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Jenna Fischer
If someone was lurking around where you live and acting suspicious, would you want live professional monitoring agents to monitor your property and detect suspicious activity and even contact the police? All before the Lurky people were able to get inside your house? Would you want that?
Angela Kinsey
I mean, if there's a Lurky Lurky right outside my window. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Right.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you might want to get Simplisafe.
Angela Kinsey
Too late. I already have it.
Jenna Fischer
I know.
Angela Kinsey
So here's the great thing about Simplisafe. There are no long term contracts or cancellation fees. You can get a monitoring plan that's super affordable at around a dollar a day. They give you a 60 day satisfaction guarantee or your money back. Their customer service is fantastic. You can design your security system around your home. 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. When you get a new car or a new home, your first reaction might be to say things like oh yeah, I can't believe it. Or booyah. But what you really want to say is the one thing that can get you the help you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Angela Kinsey
State Farm is there. With the coverage you need for your car, your home, and Even boats, motorcycles, RVs and other things that matter to you. With the State Farm agent, you know someone is there to help you choose the coverage you need.
Jenna Fischer
With so many coverage options, it feels good knowing you can find what fits for you. And when you need ways to get help, State Farm gives you options there too.
Angela Kinsey
In person or on the phone with your local agent or on stage, statefarm.com or their award winning app, State Farm lets you do things your way. So when you need help protecting the things that matter most, remember to say, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Jenna Fischer
Hello and welcome to our second drink of Gay Witch Hunt. This was a very fun episode because Oscar Nunez joined us on this one. And this was the season three premiere.
Angela Kinsey
That's right. And Cate Flannery sent in an audio clip answering a fan question. Thanks again to both of them for being part of this episode.
Jenna Fischer
And Angela, when we first broke this down, we talked about how many deleted scenes there were for this particular episode. We discussed some of them, but you said there were even more.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, there are so many more. So I went and rewatched them for this second drink and I picked a few that we could share and discuss oh, great.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, now I remember you mentioning that there were a bunch from the Stanford branch that showed more of the world there.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yeah, and I pulled two clips. One just further shows how annoying Andy is going to be for Jim here. You got to hear it. Hey, Big Tuna, check these puppies out. My calves are insane.
Oscar Nunez
Nice.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I wear two and a half pound ankle weights on 24. 7.
Jenna Fischer
Ask me what my vert is. What is your 26 inches?
Angela Kinsey
It's pretty good considering Michael Jordan's is 42.
Jenna Fischer
So?
Angela Kinsey
So it's like less than two feet off.
Oscar Nunez
Cool.
Angela Kinsey
You don't believe me, do you?
Jenna Fischer
No, I believe you.
Angela Kinsey
I don't think you do. Here's a taste.
Oscar Nunez
Big Tuna.
Jenna Fischer
Booyah.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, boy. Oh, yeah. He's like showing off his calves. He's jumping around the office. All right, the next one is a talking head from Karen and she shares a little Jim snark. Jim is a major kiss ass. Which is probably why I didn't get assistant regional manager a major kiss ass.
Jenna Fischer
Wow.
Angela Kinsey
So yeah, there's a lot more in deleted scenes, but you're starting to see the dynamics of the people there.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I was curious about a scene that I did with Steve and if it made it into the deleted scenes. It's where Michael is checking in on Pam after her breakup with Roy. He kind of walks up to her at front reception. It was so much fun to shoot, but it was not in the original episode.
Angela Kinsey
It is. It's in deleted scenes. And it made it into the peacock superfan version too. And Pam has this really sassy talking head right after. Let's hear them both.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Oscar Nunez
Hey, honey.
Angela Kinsey
You holding up?
Jenna Fischer
Yep. Meow. I'm painting my new apartment tonight.
Oscar Nunez
Oh, good.
Angela Kinsey
By yourself?
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Well, hang in there.
Oscar Nunez
Okay. You know what?
Angela Kinsey
You should get one of those big body pillows. That way you wouldn't miss you know who so much. Thanks.
Jenna Fischer
Roy, right?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
What do I think? I think everybody should just stay out of everybody's personal business. Oh, boy. I remembered that scene, but I did not remember that talking head.
Angela Kinsey
All right, well, lastly but not least, this is my favorite deleted scene for this second drink, so I'll set it up. Jan calls Michael to see if he is actually working. She's like, keeping tabs on him and Michael has a talking head about it. It just cracked me up. Here it is.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Angela Kinsey
What is your goal for after lunch? I will do my job to the.
Oscar Nunez
Best of my abilities.
Angela Kinsey
Heaven help us.
Oscar Nunez
Specifically, I will do my regional manager job to the best of my capabilities.
Jenna Fischer
Specifically Michael.
Oscar Nunez
Specifically Jan. I will make at least 10 phone calls to clients. Yes. I have to begin every day by.
Angela Kinsey
Letting Jan know what I intend to accomplish. And then I have to call her at the end of the day to.
Oscar Nunez
Tell her what I did accomplish.
Angela Kinsey
But it's not mandatory.
Oscar Nunez
It's something that I wanted to do.
Angela Kinsey
And so it's voluntary, really. Even though she makes me, I think she just wants to hear my voice because we're no longer lovers and she's just hurting.
Oscar Nunez
But things are going well with Carol.
Angela Kinsey
I've seen her seven times the last three months, and I'm growing very fond of her kids, Tommy, who I call.
Oscar Nunez
Tomas, and the little girl.
Jenna Fischer
Are you on the toilet, Michael? No. Well, I know sometimes you are and.
Angela Kinsey
That you wouldn't tell me, so I'm just gonna assume that you are and call me back when you're finished.
Jenna Fischer
Was he on the toilet?
Angela Kinsey
He was not on the toilet. He was in his office.
Jenna Fischer
Well, that was hilarious. I loved hearing all those extra tidbits. Ange.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, there's some really great deleted scenes on this one.
Jenna Fischer
Well, everyone, we hope you enjoyed as much as we did. And now here is our breakdown of Gay Witch Hunt. 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 Rewind 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.
Angela Kinsey
Hi, Jenna Fisher.
Jenna Fischer
We are on season three of the Office.
Angela Kinsey
Can you believe it?
Jenna Fischer
Can you believe we've broken down two full seasons and here we are about to start breaking down season three?
Angela Kinsey
I can't believe it. I feel like maybe it's because we're having such a good time that it just went by so fast.
Jenna Fischer
This is season three, episode one, Gay Witch Hunt.
Angela Kinsey
This is a pretty big episode because we had some very juicy season two cliffhangers.
Jenna Fischer
This episode was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapus. And this is kind of significant because Ken Kwapis directed the season finale, Casino Night. So it was really great that we had the same director directing all those cliffhangers and then directing all of the answers here in our season three opener.
Angela Kinsey
I think, yeah, I think that's really important, you guys, because, you know, Ken so knew the world, and we felt so protected by him as actors. And I felt like you and John really had to put yourself out there. So Then I think it's great that Ken was there with you to sort of get you to the other side of that story.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. There were certain directors that always made me feel particularly safe and protected and free to play around, and that one of those was Ken, for sure.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
All right, I have a summary for this episode. Here we go. Gay Witch Hunt.
Angela Kinsey
Michael, you didn't ask me if I wanted a summary.
Jenna Fischer
I didn't.
Angela Kinsey
You told me to point it out.
Jenna Fischer
You gave me such grief in that other podcast about asking if I should give a summary or asking if I should give fast facts, and I got all in my head about it. So now I'm just doing it. I'm just plowing forward.
Angela Kinsey
Okay. As your BFF now, it just tickles me and delights me when you say, Angela, would you like to hear a summary?
Jenna Fischer
All right. Angela, would you like to hear a summary?
Angela Kinsey
I really would.
Jenna Fischer
Well, in Gay Witch Hunt, Michael gets in trouble for using homosexual slurs at work. This results in an HR nightmare. Toby has to deal with him, and Oscar is reluctantly forced out of the closet. Meanwhile, we watch Jim adjust to his new life and new job in Stanford.
Angela Kinsey
That was a fantastic summary.
Jenna Fischer
All right, let's. Angela, can I do Fast Facts?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yay. Okay, fast fact number one. We've got two big new characters on the show. We have Andy Bernard, played by Ed Helms, and Karen Filipelli, played by Rasheeda Jones.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. This is a big deal, you guys. A big deal. They're gonna be with us for a while as, you know, fans of the show. And we were really excited.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, this was so cool. So I had a chance to talk to Ed Helms.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And I love him. I know. We got on the phone and we chitty chatted about his debut on the Office, and he told me a bunch of really cool stuff.
Angela Kinsey
And I texted with Rasheeda. So I've got some really great Karen behind the scenes stuff to share with you guys.
Jenna Fischer
I love it. All right, so here's what Ed told me. Ed told me that he was a huge fan of the original BBC Office, and he said not very many people know this. He originally auditioned in New York for the role of Jim.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, I didn't know that. I mean, it makes sense, right? It makes sense that he was sort of of that group of actors at the time, but I didn't know that.
Jenna Fischer
He said he didn't get the role, obviously, but he heard that Steve got the lead role of Michael Scott, and he was so excited because he had worked with Steve on the Daily Show?
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
So they were kind of friends. They knew one another. He said this made him so excited for our American version of the show. And he watched it and he loved it. And then somewhere near the end of season two, he got a phone call to meet with Greg Daniels and Paul Lieberstein about a new character that they wanted to introduce in season three. He said the meeting went great. He absolutely loved the character of Andy. He also told me that he was originally only asked to do a total of eight episodes on the show because they thought that the Stanford storyline would not necessarily end in a merger and that his character would be finished after Jim returned back to Dunder Mifflin. That was the plan, that Jim would eventually return. But this idea that the other Stanford characters would return wasn't quite in the works yet. But he also told me that they weren't totally sure about leaving Jim separated for so long, so they would only hire him in two episode chunks.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. So they said, like, okay, we're gonna probably keep you for eight, but we'll only hire you for two episodes at a time. And he was living in New York at the time.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
So he came out to la. He said he stayed at the Sportsman's Lodge in North Hollywood. You know the Sportsman's Lodge? I do.
Angela Kinsey
I do know the Sportsman's Lodge.
Jenna Fischer
I mean, how would you describe the Sportsman's Lodge?
Angela Kinsey
I would describe the Sportsman's Lodge as sort of like a retro, could maybe be cool motel.
Jenna Fischer
It reminds me of the place where they stay in the movie Vacation when Christie Brinkley jumps in the swimming pool with Clark Griswold.
Angela Kinsey
Good talk, Russ. Good talk.
Jenna Fischer
It's a famous old hotel in California.
Angela Kinsey
It does have some folklore, though, because, like, when I got here, I drove past it and I was with, like, a friend I met in, like, an acting class. And they're like, you know, every day when John Wayne was done on the set, he would go to the bar at Sportsman's Lodge and. And have a whiskey. I was like, no way.
Jenna Fischer
Well, it was originally built so that people could hunt like, ducks and stuff. Like, there was a whole pond that was part of the Sportsman's Lodge, and they had a diner, a breakfast diner. And, Angela, there are pictures of John Wayne all over this diner.
Angela Kinsey
Didn't we once meet there and have breakfast together?
Jenna Fischer
I'm sure we did.
Angela Kinsey
Anyway. So that's where Ed was living.
Jenna Fischer
That's where Ed was living. He said he rented a convertible. A. He's pretty sure he basically rented Michael Scott's car. Cause he was like, I'm in California. I'm gonna rent a convertible. I just found that so charming. But he said that by about the sixth episode, they came and offered him a deal to stay for the whole rest of the season. And he was really excited, and he moved to California.
Angela Kinsey
I love that.
