back out to my car with my friends. This is my first Outing in my car to the mall.
B
Yeah.
A
There's a note under my windshield wiper.
B
What's it say?
A
This is what it said. Hey, dickhead, next time leave me a can opener so I can get into my car. Sorry. I was like, what? I must have sandwiched the guy's car. I don't know. Oh. But you know what? I was like, he needed that. Whoever he or she was, they needed this. They needed to get it out. Okay.
B
So basically where you stand on notes is you wouldn't write one yourself, but you don't have a big kind of reaction. You don't take them personally when they're out. You sort of like that person needed to get it out.
A
Think about the time it takes to sit down and write a note or type it out and print it on a piece of colored paper like Pam did. She had two different colors. She had black ink, she had red ink. It was on a yellow piece of paper. She clearly needed to be heard in this moment.
B
Yeah.
A
So I would just hear her.
B
Would you clean the microwave if it was dirty?
A
I probably would. Wow. I would probably just clean it because, I mean, who needs. And then it's done.
B
Wow.
A
I would just clean it. If I go into the little kitchen here at Earwolf and there's like a mess around the sink and it's not my mess, I just wipe it up.
B
Here's what I would do. Okay.
A
You look very serious. That's why I'm like, okay.
B
Well, I'm thinking about it in my head. I'm really trying to, you know, ask myself, who am I? What would I do? I'm a problem solver. Right. So if I kept going in the kitchen and there kept being a dirty microwave and there was no system in place for who cleans it, I would wanna create that system or create that rule.
A
100% Jenna. You would make a chore wheel.
B
Yes.
A
And we would all, like, on Mondays, I would be in charge of cleaning the office sink.
B
Yes. Or it's Monday microwave day. We'd give it a fun name. And that's the cleaning day. And it would rotate around and, you know, part of that would be the cleaner you keep the microwave, the less work on the day you have to clean it. So it'll incentivize us all to keep a cleaner microwave because no one's going to want to clean it on their clean day.
A
I like that very much about you. You're solution based.
B
I am.
A
Well, in the script, the microwave storyline continues. There is now another note on top of Pam's original note. And it says this. Hey, anonymous coward who left the note, Be a man. Spend less time writing notes and more time cleaning up the microwave.
B
Yeah, and then it continues throughout the episode. There would have been more notes piling up on the microwave. Not just on the microwave. They're on the cabinets.
A
They ran out of space in the microwave. They're taping them to the cabinets around the microwave.
B
There are so many notes that clearly people have written multiple notes because there's not even that many people in the office to weigh in on this. Right?
A
Right.
B
So here's one of the notes. Hey, whoever was bashing the first note, grow up. The microwave is filthy and no one here is a maid.
A
And then there's another one that says, you are all a bunch of idiots and privileged ass wipes who weren't raised right. If I find you, I'm going to knock your teeth out. That's got to be Meredith, right?
B
Do you think it's Creed?
A
I think it's Meredith.
B
I mean, Meredith is the obvious choice, but I think we could find out that Creed wrote it. Lady, I think we should take a break because when we come back, Michael is about to serve up some high caliber acting. I mean, watch out, Kurt Russell.
A
Yeah. Michael Scott's coming for you.
B
He sure is. All right, we'll be right back.
A
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B
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A
It calls to us.
B
Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to or the
A
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B
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A
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B
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A
out there and find your outside.
B
Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with Alltrails. It's time for Michael to do his best. This is Michael's best. Michael approaches Toby's desk to welcome him back. He's asking questions about Costa Rica. Toby says it was amazing, but he came back because it was kind of hard to meet people. It was hot. But Michael can't stand it. He cannot stand this incredibly innocent small talk with Toby.
A
No, he can't. He goes back to his office. He has this talking head where he's like, I tried. I tried. I tried to talk to Toby and be his friend, but it's like trying to be friends with an evil snail. I want to know who in the writer's room came up with evil snail? Because it's so funny.
B
It's such a good description of Toby.
A
Such a good description. And then he goes on to say he feels like Neve Campbell in Scream 2. And he has this very funny talking head. He learned a lot, I guess, from the Scream movies. But, Jenna, there was another talking head in the script. So the one you see with the nev. Campbell.