Jenna Fischer
And then, Angela, I have a few little more things to share about Ed, but I will sprinkle that into the episode.
Angela Kinsey
You sprinkle those in. I'm gonna sprinkle in my Rasheeda tidbits. I will say that I love Rasheeda. Jenna. We were so excited to have her on set. We would hang out in your trailer. Like when the guys were playing their Madden Football or whatever. We would all hang out in your trailer. And she's just like, such an amazing, genuine, smart, like woman. I just adore her.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, Angela. I feel like we had a huge girl crush on her.
Angela Kinsey
We did.
Jenna Fischer
We a little bit followed her around, because I remember at first we didn't have any scenes with her, and we didn't even see her, but we would see her at the table reads, and then we. I have a picture of us holding our scripts, the three of us, and taking our lunch to my trailer. And that's what we did for the first six weeks. We would just see her at the table read, but then we would bring her to my trailer and we would just pepper her with questions because she is like, gosh, she is such a force. Right? She's cool. She's really cool and nice.
Angela Kinsey
And you and I, let's face it, we were kind of dorks growing up. And so we got to hang out with, like, someone really cool.
Jenna Fischer
She upped our game. For sure.
Angela Kinsey
She upped our game.
Jenna Fischer
Let's move on to fast fact number two. We filmed this episode in late July, and over the summer break, in early July, we were nominated for an Emmy Award for Best comedy series for season two of the Office.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
This was such a whirlwind time. We were suddenly, like, on the map and nominated for this award, and it was crazy. Remember how surreal that was?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Well, do you also remember that while we were shooting this episode, we also had to film a promo for the Emmy Awards? They were being hosted by Conan o' Brien, and he came to our set one day. Do you remember that?
Angela Kinsey
I do. And, you know, Conan and Greg were good friends, so we were, you know, excited to have him there. And I have a photo. I don't know why it's in black and white, but I sort of went through this phase where I would buy black and white film for my camera. Old school camera guys, where you had to buy film. And I have a black and white photo of us all standing around Conan on our set.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I looked up this EMMY promo on YouTube, and it's there if you guys want to look at it. It's actually really funny. So also, at this time, the TV show Lost was a really big deal. And so the beginning of this promo is Conan on an airplane that crashes into the water. And then he gets out onto a beach, and he runs into cast members from Lost. And he's like, I'm hosting the Emmys. I have to get to the Emmys. And then he goes over to the hatch, and he opens up the hatch, and he gets in. But when he comes out of the hatch, he comes out of our ceiling down onto the desks in the office. And then we have this whole scene, and I had this really cool moment where he and I trade looks the way Jim and Pam trade looks. And then he does a talking head about the receptionist and how he wishes he could stay, but he's got to get to the Emmys. Oh, my gosh. It, like, it was so cool. It was so cool.
Angela Kinsey
I love it.
Jenna Fischer
But it's really funny because then he just keeps going through, like, all the sets of all the different shows that were nominated that year. And that was like a. That felt big to be part of some Emmy montage and to be nominated. I just remember there was a big buzz all across the set when we came back to work from the summer.
Angela Kinsey
All right, Jenna, hit me with a fast fact number three.
Jenna Fischer
All right, fast fact number three. So in this episode, you guys know it opens with Jim no longer working in Scranton. He still works for Dunder Mifflin, but he's working at the Stanford branch now in Connecticut. We got a lot of questions about the Stamford branch. Where were the Stanford branch scenes actually filmed? And then can you describe how things were filmed with these two different offices and the fact that John wasn't working with you guys for a bunch of episodes? Did he film in the same location? Did he miss you guys? Did you miss him? Give us all the details, please. Thank you.
Angela Kinsey
That's a good question. Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I'll say. The Stanford branch was over on our warehouse set. It was just in that other building. We had two big sound stages, and one soundstage was completely dedicated to the Scrap Scranton branch, and the other soundstage was our warehouse set and also what we called our swing set. So anytime we had to build, for example, the New York offices, they had a section of the warehouse that they could put up the New York offices. And then they would take them down. And then, like, when Pam goes to the hospital and has her baby, or when Angela and Oscar move in together, that's where they put Oscar's apartment. That's where they put the hospital. Right. It was the little swing set area. And so that's where Stamford was built.
Angela Kinsey
And I remember when they built the Stanford set, I remember us being like, holy crap, look how, like, fancy it is. It looked more modern, a little bit more sleek. I was like, is Dunder Mifflin like, the old branch? Like, Stanford looks a little fancy. Fancy Stanford.
Jenna Fischer
I know. I looked at. You know, I love to look at the backdrops that are out our fake windows.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Jim talks about the view in Stanford, and it's great. Like, they're clearly up in, like, this big high rise building. Yeah, it's really quite nice out that window.
Angela Kinsey
And all their desks are new, and the desk chairs are new and the lamps. It's like Stanford's nicer.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I did trade some emails with Kent Saborn at Kentopedia, and he said that when we got this order for season three, we got a little more money in our budget.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, did we?
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And Erin Carrington Smith wrote in to say, it really seems like starting in season three, the show branches out, we go to Stanford, but you guys also film a lot more outside of the actual office. Was that a conscious decision? Kent told me we were able to do that because we got this bump in our budget. We're gonna see a lot more episodes where we go on location. And they were able to build a really nice Stanford branch, all because we had a little bit more money to work with now that we were Emmy nominated and all.
Angela Kinsey
Emmy nominated and had a big movie star on set. We got a little bit more coin, guys, so we could travel.
Jenna Fischer
And then as far as John, I remember it was super weird that we didn't have him with us for like, six or eight weeks.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it was weird. And I remember, like, if we would run into him for whatever reason, maybe he came for a wardrobe fitting and we were at lunch or something. We'd be like, what's it like over there? How is everybody? Is everyone nice? Like, what's it like? Like, as if he truly had moved away.
Jenna Fischer
I remember that too. And he was so super gushy about Ed and Rasheeda and working over on the Stanford set. He was. He seemed like he was having the best time. And again, I think I had a little fomo. I was like, well, what's happening over in Stanford? Yeah, why is it so great over there?
Angela Kinsey
And then when we had table reads and they were all there, they had like inside jokes and I'm like, what the heck? What's that? Inside joke. Dang it.
Jenna Fischer
Exactly. Big brother, kid sister.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, don't do that with anyone else, buddy.
Jenna Fischer
I totally remember all of that. And so they would shoot the Stanford branch like one or two days a week and we would have off and then we would shoot over in the Scranton side for the rest of the week and we really did not see each other except for those table reads or those little run ins. Yeah, so crazy.
Angela Kinsey
It was cross eye, but it built the tension. I think it was good especially for Jim and Pam, because, you know, you guys, I think then brought that time apart back on screen together. Does that make sense?
Jenna Fischer
Oh, Angela. I completely used all of my feelings with John being over on that other set to the character of Pam, because you really became closest with the people who you had the most scenes with because you had to spend so much downtime with them. And for those whole first two years of the show, I was paired with John so often. He really was my buddy, you know, And I spent a lot of time with him and now he was just gone. And again, I can't stress it enough, this was before smartphones, so it wasn't like after this summer break. We had been text. We weren't texting.
Angela Kinsey
You didn't text anyone, you guys? No, there was no texting.
Jenna Fischer
You weren't like, really in touch. And so here we were, back from summer break, but I didn't have my work buddy. He was like off on some other set. And so I did have like all that, like FOMO and all that, like, what's up?
Angela Kinsey
What's up over there?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, what's up over there? So when they came back, I just used it for my character.
Angela Kinsey
Well, those are good fast facts, lady. Those are real good. I'm excited to get into this episode because I feel like we both have some behind the scenes stuff. I know you're holding out on me, lady. I know you probably have some Kintapedia and I have some stuff too. I talked to some folks. So should we take a break and then dive in?
Jenna Fischer
Let's take a break and then we'll dive into Gay Witch Hunt.
Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
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Angela Kinsey
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Jenna Fischer
Because listen, you want this process to be easy. The point of getting your website up and running is probably because you are running a type of business. You're gonna wanna get your products out there.
Angela Kinsey
You're probably a self starter. That's what we were.
Jenna Fischer
That's right.
Angela Kinsey
Head to squarespace.com officeladies for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code officeladies to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Hey, it's Morgan Absher and I'm Kayla Moore and we're the hosts of the Crime House original podcast, Clues.
Jenna Fischer
Every Wednesday, we sneak past the crime scene tape and open a new case file for some of the most gripping true crime cases.
Angela Kinsey
While Kaelyn pieces together the timelines and breaks down the hard facts of these cases, I'll be diving into the theories and pulling at the threads that may or may not add up.
Jenna Fischer
From serial killers to shocking murders, Clues.
Angela Kinsey
Dives into all the forensic details and.
Jenna Fischer
Brilliant sleuthing that went into the world's most infamous cases.
Angela Kinsey
These clues shine a light on stories that have been waiting, sometimes for decades, to finally be heard. So join us as we open a case and uncover the breakthroughs, the heartbreak and the relentless pursuit of answers behind these unforgettable investigations. Follow and listen to Clues, an Odyssey podcast in partnership with Crime House.
Jenna Fischer
Available now on the free Odyssey app and wherever you get your podcasts. Angela, do you have a favorite sandwich? I'm not going to let you answer. I'm going to answer my own question.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, okay.
Jenna Fischer
I love Boar's Head Honey Turkey. This is my go to sandwich. It is my only sandwich. My son takes this sandwich to school. My husband eats this sandwich every day for. For lunch. We love Boar's Head Honey Turkey. It is on our shopping list every single week. £1 boar's head honey turkey.
Angela Kinsey
You know me and Ham. I mean, my nickname was Ham Bone in high school, so I love some Boar's head smoked master uncured ham Put it on a sandwich, Eat it off a plate without any bread. Roll it up with some cheese. I'm gonna eat it.
Jenna Fischer
Well, they wanted us to talk about Boar's Head, and we sure are doing it. For over a century, Boar's Head has been dedicated to craftsman. Craftsmanship. Hand trimmed meats, carefully selected spices, and authentic cooking techniques like slow roasting and fire grilling. And that is what makes every bite unforgettable.
Angela Kinsey
Discover the craftsmanship behind every bite at your local Boar's Head deli counter.
Jenna Fischer
Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, we are back. It starts off with Dwight being six, so pleasant. Trimming his fingernails at work. Why Dwight?
Jenna Fischer
Why gross.
Angela Kinsey
We reveal. Guess who's sitting next to him.
Jenna Fischer
Not Jim.
Angela Kinsey
And no longer the temp. It's Ryan. And can we talk about that? Ryan got a whole new look. A bunch of people look a little.
Jenna Fischer
Different, a little better.
Angela Kinsey
He like, cut his hair short and it's not floppy anymore and it looks like there's some gel. Anyway, this is the new, improved Ryan. He's no longer the tip and he's got a whole new look.
Jenna Fischer
Well, then we move to Pam typing at her desk. And she looks longingly over at Jim's old desk at Ryan. And this is when we flashback to Casino Night.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh.
Jenna Fischer
And we get an extension of the scene.
Angela Kinsey
We see that a whole thing happened after the kiss.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. They both admit to each other that they've wanted to do that for a long time. And Pam is like, I think we're drunk. And Jim's like, I'm not drunk. Are you drunk? And she's like, no, no, I'm not drunk. And then Jim goes in for another kiss.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And she's like, I can't. And he's like, you're gonna marry him. And you were like, yes. Ugh.
Jenna Fischer
I know. We had a lot of fan questions about this. Jenna Adams, Matt Grasso, Brett Hedges, Alyssa Dunn, and many others wanted to know. Did we film the continuation of the kiss scene at the same time as Casino Night, or did we have to recreate the moment for Gay Witch Hunt? Guys, we had to recreate it. We had to recreate it. And this is like, thank God for Ken Kwapas. Thank God we had the same director, so we had to redo everything. Kim Ferry had taken photos of every side of my head and she painstakingly redid my hairdo. Thank God my dress still fit. We added a new camera angle. I don't know if you noticed that they set up the spy shot from the kitchen, and then they put an extra camera inside the conference room shooting through the blinds so that you could finally now see Pam's face and Pam's reaction.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know if this is true, Jenna, and I don't know if it's just because I had this information in my brain that I knew you had to recreate this moment. This is ridiculous. But I do feel like you're at a different position on Jim's desk. I feel like you're. You're a little further down. I feel like you're not right by the phone, which is where you were because you had hung up the phone. Right. So this is just a little catch.
Jenna Fischer
No, Angela, your catch is good. I think in order to get that camera angle through the blinds in the conference room, we had to scoochy, scooch just a few inches down the desk. Wow. Wow. I'm impressed that you caught that. I mean, we tried to.
Angela Kinsey
We.
Jenna Fischer
We tried our best to fool people, but we had to re. Kiss again, because you'll notice that. And that was like, by the way, they brought out, like, a still frame image to me and John of us kissing. And they were like, okay, so now, Jenna, your arm is here. Your hand is here. John, this is how you had your hand around her. So we had to, like, painstakingly recreate the pose and everything so that it would look seamless. But if you watch, we kiss and we pull away and start talking immediately. So that was. It was all recreation.
Angela Kinsey
How awkward. Just think about this. Here's your job. You go to work one day, and someone's like, here's your job today. You need to find a photo of Jenna and John kissing as Jim and Pam. You need to print it out. I need multiple copies. A lot of people are going to be studying this photo. Then we're going to take it to Jenna and John. We're going to recreate the moment. I want it high res, I want it in color. Print me a bunch of photos of them kissing. Okay, thanks.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, that was pretty much it, Ang. That was pretty much it. That was someone's job.
Angela Kinsey
That's so crazy. All right, well, I love that little behind the scenes moment, Jenna. I love that you acknowledge that you weren't kissing by the phone where you hung up with your mom. I love it. But I want to get into the episode a little bit here. Now Toby is in Michael's office. We're at 2 minutes, 13 seconds. He's talking to Toby because apparently Michael was inappropriate again. You know, he basically gives Oscar a hard time for liking Shakespeare in Love instead of Die Hard. And maybe doesn't word it very well, you guys. Doesn't word it the best. But when you watch this scene, watch Steve's performance as Michael realizes that Oscar is actually gay. Like, his transformation of going from, like, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Yeah. No, I know. And then it's such a great acting moment, in my opinion. Steve, once again, just blew me away. And here's my other thing I need to point out in this scene, you guys. And I don't know, maybe it's controversial, but you know who I think outed Oscar?
Jenna Fischer
Toby.
Angela Kinsey
Toby.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. This is gonna come up later, Angela, because Jan is gonna come into the office and reprimand Michael for outing Oscar to the rest of the office. And she goes on this whole speech where she's like, it is a big moment in a person's life, and they should be able to choose how and when they come out to people. And the whole time, I just kept thinking, toby, Toby. How did Oscar. Oscar told that to Toby in confidence.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. And Toby told the one person who would not be able to contain that information. Here's two people Toby could have told if he wanted everyone to know. Michael and Kelly.
Jenna Fischer
Correct.
Angela Kinsey
There you go. There you go. So now, I mean, Michael decides he's got to apologize to Oscar. Of course, it's not in private. He just walks over to the accounting desk pod. You have Kevin and Angela exchanging some glances. And then Michael's like, well, maybe we could go out to dinner and you could explain to me how it works. And Oscar's like, yeah, that would be wonderful. Yeah, we should do that.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, Angela. Angela, I have the script for Gay Witch Hunt. You know, I have the script.
Angela Kinsey
Did Oscar improvise? That would be wonderful.
Jenna Fischer
Steve and Oscar improvised that whole couplet that is not in the script. This.
Angela Kinsey
I wondered.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. When Steve. Now, listen, I say improvised. Sometimes the writers were on set and they would pitch lines to the actors. But I know that in this particular episode, Steve and Oscar took a lot of liberties. They are both masterful improvisers, and they improvised a lot on these scenes. And I believe that Steve improvised that line about, maybe we could go have a beer and you could just tell me how you do that to other dudes. And that Oscar was like that. Yes, Michael, that sounds wonderful. That's wonderful. What a wonderful. I can't wait. The tone in his voice. But everything about those two together in this episode completely delighted me. I was so tickled. They're so good.
Angela Kinsey
Me too.
Jenna Fischer
They're so good.
Angela Kinsey
They're so good. And, you know, then we have Kevin and Angela. They're they know now. Right? Here we go. Here we go.
Jenna Fischer
We're off the races.
Angela Kinsey
Off to the races. And now a very two random pieces of trivia. Okay. In my journal, I wrote that I really like this sweater that I'm wearing and that I asked the wardrobe department where they got it, and they got it at Urban Outfitters.
Jenna Fischer
Did you buy one for yourself in your personal life?
Angela Kinsey
I didn't. I didn't. I. I think I was considering it and then maybe thought it would be too weird, but to walk around in the sweater my character wears. But yeah, so that sweater was from Urban Outfitters. So look at that. Angela Martin. That's kind of a hip store. But maybe we had a bigger budget.
Jenna Fischer
So wardrobe.
Angela Kinsey
Wardrobe stopped going to, like, the NBC warehouse and getting old the older clothes and went to Urban Outfitters for Angela Martin. And then the other thing is, at 3 minutes, 58 seconds, that whatever photocopy picture of the dog, the rescue dog.
Jenna Fischer
Is no longer on the door. That was always on your partition.
Angela Kinsey
It's not there.
Jenna Fischer
It's gone. Removed for season three.
Angela Kinsey
Removed for season three.
Jenna Fischer
It's gone. If you're a regular listener to this podcast, you know we've been tracking this picture of a dog on Angela's partition.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it's gone.
Jenna Fischer
It's gone. Oh, everyone's so. Everyone's so relieved by that.
Angela Kinsey
Everyone is so thrilled by that information.
Jenna Fischer
It's gonna be the big takeaway from today's episode.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, exactly. That's what everyone's gonna talk about. And then I just wanna point out, I thought Oscar's talking head, where at first he's denying being gay, and then he just is like. But, yeah, I am. Okay. Like, I thought he did such a great job. I mean, he's fantastic in this whole episode, but it's just a really small, quick talking head. But I thought he just really found some layers to it, and I thought it was perfect.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you know, there's another talking head that Oscar has in the script that I thought was really, really interesting.
Angela Kinsey
That didn't get in.
Jenna Fischer
It didn't get in. He says, when I applied for my job at Dunder Mifflin, I told Michael in my interview that I was gay.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, I saw this. I saw this.
Jenna Fischer
And he could have deleted scenes.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
He just kept laughing and laughing and laughing. And then he hired me and said I'm hilarious. And that's why I've never come out at the office. I just decided to keep it to myself after that.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, that's right. If you guys have the DVD set that is in the deleted scenes. It's really funny.
Jenna Fischer
It was very funny. When I was reading through the script and I came across that. Oh, good. So they actually filmed it. That's cool.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it's in the deleted scenes.
Jenna Fischer
Well, guys, now we're going to go over to Stanford. Jim is on the phone in his new fancy office. He is assuring a customer that while he cannot say that Dunder Mifflin paper is less flammable, he will promise that is definitely not more flammable than other paper. That's. That's his sales pitch for the paper. And we had a fan question slash fan catch from Katherine Langridge at 4 minutes, 53 seconds. Angela, did you notice that there is a post it note on John's computer that just says the word smile? No, it says smile. And she wrote in to say, is that a note from Jim to Jim or a note from a co worker to Jim? Either way, Jim is a sad dude right now.
Angela Kinsey
It would have to be. I feel like it's Jim to Jim because who thinks.
Jenna Fischer
I think so.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know that he has a pal that's gonna write smile and stick it on. I don't know.
Jenna Fischer
I agree. I think it's an indication that Jim's real lonely.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. So then Andy is gonna tell Jim to sort of stay away from this blonde that they can see off in the distance. I sort of felt like probably that was someone Andy liked. He just didn't want Jim to, like, hit on her.
Jenna Fischer
That's a good.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, that's what. Because he was like, yeah, she's crazy. Steer clear. Head for open waters. And it cracked me up. And it kind of goes back to the thing you were saying is that already with Andy, we have the nautical references.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, yes. He. I'm sure that Andy, with that whole east coast privileged life, he's a. He's sailing.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, yeah.
Jenna Fischer
We.
Angela Kinsey
We learned that he's. He's gonna. He sails. He wears all his little, like, outfits that he's ready for like the boat party.
Jenna Fischer
That's right. His little Dockers shoes. And then boating people wear. I don't know.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, boating people. We're gonna have boating people right in. Not what I wear. And then we find out why Jim is called Big Tuna.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Now I have to ask you about this. I have to ask you about this because Andy doesn't know Jim. He really doesn't. Know anything about him, but he's already given him a nickname. I know I. I have someone in my life that is like this that will give people nicknames right out of the gate. And it's always really weird to me.
Jenna Fischer
And Jim, on his first day of work, ate a tuna sandwich and now is referred to as Big Tuna by Andy. I think somebody wrote in and I liked this comment. I am sorry. I forgot to write down their name. But they mentioned they felt like that. The piece of information that Jim ate a tuna sandwich instead of his usual ham and cheese sandwich on his first day Stanford was another way that Jim is trying to branch out. Maybe that it was a subtle indication of that.
Angela Kinsey
I thought about that. I thought about that. But, you know, he could have had his ham sandwich, and I guess Andy could have called him Hambone or something. That might have been my nickname in high school. Just going to share that with you.
Jenna Fischer
What your nickname in high school was? Hambone.
Angela Kinsey
Well, for one year.
Jenna Fischer
What does that mean? What does that mean?
Angela Kinsey
So there was a guy named Mark, and he had a party after, like, a football game. And we all went over to his house, and his parents were out of town. And I was like, I don't know how to.
Jenna Fischer
I'm dying. I'm just trying to figure out how ham or bone is gonna come into this story.
Angela Kinsey
So anyway, Mark is having this party after a football game. We're all over there. His parents are out of town. I'm sure they wouldn't want us there. And I was super hungry. And I'm in my cheerleading outfit. I'm super hungry. And I go into the kitchen, and in the dark, I don't turn on any lights. And I open the fridge door. Everyone else is out on, like, the patio drinking beer or whatever. And I open the fridge door, and there's a huge ham. No, there's a huge ham in there. And I just started eating ham standing in the fridge door with just the light of the fridge hitting me. And Mark walked in and flipped on the light and was like, kenzie, what are you doing? I was like. I was eating some ham, and that was it. They were like, hambone, Hambone, hambone. And then everyone started calling me Hambone.
Jenna Fischer
This is. I'm speechless.
Angela Kinsey
Well, all I'm saying is Andy could have called Jim Hambone, but it doesn't quite work with the whole nautical thing. So I like that this person is like, oh, Jim is starting new. He's having tuna fish sandwiches. He's working in fancy Stanford. But it also Might just be that Big Tuna is funnier given Andy's character.
Jenna Fischer
I've got a couple of comments about Jim's talking heads here. Not to belabor, but in his one talking head, we had a fan catch from Asha Harnhart who said, At 4 minutes, 46 seconds, Jim is explaining why he transferred to Stanford. And he says that he's been promoted. But from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like his job has changed anymore. It's just the location. So was he really promoted? Yes. In the script, that talking head is extended. They cut it out for the episode. He explains that he is the assistant regional manager of Stanford.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
He is basically Dwight of Stanford.