B
Yep.
A
That was not in the script. So that must have been an alternate talking head they handed him on the day. Okay, in the script, this is Michael's talking head. It's almost the same right up until the evil snail.
B
So evil snail was in the script?
A
Yes. Evil snail was a keeper.
B
We've always had that.
A
But this is how it changed in the script. The last four months without Toby have been absolute bliss. I fell in love with a beautiful blonde woman. I fell out of love. I tried scallops. The office was broken into. I became a father. I grew a goatee. The Olympics were a great success for China. And now that I've tasted freedom, I can never go back. I'm going to kill him. No, too far. But I will do something. No, too little. I will get rid of him.
B
Oh, I like it.
A
I love his breakdown of what all happened. And I love that he included he grew a goatee.
B
Me too. It's true, in fact, that Michael is going to try to get rid of Toby. He is looking for fireable offenses.
A
Dwight says there are two that he can find in this binder. Workplace violence or sexual harassment.
B
So I guess Michael's first plan is to try to get Toby to sexually harass Pam. He goes up to Pam's desk, he hands Pam a note, and he says, go give this note to Toby. Don't read it. Don't read it. Pam reads it. In the note, it's written as if it's from Pam. And it says, please hug and kiss me. No matter how much I struggle, I'm too shy to confess my love to you.
A
Can you imagine if Toby had read that note?
B
His brain would have exploded.
A
Mm.
B
Yeah. Well, that doesn't work.
A
Yeah. Pam's like, no, I'm not going back there.
B
So now the new plan is to get Toby to beat up Michael.
A
Yeah. So they march back to the annex, and Michael's sort of confronting Toby and trying to sort of, you know, antagonize him to hit him. And Dwight's like, hit him. And then Kelly jumps in so quickly. Hit him.
B
I know. First of all, her and Ryan were making out.
A
Oh, yeah.
B
That they've stopped making out so that they can weigh in and they're for a fight. They're like, do it. Hit him. Hit him. Toby refuses. It's not working. None of these plans are working. So you know what they're going to have to do?
A
They're going to have to go big.
B
They're going to have to frame Toby for drugs. Like on the shield.
A
I love that. Dwight said, I framed many animals. I framed a raccoon opening a Christmas gift. Oh, Dwight.
B
Well, Michael thinks it sounds mean, but sometimes the end justifies the mean. That's such a good line.
A
It's such a good line. It's so smart. It's smart, funny.
B
It reminds me of this gem. I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little bit stitious.
A
Yes.
B
That it's right in line with that.
A
So, yeah, Michael's gonna go and hit up Leo and Gino over advanced refrigeration for some drugs. They give him what they say is two pounds of weed, and they want $500. Michael has $500 in his wallet.
B
I thought the same thing.
A
That's a lot of cash in your wallet. And for my background, catch people. Did you see the Lackawanna library card in Michael's wallet? Yes. When he opens his wallet, there's a Lackawanna county library card.
B
Do you know what I found recently when I was cleaning out my closet?
A
What?
B
Pam's wallet.
A
You did?
B
And in it, there's a credit card that says Pam Beasley. There's all these cards they made for my wallet, my prop wallet. I'll take a picture. We'll put it in pod.
A
Yeah, we have to put it in stories. That's so fun.
B
How crazy is that? They did that. That's how detailed Phil Shea was.
A
Yep.
B
If you had a prop wallet, it reflected your character. Although, is Michael going to the library? And why. What's that for?
A
I mean, I feel like Michael's probably had that library card for, like, 20 years in his wallet.
B
Yeah.
A
Maybe there was a time where he didn't have Internet and he'd have to go to the library. Oh, wait, we didn't have Internet.
B
I know.
A
Maybe he used to go to the library to make copies. Cause the copier in the office is crap.
B
We'll get to that next week.
A
Yeah.
B
So, Ang, you Know how when sometimes we're watching an episode or we're breaking down our document to prep to do the podcast, we'll get curious about something and we'll do a deep dive.
A
Did you do one on something I didn't?
B
Our associate producer, Ainsley.
A
Ainsley, what'd you deep dive?