Angela Kinsey
And there is a great deleted scene on the DVD box set. It's my favorite from this whole episode. Karen is Jim. Karen pranks Jim. She sets his dial out number to go to Hong Kong. So every time he dials out, he calls Hong Kong. And he's like, what the heck? And then you see sort of like Karen's smirk and he's being pranked and he says, I'm the assistant regional manager. And she's like, yeah, okay. So to me, in my mind, I was like, oh, my God, Jim is Dwight. Karen is Jim in this office.
Jenna Fischer
Angela, I think there's like a gazillion deleted scenes from this episode.
Angela Kinsey
There are a bunch. And it sort of like fleshes out the world of Stanford. And so I would recommend watching them. But yeah, you guys, Karen is Jim. Karen looks at Jim the way Jim used to look at Dwight and pranks him. And he's like, but I. I have this title. And she's like, yeah, okay.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. And then later in the conference room, she's gonna say, he's kind of a kiss ass.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, yes.
Jenna Fischer
And he is kind of kissing up to his boss the way Dwight kisses up to Michael.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
I have another Jenna catch about the gym. Talking head. Okay, I refuse to leave this talking head.
Angela Kinsey
Let's keep talking about it. I.
Jenna Fischer
Not. We talked before about how in the Scranton branch, Jim's talking heads were always against an exterior window, whereas everybody else's talking heads faced into the office and you could see, like, Stanley and Creed working in the background. And that the intention behind this was just for anyone who didn't hear the previous episode of this podcast, that the intention was that Jim had a future outside of Scranton. And so his talking heads were against a window that faced out into the world. Right?
Angela Kinsey
Yep.
Jenna Fischer
In Stamford, his talking heads face into the office.
Angela Kinsey
Come on.
Jenna Fischer
They face an interior window, not an Exterior one. He does not have a future in Stanford, everyone.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, girl, that is some good stuff, Lady. Since we're talking about talking heads, let's talk about Andy's for a second. He says he went to Cornell. He graduated in four years and he never studied. He was drunk the whole time. And he was in an acapella group called Here Comes Trouble.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I have a fun fact, Angela. Is it Cornell?
Angela Kinsey
Is it about his acapella group?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. Cornell does not have an acapella group called Here Comes Trouble.
Angela Kinsey
They don't?
Jenna Fischer
No. It does not exist. That is made up, however.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my God.
Jenna Fischer
They do have an all female acapella group called Nothing but Treble.
Angela Kinsey
Nothing but Treble? Come on.
Jenna Fischer
And lady, you know I had to investigate. Nothing but Treble was founded in 1976. You have to audition to be in the group. And they have three two hour rehearsals per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Angela Kinsey
What? Did you go to their website? You looked up their rehearsal schedule?
Jenna Fischer
Lady, not only did I spend about 45 minutes on their. I reached out to them.
Angela Kinsey
AKA what?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah. And they sent me a clip of themselves singing Britney Spears Hit me baby One more time. Sam, roll it. It's seriously so good.
Angela Kinsey
It is akka. Awesome.
Jenna Fischer
It's AKA awesome. Guys. This badass group of women can be found on Instagram @nbt Cornell, or you can download their music at Nothing But Treble on Spotify.
Angela Kinsey
That's awesome.
Jenna Fischer
I might have done that. I might have done that.
Angela Kinsey
You might have done that. I just want you to know, I think you did. You know when their rehearsal schedule is?
Jenna Fischer
I might have their whole album.
Angela Kinsey
What are you gonna do? Join their Zoom rehearsal schedule this week?
Jenna Fischer
You know, I just might. I just might.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, well, while we're talking talking heads, I want to talk about Karen's talking head. Karen's talking head. You guys go to 6 minutes, 17 seconds for a fantastic impression of Jim's look to camera. Rashida Jones crushes it. She looks to Cameron, goes, and he's always doing this. And she does his face. And she goes, what's that about? Like, what is that?
Jenna Fischer
It's so good.
Angela Kinsey
So I texted Rasheeda and I was like, rasheeda, I am watching you right now. Do your impression of Gems look to camera. And it is cracking me up. You crushed it. And she was like, oh my gosh, Ang, that's so nice. She said, I was so damn nervous. She told me she was convinced that she was gonna get fired. She also said originally the character was written to be more Ornery, sour, and mean. Those were her exact words. And she said. She said, that's why my bangs are sort of, like, pinned to my forehead and I'm not wearing hardly any makeup. They just thought that Karen was going to be maybe a little bit more gruff and kind of a meanie. And then she said that Greg decided to soften her. And so in the next episode, she's a little softer. She's not quite so sour.
Jenna Fischer
That is so interesting. You know, Angela, I was brought in over the summer to screen test with a bunch of different Karens, and Rashida was one of them. So they had whittled it down to three Karens, and I had to come in and I had to read scenes with them as Pam. They wrote this scene that was never shot. It was a Karen Pam scene that you never see, but they just wrote it for the purposes of the audition. And I had to come in and read. And at the end of it all, they said, who did you like best? And I said, my favorite was Rashida Jones. She just. Just made me feel. It was that same thing that I've said about John. When I met John, there was this instant chemistry because he made it the easiest to be Pam. And that's how I described it to them. I said, I just didn't even feel like I had to work hard in my scenes with her. I effortlessly felt this chemistry between Pam and Karen. I knew who Pam and Karen were and who they were going to be. I also think from that first moment in that audition, Angela, I immediately saw her as a little bit of, like, this shiny object that I admired. She was such a cool woman that I was like, oh, that's a good dynamic for Pam and Karen, too, because I think Pam does look at Karen as a woman she would aspire to be.
Angela Kinsey
Right.
Jenna Fischer
Karen has an inner confidence. She has ambition that she's not afraid of. And so I felt all of that at play, even from our very first time meeting. And I was just so excited because I didn't think they would necessarily care who I thought was the person I responded the most to. But it made me so excited when she was cast.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
So it's funny to me that she thought she was gonna get fired, because I remember all the conversations about her audition and how everyone was like, she is it. She is Karen. She is the one.
Angela Kinsey
Well, she texted me that she did not sleep probably the whole week before her first day of filming. And she said she had just, like, major panic that the viewers were gonna hate her because Karen gets In the middle between Pam and Jim. And she was like, oh, my God, they're all gonna hate me.
Jenna Fischer
Well, you know, Rashida and I used to talk about that. And eventually there's like a whole thing where it was team Pam, team Karen. And I told her, I don't know. I have to be honest with you. If I was watching this, I might actually be team Karen. I might.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Even though I am Pam. So I told her, don't worry about it. There's gonna be plenty of people who know you're just a great lady.
Angela Kinsey
So, yeah, I told Rasheeda I thought she did a great job. I mean, Karen is a really tough role because she treads on the sacred ground that is Jim and Pam. But I thought she was a fantastic foil. And Rashida said that she would love to come on the show. She said maybe Benihana Christmas would be fun. Yes. So we're gonna get Rashida on here, too. And Rashida, thank you so much.
Jenna Fischer
I love her.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
All right, should we go back to the Scranton branch and talk about Michael and Dwight spying on everyone from inside of Michael's office?
Angela Kinsey
Oh, do you mean what I titled getting cocky?
Jenna Fischer
Oh, explain.
Angela Kinsey
At six minutes, 56 seconds, you know, Michael is suggesting who he thinks might be gay in the office. He says, maybe Angela. And Dwight looks very smugly to camera and says, I really don't think so. And look like that Angela isn't gay and he knows why, but he gives a total look straight to camera, really smug and cocky. I'm like, dwight, what are you doing? Yeah, Dwight, we are in a secret relationship. You don't get to give a little wink, wink to the cameraman. What is he doing? Yeah, he's getting cocky. He's getting cocky.
Jenna Fischer
We know that the camera people know because they found you in that playhouse, but you guys don't know that they know.
Angela Kinsey
Dwight doesn't know. So why is he giving the little smug wink look to Camel?
Jenna Fischer
He couldn't help himself.
Angela Kinsey
He couldn't help himself.
Jenna Fischer
He couldn't help himself. He was delighted to be in this relationship with you, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
Well, they also talk about gaydar, that Jim told Dwight that you can buy a device that tells you whether or not someone is gay. They decide they need to get it, so they call Jim. And this was a thing that they did so that they could keep up this little pranky relationship and keep Jim part of our world so that you could see, and you'll see this going forward in season three, there are going to be ways, especially Even in the next episode, there's going to be a convention, and Jim is going to go on this convention and be reunited with Michael. And so anyway, they did want to find, even in this episode, ways that Jim was connected back to Scranton and back to Michael and Dwight.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
So they did it with gaydar.
Angela Kinsey
They did it with gaydar. And they also did it with Mr. Brown having to come in and talk about, you know, sort of like a type of diversity training. Right. And it's because the Scranton branch is acting up again.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So there's a lot of moments where you get to see Jim thinking about Scranton, Jim thinking about Pam, Jim even missing Dwight and Michael. And this is one of those moments. And I wrote that at 7 minutes, 29 seconds. I think it's the first time Jim truly looks happy in this whole episode because he gets to talk to Dwight and Michael and, like, sort of laugh at what idiots they are once again.
Jenna Fischer
So now we know that Pam said she was going to marry Roy. We know that Jim has moved to Stamford. But now we're going to learn more about Pam's relationship. Pam is at her desk. Roy enters with two plates of food. He asks her if she wants chicken or fish. They have a little awkward small talk. And then the camera pushes in to Pam's left hand. No ring.
Angela Kinsey
This whole time, she didn't have a ring on. I didn't even notice. Right.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
So when that happened, I really did. Even though I knew it, because you and I know the show, I was like, oh, no ring. Oh, my God. Ring. No ring. And also really tan, Roy. Very tan and in shape. Roy.
Jenna Fischer
Roy's looking amazing.
Angela Kinsey
He's looking really good.
Jenna Fischer
Is a tall drink of water when he walks. The man that Pam didn't marry is now suddenly super hot.
Angela Kinsey
He's tan and in really good shape.
Jenna Fischer
And the beard, I'm. I'm living for that beard.
Angela Kinsey
I'm liking David. It was all working well.
Jenna Fischer
Pam explains that she did not go through with the wedding. She got cold feet in just like the weeks before. Right. And she just knew she had to get out of the relationship. But she explains that they still had to pay for all the food, so they froze it. And now I guess she has to eat chicken or fish every day for the next five weeks. I thought that was a really funny detail.
Angela Kinsey
It's very funny. And, you know, then Roy has a talking head, and he broke my heart. He gets emotional. He says he's got to get her back, you know, and he's not going to take her for granted. And I was like, oh, my gosh. Super hot, tan, in shape. Roy is now getting emotional. What the heck is happening?
Jenna Fischer
I know. He explains that he got arrested for a dui and they.
Angela Kinsey
I remember that DUI photo because I remember him, like, deciding which one to pick. And I remember that one made us laugh. And Mindy was, like, cackling.
Jenna Fischer
I remember the same thing. I remember the same thing. We had a fan question from Rihanna Sheriff who said, how did they make the mug shot of Roy? Well, listen, here's the thing. David shot a movie over the summer, and he got into that, like, super amazing shape for that movie, Right. And he came back for season three of the Office, and he, as we have discussed, looked amazing. And Greg was like, oh, no. We had written you as having sort of fallen apart as a result of your broken engagement to Pam. So they had to kind of rewrite it a little bit. They wanted to keep in that whole bit about how he had been arrested. So they took a picture of him, and then with Photoshop, they, like, swelled up his face.