B
This is what she wrote me. She said, according to a regrettable Google search, The price of one pound of recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania ranges from $1900 to $2550. She had to know. She was like, okay, they're selling Michael 2 pounds of weed for $500. Inslee got curious, how much is a pound of weed in Pennsylvania?
A
And now I looked, and we shot this in September of 2008. So how much was it in 2008?
B
I'm not sure, but today that's going to run you quite a bit of money. With today's prices, Michael got a deal because it would cost him close to $5,000 to get 2 pounds of weed today. I also want to say that's clearly not two pounds of anything in that baggie. No, it's green, but it's not two pounds. I mean, two pounds. I have two pounds of things all over my house, like two pound weights, two pound bag of flour. That's not two pounds of anything.
A
It's not.
B
I've had a two pound bag of spinach in my house before. It's much bigger than that. It takes up the whole crisper drawer.
A
You're very passionate about painting a very clear picture of what £2 is.
B
I mean, it's so glaringly obvious that that's not two pounds. There are so many signs that Michael is missing.
A
Don't get Jenna started.
B
Don't get me started on what two pounds of something is.
A
I'll tell you about my two pounds of spinach.
B
I just ordered two pounds of Epsom salts, and that was a large package as well.
A
What are you making?
B
Warm, soothing bath.
A
Well, listen, we're about to find out that Pam has an ally in this whole microwave business.
B
Does she? She has Ryan, who's pretending to be an ally, and he's laying it on thick, and I love it.
A
Yeah, he says I'm totally on your side, but the truth is, he went to make a cup of noodles and the microwave is still a mess, and
B
he wants her to clean it up,
A
and she delivers some real Pam sass.
B
Hey, Pam, I just want to let you know I'm totally on your side
A
with the whole microwave situation.
B
Thank you. I was just back there to make some cup of soup. The thing is still a huge mouse. I know. Can you believe it? Yeah, it's crazy. But I guess the thing is, at some point, no notes or no notes, someone's gonna have to just get in there and clean it up. I guess that's why we have a temp, huh? Oh, no. Trust me. I would just make it worse. How would wiping it with a paper towel make it worse?
A
I would find a way.
B
You've seen things clean before, though, right, Pam? I'm hopeless at that stuff.
A
I mean, yeah, that's some good Pam sass.
B
That was all scripted. I know it sounds like genesass. It was scripted. I just brought myself to it.
A
You brought some real truth to it.
B
I did. Well, Ang, we got a lot of fan questions asking who did clean the microwave? Because this never gets wrapped up. We never find out, did it get clean, who cleaned it? This would have wrapped up. It's in the script. And we filmed a big scene that would have explained all of it.
A
It was a fun scene too.
B
It was. And it has a great Pam Angela moment at the top.
A
Yeah. So it starts with Angela. She's storming in from the kitchen. She's super ticked off, and she's holding up a note. Someone has drawn a penis on the note. And she confronts Pam.
B
I know she thinks Pam drew the penis.
A
Why does she always blame Pam for this kind of stuff?
B
I don't know. Here's how it went.
A
Pervert.
B
Angela, I didn't do that.
A
So is this what they taught you at your fancy art school?
B
Why would I draw a penis on my own note?
A
Why do you wear bright colors? For attention, Pam.
B
Everyone, I have an announcement to make. I'm the person who put the first note on the microwave.
A
Yeah.
B
Pam comes clean. And I remember shooting this because Pam kind of goes on to take charge of the room. After she admits that she wrote the note. She's like. And I guess I just have to say, what's so wrong about the note? Why is everyone so offended by this note? Shouldn't you be more offended by a consistently dirty microwave she gets on her soapbox? It's Pam's soapbox.
A
It's Pam's soapbox. And, you guys, as an actor, when we got to have a moment where we commanded the whole bullpen, it was exciting. And also, we were, like, kind of terrified.
B
Oh, yeah, because you're in charge of,
A
like, the pace of the scene. This only happened to me a handful of times when Angela makes a big announcement or something. But I remember Jenna Watching you. And you were so good in this moment because everyone is, like, throwing you little curveballs. You know, Oscar and Stanley and Kevin, you know, they're all kind of sassing you.
B
And, you know, the last time that I had a scene like this was back in Beach Games, when Pam was gonna confront the whole group about her feelings and how they didn't come to her art show. But in this instance, people were interrupting me, and they're coming at me. And I got such a window into what Steve's every day was.
A
Yeah.
B
At one point, the group starts hazing Pam about being in New York. And Pam gives this speech that kind of takes Jim off guard, and I think we should hear it.
A
Listen, New York, that might fly.
B
Why? Because I went to New York for three months.
A
That and the black sweater. Manhattan.
B
Okay? Yes, I went to New York, everybody. I'm not gonna apologize for it. I experienced more there in one week than I experienced here in three months. I love New York. You know, I especially love that people there cleaned up after themselves.
A
Well, Jim has just heard her say all that.
B
Yeah. And the camera is pushing in on his face, and he's realizing at the end of today, he's going to tell her he bought them a house in Scranton. She's not going back to New York anytime soon. This place she loves.
A
I really wish this moment had made it into the show, because I feel like it just sets up the stakes for Jim because he's doubting his decision from the very beginning. Did I do the right thing? Is she gonna like this? I don't know. And I feel like he needed to hear this, and I feel like the audience needed to hear it.
B
I do, too. I think it's a shame that it got cut out. And, you know, at the end of this whole scene, Pam says, fine, I'll go clean it. So it is Pam in the end who cleaned the microwave.
A
Yes. In the script, the very last line of this big scene says this. Pam marches over to the kitchen, and Stanley starts to slow clap. Oh, yeah, we had a slow clap
B
that didn't make it. Oh, yeah, that's right. Oh, that's bringing back that memory of me walking to Stanley's slow clap.
A
Mm.
B
So good.
A
So good.
B
It's time for Michael to plant what he thinks is 2 pounds of marijuana in Toby's desk. And at the same time, Dwight is gonna call the police and report that there is a drug dealer named Toby Flanderson on the premises. And when asked to give his name, Dwight says his name is Andy Bernard.
A
Dwight Is going to throw Andy under the bus any chance he gets. There was this deleted scene, Jenna, that for Michael to be able to have the time to go plant the drugs, they needed to get Toby away from his desk. So Dwight asked Toby to show him his photos from Costa Rica. Let's go to the conference room. I'll look at your photos. Toby is thrilled that someone wants to see his photos. And then Michael sneaks off to plant the drugs. But in true Michael fashion, he can't keep the secret. He has to share with someone that he might have just done something. This is what he said.
B
I think it's really cool that you wanted to see my photos. What's this pink thing on that white oval? That's me.
A
I was boogie boarding.
B
Gave it a try. Wait, who took this picture? Did you make some friends? I hired a local to snap it. Tell me about this monkey. Oh, okay.
A
I'm not.
B
I am not at liberty to talk about it. Let's just say that I somethinged something in somebody something. And if discovered, then someone will get somethinged.
A
I may have said too much. He can't not say anything.
B
He can't. Containment is not his strong suit.
A
No.
B
And then I have to say that scene with Dwight and Toby, to me, it sounded like Rainn Wilson improvising questions, trying to stump Paul Lieberstein.
A
Jenna, you're not wrong. I'm looking at the script right now. The part with what's the red thing crawling on that oval? That was scripted.
B
Okay.
A
But the tell me about this monkey is not in the script.
B
Okay. Also, what about that question? Who took these pictures?
A
That's in the script.
B
Oh, it is.
A
Yeah.
B
That's a funny line.
A
The improv moment is the monkey.
B
Okay, now the police arrive, and they are gonna look into this possible narcotic situation. Pam doesn't know anything about it. Dwight's gonna take charge.
A
And then Michael starts freaking out.
B
Yes.
A
And then they realize it's a ziploc of maybe, like what, a caprese salad?
B
Yeah, it looks like there's definitely some cheese in there. And some salad dressing.
A
Yeah.
B
I'll have you know the police officers were played by Patrick Fawcett and Michael Harrity, and neither of them have been on monk. I checked.
A
Oh, good call to check, though.
B
Also, can we talk about how when the police first arrived, Creed stood up as if he was gonna be handcuffed
A
and then put his hands behind his head. Yeah, and then his talking head where he's like, just keep talking to me until the police leave.