Angela Kinsey
They blew out his neck. It was so weird.
Jenna Fischer
It was so crazy. And they brought around, like, six different options for all of us to vote on which one we liked. I totally remember that, too, Angela.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, we were cracking up.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my God. It was amazing.
Angela Kinsey
Roy is hot. Okay. He's trying to turn a corner here for Pam, but there is someone who has a gripe with them, and it is Stanley.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
Because Stanley bought them a toaster for their wedding. Then they call off their wedding, and he tried to return the toaster, and the store won't take it back. And you know what I think?
Jenna Fischer
What?
Angela Kinsey
I think Stanley, because he's cheap, we sort of have established that he's kind of cheap, right?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
I think that Stanley bought them a discontinued toaster, like the toaster that was on sale, like, clearance. He bought them the crap toaster and is bummed that he couldn't return it.
Jenna Fischer
Well, then he deserves to be stuck with two toasters, doesn't he? That's what you get.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, hey, we don't have a sting for this, but I would like to put in a sting at 9 minutes, 34 seconds that goes something like F O Mindy.
Jenna Fischer
We need a full Mindy sting. We need to get on that immediately.
Angela Kinsey
Actually, because at 9 minutes, 34 seconds, we see some real long extensions.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, yeah.
Angela Kinsey
And a bright green blouse and a floral skirt. It is full. For Mandy.
Jenna Fischer
There's no going back. There's no going back. Also, she, like, skips up to Oscar's desk, and she just wants to tell him how cool it is that he's gay and how she has totally underestimated him. And then Oscar has that amazing talking to head that is so. That tickles me where he says, yes, he's very, very cool because he's an accountant at a failing paper supply company in Scranton, much like Sir Ian McKellen.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, yeah. And then, you know, we cut to my character, who's just glaring at him and being just not nice, you guys. And I'm applying hand sanitizer. And we do find out in this episode that I think Will and Grace is very loud and that I like Harry Connick Jr. Yeah, you're not a.
Jenna Fischer
Fan of Will and Grace, but you do like Harry Connick Jr.
Angela Kinsey
Send me some Harry Connick.
Jenna Fischer
Well, then, at 10 minutes, 8 seconds, Meredith pumps some of Angela's hand sanitizer into her hand and then licks it off. This week, our Real Deal question comes from Natasha Rahman. Here's what she wants to know. She said, what did Meredith actually eat when she is shown eating the hand sanitizer? Natasha, I am so glad you asked this question, because I actually wondered the same thing when I was watching the scene.
Angela Kinsey
Here's the thing. I think Meredith thinks she can get a buzz off of it because she's, you know, she thinks there's alcohol in it, right? So she's like, I want to have some hand sanitizer. Well, I was texting with Kate Flannery yesterday, and I said, kate, you've got to give us the lowdown. What was in the hand sanitizer? Tell us all the details.
Jenna Fischer
Did she tell you?
Angela Kinsey
Well, guess what? She did. She was like, ang, I will leave you a message about it. And I was like, oh, okay, even better. So she left me a message and she said, we can play it here. So, Sam, play Kate's answer. Hey, everybody, it's Cate Flannery, and I'm here to answer a fantastic question from one of the fans of the Office Ladies podcast. And I have a feeling I know who this is from. Is this from Big Tool 9 at AOL? I think he asked me the same question a long time ago. Okay. Anyway, what did Meredith actually eat when she's shown eating the hand sanitizer? So they actually changed what was in the bottle. They put gelatin with club soda so it had the bubbles, so it was just clear gelatin. But they put it back in the same bottle that the original hand sanitizer came in, which is very perfumey. So when I went to lick it off my hand, it tasted like perfume, so it was kind of gross. And I think we did maybe four or five takes, so there was no cheap high involved. I mean, I'm a big jello fan, but I like a little flavor and I don't particularly like perfumey flavor. That's just my take. Thank you for asking. Are you sure this Wasn't Big Tool 9 at AOL? Yeah, I get a lot of questions online from whoever that is. Okay, all the best. Love you guys. Woohoo. Wish we were physically together.
Jenna Fischer
Kate. Thank you.
Angela Kinsey
It just made me laugh that here's Kate. Kate always has a bit, you know, and so like, I love that even in answering this, she had her bit about the guy that Big tool, whatever, who kept like writing in dialogue.
Jenna Fischer
Big tool nine. Big tool nine. Big tool nine.
Angela Kinsey
Come on. Why couldn't they have put it in a bottle that had been rinsed out or something?
Jenna Fischer
I don't know. I. I just want to say that this is like a two second joke. Like this is it. This is not a runner. She doesn't go around the office looking at. This was just like a little moment. It is in the script. And when I think of moments like this, I just think of all the planning that went in to making something for her to eat. And I actually texted Phil Shea and I was like, phil, what is it like when you get a script and there's this little tiny joke and it sends you down this road? And he said these are his favorite moments because it's a challenge and that he read this and he was like, all right, time to find edible hand sanitizer.
Angela Kinsey
And I sort of found it interesting that they had to put like a sparkly like water like, seltzer in it because I bet once they added the gelatin, there were no bubbles. And hand sanitizer has bubbles. So that is like such a small, tiny amount of detail that they were like, nope, we didn't get it right. Let's add the seltzer.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I'll have you know, I noticed the bubbles and it really threw me because it made me think that Kate was really eating hand sanitizer, which I knew she couldn't possibly. They would never make her do that. And I asked Phil Shea about that and he said at first they tried just clear agave syrup. Syrup. Just like a clear agave, you know, because it's thick and sweet, but no bubbles.
Angela Kinsey
You say syrup. Very Midwesty syrup.
Jenna Fischer
How do you say it?
Angela Kinsey
Syrup.
Jenna Fischer
No, no, no, no. I Think what you mean is I say syrup correctly, and you say syrup.
Angela Kinsey
Okay, all right.
Jenna Fischer
Like. Like a Southerner.
Angela Kinsey
And. Excuse me, I'm just.
Jenna Fischer
I'm not saying it's good or bad. I'm just saying you are saying it incorrectly.
Angela Kinsey
Really quickly, before we get off on a huge tangent of our syrup and syrup and syrup, like, debate, Kate told me that she's really proud of the fact that she did her stunts. She did a lot of her own stunts. The majority of all the things that you see that happens to Meredith, Kate did a pass at that. And so she was like, this was just another one of those. When I got the script, I was like, okay, what am I gonna be licking? What is it?
Jenna Fischer
I don't think anyone in the cast was subjected to more stunts than Kate, actually.
Angela Kinsey
No. No one was.
Jenna Fischer
Maybe Steve. Maybe Steve. But Kate, I think, is actually number one.
Angela Kinsey
I think she's number one, and she was a really good sport about it. And, Kate, thank you so much for sending in that message.
Jenna Fischer
Thank you, Kate. Well, guys, there you have it. When you want the real deal on the office, where are your ladies?
Angela Kinsey
When you want the real deal on insurance, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Jenna Fischer
If you want to submit questions about a future episode, please head over to officeladies.com realdeal if we pick your question.
Angela Kinsey
As our real deal question, you win a swag bag of cool stuff, including a signed office lady's mug. And thank you again, Natasha. All right, so now we're back. We're at 10 minutes, 37 seconds, and we get a real bird's eye view of Andy's temper because someone has put his calculator in jello, and he kind of freaks out.
Jenna Fischer
He does freak out. He kicks the trash can.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
I'll have you know that was not in the script. And when I was texting with Ed, he told me that they came up with that on the set. He remembered Mike Schur being on set and throwing out a bunch of funny ideas. And in this moment, this was one of those moments where they were able to say, like, okay, how much. How big of a reaction can Andy have to this jello thing? And he was like, how about I kick the trash can? They were like, try it. And it made it in. And he was super excited because it was kind of like his first improv moment that made it in an episode.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I loved. I thought it was perfect. And it really was like, oh, this guy is unhinged. He's not. Okay. Well, I noticed a really random thing over his shoulder. When he starts talking about the calculator on his computer, it says table of contents.
Jenna Fischer
I saw that too.
Angela Kinsey
And I'm like, is Andy writing a book? Is he reading a book?
Jenna Fischer
What is he looking at? Is it a manual?
Angela Kinsey
What is it? And I watched the deleted scenes. I thought maybe there might be some reference to it, but there wasn't. So I thought that was kind of interesting. I'm like, what is that about?
Jenna Fischer
Remains a mystery. Mystery. So now we're gonna go back again to the Scranton branch. Jan has arrived.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. They had to call in the big guns because things are going off the rails here.
Jenna Fischer
So Jan is not happy.
Angela Kinsey
No.
Jenna Fischer
Toby explains that now Oscar is basically feeling discriminated against by everyone in the office, particularly Angela.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And Michael needs to do something about it.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
So Michael calls Oscar into his office.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, man.
Jenna Fischer
And Oscar says to Michael, am I the first gay man that you've ever known?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Is this. Is this what is happening right now?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
And they're. They seem like they might be about to have this very productive heart to heart when Pam comes in to announce that Dwight is looking at gay porn on his computer.
Angela Kinsey
Because that's what Michael asked him to do. This is how Michael thinks he's going to problem solve. Like, what? First of all, shouldn't be looking at pornography at work. Pornography. Why would he ever think this is acceptable to try to remedy a situation? Oh, my gosh. Michael, Michael, Michael.
Jenna Fischer
Because Michael says, hey, there is nothing wrong with it. Gay porn, straight porn, it's all good.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, it's all good. And at work. At work.
Jenna Fischer
What is happening?
Angela Kinsey
So they're all gathered around Dwight's desk, and anyway, Oscar walks up and he's like, what are you guys doing? And then Angela has a really snarky line where she's like, watching some of your friends. Oh, yeah. So snarky. And he kind of shoves past her.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, lady. We had a fan question about that. Anthony Giratano said, how much choreography was involved in Oscar pushing you, Angela, Was this planned?
Angela Kinsey
Here's the thing. It really does look like he kind of shoves me aside. But the direction we were given is that my character is really playing up the drama of this moment. Almost like when you watch, like a soccer match and someone barely gets nudged and they have the big fall, like, ah, yes, that's. That's how Ken directed me. That Oscar would just really barely brush by me and I'd be like, oh, don't touch me.
Jenna Fischer
You know? Yes.
Angela Kinsey
Well, this is what I was talking about. In the cliffhanger little moment I left in the last episode where I was like, okay, this is when I went to Greg. There was another line, and I can't remember what it was, but it was something like sort of like, well, I think Jesus would be disappointed in you, or something like that. I just went to Greg, and I was like, greg, you know, I grew up going to church, and I go to church, and I. That's just not the message I received, you know, about Jesus. And I just. I just don't think that's how Angela Martin would think. I mean, she can be judgy all she wants, but I don't think that's.
Jenna Fischer
How she thinks her way that she is. How she's kind of uptight and judgy, and all of that is separate from her religion. And I think that's what you were wanting to do. You were wanting to separate it.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. And Greg was so gracious. Greg was like, angela, oh, my God, thank you so much for, you know, sharing that with me. It's totally not what I intended. We just wanted a heightened moment so that Oscar shoves past you so that we can sort of have this crescendo that makes Michael come out and say, everyone to the conference room. So he was like, yeah, we'll come up with a different line. And thank you so much for sharing that with me. So I felt, like, relief. And I also felt like my mom could watch the episode without getting upset. Too upset. I was like, oh, no. All right, Mom.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
She's still snarky. She's still really mean and snarky, But. But, yeah, I was really appreciative to Greg for hearing me out. So Michael has now had it. Like, he's like, okay, everyone, I don't care who you are or what's going on with you, get in the conference room. We're gonna talk this out.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And I think this is a good place for a break. Every. As everyone walks into the conference room, we will take a break, and we will come back with everything that happens in the conference room, which is a lot. All right, so we're back. We're in the conference room. Michael is leading a discussion about what it means to be gay. This includes one of my favorite lines from this episode, which is yours, Angela. When Michael asks who should be the judges and juries of our society.
Angela Kinsey
The judges and the juries.
Jenna Fischer
And he says, you're making a good point.
Angela Kinsey
I mean, I love that this conference room scene has some great cutaways as well. And it Is Creed's one of his favorite talking heads? Happens.
Jenna Fischer
Yes.
Angela Kinsey
He's done it for us. Live in studio. In the 60s, I made love to many, many women, often outdoors in the.
Oscar Nunez
Rain and the mud.
Angela Kinsey
It's possible a man slipped in. There'd be no way of knowing. Yes.
Jenna Fischer
No way of knowing.
Angela Kinsey
No way of knowing. So this is one of Creed's favorite talking heads.
Jenna Fischer
I love it.
Angela Kinsey
We also learned. Oh, my gosh. We learned that Phyllis is engaged.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, Phyllis. This is when it's revealed that Phyllis is engaged because Dwight says Phyllis might be a lesbian. And she's like, actually, I'm getting married to Bob Vance. And we're all, like, very excited.
Angela Kinsey
She didn't announce it or tell us. This is how we all find out. Then she shows her ring off, right? And we're looking over. Jenna, is Phyllis's ring a cluster ring?
Jenna Fischer
Angela? I think it's a cluster.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Jenna Fischer
And Bob Vance.
Angela Kinsey
Bob Vance should get her a date.
Jenna Fischer
I don't believe it.
Angela Kinsey
I don't believe it.
Jenna Fischer
I don't believe it. And I think you're gonna see in later episodes, it gets switched.
Angela Kinsey
I think it does. I remember her having a big honking ring, and we were like, ooh, Bob Vance, huh? And like, we did bits about it, but in this shot, it looked like a cluster ring.
Jenna Fischer
It's a cluster. I mean, Bob Vance is a very showy guy. He's gonna give his lady a big old solitaire diaper.
Angela Kinsey
Yes, he is. Yes, he is.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, we need to track that.
Angela Kinsey
And Phyllis has, you know, a line in here that I love because I love every single time Phyllis reminds us all that she and Michael went to high school together. I live for it. I live for it.
Jenna Fischer
You know, Angela, that one got me curious because I was like, I don't think that Phyllis and Steve are the same age. I actually went to Wikipedia and I looked it up, and there is a 10 year age difference between Steve Carell and Phyllis Smith in real life. But nonetheless, I love this runner.
Angela Kinsey
It's a very funny runner. And Michael hates it. But we also learned that Michael in.
Jenna Fischer
High school wore suits and ties and matching fancy socks.
Angela Kinsey
And fancy socks.
Jenna Fischer
I love that backstory.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
There's also a moment in the conference room where Michael says, we're all homos. Homo sapiens. And Pam. This makes Pam laugh. And she giggles and turns to the person next to her, but it's Ryan.
Angela Kinsey
And Ryan.
Jenna Fischer
And he looks at her like, nothing.
Angela Kinsey
Ryan gives you nothing?
Jenna Fischer
No, nothing. And you'll notice in this episode when we cut back To Jim in the conference room at Stanford. He is having memories of conference rooms with Pam, just like Pam is having her memories of conference rooms with Jim.
Angela Kinsey
And they have no one to look at to sort of share the experience with.
Jenna Fischer
I know they were to each other.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Their person is gone.
Jenna Fischer
So then Michael goes on this tangent. He just says, you know, gay marriage isn't legal and how many straight men wished that applied to them? He's like, you're so lucky, Oscar, that gay marriage isn't legal.
Angela Kinsey
I feel like. Like I've seen this, like in sort of a stand up routine.
Jenna Fischer
I feel like this concept.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, I feel like Michael has like pulled some of his comedians that he's seen sort of do this bit that I bet husbands out there wish that. I feel like Michael is doing his bit.
Jenna Fischer
I think you're so right on that. Here's the thing. When I heard that, I. I actually thought to myself, oh my God, gay marriage wasn't legal like it is legal now. Right? But yes, we shot this back in 2007 and gay marriage was not legal. Angela, this sent me on a tangent.
Angela Kinsey
Where did you go?
Jenna Fischer
Where did you go, Angela? I went on a deep dive. Uh oh, Sam, can I get a deep dive, please? Did you hear that, Angela?
Angela Kinsey
I did. It sounded like a toilet being flushed.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, dear. Okay. No, that's me also doing a deep dive into the history of gay marriage.
Angela Kinsey
Wait one second. Do you and Sam trade emails about sound effects? Because I feel like you have some shorthand with Sam that I don't have where I'm not like, Sam, hit the full Mindy. Sam, give me a bird going. Sam, give me a beer. Like sound.
Jenna Fischer
Maybe we do, Ange. Maybe we do. Maybe. Sam and I trade sound effects emails from time to time. If you want to know, I also recorded this.
Angela Kinsey
You got it deep, you gotta dive. You put them together, get it? Deep dive. Are those your children?
Jenna Fischer
That's my son. He made me a deep dive sting.
Angela Kinsey
I like that. I might like that better than your toilet flush.
Jenna Fischer
Well, listen, the point is, I did a deep dive on the history of gay marriage. And I'm gonna throw it at you. Are you ready?
Angela Kinsey
Okay, I guess throw it at me.
Jenna Fischer
All right, so in the year 2000, 20 years ago, Vermont was the first place in the country of the United States to allow civil unions for gay couples. The first state to legalize gay marriage was Massachusetts in 2003.
Angela Kinsey
Look at you. Look at you, miss. Look at you go.
Jenna Fischer
Look at them go. Did I do a good one? Was that good? Look at them go.
Angela Kinsey
I don't know, honey. I don't know what that was.
Jenna Fischer
They were so smart in Massachusetts.
Angela Kinsey
They're so super smart. All right, so go.
Jenna Fischer
Wicked smart.
Angela Kinsey
They're wicked smart. Wicked smart. Way to go.
Jenna Fischer
All right, all right. So Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage. Pennsylvania was the last state in the northeastern region to recognize same sex marriage. It did not become legal there until a state supreme court ruling in May of 2014. And it did not become legal in all 50 United States until June 26, 2015. There was a Supreme Court ruling that decision struck down bans on same sex marriage, legalized it in all 50 states, and said that all states had to honor out of state marriage licenses. Lady, that was only five years ago. That is astonishing to me. Anyway, that was my deep dive, guys. I got super curious when I heard him say that.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Because now it is the law. But there was a time when it was not, and I wanted to learn more about it. So there you have it.
Angela Kinsey
There you have it. She's here for the deep dives on your alpha womb. And if.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, on what? Here. Here are the things I've deep dived so far. Can you get yams at a gas station in Carbondale?
Angela Kinsey
You really deep dived on that.
Jenna Fischer
What is an alpha womb?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Jenna Fischer
Gay marriage.
Angela Kinsey
And now, well, don't forget, you did stalk a college acapella group, and you know their rehearsal schedule. So let's try.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, my gosh. I did two deep dives in this episode.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my God.
Jenna Fischer
I'm really contributing. I'm contributing. Okay, so, guys, this conference room meeting is not going well. Oscar says to Toby, I don't even think I can work here anymore. This is the worst day of my life. He gets up to leave, and Michael stops him. And now we are going to have the most glorious interaction.
Angela Kinsey
So we could not talk about the awkwardly cringy awesomeness of this scene without Oscar Nunez.
Jenna Fischer
So, y' all. We called him.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, we did.
Jenna Fischer
We recorded it. And here it is. Hi, Oscar. Woohoo.
Oscar Nunez
Hi, Jenna. Hi, Angela.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, this is so fun. Oscar.
Oscar Nunez
You know what this is, Jenna?
Jenna Fischer
What?
Oscar Nunez
It's unbelievable.
Jenna Fischer
Yes, it is unbelievable.
Oscar Nunez
That's what I do all when I want to get a laugh. I watch the Office, but I watch the bloopers. I go through all the seasons, and that's one of the takes that makes me laugh so much.
Angela Kinsey
I love that. You know, Isabel loves the bloopers.
Oscar Nunez
Me too. I love the bloopers.
Jenna Fischer
I just remember we could not get through that Scene.
Oscar Nunez
No, Fisher, you were the instigator. You couldn't get it together.
Jenna Fischer
I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You guys are funny.
Oscar Nunez
It happens.
Angela Kinsey
And also, we never, ever got to do talking heads together, so it was just like the novelty of that, too.
Oscar Nunez
Yeah. And it was funny. It was so good.
Jenna Fischer
Oscar, you never break. You never break.
Oscar Nunez
You know, I was watching. I think it's season four. Ed Helms made me crack up. Cause he just. He mugs so much. His funny faces, and it's still grounded. And Ed Helms made me crack up in one of the bloopers.
Jenna Fischer
Well, but truly, I feel like we could count on one hand the number of times you broke in the whole.
Angela Kinsey
Night season in nine years. My nickname for Oscar was the statue because you never broke.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, well, Oscar, it's a good thing that you were Steve's scene partner in Gay Witch Hunt. Everybody else in the room broke. You did not. And thank goodness, because then they had usable takes because, Jenna, I stifled it.
Angela Kinsey
I know your tells because I sat back with you in accounting. So Brian did the tea kettle. We've talked about that. How he. As he would start to laugh, he would, like, try to hide it by blowing out the corner of his mouth. I called it the teakettle. He'd be like, yes, yes, like that.
Oscar Nunez
That's right.
Angela Kinsey
But you did this.
Oscar Nunez
Right.
Angela Kinsey
Minuscule, like a grunt. But no one knew you would go like a. Like that. So now I need to go back and watch the scene. We'll get to it, but I want to see if I can hear it. Okay, but before we get into the scene, Oscar, we start. Whenever we have a guest on the show, we ask them a little bit about how you came to be on the office. Like, what was your audition process? Like, what's your story?
Oscar Nunez
Well, okay, I'll just start with the audition, because I don't want to, because you and I knew each other from before, and I don't even know when. The Groundlings or something where we met the Groundlings.
Angela Kinsey
Oscar. Okay, Oscar and I had known each other forever, but. But, Jenna, like, how you were talking about with John, like, this was before you texted people or knew information about what was going on in their lives. There was no social media, so I had no idea that Oscar auditioned. And he didn't know that I auditioned, and I didn't know that he got it until the day I walked on set the first day, and I walk over to accounting where they told me I was sitting, and there's Oscar and.
Oscar Nunez
I'm like, oh, my gosh, she's not kidding. It's like a movie. Like a Harry Met Sally or something. We did not know this. Not through gossip, not through reading paperwork. We both walked on the set, and there we were in wardrobe. And I'm like, what are you doing here? She's like, what are you doing here? I'm like, oh, no, we're on the same show.
Angela Kinsey
We were so excited. Cause we had done a sketch comedy show. We had met God, Oscar. What? Like, 15 years earlier.
Oscar Nunez
It's such a great feeling to see a friend. And you're like, we're on the same show. That rarely happens. But it does happen.
Jenna Fischer
But not just on the same show. You guys were like teammates.
Oscar Nunez
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
We were the same department. We were the same department, you know, so even better. And speaking of that, Oscar, did you audition for the role of an accountant?
Oscar Nunez
Yes. They needed extra people. They gave me copy to read, and it was a general office stuff.
Jenna Fischer
Okay.
Oscar Nunez
And my manager, Bruce, is like, it's for the office. And I'm like, well, that sounds good. And I love the British Office, but I. I thought, we'll do the pilot and it won't get picked up. That was my feeling. I was so skeptical.