B
I Love it.
A
So good.
B
I love it so much. We got some fan mail, Brook. Ell said that Toby seemed very concerned about police officers searching his desk. Could this be because they might find evidence of him being the Scranton Strangler? Oh, I don't know.
A
At 16 minutes, 27 seconds, we have a very rare side by side talking head.
B
So rare. How did they get through it?
A
I don't know. Michael and Toby, side by side.
B
I know I would have loved to
A
have been a fly on a wall in that talking head. Because, you know, I looked for the bloopers. I was like, surely, surely there's something on the blooper reel.
B
I look too. Yes. Cause I was like, I know these guys. I know Steve and Paul together. And they were as tickled by the Toby Michael relationship as the audience was. As we all were. Yes.
A
And they would mess with each other. You remember in a scene there's a blooper where Toby has to hand Michael a piece of paper and Steve and him start cracking up because Paul wrote you on it.
B
Yes.
A
So I know they were giving it to each other. And I wish there were some bloopers from this.
B
There is footage somewhere. For sure.
A
Somewhere.
B
Well, listen, in the annex, Ryan and Kelly are making out again.
A
Ugh. It's such a sloppy make out too. It is not that a tidy makeout would have made it any better at work.
B
Exactly. Well, Ryan wants out. He doesn't want a sloppy makeout. He doesn't want a tidy one. He's going to Thailand with some friends from high school. A high school. You know, he has to break up with her because if he doesn't, he'll always resent her if he didn't go. He would like them to be adults about it. Maybe they could have sex one more time. And does she have any cash?
A
Then let's be adults about it. But we could also have sex one more time. I think that is such a dude move.
B
I feel like I've heard that so many times.
A
I know.
B
Do you want to have some goodbye sex? No, no.
A
Just goodbye. Get your sorry ass out of here.
B
Yeah, exactly.
A
Yeah.
B
Fan question from Gracie R. When Ryan is telling Kelly he's going to Thailand, why are they both wearing different clothes? I'll tell you, Gracie, because this. This scene was originally supposed to be the tag at the end of the episode, and it was meant to be a new work day. So in the script, this scene was not during the same day that we were framing Toby. It was the next day. But in editing, they moved it up and we are going to end instead with a delicious Dwight talking head. We'll get to it. But first Jim needs to show Pam what he's done.
A
That's right. Jim is nervous but excited. He is, as my daughter says, nervous sided. And she's like, why are we stopping at your parents house? And he says, I bought it. And then Jenna, at 18 minutes, 2 seconds, Jim says, let's go inside. I'll show you inside. What? Has Pam never been inside the house?
B
We got so much mail about that. People wrote in, they said if Pam knew they were at Jim's parents house when they pulled up, wouldn't that mean she's been there before and she's probably been inside.
A
You would hope. Pam has been inside his parents house. They've been dating for a while. They live in the same town.
B
Yeah. And it's interesting because his parents have moved out, but they've left some furniture also. How rough were they on this house?
A
I know. And Jim says, I was helping my mom out. Where's his dad?
B
I don't know.
A
I have a lot of questions.
B
There were a lot of questions. Rachel M. And Megan L said question for Jenna. In this episode when Jim is showing Pam his parents house, I was wondering what went into how you decided to play the scene because she seems really worried and unexcited. But then in the end she says she loves it. Any input you could give about how you decided to play this or what the director told you would be super appreciated. Well, guys, we've already discussed my personal opinions on someone buying someone else a house without telling them. So this was a little bit of a mental gymnastics for me to get Pam to the place where she's gonna say she loves it and where she says that line, I mean, you bought me a house. Because it was like not how I would react as Jenna. You know, I had to really play the character and play the character's truth. And in the script I was being told that my character's truth was that she loved this gesture and it made her feel loved.
A
Yeah, well, I mean, I think we often did that. Obviously we had to play the truth for the character. I mean, I hope you guys know I'm not very much like Angela Martin and how I would react to things, but it made sense to me. Jenna for Pam, you know, and Jim made the garage into this art studio and he's really putting down some roots with her. And I think Pam wanted a family and she wanted all of these things that Jim is offering her. She had wanted that yeah.
B
You know, I had thought a little bit back on the Talking Head where Pam discusses what her perfect home would look like, how she always wanted a home with a terrace. You know, picking her home seemed like something that Pam was attached to. So I did bring that up. I said, you know, we've established that Pam has daydreamed about what her home would look like, and now this person has taken her out of the process.
A
You brought that up to the writers at the time of when we were filming.
B
Yeah. And so I was saying, like, help me understand why Pam now is so happy and so excited. And Angela, we got to exactly what you just said, which was that it was a vulnerable thing for Pam to give up the art school track. And she did that because of two reasons. One, graphic design wasn't what she meant she wanted to do as an artist. And two, she's ready. She's very, very ready to start living this married life, to be in the season of family and marriage with this man that she's been waiting years for. And so this home is her fast track to that season of her life. And she's just ready.
A
Yeah.
B
And, you know, they're going to get to fix it up together. So there's still that element of nesting that's going to get to happen. And so that's kind of what I was thinking was like, I'm ready.
A
Yeah. And you have to think when Pam talked about her dream house with this tower and the terrace and all of that, she was in an unhappy relationship. When you're in a place you feel stuck in life or you're unhappy, you daydream and you daydream about these fantastical things and they're coping mechanisms. And then when you're with someone you really love, you don't need the fantasy anymore.
B
That's such a good point, Angela.
A
You're just ready to have a life,
B
and she's ready to have that life.
A
Yeah.
B
Now, we did get some mail about that garage. Katie C. And Chris G. Said, when Jim is showing Pam his parents house, he says the garage has great lighting. He then proceeds to open a windowless garage door, revealing a completely windowless garage space. Where's the great lighting, Jim? Where? Okay, well, I thought that was really funny.
A
That is really funny. I want you guys to know that I have a garage that we use as a home office. And for a long time we would just raise the door and then there would be amazing light. You know, so it did get great light, but you had to raise the door. And then years later, we actually just removed the door. Cause we're like, this is never going to be a garage again. You know, we've sort of made it into this little home office and put an actual sliding glass door. But I get it. It does have great lighting. You just have to open it up.
B
But he does present it like, this garage has great lighting. As if the other garages that you open, the whole side of the building wouldn't have great lighting. He's presenting as if it's like a special feature that kind of applies to every garage that doesn't have, like, a giant tree planted in front of it. Which it wouldn't, because it's a garage.
A
Right. Most garages are just boxes with no windows.
B
I have to tell you two things about shooting these scenes at the house. The scene where Jim is trying to take the clown painting off the wall for Pam is one of the hardest I've ever laughed on the show. It is the second hardest time. The first was when we did the scene in Dinner Party where Michael's showing us the tiny TV on the wall. This is the second. Every time John tried to lift the painting on the wall, I could not stop laughing. I don't know what it was. Tears. Tears. Choking on our laughter. We laughed so hard. I looked for it in the bloopers, and it's not there. And I'm so upset it's not there. It took us, like, an hour to shoot that tiny moment of him trying
A
to take the painting. Trying to take off the wall.
B
The painting off the wall.
A
John is also so funny at physical comedy.
B
Yes.
A
I laughed out loud when he peeled back that fake wood paneling, and it kind of startled him.
B
Yes. So then at the end of the scene in the garage, when we're hugging, I improvise the line. What about the clown? And it made John laugh. And that's why he's, like, burying his head into my neck. And then when he said, yeah, I can't do anything about that, it made me laugh. And so I'm, like, smushing my face into his shoulder. You can totally tell we're breaking. And that's why it was because we were still. Anytime we brought up the clown painting, we lost it.
A
I love that moment. It made it intimate and funny and sweet.
B
I think it's time to talk about the greatest Dwight talking head of all time.
A
That's saying a lot because there are some amazing Dwight talking heads, but this one really is, like, top five.
B
He's gonna describe his perfect crime. And I think we have to hear it. What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffany's in midnight. Do I go for the vault? No. I go for the chandelier. It's priceless. As I'm taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. It's her father's business. She's Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning, the cops come and I escape. In one the of, I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada. I don't trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later, I get a postcard. I have a son and he's the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting. I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. She's been waiting for me all these years. She's never taken another lover. I don't care. I don't show up. I go to Berlin. That's where I stash the chandelier.