Jenna Fischer
I think we all felt that way.
Oscar Nunez
I was over it. But I love the show. I love the Ricky Gervais. And I'm like, oh, it's great, but we're not gonna do it justice. That's what I was thinking. We're not going to do justice. Don't get excited, Oscar. Don't get excited. So. And I think that's why I did well, because I didn't care. And then they're like, well, let's have come in for a callback. And then the callback. I think it must have been scripted, but I went in, I think, three times or maybe four. Three for sure. And then the last one was improv. And I was like, okay, I really like this because I can improv, because I was literally in the ground legs. So I improv the livelong day. And I had really good time and tried to keep it close to the vest and not go too crazy. And then my manager called it and said, you got it. And I got a little bit more excited, but still did not quit my day job. I was catering and babysitting and did not quit until we got picked up for the season. And then Flannery and I quit at the same time. We looked at each other. We're like, now? And she's like, now? Yeah, let's do it now. I'm like, all right, let's do it. And we both quit. We're, like, free falling.
Angela Kinsey
You quit catering? Catering and babysitting and taking away trust.
Oscar Nunez
And her lovely manager said everyone wished her well in. Her manager said, you'll be back. She's like, oh, thank you for that.
Jenna Fischer
All right, let's talk about this scene. All right, Oscar, this is the scene where Michael starts by offering to hug you. You know, you. You're upset. You're like, I'm out of here. And Michael's like, come on, I'm gonna give you a hug. In an attempt to show that he's totally okay with Oscar being gay. But this ended up up with Steve kissing you on the lips, which was not scripted.
Angela Kinsey
Well, it's crazy because Michael, like, completely offends you, and you're like. You feel insulted. You want to leave. Then. Then you realize you've broken Michael's heart. And so you're like, okay, buddy, come here. Now you're. You're comforting Michael, and he's, like, tearing up. It's just like, none of this becoming his parent in the moment.
Oscar Nunez
None of this should be happening in a workplace.
Angela Kinsey
No.
Jenna Fischer
Well, Oscar, I have the script from Gay Witch Hunt, and I looked it up, and here is what was originally scripted. Cause I was curious, because I knew that what ended up airing was an improv. So originally, he. Originally he hugs you, and then he was supposed to go in for a kiss, but he chickens out and is supposed to kiss you on the forehead or something. But I remember sitting in that room, and when Steve said the line, I want you to burn this into your brains, that was the moment we knew that was improv. Yeah, that's what I did. What does Steve have in his head right now? And Oscar, to me as an audience member, and I'm saying audience member, like, because I was. I was just sitting in the conference room as an audience member. That line was the moment when I knew we had taken a turn onto a totally new road. What was it for you? Do you remember, like, when you were like, wait, what's going on?
Oscar Nunez
I've had time to process it, but at the moment, I think we did three or four takes. Not a lot with hugging. With that. The way you're saying with the hugging. And then this particular take, he's. He's coming in, and I'm like, oh, he's gonna. He really caught me off guard. He's coming in closer and closer, and his nose is getting closer to my nose, and I'm Thinking. I'm thinking, well, I don't know what's happening. So I'm just gonna stand here because he's gonna hug me. And I'm thinking, pick a side. You know, when you hug someone, Jenna, you have to go left or right.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Oscar Nunez
I'm like, pick a side. Pick a side. Pick a side. And I'm like, oh, no, he's not picking a side. He's this close. I'm like. I'm like, he's not picking a side. And then he came in for a sweet, sweet kiss, and our lips touched. And then that's when, like, this laugh came from my stomach, and I stopped it. And I also heard a lot of giggling and snickering from the peanut gallery. And I'm like, oh, I hope the camera's. Well, it doesn't matter, because that's the reaction. Whatever's happening is happening. And then he stopped kissing me, and I'm like, okay, stay in character.
Angela Kinsey
And I'm like.
Oscar Nunez
I said, thank you. I think. I don't know why.
Jenna Fischer
Well, he has this great line. He has this great line where. Well, first of all, you improvise a great line, Oscar, where you're like, we don't have to do this. And he's like, yes, we do. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. And then after he improvised this line where he was like, there, I guess.
Oscar Nunez
Yes. Like, he's the hero, and we're still here. I know.
Jenna Fischer
We're still here.
Oscar Nunez
I know. He's the hero.
Angela Kinsey
He did. He did it.
Oscar Nunez
He dragged me out of the closet where I was perfectly happy.
Jenna Fischer
Well, the thing that amazes me is that when you see all of our reactions, we were just reacting in real time. And yet we also seem to be reacting in character. Except for B.J. i'll tell you, B.J. turns away in that moment when he's sitting next to me because he started laughing. The reason he turned away was because he lost it. He lost it. And then the camera cuts so you can't see it.
Oscar Nunez
Karel's insane.
Angela Kinsey
I covered my face because I was laughing, and I thought, okay, hopefully this tracks that. Angela Martin wouldn't want to see it because I'm laughing, and I don't want to ruin it. Oh, my God.
Oscar Nunez
Closest to us, or one of the closest. She was, like, right there.
Angela Kinsey
Well, Oscar, I don't know if you remember, but you and I were doing an interview together. Oh, my gosh. I don't know where we were. We were doing a press junket for NBC, and someone asked you about the moment And I'll never forget because I remember. I remember it because you cursed. And I was like, I know we're on camera, but you said something like. Then all of a sudden, Steve keeps coming closer, and I'm like, son of a bitch, he's gotta kiss me. That you had this moment where you knew it was past the point of no return. It's happening.
Jenna Fischer
Well, Steve was amazing because when he would come up with those improvs on set, I feel like I have a lot of memories, and this is the one that is, like, most prevalent, but just the memory of him. You see him get an idea, but then he is a master at slow playing the idea. I saw him as soon as he said, I want you to burn this into your brains. I knew, oh, my gosh, he has an idea. But he made me wait for it, and he made all of us wait for it. And that is the genius of his comic timing.
Oscar Nunez
For Michael Scott, even though it's asked backwards, it was a very brave thing of him to. In his mind, Michael Scott, he's like. He was the hero, right?
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Oscar Nunez
He's like, look what I did. Look what I did. No one else could have done this. That's why I have the mug. World's best boss. Look what I did.
Angela Kinsey
And then, Jenna, I have a question, because I am pretty sure I remember this correctly, but you have the script when Rain, as Dwight, then chimes in to kiss him. Rain improvised that. Oh, yeah, that was totally improvised. And I just love that. That's the button that Dwight's like, I'm gonna get in there.
Oscar Nunez
That's his mo. That's apropos. He did that a lot. He just didn't do it in that scene. He would. Michael would do something, and then he's like. He would get, you know, inspired and go, I'm gonna do what my boss is doing.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah.
Oscar Nunez
But Michael said, no, no, Dwight. Dwight, don't. Yeah, because he needed. It was just for him.
Jenna Fischer
You can see rain break a little bit there. After he tries to kiss you, you see a little bit of a smile.
Oscar Nunez
I tip my hat to all you guys, because that was a ridiculous moment. And for him to pull back and say, we did it. We're still here. We're still. We did it. Everyone.
Angela Kinsey
What?
Oscar Nunez
Dragging everyone in with him to this day.
Angela Kinsey
I wrote. At 18 minutes, 56 seconds, I wrote. I think Oscar's about to break right here. That's the moment I caught. So I'm gonna go back and see if it's your weird stomach grunt moment.
Jenna Fischer
That was probably the most documentary moment of our fake documentary.
Angela Kinsey
That.
Jenna Fischer
And when we sang goodbye to Steve, oh, my gosh. Because remember, Steve didn't know.
Oscar Nunez
No.
Jenna Fischer
Okay, Oscar, before you go, I want to ask you this fan question. So as a result of Michael's behavior, Oscar ends up accepting a settlement with corporate, and it includes this three month paid leave. And he says he and Gil are going to go to Europe. So Melinda ManagerKerth and Mike McCarthy wrote in to ask this. When the character of Oscar goes on his three month sabbatical, what was the real Oscar up to in real life during those three months?
Oscar Nunez
This comes under the umbrella of having two wonderful mensches as your bosses. When it rains, it pours, you guys. And while I was on the Office, I pitched a show at Comedy Central and they said yes. It was an improvised show which the aforementioned Damon Jones. Damon Jones, who was. Who was in the running for being the lead, is my buddy, and he was executive producer of the show. We created it together. And this other fellow, Kevin Ruff, we sold the show to Comedy Central and they said, we want to do a season of it. And I'm like, oh, well, okay, but I'm on the Office. But whatever. We'll figure it out. One day I was walking across just to give you a little more glimpse into Steve and his thinking. He was walking across where our outside on the asphalt where all the cars are parked. The parking lot. It's called Oscar the parking lot. And all our trailers are there. And I caught up to him, like, steve, hey, what's up? I said, steve, I was just offered to do a show at Comedy Central, but I love it here. What should I do? And he goes, oscar, say yes to everything. Let your people figure it out. Let your manager and agent figure it out. That's not your job. You say yes to everything that they offer you. You don't worry about anything else. Say yes. People will figure it out. So I said yes. And I told Greg Daniels and he's like, we'll figure it out. And they did. And this was my out. They gave me a beautiful, organic, seamless way out. So I was shooting a show. I was shooting 10 episodes of a show called Halfway Home. It was all improvised on Comedy Central.
Angela Kinsey
It was so good, Austin. Thank you. It was so good. And so many of the people that we knew from the Groundlings and Improv Olympic were part of it.
Oscar Nunez
And you know who else? Octavia Spencer. How did she go on to do after that? I think she did okay for herself. So Octavia was with us on that show. And many people went there and Steve Pearce and oh, so many people. Anyway, that's what I was doing. I went to do a show, shot 10 episodes, and then came back and folded right back into the office because of Greg Daniels, because of Steve Carell and Silverman and all those people.
Angela Kinsey
But, you know, I think what people should know is that that is very unique. I feel like to Greg, absolutely, Greg was such a collaborator with us. And I know I had things throughout the nine year run, and I know, Jenna, you did too, where we had to go to them and say, hey, we got this opportunity. Will we be able to make it work? And he was always pro making it work and figuring it out. So how, like, amazingly gracious that he made this window for you to go shoot that show.
Oscar Nunez
It's not like, I'll do it. I'll have that opportunity later. This is important. And he knew. He knows that. It's important to get a pitch meeting. It's important that you sell a show. This isn't happening every day. We're all, you know, we're all mature. Am I younger than Angela and Jenna by 15, 20 years? Yes, but that's not the point. We're all. We're all mature people. We're all mature people.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, well, you had. You had pitched it and created it. It was your baby, and you got to go do it and. And then you got to come back to the office.
Oscar Nunez
You guys, if I had to choose, I don't know what I would have done, because A bird in the hand.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Oscar Nunez
And I knew the. So I would have had to say no to a show. You know, I might have said no to the comedy. I probably would have said no to that, and that would have been horrible.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Oscar Nunez
So I got to do both. I got to do both.
Angela Kinsey
You got to do both. And as Michael would say, it was a win, win, win.
Oscar Nunez
That's right.
Jenna Fischer
Very nicely done, Angela. Oscar, thank you so much.
Oscar Nunez
My pleasure.
Jenna Fischer
You're awesome. This was so nice.
Oscar Nunez
My pleasure. Love you, Angela. Love you, Jenna.
Jenna Fischer
Love you, Oscar.
Angela Kinsey
Bye.
Jenna Fischer
Bye. Lady, your computer is open right now.
Angela Kinsey
Mm.
Jenna Fischer
You are shopping on quince.com I am.
Angela Kinsey
We just came back from lunch, and I was looking at these little summer dresses. I have this green one in my cart right now. It's for $49.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, it's really nice.
Angela Kinsey
Isn't it cute?
Jenna Fischer
That's gonna look good on you.
Angela Kinsey
It's like that J fit. So it's going to be real soft for summer. I also have some hand towels well.
Jenna Fischer
That'S what's so great about Quint's. You can get, like, a luxurious outfit and then also the hand towels that you need.
Angela Kinsey
And there's a really good price point, too.
Jenna Fischer
Well, by working directly with top artisans and cutting out the middlemen, Quince gives you luxury without the markup. Did you know that their stuff is priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands?
Angela Kinsey
Treat your closet to a little summer glow up with quints. Go to quints.com officeladies for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.
Jenna Fischer
That's Q-U-N-C-E.com officeladies to get free shipping and 365 day returns.
Angela Kinsey
Quints.com officeladies if you live in California.
Jenna Fischer
And you're looking to buy a home, let's. Let's face it, buying a home in California can feel like a lot. It is overwhelming. But with a realtor, it doesn't have to be.
Angela Kinsey
Everything's easier with a trusted advisor by your side, Someone who knows California real estate inside and out. I'm talking about your realtor.
Jenna Fischer
We love our realtor.
Angela Kinsey
We love our realtors.
Jenna Fischer
Like, love, love. Still in touch with him.
Angela Kinsey
One of my best friends has become one of my best friends. Walked my sisters down the aisle at my wedding.
Jenna Fischer
A great realtor knows your neighborhood because they're your neighbors.
Angela Kinsey
If you're worried about how to make an offer, how much to put down contingencies, let your realtor do the worrying for you.
Jenna Fischer
Let your realtor focus on all that paperwork, all the hassle and the headaches. You can just focus on making your new home the place of your dreams.
Angela Kinsey
Whether you're deep in the sky or just daydreaming of your forever home, you don't have to go at it alone. Learn what your realtor can do for you. @championsofhome.com we are getting ready to plan some travel for the holidays. And so we've started to look on Airbnb. We love to stay at an Airbnb because when you travel with children and your family, it is nice to have a kitchen. It's nice to have you all in one area. Jenna, I got a hot tip for you.
Jenna Fischer
What is it?
Angela Kinsey
Do you know that you could make money off of your home while you're away on vacation?
Jenna Fischer
Tell me more.
Angela Kinsey
I will. While you're away, your home could be an Airbnb.
Jenna Fischer
Oh, really?
Angela Kinsey
Yeah. Think about someone who's frequently traveling, you know.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah.
Angela Kinsey
While they're away, their Home's making them money.
Jenna Fischer
That's pretty sweet.
Angela Kinsey
I know.
Jenna Fischer
That's very shrewd farms of them. Although Dwight doesn't leave.
Angela Kinsey
That's true. And if he did leave, you'd be stuck with Moe's.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. Well, it sounds like Airbnb is a really practical way to earn some extra money.
Angela Kinsey
If you've stayed at an Airbnb, wouldn't it be cool to give that experience to others?
Jenna Fischer
Your home might be worth more than you think.
Angela Kinsey
Find out how much@airbnb.com host.
Oscar Nunez
All right.
Angela Kinsey
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.
Jenna Fischer
Wasn't that amazing?
Angela Kinsey
He's hilarious.
Jenna Fischer
That was amazing.
Angela Kinsey
I love him so much. I love him so much.
Jenna Fischer
Now, there's not that much more to talk about, but there are a couple little things before we wrap things up. I want to talk about Jim in the conference room.
Angela Kinsey
Fancy Stanford conference room.
Jenna Fischer
Yes. And he's having his diversity training. And guys, Larry Wilmore. Larry Wilmore, back again. Is Mr. Brown.
Angela Kinsey
Yes.
Jenna Fischer
Hero. Acronym Hero. It's all there. You might notice that Jim has an empty chair next to him, and he kind of looks wistfully at the chair. This is a nod to that moment in the previous diversity day where Pam fell asleep on his shoulder. It was kind of their first moment of connection. Their first moment of physical connection. And he's remembering that.
Angela Kinsey
Yeah, they're both missing each other. They're missing each other.
Jenna Fischer
They are.
Angela Kinsey
And now back at Dunder Mifflin, Dwight gets a package. He gets a package from Jim. It's a gaydar detector. It looks like a little mini vacuum, but it's probably just a metal detector. Right?
Jenna Fischer
It literally is a metal detector. I texted Phil Shea about it, and it is a repurposed metal detector, which makes total sense because it beeps. Beeps when it goes across Oscar's belt.
Angela Kinsey
His belt. They all wore belts, guys.
Jenna Fischer
And so then, of course, it beeps when it goes across Dwight's belt.
Angela Kinsey
Oh. And then who has a little smile, a little wistful smile? Pam.
Jenna Fischer
That Jim. She's thinking. She's thinking, ah, that Jim, he did.
Angela Kinsey
A prank all the way from fancy Stanford.
Jenna Fischer
Yeah, I know.
Angela Kinsey
And he doesn't know that I have an apartment now and I'm eating frozen food because I canceled my wedding and I'm going.
Jenna Fischer
I have art classes. I enrolled in art classes like he said I should.
Angela Kinsey
I know. I'm actually glad that Jim went to Stanford and that he doesn't know this about Pam because I think it's really important that Pam has her own journey.
Jenna Fischer
Well, I think one of the reasons why Pam and Jim were able to get together in the end was because she had this time between relationships. Yes, she had this time alone. She's been with Roy for over a decade. I think when we talk about it. Yeah, maybe not that long, but since high school. Pam, I mean, they live together. She needs this alone time. I think it's good. It's good for them. We know it's all gonna work out in the end. They don't know that yet, but this is the right thing. Kids, kids, take time for yourself.
Angela Kinsey
One relationship to the next. Okay?
Jenna Fischer
Figure out how. Who you are. Figure out how you are between.
Angela Kinsey
Okay.
Jenna Fischer
Who are these accents we're doing? Who are these women?
Angela Kinsey
I don't.
Jenna Fischer
They're your bossy aunt. That's bossy aunt accent.
Angela Kinsey
All right, you guys, that was gay witch hunt. Thanks so much for listening in. If we missed anything, write us because you know we like it.
Jenna Fischer
You know we like it.
Angela Kinsey
We like it.
Jenna Fischer
Next week we're going to talk about the convention.
Angela Kinsey
Yes. All right, we'll see you next week.
Jenna Fischer
See you then. 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 Rhys Dennis.
Angela Kinsey
Office Ladies is mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.
Jenna Fischer
Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton.
Office Ladies Podcast Summary: "Second Drink: Gay Witch Hunt with Oscar Nuñez"
Episode Information
In this episode, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey welcome listeners to their second installment of "Second Drink," focusing on the The Office season three premiere, "Gay Witch Hunt." The hosts express their excitement about having Oscar Nuñez, who plays Oscar Martinez, as a guest for an in-depth discussion.
Jenna Fischer provides a succinct summary of the episode:
"In Gay Witch Hunt, Michael Scott faces repercussions for using homosexual slurs at work, leading to an HR crisis. Toby navigates the fallout, while Oscar is compelled to come out. Meanwhile, Jim adapts to his new role at the Stamford branch." ([09:24])
The episode marks a significant shift as Jim transfers to the Stamford branch, introducing new characters like Andy Bernard (played by Ed Helms) and Karen Filippelli (played by Rashida Jones). This transition sets the stage for evolving relationships and new office dynamics.
The hosts delve into the production aspects, highlighting the involvement of director Ken Kwapis, who also directed the season two finale "Casino Night." They discuss how his experience provided a sense of continuity and security during pivotal episode moments.
Angela Kinsey shares insights about deleted scenes, mentioning:
"There are so many more. So I went and rewatched them for this second drink and I picked a few that we could share and discuss." ([02:30])
These deleted scenes offer deeper glimpses into character interactions and office dynamics, enriching the main narrative.
Oscar Nuñez joins the conversation, providing firsthand experiences from filming "Gay Witch Hunt." He recounts the improvisational nature of certain scenes, particularly the unplanned kiss between Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and his character, which added an unexpected layer of humor and depth.
Oscar Nuñez reflects on the improvisation:
"When Steve said, 'I want you to burn this into your brains,' I knew we had taken a turn onto a totally new road." ([83:15])
His portrayal of Oscar Martinez becomes more nuanced as the episode addresses his character's sexual orientation, balancing humor with sincere character development.
The hosts explore several deleted scenes that didn't make the final cut but provide valuable context:
Andy Bernard's Introduction:
"Andy presented himself as overly enthusiastic, showcasing his calves and constantly referencing sports, which adds to his quirky personality." ([03:02])
Pam's Breakup with Roy:
"A deleted scene shows Michael checking in on Pam after her breakup, offering a sassy talking head response from Pam that wasn't included in the original airing." ([04:25])
Jan's Monitoring of Michael:
"A favorite deleted scene features Jan calling Michael to verify if he's actually working, adding a humorous layer to their professional relationship." ([05:23])
These scenes enhance the viewers' understanding of character motivations and office relationships.
Due to the show's Emmy nomination, the production received an increased budget, allowing for more elaborate sets and on-location shoots. The Stamford branch scenes were filmed on a separate soundstage, distinguishing them from the Scranton office. This separation not only provided visual variety but also allowed actors to explore different dynamics.
Jenna Fischer notes:
"We got a little more money in our budget. We're gonna see a lot more episodes where we go on location. And they were able to build a really nice Stanford branch, all because we had a little bit more money to work with." ([19:43])
One of the standout moments discussed is the improvised kiss between Michael and Oscar. This unscripted event added authenticity and showcased the actors' chemistry.
Jenna Fischer explains:
"We had to recreate the moment for Gay Witch Hunt, and this is like, thank God for Ken Kwapis. We had to redo everything... But if you watch, we kiss and we pull away and start talking immediately." ([29:22])
The improvisation required precise coordination to maintain continuity, demonstrating the cast's adaptability and the director’s support.
The episode navigates multiple character arcs:
Michael Scott's Apology to Oscar: Michael's well-intentioned but misguided attempts to address his faux pas highlight his complex nature.
Jim's Adjustment to Stamford: Jim's move serves as a catalyst for exploring his personal growth and the strain it places on his relationship with Pam.
Andy Bernard's Antics: Andy's introduction brings a new comedic foil for Jim, enhancing office humor.
Pam's Unresolved Feelings: Pam's ongoing emotional journey post-Roy adds depth to her character, setting up future developments.
Throughout the episode, various memorable lines emerge:
Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin:
"What is your goal for after lunch? I will do my job to the best of my abilities." ([05:29])
Oscar Nuñez as Oscar Martinez:
"Am I the first gay man that you've ever known?" ([32:22])
Steve Carell as Michael Scott:
"We're all homos. Homo sapiens." ([71:09])
These quotes encapsulate the episode's blend of humor and heartfelt moments.
Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey wrap up the episode by reflecting on the developments in "Gay Witch Hunt." They emphasize the episode's significance in setting the tone for season three, introducing new characters, and exploring themes of acceptance and personal growth. The inclusion of Oscar Nuñez adds a rich layer of authenticity, making this episode a standout in the series.
Listeners are left with a deeper appreciation for the show's intricate character relationships and the thoughtful production decisions that continue to elevate The Office.
Key Takeaways:
Notable Quotes:
For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In: "Second Drink: Gay Witch Hunt with Oscar Nuñez" offers a comprehensive exploration of a key episode in The Office series. Through engaging discussions and exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey provide fans and newcomers alike with a richer understanding of the show's beloved characters and memorable moments.