A
Yeah. I do not know how Rain got through saying, this is where the story gets interesting. I know every time I watched this episode, I laughed at that line. And I watched it like three times.
B
This entire talking head was scripted and it was delivered as scripted. I think this is one of the most brilliantly written pieces ever. It's just so good.
A
It's so good. And who better to deliver it than Rainn Wilson as Dwight? It was just perfect.
B
I agree. There you have it, everyone that's framed. Toby, did you have anything else, Angela?
A
I don't have anything else. I do want you guys to know because Jen and I both watched the bloopers next week on the Surplus was one of the hardest I've ever laughed in a scene.
B
Oh, I can't wait. Thank you so much to Randy Cordray, James Carey and Jen Salata and Paul Liberstein. I traded some emails with them as well. Man, that was fun.
A
That was a delight. I will be trying to clean my microwave using your method.
B
Thank you.
A
And we'll see you here next week.
B
I'll be back in LA next week. I wonder, will I bring New York Jenna home with me? We'll see.
A
I don't know. New York Jenna might get the E next to our podcast.
B
Sorry. What can I say? See you next week, guys.
A
See you next week.
B
Thank you for listening to Office Ladies Second Drink.
A
This episode was initially created in collaboration with Earwolf.
B
Office Ladies is a presentation of Odyssey and is produced by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey. Our senior producer is Matt Beagle.
A
Our second Drinks episodes are produced by Molly Nugent.
B
Our audio engineer is Sam Kiefer, Odyssey's executive.
A
Our executive producer is Leah Reese.
B
Dennis Office Ladies was mixed and mastered by Bill Schultz.
A
Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
B
Spring just slid into your DMs. Grab that boho. Look for that rooftop dinner, those sandals
A
that can keep up with you.
B
And hang some string lights to give your patio a glow up. Spring's calling. Ross. Work your magic. Your next chapter in healthcare starts at
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Carrington College's School of Nursing in Portland.
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Join us for our open house on
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Tuesday, January 13th from 4 to 7pm
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you'll tour our campus, see live demos, meet instructors and learn about our Associate
A
Degree in Nursing program that prepares you
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to become a registered nurse. Take the first step toward your nursing career. Save your spot now at Carrington.
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Edu Events.
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For information on program outcomes, visit carrington. Edu Sci.
Episode Date: May 11, 2026
Hosts: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
In this “Second Drink” deep-dive, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey revisit “Frame Toby,” Season 5, Episode 9 of The Office. Bringing signature energy and BFF banter, they unpack the uproarious return of Toby Flenderson to Dunder Mifflin Scranton and the chaos that ensues as Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute plot to frame him. Along the way, the hosts share juicy behind-the-scenes details, respond to fan mail, break down key comedic beats, and reveal insider production secrets with help from producers, writers, and (of course) diehard fans. Expect memorable anecdotes, deleted scenes that almost made it, and quintessential Office Ladies goofiness.
Fan Theories: Scranton Strangler Debate
Michael's Iconic “No!”
Steve Carell's Genius
Long Filming Stretch & Paul Lieberstein’s Double Role
Script Revelations & Deleted Scenes
Microwave Mishaps: Cleaning Tips & Note Wars
Bush Hiders: A Mom Detectives Pitch
Brownies in the Conference Room
Set Gossip: Jim Buys a House
Pam’s Microwaved Meal
Deleted Microwave Scene
Michael’s Schemes
Creed's Instant Suspicion
Ryan Breaks Up with Kelly
Pam’s Reaction to the House
Dwight’s “My Perfect Crime” Talking Head
The tone throughout is warm, playful, and endlessly nostalgic, equal parts sitcom nerd delight and genuine best-friend conversation. Jenna and Angela flip easily from laughter to genuine candor, sharing real-life experiences and audience questions, all while celebrating the legendary absurdity of “Frame Toby.” If you love The Office’s blend of cringe and heart, this is your spiritual home.
Next Up:
The Office Ladies return for a big, blooper-filled deep dive on “The Surplus.” Don’t miss it!
For full resources, extended scenes, and to submit questions, check out officeladies.com.